Trying to get unstuck

       I have no idea how I cannot get posts up. I am working on quilts and paintings and gardening, and I take photos of it, but I cannot sit down and write. My brain seems bound up. I know I have been suffering sleep issues and the normal stuff. I want to get something down here. I think I need to stop reading so many distressing reports and world events as I think that may sucking the juice out of me. I will try and show work I have completed and not try to backtrack what I have missed blogging about. Thank you to those who keep at it that I read everyday. Thank you to those who emailed to see if I was ok. I will try to do baby steps and get posting.
    One quilt that is kind of funky I finished is Jimmy John, free pattern from Jo's Country Junction. A woman in my guild had given me a free jelly roll and I thought it was perfect for this. The tomatoes and peppers will appeal to someone who needs some humorous comfort. I quilted the white part with leaves in Glide Willow (thank you, Julie for showing that color idea). The print parts I just did long line quilting. Rosie jumps in to inspect.

Detail

Backing was donation, green strip to widen, striped binding

     Some spring tulip photos as they were very gorgeous this year in April!

Cool spring

      It has been a rainy, cold spring here. Lots of dark clouds. One thing that has resulted is that the tulips and spring flowers last a lot longer. There are still good looking daffodils among the tulips. In December, we had to take down an oversized oak tree and we were able to plant two columnar trees- a sweetgum and a Pacific Fire maple (great looking color branches). Still, the garden is behind in cleanup and planting due to the weather. Today, the sun came out and it is actually getting close to 60 degrees!

Yellow hellebore

Bleeding Hearts

Dirt area where oak was. Far right, the sweetgum, middle, the Pacific Fire.

Pacific Fire Maple

Rain, rain go away

     The weather has been very wet. And cold. And I think we only had 2 dry days in a row for over a month. The trees are very slow to leaf out. I know many areas of the country have way more wet weather, but the grayness gets to you. Thankfully, the tulips have come up and opened. The cool weather has them hang around a bit longer. There is a limited blue sky time to photo them before the gray rolls in again. 
      Tulips are my favorite flower, but in big groups. I buy mine from White Flower Farm and get the assorted Darwin perennials. My husband makes little cages of hardware cloth for the bulbs to foil the squirrels. So, if you need a dose of spring, follow below.

Tulips on Yupo and in the garden

     I just simply love tulips. I plant bunches every year. I love the ones from White Flower Farm. Last year, for the first time ever, the squirrels unearthed and ate every one. This past fall, my husband and I made cages from hardware cloth for all the bulbs. No nibbles and now Pow! tulips. Enjoy the garden and my painting on Yupo of some tulips. More paintings are on my flickr site.