[traditions] are back

it seems the pandemic is officially behind us, so please let the traditions resume! like going to tomaso's before enjoying the italian bizarre!

pretty in [yellow]

finally, the yellow sunflowers bloomed.  

i had lost two before they had fully bloomed to some hungry squirrels, so i was anxious to take a pic before the same fate happened to this one.  partly because so much time had gone into growing these tall beauties, but mostly because i was so happy to finally have this natural representation of my home state in my yard for everyone to see.

flowered with [flowers]

 so i know i've mentioned my obsession with sunflowers this year, but i have a hidden obsession as well.

a couple of weeks ago, a neighbor down the street, i don't know all that well, gave me some bulbs she said were dahlia's.  a flower i was not familiar on, let alone how to grow it.  i did some research and thankfully they're not too complicated to grow.  so along with the sunflowers, i've been caring for these dahlia's which are finally blooming and are gorgeous!  apparently the hardest part of caring for dahlia's are this fall when i have to dig up the bulbs and care for them this winter.  i'll let you know how that goes.  for now please enjoy these photos.

here comes the sun[flower]

 the first sunflower to bloom was one of the red ones!

 

 

path of the sun[flowers]

 progress on the sunflowers about 7 to 8 weeks after planing.

[chalked] on the fourth of july

 couldn't not do a flag for this months chalk drawing.

life is a [chalk] beach

 the suns out finally so i thought that fact should be honored in the month of june!

turning [to] your dad

 with the pandemic loosening up a bit, my parents were finally able to book tickets to visit in the first time in nearly two years. the main reason for the trip was to get them acquainted with their granddaughter which they hadn't seen for much too long.  however i had other plans.

i'm not the best handy man, i mean i'm no idiot, but there are just some household items that i've never encountered before and small projects that would be easier with two people.  two items i wanted help from my dad included a leaking outside spigot and installing a screen door on the porch. as i mentioned i could have done the door myself, it was just easier with help, but i had no idea about the spigot.  luckily dad new exactly what was going on.  both projects involved only one, initial trip to the hardware store, which never happens and both projects were a success!  there's now a functional screen door on the porch and the outside spigot doesn't leak.

i absolutely love my dad and doing these small projects around the house with him filled a hole in my heart and had developed with the distance this pandemic created.

love you pop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

here comes the sun[flowers]

 wanting to bring a little bit of kansas to the yard, at the end of may i planted sunflower seeds.  as there's not a lot to do during the pandemic this has become my obsession. watering, weedeing, checking on them everyday....

it took a week or two but i'm finally starting to see the [tiny][tiny] fruits of my labor as a few sprouts finally poked up out of the ground. 

kansas here we come....sort of.

stop and smell the [chalk]

 well it looks like april showers brought may flowers...so i thought it deserved to be [chalk]ed.

beard[surge]

i took this [selfie] for two reasons.  

one, to show my support for wichita's new baseball team, the wind surge,

 and

two, to document my pandemic beard which has gotten out of control.  i didn't plan on it, but when you never have to leave the house for anything and don't ever see people, this just sorta happens.  however with vaccinations happening and places opening up, maybe it's time to let the beard go as well. 

we'll see....

 

 

 

 

[chalky][chalky]night

thought i'd try something a little different on this drawing. not great but at least you can tell what i was attempting.

 

chalk [wright]ing

 maybe it's the fact architalx was this month but this weeks chalk drawing had some serious architecture influence from the man himself.  i;m sure frank would cringe at this drawing but the neighbors seem to enjoy it.

[chalk]rock

 [chalk] this drawing up to listening to some classic yacht rock.

april [chalk]

 hoping this drawing rings true and convinces april to hold up to it's reputation as we could use some rain.

[chalk] it up to luck

 a little rusty with the chalk drawings since taking a winter break, but i thought the neighborhood could use some luck getting us into some warmer weather.

home is where the [bread] is

obviously, this whole "cooking and making food that reminds me of home because we're stuck in the middle of a global pandemic and i can't visit my family" continued this week with the making of my dad's banana bread.  

staying true to my childhood i let it cool just enough before cutting off a slice and eating it while it was still warm. 

i'm going to be as big as a house if this pandemic continues and i keep cooking.

a [box of chalk] that never [runs] out

this weeks chalk art is brought to you by a huge new box of chalk, with several new colors, i received from my daughter for fathers day.

it's also inspired by one of my favorite movie scenes of all time, the elevator scene in "500 days of summer" where the two main characters discover their mutual love for "the smiths."

sea of [chalk]

this week's chalk art inspired by one of my favorite songs, i discovered from a movie i really didn't like all that much. [crepuscolo sul mare] from "ocean's 12"

pretty in [chalk]

this weeks chalk art is brought to you by rain.  i've been letting mother nature decide when the slate needed to be wiped clean for a new sketch, but a lack of rain the last few weeks meant that damn hot air balloon enjoyed an extended stay on the sidewalk.  this weeks drawing was inspired by my love of pink lawn flamingos as well as the classic 80's movie i've watched twice this week.  due to positive feedback from the neighbors, this also represents the first piece i practiced and sketched out beforehand, to [step up my game] a bit.