Still alive!

 I am still alive and kicking! I have been spending most of my time on Instagram as it is so quick and easy. You can follow me there at hopeandjoyhome I post often. This last year has been full of babies. Our daughter Hope and her husband Jake had a baby in June. Jocelyn Elizabeth. I got to be in the delivery room and I have been babysitting her once Hope went back to work.She is a laid back sweetie!

 Lilah started daycare  when I got Joce to watch ( not my choice!) I no  longer see her daily but do get in some Nina time. She is so funny.

 She will be 2 next week and is a total delight.Her mom got her Master's in Chemistry last month and a job she can do remotely online so she is home with her now!

 Hunter is a 4th grader now and so tall! A smart sweet big brother.

So these 3 are what keeps me busy and adds joy to my days. Our youngest Jaxon is now 16 and working on a driver's license! Busy with golf and soccer and friends. He is 6'2" now! Still my baby! He  also keeps me very busy hauling him around. I enjoy his company immensely. He keeps me up on the goings on in the rap and music world and I keep him up on everything else! It is amazing how much he knows ..and how little he knows! I can't even ponder him being in college in 2 years..I about have a panic attack! Lol. We are still on Etsy and doing well actually... even with all the changes there. I have started taking online art workshops this year and really have enjoyed it. Always more to learn! We have been busy with our vintage shop and I have been making a lot of new items. I will share some of what I have been up to in my next post! See ya then! Julia

Upcycled vintage metal Mixed Media ornaments

Hi guys! I never know what to call my "things" Mixed media? Assemblage? There are a bit of each and not strictly either.

 These are some of my latest pieces.

My fav..I like pink and bling! I am on to my next batch of "things" and will share the results! Hope you are are finding time to be creative! Til next time! Julia

Summer wrap up

Hi guys! Still alive. I have been neglecting my blog. I post almost daily on Instagram as it is quicker, so please do search me out there at hopeandjoyhome. I have been busy as a bee this summer.   Thanks to Google images I found out the above wildflower that I see often in the ditches around here is chicory..what did we do before Google? Lol. This fat bee seemed to enjoy it.

We attended an estate auction of a McCoy collector and boy did we buy McCoy! This is the back of our Explorer on the way home. Over 400 pieces...we couldn't even wrap it! I am slowly working my way through the boxes and learning a lot about McCoy and Brush McCoy pieces on the way. Some are going to Ebay but most are going to my Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/hopeandjoyhome

 We went "home" to SD to visit family and attend our all school reunion. They are tearing down the old school to build a new one. These are some of the bee hives in my dad's back pasture.They don't tend them, someone else does and gives them honey in exchange.

 We also checked out the "crop circles" they discovered since they started putting the pasture up for hay after he sold his cows (retired). Can you see the darker ring here? The tracks in the middle are from our vehicle and should show how big these are. There are 3-4 that they found. The grass in the ring area is darker green, thicker and taller than the surrounding grass even though it is the same variety..so weird!

 A shot up the ladder of the town's grain elevator.

Dad's barn and mom's hollyhocks.

Some pieces I worked on this summer.

 Unfortunately my husband was right, my garden was bad..my herb wagon survived though!

My daughter's garden was majestic. She kept me supplied with garden produce all summer!

 Our grandson turned 9 and we celebrated with him at his house.

Our grand daughter had her cleft palate surgery and it was stressful but successful. The closed the holes in her palate.

I found some rusty goodies in SD. This is one of several cast iron stove finials I bought. They look like farmhouse trophies!

The last few weeks have been rainy.

I have been hauling our son Jack to golf games. It has been interesting as he just started golfing the first part of July! Some "character building" moments. I told him, you improve each time, you don't cry, cuss, quit or throw things..I am proud of you!

We did get caught in this monsoon of a rainstorm. we were driving back to the clubhouse pedal to the metal..lost his hat once and golf bag twice! We were soaked but laughing. "You are driving like a maniac!" "We are on a golfcourse next to a lake under trees in the pouring rain..we are going to be hit by lightning..yes I am driving like a maniac!" Lol..memories for sure.

 I have been fiddling with patina-izing brass. This pic has been bumped up a bit in editing.

Mostly just greeting each day and seeing where it takes me. Hope you are having a great summer! Til next time! Julia

Garden of Weedin

We have lived at this home for almost 20 years and I have fought a Battle Royale every year to try and get a decent garden. My mom and dad have a nice garden and I was raised weeding and watering. My gramma had huge garden complete with an apple orchard. I remember trailing behind her eating raw kohlrabi, seeing her giant cabbages and her pantry with jars of tomatoes, pickles, beets, homemade horseradish and sauerkraut and tons of applesauce, Her pantry smelled of dried sage and dill. My mother in law's garden was huge and spectacular. MY garden has tree roots from hell, crazy weeds, rogue morning glories and critters that munch things in the night. MY garden actually started on FIRE last year..that should give you an inkling of my skills! To be fair, my son was burning some brush and left the fire unattended after it had burned awhile. Something rolled out and caught my raised beds wood on fire and it spread from bed to bed! *sigh*

THIS Spring my husband said "Why even try ..it will just be a disaster?" Which I saw as both hurtful and a challenge. (This is some fire proof garden "art" I made from metal sculpture "curls" and a copper crane I bought at a couple different estate sales. The crane now has a nest!)

Some volunteer lettuce from my horrible garden from last year. I just planted new seeds around it. My garden started as hard red Tennessee clay. Every year I have added bags and bags and pounds and bales of compost, manure, humus,top soil and even straight up Miracle Gro potting soil! I'd hate to think of the dollar amount for that dirt!

I also had a ton of volunteer marigolds. I always feel bad about weeding out viable plants so I just moved them to the edges out of the way of my spinach.

The only bed that escaped the inferno of '16! It only has a year or 2 left before it crumbles from age. I left the Queen Anne's Lace as it wasn't bothering anything. It is technically a weed here, but I like it,

I moved a bunch of strawberry plants that had grown out of their spot and into the lawn (Probably trying to make a break for it) You can see another volunteer passion flower vine at the edge. A wildflower here.

At the end in front of the slightly singed compost bins I planted hills of watermelon and butternut squash. This is my trial of the year. I dug up the space, spread thick "Painter's paper" and weighed it down with a few old glass insulators I had in the garden. I cut holes and deep dug where I wanted to plant. I am hoping I won't have to weed there this year.

There is mint at the edge of the garden..I do have to keep an eye on this or it would overtake the whole garden!

Some of the insulators. I use these for decoration and I put them on top of stakes to keep from poking an eye out.

This is oregano in front of the crane ..also a plant it once and it grows all over plant. So. When my husband said "Why even try?" It raised my hackles. Why even try at ANYTHING? Why try if you think it might or even will certainly fail? Why even try if it won't be as good as other's? Because  I have HOPE. I have vision. I have dreams. They may or may not come to fruition but I know what will happen if I do not even try..NOTHING. It is not about the results..the thing is the TRYING..The ATTEMPT, the blind stupid stubborn HOPE. So I dig..I plant ..I water and weed. If all else fails I will plant some zinnia seeds and if everything else goes to hell (and barring another fire) I will at least have cheerful flowers!

Lilah Grace

So much has changed since my last post. Febuary 12 our grand daughter Miss Lilah Grace came into the world.

Older brother Hunter was instantly in love.

Unfortunately she was born with a cleft palate..but fortunately it was contained to the top of her soft palate area and was not as bad as it could have been Lots of stress andLilah and her parents spent several days in the NICU of the local Children's Hospital. There were so many babies there in much worse shape we actually felt lucky.Once she learned to nurse from a special bottle and started gaining weight she was released to go home.

Her mom was able to take some time off from grad school to be with her in her first months.

She was soon smiling...

Even though for awhile her looks were more of the judgmental variety!

She is a happy girl and the apple of several sets of eyes.

She has come over at least once a week or I go see her for my "Lilah fix".

With her Momma today. She will have a mostly cosmetic surgery to close her palate in late summer. A bumpy start but we praise the Lord daily for Miss Lilah. And now you know where I have been! You can always find me on Instagram at hopeandjoyhome. I post there a lot more often as it is quicker and for me a lot more social interaction than pretty much talking to myself here! I will TRY to get back to more regular posting. Hope you have all been well and see you soon! Til next time. Julia