Wishing all a fabulous fourth…. a time to celebrate our indpendence…and be grateful to those who are defending our right to freedom!!  Enjoy your weekend!!

I will be closing the Tasha Tudor booklet below….Wednesday July 9th so if you have any friends who may be interested. in posting before it goes to the family ……. please let them know..Thanks

CIAO!!

JO

On June 18, 2008 the world lost one who has touched the lives and souls of many many people… Tasha Tudor passed at the age of 92…..you may think you dont know who she is and while you may not recognize her name … you will understand once I mention the book …..Mother Goose…  This was one of over one hundred books that Ms Tudor illustrated…  with fun …whimsical … fascinating drawings…. Her first being Pumpkin Moonshine

Mother Goose …….. a book that has been read to children the world over since they were knee high to a grasshopper… since 1945

Her legacy will live on for those of us who admired her work…. And for those who havent you can visit this website and I know you will recognize …perhaps something from your childhood…..that will make you smile …. and remember …… and know …. she blessed us with her talent…. it was her gift to us 

http://www.Tashatudorandfamily.com

If you are so touched by her please leave a comment here… as I am planning on making it into a booklet to send to her family….. I WILL LEAVE THIS POST UP FOR AT LEAST A WEEK IF NOT LONGER AND WILL WRITE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE WHEN IT IS CLOSED SO THAT THOSE OF US WHO HAVE FELT SHE WAS A PART OF OUR LIVES CAN BE INCLUDED  … ALL COMMENTS WILL BE PRINTED AND SENT TO THE FAMILY… I promise it will be lovely

HUGS

JO

Welcome….   While I dont have a garden per se…. I do have a small lovely outdoor area on my deck which is my garden du jour… at least to me anyway …. so pull up a chair and sit …. relax…. have a cuppa…. tea …coffee ….beverage of choice …. maybe a few  cookies and  enjoy my lovely array of flowers

We will start off with my bird bath … which is in a small patch of area in the back yard…

Since I really dont have one (a yard) …. I decided to take advantage of the small  lovely space so that I could watch the birds bathe and enjoy the coolness of the water…. they do have fun…. but it has been difficult to capture them splashing around as they book for the trees the second they see me with camera in hand…. they sure do have my number by golly….

I love ivy… and in my yard or what I have of a yard it is all over the place… climbing up the trees… all over the ground … and one of my favorite areas of all…. the garden planter below…

Now along with the ivy there may be a little something of interest … and if you look closely you may see a surprise visitor…. keeping cool  and “thinking” he’s cool … hiding in the shade of the leaves

One of the window boxes I hung on the railing of my deck

A little fleur de lis…

This little blue metal planter is one of my favorites…

I have several of these below hanging on the outside walls around the deck

A little bit of art…

Someone gave me this metal planter which I really love and I put some kind of creeping ground cover in it last year… it came back again this year… and I am sure it will drape and look lovelier and fuller as the summer progresses….

My Italian Garden is starting to fill out …. I added some annuals and a few perennials to the boxes.. and may do a bit more to them should I see something that strikes my fancy…

A little night shot….

My little friend here keeps watch over the garden and the deck…  He’s my bud…

View from my kitchen….

And a little side shot…

Can’t have a garden without a few flowers here and there and a surprise or two…

And lets not forget the rose… with all its fascinating colors…

What a knockout!!

What have we here?   A couple of dragon flies going for a carpet ride…

And no garden would be complete without herbs…   we have… Rosemary..

Chives….

Some oregano and thyme….  Love this idea… and yes I painted the design on the chair…. never did get around to putting the finials on the ends though…

More Thyme… and believe it or not… I forgot a picture of my sage… no parsley though

This is actually an iron planter on legs and I just added all kinds of things…. a bit of basil.. dill.. marjoram.. savory… oregano…   and once again… no parsley

A lovely view of the woods from my deck… so serene

And last but not least… no garden would be complete without this little creature to tear it all up…

I hope you enjoyed my tour…I have a lot more to show…   perphaps another day….. I will provide links below to Deenas  blog… she is one to admire … and is such an inspiration…

Since I am  not computer savy I have not figured out how to add the graphics and link for the click for the cure but Deena and many others have it on their side bars…. please click so others may receive a free mamogram if needed… and dont forget to visit all the other gardens… at…

WWW.DEENASSTORY.BLOGSPOT.COM 

Thank You All

CIAO!!

JO

I just wanted to show everyone what a miracle is all about …. someone close to me had an accident tonight ….  photo below…. so as not to compromise anything …. I cropped the picture … but that is the drivers side of the car… this person was amazingly not hurt…. how I dont know…although I dont think they will be feeling too well tomorrow…. this pic does not show the detail of how badly this car is dented in.. the car handle is broken in three pieces and the glass was blown out of the car window….  the back side door is bent open….but its so much worse in detail

So I apologize for not having my garden done as yet…it was a rough night….  I have to help take care of matters… insurance …. car replacement etc..

SO  forgive me for not having my garden pics up… just dont give up on me… please dont give up on me…. I will get there eventually

Stay safe my friends

HUGS TO ALL

CIAO!!

JO

An FYI update on the garden tour…. we have extended it all week to enable those of us who are a bit slow (like me) to get their pics up and enable everyone to have time to go through all the blogs that have signed up

PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON

Now….. in honor of my dad who is no longer with me…who would dance with me by putting  my feet on top of his so I could reach … who would sit me on his knee and sing to me …..and who I miss ….especially when times get tough and you want to run to daddy for a hug and kiss

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!

CIAO!!

JO

Dear Friends… this is a very special post…  my friend Deena who has been going through chemotherapy for cancer and just finished her last one….is having a virtual garden tour for the cure on June 15th…. below is an  excerpt from her blog with an explanation on what to do… I hope you will join me  … she is a beautiful person and this is such a fantabulous way to bring awareness to this great cause

Her link is at the bottom of this post where you will find a lot more information and  for those of you able to add links to your side bar she has provided them on her blog also

Saturday May 31, 2008

Garden Tour Event** BlogLand

I’ve been tossing this idea around all week
I want to host an online Garden Walk
hoping lots of bloggers will join.

I’d like each participants site to have the option
of clicking
to fund mammograms (at the left on my blog) Any donations to the Komen Foundation would have to be made by clicking HERE
I’d also like votes for the favorite garden
& the winning Garden gets a hand made journal from
my hands, with a lovely garden theme.

My dream is to SOMEDAY make this a local
event here in the Peoria Area with nearby gardens participating with the fee for admissions going to the Komen Foundation.

I’m tossing this out for you to get ready for now.
I’m hoping a virtual garden tour date 6/15/2008
so start taking pictures now..so we’ll have a variety of
blooms and greens to share.

Birds, butterflies, toads, bugs, wildlife and garden art
are desired too!

Add your blogspot to the Mr Linky below NOW
and add the banner to the side bar
Tell your BBFF too.

***You will add yourself to MR LINkie TOUR again after you post your tour
pictures on June 15th.
It will need the address to that POST.
I’ll be first on and show you how on June 15th***

I’d love to see
as many as we can join in.

As I work on getting it all ready.

Leave a comment on this blog , if you’ll join me!! PLEASE!!
you can even post pics of a neighbors garden if they
don’t blog.

JOYS

the sun is out
God gave me a focus
feeling a bit better each day
chemo is over for GOOD I pray
the idea of a “Nestle in the Garden ,Tour for the Cure”
the promise each new day brings
roses in bloom
Share your joys with us &
Please pray for all who suffer & are lost

Ok…so I know I have been MIA ,,,quite a bit lately… but it hasn’t been in vain….  I thought I would show you  just a few of the many items I have been working on for my boutique…. www.NeereAnDearCreations.com  …   I will be adding these and much more within the next two weeks…  they will be listed in the Peachy Beachy…Romance & Roses… Childrens Corner … and Miscellaneous categories… keep checking back for even more goodies 

The first one … so cute!  ….my flamingos…. was painted from a photo provided by Janet @ www.Shabbyfufu.com …I must thank her for allowing me to use this picture…  I love it …. it has a a pale green/blue background that I distressed to give it a very worn beachy look

The rest of the items below are my own original designs … drawn from an idea in my head or from one of my own photos

Next…. my lemon topiary…it has a wonderful butter cream background and was painted on canvas with a mixed media of acrylics and pastels …this could go in just about any room in the house… I love the soft colors

Next…. my little Faerie… I wanted to name her but haven’t come up with one yet…suggestions are welcome….she is just a doll…  this whimsical little beauty has such a sweet face… piercing blue eyes and was painted on canvas with a mixed media combination of acrylics….watercolor… and pastels… I just want to hug her!

I love this pillow…. this is from a photo I took last summer… I trimmed it in a vintage inspired trim and coordinating fabric… isnt that a gorgeous rose?….. more of these to come using guest photos… cant wait…

This last item will be coming soon …. can you guess what it is? … I don’t think so… its not canvas…not exactly that is…. not wood….its not fabric either….  have to wait on this one..it’s …Coming Soon!

Well thats it for now… I have been working hard… looking forward to taking a break soon to get my house in order… you should see …..its in complete disarray … with inventory from one end to the other… 

I hope you enjoyed my sneak peek …. lots more to come… some announcements to make…. the boutique has been given a bit of a revamp and I am thrilled with all the goodies I will be posting  soon…

If you are interested in any of these items before they get posted please leave a comment or email address where I can reach you…

Have a wonderful weekend!

Til next time!

Ciao!!

JO

In loving memory of my Mom Anne and my Grandmother Rose…. 

I never got to know Rose she was gone before I was born… but the stories I heard of her as a child made me feel as if she was always there…..  beautiful … regal … a matriarch…. she came over from Italy to New York and I am …. so proud ….of my lineage  ….

My mother Anne…   Oh how she was my rock… the glue that held our family together… the typical Italian mother who made our friends… eat …. eat… eat.. even if you had finished three plates already   !!… when we sat down to dinner there was always room for one more ….   Always….  even if there wasnt enough food .. she made it stretch somehow….

My fondest memory as a child was of my Dad singing to her… he loved to sing … so many songs… Thats amore…..but the one that struck a cord was a song that went …. Annie! how I love ya …how I love ya … my dear old Annie!….   It was such a joy to hear my dad belt out a tune to profess his love to my mother….   she would get this smile on her face … much like the one in the picture above…

I believe my greatest achievement is …my two daughters…  Renee …Andrea… the inspiration for the name of my boutique NeereAnDear…….. they make me proud….  and I will be spending my day tomorrow with them… something I look most forward to

So in honor of Rose and Anne …..to all moms now and their moms before them… including those who have pets for “children”  ….   I wish you a fabulous Mothers Day

CIAO!!

JO

APRIL SHOWERS….

BRING ….SOON TO BE ….MAY FLOWERS ….

Now… I recently realized…. that since I have been blogging….. I haven’t shown very many of my favorite things or much of my art… this next piece is a bit of both…. I apologize in advance because this is sitting surrounded by boxes right now until I get things where I want them… hence the angle of the pictures…. it was a bit difficult to get really great shots…. se la vie

This is a dresser that I painted when I lived in Florida and is an actual scene looking out my french doors to the back yard  where the oak tree was draped with moss and surrounded by azalea bushes and the mimosa was in bloom….

As you can see I brought the painting all the way up to the top…

A few closeups..

The azaleas around the oak…

The top of the dresser…

Ok … so being artsy so to speak … and not one to conform to the norm all the time… I decided to do a bit of whimsy along the sides…. it really is nice if you can see the full effect and once it finds it’s place… I will show you the “whole” picture……  keep an open mind now…

Different eh?

Ok …. so a while ago Janet …. of Shabbyfufu fame …. who has a lovely boutique  with lots of fab eye candy and the neatest tea lights…. need I say I want one!!….. did a piece about her favorite “seat”….. on her blog at http://www.Shabbyfufu.blogspot.com/ …. so …. to keep with that theme…. here are a few of mine….

I love this chair … I bought it at an antique store in Northern Virginia …years ago… many … wont say HOW many…. but many years ago…. it was my first ever antique purchase and just something I fell in love with at first sight…  it is very sturdy ….. the details are stupendous… and most unusual… I have never seen another like it….

Did you notice whats on the back of the chair?  My hummers ….of course….

Next… I bought two of these chairs at a consignment shop in FL…. they are sitting on my front porch right now but I have plans for them in a garden setting… trying to decide if I want to leave them out for now to get rusty or put them up … tough decision….

Love the back….

And the lattice….

Ok so I know a lot of you ladies love chippy… well this is what I definitely call chippy! Don’t you love its shabbiness?…

 Now here is my favorite chair of all… I know you will understand why….

Sorry … but she just cracks me up!!    I found her like that the day after we had several days of rain storms…   guess she wanted some sun….

Now… one more thing and I will call it a day…. Linda Oneill at http://www.Abbycreek-art.blogspot.com  … had this link on her blog where you do a quiz to find out “What celebrity is your dog” ?  ….  PJ… it seems is Angelina Jolie… 

So here is Ms Diva herself

What do you think?

CIAO!!

JO

BEFORE I START WITH MY POST:   I have been getting spam sent to me from my own email address… I do not now… nor will I ever…. send out spam… if anyone has received any emails from me to that effect please let me know…  I will take the necessary steps to try and get the situation fixed…. you can notify me through my contact information on my website…  Thank you and I apologize for any confusion this may have caused

 NOW ON TO NICER THINGS….

Ahh spring is in the air…. so let me start with a few pics of just a couple flowers…

This first is of the heather that is just about ready to quit blooming … the flowers will fall off soon but for now the scent is quite heavenly

Next is Candy Tuft… I love the way it looks like little snowballs and is full and lush

Right now they are not planted but sitting in these containers which I want to do something creative with…. (paint?  patina? ideas are welcome)…  I really like clay pots better but they will do for now….. This is all in the planning stages…. my goal is to achieve an Italian like garden … but one that will last through winter for privacy…   I have a lot more to add to it… and as I stated nothing has been set in soil as yet so I can arrange and rearrange if I wish… though I like the placement so far in my effort to make my outdoor living space a comfortable place to relax …..lots more to come at a later date

Now on to my date with Andrew…. as the sun set in brilliant hues on what was an absolutely lovely day … cool breezes softly stirring in the trees….

And the moon cast a fascinating glow from above ….

I sat and listened as Andrew Loyd Weber spoke to me from my stereo … along with Il Divo…. and a few other good friends….  and did nothing but soothe my weary soul …. what could be more heavenly than that??

CIAO AND HUGS TO ALL

JO