Let's Embrace Color Today - National Crayon Day

I cherish my early morning quiet time, but today I sacrificed that time for the sake of an additional hour of sleep. After I was finally finished with my morning meditation (it's always a joy to have a non-gym day because I'm not on a time schedule), I went downstairs and took my shower, then made my two morning cups of tea. DH awakened an hour early because he fell asleep during "Inspector Morse" last night. The captioning was spotty at best, so he completely lost track of the plot lines fairly early on. 

I love the show, but I REALLY love the car. 
That vintage Jaguar is stunning. I'd love a ride 
in that one! 

Happy "National Crayon Day" to all of you. I've known and loved Crayons since I was a small child. I always have some handy - there's just nothing like them. They've been around for a very long time, having first been made in 1904. To celebrate such a wonderful day, look for color in your life today - a picture on a wall, a colorful street light, a car with a brilliant blue paint job. There is color all around, and we are all fortunate enough to see parts of it. 

I love crayons. I love the colors, the feel, even the 
smell (which brings back wonderful memories). 
One of the best gifts my parents could buy for me 
were the big 64-crayon boxes with the built-in 
sharpener. Best Gift EVER! 

I've discussed color perception in the past - the various ways in which we perceive, or don't perceive color around us. There are red/green perception issues, and blue/yellow ones. There are problems with depth perception in some instances, and shadow figures in others. Although we all perceive something (even those without sight, perceive things through sound, touch and other senses), we really don't see alike. 

Black is the traditional funeral wear in the USA 
and much of the West, but sometimes families will 
request other colors for people attending funerals 
for their loved ones. The Funeral Director should 
have that information if you're wondering about a 
specific instance you'll be attending. 

Color also plays a cultural role. In the USA, the basic color for funerals and death is black, but in Japan, it's white and in southern Africa, it's often red. Color is as different as culture, as different as one person is from another. Yet, my store and my living depends on color. My customers, generally, are working with color in their projects. They're coming in for specific colors or are trying to expand their color selections in their personal collections. Even those purchasing jewelry are often pulled to a piece because of their perception of color as much as pattern and shape. 

Working with beads is, in essence, painting with glass 
without having to actually use a kiln and glass cutting 
tools. Beads are friendly, portable pieces of color and 
can be used by children as well as adults. They're quite 
addictive, too - LOL. 

Let's all embrace color today, as well as the diversity between all of us. Not one of us perceives color the same as another, so embrace those differences, it's one more facet of what keeps us interesting to others. Slave Ukraini. 

Sharing Some Beauty - Colors of Nature

As WildFit enters its final week and we move into "Living WildFit" instead, I have a new class starting up tomorrow (although I probably won't get much chance to look at it until Monday). The new class, called "The M Word", deals with meditation and I'm really looking forward to it. I assume there are some pre-class materials I'd better look at, so I'll check those out today. 

I'm gong to start with one of my absolute favorite colorful 
birds - the Common Kingfisher. I've never seen one outside 
an aviary, but I'm totally in love with the copper and turquoise 
mix of its plumage. Such a stunning bird, and a good way 
to start today's photos. 

I'm going to be very sad to see the end of my WildFit class. The others in my class and I, especially about 30 people I'm very active with through Facebook and on the WF website, have a great rapport and have bonded. We did set up a separate Facebook group so that we could stay in touch, but several of us had tears in our eyes as we were chatting on our weekly chat with our Coach yesterday. We'll have our final Coach's Call on Friday the 21st and I'm sure I won't be the only one with teary eyes. 

These beauties are Lady Gouldian Finch. Just look at 
those bright heads, brilliant breast and shimmering 
wings. It's got the beak for cracking nuts and seeds, 
so I suspect that's what it mainly feeds on. 

I've met some wonderful people through the program, some of whom have become personal FB friends. I think all of us still have weight to release, I know I want to be at least 10-15 pounds less than I am now. But that's a lot better than the 20-30 pounds to release that was my initial goal. I've lost almost 15 pounds, 2-12 inches from my waist, and my body fat index has dropped from a high of 35.7 to 35.1. It might not sound like a lot, but I'm quite happy. 

The Mandarin Duck has been a favorite of mine for 
many years. Although the colors are all across 
the board, they all still work on this bird, to make 
a simple and harmonious statement of harmony. 
Such a beautiful bird. 

We're supposed to have a rather nice weekend, so DH is planning to grill steaks tomorrow. I really hope he comes through with that - I'd love a nice steak. But we're still being cautious with each other, so I don't want to push too hard. I'm optimistic, though. 

I couldn't resist adding this one because it's 
so stunning. This is the Lilac Crested Roller, and 
just look at those dainty colors. Again, the palette 
is all over the place, but all of the colors work 
together to create this small, perfect example 
of beauty. 

I'm into color right now - the fruit trees are losing their colorful blossoms and the grasses are getting greener by the day. I think I'll find some photos of very colorful birds to share for today, and I'll be back on Monday. Please stay safe, be kind, and wear a mask if necessary. 

Color in Flowers for Valentine's Day - Runway Tomorrow

Runway fashions aren't available yet, so I'll be posting about last night's Project Runway in tomorrow's blog. That means I need to pull a blog out of the ether, so here we go. How about color. Everyone lives in a world of color, although the perception of color and the depth of colors each of us perceive are different for everyone. Of course you know about color blindness - that "shade to grey" that is experienced in the red and green tones for many people, predominantly men. But were you aware that each of us sees color quite differently? 

In fabric, these flowers would be using an ombre technique. moving from
the intense depth of color near the center to the much lighter colors at
the edges. Mother Nature can dye with a sure and practiced hand. 

Of course there are categories of color - blue, red, yellow as the primary colors, orange, green and purple as the secondary colors. But the variants, the shading between the colors and how the material displaying the color can make the difference in perception also affects how everyone's color perception is slightly different. Since it's Valentine's Day (have a great one, BTW), let's take the time and look at some colorful flowers. 

I remember walking in the high mountains and seeing clumps of blue
Columbine flowers, just like these. So beautiful. 

In Colorado, where I grew up among the mountain peaks, there was a preponderance of blue flowers in the upper reaches of the slopes. The Columbine, in blue, is the state flower and it's a beauty. DH has planted Columbines for me here, but without the elevation, they are yellow and pink. It's those high mountain meadows that allow for the blue Columbine. 

The Indian Paintbrush is a splash of brilliant red against
the background. It's an opportunistic flower with a wide range
of comfortable areas in which to grow. It's found from Texas
to the Rocky Mountains and is hardy in both harsh weather and
hot sun. 

For red flowers, we had our Indian Paintbrush flowers. These opportunistic flowers loved disturbed earth and grew in multitudes alongside the high roadways. I would walk a couple of blocks to the river and cross over the bridge. On the other side, as the road continued onward towards Independence Pass, would be the road cuts and I would often find Indian Paintbrushes there. 

Black Eyed Susan flowers are often considered a weed flower, although
you can grow them from seed. They are altitude friendly, so we found
them easily in Denver, but they were less common in Aspen. That
extra 3000 feet of altitude made things a bit harder for these sturdy
blooms. 

For yellow, there were Black Eyed Susan flowers, usually considered a weed, but what a pretty one! I don't know anyone who planted these on purpose, but when they came up and bloomed, they were usually very welcome. 

Roses come in many colors, and they also accept dyes quite easily, so
there are some real technicolor blooms out there. I tend a bit more to
the conservative, so this is a nice assortment for me. 

Of course, I have to mention roses too, because my mother planted roses along the front of our home in Denver and because it is Valentine's Day, the day when roses are often part of the gifts given to a loved one. The variety of roses is astounding, they are colorful and actually pretty hardy, but small things can bring them down - too much water or some species of insects. Roses are prized, however, and new varieties are being developed all the time. When I was in Portland I visited their rose garden. It was exquisite and quite amazing. I highly recommend it (along with the zoo and the Japanese Garden in the same large complex) if you're ever in Oregon. It's a great way to spend a long day. 

The International Test Rose Gardens in Portland, Oregon, have been in
existence and operational for more than 100 years. It's a perfect climate
for roses, and there are multitudes of varieties being tested here. Visitors
can wander throughout the garden and look a the variety of blooms. 

So, Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. I'll be back tomorrow with fashions from the Runway. Enjoy your day and be kind to others. 

Some Color for Your Life - A Photo Blog

I'll start by saying I gave myself the benefit of an extra 45 minutes of sleep this morning, since it's my "day off" and I'm not at the gym today. I feel much better, or at least a bit more human. Thanks for all of your kind thoughts and comments on yesterday's "bleh" day. Things can only improve from here, right? Now ... onwards! 

I made a list to share with all of you a few days ago, and today seems the perfect time - some of nature's most beautiful color, because I live in a world of black and white and the grey of dirty snow right now. Today is a photo blog of some natural wonders for all of you, so here we go ... 

Let's start with Fly Geyser in Nevada. These relatively small geysers
(they average two meters tall and are always changing their shapes), started
life in a rancher's field in Nevada USA. Now they are the centerpiece of
unusual pools and levels that the minerals in the water have
constructed. 

Travelling to another body of water, this is Lake Natron in Tanzania. The
red color indicates its' extreme salinity (that's a lot of salt in the water).
When combined with the extreme heat of the area and the fact that sale
dries, it becomes a very dangerous place to live. Yet, despite the dangers,
flamingos love the blue water portions of this lake because it's relatively
predator-free. 

The Painted Desert in the Southwestern part of the USA is a stunning
example of nature's construction techniques. The banding is vivid
and solid and makes for an incredible view. Bring your hat, it's sunny
and hot out here. 

I don't know exactly where the Rainbow Mountains in China are
located, but aren't they incredible? It's part of a huge geological
deposition area with lots to look at. Get the light just right, and
you'll see spectacular color variation. I'm especially fond of those
blue stripes. 

Rainbow Mountain in Peru was what sent me off on this journey of color.
A three-hour hike from Cuzco, these colorful mountains show beautiful
banding and are becoming a popular tourist attraction. The next time you
go to Peru, add Rainbow Mountain to your itinerary along with the
amazing Machu Pichu. 

Spotted Lake in Canada has its' unique look formed by the variety of
minerals in the water. It's difficult to get to because it's on Reserve land
and is protected by the Native tribes of the area, but it is said that at
certain times of the year, a person can jump from one spot to another
in some parts of the lake. 

And last, but certainly not least, I offer you Wave Rock in Australia. This
beautiful sandstone, sculpted by wind and rain, perfectly mimics the
waves any surfer would be happy to ride. 

So there you have it, some color for a grey day. I hope all of you have a wonderful Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

My Day Off and a Seed Bead Explanation

It's my :day off" and my first load of laundry is already washed and ready for the dryer. I looked ahead at the weather forecast (called a forecast because it's never actually accurate, just a best-guess scenario) and today would be the best day to head to the bank. I have some things that have to be handled for the business, and that requires an in-person trip over there, so I'll make sure to do that first thing in the morning as soon as they open. That will at least give me a sense of accomplishment for the day - LOL. 

Although there were a lot of pictures of people against beautiful
skies, I really loved this simple and textured trio as an image
for accomplishment. That jumping for joy feeling is so prevalent
when looking around after conquering a difficult task. 

I have a list of things I have to do, not least of which is pulling my 2019 paid invoices from the "current" file and putting them into order into a "past" file. I'm 2/3 through January and haven't been able to file any of my paid bills for the month yet. It's annoying and I want this completed. I also would love to give my computer desk a thorough clean. DH cleaned his the other day and suddenly I see the surface of his desk! It's really quite shocking. Unfortunately, my desk isn't magically following his good example, so if I have some time this afternoon, I'll dive into my own desk. 

I totally understand this sentiment. Right now, although I might
not be able to immediately put my hands on X, Y or Z, I actually
do know where I will find it. It might be buried down a bit, but
I can put my hands on it relatively quickly. That may not be the
case if I clean the desktop, but it really needs to be done. 

I also have the usual - grocery shopping and misc loads of laundry - and I would like to get a start on the culling of my 11o seed beads. For those who don't know, seed beads (small beads made from glass which are stitched together to make larger projects) come in several different sizes and shapes. The most commonly used size is what's called an 11o - an archaic term that might have been based on the number of beads per inch, but that really holds no relevance today. Other common sizes are 15o (smaller than the 11o) and 8o (larger than the 11o). I have all of these and more. 

I generally use 11o and 15o beads in my projects, but my customers
who do bead knitting will often use the larger 6/0 and even 5/0 sizes.
The 11o size is the most common size, however, and has the
greatest range of available colors. 

The storage system that DH built for me many years ago is extraordinary. It has space for 420 tubes of 11o beads. I probably own closer to 1000 tubes, so I need to lay everything out and decide which beads I want to keep and which ones I want to sell or store. I have minimal room for storage, and seeing the colors are important for my work, so putting the excess away isn't very functional. But decisions have to be made, so I might at least start the thought process on this. 

Not only are seed beads available in a variety of sizes, but they are
also available in a variety of shapes. I think it was a lot easier when
I was painting - I used more than 80 colors of acrylics, but it was a
much smaller playground. 

So my day continues - some cleaning, some cooking, some shopping and some errands. In the long run, everything I do today will have to be repeated again in a week - LOL. Be that as it may, I'm still looking forward to my "day off" and wish each of you a Wonderful Wednesday. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Look For The Edge Today

It's a stumbly day already, it's only 4:08 a.m., and I'm already running late. Ridiculous. But the reality is I've got 20 minutes to pull this blog together, plug in photos, and get it posted. Oy! 

The shoulder pain I have is fairly recent, but quite painful and
annoying. It cropped up about six weeks ago and I can't seem
to shake it. I'll probably have to see my doctor about it and see
if it is bone or muscle. 

It's been a 12+ hour of shoulder pain for me, so maybe that's another reason why I'm moving a bit slower today. I've been developing some arthritis or other joint pain in my right shoulder. I think I can pin it down to the angle my body is in relation to my mouse, but I actually can change that - at least at my home computer where my chair has a range of motion. Unfortunately, the chair I use at work is very old and somewhat broken, and the adjust-ability it used to have, is no longer. Come to think of it, the chair is rather reflective of me - my own adjust-ability is also minimized. 

It is hugely important to not lose mental
flexibility. Imagination is to be encouraged
and nurtured, not rounded up and placed
into a cage. 

Of course, this is physical adjust-ability or flexibility, not mental. Although I have been accused of being mental on rare occasions, it is just as important to retain flexibility on both the physical and the mental level. Too much inflexibility mentally and those vast fields from which creativity springs dry up into a small room of white walls and a cement flooring. Boring doesn't suit the human condition - it's something we fight and strain against at every opportunity. 

These red button-up boots are absolutely adorable. Apparently
they are a size 35 and have only been worn once. Available
on Poshmark for $10. I have no idea what size a 35 is, and
I wouldn't wear them, but they are so CUTE! 

So, break out those red shoes today, fling a sweater or light cape around your shoulders or grab that bad-boy motorcycle jacket for your spin to the grocer later today. Walk on the edge of the sidewalk and examine the drainage at the edge of the road for treasures undiscovered as of yet. Allow your imagination to fly wide. It's a good day to soar. 

You never know what interesting things you might
find at meeting points. Here are two sidewalk
edges and I'm totally in love with the colors against
the neutral background of the concrete. Lovely! 

Enjoy your Wednesday. I'll be doing the usual today - grocery shopping, laundry, housecleaning. But between it all, I hope to fly a little too - my imagination needs some exercise. I'll be back tomorrow unless I fly into another dimension, in which case I'll try and write a travel-log for all of you. Happy Day for all! 

Colors, Snow Mountains and Hair - Same Old, Same Old

The final diagnosis - "Yes" for me, but "No" for hair. The head of the Dermatology department and I had a nice chat yesterday, and although there are still some things I could try, like injections, it basically comes down to this. The hair loss is permanent and there really aren't any truly viable alternatives out there. Scarves and wigs were mentioned, but her eyes lit up when I asked about just shaving my head and owning the look. She said she gets a lot of women in who freak out after losing a hair or two. I'm definitely not one of those - LOL. 

No, I didn't stop choosing colors. Color is irresistible to me,
and the prompts given by each of those cards were
excellent. I can work within them. Here's a lovely green
that I chose. Hobbit green for the Shire.  

I did ask her about microblades for my eyebrows - it's a system similar to a tattoo, but with a hair blade instead of needles, and it's results are only semi-permanent - lasting anywhere from two to four years on average. I was worried about my crazy skin reacting badly, but we agreed that a test patch should provide the answers easily. So that's what I'm going to do. Next week, if I don't get another massive snowstorm on Wednesday, I'll start the day at Social Security, then speed over to the other side of town for a consultation with one of two firms I'm looking into for the microblade procedure. We'll see. I've got some time, but not a huge amount. I'd like eyebrows by June, in time for the Bead & Button Show. 

Looking at the front of my house from the far end of the front
yard, you can see the pile is growing higher and higher. That's
all snow that DH has pulled from the roof. If we don't pull the
snow we get ice dams and leaks through the ceilings and down
the windows. 

DH got the snow off the roof yesterday, increasing the snow pile in front of my house. I usually call it Mt Everest by this time of the year, but seeing as all of this is a result of February's snows, I'm rendered momentarily speechless. That's a LOT of snow, and it's been a LOT of work for DH to do. I've started carrying an ice chopper in Minion - the icicles at the back door to the store are dripping and building up so high on the walkway that entry through the door is almost impossible. Bad thing altogether! I'll be chopping and shoveling today before I can get through to turn off the security system and turn on the lights. 

Blue - what a wonderful card. This one might be a bit
trickier to use because it's not just shades, etc., but
also things or animals. I hope I'm up to the challenge
of Blue. 

More snow is on the way, too. We should start getting more snow starting this evening and going through the weekend. Oh well, it is what it is. Too much of the white stuff, however, makes me want to just call a snow day and stay home. So very tempting, and so very much not possible. 

Indigo is a type of blue, but is that darkness of the sky
when it tosses that amazing color across its breadth and
takes your breath away with beauty. I'm not really sure
how to incorporate all of these within a Tolkien
universe, but I'll see what I can do if the prompt is called. 

So I've peppered this post with three more cards I've chosen for my Back to Middle Earth Month's writing prompts. Yes, no surprise here - more colors - LOL. Have a great Friday and I'll be back tomorrow, watching the snow come down yet again. 

Autumn Leaves - Sharing With All of You

I actually got a lot done yesterday. Just having the particulars of this year's Holiday Card nailed down allowed me to actually begin working on them, so I was able to put some items back into storage, pull other items out, clean my space a bit, and most importantly, find the paints I want to use which were buried with a different group of crafting supplies. Now I'm excited, and I'm starting to hear from several of you. Let's make it a landslide of people - Such fun. 

I pulled off in the the parking lot of the Senior Living condominium 1/2
mile from my house to share this beautiful tree. 

A little farther into my immediate neighborhood was
this golden beauty with rust at the tips. It dominates
the entire block. So pretty! 

I've been watching and laughing at this tree for a couple
of weeks now. Look carefully. It's a single tree. The back side
of it is green, the front is this brilliant scarlet. It
obviously has decision issues. 

I took a bit of time while driving back home from the grocery store to take autumn photos of my immediate neighborhood showing their fall colors to share with all of you. Today's post will be heavy on the photos, but it's so pretty. 

A second look at my "split personality" tree. This is on one of two
roads that I take home at night, only a mile or less from my house. 

A little farther along, on my way to the gym every morning, is this
lovely spread of red-tinged gold trees. That spark of brilliant
scarlet in the center left always pulls my eye. 

Even smaller plants can sing. This is just a small
plant around a tree by the side of a commercial building.
That brilliant scarlet coloring just caught my eye and
I had to take a quick photo. This is between my
grocer and my house, maybe a mile away from where
I live. 

I grew up in the Western US where autumn consisted of driving into the high mountains to see the carpet of gold caused by the aspen leaves contrasting with the evergreens in the heights. It was wondrous and beautiful and I loved it. But my favorite colors have always been the saffrons, russets, and bright reds, and those were very rare in Colorado. They aren't rare up here. Every bank of trees or bushes has red somewhere. I'm sharing reds with all of you today. 

Of course we get amazing golds too. This tree is still turning, but
looked so amazing framed against our brilliant blue sky. 

The main street forming the southern border of this mile-long square
I've been sharing with all of you has these newer trees that go
into a dark and rich red every autumn. They extend from here
to the left for at least 1/2 mile, maybe closer to a full mile. 

Finally, one last shot - here's the dawn's light hitting one bank of
turning leaves as I drive home from the gym in the early morning.
The darker area in the sky is actually clouds, although it looks
like ocean or a lake. No, it's low-clouds near the horizon. 

We're off peak. We usually peak right around October 11th, but it's been grey, cloudy, cold, rainy and even a touch snowy, so yesterday was the first true blue sky we've had in the past two weeks. Great timing, Mother Nature. That blue sky allows me to show you why I love autumn in the Frozen Northlands so much. 

Now to plug in my photos and share with all of you. Have a great Thursday and I'll return tomorrow! 

Embracing Color - Mizrahi Style - Project Runway All Stars - NO SPOILERS

This week's Project Runway All-Stars episode celebrated designer and judge Isaac Mizrahi. Meeting at the Jewish Museum, the designers were treated to a personal tour of the Museum's celebratory exhibit of Mr Mizrahi's designs and influence over his lifetime in fashion, an exhibition called "Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History". He assigned each designer a specific color - red, purple, yellow, blue, green, orange, teal and pink. Each designer had to choose one complimentary color to pair with their primary color, had a budget of $150, and had to make a party look for spring for yet another one-day challenge. Yikes! This should be fun. 

Color in the workroom. It was a far more difficult challenge than
it really should have been, but apparently designers (at least this
set of designers) are afraid of color. Shame on them! 

The default colors for designers are not really colors at all - the usual choices are black and white, sometimes with a grey accent. These aren't colors, they are considered neutral in a palette. Remember, we're dealing with fabric here, not light. Black is either the total absence of light, or a complete saturation of color. White, as the opposite of black, is either the totality of all light or a reflection of all colors. Black and white are termed "achromatic" colors - a color without hue. The designers aren't allowed to use either one in this week's designs. It should be an interesting 24 hours. 

Anthony's assigned color was lavender and he decided to pair it with yellow - usually a great color combination. If nothing else, it will be bright. His final dress made yellow the focal, though. His lavender was just stripping along the edges. It looked nice, but I graded him down for minimizing his assigned color. 

Merline was assigned blue, and she chose yellow for her accent - a pale yellow that almost looks like beige. She was playing with shapes again, this time working on triangles. Her problem is that she never really has much of a plan before starting her design, so she wastes a lot of time just folding and refolding her fabrics. 

Helen's color assignment was purple, so she chose an eggplant color, pairing it with a bright sapphire blue. Once again, she trended to the dark, when going into a brighter purple would have been stunning. 

Ken had red, which he paired with an afterthought stripe of pink. Hmmmmm. The dress itself was a dream from the front, but the back fit poorly and the zipper was a disaster. 

Edmond was assigned orange - a really spectacular color. He chose a satin and paired it with a scarlet red. That was a great choice in fabric and color, but satin has no structure, it drapes and swishes. He wanted structure, but ended up with a glorified nightgown. Great fabric choice, poor design decisions. 

Stanley went with a geometric folded top of aqua (think the aqua of bathrooms from the 1950's - that greenish aqua) paired with a slightly flared-over-the-hips pencil skirt of coral. OMG, this was a stunner! The color choices were perfect, and the design was edgy. It wouldn't work well on anyone larger than the size 0 of his assigned model, but yeah - some great choices this week. 

I'm not really sure why, but this rather simple challenge seemed to have defeated many of the designers. It's not that hard - they just had to work with color - but apparently thinking outside of their coloring box is almost impossible for them. Anne's critiques, as she walked around the workroom, were a bit scathing, and many of the designers ended up with lackluster designs because they chose the wrong fabrics for their initial thoughts, or because they just couldn't work past their color. 

For me? Bring it on! I adore color and even though I wear a lot of black, that's more a matter of practicality than love for the dark. I usually pair black with some sort of color, only wearing it solo for funerals and such. 

My go-to website for Runway photos doesn't have any this morning, so I'm leaving today's post where it is and I'm going to try to find final outfit photos for tomorrow's spoiler post. Today, since it's Friday, why not try to find some color in your life to celebrate the fact that we don't live in a world of white, black and grey. Color - embrace it!