Thinking ... It's a Thinking Kind of Day, I Guess

This will have to be a very short and sweet blog post, because I have to leave for the pool within 30 minutes. So ... not a whole lot, but let'e see if I can't make it thoughtful and maybe leave you with something for the day. 

Today I'd like to be more like "The Thinker", but I 
suspect I'll be closer to a tornado. Lots to do, and my 
thoughts, although they need to get organized, are 
probably going to get swept up together and sorted 
when I have a bit more time. 

Yesterday was hectic. We needed to get DH's truck over to the dealership for a six-month checkup. Since he refuses to just go there and wait until it's finished, we started our day. As it turned out, he would have been out of there by 10:00 am. As it was, by the time we got home, it was closer to 8:00 pm. *sigh* It was a very late dinner. 

There's nothing much better once the weather turns 
colder, than a warm bowl of chili, stew or soup at 
the end of the day. I'm already looking forward to 
dinner, and it's only 4:10 am! 

It was a busy day at the shop, though. A lot of customers, but never too many to adequately take care of both the customers and the store. All in all, I like days like this at the shop. I like to interact with my customers, but not feel too compressed on time that I can't get other things done as well. 

Today's meditation asked for us to use a journal in it. I 
generally don't do that - my blog is my journal, in many 
ways. After more than 50 years of trying to keep a journal, 
the blog is the only thing I've successfully used day after 
day for multiple years. I guess I'm just not suited to 
pen and paper. 

So ... as for thoughts - there are actually quite a few running through my head from this morning's meditation, but I want to mull them over a bit more before writing any of them down. So, I guess you get  rather innocuous post today. Sorry about that. I guess we all swim in the shallow end sometimes. But I promise, I'll venture back into the deep end again soon, and pull you along for the ride. Have an excellent Tuesday, I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Apps and Dreams

Today WILL be spent in front of my computer working on my presentation - if they are going to pay me (and they are) then the least I can do is make sure that they are getting their money's worth. So I'll work on that today. It is coalescing in my mind, so I think I can pull it together, it's just getting the graphics organized. I'll set the scanner up and work on some of that too. Hopefully I'll also get a phone call from my friend in California late this afternoon. It's always a joy to hear from her, but last week we had to cancel because of my crazy work schedule.

My dreams last night were populated by character investigations and storylines. In fact, it's a wonder that I got any sleep at all. If I continue to have these kinds of dreams, I'm going to have to start keeping a journal next to my bed to jot down my thoughts. The problem is, even under the best of circumstances my writing is chicken scratches. Under the guise of sleep-writing, I have a feeling I could write pages and be completely unable to read them the next day. But the words were coming together just beautifully. It gets frustrating when I have clarity at times when I can't do anything about it. All I can do is hope that the words and vision will revisit me when I have a keyboard close at hand.

I use this series of books a lot to help with poses and anatomy.

I also want to activate my Deviant Art account and get some things uploaded into it. I've been doing some artwork for a friend's story, (actually, I had another author whose work I love take another art piece of mine as the inspiration for a recent story of hers also) so I have several pieces out there now. I have had a Deviant Art account for several years, but never uploaded into it. Now, I think I'll make it active and I'll also upload to my website because...well, just because that's what I'm making for my artistic work lately. So, within the next month, I should have some things out there for people to look at. In the meantime, I'll continue illustrating and writing because it's fun. Isn't that the only reason to indulge in extra activities?

Not the Best Start

So, my Email program is messing up this morning and so far I can only access a small part of my Emails.  Since I usually spend three hours on my Emails every morning, this is putting a serious hole in my morning.  Fortunately I can update my blog/LJ in other ways, so I can still stay in communication and write my daily thoughts. 

 I love to share my thoughts.  They are not
earthshaking, though.

I have often said that I write my E-journal for myself, and that is true.  I have followers from around the world, which I find flattering, but I'm not saying anything earthshaking, and often my stream of consciousness thoughts are not even gramatically correct.  I write it because it helps me to put my thoughts in order for the day.  I also write it to take my personal shout out to the world to let it know that I am still alive and participating in the endless cycle of life; my own few steps in the dance of life.  I share my E-journal on two sites - Blogspot and Live Journal.  I have different followers on each service, and I get different comments.  I am amazed that people read my little journal, and even more amazed that I get commentary from people.  And so, today, on this day that has started out so frustrating, I am taking this time to tell all of you how very much I appreciate your reading and commenting on my E-journal.  You honor me and I am humbled by your time. 

Time is ticking for Holiday Gifts. 

My list of things to do on my studio day today is huge (as usual), but I did get my first batch of holiday gifts packed up and ready to ship yesterday.  I want to do a little bit more for each package - a poem or small story about the gift that will be included with it.  But they are almost ready to mail and should be able to hit the mail by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.  I started work on the Staff of Ra last night with my small Wacom tablet.  I honestly don't know how I could do my more elaborate etching work without my tablet - probably one of the best $100 I ever spent, many years ago.  I almost have the front of the headpiece finished and can start on the back later tonight.  Progress....

Indecisions in California

So same sex marriages are no longer allowed to be celebrated in California until appeals have run their course.  I know that many people reading this blog may not approve of same sex marriage, but I believe in love, companionship, and, if desired, marriage.  Many same sex couples are as devoted, perhaps oftem more devoted, to each other than opposite sex couples.  I see no reason why they cannot be married in the eyes of the law.  As for the eyes of whatever religion they belong to...that is up to the particular religion.  I probably won't expect to attend a same sex marriage in my local Catholic church anytime soon, though.  The thought is that the appeals will run their course, eventually ending up at the US Supreme Court.  This could be very good...but has an equal chance of being very bad for same sex couples.  I know my friends who have married their partners are extremely happy, and I think that's great!  If you feel a need to never read this newsletter again because of my views on same sex marriage, help yourself.  But I have always felt that homosexuality is just fine, even though it is not my personal preference in my own life. 

Happiness is what is important
and Love should be legally allowed

Happy, after all, is the key, isn't it?  Although lots of poetry and novels are composed under the circumstances of depression, starvation, and sorrow, I have always found it difficult to be particularly creative when I'm wondering where my next meal may come from or how to pay the bills that are stacking up.  For my personal creativity, happiness allows me to have bright colors, interlocking elements, and uplifting themes.  When I am depressed, although I often will bury myself in my art to try and work out of my depression, my artwork generally isn't as good.  The clarity, focus, and general thematics of my own work suffers when I am suffering.  So I try to stay happy.  That's as good a reason as any to be happy :-)

A Journal In My Future

Last night DH wanted to go to our local art supply store for some posterboard.  After finding what he considered to be the perfect weight, he asked me how I was coming along on my leather-bound journal.  Since I hadn't done any work at all on the journal, I was able to say that I had other projects in front of it.  But we looked through papers - handmade, hot and cold pressed, watercolor, pastel, drawing and sketching, finally ending up with a larger sketchpad for drawing with a slight texture, but not as deep a texture as the oil pastel paper that I had also loved.  I will cut that up and start making signatures of the pages soon, and I'll probably have to take another look at the journals that I liked at Renaissance Fest to see how they are binding their signatures into their journals.  I really loved them and had decided to try and make one for myself because I love to make my own and because I'm too broke to buy one of theirs for myself.  I have all of the components - the paper, the leather, the closures - so it seemed reasonable.  But looking through my bookbinding books late last night, I can't find specific directions for the type of binding that I recall their using.  I can get the signatures together, but that's as far as I'll be able to go until August.  (Isn't the pictured journal amazingly fun?  It's a design idea, I won't copy it but there are aspects of it that I might put into my own journal.) 

I set the colors on my silk and washed out the resist last night.  I'm in love.  The colors are bright and vibrant and exactly what I had wanted.  Now I have the resist that I had down at the horizon that needs to be painted.  I will put the silk back into it's frame tonight, put a small amount of resist back onto the fabric, and touch up the small amount of white at my horizon.  Or I will look at it again tonight and agree with DH who says that he rather likes the white.  But I just can't make up my mind completely.  I just know that I'm very happy with the colors and imagery and that the whole project, as it shifts into it's final stages, is turning out to meet my mental imagery and project requirements.  And that's important because I want to get this completed and move on to the next two projects that are perched in my mind. 

350 and I'm Not Bored Yet!

This is my 350th post. I'm pretty darned amazed that I've kept this up for as long as I have. I never had any luck with diaries or journals before, not even the electronic versions. But I have kept this blog going because it's been a great focusing item for me.

I spent last night working on finishing the front-piece for Chickie's gift. The temperatures right now are not very condusive to getting progress on Sharon's, so I'm getting a bit stymied there. But I still have a bit of time and I should have Chickie's finished by the next studio day so that I can concentrate on Sharon's then.

And things are starting to FINALLY pick up at the store. We're busy again, and the dollar volumes are tolerable. It's been a really tough year, so I'm happy that people haven't forgotten about us and still love us. Now I have to hope that this will continue for the month of December and that it will pull into the New Year also. A lot of things are on the line and we HAVE to have a good end to the year to keep things intact for 2010. There are times that I really hate running a small business, and when I look over the books and the finances, those reasons really come to the front. I would much rather create than balance the profits and losses - one reason why I never went into accounting or finance in college.

Journal in a Jar

On Tuesday, December 2nd, Mary Hunt suggested a unique gift for the holiday called a Journal in a Jar. Mary writes a column called "Everyday Cheapskate" and I have found many of her suggestions to be very worthwhile. The Journal in a Jar appealed to me on many levels. Here's what is involved: Assemble in a container everything that the recipient would need to write a journal about his/her life. This starts out with a blank journal and several writing implements and at least 365 separate questions that could be answered - allowing for a full year of answered questions that will explore many aspects about that person. Many years ago I asked my Dad to do something similar to this. Unfortunately, even though he was an author, he never turned his writing skills to this. But I can and you can, no matter what your age. Mary provided hundreds of potential questions for all types of age groups on her website (DebtProofLiving.com). Go to "Mary's Web Desk" under "Quicklinks" at the left side of her home page.

What brings this to the forefront so long after the original article was published? On Saturday December 27th, my hometown newspaper published 47 questions for a Journal in a Jar and there are even more available now at the MinnMoms forum. I am going to take some of these questions and answer them over the next year as a way of exploring myself. I believe that knowing myself better, my artwork will be more personal, more focused, and a more well-rounded experience. I urge my readers to allow themselves the opportunity to answer some of these questions for themselves. Self-exploration and self-realization can only be positive and help all of us "find ourselves" - a goal that many of us "flower children" had while we were growing up in the 60's.