It's Bean-Time!

Man a year goes by fast! It just seems like yesterday I was pickin' and a snappin'. Beans that is. Yesterday we had absolutely gorgeous weather with the temperature reaching only 84 degrees F but I unfortunately didn't get to enjoy much of it. Besides sitting on the deck snapping beans, I was inside canning. Two batches equalling 13 quarts. Canner takes 7 quarts at once but one was for eatin'. Canning one batch takes about 2 hours counting cooking the beans (hot pack), filling the jars, getting them in the canner, processing and finally the cool down to get them out of the canner. Actual processing time is just 25 minutes for quarts.


Even Asher helped with the snappin'. Of course we had to go in and investigate his beans or we might end up eating who knows what. We used bush beans, Kentucky Wonder this year.

These beans are out of our garden even though you see the Walmart bags. Once our buckets get full, we put them in the bags so we can keep picking using our bowls and buckets which are easy to spray with the hose to clean the garden dirt off.

This is a pretty good size sink, the best way to wash them in my opinion. Swirl the beans around then dunk a strainer in to fish them out then spray with water again. Easy peasy.

So here's the fruit of our labor. My labor. I was the only one canning. No one even came in for a drink while I was doing this... hmmm. I only had two casualties. Two jars fell from my counter with a crash and glass went everywhere. Good thing I guess the little fella wasn't under foot.


If you've never canned before, it's actually way less scarier than it sounds. Just get yourself a large canner, jars lids and bands, a jar puller outer thingy (technical name) and canning salt. You can either buy the fresh beans or grow them. Easy and very gratifying. I've got an awesome salsa recipe that you can can here.


Hopefully this is the first of bunches of more jars for the winter. We eat a lot of beans around here. It's just about the only green thing my kid will eat. We've got high temps of 105 Thursday, 106 Friday and Saturday! Thank God I won't be pickin' beans ;) at least for another week or so. Good water time temps.


Catch ya later,

Memories of the Zinnia

Today has been my mom's birthday. She would've been 67. I was just telling a friend that I've gotten out of the I can't believe it stage and moved more into a numb, thick and alone in my thoughts of her stage. For those who don't know, she died of cancer in October 2009. Read about her here.

Zinnia's were one of her most favorite flowers. Every year she would have her seeds that she would've saved from the previous year and some she couldn't resist and bought at the stores. She would procrastinate or lose them (the nut didn't fall too far from the tree on that one) and it could be as late as August and she would still plant them. I would tease her and tell her they wouldn't even bloom for a couple months and she would smile and say laughing "so I'll have flowers at Halloween!" I miss her optimism. I just miss her.

So every year I plant zinnia's for Mom. I have more zinnia's but I didn't get any good pictures of them. So many things I do I still think to myself, Mom like's that or Mom would do it this way. I still imagine her voice in my head talking to me, answering my questions.

So this is for Mom... I love you Mom.

ARt Studio Update

We've got the windows in and just waiting for trim work now. See the progression here. I'm so thrilled with them and what a difference the light makes in this basement studio. I had natural light from a door to the greenhouse but this is even better. Check out my glorious view of my pond and lake. Can you imagine my great big smile about now? I can't wait to finish and get my stuff down there and start painting. Still need to do the floors though. For now they will just be cleaned and sealed. Probably for the best, that way I can be wild and crazy with the paint!


It took a trip to town, lunch at Taco John's and the cost of a new tool for my hubby (a big hammer drill) but we got them in. Just me and him, I kept telling him you get what you pay for in the help department (me)... haha At least he didn't make me use the sledge hammer. I probably would've, but I'd be paying for it today.

first hole

nice view, huh?

window in

how it looks from the outside

door to greenhouse, see how the window ties in

ready for more demo! he knocks 'em down, I pick 'em up

Next window please

it's dark, but they are in!

next morning, a little outside trim work

need some stain or paint but they are in!!!

All this studio business is coming to a halt for a short time though. We picked beans this evening so that means the ol' canner is coming out in the morning. Hope I've got lids. Oh and I picked my first tomatoes today!! Yippee!

Untitled, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

New ARt Studio soon!

My art studio is getting a bigger and better spot. Plans have been in the works for some time now and some progress has finally been made. I'm moving my studio to our basement. Now as dank and depressing as this may sound, it's not too bad in my case. While part of our basement is dark and dank, my part is under the newest part of the house and already has a door with glass in it and we've just freshly painted the walls. They're concrete block walls, but at least I don't have to worry about splashing paint on them!

The door with the glass in it is to my greenhouse and the hubs has bought me 2 large windows to face my new pond (that still isn't quite finished) so my studio will have a great view of the pond, lake and woods. I'm so excited I can't hardly stand it. I can't wait! I wish you could see it, well at least the vision I have in my head for it. I'll have my plants around me all seasons and around for inspiration in the studio.

I need to come up with a snazzy name for it. So I thought I'd ask all my online friends what kind of creative names you can come up with. Any ideas? I was thinking something to do with gardens and art since my greenhouse will open to my art studio. I've been thinking about it for a while and haven't come up with any good names that didn't sound like all I did was garden design or paint just gardens. Names like "Garden Studio" "Greenhouse Art Studio" "Jaime's Art Garden Studio" nah... none of them work. Should I just keep ArtsyFartsyMe? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here's some pictures of the mess.

before - the stuff has been moved around a bit, I didn't live with it quite this messy!

the future window wall - see the red lines, those will be windows

bye bye sickly pink walls

clean slate of the other side

My greenhouse - also a new entrance to my future art studio - mess will be cleaned up ;)
Oh, I also can access my studio from inside the house if you're wondering

In the greenhouse and viewing into the future art studio

Here is the outside of the soon to be window wall

If you've created your studio lately (or not) and found some must have's or wish'd I would have's I'd like to hear about them. Also, I need some better lighting. Does anyone have any great lighting ideas? The windows while producing light are under our deck which is facing west.

Thanks for looking and I'd love to hear some of your studio names or ideas.

Summer Solstice

Enjoy this longest day of the year and the first day of summer for all my Northern Hemisphere friends.

Desert Madness

Desert Madness, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

Another icad. I've lost count on which one. It's supposed to be #18, but I haven't done that many. Ah well. Life and summer... ain't it grand?

This one is still wet and once again squeaking in during the last hour of the day. It reminds me of the desert and cactuses. Or is that cacti?


Speaking of summer... that always goes back to plants for me and yesterday I worked my butt off getting most of the new plants that I bought the other day in the ground and in containers. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and I'll show you as soon as I get the pictures uploaded. I'm finding out that while very convenient, the phone photos are not looking so great after I see them on my computer screen. They look great as I view them on the small phone screen. I may just go back to using my camera. What about you?

In need of intervention

In need of intervention, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

Seriously. More plants, really? I remember walking into the nursery and then it fades. I think my body was possessed. It was an out of body experience. Really.

icad 14 Summer Sun

Summer Sun, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

Summer Sun. Quick fun with Hi-lighters.

I've fallen off the icad wagon, but I'm trying to scurry back on!

Meet our new kitty!

We got her! Meet Mocee Mimosa Moxy. I know, I know. I've already changed her name. I had to compromise with Asher. That's okay, because she is such a Mocee. It suits her. She'll have lots of nicknames along the way I'm sure. I think she'll be an interesting painting subject, too. It's hard to tell from this photo but she is a very graphic looking kitty :) Black and white. She has cute little white feet.

I had to share our happy news and a few pictures. In case you're wondering, sadly they had to put down her mama. She was just too sick, but her babies all survived. That story here.

Asher and Mocee sleeping on the way home.

Again, Asher and Mocee sleeping. She has melted all of our hearts, even my husbands and is helping to mend mine. I still miss Glove terribly, but Mocee has given me another sweet heartbeat on my lap :)

A rare photo of the hub. I had to show his softer side with Mocee

Many more kitten photos to come, I'm sure. Hopefully some sketches, too! I've dropped the ball big time on the icad thing. But I'll do them as I can.

Sale of Vietnam Soldier Montage

Yesterday I mailed off a customized Vietnam Soldier Montage that I created with my friend Gale Woolem's poem if you remember from about a year ago maybe a little longer. Ok, so this is a really bad photo of it, but I matted and framed it up at 11:30 at night and of course I forgot to take a picture the next morning, so I'm glad I at least snapped this with my phone. What handy devices those are!


Here's a digital shot in case you haven't seen it. The client had me customize it with her father in law's photo and rank. It will be presented for Father's Day. What a great gift, I'm sure he will love it. If you would like to have one for yourself or to give, it can be purchased here for $25 plus shipping. I normally sell it just matted, but I can frame it if you prefer.

Tonight I'm going on another ghost hunt/investigation! I'm so excited. My friend that went on the last ghost investigation to Waverly Hills Sanitorium is the one I'm going with. I got a good picture last time of something I cannot explain. An orb that was emitting its own light. So I'm hoping this will be just as good. We are going to some cabins in Rockport, Indiana with a group called SIPI, Southern Indiana Paranormal Investigators. My husband thinks I'm nuts... haha maybe I am. Stay tuned!

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

Here fishy, fishy

Here fishy, fishy, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

Here's my icad for yesterday, 6/6/12 a nasty little fish that doesn't know he's joined the other side yet. Or maybe he does and that's why he has this mischievous grin! See the latest icad's from everyone here.

Oh boy in other news on the home front things are choppy. As most of you know, I lost my sweet kitty Glove early last week. Well, I just missed her so bad that I've already been looking to fill the void. I found a kitty that actually Asher and I have already met when she was just tiny and about a month old back in March. She was born on Leap Day. I made plans to get her today. I've already got a name picked out, bought new kitty toys, etc. etc. and was excited beyond belief.

So this morning I get a call from the kitty's owner and there's been an incident. Oh. Oh no. Miss Kitty, the mama had gotten into some stuff they spray on the fence posts, I'm assuming something like Round Up, and she is very sick and may not make it. The kittens that are left, they fear have crawled all over her and they are waiting for the same symptoms to appear in them. They want us to wait a week to make sure they are going to make it.

*plunk* 

That is the sound of my heart falling to the floor :(

I had to tell Asher first thing that we could not get her this morning and of course he wants to know why. I had to tell him I didn't know. He talks about the new kitten all the time. He is as excited as I am. 

This place is literally over the river and through the woods... haha over two rivers in fact including a ferry. Maybe things happen for a reason and we are not meant to make this hour and a half drive today. I hope that is it and that Miss Kitty and all the others will be okay. I'll keep you posted.

And in case you're wondering I was going to name her Frida and here she is... I sure hope we see her again.

name doodle icad

name doodle icad, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

icad doodles.

Boy these late night photos are not so great :o/

Don't forget to see everyone's icad's here.

full moon - icad 3

full moon - icad 3, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

I was entranced with the moon tonight.

iCAD drawing 2

JaimeHaney2012iCAD2, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
about 1000 calories

scootin' in again late, but I've made it two days in a row now =)

see all the cards from everyone here

iCAD #1

JaimeHaney2012iCAD1, a photo by Jaime Haney on Flickr.

Here's my first icad (index card a day) and I am sliding and screeching in on two wheels but I made it.