My Gourd Art

In case anyone has been wondering what I've been up to in the past few weeks besides fishing..... Oh yes, I've been fishing again! I'm the one that caught the only brown trout for the day also. hehe That is one hobby if you will, that is soooo relaxing and fun, especially on the White River where I live. The temp of the water doesn't get above 52 degrees so you can guess what that does for the air just above it, yep it's much cooler than the regular temp and if you do get hot just stick a hand or foot in and you'll cool off immediately.

But I digress from the point of this post...Several posts ago, I told everyone about a Gourd Festival that the hubby and I went to in Sedalia, MO. We both took classes there and I showed you the cute penquin and snow angel that I made in my class along with pics from the gourd art at the festival. Well about a month ago the second son was here with his family and I took the daughter-in-law and granddaughter to a craft show while the guys went fishing. The first thing I spotted when we entered the door was a wonderful gourd art booth! Needless to say I stopped and looked and oohed and aahed and talked to the women and was invited to come to some gourd art classes! It took me a couple of weeks but I did go to the class, which is taught by Joyce Campbell, who is an amazing gourd artist! I've been going to class for three weeks now and have a few things to show that I've made:

The picture above is a container which could be used for many things

How do you like my funky chickens? hehe And don't forget the beautiful swan!

Here's a glimpse of one of the projects I'm currently working on.......

Got any ideas on what this is going to be?

I really feel sooo honored to be taking classes with such an amazing artist and...she told me that my work is good enough to enter into a show with her in October!! Woo Hoo! I've never thought I was that talented but I'm happy for the opportunity to sell my wares, so to speak. I've got to get several pieces done in the next few weeks, 'cause I'm GOING FOR IT!

I would love to hear some input from all my blogerrette sisters and everyone else who reads my blog. Do you feel I'm a good enough artist to sell my wares or what?

Hugs XX

Barbara

Fishing

A little while back I mentioned that I was going to get to go fishing with my hubby and two of our sons. When I did there were a couple of people who said I needed to post pictures of the event. Well I'm happy to say that the guys did let me go along, but since we had all the trout we needed at home, we did a catch and release day. That was so much more fun because we could catch twice as much or more and boy did we ever! It was definitely not a slow fishing day at all but I only managed to get one picture of the sons, and Richard's Brown Trout. That was the only Brown caught that day and he was big but we didn't think quite big enough to keep.(A Brown has to be at least 18 inches long) The other son, David caught a nice big Cutthroat Trout but released it before I could snap a picture. Other than that we caught Rainbow Trout all day and a bunch of them. I think my hubby caught the largest. I know fishing isn't quite the thing for a  lot of people but I just love it, especially when the fish are biting. Oh I didn't mention that this fishing trip was on the Fourth of July did I? What a great way to spend the Fourth and then we caught the fireworks that evening. I was very sunburned, even though the sky was overcast but extremely happy at the end of the day. Here's the one picture that I got to take:

Good looking men aren't they? Richard,(the one with the fish) had stopped over on his way from El Paso, TX to Georgia where he was going to school. He's a Major in the Army and had just moved his family from  Monmouth, New Jersey to El Paso,TX the previous week and had  to leave them for four months to attend a school that the Army wanted him to go to in  Georgia.  Anyway, I love to fish and will probably go again this week as soon as the thunderstorms quit. I bet we've received six inches or more of rain in the last two days. We've really needed the rain but it would have been better if it were spread out. I hope that this week is a good one for all of you and that you get to do something that you love to do.

                                                  Barbara

Happy Fourth of July!!

Hello all fellow bloggers! I would like to wish everyone a very Happy 4th of July! I'm so very proud to be an American and to live in this great country of ours. I'm sure that there are many bloggers out there who live in other countries who think theirs is the greatest but I would have to argue with that. I hope that all your holiday preparations ended in a fantastic fireworks display!

I've got to also take the time right now give a big  "Thank you" to Cindy from Whimsical Musings! She has presented me with the Versatile Blogger Award! I am so happy and also humbled.

It came with these instructions:

1. Thank the person who gave you the Award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 Bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

Here's my list:
1. I have several collections, teapots (over two hundred), ruby red glass, doilies, teddy bears, Mary Engelbreit everything!
2. I love crafting and crochet!
3. I love to go fishing and will be going tomorrow with my hubby and two of our sons. Do I have it made or what? They really help me.
4. I also love to garden even though there are some things I can't do now, and besides the veggies I have flowers blooming all Summer.
5. I'm disabled and wondering what happened, but I just put on my big girl panties and deal with it.
6. I started taking classes today in Gourd Art. I'm lovin it.
7. If you don't know it, I recently joined the Bloggerette Sorority Sisters and I'm lovin that too!
I will be notifying all of the bloggers I have chosen within the next couple of days. I love all the wonderful people I've met in blog land!


Barbara