Rushed - Yet Again

I'm in a bit of a rush today so that I can get to the gym in 45 minutes. I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you who shared memories and hugs with me over yesterday's 'Four Memories' post. It allowed me to heal one more small step and knowing I wasn't alone in these matters, but that others of my friends had also gone through similar experiences, made it much more bearable. (Of course, those of you who aren't part of my LJ family missed that post - it's a meme that's been working through my friends and yesterday's post was all about memories - sad ones in my case.)

The offered comfort was very appreciated. 

I got a LARGE box in the mail yesterday from Swim Outlet - two more long, cushy towels for my swimming and shower times, a new pair of swim goggles that I'll be breaking in today, some hand paddles which I'm not quite up to using yet, but I'll get there, and a book on swimming. OK, I can hear some of you say to yourselves - "She knows how to swim. Why a book on swimming?" Well, because I'm not exactly sure of the best arm position, or the best way to kick, and there are tricks of the trade in anything. The old adage "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well" was the push behind this purchase. I looked for the e-book first, but it was only available in soft cover. So I broke down and bought a physical book. *sigh* one more piece of junk that made it into my house.

It seems silly to buy a book detailing what I probably already
know, but review is always a good thing. 

Chickie actually awakened early yesterday and joined me at the Y for time on the elliptical. Her own Y is closed for a few days while they pack and move their equipment to temporary quarters for the next year-and-a-half. They're knocking down the old Midway YMCA and building a new structure, scheduled to open in 18 months. The new temporary location will open on Monday, so she might come to my Y again today. I invited her to join me in drowned guppies, but she said she'd rather work on the bicycle. So, good for her. I'll be in the water, though.

Chickie loves working out on the stationary bike. I prefer the recumbent
bike. Different strokes for different folks. 

It's Friday, and for many of you that's the final work day before the weekend. Chickie and I are getting together with our friend Meghan for breakfast tomorrow. She's getting married on Monday and is in town for that purpose. Meghan used to work for me and has stayed good friends with me since she left to wander more than ten years ago. It will be wonderful to see her again.

Meghan is really lovely. She has two little boys, Sebas (6)
and Joseph Jr (less than one year). She's a fun person
with a joy-filled personality and an artistic flair. 

And on that note, I'll wish for you a fantabulous Friday. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow. Maybe a picture blog tomorrow...

Very Busy Wednesday!

First off - Dragons. Chickie and I went to see "How to Train Your Dragon 2" last night at my favorite theatre. The parking lot was packed and people were pouring into the lobby and the various theatres for $5 Tuesday All Day. It's a great deal! And for those of us who are Movie Reward members (which is free of charge) we also got a very respectable container of freshly popped popcorn for FREE and, if we wanted, there was also $2 hot dogs and some candy priced at $2 as well. And this is their normal Tuesday promo. We're going back, for sure!

The second movie takes place five years after the first and the gang has
grown up. Hiccup is now twenty years old and an accomplished
dragon rider/master. 

The movie itself was great. It was just as much fun as the first one, but the characters have grown up a bit and it's all to the better. The love between Hiccup and Toothless comes through and it is that love and trust that wins the day. If you loved the first "Dragon" movie, go see the second one. You'll love it. I'll be buying the DVD when it comes out later this year.

DH met Mattie and others at The Wild Onion on Grand last night
for drinks and some food. I guess he arrived a bit late to eat, so
ended up picking up McDonald's on his way home last night. Did
he have a good time? Your guess is as good as mine. He seemed
very noncommittal when I asked him last night. 

DH took the opportunity to join a long-time friend for a night at a local restaurant/bar and he got home just a little while after I did. So we both had an enjoyable night.

Money is tight for everyone right now and I understand if
my landlord doesn't have easy access to the funds to replace the
A/C. But the lack of air conditioning is affecting my own bottom line. *sigh*

Several of you asked about my A/C issues. The man from the HVAC company came out yesterday morning, looked at the system, concurred with the previous man's opinion that the unit should be completely replaced, and left to contact my landlord and arrange for the work. Although he said he could put it in as early as yesterday afternoon or today, I haven't heard from my landlord yet which means it hasn't been scheduled yet. I fear that it may be delayed because of a lack of funds on the part of my landlord. In the meantime, every single person walking into the shop is complaining about the heat. We're losing customers because of this. All I can say is this better get resolved quickly!

Meaghan worked for me for 1-1/2 years in the early 2000's. She was just
eighteen then, starting out on her adventures in life. She's been
a wandering gypsy since then, never staying in any one place for
long, but she always lets us know when she's in town. Once again
she is in a new city, but seems to be very happy with her two
boys and a fiancee. 

Today I meet a good friend and former employee, Meaghan, and her family for breakfast (along with Chickie), then I'm off on my errands. They will take me from the far southwestern part of Minneapolis to the far northwestern part of Saint Paul, so I'll be putting the miles onto Minion today. It'll be great. My license plates have arrived at the dealer, so I'll pop up there and get them put on. Then I can start to see about getting vanity plates. I loved having them for DaGrape, and would really love a set for Minion as well. But, first things first. I need to take the first step before running the marathon. It'll be a very busy day today and I'll need to be very organized, but it will all work out - I have confidence.

Aearwen is like the twin I never knew I had. Even though
we've never met face-to-face, we talk every week and can
talk forever. She's a fabulous author, a sharp wit, and a
person with great imagination and intelligence. I really enjoy
our weekly chats. 

The best part about my day to come is, of course, the fact that I'll get to talk with Aearwen for an hour this afternoon. I'd been teasing her about my Melkor/Morgoth story for several weeks now, I wonder if she had a chance to read it and what she thought of the final. And, of course, I need to get grocery shopping, office supply shopping, three loads of laundry (one of which is in the washer now), and some beta work done today. No rest for the wicked (or the good, for that matter). Have a wonderful Wednesday and I'll talk with all of you again tomorrow when I've caught my breath.

Alaska and Best Laid Plans

First of all, Happy Alaska Day to my friends who live up there.  Our 49th state is an incredibly beautiful and huge tract of land which houses many very independent-minded people.  Those I've met from there are simply amazing people who I've been pleased to spend time with.  Today is the day when Russia transferred ownership of Alaska over to the United States (thank you, Russia!)and we gained Denali National Park, oil and the Iditarod race.  I send waves out to Chris, Kathy and others who I've met over the years who live in this great state.

The Iditarod Race is a phenomenal event pitting

men/women and dogs against an unflinching

environment.  Not familiar with Iditarod?  

Just follow the link in the paragraph above. 

Denali National Park features huge vistas and

Denali peak (often called Mt McKinley).  Like

everything in Alaska, it's big, bold and beautiful.

Alaska was a huge land acquisition and is our

largest state.  If you put it over the continental

US, it covers a lot of territory as you can see above. 

Yesterday's plans started out a bit stumbly.  I picked up Meghan and we headed out for breakfast.  We had no sooner sat down with our coffee and menus than my phone rang.  It was Chickie.  Now, normally she would be calling because she had overslept, but this time she ended up locking her keys inside her apartment, thus was locked out of her home as well as her car.  I have a spare key for her place, but we weren't anywhere close to her.  So Meghan and I had a great breakfast and a chance to catch up a bit, Chickie settled down in her entryway with her Nook and read for an hour or so, and eventually I dropped Meghan at work, retrieved Chickie's key and got that to her, and continued on my merry way for my day off.

I had a productive day, writing one story (time to re-read today before sending it off) and getting a good start on another.  I did my laundry and spent a pleasant hour speaking with Aearwen.  I hunted for imagery to use on my painted shoes and began making decisions and measurements, and I plotted out a daily word count calendar for my November NaNoWriMo schedule.  If I stick to it, no problems.  All in all, I had a really nice day off.  Can I have another?  Please???  Have a fabulous day while I dive back into work *sigh*.

Post #1199 and Breakfast (Yes, normal stuff.)

I'm rather amazed...this is my 1199th blog post.  I started this blog several years ago just to get my thoughts in order every day.  I posted for a long time just at Blogger, then when I joined the Live Journal and Dreamwidth communities, I extended it to encompass them as well.  I've had ups and downs, celebrated and mourned, and worked through creative projects and roadblocks in these electronic pages and generally, lived.  It's been a fun ride and as I begin post #1200 tomorrow I know I'll enjoy continuing the ride.

This pic of Meghan is from July 2011, but

she's still just as cute a year+ later and has

the most adorable young son.  *hugs*

Today I'm joining my friends Chickie and Meghan for breakfast and I'm SO looking forward to it.  Then I can go get my errands finished and settle down to some writing and beta work.  I have to finish up two stories, one that I accepted, the other than is perched on my mind and is in the works.  I'm running out of October time and need to have these wrapped up before November because I won't have any time during November to speak of.

It looks like a lovely and very low-key

wedding.  Rather refreshing in these days

of "Say Yes To The Dress"

I got news via Facebook yesterday that my nephew, Ben Albers, and his long-time girlfriend, Haley, tied the knot yesterday.  So I'm sending out congrats to him and his new wife and wishes for a long and joy filled life together.  I had the chance to meet Haley when they were up here in early September.  We had the chance to spend some time with them at the Renaissance Festival that weekend.  Haley was (and is) a very sweet girl who looks like she won't take a lot of grief from my darling but stubborn nephew.  They'll make a great couple.

Still checking and experimenting about how to get things posted on the "new" blogspot. If I didn't have a backlog of more than 1000 posts and feature my blog on my business cards, etc., I would just find another host, instead I'm checking out a variety of different ways to make this work. Now for try number three... My day off was very fun. I picked up Meghan and Sebas (her 3-year-old son) and drove all of us to meet Chickie for breakfast. So good! And Sebas was well behaved, it was really fun to see them again and catch up with Meghan. Many years ago she worked for me and we've kept up as friends ever since. After breakfast I drove them to drop Sebas off at day care, and then Meghan forward another 1-2 miles to drop her off at work. Remember this...it comes back later in the day...

Then on to the bank to do some stuff that had to be done before I could file our taxes (yes...that deadline is swiftly approaching) and home to start laundry and get some computer beta work done. Later I treated myself to a quick visit to Hancock Fabrics for ribbon. I have a project in mind and needed the supplies for it. And a quick drop by Dick Blick's Art Supplies for a pencil sharpener. OK, not very romantic but I really needed an old fashioned pencil sharpener that can handle a variety of pencils and I had a 40% off coupon to use so it cost me slightly more than $10 - SCORE!

Then home again for another load of laundry and off to the grocer for munchies and food - good stuff in my basket. Usually I'm in and out with an expense of less than $20, but I got treats and ribs and staples with a bill that was higher than $20 - LOL. Lunch? A Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard. No guilt - I've been wanting one for weeks and needed ice cream. Sometimes you just need something - LOL.

Finally, back for more than an hour of talking with Aearwan. Having our weekly conversation is one of the high points of my week. Oh, and remember how I told you to remember dropping Meghan off at work. When I was taking the groceries out of the car I saw a set of keys on the back seat floor. Apparently they had fallen out of her bag onto the floor. I had no way of getting in touch with her except Facebook, so I left her a message and hoped. She phoned late in the afternoon and I'll drop them off to her early (6 am) this morning. Oops! So...let's see if this post takes and how to put on my tags.

What Am I Thinking Of ? ! ? ! ? ! ?

OK, I am known for packing my days off with stuff - lots of stuff - but today is a little ridiculous. I'll start at 5:45am getting the recycling ready and put out. Then, drive to the shop to get everything ready for the day (turning on the computers, etc). Then north 20 minutes to pick up Meghan for breakfast, which is another 20 minutes or so south where we will meet up with Chickie for said gustatorial feasting. After a conviviel shared talk over food, coffee and bacon (because nothing is complete without bacon), I will return Meghan to her homestead and continue on my way.

I came across this pic while searching for appropriate pictures for today's blog. I just fell in love with it and had to share....what can I say? I have a sense of humor?

I'll go south again - another 30 minutes, to pick up bags for the shop. We're running short and may not make it until next week. Then I want to drop by Wet Paint, a local art supply store, for some gel pens in colors that I don't already have and some regular colored pencils (turns out I only have watercolor pencils - what's up with that?). At some time in my back and forth, I'm expecting a phone call from my broker (it sounds much more impressive than it really is) about some CD's that need to be reallocated (sigh - there is just NOTHING out there that pays any money - very frustrating). When I finally get home I have a story in the works, a double drabble sitting in my mind, and Valentine wishes to send on, then I can crack out my pencils again and try to finish the pencil work for the primary illustration I'm working on as well as starting the other two illustrations I want which I think I can do digitally. Since CS5 is working again (thanks again, Seth!!!) I might be able to work on my DH's computer instead of my own slow clunker.

This piece is done using colored pencils. Pretty amazing work by artist Richard Klekociuk.

And I hope to speak with my friend in California again this afternoon, we've been talking every week for the past few and it's been pure joy. I hope all of you have as pleasant a day as I plan on, just a bit less hectic :-)

Hard Work and a Flash Mob to Share

Yesterday was just as filled with work as I had thought, but things worked well. I had a fun-filled morning with Meghan, meeting Chickie for breakfast and then taking Meghan with me to the fabric store for some decorative braid, and Penco Art Supply Warehouse store. It's always so much fun to catch up with her. She worked for me in '03-'04, a long time ago, but she's still a friend. It was a dreary day, though, with rain all day. I'll have to be careful driving around today, all that rain probably froze overnight so the roads, potentially, might be icey.

I've got a cute, seasonal flash mob for your viewing pleasure. This actually took place at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Business. I really enjoyed looking at it this morning and share it with all of you.

My Silhouette machine was working non-stop from the time I got home yesterday morning until 6:00 pm. The inserts for my first batch of cards were glued, stapled, and put into the cards, then they were made ready for mailing this morning. Group 2 cards are at the embossing stage now. I also got some work done on Sharon's holiday gift. My drabble is stumbling a little bit, though. Hopefully my brain can clear out a bit so that I can get the cadence down within the next day or so. Today would be best.

Studio Day - Breakfast with Meghan

Meghan is back in town. After being gone for almost two years, she has finally moved back to Minnesota and I can see her again. Count me happy! I'm picking her up and we're meeting Chickie for breakfast. Then I need to drop by the art supply warehouse for more gel pens, and she'll come along with me there. I'll finally drop her back off at home and then I'll dive into my second batch of holiday cards.

This is Meghan and her lovely son Sebas in 2009. He's so big by now!

My Silhouette machine will be operating at high levels for the rest of the afternoon, getting batch two ready to go. I addressed the first batch yesterday and just need to put in the inserts, add postage, and they're ready to go. I should buy some stamps, but a lot of these are cards for overseas so I will need to get individual postage amounts for those. I'll drop by the post office on Thursday and let Susan help me with my overseas pieces. I'm very happy with how they turned out, even with all of the issues getting them completed. It was worth it. My in-town cards can still be mailed at the last minute. I don't really stress out on dates, but want to progress to the next project when this one is finally complete and I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel :-) Now to tweak my Yule Fic and finish my ALEC for the month...oh, and those weekly drabbles....LOL.

Recovery

Yesterday was an awesome day in the Pyrenees for Le Tour de France.  I especially enjoyed it when the sheep tried to cross the road in front of the peloton, that was quite amusing.  Andy Schleck won the stage and he deserved to - he did all of the work pulling himself and Alberto Contador up the mountain.  Schleck will be standing on the top step of the podium in Paris within a few years, no doubt.  But this year, barring unforeseen disaster, the top will belong to Contador.  Today we get a flat stage through Bourdeax - perfect for the sprinters, then the time trial on Saturday and the final into Paris on Sunday.  It's been a fabulous tour. 

Some of the best scenes of multiple-surface conflict and work EVER!

Meghan, Chickie and I went to see Inception last night.  That is a mind-blowing movie in all respects.  I'll be thinking about these layers of onions for a long time.  It also qualified as one of the most confusing movies I've ever seen.  You really had to pay attention to what was happening, and it was really easy to lose your train of thought.  But it was really an amazing movie, and you leave the movie with questions in your mind.  If you like movies that can make you think and unsettle you a bit, this is for you.  I gave up some sleep for this outing, so I'm operating on less than empty today. 

Movie Night and Le Tour

I'm joining Chickie and Meghan for Inception tonight.  It's a long movie - 2-1/2 hours long - and starts at 7pm.  So we won't get to eat until close to 10 pm and I won't be home until 11 pm - past the time when my brain turns into a pumpkin.  But it's worth it.  Meghan moves to Michigan while I'm out of town at my Conference, so this is the last time I'll have a chance to see her in forever!  I'm really going to miss her, but this is a great opportunity for her to excel and I shouldn't be too sad.  I know I'll see her again, but Sebas will be huge when I next see him. 

Stage 17 ends on the Col du Tourmalet!  Awesome!

And today is the last stage of the Pyrenees in Le Tour de France.  Things are starting to wind down.  We have our mountain stage today, a relatively flat stage tomorrow, the time trial on Saturday and the ride to Paris on Sunday.  Lance didn't perform up to his own expectations, but Lance and Andy have come through in spades.  I've been loving this tour. 

White Rabbit Time

Remember the White Rabbit in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?  The one who is constantly late?  That's probably going to be me today.  I have breakfast scheduled with my friend Meghan and her wonderful little boy Sebas (and Chickie, of course).  I have to get the shop powered up and ready to go, although after I get that done I won't be there for the rest of the day.  I need to pick up a check from my broker - my funds are getting dangerously low.  I need to look at boxes, and hit the office supply store and grocery.  Then I need to get home and do laundry and work on my BFAC project.  That HAS to be complete by the end of the week - I have too much else to do in July to push it into next month.  Deadlines are breathing down my neck. 

Dust Pillar of the Carina Nebula

We're absolutely flooded with work at the shop.  Those three large shipments last week have inundated us with work.  If I wasn't so far behind on my own deadlines, I would sacrifice my studio day and work at the shop instead.  But, I can't do that; I don't have that ability.  So I'll just continue to play a never-ending game of catch-up.  I decided that a picture of something beautiful yet chaotic might be perfect for today's pic, so here you go - an in-depth photo of a dust pillar in the Carina Nebula. 

Walking Wounded - LOL

It is not possible to make a project in my house without a blood sacrifice.  For my studio day yesterday, I stabbed myself with my craft knife and cut myself with my sewing shears (they are VERY sharp).  Then, of course, because I am a ninny (don't 'cha love that word? - ninny?) -- because I am a ninny, I didn't bother with gloves when I pulled out my finished pieces and neutralized the acid.  Ferric chloride is a mild acid (I would NEVER do that with other acids I work with), but the acid hurt all of my earlier injuries.  I'm pleased with the etch that I got even though I was still etching at 8:30 last night.  I had a lot of trouble getting the image transferred well.  It was transferring to the copper without a problem, but then it wasn't accepting the fusible protectant film.  After a couple of calls to Frank (he's the person who invented this particular system of image transfer), we determined that because my pieces were (1) larger and (2) using 20 gauge copper, they weren't getting hot enough.  He suggested a different thermostat, which I will order today, and a couple of little techniques that I hadn't thought of.  That gave me about a 96% fusing rate and I was able to paint the rest with my resistant ink.  He thinks that I should be able to get 100/% transfer and fuse with the new thermostat and I have never gotten a transfer that is that clean.  So I look forward to getting the new thermostat.  A friend has requested a particular image and, even though that one will use 24 gauge copper and, thus will be easier to work with, I will be happy to play again.  I also have my next project perched in my head just waiting for it's opportunity to play.  So today I'll polish my etchings and darken them, tomorrow I'll drill them and wire them, and I'll have them mounted by the end of the week.  Then I can concentrate on the silk. 

Breakfast with Meghan, Sebas and Chickie yesterday was a lot of fun.  Meghan is turning into a great Mom - very attentive, and obviously very much in love with the little man in her life.  She's looking forward to moving to the U.P. of Michigan in August to begin school.  Since money is always tight for single Mom's, I doubt we'll have the chance to see much of her once she has moved up there.  We were talking about maybe taking a road trip to Yellowstone National Park as a graduation trip.  That would be SO fine. 

Never Long Enough...

Studio days are never long enough. I ran all over town first - four different stops, but each one more than 20 miles away from the others. Breakfast with Meghan, Chickie and Meghan's little boy, Sebi was delightful. I've got to admit - I'm a sucker for cute kids. I don't want to have them around for long periods of time, but when they are cute, I'm totally smitten. And Sebi is an absolute doll. Very messy - but an absolute doll.

After stops at my silversmith friend's to pick up a repair, my box supplier to buy one more box, and the office supply store for paper and pens, I finally got home about 11:30 am. I began the first of three loads of laundry and loaded up my computer to work on the graphics for my backplates. I worked on those for the remainder of the afternoon, finally deciding on the basic size and how I wanted the "banner" to appear at the bottom of each one. Banners would usually be easy, but I want the banner to go through the backplate and turn into the pin catches, so I needed to determine style and fastening method. I am going to be counting on some rivets, so I hope that my riveting is up to snuff.

Then I needed some Tengwar translation, so I found my favorite website for translations and posted for some assistance. I have Tengwar fonts already installed on my computer, just need the lettering and then I can fill the banners in properly. I'll draw the vines and leaves today and I should be able to scan the pictures in by the end of the week, transfer them to my laptop, and get them printed out by Monday night. Then I can transfer the images and get them etched on Wednesday.

Studio Day - Chicken Anyone?

Today will be spent with me running around like a crazy chicken. Circles, loop-de-loops, etc - I'll be all over town from North to East, back North, then Southwest, then back North again. I'd better remember to get some gas first thing this morning or else I won't make it very far!

My day will start with breakfast with the Chickie and our friend Meghan. Hopefully Meghan's little boy, Sebi, can also join us. Meghan and Sebi are returning to Peru for a few months in two weeks, and then, after they get back home, they'll be packing up for a move to northern Michigan. So Chickie and I wanted to be sure to catch them before they left on this stage of their travels. We're going to miss them!

My afternoon will be spent working on the text and embellishments for my copper backplates. I'm still thinking about how I want to do the actual setting of the enamel - whether I want it set from the front or the back and whether I want prongs, tabs, or a full ledge. But even without determing the exact setting, I can work on the text and pictures. I want to get this to the point where I can print this out and etch it next Wednesday, so I have my design work cut out for me. I'm feeling much better about this though. I just wasn't happy with the silver - it didn't really compliment the enamelwork. I think the etched, and maybe pierced, copper will be a vast improvement. Have a creative day!

Snow, Travel and Appointments

Nothing comes easy. Aarrgh. So, I want to pick up my friend Meghan and join Chickie for breakfast for the three of us. So, we got 5"-6" of snow last night. So, I get to start my day out by shoveling out my car, and I also get to hope that the side streets will be passable because... 1) Meghan lives on a side street, and 2) because I have to meet a house contractor at 4pm to get a quote on replacing some water damaged ceilings in the "old house" so that we can progress one more step towards getting the house onto the market in the spring. I also need to get to the grocers or else I won't have any dinner tonight, and I put on two pounds in the past two weeks. So, I'm not happy.

But, I did the primary painting of Sharon's box yesterday and I'm ready to start the next phase, and I have a bunch of wonderful things to play with while I make her item, and I still have two weeks to get everything done, so the world won't come to an end. But the timing of the snow could most certainly have been better :-)

And, I looked carefully at my budget and figured that I could afford a shortened trip for Bead & Button Show in 2010, so I made hotel reservations yesterday. I think I'll probably take the train or the MegaBus to cut my costs even more. I'll miss out on some things, but I'll at least have a chance to see my friends. So I am planning to come in on Wednesday, attend Meet the Teachers that night, and I'll leave on Sunday morning. A very short trip for me since I usually stay for eight days. But at least it's looking like I might be able to attend.... Maybe.... I hope....

Enameling Possibilities

I'm in love with a 3-week old. Sebastian Ray has captured my heart!

I fired up the kiln yesterday and tried some experiments to decide if an idea I had in my head would work for my Beading For A Cure project. After several coats of enamel, I decided that it will, indeed, work, although I need colors that are more appropriate to the project colors. So, I broke down and went onto Thompson Enamel's website. More than $100 later, I will have some enamels in my hands by mid-week next week with several new colors, another firing stand and a few application tools that I have been wanting. I also ordered five pounds of citric acid from another source. I prefer to use citric acid instead of Sparex or swimming pool acid for my work. I think that the citric acid is more environmentally friendly. And I even successfully got two loads of laundry done, went to the book store, and had breakfast with friends (including the cutie at the top of this post). It was an excellent day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. LINCOLN. 200 Years Young Today!

Today I think I'll bring the laptop to work with me and see if I can get any work done on a new newsletter for my customers. It seems that the only time I have to work on things is during the day at the shop, so I can spend that time doing computer work if I remember to bring the appropriate computer - LOL. I'd better spend a quick moment and update my credit card with them also so that I have a real and active account. To work....to work. Never ending :-) I'd rather be beading and enameling, so I'm already looking forward to next week's studio day.

Questions for Today

The Daily Art Muse had two questions for today that might be worth thinking about, so I'm passing them on here while answering them for myself. You may also find answering these worthwhile. She wrote:

"I have two questions for you today: Which small detail of your daily life inspires your art? And something that I have been researching and exploring on my own – Does your art help the greater good in subtle ways? (part B to this question is – Do you want it to?)."

So...Which small detail of my daily life inspires my art? Well, I guarantee it is not the mess that I live in and sigh about daily. Just not enough hours to be the housekeeper that I wish I could be. But, although I would love to avoid the trite "nature" fall-back, it is actually true in my case. I am a morning person. Waking and greeting the dawn and the sunrise makes my day worthwhile and when I miss the sunrise or when the clouds are in the way, my day seems incomplete. I'm not a plant person (except for trees - I adore trees), but I love the colors that come in every sunrise and sunset, the stars at night, the moon and the varied personalities of the sky. These are inspiring for me and start and end each day as I thank the Spirit for allowing me to share in the great Song.

The second question is a bit harder. Does my art help the greater good in subtle ways and do I want it to? On this, I really have no idea. I know that sometimes people are happy when they see or receive my art, so I have helped the cosmic karma that day by adding to the positive and taking away from the negative. I know that every piece that I work on is a personal, direct, and physical prayer of thanks to my Muse and the Spirit. I am grateful for the skill that has been placed into my hands and give that skill back through my actions. I am a deeply spiritual person, but since I try to not impose my spirituality onto others, I tend to be a bit less than clear. But I hope, through my actions, that the Song will be heard just a bit more clearly than it might have otherwise.

Today I will start the day out with breakfast with a few dear friends, then run some errands, and I'm really going to try to fire up the kiln today and do a test fire of my latest experiment. Yesterday's "measure twice, cut once" worked out well. I now have the copper cut for my sigils project. But I also have to start on my Beading For A Cure project, and I'm still torn between two project possibilities. I do know that the beading will take center stage away from my drawing and enameling for a while, and although my beading is still creativity I will miss picking my pencils and colors for a while . OK, tirade over - LOL. So I'll show "Horse" as today's picture since that was last year's major beading project :-)

Baby Steps

As usual, I didn't get as much done on my studio day as I wanted. But I did get several beads electroformed and tried some enameling with my baby kiln. I just couldn't get the heat as hot as I needed, though, and rather than possibly have cracking of the glass, I'll bring the pieces and the lead enamel to the shop and I'll have to work on the project there. It will eliminate one thing that I could do on my Wednesdays, but I have plenty of other things to keep me busy.

My friends "Chickie", Meghan and I got together for breakfast yesterday at our favorite little cafe, Jay's. We always ask what their waffle of the day is because they have some awesome flavor combos. Yesterday's choice was a bacon waffle - it was almost like having three very content and purring cats on a sunny window - the flavor ecstasy. OK - maybe the analogy is a bit over the top - but the waffles were really GOOD. If you are ever in the area, stop by Jay's, their food is really great and the service is also wonderful. Great coffee too!