scGoddess

Wednesday With Oma

2011-10-12T16:59:00.001-04:00

I really have not fallen off the edge of the earth....just teetering on the brink.

Jack started pre-school in late August. Since then, I have had my Wednesday with Ewan routine. Gretchen drops him off after she leaves pre-school. That gives her the chance to run her errands with just one tyke -a much easier proposition. It also gives me the chance to spend alone time with Ewan.

We start our morning at Drip - a really neat new coffee place in Five Points. They make a great hot chocolate (really just warm) for Ewan and a super cafe au lait for me. I lift him up to the counter so he can choose something from the bakery display. Ewan sits so carefully while we have our treats. The people at Drip are so sweet, Ewan gets lots of attention.

Once we are done there, we set off on our own errands. Once, Ewan helped me pick out treats for Chloe's adoption day. He also gave me great advice on a pair of shoes I saw in a window. He said they looked awesome and I should buy them. They are awesome and I did buy them!!

We hit Target or World Market sometimes...and always end up at Publix for our grocery shopping. Wednesday is Senior Day and I love a discount.

The past couple of weeks, Ewan has asked to stay at Oma's for lunch. He picks what he wants - so far, PB&J or hot dogs. And if he eats everything - he gets some bunny cookies.

It is lots of fun for all of us!!

I promise to return soon..........no, really.

The Earth Is Not Flat and.......

2011-04-23T09:29:00.000-04:00

I have not fallen off the edge. I know this may be news for some.....I have not posted in FOREVER!!! No really good reason, just stuff getting in my way. Not much time today, if I do not make progress on some of my projects, I will be buried alive in The Black Hole.

Got a shiny new camera for Christmas - still trying to figure out how to use all the functions. I hate it that there is no paper manual. Online is OK but I cannot refer to it when I really need it. Put it on my NookColor, but still not the most handy.

Hope to get photos of Sean's quilt up in the next few days. Ready to get it quilted - maybe today or tomorrow....

And This Is What I Wore......

2010-11-27T18:39:00.002-05:00

to THE GAME.....

On the Bottom.....
boots
wool socks
long underwear
flannel lined jeans

On the Top....
long underwear

long sleeved cotton top

sweater
2 polartec jackets
hat
scarf
leather gloves
fleece mittens

I waddled when I walked, I had so much on my body.......but I stayed warm!! It was a cold, blustery day. The wind was the worst - but once you get wedged into your seat, it breaks the wind a little. Sure made a big difference when the sun was behind a cloud - got really cold then.

The Buckeyes made the day warmer by winning 37 to 7 over that team from the state up north. Probably won't go to another game this late in the season again, but I am glad we went today.

Tomorrow it is off to the art supply store - no surprise there!! Then we will probably start home in the afternoon. We will go as far as we can, then finish it off on Monday. I do miss my Chloe!!!

Sean

2010-11-05T11:48:00.000-04:00

Thanks to MamaD for the pic of this adorable baby. I will add more of all three when I get the chance to snap some pics.

I Am Still Alive.......... Barely

2010-11-05T10:15:00.001-04:00

Yes, it is now November and I have not posted in a long time. I guess to say it has been busy here is an understatement.

Since it is doubtful that I can add everything that has happened, or even remember it all, I'll just hit a couple of highlights and promise to do better in the future (that's a laugher!!)

Beach Week....
Spent a fabulous week at Folly Beach in September with family and friends. Celebrated our 40th there. It was so much fun....being lazy, fun on the beach, a bit of drinking and just spending time with those we love the most.

This is what EmmieM looked like at the end of the week....that tells you what our week was like!!

After Beach Week, our big event was the birth of Sean Declan on September 22. He arrived weighing in at 10 lbs 12 oz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gretchen kept saying he was a big one. Mother knows best, I guess.

OK, things are not going well again......lost several paragraphs of this post AGAIN!!! I had this issue before.

So before I lose any more, here is a pic of Chloe. I will post more about her another time......

We are at Myrtle Beach visiting BIL Jerry. I will get back to irregular life tomorrow, like that will ever happen! But I do promise to TRY to keep up better......

Stash Busters!!

2010-07-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

It has been blazing hot around here. June was one of the hottest on record. Even with the A/C blasting, I got so hot just moving around. Solution???? Sit in the recliner and knit. I have a rather large stash of yarn......stop laughing out there. OK - it is a huge stash. I did get rid of a big bag a few months ago, but I still have enough to keep me busy for awhile. So my plan now is to use up some of the yarn I already have. To that end, I have been knitting like crazy. Found a cute pattern for a ruffled scarf - it is short, good for use with a sweater or jacket. It is easy, except for the casting on 648 sts!! I have done 3 so far - using a decent amount of fingering yarn.

Including a few pics. I love the three all together on the table. They look like cute ruffle circles. They are definitely for winter wear - keeps the neck toasty warm. MamaD wants one, will have to find more recipients, I certainly cannot use them all myself. Besides, I see more of them in my knitting future....

First up on the schedule ....2 cute sweater vests for 2 VERY handsome young boys. MamaD found the pattern - it has a pocket on the front for treasures. I did have to buy the yarn for these - really, I did have to buy more yarn for this!! Will get started this weekend - pics to follow during the process.

We escaped the heat around the 4th of July by going to the Deuce with MamaD and the boys. We were able to play outside without melting and had fun at the barn at the Biltmore. The boys enjoyed the animals a lot - Ewan hugged some of the sheep and held a baby chick. It was fun but tiring....children are definitely for the younger set!!

Back to Abnormal

2010-06-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

I am back to my old abnormal self again. After I got back from Seattle, we were off to Nashville to see James Taylor and Carole King in their reunion tour. They were going to be in both Charlotte and Atlanta - each closer to us than Nashville - but we were out of town for each of those. They were in Seattle the week before I got there too. So it was off to Tennessee - and it was worth every mile. JT was his usual mellow self but Carole King rocked the house. We stayed right downtown so we could walk to the concert - and there was a Flying Saucer just across the street. Lots of fun!!

Then it was off to Ohio for a family wedding. We went a couple of days early so we could catch up with distant family. We had dinner at Schmidt's Sausage Haus with Kay, Fred, Steve & Pam - Bahama Mamas were delish!! We had seats right in front of the musical entertainment - loud but fun. On Friday night we had dinner at Buca de Beppo - what a blast. Kay, Fred, Jerry and Greta & the boys joined us at the kitchen table there. It did not matter how loud or rowdy the boys were there - no one to disturb and the kitchen is loud anyway. My favorite part was watching Jack - when the hostess would bring groups through before seating them, Jack would give his best 'parade wave' and say "Hi people" as they came through!! I guess he thought he was the kitchen greeter....

It was a rainy weekend in Columbus but the wedding squeezed in between showers. Jack & Ewan had great fun at the reception - they were dancing fools. Jack really enjoyed seeing his second cousins from Atlanta again - he loves to talk about Mary Kate.

Now that we are back from Ohio - I am not traveling again.....not for awhile anyway. I got so tired of being on the go - May was the worst - I was hardly home at all. I will go to the Deuce, but that is still home, and to the beach in September - and I will stay put the rest of the time.

I have managed to make some progress in The Black Hole. At least, I can walk across the room without tripping on something. I have finished Miss Jasmine's road trip journal....pictures to follow. Working on knitting too - trying to use up yarn in stash - maybe I can make a dent in the pile!!

Here are a few journal pages....

Day 5

2010-05-18T20:06:00.001-04:00

I arrived at about 2:30pm yesterday - an early day. I was able to get an early start and I gained an hour along the way. It was a gorgeous drive - but I did not get any pics. It was rainy a lot and when it was not raining, there was no place to pull over.

I managed to get to Nick's with only one wrong turn and that was easily corrected. The best thing was that he managed to get rid of his car just hours after I arrived. Here is Miss Jasmine at her new home. She will have to get used to living outside now. But I think she will be happy here in Seattle.

Now for the really fun part.....we came to Sully's to celebrate the arrival of Miss Jasmine. Since she cannot really celebrate....I did. It was a 3 Margarita night for me!!! I even got back to Nick's more or less under my own steam.

So, it is Taco Tuesday at Sully's.....that calls for more Margaritas - on my second now. Better stop typing now, soon I won't be able to see straight.....

Day 4

2010-05-16T20:08:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Missoula, Montana. A fairly easy drive today, less than 600 miles. And it was a whole lot more scenic than the previous days.

I woke up way too early - body still on eastern time. But since I went to sleep soooo early last night, it all evened out. Little Gillette, Wyoming even has a Starbucks, so I treated myself to a morning latte. I figured after all of the gas station coffee I have had, I deserved it. Starbucks is mot my favorite but it hit the spot.

The road across Wyoming and Montana is miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. The exits are few and far between and most are really just access to the local ranchers. Now for the big question....Does a Goddess pee beside the road??? You betcha!!! I was so desperate, no rest areas, no gas stations...luckily, not many cars either. I tried to be very discreet...but let me know if there are any videos up on U-Tube of "Woman Peeing Beside I-90 in Montana".

Hello Iowa....This is a scenic overlook!! This is one of the first glimpses of the mountains as I drove this morning. There were myriads more sights like this but if I kept stopping to take pics, I'd have never got here.

Tomorrow I will get to Seattle. I will be celebrating with Margaritas at Sully's...lots of them.

Tonight I will continue sorting those 1750 photos I imported last week.

Day 3

2010-05-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

OK, this will probably be short - I am knackered!! (Can you tell I watch BBC America a lot??) I drove 767 miles today, a little over 11 hours.

I am now in Gillette, Wyoming...not the biggest place ever but not too small. I drove around a few minutes till I found a Chinese restaurant for dinner - I was so hungry. Now I am full and can hardly keep my eyes open.

Anyone who has driven across South Dakota will recognize this...there are signs forever telling you to stop at Wall Drug. It is funny - there is absolutely nothing for miles out there. So stopping at Wall Drug is a little diversion - and the food is good. they also have all sorts of oddities there. I figured that Miss Jasmine should not miss this cultural icon!! Really did not stop long - just to snap a pic.

Thought I would stick this one in for no particular reason....driving across Iowa is not the most scenic experience - although, it does beat Illinois. So imagine my surprise when there was a 'scenic overlook' sign near Council Bluffs. I figured that I really should go look - it was the only one I saw, after all. So I pulled off and I was the only car there - no surprise there. There was a tower-like structure to climb. Since I did not see much of a scenic view from the ground, I climbed it - and you know how I hate heights!! So this is the pic of the 'scenic view'!!!!! Not sure how to tell Iowans, but this is a STINKY SCENIC VIEW!!!!

Day 2

2010-05-14T20:22:00.001-04:00

Today was nearly 700 miles....very boring miles. I always thought that Indiana was flat & boring but Illinois takes the cake. Went all the way on I-74 - saw enough flat farmland to last a lifetime. Getting into Iowa was a relief......God, I never thought I'd say that!! At least, the land is a little rolling. A little topographical interest, very little, but I'll take it.

I saw this sign at the first rest area in Illinois...I laughed out loud when I read it. When I got back with my camera to snap a pic, there was another woman taking one with her cell phone. She used to live in Illinois but moved away - she was sending this to all her friends in California.

I told her it should read 'Mile after monotonous mile.'

One more tidbit - in case you ever need it, the rest areas in Iowa on I-80 have free Wi-Fi.

Need sleep....another long day tomorrow.

Road Trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-13T19:56:00.001-04:00

I just finished Day 1 of Miss Jasmine's Farewell Tour...at least, my farewell to her. I got a new car last month and Miss Jasmine is on her way to Seattle to be with Nick. In a fit of complete insanity, I agreed to drive her to her new home - Nick really cannot get time off to do it himself. So we left at noon today on our 3000 mile odyssey - which is also the kind of car I just got!! We managed to get to Lexington KY today. Had to wait till noon to leave - Greta had a doctor's appointment and I watched the boys.

Today was easy, just 450 miles - and nothing fun to see. I have driven this route many times...the next few days will be more fun. I haven't driven this way in 14 years.

Here is Jasmine, ready to be loaded. I had to pack carefully - because I am flying home and cannot haul too much. Some of it is consumables - drinks and protein bars, and a few other snacks. The cooler will be ditched and maybe some of the clothes. I searched my winter things for stuff I can live without...it will be cool going across Wyoming and Montana.

This is the journal I made to document our journey. I will journal about our trip and glue in any junk I pick up along the way.

This is an example of some of the pages in the journal. I used some of the papers I painted last spring in the garage. I did spray them with a matte finish - they are watercolor paint and I do not want them to run. But the spray was WAY stinky - had to air it out on the patio before I packed it. I will take pics of the pages as I get them done.

Here is a photo of Kiawah Island. John had a golf outing on Monday and a board meeting on Tuesday morning at The Sanctuary resort there. So we checked in Sunday afternoon and had a great Mother's Day dinner there. This is the view from our patio - it is so beautiful there. John fed the water on the Ocean Course - it is a bit above his skill level.

This is what I did while there - meet my new laptop. She is great and so much faster than my old one. I had backed up all my photos and images onto an external drive - and I imported all of them to the new one. However, I did not realize that they would be imported all in one huge folder, not in the ones I had them in before. So I spent hours going through 1750 images, sorting into folders. Actually, I am still not finished - I will spend more time on this trip finishing the job.

More tomorrow....

Daisy May

2010-05-07T12:19:00.000-04:00

Our beloved Daisy May went to doggie heaven April 26. It just broke our hearts to watch her struggle to walk. For awhile, she would fall, then bounce back - seemingly not bothered at all. But it kept getting worse - she could not get around outside and had to eat lying down. I think she was ready - when I took her to the vet, she curled up on the table and did not try to get up. I rubbed her ears and told her she was the sweetest dog ever. We miss her terribly.

WooooooHoooooo!!!!

2010-04-05T18:19:00.001-04:00

I am now staple free!! I took a pain pill before I went to the doctor's office - I was afraid it would be really painful. It was not as bad as I expected and the result is fantastic. Now I can bend over a whole lot better and move around ever so much better. I can drive and do whatever I am comfortable doing. Just have to be careful not to overdo. Will be able to work out with weights next week - being careful with lower body work.

There is so much I want to get done, now working on getting some energy back. Already eating better again, appetite coming back (just hope it does not come back too well!!).

Back to the Cubs game.....opening day and they are breaking my heart already.

30 Miles of Bad Road

2010-03-31T21:31:00.002-04:00

Thought I'd start this post off with a few shots of my home-away-from-home from March 24 to 29. It is a long story, so grab a cool drink and come along for the ride.......

When last I posted, I was scheduled to see the surgeon on the 22nd. I was feeling really good by then, no pain at all. The doctor poked around a bit - hurt a teensy bit. Also ordered blood work - if white count was elevated he would do the surgery right away, otherwise on Wednesday, the 24th. He did sort of wonder why my CT scan was so long before the appointment. I just said I was out of town - no need to go into the whole story. Did not need him to question my sanity at that point.....the rest of us already know about my lack of sanity. No elevated white count, no fever - surgery scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Had to be at hospital at 7am, I was second on his list that day. The nurse told me I would be kept overnight. The plan was to try a laproscopic surgery - but since I have had several abdominal surgeries already, he said he might have to do an open one because of adhesions. I would have to wait till I woke up to find out. I got a call from the hospital early that morning asking if I could get to the hospital sooner - doctor's first surgery canceled. We were a block away, so it worked out. I got expressed through the registration - more bloodwork (still no elevated white count) and temp of 97.8. Fast tracked into surgery - did not have time to get nervous.

Next thing I remember is waking up in recovery with a desert dry mouth and my lips sticking to my teeth. Got a little ice and spent time waiting to be admitted to my room. Was in and out while there so got little info. After awhile, I went to room 333 at Palmetto Baptist, my hide-away for the next 5 days.

John came in after I got settled into room. I was still out of it mostly. Had no concept of time. Soon Doctor K came in - his first comment was that I had the worst appendix he had ever seen!! A Goddess does not do anything halfway! He said the appendix had ruptured (apparently a while back) and was in 2 pieces. One of the pieces migrated up and they had to look for it. There was a massive infection that had to be cleaned out too. He could not believe it could be that bad while there were no signs of it. He said the surgery was 3 hours - and he called in another surgeon to help out. So my simple overnight stay was going to be extended.

That first day is a blur - naso-gastric tube, catheter, IV fluids and IV antibiotics.....oh, and lots of pain. The next day, the NG tube and catheter came out and I was able to get up and sit in chair. Hospital beds are certainly not the most comfortable things. I think it is a ploy to get patients up and walking sooner. A visit from my 2 best buds also brightened my day - thanks to their Momma for driving them!!

Friday morning I hit the big time.....a clear liquid diet!!!! After 2 days of ice chips, I was all over the apple juice and jello like white on rice. Spent my day walking in hall and watching TV - and sitting in chair to protect my butt....and had another visit from those sweet boys. Jack was so careful - Oma has boo boo on her tummy,he kept saying....what a sweetie.

The days passed pretty well. Walking the halls and getting up out of the chair were the highlights of my days. Dr. K said he wanted to keep me till Monday - to get more doses of hard core antibiotics into me. By the time I left, I felt like a pin cushion. Three IV sites, multiple lab sticks, many needle holes in stomach and a drainage tube....not a lot of good memories there.

All the time I was there, I had a huge bandage over the incision. All I could tell was that it was diagonal, starting low and going up to my waist. On the day I left, the nurse removed the dressing. I was getting dressed, so I took a look at my poor abdomen. There are 2 small incisions and a larger one in the belly button for the failed laproscopic try. Then there is the long diagonal one with enough staples in it to set off a metal detector - AND there are 2 other long incisions that intersect the diagonal one at right angles!! That is the reason for the title of this epic.....my abdomen now looks like 30 miles of bad road!!!

I will end this now. I am home and getting better every day. Back to surgeon on Monday for staple removal. I will take a pain pill before that episode!!

It's A Looooong Story

2010-03-18T14:48:00.001-04:00

It has been an eventful month. I started with all good intentions - keeping up with exercise, knitting up a storm and doing some work in The Black Hole. So far, not a lot has happened.

It all started over Valentine's Day. Nick was here to visit and Jens stopped by after the Super Bowl. Then I got really sick....bad abdominal pain and a sharp pain in side when I took a deep breath. It lasted several days, with the side pain lasting a little more. I figured it was a local virus....there is always something going around. After that, I just did not feel 'right'. Did not care about eating - not a bad thing for weight loss but hard to have energy when you do not eat - general crappy feeling. I did feel OK while we were in Palm Springs, managed to get some hiking in too.

I had a trip to Seattle planned for Nick's birthday - a non-refundable ticket, of course. Leaving here on the 11th. So, the weekend before I was to leave, we were at the Deuce and I got sick again. This time it was just the side pain when I took a deep breath. So if it hurts to breathe deeply, my solution was to breath very shallow little breaths. OK for survival but no good for moving around...I could hardly get up the stairs at home. Decided I needed to see Doc before my trip. Went in on Monday - she was really backed up and I was there for 2 hrs. Her first thought was gallstones - I do not have my gall bladder any more but they can sometimes appear in the ducts. Had a scan Monday evening....not it. She sent me for a CT scan Wednesday afternoon. By then I was feeling better - that always happens!! So I had the scan, getting no results right away, of course. By now, I was convinced that I probably had advanced cancer, nothing could help and I would be gone in a few months!! If anyone in the family is 30 minutes late, I have their funeral planned, music and all!! I WAS feeling better - so I decided to go to Seattle anyway. It really made sense at the time. Figured if I was going to die, I'd want to see Nick again before I departed!!

Arrived at Seatac and had a couple of phone messages from Doc's office. I called in and the nurse told me I have appendicitis!!! That one surprised me. She said I should see surgeon ASAP. Well, that was not going to happen since I was on the other side of the country. Made appt for the 22nd - he's only in Mon & Wed. Nurse said I should go right to ER if I started having pain again. Put Nick on alert in case I needed him for a late night run to ER. Otherwise, I was just going to concentrate on eating and getting some walking around. I really ended up having a great time there. We went to some great restaurants and I was able to eat enough to have some energy. Also managed to stay out of the lovely Seattle hospitals.

So now I will go to surgeon on Monday and arrange to have surgery - what fun. I will be glad to have it done so I can get back to feeling good again.

Here is a photo of one of the highlights of my trip to Seattle.....

This is a shop not far from Nick's place. Since I know someone named Wink who considers frosting a major food group, had to take this picture. And they sell 'frosting shots' in the shop!! EmmieM really needs to visit this place. AND the cupcakes are really good. We had a couple for Nick's birthday - made more sense than baking a big cake.

OK - I am an Idiot

2010-03-09T12:29:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I found my camera!! OK, it was not really lost, just put in a dumb place. Actually, I will plea illness in my defense. Have been feeling really punk for awhile - just not myself. Waiting for more tests, oh the fun!!

This first photo is from a cactus garden at Joshua Tree National Park. It was acres of this cacti - lots of them in bloom.

This is a Joshua tree - which is really a giant lily. Sure looks like a tree to me..

And this is the most exciting thing of all. This is a piece of the trail I took at Hidden Valley. It was a narrow, rocky trail that wound up & down through the rocks and lead to a lovely valley with great hiking. I did not lose my balance at all and managed to climb up and down with no problems. Looks like all my time at JCC has paid off.

So now I am off to Seattle to see Nick - weather won't be nearly as warm there!!

Disaster Strikes!!!!!!!

2010-03-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

Here I was, all ready to download the photos I took in Palm Springs....ready to show off all of the rocks I climbed without losing my balance once....ready to show photos from the only time I have been warm since November.....
MY CAMERA IS MISSING!!

I know I looked through all of the ones I took before I left California. Have no clue where it is but am facing the prospect that I will not recover it.

Oh, woe is me....Luckily, the only ones that were on it were the ones from Palm Springs but still...

Will continue to work on the problem but fear a new camera is in my future.

OH CRAP

Behind......as usual

2010-01-31T12:11:00.001-05:00

This month has slipped by, no surprise. We had a trip to Arizona earlier in January. Went to the Phoenix area to visit Kay and Fred. We have been out there several times but this time we went to Tucson too. Landed at Skyharbor, then drove to Tuscon for a couple of days.

It was a lot of fun but the weather was not the best. It had been really cold in SC before we left and I was looking forward to warm temps. Tuscon was sunny but a little cool. In Goodyear, it was really cool and rainy.

In Tuscon we enjoyed driving around - went to a couple of old Spanish missions and a small artist town. The missions were lovely and the tour was chock full of fun info. I did decide that the desert is not for me. We have been thinking of retirement locales and I had a couple in mind that are desert-like. That is out now. Finally figured out what I don't like - it is the lack of color!! Everything is brown, grey and drab. OK, I know that the desert blooms and has color in spring, but the usual lack if color would drive me nuts!!

Got some good pics at one of the missions - I told John that the sky is sooo blue to make up for the drab landscape!

Also managed to find some color in front of the mission....some really cool pinky-purple cacti. As we drove around after that, I saw quite a few of them.....a welcome relief from the drab....

Once we got home, it was back to the routine. I have been doing really well in the eating-exercise department. I worked out with a personal trainer at the JCC from Sept to mid-Dec twice a week. Needed to work on weights and strength training. She worked up a training routine for me - I work out for a month on my own, then meet with her once a month to check on progress and to tweak the workout. Now I am bumping it up to 3 times a week and adding more cardio. Got to get my beach body moving!!

Been making baby steps in the Black Hole too. Got all of the yarn straightened up and now working on the paper explosion. Planning to spend the rest of the day up there....we'll see how much I can get done.

Still knitting socks, great for TV watching in the evening. I joined a new knitting group at the JCC - some new knitters, some experienced. It is nice to get out once in awhile.

This week we have been dodging the winter storms. Farther north there was lots of snow - don't know how much fell at the Deuce. There were lots of ice problems too - we just got some ice on the trees but not enough to bring down any big branches. It looked kinda neat...

It was not easy to snap these pics - it was very windy. Every time I got ready to snap....the wind would pick up and I would get a blurry shot. Got really cold hands doing this!!

Today it is still pretty cold but really sunny. Most of the ice has come down - as it fell, it looked like hail coming down.

Off to the Black Hole for more fun and games....

On the First Day of Post Christmas Cleaning......

2009-12-31T19:25:00.001-05:00

....The Black Hole gave to me.....

.....the start up disk for Windows
.....the wireless start up disk
.....and the rechargeable batteries for my camera

On Tuesday I decided to get moving on my sorting out upstairs. I started getting things moved around and I was able to find some things that had been 'missing'. They were not really lost - I knew they were in the Black Hole....somewhere. After I made these discoveries, I moved on to the yarn collection. One whole end of the room is yarn - some in baskets, some in bags, some just rolling over the floor. My plan is to sort it out and get rid of some of it. I now have enough sock yarn to cover the feet of the Buckeye marching band. They can have scarves too and a lot of hats. Some of it, I will never use - so I need to find someone to take it. As I was going through all of this, I did get a bit distracted - BIG surprise. Most of the yarn is in neat skeins or balls. I ran across a skein of lace weight hand dyed wool that is in a large, loose bundle. Soooo, I decided it would be better to store it in a ball. Well...it is 2400 yards of REALLY fine wool....I put it on the swift but was afraid the ball winder would stretch it. So I started hand winding it.....I am nearly half done and it took forever. Maybe tomorrow during the bowl games, I can finish. Here is a picture of the yarn on the swift - it is more vibrant than the photo, had to use a flash because it is in the darker part of the room.

After I finish winding the yarn, I will get back to sorting the rest of the yarn. Then move on to the rest of the room. Maybe I will find more treasures...if Hidey will put them in plain sight.

Time to put in a couple of other projects. First is this year's Christmas card. Turned out great but wish I had used a lighter weight watercolor paper. Tearing the edges was a bear!! The second is one of the tree ornaments I did for this year. We got an artificial tree this year. So I did 40 of these stars, used white lights and curls of gold ribbon on the tree. I really am happy with it.

Ready to enjoy more football....

And make goals for the New Year...

White Christmas!!

2009-12-27T17:30:00.000-05:00

I am back again....Now I will get back to the real thing.

Of course you know that I did not see a white Christmas here in South Carolina. Our day here was full of rain...and more rain....and more rain. We decided to go up to the Deuce Christmas morning. We spent the night before with the Dalrymple clan - including Josh's parents. We opened some presents and had our traditional homemade pizza. We got up Christmas, opened the rest of our gifts, packed up all we needed for our dinner and took off. It was pouring so hard, we could hardly see the road. As we went north, the rain tapered off, then stopped. As we got close to the border of NC, there were snow sightings along the road. The Saturday before Christmas there was a huge snowstorm that dumped a load of snow in the mountains. Most areas got around a foot - which is a lot for the area of the Deuce. A couple of days before Christmas, the area got over 2 inches of rain - that, with the freezing temps, made for a real mess. Had to make a detour, road closed due to flooding. When we got to the house, we got stuck in the driveway - actually, we got stuck before we got into the driveway. As Yankees all know, the snowplow leaves a big pile of snow along the edges as it clears the street. Mix that with lots of rain and ice and it makes a barrier impossible to drive through. That did not stop John from trying!!

Since the driveway goes downhill, the ice and snow made it really slick. John had to go in and get his boots so he could get some traction. After 30 mins of shoveling and salting, we got the car into the drive. It took a couple more bouts of shoveling to get it cleared.

We had a great dinner, lots of relaxing and some good wine. On Saturday, I scored some great yarn at the sale in Brevard. A fun holiday.

Of course, I forgot my camera - so no snow pics. I always take my camera when we go to the Duece. This time, I had a list so I would not forget anything I needed for dinner - but camera was not on the list!!

Oopsie!!

2009-12-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

Just deleted my last post. I sort of intended to, but not really. It had an incredibly obnoxious comment - spam from an Irish Catholic group. How they ever found my lonely little blog is beyond me. Anyway, since it is nearly impossible to delete anothers comments, I tried to save the post as a draft, then deleted it - intending to republish it from the draft......good intentions gone awry. So now the post is gone, the draft is gone and I am back to square one.

Beep....Beep.....Beep......Crunch

2009-09-21T16:58:00.001-04:00

That is the sound of the bulldozer I need, going through The Black Hole. Right now it is an absolute disaster area - projects strewn everywhere, bits of paper & fabric all over and bags of art supplies that have not been put away. My project of the week is to bring some sort of order to the chaos. Notice I did not say "clean it up". That is probably more than I will be able to accomplish. Just need to be able to get around the room and create some magic.

I was even brave enough to take a few photos of the disaster.

Maybe I can take some of the improvement.....later.

Just to show that I have been doing something - here is a hat I did over the weekend. We were up at the Deuce and I finished the pair of socks I was knitting. So I got some chunky yarn and did a hat for Nick. I had forgotten how rewarding it is to use large needles and big yarn. A couple of football games and a hat is done!!

0 For August

2009-09-07T13:54:00.000-04:00

OK - I know it has been ages since I posted. Hence, the title. It is now September and I am back. Today will be short - Nick is home and time is limited. But I swear that I will get back this week after everyone leaves and I have more time.

Just posting pictures today......more later

Back to the Heat

2009-07-27T17:34:00.002-04:00

I got back from the Deuce on Friday. It was a glorious time up there....beautiful weather,
time to do whatever I wanted and a stack of BBC DVDs...what more could I ask??

This is one of the journal pages I did up there. It is depicting the beach trip we are planning for next year - for our 40th anniversary. We will have a week with our best peeps and have a blast eating, drinking and laughing a lot.

I am really having fun with the journaling. I still am working on getting all my ephemera, AKA junk, organized. It would be a lot easier to get the pages done if I did not have to spend so much time looking for the elements. A never ending project.....

I did manage to finish Whitney's socks while up there. I will get them in the mail tomorrow - after I decorate the envelope with some Cubbie junk.....seems only fair since Whit is a Sox fan!!

HOG had his second cataract surgery this morning. All went well - after an initial mix-up. When the nurse came out to the waiting room to take him back to the prep area, she called MY name!! I gave her a strange look and she called my name again!! I told her that it was me but I was not the patient. All of the paperwork that was printed this AM had HOGs name on it but all that was printed last week when the surgeon's office called in, was in my name!! The nurses had to scramble to put stickers with HOGs name over mine on all of the pages. Also called the office to make sure the insurance was not submitted in my name....we'll see how that goes.

Glad to be back home but not liking all of the heat...I was getting used to the cooler, less humid weather in NC. Maybe I'll have to go back for another week in August - makes the summer more bearable....

Journal Pages

2009-07-13T14:41:00.003-04:00

These are a couple of the journal pages I have done in my online art class. It has been fun and enlightening. I love working in this size - not too much space to fill. I am thinking that this will end up being the main kind of art I will be doing. There is just so much wall space and table space available to fill. I can keep these journals and not worry about where to put them. I do still have space to fill at the Deuce - and a few ideas for projects...certainly enough to keep me busy for a long time.

I'll be taking this journal up to the Deuce with me tomorrow. I'll be going up for 10 days. We are having new windows put in - besides, John is going on a couple of trips over the next 2 weeks. I figure that I may as well go where it is cooler for awhile.
Also planning to take my laptop - to play around with Photoshop. I really need to figure it out. I am planning to get a new computer in the next few months - this one is driving me nuts lately...

And Whitney's Socks

2009-07-13T14:23:00.003-04:00

This is for Whitney - even if she is a White Sox fan!! Think I'll call these 'Cubbie" socks....sounds good to me.
I love this yarn - the colors are just yummy and the hand is wonderful. I am now down to the heel flaps, ready to turn the heels.
This photo is a close up of the pattern on the the leg. It is a bit lacy and a little girlie - I like it!!

This is one of the socks on the needle. Hope to get them finished by the end of my stay at the Deuce....then it's on to another project......

Week Two

2009-07-02T20:15:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since Week One. I have been working on my art journal but have not done any photos. These are a couple of the pages after the second lesson. It is just some simple collage - assorted images and some light stamping.

The next step is some doodling. Just random doodles in mostly black & white. I will take the journal along with us to the Deuce for the holiday weekend. Then when I get back, I'll move on to the next step - more writing on the pages. It is fun to do - but I have a huge mess in The Black Hole. I have paper, images and assorted ephemera all over the place. Hidey will probably have lots of fun over the holiday.
I will get a shovel and start working next week. Just went to Ikea on Tuesday - got a storage thingie to hold flat papers.

Be back next week.................

Happy Feet

2009-06-22T20:17:00.003-04:00

Can you see the smile on my tootsies???? TaDa....introducing my new Doc Marten sandals.
These are just like the ones that died last week...only in dark brown instead of black. I have been eagerly awaiting their arrival - my UPS guy gets here in the late afternoon.

I ripped open the box and gently lifted out my treasures. I had forgotten how cushie they are when new!! The cush in my old ones had been gone for awhile. They fit my feet so well - I may wear them all the time.

This time I will not wait so long to replace them. Here's to many years of happy feet.....

For The Deuce

2009-06-19T10:55:00.003-04:00

Another project finished!! I am on a roll now....
This one uses an old drawer I found at the Habitat For Humanity store as the substrate. The chair is made of CelluClay - a paper mache-like material. Just add water and work away. The only issue I had was the drying. If patience is a virtue then I am the MOST unvirtuous person ever!! I put it under the lights in the kitchen (they are really hot), I left it in the hot garage overnight, used the hairdryer - then I got creative. I put the rack for flat drying in my clothes dryer - the drawer just fit on it. Then I ran the dryer on low for several cycles. Then I painted it - ready or not!!

The backround is a collage of tissue paper - rescued from a shopping trip to J. Jill. I hate to throw away anything.

Added some scrabble tiles - it will go to The Deuce - where relaxing is an art form.

Also added the playing card - it is the deuce, after all.

Leaving to go up there in an hour or so. It is supposed to be nearly 100 degrees here this weekend - anything cooler than that will be very welcome....

Cast of Characters

2009-06-18T20:14:00.002-04:00

Per a request from MamaD - mom to the 2 handsome boys sometimes featured her - I have done some editing to my Cast of Characters. Jack is no longer a baby and Ewan needed to be added.

More art to post tomorrow - after photos....

More Art

2009-06-18T15:54:00.002-04:00

Just finished another project - I have really been trying to get more art done...and am doing well at it. You could see how well I am doing if I showed you The Black Hole!! It is strewn with all sorts of things - paint, papers, magazines, fabric scraps and threads of all colors. I am so not good at putting things from one project away before starting another. Or I have a couple of things going at the same time - but requiring different stuff. At least, I am getting things done.

This one is a smallish fabric hanging made using photo transfers of the most handsome boys ever. It has paints, oil pastels, fabric dye and some zig-zag stitching on it.

It is cute and just fun.

I've included a couple of close ups of the details of the photo transfers. They turned out pretty well - but with material like that, what can you expect??

I'll get this up at The Deuce this weekend....it is my art gallery of choice!!

Week One

2009-06-17T11:55:00.002-04:00

I started taking an online art class a couple of weeks ago. It is on art journalism - showing ways
to paint & collage the pages. I have finished week one - here is an example of the pages I have done. The beginning is several layers of paint, some bits of stamps and some gesso resist. Next step is to collage some images onto the page. I'll try to get some of them done while working on a couple of other projects. The goal is to get the pages ready for the actual journal writing - then I can pack up some pens etc and take it along with me. I'll show more after I finish the next lesson...

A Moment Of Silence, Please

2009-06-14T20:28:00.003-04:00

.......for my beloved Doc Marten sandals. They were real troopers - carrying me through many adventures. I wore them from coast to coast. They came to me in Seattle, when Nick first started school out there. They were not fashionable - a real What Not To Wear nightmare. Heavy, clunky and a little bohemian - but I loved them.

I have been keeping them up at the Deuce. They were a little bit tired and looking their age but always ready to comfort my tootsies. I could wear them forever and still keep going - most comfortable shoes ever!!
Put them on yesterday and went about my business. Then I started to put my feet up on couch to rest my leg (a long story involving me, a nasty curb and lots of bruises). Noticed some strange white powdery stuff on couch. Couldn't figure out what it was.....then horrors!!!!!! It was coming from my shoes......the insoles were coming apart and the cushion stuff underneath was disintegrating.

Time to put my beloved Docs down for the count. Even HOG agreed that the Docs have given exemplary service - may be I should get another pair.
Search of the internet......my new Docs are on their way to me!!!
Luckily, Docs are a classic and they keep styles that work forever. My new ones will look just like my old ones - and I am thrilled.
I will add pics of them when they arrive - and my happy feet..........

Success!!

2009-06-12T13:52:00.003-04:00

HOG was having a boring day at the computer earlier this week - so he read my blog....boy, he must have been really bored. Anyway, his only comment was that I am too hard on myself. This has been an issue for awhile - I actually am better!!

So today's photos are of a project I just finished today....and it is PERFECT. I have not issues with it at all. The above photo shows the happy recipient of the lovey quilt - looks like he thinks it is perfect too.

The colors are so pretty - the orange and green really make the fishy fabrics pop.

Off to the Deuce for the weekend - I need to rest. I fell today - tripped on the curb. Bum leg, wrist bruises & skinned elbow. Now I match Gretchen who fell yesterday....and Jack who missed a step today...must be contagious...

Shifting Gears

2009-06-09T16:50:00.005-04:00

Here is a piece I have been noodling for ages. I got several of these paper mache houses from an Etsy seller and have been looking at them for ages trying to decide what to do with them.

I finally used some of the old family photos - this one is my grandmother (on the far left) , her 3 sisters and her mother.

On the back, did a photo transfer of the back of a postcard sent by my grandparents to grandma's sister, Mazie in 1912. I am not thrilled with the result but it is a trial and error process.

The roof of the house is a bit of a quilt my grandmother made in the late '50's. I have begun to cut it apart to use in projects - it was used to death and is beyond any repair. I can look at it and recognize some of the squares as clothes I wore as a child.

I really like this photo of 'the girls' - I am sure I will be using it often.

Wish I could have done better with the photos - but the light was not the best and I was too impatient to wait for better light.....maybe I am related to grandma after all.....

Shifting gears - even though I am a pro at a car's manual transmission, shifting art gears is not my favorite thing. I have glue, paint and paper spread all over The Black Hole and especially my tables. So today I needed to start cutting fabric for Ewan's lovey quilt - took ages to make room on table for mat and rotary cutter. Tried to get pics of fabrics but it is not my day for photos....all looked lousy. Have strips cut, start sewing together later tonight. Hope pics of finished product will look better than today's effort.

Good Clean Fun

2009-06-07T11:34:00.006-04:00

Those of you who know me, realize that I am a certified (or is that certifiable??) handmade soap junkie. I have it in all the bathrooms of the Ace and the Deuce and am always looking for more. While in Seattle, we went to the Folklife Festival - the craft booths were amazing. There I found this fun soap dish. Made from a slotted spoon to look like a turtle. Doesn't Swan's Spring soap look great?? It is now in the powder room of the Ace - more fun to look at than the utilitarian one I had before.

It really does look like a turtle!! It came from here....http://spoonman.com/nbr524.htm
out of Oregon...I love it. OK, the link does not work - just cut & paste to get there!!

A few weeks ago, I was up at the Deuce relaxing - and my mind started wandering. Came up with this little story.....

A Soapy Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there was a Goddess who was sweet and kind. One day in the woods, she came upon wizard in distress. Being so kind, she helped him out of his predicament. For her help, he offered her a choice of 2 rewards. She could be forever smart, creative and drop dead gorgeous OR she could be forever free of dry skin. The Goddess thought about the choices - in the end, it was an easy choice for her. She figured "how hard can it be to help dry skin??" So the Goddess became known far and wide as the most creative, smartest and most beautiful creature in the world. (this is only a SLIGHT exaggeration!!)

In the beginning, it was not too hard to care for her dry skin. Some simple lotions kept it at bay. But as her skin began to mature, it became clear that there was a problem. (Isn't it interesting how one's body can 'mature' while the mind never grows up??)

The Goddess began to search far and wide for help with her dry skin. She worshipped at the counters of Bobbi Brown, Lancome, Estee Lauder, MAC and Kiehl. It became obvious that these large companies were good at a couple of things - marketing and separating the Goddess from her $$. Ye Olde Mastercard got stretch marks. All of this was to no avail - her skin just got drier.

She began to take refuge in The Black Hole. There she would play with her paints, papers and glue - trying to ignore the problem. The Goddess was in great distress but picking dried glue off her hands was better than picking at her dry skin.

Then one day she read of a wonderful place on the internet - Etsy. A magical wonderland where people sell that which they have created and other wonderful treasures. The Goddess cranked up ye olde laptop and went exploring. She found many treasures there - fantastic ephemera for her creations. (don't you just love the word 'ephemera!!) Later she discovered there is a community of Etsy. Always game for some fun, the Goddess visited the forums. (I know it is fora, but that sounds dumb!)

The forums brought more revelations. There she discovered sorcerers who could magically turn various ingredients into soap and they claimed it would not dry your skin. One group in particular was witty, funny and helpful to all. Besides, their virtual cocktail parties were da bomb!! So
*click*click* and the Goddess awaited her magical soap.

GLORY BE!!! It was just as they promised. The Goddess ridded herself of all offending mass produced soaps and began to order more & more handmade soap. She discovered the joy of flat rate shipping *click*click* and she awaited the arrival of her packages. The arrival of ye olde postman on his trusty red, white & blue steed became the highlight of her day. Her soap closet overfloweth - thank goodness HOG (husband of Goddess) never looks behind anything - he will never discover the booty behind the coats in the hall closet.

But there is more.....the Goddess discovered that some of the sorcerers also could brew up various lotions & potions for the skin. *click*click* and the Goddess was in heaven!! Her skin became moisturized and smooth.

So the houses of the Goddess are full of joy. She is still the smartest, most creative and beautiful creature on earth.....and now she has the softest skin too.

{{{{{{{{safeteam}}}}}}}}

Technology Stinks

2009-06-06T15:54:00.003-04:00

Sometimes when I get down about crappy things happening, I like to just look out at the most beautiful flowers in the front of the house. My hydrangeas are spectacular this year. The yard guys usually cut them down over the winter - then they start from scratch in the spring. But last winter, for whatever reason, they did not prune them down. So we now have huge bushes simply covered with blooms. I have cut huge bunches of them to bring into the house - and still they are covered.

This week I really needed a beautiful scene - my week was technologically challenged. I bought a new printer a few months ago. An Epson - so I could print with pigment ink that will not run when collaged. It was cheap - from their reconditioned ones. I did not want to put a lot of $$ into this. I finally got a spot cleared off in the Black Hole so I could get it set up.

Got all set up - ready to start - I put in the install disc into the computer - nothing!! A little whirring sound - then nothing. I took it out, put it back, rebooted, tried it all. The printer itself was acting strange too - it said to turn it on, install ink and then press a button to 'charge' the ink. I tried that - all of the lights on the printed started blinking randomly - couldn't tell if was 'charging'!!

I was not a happy camper!! I then decided to can that task....and move on to downloading some files for an online art class I am starting. Another disaster in the making!! I have always been able to read PDF files on my laptop...no problem. I got the files downloaded - then it took me forever to find them again. Everytime I tried to open them, a message popped up telling me I needed an 'application' to open them. I tried everything - nothing worked. After a lot of frustration, my computer froze up!! Cursor froze, would not move at all. I tried contol-alt-delete to restart.......no dice. Finally got a message the click on button to end program...not possible if the cursor won't move!!!!!!!!!! By this time, I was ready to chuck the thing out the window. Ended up removing the power cord - since my battery is shot, it only took a minute to shut off.

Had issues with Yahoo email too. Emails taking 2 days to arrive, random ones going to spam one day and the next day, from the same address, going through fine.

After all of this, I took off to the Deuce for a couple of days of decidedly low tech living. Took knitting and a book - no computer, no internet, no problems........

Today, I tried again - printer disc installed like a charm, printer works great. I gave up on the PDF files - printed them out on John's desktop. Absolutely no difference - why would it work today and not Tuesday????

Cyberspace is like airline pricing.....no one REALLY understands it.....it just IS.....

Enjoying the flowers when I am grumpy is the best stress reducer....

Why I Always Take Extra Underwear.....

2009-05-29T15:56:00.002-04:00

Just got back yesterday from our week in Seattle. It was a great time - the weather was fantastic the whole time we were there. No rain, just sunshine. Lots of fun visiting Nick - and seeing his neighborhood. He lives in the Queen Anne area - lots of quirky shops, restaurants and parks.
We stayed in an old hotel nearby - The MarQueen. Built in 1918 as an engineering school, it has been lots of things over the years, most recently it was apartments. It has now been renovated into a funky hotel. Hardwood floors, area rugs and a kitchen made it nice place to stay. Lots of stuff nearby - shops, restaurants and Seattle Center.

We picked the right time to visit - Northwest Folklife Festival was at the Seattle Center over the weekend. This fountain was a popular place for splashing since the weather was warm. It was just a couple of blocks from the hotel - we spent Friday afternoon there. Lots of music, dancing and some of the best people watching ever. Also had some fun at the craft booths.

This is the view from one of the parks we visited. It was right on the water with an old steam works plant. Made for some fun backrounds - rusty metal buildings are always interesting...

I was going for a pirate look here - John has one clear lens since his cataract surgery and one that darkens - but as you can see....it was so sunny, I had issues with shadows....I'll have to work on getting one of John - so Nick can show his friends where he gets his pirate ways...

We went to a Mariner's game on Sunday - Whitney came up from Oly for the fun. Another beautiful day in Paradise!! The Mariner's even won!!!!
It was a week of great food, good wine and good times with Nick....and Whitney.

Now back to the extra underwear thing....We were scheduled to fly out Tuesday night on the red eye, through Houston. It is not my favorite way to fly but OK. Had a nice dinner at a wine bar near Nick's, then got to the airport early to drop off car and get checked in. Hanging around gate reading, then noticed that the flight was no longer listed on the board at the gate....never a good sign. Then the dreaded announcement - flight cancelled!! We needed to go back to the departure area to rebook. Since it was a redeye flight, we knew we would not be able to get out that night...then we got to the line - the people at the gate were the last to know and the line was huge!! After a little while of not moving, I called Continental to rebook on the phone. On hold for 20 min did not seem too bad, considering the line ahead of us. Then the bad news, there was a flight going out around noon on Wednesday but between the time she told me about it and I said yes, it was full!! So we rebooked on the redeye for Wednesday night - through Newark, arriving 10:30 am Thursday, 24 hours late. We still had to wait in line for a hotel voucher - then the shuttle to the hotel. Slept restlessly, then had to decide what to do all day waiting for flight. We stayed at hotel till noon - John worked on the computer a bit. Then we headed to airport - too much hassle to schlep luggage around and get back into town....At the airport, the agent said we could take an afternoon flight to Newark, arriving around midnight, and they would pay for hotel so we could get out in morning. We decided that it is always better to sleep in a bed rather than an airplane - even for a short time, so we took it. Got to bed in Newark around 2am - back up at 6 to get to airport, only 4 hours of sleep - but solid sleep. Flight delayed out of Newark....arrived Charlotte around noon.
So, that extra underwear I always pack (and those extra shirts too) came in handy. you just never know what will happen....the best plans can always come up a cropper and mess with your day.
Glad to be home again....

Baby Steps: Pt. III

2009-05-14T18:31:00.003-04:00

The last of my mini-updates....
I have gotten some art done recently....not nearly as much as I want to do but it is small progress. This is a small canvasboard piece - now up at the Duece. Used some ephemera from Europe (thank you Jamie!) and some crackle paint. Not thrilled with the result but will play a bit more with the technique and see where it goes.

This is an ACEO I just did. It is using a photo of John's mom - I have some great old family photos from both sides of the family. It is not one of my favorite pieces but it is OK.

I really just need to go up to the Black Hole and just play. I have a bunch of photo transfer techniques to try - I have collected all of the material - now need to try them all out.

Baby Steps: Pt. II

2009-05-14T18:05:00.004-04:00

Next in the update parade......Jack spent his first weekend with Oma & Opa at the Deuce!! Josh was out of town for the weekend and Gretchen wanted to get some closet cleaning done, so we offered to take Jack with us. It was so much fun.....and tiring!! John was not able to lift Jack at all - he'd just had cataract surgery - so I got all of the lifting work. We went to the Biltmore on Saturday. We thought turning Jack loose in the gardens would give him a chance to burn off energy. He wanted to take Day Day (Daisy May) for a run in the garden - he took her leash and started running.....as her leash reached it's limit, he realized that Day Day was not running along. She was still sitting in the shade - running anywhere is not in her schedule!! Jack was proud to be able to take her for "walks" after she ate. That exercise consisted of going out to the end of the driveway and back!!
We also saw River Bend Farm at the Biltmore - Jack liked the old farm equipment and had fun watching the musicians and dancers. He really loved the milkshake at the creamery.

Jack ate very well while in the mountains. His favorite was Big Mike's pizza - Oma did not have a chance to get a photo of that ....I was too busy cutting up his slice. He can eat really fast when he wants to....

Jack has a 'thing' about shoes. He loved to put one of Opa's on and schlep around the house. We got a kick out of it too....
We so loved having Jack all to ourselves - he is delightful and we can't wait till Ewan is older and he can come along too.

Baby Steps: Pt. I

2009-05-14T17:47:00.003-04:00

I spent the better part of an hour today trying to update my blog. It has been so long....but every time I got a few photos uploaded, Blogspot would freeze. So, my latest plan is to put in several short entries....hope this works.
First up is the visit of EmieM!!!!! She came to meet the newest of her "grandchildren", Ewan. The rest of us (except Jack) were incidental!!
Miss Daisy May certainly did get her share of attention too. She was spoiled by all of the love...took her days to get back to normal.

The boys had to recover after the visit too - they had chapped heads from all of the kisses!! EmieM had to give them enough to last till her next visit.

We did lots of fun things while she was here - shopping, the zoo and eating out. It was sad to see her leave but she will be back - to see the cutest boys ever!!

Paint Days

2009-04-12T15:10:00.003-04:00

I like to take some time to paint in the garage when the weather is good - not too hot, not too cold. I gather up paints, papers, fabrics, stamps, texture tools and any other junk that might be useful - haul it all out to the garage and spend a few hours having fun. Here is one of the tables before I got started. It did not stay this neat way for long.

These are some of the monoprints I did. I took the paper towels I dyed with watercolors and used different texture tools to create multiple monoprints on plain paper. These will be further stamped and painted at a later date. This is the messy part so I like to do lots at a time.

These are the paper towels that have been dyed. I scrunch them up and dip them in pots of watercolor paint. After they have been used for printing a few times, I set them on an old screen to dry. Then they are taken apart into 2 thin pieces. They are great for layering - after the medium dries, they are translucent.

These are some manila folders (cheap cardstock) that have been stamped with a variety of things in multiple colors. Then washed over with acrylics & glazing medium. They too will be painted, stamped and doodled on later.

This is the best part - when I got tired, I could sit and enjoy this view outside the garage,

I love Spring in South Carolina!!!

Trip Survival

2009-03-17T15:37:00.003-04:00

Our trip to Ohio last week was quite an adventure. Managed to get all of us packed into John's car - it is big but no mini-van or SUV!!
We packed:
2 pack & plays
4 suitcases
bag of art supplies
knitting bag
laptop
bag of food/formula
bag of toys
bag of diapers
diaper bag
coats
small cooler
bag of shoes
purses
toiletry bag
3 adults
2 children in car seats

All in all, it was a fine trip. The boys were just about perfect. They handled the disrupted routine well - even when we ate dinner after 8pm. They both slept pretty well, all things considered. We managed to work the driving time into naps most of the time. The person in the middle of the "back seat sandwich" had the job of entertaining the boys while they were awake. It is amazing how many animal sounds a desperate adult can think up!!

We even made it through a 2 fire alarm night our first night out. There were some bleary eyes the next morning. When the alarm went off the second time, we could hardly believe it. Ewan did not even wake up and Jack slept through the second one. It sure did disrupt the grown-ups!!

There was a large outpouring of love from all of the family and friends at Jen's services. She made an impact on all she met. It is still so hard to believe she is gone. She will certainly not be forgotten.

Spring at The Deuce

2009-03-08T20:26:00.004-04:00

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times......

Those words sum up our weekend. We went up to the Deuce on Friday afternoon. It was glorious weather - sunny and really warm. Dinner in on Friday from stuff in the freezer. Went out Saturday morning for a walk in town, trip to bakery, out for coffee and a stop at grocery. Then we spent hours just sitting on deck, soaking up the sun. Did do some work - raking and blowing leaves in front so we can plant in a month or so. We were pooped from the work - and a bottle of our favorite wine- so just vegged out for the night.
I was just getting ready to fix brunch on Sunday when I checked my email. There was an email from a friend of Mark - Jen died on Saturday.
It was a shock to everyone. We never imagined that this would happen so fast. Jerry said she had a good day with her sister on Friday. Then by night, they took her to hospital where she went into a coma from multiple organ failure. It is so hard to accept - I cannot imagine how hard this is for Mark and Jen's family.
We are headed up to Ohio tomorrow - Gretchen and the boys are coming with us. Do not know when the services will be, but traveling with 2 little ones does not let us hurry. We will leave in the afternoon to break up the trip. Do not know when we will get home - just winging it.

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-02T12:13:00.005-05:00

Big winter storm coming across the southeast - been hearing warnings all week. Yesterday was our second day of rain - cool, but just rain. About 5pm, they started announcing closings - schools, day care, library, city offices etc. Mind you, it was not snowing at all - but we could get 1 to 3 inches!!! A veritable blizzard by South Carolina standards.

Supposed to turn to snow by 9pm - people glued to windows waiting for the excitement. Night wears on - by 11 it is revealed that a sudden blast of dry air crosses the area - and you know what that means!!!!!!!!!!! A SNOW DAY WITH NO SNOW!!!

The photos above are to show all of the fun we had on our snow day. You can see the snowman I made - oops, maybe you can't see it - WE GOT NO SNOW!!!

You can also see Daisy May outside cavorting with our snowman - oops, maybe she isn't cavorting in the snow - WE GOT NO SNOW!!

So here we are having a South Carolina snow day - just a pain in the neck. Schools closed but parents have to work. Day care closed but parents have to work. Schools will have to make up the day later. All of that and NO SNOW

I can understand the panic felt here when the S word is mentioned. People here have no idea what to do with snow. What I cannot understand is the panic to announce closings before conditions are bad...Even if we got an inch or so, it has been too warm here for the snow to stick on the roads. A few hours of below freezing temps are not enough to freeze a road - especially when the temp is only a couple of degrees below freezing.

All evening the TV news crews were stationed all over the area - on overpasses and out in neighborhoods - all to show the terrible conditions. It did get funny after awhile - cut away to reporter, no snow, no rain, no bad road conditions to report. But that did not stop them from extending the 11pm news to one hour - 95% about the winter storm!!!! Almost forgot my favorite news segment - a tour of disaster preparedness areas with Mayor Bob - we stopped at the police garage where they were putting CHAINS on police cars!! I almost fell off my chair when I saw that....

This is our second NO SNOW DAY this winter - maybe someday they will get it right!!

Condition Update

2009-02-27T17:29:00.002-05:00

All of my good intentions went out the window this week. After one mild-ish cold a couple of weeks ago, I got a lingering cough. It is the bug that has been going around everywhere. After a week of constant hacking, I felt I was turning the corner. Unfortunately, when I turned the corner, I was hit by a bus!! I got the mother of all head colds this week. Absolutely plugged up, no sense of taste or smell, still coughing and NO energy. HOG came down one evening and told me I looked like shit!! I informed him that I would have to be 100% BETTER to feel that good. Now at the end of the week, I am up to ALMOST ALIVE. There is hope that each day I will get a bit better - and get some energy back again. Managed to put a layer of gesso on one project last night - then had to rest for the rest of the night. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for working....

Uncle Nick!!

2009-02-23T11:22:00.003-05:00

It has been a busy time here at Casa de Chaos. Nick came home for a visit on the 12th. He came to be with us for Valentine's Day and to meet the newest family member, Ewan. We all had a blast. Got to spend lots of time together so Nick could get to know the boys better.

Valentine's Day is a big thing in our family - everyone gets gifts and we always go out to dinner together as a family. This year, with 2 very little boys, we decided to do lunch out instead. Taking 2 little ones out to dinner with all of the romantic couples around did not seem the polite thing to do!! We had a great time at Travinia and good food. Nick did dinner here for all of us - marinated tuna - yummy....

We also did a family picture day at a nearby park. Gretchen knows a photographer from her mommies group - she does fantastic work. We have seen a couple of the proofs and they are super. Hoping to get the rest in a week or so. I really hate to have my photo taken - trying to get over that.

Am hoping to get some work done in the Black Hole this week. I have found that having toddlers around is hazardous to my health!! Jack has been passing his snotty germs around the family for awhile and I keep catching them.... Will try to feel better this week - I have so many things I would like to get started - maybe even finished!!

Meet Bubbles The Soap Fairy

2009-02-07T17:32:00.004-05:00

As most of you know, I am a certified handmade soap addict. I discovered it late last summer and have not looked back since. It has made my *mature*, very dry skin feel wonderful. I have several lovely soapy friends on Etsy and I like to *listen* in on their adventures on their team forum. They are a very funny group and they are frequently in *hot water*. Bubbles The Soap Fairy was created to help out the team. She flies around the world, spreading her fairy dust to give assistance where needed. She has also been know to whack people on the head with her wand if necessary.
I decided that Bubbles needed a real physical presence, so she was born in The Black Hole in the last couple of days. Bubbles is truly a recycled piece of art - she is made of painted used dryer sheets, financial pages of Wall Street Journal (gesso covered), twisted wire wand, Her bar of soap is a piece of art gum eraser, and her shoes are pieces of plastic that covers my paint table - always splashed with great colors!! I added a couple of wine corks - Bubbles loves a bit of wine while relaxing in the tub after a long flight. She especially likes the Educated Guess cork - it has a chemical formula on it and seems to fit into the soapy mix. All of the lather on the piece is moulding paste swirled around - with a layer of acrylic medium with glass beeds embedded in it. Really looks like bubbles.
My photos are not the best - and I always forget that the first photo loaded ends up on the bottom!!!! So the details of the piece come before the whole thing, but it is there anyway.
Think I'll hang Bubbles in my bathroom so she can enjoy the great scents of all my handmade soap!!!

At Last....

2009-01-26T18:04:00.004-05:00

Wow - I guess being 60 has messed me up more than I thought.....I have really done nothing creative in a month. Been busy with the holidays, spending time with the boys and houseguests.
Also managed to get some clearing in The Black Hole....it is now more like The Medium Grey Hole.....trying to get to The Barely Grey Hole. We will see how that works out.
Did get one little thing done - I made this Valentine's Day hanging thingy today. It is made with a piece of a quilt my grandmother made in the 50's. It was VERY well used - tattered and a little holey. It was unusable in it's condition. I got the idea to cut it up, paint it and see what happened. This is a piece of the border area. Painted with metallic paint and appliqued with some fabric. I like it and will do a few more for friends & family. I will save the rest of the quilt to use for larger collages.....
Tomorrow I have to get busy on another piece I have been thinking about...the debut of Bubbles The Soap Fairy....

Happy Birthday to Me!!

2008-12-15T15:21:00.002-05:00

Here are some birthday photos - for my 60th BD. I spent part of the day running errands - with the top down. Sure could not do that back in Wisconsin. Having a great weather week - 70ish all week. Nothing to complain about.
The flowers are from my beloved SOG - he sent a lovely gift, no nasty 60th jokes for him. Actually, I have been lucky - no one resorted to gag gifts.
Sixty is wonderful, looking forward to many more years......

Newest Addition

2008-11-24T16:28:00.002-05:00

Here is the newest family member.
Ewan Joseph Dalrymple
November 22, 2008
9lbs 5oz 21.5 inches

His big brother, Jack, spent a few days here with Oma and Opa - while mommy & daddy were busy at the hospital. It was a blast but a little tiring. I know why toddlers are for the younger crowd - it was lots easier when we were young!!
We are off to the Deuce the day after Thanksgiving - to rest a bit. Next week, I will be Oma on call to help out when Josh goes back to work. I need to join a gym - build up my upper body. Jack is a really big brother!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Back to art projects soon.....

More Deuce Art

2008-11-14T13:45:00.003-05:00

Another piece for the Deuce. It will go on the bedroom wall....colors look good in our room. This was done to represent my feelings and new outlook....I am trying really hard to let things go. It only hurts me to hang onto the bad and to stay angry. Anyway, I think she looks good and will put her up tonight. Going to the mountains for the weekend....to relax....

Deuce Art

2008-11-06T13:04:00.004-05:00

Just got back from the Deuce - finally getting more up on the walls. These are small (6x6) canvases. They are done with molding paste, gel medium, tissue paper and various paints. I put them on the wall above the bed - thought they looked best on point. Now I can move on to more things for the walls up there.
Having sock issues!! Started a new pattern yesterday. The yarn is more fine and the needles smaller. Since I have really big feet, I am using the larger pattern numbers. But I think they look really big around - like they might bag around the ankles....I still have time to decrease a few stitches before the pattern stitch....Otherwise I may be on the street looking for someone with ankles like an elephant.....

WoooHoooo

2008-11-01T16:52:00.003-04:00

Got a bunch of wine labels and other ephemera fro Nick this week. So I was able to finish his collage. Hard to photograph - it has a little gloss from the sealer and I could not wait for the natural light to be right!! Way too impatient. Will get it out to him on Monday....Now I have enough goodies to do some more wine related things for him....or someone else.
Now back to socks.....

Christmas Cards

2008-10-29T17:02:00.002-04:00

Wow - it has been a long time....
No photos of my latest project - I just finished my Christmas cards this afternoon. And on the off chance that anyone will read this, do not want to spoil the surprise. I will say - it involved watercolor crayons, hand printed backround and some snowflakes. Now I just need to wait for Baby D2 to arrive so I can add a note on the inside. Arrival date is November 21....
I am madly working to get as much done as I can before the baby - I will be helping out with the grandbabies for awhile - tough job but somebody has to do it!!!!
I am officially hooked on sock knitting now. Am nearly finished with another pair like the ones I posted last time. Same yarn, different colorway. Also ordered more yarn from Yarnmarket - lovely handpainted yarn. Also went to SAFF (Southeast Animal Fiber Fair) in Asheville last weekend - more hand dyed sock yarn.... Hope there are lots of cold feet out there!!
Should have the wine collage finished for Nick soon - as soon as I get the rest of his labels. Photos soon....

IT'S...........A PAIR OF SOCKS!!!

2008-10-09T20:39:00.004-04:00

I am incredibly excited....I just finished my first pair of socks tonight!!! It was a bit more complicated than it should have been. I started working on them at the Deuce - thanks to Astrid for the great lesson. Then I took them along on our trip to John's cousin reunion in Ohio. Since I was working in the car, I did not have a tape measure and it was hard to get to my feet to gauge how long to make them before turning the heel. As a result, they were a little long on top. That is not toooo bad, except that I have really big feet - so I did not have enough yarn to finish them. After we got home, I found the yarn online - got it in just a few days and FINISHED my socks!!
I just took a couple of photos - not easy snapping pics of your own feet. Don't they look wonderful?? When I ordered the yarn to finish, I got enough to make another pair in a different colorway. Love the yarn - it is a soy blend, wicks moisture away from feet. We are headed back up to the Deuce tomorrow - more car knitting...
Have the idea down for this year's Christmas cards. Bought the cards already - start painting next week. Got to get all my holiday chores done soon - Baby D2 is coming on November 21 and I am Oma On Call thereafter.
Happy Knitting....

Listening!!

2008-09-25T10:07:00.003-04:00

Sometimes you can hear fun things while in the coffee shop snagging internet signal.

Here in Western NC there is a severe gas shortage. People park in empty gas stations if there is a RUMOR that there might be a delivery!! Lines run for blocks, traffic gets clogged and tempers get short. It is an adventure just to find a station that has gas - the governor is trying to get more deliveries to ease the situation - still don't know why it is so bad here.

Bad timing - I came up here for the week to arrange to have some work done on the Deuce. But it is not possible to get anyone out for estimates because of the gas shortage. Guess I will just have to work on this later. Just want to have the back deck screened in and some new windows - nothing critical but would like to get it done before spring. I did manage to get some painting done - nothing artistic - I painted our bedroom walls. Looks good but now I need to get the artwork done for the room. Always something....

I posted photos of my latest knitting adventure. I had a lesson in knitting 2 socks on one long circular needle. I have always wanted to do socks but the pain on double points have always held me back. I got them started and will knit all the way to a reunion in Ohio over the weekend. I will stop back on Monday to learn to turn the heel - can be tricky. Maybe if I can get this down, I will be able to use some of the sock yarn in my stash....or I can buy more!!

Better get going - the line is forming in front of the coffee shop - the station next door is supposed to get gas after noon....if I wait, I may get blocked in!!

Back to Normal??

2008-09-03T17:56:00.003-04:00

This is part of the "junk" that I brought back from Montana. I spent part of the day today trying to clear up The Black Hole - again. It never seems to stay clear for very long. That darn Hidey keeps thing churned up whenever I am not looking. I spent a lot of August out of town - that must have ticked her off. So she has fun moving things around and leaving them out all over the place. I'll have to get going up there tomorrow. I have several projects in the pipeline - Nick gave me a bunch of wine junk for a collage for him. He also needs a curtain for his new apartment - and I still have to find the fabric for that.
Also have to get all of my holiday stuff done early this year - esp card making. I have to be ready for action anytime toward the end of November for Baby D2. Can't get much done until I get The Black Hole in order. At least, it is back to school time. That means that there are lots of fun containers on sale - great for organizing small treasures. Just have to sort them out and get them put away.....never ending ordeal....

Home Again....till tomorrow

2008-08-29T17:09:00.002-04:00

Managed to get back from Montana on Wednesday right on time....neat trick for flying these days. We all had a great trip - the park was beautiful but a bit cold. Most nights were in the 40's and a couple of days were only around 50. And NO humidity!! That is quite a change for those of us who live in the world's largest outdoor sauna. We stayed in Village Inn at Apgar - on the western edge of the park. It is literally on the edge of Lake McDonald. I'll post a photo of the view we had from our window....beautiful to sit and enjoy morning coffee and watch the sun come up over the mountains. We took a tour on a really cool red touring bus. They were built in the 30's and have a canvas roof that rolls back. It was cold but we had blankets to snuggle under. I was even brave enough to take a raft trip - no, NOT whitewater....just a gentle float down the river. But for me, a real water phobic, it was a leap. It was really warm that day and I had fun. I sat in the back of the raft, next to the very cute guide - maybe that helped!!
I also got some really great junk while there - I call it ephemera, but my family calls it junk. Some fun wine labels and lots of cool beer bottle labels - thanks to the beer drinkers in the group!! Montana has lots of neat micro breweries - all with fun labels. Also some nifty bottle caps - with sayings printed in them.
Now to find time to create more freaky stuff....
Off to the Deuce tomorrow - need to see if it has floated away, heard they got lots of rain up there while we were gone.

Family Vacation!!

2008-08-18T17:32:00.002-04:00

Artwork seems so far away now. Just spent a week at the Deuce with Superwoman and WMBB. It was fun - especially watching Jack learn new things every day. He is walking really well now - he can turn corners and change direction too!! I did take my knitting up and finished the last scarf - but have to block it before I can take photos. Started a fun alpaca shawl - I got such a deal on the yarn....really need to stop reading those sale emails from Yarnmarket...they just suck me in.
Leaving tomorrow for our big 30/60 gathering at Glacier National Park. Celebrating SOGs 30th BD and my 60th. Can't wait to get together - we have lots of fun things planned - rafting, horseback riding and a scenic bus tour.
Posting a photo of SW and WNBB at Looking Glass Falls - not far from the Deuce. Brevard is the Land Of Waterfalls, there are some really pretty ones...
Be back late in the month...

Knit Wit

2008-08-08T14:43:00.003-04:00

My fingers have been very busy lately. It seems counterintuitive to spend time with wool yarn when it is bloody hot outside but it makes sense in a twisted way. Even with the a/c blasting, when it is about 100 degrees outside, moving around a lot makes me sweat. Oh, pardon me!! It makes me "glisten". I keep forgetting, women in the South do not sweat - they glisten!! OK, I "glisten" profusely!! So I sit in my recliner, listening to books on CD, and knit like a fool. I also used my nifty ball winder and umbrella swift (thank you, HOG) to transform all those skeins I bought recently into neat balls of gorgeous colors. Finding patterns to make fun things from all of that. I need to use up lots of yarn - the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville is in October and I need to make room for what I know I will buy there....I have no resistance to yarn, the colors just call to me...
Anyway, the photo is a scarf I just finished. It is really long, to wrap around neck several times. We are planning to go to THE GAME in late November. I am sure I will freeze so am knitting warm things to take. Have yarn for a hat to go with scarf. But for now, I am using a silk/wool blend for a lace scarf. It is dreamy in the hand - it is the long blue/green skein in the yarn photo posted earlier.
Back to my knitting....

Home Again

2008-07-24T19:24:00.004-04:00

Just got back from our HOG family reunion. We spent several days in Frankfort, KY - a few greats ago, the fam lived there. We toured town - didn't take lone, great small city. Saw several former family sites and best of all, visited a jewelery store owned by a cousin. Spent some time there and spent some $$ too!! HOG is a wonderful hubby - and I saved him the trouble of shopping for our anniversary. I am wonderful too...
Then we went to the Deuce for a few days with SIL and BIL from Oregon/Arizona. The weather was a bit warm but lots cooler than here at home. Finally gave in an went to the yarn store in Brevard - I have resisted for a whole year... It was a place full of yummy colors and textures. Came home with bags of yarn for future projects. Including a photo so you can see the colors.
Will also include a photo from the cemetery where some of the family are buried. It overlooks Frankfort and some of the crew ventured up on the wall....butts on parade....the names will be withheld to protect the guilty....
Off to sort my yarn stash, including the yarn I ordered online that was delivered while we were gone, fiber fondling is such fun...

Family Reunion

2008-07-19T21:53:00.002-04:00

Here we are in Frankfort, Kentucky - home to some of the Weitzel relatives. We have toured around in groups of various sizes. It has been fun to reconnect with some of the family that we have not seen in awhile and some we met for the first time. If you know any of the Weitzel family, you will understand that some of the most important visits here have been to nearby bourbon distilleries. Bourbon is the poison of choice for most of the Weitzel clan - I find it vile and disgusting but the tours were interesting. I will add more later on our adventure, but the wireless connection here at the hotel is shaky at best. I will try to add one of my favorite photos of today - it is the training of the next generation....

Deuce "Art"

2008-07-15T12:10:00.003-04:00

Once again I have put up some fun stuff at the Deuce, aka, our little house in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This time, it is collaged switchplates. Figure it is a way to add more fun to the walls. Of course when I bought the wood switchplates, I could not really remember how many or what size I needed!! So now I will have to go out and get some more for lots more fun.....

We are off to Kentucky on Thursday for a HOG family reunion. After that, we will go to the Deuce with HOG's sis and BIL. Looking forward to that - kicking back and enjoying the cooler mountain temps.
The photos of the wall "art" has a little glare - had no natural light at the Deuce - too many trees....also putting in a pic of the house itself so you can see where all the fun stuff goes....

Ready To Go

2008-07-03T13:39:00.003-04:00

Last week HOG was out of town for a couple of days, so I took the opportunity to come out of The Black Hole. I really love my workspace, I can do whatever I like without interfering with the rest of the house. But sometimes I just need to spread out and get messy. Being close to the sink is a real advantage too. So I brought down a load of canvasboards, stretched canvases and watercolor paper to the kitchen counter, spread it all out and started flinging paint. I ended up with 10 new backrounds, some just paints and some have paper ephemera . Now I will be able to a project whenever the whim hits without the delay of painting a backround - and the pain of waiting for the layers to dry. I am sooo impatient!!!
We are off to The Deuce this afternoon - as soon as HOG can get away. He has had a bad week, too many problems everywhere. We will go to the 4th Festival in Brevard tomorrow and then it's off to the BIG city (Asheville) on Saturday.

2008-06-22T09:49:00.005-04:00

OK - I know it has been awhile since I visited this space. I spent a few days at The Deuce with Daisy May and Cosmo, my granddog. That leaves precious little time for art. I did work on some backround starts - did the marker and pen parts, will add paints and pastels later. Since I have not much new to show, I'll add photo of some stuff I already have but have not posted. This is from my java junkie stage. Those that know me are aware of my lifelong fondness of tea. A couple of years ago, the worm turned - I discovered lattes!! A new obsession was born. I am now a certified java snob. Maybe I was abducted by aliens - that could explain a lot of things......

Useless Paper

2008-06-03T17:08:00.002-04:00

Last night I asked HOG, "What have I had for 36 years that is completely useless?" His reply was that other than himself, he couldn't think of anything. The answer was - my college diploma!! I was on an online forum yesterday and the discussion was about useless college degrees. Most were English degrees - mine was a 36 year old degree in sociology from The Ohio State University. Don't know when they started with that THE Ohio State University garbage, certainly not when I was there. Anyway, I go to thinking about my diploma - totally useless and just taking up space somewhere. Then I got to thinking what I could do about that. I went upstairs and go it - I know this is the most shocking part of the story for anyone who knows me - I actually KNEW EXACTLY where it was!!!! After looking at it for awhile, I figured I would collage it onto a canvasboard. I cut apart all of the phrases and just put them in random order. Added the O - H - I - O for the chant heard at all OSU events. Then I decided to add the old ticket - that is the one valuable thing the degree got me. We joined the alumni group after graduation, which got us football tickets after 15 years!!! One more piece of "art" for the Deuce....

Grandpa Hamilton

2008-06-01T20:19:00.002-04:00

I was going through some of the vintage family photos I got after my mom died and I found one that I had never seen. It is my Grandpa Hamilton, circa 1910. He was quite a handsome devil, must have been a real lady killer!! I decided to do a collage using that image as the focal point. I had some color copies made of that one and a couple of other pictures. I played around with some crackle medium to give it some texture. That part needs some more experimenting - it did not turn out as well as I wanted. Anyway, I put some walnut ink over it for aging. I used a vintage (1913) postcard and a couple of other vintage papers on it. Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out. Just need to figure out how to frame/mount it. It will hang at The Deuce along with my other works of "art"!!!! I will be doing something for SOG soon - I am waiting for him to send me some wine ephemera from work. A wine theme is in the plans for that one.
Starting to warm up here - and the humidity is getting bad. Makes the drying process really slow. I keep my blow dryer at the ready - love to hurry the process. I hate those products that say they have to dry naturally - I can't stand waiting!!

Art Journal Swap

2008-05-29T20:00:00.005-04:00

Today I finished my Art Journal Swap book. I joined a Yahoo group for collage - they are hosting a swap of collaged journals. I used something I made in Traci Bautista's class in Houston last year for the cover. I had monoprinted a bunch of papers up at the Deuce a month ago - finally used them. It is ready to go into the mail tomorrow. Can't wait to see what I get in return!!
now that I have that project finished, I can start one for SOG (son of Goddess). He liked the style of one of my ACEOs - I will work on something for him next.
Still working on clearing up The Black Hole - need to find a way to keep track of supplies. I have bins & boxes all over and have to rummage through them to find something. Then there is Hidey - but I will talk about her another time....

Image Transfer

2008-05-21T17:52:00.002-04:00

I have been working on a couple of things this week. I learned to do image transfers using gel medium on toner copies. The results are a little transparent and flexible. I did a collage card for a friend's birthday....then sent it off before I photographed it!! I was in such a hurry to get it into the mail for a Friday birthday, I just forgot!! Anyway, it turned out fine...hope Vicki likes it. I also have done an ACEO using the technique - I really like it. Next I think I will use it to do some collages with some of my old family photos. I have a box of old photos - from the HOGs family and mine. Also a box I bought at a flea market. Some are a real hoot - so stern looking, you were not supposed to smile in the old days...Enjoy!!

The Black Hole

2008-05-14T19:26:00.002-04:00

I have done very little creative work the past few days. I have been doing a periodic cleaning of The Black Hole aka my workspace. I am lucky to have a large space dedicated to all of my projects. I have the room over our garage all to myself. Since it is connected to the rest of the house only by a stairway in the laundry room, I can close the door and let the chaos reign!! That is both good and bad - since no one else sees it, I have no incentive to keep it tidy. Therefore it only gets cleaned when I can no longer take a step without endangering my life. Daisy May, my intrepid beagle, is the only one brave enough to venture up there. I booby trap the stairs to discourage visits by HOG (husband of Goddess) or anyone else. I decided it was time for some order this week - I nearly killed myself trying to get to the window for some fresh air. One more day should finish it - then I can work on something fun.
Since I don't have any new art to show, I'll slip in a photo of the azaleas at The Biltmore. I finally got there to see the azalea gardens - spectacular.
One more note - WMBB, Jack, is going to be a big brother - new grandbaby due Dec. 3!!!!!!!

Art??

2008-05-10T10:18:00.003-04:00

Several people in my family have questioned this project. I took an old pair of "fat" overalls and embellished the crap out of them. I used paint, beads, charms. ribbon and anything else I could find to jazz them up. I then used a painted satin hanger to display them. They are now hanging opposite the front door at our vacation house, The Deuce. I figure they serve a dual purpose there - they are a real conversation starter and if anyone tries to rob us, they will think twice. One look at the wall "art" will convince the would-be robber that a real psycho lives there. Maybe that would be enough to deter them!! Anyway, I love them....let me know what you think....come up and see them in person sometime.....

Jack - WMBB

2008-05-06T20:00:00.003-04:00

In addition to my art projects, I have been told I need to let the world know about the World's Most Beautiful Baby - my grandson Jack. This order came from Jack's mom - my daughter, Gretchen. As I am a most proud Oma, I'll post Jack's photo here so you can see how cute he really is.

2008-05-05T14:07:00.002-04:00

I have created this blog to share some of my art projects and to share the wisdom of the Goddess with the world!! One member of the family got a kick out of the wisdom part. OK, maybe it is not wisdom, but it is vital to the survival of mankind. That doesn't sound too self important, does it ???
I have been busy lately making ACEOs - stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They are small cards (2.5X3.5 inches) that have been created in any art form. Most of mine have been collage of some sort. Used a lot of the painted backround paper I have all over the place. My next attempt will be to add some photos of the cards to the blog. We will see how technologically adept I am!!
If that works out, i will see what else I can add to the mix.