A Rabbit In The Garden

Art and A Story: Be My Valentine

2012-02-14T18:29:00.006-05:00

For this Valentine's Day, I made my sweet husband a card. I had a stash of old 1950's Valentines like we used to exchange in school and since that's the era we were children, I wanted to make my Valentine for him look like something I would have given to a special boy in my classroom.

It's simple, but hey, if you're a kid, simple is great! I covered the cardstock with red foil, added a lace doily (you can't see the glitter I put on the doily) and then added the vintage Valentine's Day card and went around the edges with a Silver Leaf Pen. I wrote a poem and put it inside but I'm not going to share that with you - it's personal you know! And yes, he loved it!

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BE MY VALENTINE

44th in the Tuesday Story Series

Valentine's Day beginnings are shrouded in a semi-romantic fog. According to historical sources, there were several early Christian martyrs named Valentine, with two of them being the most well known. One was Valentine of Rome, who was a priest martyred about AD 269; his flower bedecked skull is in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. The other well know martyr is Valentine of Terni; he was martyred during the reign of Emporer Aurelian. Neither one, nor any of the others, were connected to romance. It wasn't until the 14th century when Chaucer wrote the Parlement of Foules, when there was the first written line about St. Valentine's day and romance:

"For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."

From there, medieval authors have tucked into their writing occasional references to St. Valentines day such as this quote in 1601 from Hamlet by Ophelia in act IV, scene 5:

"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine."

Then by 1784, an English nursery rhyme book was published and included the following,

The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou'd be you.

In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man's Valentine Writer, containing pages of sentimental verses for the young man who could not compose his own. Paper Valentine's became popular in England and began its headlong rush into today's greeting card frenzy. In the 1980's, the diamond industry began to promote the holiday as a choice occasion for giving gifts. And the oft told story of a St. Valentine healing the jailer's blind daughter before he was martyred has no basis in history. Sorry!

So, here were are, having fun on Valentine's Day, even though we aren't really quite sure of how it all got to this point. Some may say greed, some may say sentiment. Commerce certainly looks forward to this date in February, as do many of the romantics at heart. My husband proposed to me on Valentine's Day 1981, and I have enjoyed my share of beautiful flowers, candy, and cards over the years. But as I get older, it isn't as important a date as say, our wedding anniversary, and since I became ill with the ME/CFS, going out to a fancy restaurant doesn't happen. Cards exchanged with hand written, heart felt words are what makes us the happiest and I am very thankful for the wonderful poem my husband wrote this year, about how he sees me and my art. I'm going to frame it!

So, whatever the reason we all celebrate St. Valentine's Day, I hope you had a happy one!!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Moving On

2012-02-13T19:44:00.000-05:00

I put some more work into the next batch of foam core postcards. Now it's time to cut them apart and give each one its individual touches.

It's a bit hard to get the true colors at night, but you can get the general idea.

Remember, this was the first layer; it's amazing the altering you can do with a mixed media approach! I will photograph each individual postcard when I'm finished and show them all to you!

Have a great week and stay warm!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Yahoo! PLAY!!

2012-02-11T17:36:00.000-05:00

Today, for the first time since around Thanksgiving, I felt like doing art all day long! Of course, I can't just yet and fatigue and exhaustion caught up with me, but it was grand to be up in my studio. When I did the foamcore board postcards a few weeks ago, I could only spend a couple of hours at a time, and some days I just had to push myself. And I realize that those days may revisit me, but I am excited about this day!!

Speaking of foamcore postcards, I started another batch! The two postcards shown in yesterday's post have already been mailed out! So, I thought I better get a move on and do some in a larger batch. Do you remember this tissue paper from another post?

Bright primary colors, juvenile images, not really my style.

BUT..... that becomes this:

(click for details)

With a little bit of paint, stenciling and other alterations. I tore the tissue into chunks and adhered it to a piece of 12 x 18 foamcore board. This is just the beginning, I will be adding much more to it and then will cut them up into another set of nine postcards. It needs to rest and dry, and I need to simply rest!! But I'm excited about what they will become!

While I was photographing these pictures, there was a lot of activity at the little bird feeder hung up outside my window, so I managed to get a couple of shots of a titmouse.

The feeder has shelled peanuts in it.

The Titmouse watched me for a second or two.....

.....then went right back to eating. This little feeder attracts House Finch, Purple Finch, Titmice, Carolina Wrens, Brown Headed Nuthatch and Black Headed Nuthatch. They are used to me sitting just a foot or two away and will empty the feeder very fast, especially on a day like today which was much colder than it has been!

Okay, I'm tired and achy now, I need to go find a small piece of chocolate!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

A Couple of Art Pieces

2012-02-10T17:10:00.001-05:00

Lately on Postcrossing, some of the recipients I've drawn stated that they liked handmade postcards, among other listed choices. So I thought I'd try to make a few to have on hand to send out the next time that choice is mentioned. Here are two I've done so far:

(click for details)

These are actually altered postcards; I had received one or two postcards which were either duplicates of one I had received before, or too similar to another building in the same city. So now I will attach card stock to the backs, write a note, stamp it and send them off! I recycled mesh from a lemon bag and pink paper from a bouquet, and used cancelled postage stamps, rubber stamping, Japanese rice papers, thread, Silver and Gold Leaf Pen, Golden Bead Gel, blue mica chips, acrylic paints, and tissue paper.

(click for details)

This is an unfinished project; it's collage on deliwrap paper and acrylic paints. The collage includes printed tissue, book pages, cording, torn handkerchiefs, torn heart doily, red flower netting, Japanese rice papers, and paint stained paper towels. It will be the background for further adornment!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

A Story: The Wagon And The Hero

2012-02-07T15:57:00.005-05:00

I have spent the whole week recovering from a debilitating head cold and am finally at the end of it. So there is still no art, but I did do my bit for world peace and sent out 12 postcards this morning - going to Russia, USA, China, Brazil, and Holland. My hope is that my art will not languish much longer!

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The Wagon And The Hero

43rd in the Tuesday Story Series

One of my husband's least favorite things is to go shopping. And car shopping is probably dead last on that list. But sometimes you have to do what is necessary and be thankful that it is not something that has to be done frequently!

In 1988, we had purchased a used station wagon which soon became a driving headache. Among other issues, it leaked in three places around the windshield whenever we had a respectable amount of rain, one of the leaks in the driver's area. After trying in vain to seal the leaks, and deal with the other issues, we finally agreed to purchase a new car on sale. John did some research on cars and we put together a list of possibilities. We watched the ads in the newspaper and decided to spend the last day of the year making the rounds of the auto dealerships.

Dec 31, 1988 was a very rainy, cold and windy day in Charleston SC, and that didn't add to our mood as we started the day out early. After depositing our 5 year old daughter with a neighbor, we began our hunt. We visited several car dealers, made several test drives and had narrowed it down to a couple of choices. The last place we visited was a Nissan dealership. They had a 1988 Nissan Stanza wagon marked down on sale with several thousand dollars off the listed price. We took it for a test drive, and really liked it. After we got back to the dealership, we talked it over, then told the salesman that we wanted to purchase it.

By then it was late in the day, and getting dark early because of the weather. We were tired and weary, but John was vigilant as began the process of purchasing the car with all the paperwork involved. We had been escorted to the typical small, windowless office (really not more than the size of a closet) and then Mickey-the-salesman began playing the game that car salesmen often do, finding reasons to leave the room to make us think he was trying to get a better deal for us. He kept saying things like "let me ask my manager about that - I think I can reduce the price" or "I'll go check about the percentage", or "You're such a great couple, let me see if I can get a lower rate for ______" and then he'd go out in the lobby for a smoke. Yes, I know that's what he was doing! And then of course, he'd come back and assure us that he was trying to get a better deal.

These types of actions were one of the main reasons John hated to buy a car. He doesn't like to argue, he doesn't like stalling and he doesn't like it when someone isn't being upfront about something. He was trying to be patient as we sat there, very weary, with a haze of cigarette smoke hanging in the air. But Micky-the-salesman went one step too far when he came back in after the umpteenth time, sat down behind the little desk and said rather hesitantly "I ..., um, I just found out that the car doesn't have air conditioning. Do you think you need air conditioning?"

John looked at him for a split second, then rising from his chair he stormed "Do we need air conditioning?!? DO WE NEED AIR CONDITIONING?!?!?! IF THIS WERE ALASKA WOULD YOU ASK US IF WE NEEDED HEATING???" and turned to me and said "Let's go!"

Now my husband had always been an even tempered man, and during the 7 years we had been married, I had very rarely ever seen him lose his temper, and even then it was hardly an outburst. But this so stunned me and Mickey-the-salesman both that we just sat there for a minute, not moving, Mickey's mouth hanging open. John stood in front of me and said firmly "Let's go, honey." and I rose from my chair and followed him out.

When we reached the showroom, it became apparent that John's outburst had been heard by most of the staff still on the clock that New Year's Eve. We marched straight out the door into the rain, and I was still trying to adjust to what just happened. We hadn't gone more than a couple of feet when we heard behind us,

"Mr. Cook! Mr Cook! Wait! Please come back, we can straighten this out! Please, Mr. Cook!"

John had opened the umbrella and we turned as he raised it over our heads. There stood the manager of the dealership at the door, and we noticed that most of the salesmen were behind him, visible through the glass. John said "I'm not going to be jerked around like that!" More apologies from the manager, and after hesitating a moment, John said "Okay, we'll see what you have to say" and we returned to the showroom.

To make a long story short, we received the installation of the A/C at cost (we checked to make sure that part was true - it was), and another discount off of the price. We drove home the blue Stanza wagon and it served us for many years; our then 5 year old daughter later drove it when she was in high school. But the best part of the night was the affirmation that I had married a fair man who would not be pushed around. He was my hero!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Cocoon Hatching!

2012-02-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in this post (with pictures) about my husband bringing home some cocoons he had found on the trail while he was walking our dogs. Monday he brought home another one and it was on my bedside table. That evening, John and I were watching something from Netflix on the laptop and I happened to turn my head and noticed movement. There were crawlies all over the cocoon and I realized they were very tiny baby praying mantis! They look just like this:

After getting over the shock, I quickly grabbed a jar and scooped them into it. On Tuesday, I released them outside. We have three more cocoons, or egg cases, and we have them in a jar just in case. Praying mantis are wonderful to have around, because they eat all kinds of insects. They've even been known to grab a hummingbird, although that's not so great! Praying Mantis egg cases are for sale online, people order them for their gardens. Each egg case holds between 100 - 200 young. It's just amazing that they start out so teensy and then get so large. Praying Mantis are probably the most aggressive bug in the garden!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

A Story: I'm from Where?

2012-01-31T18:02:00.007-05:00

Sunday night I had a hard time getting to sleep, so I began working on another art project, a second deli wrap collage. It's still in the beginning stage, and I have no photos yet because I have had a head cold which has really slowed me down with my already constant fatigue. I hope to have pictures for you on another day!

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I'M FROM WHERE?

42nd in the Tuesday Story Series

Growing up I always enjoyed hearing my father tell stories about his ancestors. History has always fascinated me and these anecdotes just brought it to life. Then one day when I was older, my Dad showed me a little red book with my father's family name embossed in gold on the front ~ LIVINGSTON. This little book was written by another Livingston descendant who had interviewed his relatives and looked at family Bibles and local cemeteries in his area to compile all of his information. He even had copies of old photographs in his book, so it made the little book extra precious. It had been written in the 1940's.

The author had started this genealogical record with the head of the family who had moved to Orangeburg County SC from Newberry County SC and was the forebearer of all of the Livingstons in Orangeburg. He was my gggg - grandfather, John Livingston.

The author opened the paragraph of his little book by referring to Robert Livingston of New York, who had signed the Declaration of Independence. He spoke about Robert's Scottish heritage, tying it in with our heritage, stating that we were part of a centuries old Livingston Scottish clan. When I was older, I bought a little book about Scottish Clans and even joined the local Scottish Society.

In 1999, I started doing serious research work on all lines in my family. The first, and easiest to do was the Livingston line. Genealogy was beginning its rise as a popular pastime and there were more books available to research. There were more and more organizations which were posting their information online. But at that time, the best way was still to go to archives and spend hours searching through old records. I loved it - it was like a little window back into time.

I began by searching out everything I could find about Robert Livingston. Since he was a famous patriot, there was much information and genealogical records already published in many books. I searched and searched, but could find nothing about any of his family extending into the South. In fact, no one ventured out of the northeast! Puzzled, I started to look elsewhere. I drove from Charleston to the SC State Archives outside of Columbia SC and spent most of the day digging. Starting with what I knew (the ancestors I had proof about) I worked backwards and several hours later, I was looking at a Land Grant for one Martin Luther Leviston. His son's name was John Livingston. Martin was from Germany.

When I told my Dad that evening that I thought we were from Germany and not Scotland, he was very dubious. But after more research, I was able to put it all together.

Martin's family arrived in Philadelphia PA from the Palantine area of Germany on 21 September 1727, on the ship William and Mary. Their last name was Liebenstein, and they settled outside of Lancaster PA, and joined the Muddy Creek Lutheran Church. Michael and two of his brothers were given a land grant in Maryland, then sold the land and moved to Newberry County SC where they acquired another land grant. Martin's son John moved to Orangeburg County and started a saw mill; it was this family from which my father's family is descended.

Also, Martin was a Tory during the Revolutionary War, and was a Captain in the SC Royalists. He was serving under Lord Rawdon at Camden SC and was killed in September 1781 during an unsuccessful attack by the militia of Nathaniel Greene. His two brothers were also Tories, then switched to the Patriot side after the fall of Charleston SC to the British.

So my heritage went from haggis to schnitzel, at least for this family line. And it was fine with me, I had no preference for what country I was from, I just wanted to know the facts. The author of the little Livingston book made a serious mistake by assuming that one name was the same as another. Many refugees and newcomers to America Anglicized their names, or had them Anglicized for them by the authorities who could not pronounce what they were hearing when the records were recorded. The names changed down through the records as Liebenstein, Loewenstein, Leviston, Liviston, Livingston. There are many Livingstons in the US who can trace their line back to Scotland, but ours has a different history. Many American names are like that - you cannot be sure what nationality they are until you do a little research. In genealogy, one of the worst mistakes you can make is to assume a fact. Much of life is like that - don't assume, find out!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Cork Board Project

2012-01-29T16:17:00.002-05:00

Today I finished the cork board project!

I ordered this Washi (paper) Tape from Paper Source, 5 different rolls, 16 yards per roll; this particular tape is made by Cavallini and I chose it because of the colors. My order also included the luscious Loktaki papers you see under the tape, and several other items. They have some wonderful items at this source!

I used the tape all around the gessoed wood, layering it as I went and tucking the final layer under the edge of the wood.

I mitered each corner, and then put a coat of Polymer Medium over it all to seal the paper tape together.

Now it's ready to hang!

Click on any picture for details.

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Nature's Protection

2012-01-27T18:33:00.003-05:00

Recently I have been trying to walk a small distance on the few days when I have just a bit more energy. It's not far, and it's not level around here, so I get a tiny workout. I've been wiped out when I return, but it is so nice to go out of doors! I have always had an eye for whatever secrets I can discover in nature, so I'm going to share my most recent one.

In a small leafless shrub near the edge of a pasture, I saw a nest left from last breeding season. I went over to look at it and as it was still in pretty good shape, I decided to bring it home. After taking the dead leaves out of the nest, I found another surprise, bits of egg shell!

I have been studying the nest and the colors on the shell and have narrowed it down to a Northern Mockingbird. Usually the outside of the nest appears "thornier", but after all the nest has been around for months through storms and wind. The inside is made of woven rootlets, plant stems and horse hair. Mockingbird's eggs can be shades of blue or green heavily marked with brown spots. They build a nest for each brood and commonly have two broods a season.

There is a Nature Reserve down the road from us and before I became ill, I used to love to walk through there with the dogs. There is a small pond and the trail goes through woods and clearings, uphill and down. John walks the dogs through there now and tries to bring me something back, because he knows how much I love the small things in nature. The last couple of times, he brought these:

Little cocoons, which were attached to small shrubs. He said they were hard to find (they are 1 to 2 inches long). I just love the textures on these! Don't I have a wonderful husband? I don't know what kind they are, maybe I can find out.

I purchased this book several years ago, and it has been a great help to me. Of course now we have the Internet and you can find pictures of almost any kind of bird's nest and eggs. But it's nice to have a small book handy; we would take this with us when we used to go camping. And someday, if I regain enough of my strength back, we will take it again!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Inspiration Board Project, and a Story: Saturn

2012-01-24T17:00:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been a week since I posted! It wasn't intentional, just part of this illness - it's been a rough week, but I am glad to have something to write about today!

I started this project a little over a week ago, here is the link, and worked on it again today. It's the cork board I am altering. I considered several ways to alter the board, tried stencils and ink, which was too light and then went with stencils and black acrylic paint. I wanted to keep it muted rather than bright because I didn't want it the background fighting with the different objects I attach to it.

After stenciling with black, I added a few areas in Nickel Azo Gold acrylic paint.

This is some decorative tissue paper I am considering using on the gessoed frame. The colors are very primary and the design is juvenile, but once torn into strips .................

.......... you don't see the design and I have some ideas as to how to mute them a bit. So check back and see how it proceeds!

UPDATE:

I've changed my mind and will use something else instead of this paper! Stay with my blog to check it out!

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Saturn

41st in the Tuesday Story Series

We home schooled our daughter Tabitha, which I may have mentioned before. In her Junior and Senior year, she took a couple of Astronomy courses at the local Tech college to meet some of her science requirements, which also counted as a college credit. The course included night time planetary viewings and I had the opportunity to accompany Tabitha on one of them.

We had to drive above Summerville, which is outside of Charleston, to get away from some of the light pollution. Of course, it wasn't completely dark even then, but the instructor had a strong telescope and Saturn was in the night sky, and that's what we were hoping to see, barring any bad weather.

When we arrived at the spot, the night was clear and it was cool, so there was no heat to distort images. The instructor set up his telescope, pointed it in the right direction and adjusted everything to make it as clear as possible. As we all stood in silence, he looked for Saturn and then we heard a satisfied "Ahhhhh!" and knew it was in his sights. One by one, the students took turns looking at it and asked questions. After all of the students had viewed it, he asked me if I wanted a look and of course, I said Yes!

We all have see pictures of Saturn and its rings; it's in every elementary school science book in the USA (and other countries too, I'm sure). One of the first things a student learns in science is about the sun and the planets, so the image of Saturn is very familiar to all of us. But, it is nothing like seeing it through a strong telescope!

As I looked, I gave an involuntary gasp. It was so beautiful! The sun was reflecting off of it and it glowed in the telescope. It was a soft gold, and the rings clearly stood out. I was not expecting to respond the way I did, but it sort of stunned me. I wish I had the words to express how utterly breathtaking it was to see this creation of God's with my own eyes, rather than in a picture.

On the way home that night, I kept reflecting on what I had seen. I remembered the verse in Genesis about God creating the heavens and the earth, and how pleased He was when He was finished. It's very easy to forget how magnificent the universe is, all around us, when we have so many issues to deal with on a day to day basis. But regardless of what is happening in the immediate, it is comforting to remember that there is so much more than today, and so much more than just what we see at the moment. All we need to do is lift up our eyes!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Tuesday Story: Good Night!

2012-01-17T11:49:00.007-05:00

I'm having a flaring up of ME/CFS symptoms so no art for today's blog. I did show a project I was beginning in yesterday's blog, if you care to look!

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Good Night!

40th in the Tuesday Story Series

As I have stated in several other stories, my grandparents on my father's side lived towards the middle of the state, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Charleston SC in the days before Interstate 26 was built. We usually would go for the day (usually a Sunday) and that would mean returning home late at night. I say late, because most of the time the next day was a school day and for a bunch of kids to arrive home past their bedtimes meant whiny attitudes preceded bed, and then ran over into the next morning.

Most of the time the children would fall asleep in the car on the way home. As I grew older, I would stay awake and my favorite activity was to stare out into the dark, and imagine the families behind the lit windows, away across a field, or in the big houses of the small towns we would pass through. I especially loved the clear nights which showed the stars densely packed in the skies. There was very little light pollution then, and our own galaxy, the Milky Way would just draw me in. These days, you have to go to very out of the way places to see the full Milky Way, and that makes me sad. The stars that one sees from the yard usually don't have any impact because their numbers are few and they just don't inspire awe in the viewer. We need that awe to remind us that there are many great things out there which we don't understand, but can enjoy the beauty. In fact, the beauty is really necessary!

Yes, it looked just like this.

The other aspect of those trips home would involve my parents singing. My mother didn't get her driver's license until I was 15, so my father did all the driving. They would softly sing together for miles - hymns, popular songs from their time in the Navy during WW II and other ditties so that my father would stay awake. One I remember hearing always left me thinking it was odd - Good Night, Irene.

Published by Huddie Ledbetter (commonly called Leadbelly Ledbetter) in 1934, you can sometimes still hear the folk song sung at different events. It's a sad song, and expresses the singer's frustration about his romance with Irene gone wrong. But as a child, I just remember how odd the verses were to me, unfamiliar as I was to romance. Especially this one:

Sometimes I live in the country,

Sometimes I live in the town.

Sometimes I have a great notion

To jump in the river and drown.

Wait!............. REALLY??

My parents would just be singing it out, and I was pondering over the facts that you live in the country, you live in the town (Ok, I got this part) but then you just want to go jump in the river? What, you are tired of the country or town? Why would you want to drown? I thought that was the oddest song to even sing! And then I couldn't ask my parents about it because they thought I was asleep, and I didn't want to wake the others. Then, I'd forget about it until the next trip home from my grandparents house.

Years later, of course it made a little more sense. I would sometimes even sing along, since I was older then and not expected to fall asleep. As I think about it now, my parents probably missed those times of thinking we were all asleep, because they felt freer to talk. There were some interesting conversations, but that's another story!

This first version is Leadbelly singing it with the original words.

This version was done by the folk group, The Weavers. It became a hit song about 1950, and this was the version my parents sang. The Weavers changed some of the lyrics, but it was still a song about romance gone wrong.

Good Night Irene has been recorded by some famous names in music, such as Johnny Cash and Eric Clapton, even Frank Sinatra! But no matter who sings it, when I hear it, it takes me back to traveling in the dark, staring out at the starry skies and hearing my parents sing.

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Another Project

2012-01-16T17:46:00.002-05:00

Well, all of the art collage postcards were sent, a couple of them have been received and it was reported that they arrived unscathed. Two are going out of country, one to the UK and the other to New Zealand, so I won't hear about them for awhile. I am hoping that the others in the US will let me know as soon as they arrive; today was a postal holiday so it may be in the next day or so.

I've started another project, but it may take me a little longer. The ME/CFS symptoms of crushing fatigue, insomnia, muddled mind and more have been ramping up this past week. (I couldn't get to sleep last night until about 5 am, and this was with taking meds!) Ugh. I know that the Postcard Project probably took a hit on my health, but I get so tired of just lying down!!!

Anyway, I'll see if I can pace myself better on this small project!

IDEA/INSPIRATION BOARD

I'm too embarrassed to tell you how long I have had this cork board; I purchased it with the idea of making it a place to put photos, cards and the like for inspiration and encouragement. It has been sitting, waiting for me to feel motivated to do something with it. My original idea seemed a bit overwhelming to me now, so I asked myself "What can I do now, at this moment? What would be the easiest?" and from that I set off!

I had bought this Gaffer tape to put around the frame, but it was not quite long enough, and when I searched the Internet to purchase another roll, I found out it isn't made any more! So, scratch that idea.

I'm thinking of doing a tissue collage around the frame, so I covered the slick wood with gesso to give it some teeth.

Then I pulled out some craft paints that have been left over from long ago, and decided to do a "paint/stain" covering across the cork. I mixed together the ivory craft paint, generous amounts of glazing liquid, and water to cover the cork.

This was when I was about halfway done. It's all dry now, and I have some ideas about how to proceed, which I will document as I go along. Now I have to rest and try to come back from this relapse!

Click on any picture to see it closer.

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Heading Out

2012-01-12T15:21:00.002-05:00

(click for details)

And the art collage postcards are all heading out to the respective receivers today! Thank you to all who signed up for one!

Now, who wants to come and help me clean up my studio? Anyone? Ugh, I will never have a clean neat studio. This art genre involves so many small bits and pieces and I never quite know how to organize them. And when perhaps they are somewhat in order, they never stay that way for very long.

I should call it "The Always Messy Studio".

sigh

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Delighted!

2012-01-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

I am so delighted to be sending out my postcards! The following people will get something special in the mail:

Judy

Fran

Maxine

Chris

Kikie

Sparkley Fairy
Artistamyjo
Georgie
Barbara

TADA!!

How about that, all nine gone! Thank you so much for allowing me to share my art with you. I have some of the addresses, but others I will contact for their address. Please let me know when you have received the postcard and how well it stood the test of travel. :)

Nine Postcards, Ready To Be Delivered! (No Story Today)

2012-01-10T11:08:00.001-05:00

The Postcard Project is finished! And I have had some interest, so I will be sending several of them out to people across the US. There is still time to sign up on this post, as I will wait until the end of the day and announce the winners tomorrow!

Please join in! It's free!

All you have to do is comment after the blog (some people are finding it hard to leave a comment on Blogger, so feel free to leave one on Facebook and I will include your name). That's it!

I will send them to you in the US Mail, and I look forward to sharing my art!

How often do you have a chance to get something for free??

(If you are a local friend, please sign up too - I would love to send you one!)

Each postcard is 6 x 4, on foam core board and will be sent with proper postage. Each is an individual art collage and can be framed. The back of the postcards will not be pristine, as it is impossible to keep the backs from being spattered or have paint run, but you are not framing the backs anyway! :) These postcards are in no particular order.

Click on picture to see details.

Rose petal, dried small orchid, papers, inks, sequins stamping, Belarus postage stamp, and paints.

Art flower, Dresden Scrap bird, sequins, papers, stamping, Netherland postage stamp, and paints.

Butterfly punched paper, dried small orchid, sequins, papers, gem, stamping, and paints

Dried orchid, Dresden Scrap bird, Norway postage stamp, sequins, stamping, papers, beading, and paints.

Beading, stamping, papers, gem, applique, lace, and paint.

Flower applique, lace, Netherlands postage stamp, papers, flower gem, stamping and paints.

Metal corner, 3 colored mini glass beads, sequins, stamping, papers, and paints.

Dried rose petal, dried orchid, metal heart, stamping, papers, and paints.

Leaf applique, tiny bird brad, stamping, papers, and paints.

Would you like to receive one?

Be sure and sign up today

Winners named tomorrow!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

A Quick Post - Almost Finished!

2012-01-08T17:27:00.001-05:00

Free Art Postcard Drawing!

The foam core postcards are almost completely done, I just have to tweak them after everything dries. This is a quick shot of the last 4, with the glue still wet in places, and taken in twilight with a flash, so there are a couple of glares:

The other five postcards are here if you haven't seen them yet. I will have individual shots on Tuesday's blog and I hope you will sign up!

The drawing will be on Tuesday, 10 January on this blog. Please join in! It's free!

All you have to do is comment after the blog (some people are finding it hard to leave a comment, so feel free to leave one on Facebook and I will include your name). That's it!

I will send them to you in the US Mail, and I look forward to sharing my art!

(If you are a local friend, please sign up too - I would love to send you one!)

Would you like to receive one?

Be sure and sign up today

for the drawing on Tuesday, 10 January 2012!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Postcard Update #4, Still in Progress

2012-01-06T13:50:00.010-05:00

I'm getting close to the end now, and doing the fun details part. What you see here is still not finished as I will go over each one and tweak anything I think needs tweaking. These will be sent through the US Mail, so I am making sure everything is as glued as firmly as possible. Since I am sending through the mail, I am hesitant to send it to another country, as I am not sure it will survive, so I am going to make the drawing for US and Canada only unless you assure me that you think the mail in your country will be ok. I know I have international readers, so please speak up if you are interested. All of this is a giant experiment, and I am learning as I go along, so that's one reason I am giving them away!

The drawing will be on Tuesday, 10 January on this blog. Please join in! It's free!
All you have to do is comment after the blog. That's it!

The original post is here, update #2 is here and #3 is here,

Five so far (and the glue isn't completely dry in some of the photos, but I am impatient!); materials used on the details include oil pastels, sequins, Dresden bird scrap, dried orchids, dried rose petals, applique flowers, various bits, Silver Leaf pen, and lots of Polymer Medium!

Even though I changed the blade in my Exacto knife, it was still slow going to cut them into the individual postcards. Because this is foam core board, some of the edges will not be perfectly smooth.

Pulling out the doodads and fun bits!

(click on any photo for a closer look)

As you can see, each one is different. This is a lot of fun, and I am putting skills learned in other projects to use here. I have 4 more to add and final pictures of everything.

Would you like to receive one?

Be sure and sign up today
for the drawing on Tuesday, 10 January 2012!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

The End of the Day

2012-01-05T20:26:00.001-05:00

I worked a bit more on the Postcard Project, but no pictures yet, I will post some tomorrow. I'm not sure how many people read this, so I hope I'm not embarrassed by hardly anyone signing up for a postcard! I was hoping to spend more time on them, but today was one of those days where little crisis's (is that a word?) kept breaking out, with an extra dog here causing hyperactivity in our dogs, a phone going mute in the middle of a conversation, flowers stems which kept breaking while being put in a vase, and the two of the above mentioned dogs pushing out through the gate when John opened it and then they shot across the road to the horse pasture, one of them chasing a horse. I'm surprised (and glad) the horse didn't kick the dog! There were several other things which happened, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Oh yes, I stepped on the edge of a box of metal bits which was in the floor, flipping it and spilling everything, and knocked a box of dried flowers to the floor.

Oh well, it's the end of the day! And there is much to be thankful for, so I think I will laugh about the today's events, which as I read them over, really don't sound so bad. I guess you had to be there! :)

If you are interested in receiving one of the postcards when I'm finished, I will have pictures of each one and have the sign-up day on next Tuesday, Jan 10. If you aren't sure what I am talking about, just see the last post.

And if anyone has any suggestions for a book to read on my new Kindle, I'd love to hear them! Thanks!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Project Update #3 and a Story: Fireworks

2012-01-03T12:52:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to you! I worked some more on my postcard project so here is an update. If you would like one of these, stay tuned - I am going to have a drawing when they are finished. There are 9 postcards, and if there are not more people than nine interested, then you can have a choice. Otherwise, I will choose. More information soon!

The original post is here and update #2 is here.

I dabbed pearl white over the tiny glass beads and some other textured parts.

Small makeup sponges, easily found at the drug store, make great paint applicators!

I use lots of the Polymer Medium, so I buy it in the largest size and fill up the bottle on my art table as needed.

Here is a dried white orchid on a dark rose petal. The Polymer Medium is on there very thickly, and will dry clear. This helps the blossom be more flexible and gives a strong seal. This will take a while to dry and may need more to finish it.

**************************************************

FIREWORKS

39th in the Tuesday Story Series

As we listened to the fireworks explode and light up the sky in the dark this past New Year's eve, it reminded me of celebrations we had as a child. Often on New Year's Eve and the 4th of July we would drive up to my grandparents and meet other family members there. I have written before of how my grandfather had a quintessential country store in a small hamlet ner the center of South Carolina. It was on these holidays that we children would watch my father and his brothers take part what must have been a family tradition, but has not been repeated down into my generation.

My grandfather purchased all types of fireworks in anticipation of the get-together. For the children, he had sparklers which I must say were far superior to what is available today. They would last much longer and we would wave them around into magical designs in the air. There were poppers we could throw on the paved area which would give a satisfying "BANG". The adults would light strings of firecrackers, bottle rockets and even cherry bombs. Loud noises, brief colors in the air above us and the rat-a-tat-tat of the firework strings kept all of us children shouting and cheering. But the biggest event was the anvil jump.

Most farms and ranches still have anvils. Used by blacksmiths, farmers and craftsmen in the early 20th century, they were a necessary part of survival before the advent of modern welding. It was a basic tool, usually made of solid iron, now made of steel, with a hard surface to lay another object on for striking. The inertia of the anvil allows the energy of the striking tool to transfer to the object; it was also used as a forging implement for the shaping of hot metal. So, an anvil was a large and very heavy thing!

My grandfather, uncles and father would haul one out of the back of the store and place it out front. The aunts and my mother would start murmuring to each other and began to call all of the children back to what they considered a safe distance. The men would dig a shallow hole in the sandy ground, shaping it just right and lift the anvil over it from time to time to make sure all of the dimensions were correct. Then there would be a discussion about the technique of how to place the fireworks, whether the newer ones offered any advantages over the tried and true. Finally, they would arrange the fireworks carefully and then place the anvil on top.

The goal was to see how high they could lift the anvil. As they were making all of the preparations, the women would be making the same comments they made before:

"Boys will be boys!"

"Sometimes they never grow up, do they?"

"Oh, I hope they don't hurt themselves!"

"I wish they would get it over with!"

Most of the older children begged to be over there with them. Of course the answer would be a firm "NO".

Then, the moment came and the fireworks were lit. There was a bright light, a very loud "WHUMP" and the anvil would be actually jump. The men and most of the children cheered, while the women and the rest of the children heaved a sigh of relief. There would be discussions about the height of the jump, comparisons to the last time they did it and a lot of back slapping. This event would draw the night to a close.

As I stated, it is not a tradition which is being passed on in this generation and I'm sure it's probably a good idea that it isn't! None of my cousins have an anvil as far as I know, and there are certainly safer ways to celebrate. It's something I remember fondly, though, watching my father, uncles and grandfather behaving like young boys!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Project Update #2

2011-12-29T14:35:00.001-05:00

I worked some more on my Postcard Project (the original post is here); and am updating now for those who are keeping up with it.

I added some rubber stamps with black Staz-On ink, added some watered down acrylic paint with more water sprayed on to make sure it was really diluted; then I sprayed it with alcohol to cause a bit of distortion. When that dried some, I spread some Glass Bead Gel in a few different places. It's where the areas look white.

When this dries, it will be clear. This gel is made up of tiny tiny glass beads in a gel medium; the beads are smaller than the head of a pin and make for the best texture!

A close up of an area.

I'm considering adding some dried flowers or petals to the postcards. Here are some dried orchids and roses given to me by a friend who grows them.

A tentative flower placement. When these are saturated with gel, they will lie flat and not be easily knocked off in the mail system.

Now I'm waiting on everything to dry. Collage takes awhile, when you are making many layers you have to take the time to let things dry in between, or you regret it!

Click on any of the photos if you want to see more detail.

Check back later to see how it's progressing!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Tuesday Story

2011-12-27T17:58:00.004-05:00

I posted some art pictures yesterday, but do not have anything new to post art-wise today; please check back later in the week!

It was last year on the Tuesday after Christmas that I posted my first story, and in honor of that, I am posting it again. Hope you enjoy!

Christmas Past

1st story in the Tuesday Story Series - Repost

When my parents were first married, my mother became interested in a certain china pattern, Silver Pine. She was hoping to collect enough pieces to have something special for company. Then over the next decade, six children arrived and the few pieces she had collected were stored, and labeled in her mind as "someday...". As my siblings and I became adults, and our parents grew older, we struggled every year with the "what do you get your parents, now that they really don't need anything" problem. One summer a novel idea presented itself during a conversation with my Dad. I asked him just how much my mother had of her "special dinnerware" and together we hatched a plan to really surprise her.

I was an antiques dealer at the time, and had access to auctions, and shows where I could find some pieces to fill in her collection. I contacted all my siblings so everyone could participate. I made a list of things she would need to complete a service for eight, plus serving dishes after my father gave me a list of what she had, and started searching. I ended up finding most of the things on eBay, and since I had several months lead time, I could take my time and search for pristine pieces. By the time Christmas arrived, I had found everything we needed and even some ice tea glasses which matched the dinnerware! All of us chipped in to pay for the things as time went along and we were all excited about the big day.

That Christmas, we gathered at my parent's home, and all of us unloaded our car and piled the boxes on the living room floor. My mother was very curious once she got a look at the pile of wrapped boxes, but we wouldn't let her know who they were for until it came time to open gifts, then we made her wait till last. She and Dad sat down on the hearth and after opening the first box, she was speechless and had tears. Box after box was opened and china was laid out on the hearth and you could just feel her excitement! After everything was opened, she just looked at us and expressed her feelings by saying she just didn't know how to thank us, but the look on her face said it all! We quickly washed the dishes and used them for Christmas dinner and that was the loveliest table and one of the happiest Christmases I remember. Now that both of my parents are no longer with us, it is a very special memory!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and is looking forward to 2012!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Postcard Project

2011-12-26T11:16:00.003-05:00

I have been wanting to create art for some time, but have been prevented by health issues and time constraints. I started a project on Saturday, sort of an experiment, and thought I would show the steps of what I am doing. In this post I showed some paint on deliwrap papers, paint I was using up as I worked on lesson from the workshop. I used those papers in this project. I covered a piece of foam core board with some of the papers in anticipation of making them into postcards.

I covered the piece of foam core with Polymer Medium as glue

then I added the painted deliwrap papers, some whole sheets and some torn ones.

After the glue dries, the board is bending, so I put some old very heavy flat irons on it to help it flatten out and leave it for awhile.

This step I really should have done first, but I measured it to see how many 4 x 6 postcards I could get out of it and cut the piece down with a rotary cutter.

I measured out the postcards and drew lines to help in placement of the collage pieces and for cutting purposes later.

While that was drying, I started sorting through my collection of scraps; some are held in this old red metal shoeshine box.

I love the old shoe form on the inside of the lid! And this is not the only container of small scraps and bits. I still struggle with the best organizational methods for this art genre!

Here are just two drawers of old papers and images. They add up fast!

These are what I have chosen to sort through for this project. Since the colors of the base are so bright, I am looking for more neutral add-ons, plus some fibers for texture.

This is the first layer drying.

Click on any of the photos if you want to see more detail.

I will continue to work on the project this week and take more pictures. The painted deliwrap papers also make a textural contribution, and I am enjoying this process very much. Check back later to see how it's progressing!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Mailbox Mayhem

2011-12-24T15:22:00.001-05:00

Well, this morning when John went out to walk the dogs, he found an unpleasant surprise at the end of the driveway and across the road:

Busted mailboxes!

Ours is at the very bottom of the photo, it's silver. The neighbors drove up as just

I took this picture.

We found pieces all over, and judging from the pattern, it looks as though someone had something sticking out of the side of a truck or car and got too close to the boxes sometime during the night. At first we thought it had been some not too bright kids banging away with a baseball bat, but then realized it was something else, a not too bright person who knew they had hit something and took off instead of leaving a note or coming back in the daylight. Thankfully, this is not a terrible, serious thing, just annoying!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Sorry, no story

2011-12-20T15:49:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no story today. It's one of those ache and pain days and I think the weather is making things worse. It's a normal up and down occurrence, just wanted to let folks know there would be no story. But, hopefully - next week we will be back on schedule! :)

Our Sunday, Postscript

2011-12-18T20:58:00.001-05:00

Second post today, but I had to post this- we were visited by carolers tonight! A group from our church came out about 8pm and gathered at our back porch and sang several Christmas Carols!! It was wonderful - adults and children of all ages, joining together with beautiful voices. Our dogs were not sure what to make of it at all, but we sure enjoyed it. John knew about it ahead of time, and so it was a big surprise to me!! Oh, thank you for sharing your Christmas with us, all of you lovely carolers!!! We haven't been able to put up any Christmas decorations now for several years, so it was so extra special to have voices decorating our house!!!

Our Sunday

2011-12-18T18:56:00.002-05:00

At 8:20 this morning I was awakened out of a sound sleep by the Lowe's delivery guy calling, stating that they would like to make the delivery of our new refrigerator this morning rather than this afternoon. As the old refrigerator had rapidly lost its cooling ability during the day yesterday, I agreed and went downstairs to tell John. We rounded up coolers, and started emptying the old refrigerator and got ready for them with John staying home from church. When they arrived, the dogs were of course very excited and eventually I had to shut them up in John's office so that they would stop trying to "help" the men do their job. They had to take off the back door to be able to get the old one out and the new one in. All in all it took them a bit over an hour to get everything done. Then we had to put all of the foodstuff back in the new one.

Later today I received a phone call from an old friend whom I haven't seen for several years and we had a great conversation for about an hour. We have been friends on Facebook, so we kind of knew what was more or less going on in each other's lives, but it was so good to talk! Being on the phone that long is usually exhausting for me, but it I was very glad we had the chance to catch up.

After resting for a while, my dear husband thought I needed to get out of the house for a drive, so we loaded the dogs in the car and off we went. As we were going down the road, I realized that I did need to get out and was so thankful for such a thoughtful husband! We stopped by Dunkin Doughnuts for a decaf latte (no doughnuts!) and then drove on down Highway 25, trying to decide what we should head toward. We hadn't been to Poinsett Bridge in awhile so that's where we went.

Poinsett Bridge was built in 1820, and has a beautiful 14 foot Gothic arch over Little Gap Creek, which probably runs on into the Saluda Reservoir nearby. It's wide enough for a carriage to cross, and was part of the original toll road that ran from Charleston SC to Asheville NC. It's named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, of Poinsettia fame. The bridge is part of the Poinsett Heritage Preserve and is now part of a hiking trail; the area is pristine and beautiful!

We all enjoyed it immensely! I could not do much walking but they have recently made public access easier and there were benches, so I could sit for a while. If you are not familiar with the bridge, I encourage you to Google it and see the wonderful pictures taken by many other people. The image above is from a postcard.

Now I am quite fatigued, but it was a good day. And I am thankful for it! My hope is that I can do some art work this week, I have not been able to in a while. So perhaps I will have something to share later!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Red and Black

2011-12-17T18:38:00.002-05:00

A few days ago, I noticed that things I had taken out of the refrigerator just didn't seem as cold as they should be. Then I noticed that the frozen raspberries still in the freezer were squishable, and not hard as marbles. Hmmm..... I kept an eye on things and sure enough, it was obvious that the fridge was running down. We decided we had better go get another one, rather than wait for all things to thaw out as proof and drove to Lowe's yesterday. Lowe's is not my first choice, because we have always had Sears appliances and I'd rather have gone to Sears, but it was 45 minutes away and I just did not have the energy for facing the drive, and the crowded store at the mall.

At Lowe's we chose a Samsung black refrigerator. Now my husband, an engineer, was the one who was the most enthusiastic about this particular appliance - I was almost too tired to care. He was very impressed with the design and the features, which was kind of funny as a role reversal! We told the salesman that we needed it as soon as possible, and it is being delivered tomorrow afternoon. So, the old almond color fridge will be out and the black sophisticated fridge in!

While we were there, a bright red chipper/shredder caught our attention and we stopped to check it out. I had mentioned last Saturday that John had cut a good many limbs off of a line of White Pines, and they were piled in the back yard. We have branches dropping out of our trees quite frequently, especially after a wind of any substance comes through. And it is almost always windy up here. So, we also bought the bright red chipper/ shredder!

John used it this afternoon, and I took some shots of our latest tool for country living.

The white bag catches all the chips, and we are putting them in the planting beds.

It was a little too noisy for the dogs to come any closer!

This last photo is one of the containers of pansies I planted earlier. This particular one is an old Hungarian baby bathtub which stands about waist high. We can see it from inside the house, which is great when I need a shot of color on a dreary day!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Birthday Cards and a Story: A Few Jokes

2011-12-13T17:16:00.003-05:00

My brother and sister in law's birthdays are coming up and I made these cards for them.

I was having a low energy day, but wanted to get them off, so I just persevered with making them; when I finished, pleased that they had turned out pretty well, I realized I had done Tim's card upside down! So I gave it a rest and the next day, I cut the card in two, put it together in the right way and used patterned tape on the inside and outside so it would stay together and fold. Not too bad! The brown tape with polka dots matched the card pretty well, and the other tape looked fine on the inside. Yay!

Tim's Card

Kayla's Card

There's glitter on the butterfly on Kayla's card and some around the T on Tim's.

A Few Jokes

38th in the Tuesday Story Series

And I really am going to share a few jokes with you! Sometimes something funny will stick with you over the years, and the following three jokes have stuck with me. When several of my nieces and nephews were young, I told the last two to them and they laughed so hard and every time I saw them after that, they would ask me to tell them again. Now, they probably aren't cool jokes any more, but I still like them!

The first joke, I just find funny because it shows people are the same no matter what country they are from. Pride and honesty is everywhere!

#1. Diplomacy

From the Reader's Digest, 1960's era

(true story)

A Soviet delegation from Moscow was in Texas to view several agricultural and industrial sites. The Texan leading the group of Texan businessmen as hosts used every opportunity to brag about all things Texan, and that Texas had the biggest and best of anything in the world. As they all boarded a train to travel to another site, the Texan said to the Soviets "You can travel on this train all day and still be in Texas!" to which the leader of the Soviets replied with a sympathetic smile and a shake of his head

"Da! We have the same problem with Soviet trains - always breaking down!"

#2. Bad Potato

From the Reader's Digest, 1980's era

A man was seated in a nice restaurant and had just received his dinner. As he began to cut the potato, he was dismayed to see that it was not what he was expecting. Indignant, he called over the waitress and exclaimed "Hey! Ma'am, this potato is bad!"

The waitress, not missing a beat, set down what she was carrying

and picked up the potato and began to spank it.

"Bad potato! Bad! Bad!!"

And then she set the potato back on the diner's plate and said to him "Now if this potato gives you any more trouble, you just let me know!"

#3. War

From David Brenner, on a very long ago Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

(if you retell this, be sure to use plenty of arm motions!)

A young man's country was at war, and the young man decided he wanted to join up and help his country. He joined the Army and was directed to the Field Sergeant for his gear.

The Sarge told him that they had given out all of the weapons, and the young man was disappointed. But the Sarge had an idea, grabbed a stick on the ground and thrust it at the new recruit. "What am I supposed to do with this??" he asked in astonishment and Sarge said "Easy! Just point it at the enemy and say Bangy! Bangy! Bangy!" The recruit looked at him wordlessly, and just then the Sergeant looked around and grabbed a piece of string, tied it on the end of the stick and told the man this was his bayonet. "What??" said the hapless recruit, and before he could say more, Sarge said "Sure! You just go "Stabby Stabby Stabby" using motions to show what he meant.

So the recruit went off to the front line and lo and behold, it worked just like the Sarge had said it would!

"Bangy! Bangy! Bangy!" and the enemy soldier fell to the ground!

"Stabby! Stabby! Stabby!" and more enemy soldiers were down!

He began to feel pretty confident now, seeing all the enemy lying dead on the ground around him, when he spied another one approaching over the hill.

"Bangy! Bangy! Bangy!"

....... but the guy kept coming......

BANGY! BANGY! BANGY!"

...... but the guy headed straight for him......

Confused, the recruit realized he was close enough for the bayonet, so frantically he was yelling

"STABBY! STABBY! STABBY!

BANGY! BANGY! BANGY!

STABBY! STABBY! STABBY!"

But it was useless! The enemy soldier ran right into him, knocked him on the ground, and walked over him!

And the last words the recruit heard were.......

TANKY. TANKY. TANKY.

Hope you enjoyed them! :)

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Musings

2011-12-10T23:51:00.003-05:00

So I'm sitting here, not being able to get to sleep, thinking over what I did today. It's frustrating to have this happen on a Saturday night, because more than likely it means I will not wake in time to go to church, since it starts at 9:30. There have been many, many times over the past months when I actually could have gone, if the services started at the usual hour of 11AM, but that's not how it works here. sigh.

This morning I worked on our financial records, bringing them up to date while John went outside, picked up his chain saw, and went a little overboard. Suddenly the white pines, which had sweeping boughs which brushed the ground, are now trimmed and look very neat. I somehow miss the other though, but I am sure I will get used to it. The pines are on the property line with our neighbor and I only hope that she sees it in a positive light. We went to the nearby Mexican restaurant for lunch and then to CVS and then to a local greenhouse to pick out some poinsettias to give to our neighbors. After that, I was completely out of energy and achy with fibro pain.

I received notice that some postcards I sent to different people in Russia were big hits with them. It always makes me happy to know that a little bit of extra time taken to see what kinds of cards they like pays off. I like people to be happy!

Our local church had their big Christmas dinner tonight. I've never been able to go. In fact, I have not been able to attend a single event or gathering they have had. It's hard sometimes, you feel so isolated, and although we know that most people just don't really comprehend what this illness is about, it gets you down nonetheless. I think our Charleston friends have forgotten about us completely, even after being there for 27 years.
It's just too difficult to deal with or try to understand someone with a chronic illness, and it is compounded when the illness itself is not well understood, and people wonder if you really are as sick as you claim to be. Yes, I've heard the talk, some of it has come from my own family members. Oh well, until you know someone personally and seen them struggle with the severe limitations, it's easy to shrug off. One thing I wish people did understand is how much it means to get a card or a note from them from time to time. Of course, if you aren't convinced I'm really ill, then I guess writing a note may be an awkward thing for you to do!

I look for the things God has for me to delight in, such as the two owls, right across our road, calling to each other tonight. They will probably do that for a couple more weeks until they start a family in January. I wonder if they will nest around here.

And I received some very nice postcards today, which always cheers me up. It says someone, at a brief moment in time, was thinking about me as they wrote the card. Always nice!

Well, it's almost 12 midnight and I guess I will try once again to go to sleep.

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Complimentary Colors and a Story: Candyland

2011-12-06T13:46:00.002-05:00

As I continue through the workshop Color, Beyond the Basics, I painted and stenciled a page of my art journal with an exercise in complimentary colors:

(click for details)

There are two shots, because the turquoise paint has a pearl finish and consequently it makes it hard to get a true picture. I collaged some torn rice paper with Japanese figures in the bottom right corner, and used a mixture of Crimson and Azo Nickle Gold for the orangish shade.

CANDYLAND

37th in the Tuesday Story Series

As I have mentioned before, my parents were raised during the Great Depression, and knew how to make things last, and how to "make do", sometimes to the disappointment of the children who did not want to "make do" but wanted to be more like other people we knew. One thing my parents were not very good at, however, was passing on the skill of how to make and save money. For some of us, simply telling us was not sufficient without showing us why or how to budget.

When I was about eleven years old, my father decided, unbeknownst to me, that it was time I learned about the responsibility of paid work. I knew what work was, I was the oldest of six children and there were innumerable chores to be done. And I think we received a very small allowance. But now, Dad thought I should be ready for the next step - go out and make some money. I had been looking forward to the age when I would be considered old enough to babysit, but he had something else in mind.

Returning home from school one day, I saw a very large carton in the living room. After asking what it was, we were told we had to wait until Dad came home and he would explain it. I still didn't know it had anything to do with me (and also it may have included my brother, who was a year younger, I really don't remember, but I don't think so). When Dad finally arrived, he made a ceremony out of opening the box and we all looked inside and there was ....

CANDY! Tins and tins of something called Peanut Butter Pillows. Dad explained that I would be selling the candy door to door and I would make a small profit off of each can I sold. He went on about the great opportunity of earning my own money and how he would help me open a savings account.

After the initial disappointment of realizing it wasn't "our" candy, I thought making money sounded pretty good to me! We lived on a street which at the time was a dead end, and was about a mile long, so there were plenty of houses to buy my product. Mom and Dad purchased the first can, and Dad promised to take some to work, but I had to do the rest.

So soon I was pulling my red wagon, loaded with tins of candy. Who wouldn't want to buy some of this delicious treat? We had each had a couple of pieces the night before and it was very tasty! Most of the immediate neighbors bought a tin, but as I went up the street, people were less and less interested. And I realized I was also very much not a door to door salesperson. I hated being told no, having them smile and shut the door. Some didn't bother to smile. It was a long afternoon.

I trudged back home and told my Mom that I did not want to do this anymore. I had sold several, but the amount in the box began to take on gigantic proportions. Mom said Dad thought it would be good for my character and so I had to do it; "But I never said I wanted to do it!" I exclaimed, and received The Look which made any further discussion improbable. I took cans to school, I trundled my wagon up and down the street, sometimes trying to sell a second can to someone who had been kind enough to buy a can before. My initial, brief enthusiasm dwindled down to one statement when someone answered their doorbell:

"You don't want to buy any candy, do you?" usually muttered with my eyes cast downwards.

I hated the sight of that candy. I hated walking up and down the street while my friends were playing. Some of them pointed and laughed, or tried to get me to give them a can. I think my father finally took pity on me, because the last few cans disappeared rather quickly and the box was empty at last! I had cleared $25 of my own (this was the 1950's, remember) and he took me down to the bank to open a savings account. He gave a little speech about adding to it and seeing my money grow. I was just glad it was over! And I really hadn't learned a thing except that I hated that kind of work!

Years later, when our daughter was old enough, we gave her a little divided box, and began to teach her about budgeting with her allowance money. One of the important aspects of a budget is to set aside "fun money", not just for essentials and that was one of the categories in her box. At 28, she handles her money very well, and has no debt to anyone, something I had to learn the hard way, I'm afraid!

Oh, and if you would like to try some of Peanut Butter Pillows, order it here!

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Birthday

2011-12-05T15:11:00.002-05:00

My husband John's birthday was Saturday, 3 December and we spent some time outside in the local beauty. We drove up to Caesar's Head, which is about 30 minutes from our house, after we ate lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. I was very happy to have a bit more energy so that we could do something relaxing on his birthday! I was very tired when we returned back home, and the next day I was pretty wiped out but I am so glad I was able to do it. The past few years we have not been able to do much of anything, so this was an improvement, and John enjoyed his time!!

Birthday Boy

So glad to be out together!

Me.

He found a small piece of rock and chipped it into the shape of our state.

Thankfully we did not have far to walk. This is the overlook on top of Caesar's Head.

It was so overcast, it was hard to get a good picture of Table Rock and its reservoir.

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Joy Ride - Piece Finished

2011-12-01T17:06:00.001-05:00

Tuesday I shared the "before" of a mixed media art piece, now here is the finish:

JOY RIDE

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The bicycle is a gel transfer I made from a postcard I received; I copied and reversed it so that it would come out in the direction I wanted. I added some molding paste with stencils for the flower and the dots in the upper right corner. Material used include oil pastel crayons, scraps of old book pages, acrylic paint, micron pen, ink, and a bit of Stickles.

Here's the original again from Tuesday:

Thanks for looking!!

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Birth of An Art Piece; and the Tuesday Story: Hawk Sighting

2011-11-29T17:03:00.006-05:00

I am very brave, as I show you the beginning of a painting:

It is part of the latest workshop I'm taking called Color, Beyond the Basics and this is a monochromatic background done with acrylic paint. I am currently adding to it so you will have to stay tuned to see the finished piece. But don't you think it's brave to show it unfinished?? :) haha

Hawk Sighting
36th in the Tuesday Story Series

One of our favorite pastimes as a family has always been camping. That means that we took a pull behind camper, as I outgrew on-the-ground sleeping a long time ago! As our daughter grew older, we often took along one or two of her friends, and they would sleep in a tent, so they could chat all night if they wanted to, and we could sleep. After one such trip with two of Tabitha's friends, we had a surprise waiting for us when we came home.

We always brought the camper in the back yard and circled around, so we could park it right inside the gate. This time we let the kids out in the yard before we turned around, and after a few minutes I heard "Mom!! Papa!! Look at the porch!! It's all busted!". I stopped the car, and we turned to look where they were pointing and were appalled at what we saw.

Our back porch in Charleston was room size and all screened in, with a ceiling fan to keep the air moving. Now as we looked at it, screen was hanging everywhere, there was not a section of intact screen on the whole porch except at the bottom. Some of it was ripped into shreds, but all of it was hanging.

"What in the world!?!" we thought as we stood there for a moment, and then we all moved slowly towards what was left of the porch. "What happened Mom? What happened?" the girls were all chattering at once, "We don't know!" we answered in a daze and then suddenly we saw something sort of jump about six or eight inches and we all froze.

John and I told the girls to stay back, and we slowly walked up to the porch. There in a huddle was a red tailed hawk, staring at us as though warning us to stay away but obviously too exhausted to do anything but gives us dirty-hawk looks. At the house door, we could see our two cats sitting there, very wide eyed and not moving as they stared through the glass. I suddenly got the feeling they had been watching this hawk for some time!

We hesitated for a few minutes, because the talons of any bird of prey are formidable, whether they are injured or not, in fact it might even be worse if they are injured because they would be striking out of fear. As we stood there watching it watch us, I suddenly thought "Camera! NO! Darn, no film left!!!" which annoyed me more than the shredded screens hanging around us. Studying the scene we figured that the hawk had been chasing a bird and went straight through the screen, and then could not escape. The hanging screen prevented it from flying out but it was obvious that it had been trying for some time, hence all the torn screening.

John and I talked it over, both of us realizing that the hawk was seemingly too exhausted to even fly at us. So I went around to the front of the house and let myself in, then going to the linen closet I grabbed the largest towel I could find. I walked to the back, shooed the cats away from the porch door and carefully opened it. The hawk turned just a bit to look at me as John hushed the children who were very excited about the whole thing. I stretched the towel between my hands and slowly walked over to the hawk, dropped the towel over it and picked it up gingerly. I was able to swaddle the hawk so that it could not flair up, and as I picked it up, it offered no resistance. It didn't even struggle, the poor thing was so exhausted. I kept away from the hawk's bill, and held it up for everyone to see. It was so beautiful!! I carried it outside and put it down on the ground, and after a few minutes, it gave a tentative flap, then rose up and soared off to a nearby tree where it sat for a while.

Of course, though we had been gone for a week, the end of the camping trip was the most talked about part of the whole vacation!

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Hooty-Hoo?

2011-11-27T20:13:00.001-05:00

Tonight while I was sitting in my studio addressing postcards, I had the window open because the temperatures outside are pretty mild, and it gets warm up here, since it is tucked away on the 3rd floor. It was already dark outside and I had been sitting here for about a half an hour, when I heard a sound sort of like a rusty "aunk" (or a croak) punctuate the darkness. It repeated several times, then I heard the whoo hoo hoo of the Great Horned Owl. Both of these sounds were coming from the pasture of our neighbors next to our property line. It was a male and female Great Horned Owl calling back and forth to each other! I have heard them do this before, and this is the time of the year the male starts staking out its territory. The pair will be monogamous and raise young in January. Here is what the owls calling sounds like, although the ones I heard were closer, so the sound was bolder. I went downstairs and John and I went out on the back porch to listen; they called back and forth for quite a while.

Our daughter was awakened one night last year with a pair of owls doing the same thing in her back yard, only she wasn't sure at all what was making the croaking sound!

The title of today's post is a nod to Gomer Pyle. He used to say "hooty hoo" when he tried to sound like an owl while he was on the Andy Griffith show, if any of you are old enough to remember!

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Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T20:10:00.001-05:00

For the second year in a row, we went to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. We were all so happy that I had enough energy that afternoon that I could make it; usually mid-morning to mid afternoon will be my best times, and I was sure to rest the days prior to the big day so that it would be possible to go. And I am very thankful for that! Afterwards, I collapsed on the bed, so exhausted, but with great memories of the time we had together.

We went to The Green Room, a restaurant in Greenville which serves some of the best food I've ever tasted. I even had a $40 coupon that I had purchased for $20 in February for the restaurant, so that worked out perfectly!!

We each chose something different from the set menu; it was a 3 course meal, but you had several choices for appetizer, main dish and dessert.

I just love my family!!!

We had great conversation, and made several toasts. We are richly blessed as a family!!

And then it was time to say goodbye at Tabitha's house!

John had been very sick with a bad head cold and bronchitis for almost 2 weeks, but he did feel well enough to go by Thursday, for which we were also very thankful. Both he and I were pretty worn out, and I have had to watch my activities today. But it was so nice to enjoy good food and not have to do any cleaning up!! And Tabitha was thankful to not have to do the cooking too!!

Hope my US friends had a wonderful day with family!!

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Altered Postcard and a Story - Purple Haze

2011-11-22T11:57:00.017-05:00

HI EVERYBODY! I'M BAAAACK!!!

Well, I hope so, it's been a long relapse and I am still having trouble sleeping, but ... there is hope!!! There is always hope!

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An altered, mixed media postcard; the reasons I like to make these are several fold: I use up bits and bobs of scraps, they are small enough to do in a shorter amount of time, and I can send them to people! (who hopefully like to receive them!)

This one includes scraps of patterned tissue, a flower cutout, a scrap from a German newspaper, inks and paint, textural pieces for interest.

PURPLE HAZE

35th in the Tuesday Story series

During the time John was the CEO of the water utility of Charleston and we were homeschooling our daughter Tabitha, we would accompany him on several of the trips he was required to take in connection with his work. One of our favorite places to go, and we went there several times, was Colorado.

On one of the last trips we made there, Tabitha was old enough to go horse back riding and we signed up to go on one with an outfit near the Rocky Mountains National Park. The three of us ate lunch at a lovely lodge near one of the gates to the park, and then Tabitha and I left for our adventure. The place was not far from where we were and we arrived with plenty of time to spare. It was a gorgeous summer day in Colorado, no humidity, sunny, no clouds and an inviting temperature. As we stood around the stable yard waiting for the others to arrive we watched the horses.

They were quite attractive, and everything was as clean as a stable area could be, and the cowboys/guides/whatever you called them were friendly and chatted with people. The horses waited calmly, reins wrapped around a long pole horizontal to the ground. When the group for our particular ride were all checked in, the lead boss gave us a few words to help our ride go more smoothly."Lean back when the horse is going downhill and lean forward when it is climbing uphill - you'll help the horse and won't fall off." Good words to remember! Then the horses were untethered and lined up, our names were called and one by one we were assisted onto our horse, and given the name of the one we were on. Then the next words from our leader were "You can just relax for the ride, these horse know exactly where to go and will follow one another. You really don't have to do anything other than what I explained earlier." And with that, he clicked his tongue, his horse turned around and we were off!

Immediately all of the horses shuffled together, nose to tail, and I mean nose to tail, as if they were invisibly pulled together as tight as possible! Before we passed through the high timbered gate, the leader turned around for one last bit of information. He told us to be aware of certain horses who had personalty quirks, such as one wanting to veer off (just give little tug back, he'll come along), one who liked to grab a bit of grass here and there (just give a gentle tug to his reins, he'll stop) and so forth, including one who had digestive problems and may or may not have gas issues. Well, um okay. I hoped I was not on any of those he mentioned. It turns out that my horse did like to snatch a mouthful of grass, but he was very cooperative when I tugged on the reins.

The countryside was beautiful, and we went on a well worn track, up small hills and down. I was really enjoying it when.......... "what in the world was that smell? A skunk? Oh my! Well now it's gone thankfully! Look at this country! I love the colors and the fresh air!" ......cough ........cough

"What WAS the odor?!"

Then, I realized I was BEHIND the horse which was contributing more than his fair share to the Greenhouse Gas Problem! And oh my, why hadn't I worn a bandana like a real cowboy? Better yet, why hadn't they given me one! So I tugged my shirt up over my nose, it was that bad, and I never knew when it was coming again. As we were going around a small bend at the bottom of a hill, the leader glanced back at us and saw me and started laughing. "Well, I see ole Bessie is up to her tricks today!" So then of course everyone had to turn and look! I just laughed and waved at them all, what else could I do!

All in all, it was a lovely ride, even though I wish we hadn't had to stay so close together in line. And I think they should make it a standard practice that "ole Bessie" be the last horse on the ride!!

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A Long Hiatus

2011-11-07T13:19:00.002-05:00

But not one I have taken purposefully! I have just been too drained to do much and have been enduring a long relapse. Today, just for today, I have a bit of energy. I will be honest and say that I have been struggling with the coming of winter and the cold, colorless months. I was surprised that I would have that much of an adjustment after moving here from Charleston, but I think having this illness makes it worse. I do not miss the Charleston summers, and the Autumn hues in this area are much more brilliant, but there was color in Charleston in January, and you could get out of doors and walk and play and garden and just sit. I have promised myself that I would try to do as much art as I can, nothing serious necessarily, but anything with COLOR! And we need to paint the rooms of the house, because they are still that flat grayish white builder paint, because we had no time to repaint before my illness struck, and in the worst months of that I could not have stood having that kind of commotion going on. But I think I could handle it better now and my husband agrees and so I will be looking into having something done there.

Meanwhile, I have been finishing up part of a class I have been taking; the early lessons are to get a foundation on the colorways, and I know I have shown some of these before, but here they are again, complete this time.

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These are what I did with the paint left over after mixing different colors to make the squares in the last picture. Now I can use them for collages and altered art!

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Color blocks on transparencies.

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Colors hues and shades made by blending two different colors - quite a color range from a small group of paints!

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Yes, A Snake!

2011-10-26T18:58:00.003-04:00

My husband was coming in from walking the dogs when he spotted this and brought it in for me to see. It's a Northern Red Belly snake; it was sunning itself on the edge of the driveway. He knows I like anything to do with nature and we had never seen this particular snake since we moved here.

haha, bet you didn't know it was this small!

The red belly of the Northern Red Belly snake.

They only grow to 8.5 inches long!

It was very calm and friendly.

It's a very beneficial snake, eating slugs, soft bodied insects and worms. It should be hibernating before long.

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Mixed Media Painting

2011-10-25T13:51:00.004-04:00

I finished this piece, which had been started a while back, then put aside:

This ....

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.....became this.

(click for detail)

Painted on a 9 X 12 canvas panel, the base is acrylic paints. I then painted some areas again, attached a scrap of paper, a large scrap of patterned tissue paper and an old photo I had in my stash. I don't know who it is, and it looks like an old high school photo from the 1960's. I stenciled, and did some writing and did some rubber stamping. I also used some water soluble oil pastels and attached a 3D fabric flower.

I know that I haven't published any Tuesday Stories lately. My health has been up and down, and I find my energy is severely limited. Then again, maybe no one reads it and it's not a big loss. I do have more stories in my head, if anyone is interested in reading them. Let me know in the comment section!

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