Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jigg...

     Back from my adventures in Visual Journaling. Although it was a seven day expedition, it felt like a whirlwind escapade. Of course I squeezed in an overnight with one of my oldest and best friends Maggie, a four day stay at a lovely B&B on Lake Erie, a three day workshop with Teesha Moore and an overnight visit with my wonderful parents...I do seem to pack a lot of living into my days.

    First photo is of me and Maggie at Anita's Kitchen in Ferndale. We had some excellent food here, Greek salad, hummus and a spinach and cheese pizza, can't wait to go back again after my ridiculous gall bladder is removed and I'm all healed up! We also stopped at Utrecht's, an art supply store where I finally found a bookbinders awl. The A/C was out and I wondered if any of the oil based art supplies would suffer any "melting" or "separation." Guess I'll never know. It was just wonderful to catch up. Maggie was my maid of honor when I got married and is also my oldest son's godmother. But all my kids call her Aunt Maggie and she doesn't forget any of their birthdays, she is amazing! She has two cats that

I really like, Joey, the grey tabby, who is very young and funny and Finnbar, black and white, who is twelve and quite tolerant of the "kitten." Joey launched himself at my bedroom door after I went to bed and actually got it almost open, even with a weight leaned against it! Maggie says he likes to bring toys to bed, lol, and I needed to get some sleep. Finnbar is very cool and laid back, and they both adore Maggie. My flash is still on the fritz, so the kitty photos are grainy, but you can still get a good look at them.

          So although there is more to my adventure, I'm going to switch gears and mention one of my all time favorite shows, "Pushing Daisies." I'm watching some old episodes on Netflix for the Wii and I have to say, I am soooo very sad they canceled this show. It is so clever, creative and just plain fabulous! Why oh why is it gone now? The sets were so colorful and surreal, I wish I could live in them. And the whole "Pie Hole" shop is just so yummy, makes me want to eat pie everyday. It is such a fun and absolutely delightful show, it never fails to inspire me and leave me feeling happy and joyful. And the colors, the scenes are drenched with it, bursting with outrageous and decadent color! If you get a chance to watch one of the episodes, you'll see exactly what I mean. A delicious immersion into a world of mystery and make-believe...like Alice in Wonderland in some ways...I think I'll go dive back into another one!

Teesha, Thunderstom and Page Updates

     Day three of Teesha Moore's class and we worked on lettering and actually writing in our journals. I was still wrapped up in "collage" mode and had a hard time switching to writing. I wanted to write on my pages after I got home, when it is harder to do collage but easy to write with the time and space I have. Teesha was very kind and gave me lots of positive feedback, so I feel like I am on the right track. She very tolerantly allowed me to have a photo taken, something she does not enjoy, lol, but I can be a pain in the patootie when I want something. The woman with us is Sue. We are both staying at the bed and breakfast and met there the first night. We have been sitting next to each other in class and working on our journals back at the B&B each evening. She has taken a bazillion classes in all sorts of collage and visual journal type

techniques. She knows all the teachers and has participated in ATC swaps for quite a while and has a big collection. I really enjoyed hearing about all her experiences. A very talented and generous person I'm very glad to have met!
     I'm posting a few more photos of journal pages that I further embellished. It was fun to add the pen and marker details, though I always feel like I am not "done."  I only wrote a few things on a couple pages, so they will still develop further after I get home. If you ever have the chance to take a class with Teesha, I highly recommend it. She is a little on the shy side and does not really socialize with students over lunch or dinner, but she is very generous with her gifts and talents and shares it all. What more could a student ask for?

     After we got back to the ranch, a storm blew in over Lake Erie. It was very cool, though I couldn't catch any of the lightening with my camera. The clouds were still very scary though.  I could see the sheets of rain falling over the lake in the distance, like curtains, it was very cool. The front that came though brought a big wind too, knocking over the lounge chairs that were empty next to us. But did we run inside? No way, didn't want to miss the show of course. After the storm moved on, there was a fabulous rainbow and a stunning sunset. There is something so magical about a colorful sunset. It is awe inspiring as well as creative soul food. I wanted to swim in the colors that appeared tonight, though that may sound silly, that is the thought that popped into my head at the time.

     Lastly tonight, I finished up my first ATC, artist trading card, for my first swap, which has to be mailed out tomorrow! Talk about cutting it close. I had fun with it and will post photos next week. I have to wait till the recipient receives it before I can share a photo. So all in all, a tremendous day full of art, fun and beauty...life it good.
   

     And a Happy Birthday to my brother Rick!

Class, China Gate and Early Pages

     Today's second class with Teesha Moore was spent adding collage to the painted pages of our journals. I had cut up lots of pages and images before I left home, so I was well prepared. We also spent time learning about using various markers, pencils and Panpastels. The Sharpie Poster Paint markers are Teesha's favorites and of course I had zero of those. However, she brought some for us to work with and after class I headed over to Michael's craft store and bought a couple to use. We had homework tonight. To add lots of details with markers, gel pens, sharpies and pencils. I worked on a couple pages, but felt so fried, I didn't get as far as I would have liked. More tomorrow though.

     For lunch a few of us went to Mark Pi's China Gate, which was just a short walk from our class. The food was excellent, we all agreed. Very fresh and beautifully presented. I ordered Chicken and Snow Peas with some brown rice. The restaurant sign was really cool though. A light up mask that resembles a Mexican "luchador." My photos of the sign and food came out fuzzy, sorry about that, but my flash is not charging properly and the darker photos are not so crisp. Or I was moving when I took the photos, either way, they are fuzzy.

     I'm posting a few pages from the new journal before they have any shading, pen/marker details or words. So when you see them tomorrow, you'll see how much more was added to really bring them to life. I love this part, adding all the details and designs to modify the collage and really make it something more personal and vibrant. These should all be finished or almost finished by tomorrow night.
     A couple things about what we learned today. The Panpastels are cool, but expensive and some of the markers that Teesha likes do not write well on top of them. I have been using the Caran d'Arche Neocolor II Artist Crayons to add the shading to my pre-Teesha class journal pages with no problems adding any marker or pen details, so I think I am going to keep using what

works for me. I adore these crayons now that I have discovered then and hope to have the entire palette
someday, but they are pricey. I notice that a lot of the nicer art supplies are on the pricey side, but I really believe that for the most part, you get what you pay for.
     Teesha also talked about Derwent colorsoft pencils, which I also do not have, but will purchase tomorrow with my lucky 40% off coupon. She wasn't a huge fan of Prismacolors, although my son left his entire set at home that I could easily confiscate. Another point Teesha made was not to "overthink" the collage pieces. She works instinctively and because of that, she works fast! It was great to see how her mind was working as she created pieces as examples for the rest of us. You really have to let go of "shoulds" and "shouldn't," and just play, have fun and go crazy...

at least that is what I got out of it. This is a perfect activity for someone who doesn't like to do the same thing over and over. And there is so much potential in everything. Menus, cards, newspapers, magazines programs, you name it, you can cut if up and use it. Of course, you don't want to become a "hoarder!"
     Lastly, the rain came this evening. Lots of dark clouds rolled in and I could see the rain falling over Lake Erie in the distance, it was very cool. Then the lightening jumped in and lit up the sky. Lucky for us, no power loss or other weather related problems. Hope weather is all cleared up for my drive home on Monday...

Teesha, Thai and Sunsets

     So today's class with Teesha Moore  started with the process of bookbinding. I have never done this before and it was challenging for a newbie, a labor of love is what I'm calling it. I'm sure it will get easier each time I make one, though I don't know how many I'll make, I may just continue to create visual journal pages and bind them up at a later date in a different way, we'll see. This first photo is the front of my new journal and the second photo is the back. I don't know if you can tell, but it is very dimensional. Several of the images, though not all, were glued to foam, just plain black fun foam, and then cut out and glued to the surface. They look very cool in person, I love it!

There are several of my own lampwork glass beads dangling as charms on the side. So glad I could incorporate some of them. We also painted as many of the interior pages as we could get to in the time allotted. I got fourteen pages, front and back painted, but still have one more page left. And although I have taken these photos of the journal covers, they are not quite finished. I still have embellishing to do using some markers and gel pens. Dots, swirls and stripes...so I'll be updating these photos eventually.
     We had a little escape for lunch, headed over to a most excellent little Thai restaurant called Thai Chili. I had an order of fresh basil rolls, similar to 

Vietnamese spring rolls, but with lots of fresh basil and no red meat. With a side of rice and a glass of cool Jasmine ice tea, it was a perfect lunch. I met a very nice woman from Paw Paw, Michigan and we walked over to have lunch together with another group of women in the class. They haven't taken any time to introduce everyone, I wish they would. Although we have name tags, we don't know where everyone is from or anything about what they do, it would be nice.

     Finally, got back to the B & B, had my half sandwich from last night's dinner for dinner with a glass of Chianti and then watched the sun go down. What a gorgeous sunset!  The sun became the most intense shade of neon orange as it hit the horizon, a color I've never seen before in all the sunsets I've watched in Traverse City and Austin. It was absolutely surreal. Sue, another student staying at the B & B agreed, so it isn't just me. I hope I get to see another one tomorrow and maybe at least one sunrise? Though that probably happens on the other side of the house. We'll see if I can get my booty up out of bed at 5:30 a.m....can't wait for tomorrow's class!

First ATC Swap!

     I signed up to participate in my first ever ATC swap this week. I bought a couple decks of cards at a garage sale to play with, but when I stopped at an Utrecht's art supply store in Royal Oak to get my Bookbinders Awl, well they had prepackaged ATC blanks for watercolors and other mediums and I decided to spring for a couple packages. Since I brought most of my art supplies with me and there is nothing on the itinerary tonight, this is what I am going to work on. I also have a Bloggerette Sorority rush piece to create, so that may be what I work on as well in the evenings here at the lovely B&B. If you are not familiar with ATC, otherwise known as Artist Trading Cards, check out the Wikipedia explanation. I also have a wonderful book I mentioned in an earlier post, (at least I think I did), called "artist Trading Cards" by Bernie Berlin, that explains them very well and is full of fabulous techniques to use to create your own. The thing I love about ATC's is that you don't buy them, at least you are not supposed to buy them, you trade them with other artists. They have to be the 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" size, but can have lots of depth and can be made from any materials, isn't that cool?  I think so and hope this ATC swap will be the first of many in my future. The only thing about this one is that I have to mail it out by the 19th, yup, that is Monday! Don't you love working under pressure? I do, seriously, I do my best work then, at least that is what I tell myself...lol.

Road Trip to Teesha Moore's Class

     So I left yesterday afternoon for Avon Lake, Ohio. Spent the night in Royal Oak, Michigan with one of my best friends, got up and did some garage "sailing" this a.m. and then got back on the road around 1:30. Thrilled to see the "Welcome to Ohio" sign since that meant only another 2 hours to go. The total trip is about 7 hours. After I got on the 80/90 Turnpike, it was pretty smooth sailing. Thank goodness I rented a car with good gas mileage and A/C, it was 95 degrees! The CD player did not work, but the radio was great, found lots of stations with music I like to sing a long with while driving. No accidents or major construction, how cool, right?

     So I made my way to the lovely Sunset Shores B&B in Avon Lake and I was greeted by this lovely tree lined canopy, I just love it! Something magical about driving or walking though a canopy of trees. We try to drive along this gorgeous winding and canopied road in the fall when the colors are peak up in Harbor Springs, it is breathtaking. But enough of the fall, I'm in no rush to go there, though it is my favorite season. My room is lovely, furnished with art deco waterfall furniture and with two great views of Lake Erie. The deck is perfect to watch a sunset or sunrise, which I plan on taking advantage of tonight! Don't you wish you were here? Teesha Moore's class starts at 10 a.m. tomorrow, I hope I can sleep, I'm soooo excited!!!

Her husband Tracy Moore is also teaching a class and both are full, so I'll get to meet a lot of new artsy type people this weekend. Big thanks to Ginny of Small Studio Productions for hosting such wonderful classes this year to celebrate her birthday all year long!

Home, Kindness and Packing up

     Home is one of my latest visual journal pages. I've been practicing using some of the supplies I bought for my class with Teesha Moore this weekend. I think I may do a darker color wash over the roof, it needs it, lol. I wish my house could fly around with me, like my parents motor home, I think it is just the coolest thing to travel with your home, like a snail. I am beyond excited about my upcoming roadtrip and class with Teesha. Ginny of Small Studio Productions is hosting this wonderful class, so major bowing down in her direction. I have packed up most of the art supplies for the class, now I just have to pack up my stuff, pj's, toothbrush and those sorts of things. I hope I don't forget anything.

     Kindess is another of my new journal pages, though I feel like I have a lot more to do with this page. Saving a lot of work for the class, where I can use some new techniques to finish some pages up. Going to burn some travel CD's tonight too. If you pass a woman singing her heart out in the car next to you, it is probably me, lol, I love to sing in the car.

Teacup Tuesday

     Discovered a lovely website today with a fun "Teacup Tuesday" chance to share photos of some of my favorite teacup and saucer sets. I collect them, lol, along with a whole lot of other things! This one is from my Block Optic depression glass collection (what did I tell you?) I actually use my collection on occasion for tea. I wish there was a place here in Traverse City that offered High Tea, but alas, I have to wait until I get downstate to indulge. There something so charming about plates full of finger sandwiches and miniature one or two bite desserts. Of course, I also love to prepare high tea at home, using all my well  loved dishes and tea accoutrements. And I get to break out my Victoria magazines and tea cookbooks to make some miniature delicious treats. I don't do it often, it takes time to whip up scones, cake, sandwich fillings and sometimes soup. But when I do, it brings me a great deal of pleasure.

Green Paper Challenge and Voodoo Cafe win.

     My submission for Green Paper's Miss Mary Hayes Challenge. You can go to her website to download the PDF of the images required for the challenge here. How fun is this? I can't believe how many creative challenges abound online to keep you thinking outside the box and to help you hone your design skills, I love it. And lots of giveaways too.
     On Notes from the Voodoo Cafe blog I was the lucky winner of a very cool travel journal that Ricë Freeman-Zachery gave away last week, how cool is that? And she has such a cool blog, I really enjoy reading it since she updates just about daily. I'm turning into a blog junkie, there are so many great things to read. Ok, this was just a quick drive by posting to get my challenge entry posted! Hasta!
     And here is a link to another giveaway from Robin's Egg Blues' Blog. Quite a nice little collection of goodies if you are the lucky winner!

Cherry Fest Parade, Kiddie Rides and the Reading Parlour

Family awaiting the big parade!

     My mom and dad came up to watch the National Cherry Festival Cherry Royal Parade with us on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and we had great seats under a tree with lots of shade. That is my mom sitting next to my empty seat, and then my daughter with the blue hat, my dad and finally my sweet hubby, who got up at 4 a.m. to put the chairs out!  My favorite parts of the parade were the Woodland School float, a tribute to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula, The Scottville Clown Band, The Cherry Festival Chair-y Drill Team, the Elmer's "Pink Ribbon" cement mixer, another elementary school's tribute to Frankenmuth float and another band dressed up in black and yellow stripes like bumble bees. 

Elmer's "Pink Ribbon" Cement Mixer

If you take a photo of this cement mixer when you see it and go to their website and tell them where you saw it, they will donate $2 to breast cancer research. Pretty cool, eh?

Frankenmuth City Float

We used to live in Frankenmuth, Michigan. It is a cool town to explore. My hubby is German, so we had lots of fun being immersed in German culture for about eight months. Bronner's is the largest Christmas store in the U.S. if I'm not mistaken, you can get lost there!

Woodland School "Sault Ste. Marie" Float

The theme this year for all the elementary school floats appeared to be famous or historical Michigan cities. Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Marie) is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Scottville Clown Band

I look forward to seeing this band every year, they are very good and having so much fun! The clown get ups are just a riot too!

Bumblebee looking marching band whose name I cannot recall!

Their gear was so striking and they were pretty good too.

Kids on the Tilt-A-Whirl

     We took the kids to the Midway on Thursday so they could enjoy a few rides. They had a great time and we had a great time watching them have a great time, lol. I was never one for roller coasters or other thrill rides, but my kids enjoy them and I like to live vicariously these days.

 




And if you are wondering how my new "Reading Parlour" is coming along, here are a few more current photos. My mom and I had "tea" in it yesterday. I made finger sandwiches and used my tidbit server along with some pretty glasses for a little dessert wine. It was just lovely!

The Reading Parlour Part 1

     In case you are wondering about my "reading parlour," here are a couple of photos. The first is the earliest "before" I remembered to take. We had already primed most of the emptied out closet, which had been a rough and unpainted particle board, but had not applied any of the gorgeous "Pooh's Favorite Things" shade of turquoise blue paint. The other walls are a dingy butter yellow that even photoshop would not grasp, lol. The railing is very beat up, but still sturdy, so that will eventually get a coat of primer and then ivory paint. since there is big step involved, the railing has to stay, though I would love to get rid of it, I'll just have to make it work.

     The next photo shows the lovely blue color now up in the closet and the first coat of it on the other walls that will need two. Since we primed the closet part so well, one coat did the job. I have placed my two cozy chairs in the new space as well as one of my favorite shabby chic pieces that I've had stored for the last ten, yes ten, years. It is an old door painted white and then sanded to give it a charming worn appearance. The glass of the window has been replaced with a mirror and the loveliest coat hooks have been added as well. There is also a small shelf halfway down than can hold a cup of tea, a plate of scones and a candle or two. Of course it will more likely be where I place my diet grape soda and plate of Girl Scout cookies, lol. But it is charming and sweet and I've been dying to use it for the last ten years, so this is just the best present to myself. I have a good collection of shabby chic things that have been packed away for far too long and I've missed them terribly. I love the faded elegance and welcoming feel of shabby chic things. It never gets old for me.

     You can also just see part of my mini tile collection on the right side. I try to pick up local work as well as pieces from places we visit. And of course anything sweet on Etsy, though I do have a price limit. They are actually hard to find, not many potters make mini tiles so I strike out often. The other half of this particular collection is still packed away somewhere, but I'm going through boxes everyday and will soon happen upon it and if you were here, you would hear me shriek with delight. Really. My camera is flashing a warning about the battery level for the flash, so my photos haven't been very cooperative lately, I'll try to get it corrected before I take any more of the new room, which is much further along now. The built in shelves are up and a lot more is up on the walls, but you'll have to wait a another day or so to see it. Did I mention that my mom is bringing up a chandelier that I can use to replace the current sad and broken lighting fixture?

Cherry Festival

     It's that time of year again here in Traverse City. The National Cherry Festival is under way and the population swells! Took my brother my nephew to see the Blue Angels who make an appearance every other year. Fun show, though I have a hard time with the cost of the fuel to fly those babies. But they are incredible and since my son is now in the Navy, I gotta show some pride here! We walked around town after the show and then hit the classic car show. Now I'm not into the classic cars, though I appreciate their beauty and history.

However, there was the coolest Rockabilly band there and we sat and enjoyed the music in the shade and took a much needed rest since it was a hot and humid day. The band's female lead singer was so cool. She had on a red strapless cowgirl dress with black cowboy boots and she played the most gorgeous upright bass I've ever seen. She had long black hair with those Betty Page bangs and she could sing! A couple Patsy Cline songs and a great rendition of Johnny Cash' "Ring of Fire," it was a great little concert.
     My new "reading parlour" is coming along nicely. The second coat of paint is on and I've installed eight of the twelve built in shelves so far. I've never attempted to create a built in bookcase, but I am happy to report that I am thrilled with what I've got so far. I have to buy one more wide board and one more little one and have them cut to finish it out, but thankfully, Home Depot cuts at no charge! I still need to paint them or cover them, haven't decided just yet what I want to do. I am considering covering them with newsprint, but also considering priming and painting them the turquoise to match the walls and then writing some much loved quotes along the front edges. Decisions decisions. I have been taking photos as I go along so I will have a great before and after series to post later. My flash is misbehaving, I think the battery is low, so I will have to fix them in photoshop, but that is great practice for me. I have to prime the railing and paint it, hang a new chandelier in place of the current blah fixture and then remove the paint spots from the floor. I think I have at least another week to go before it is totally finished, although the chandelier won't be in until August, everything else I can do myself. I am sooo happy to have this small space to call my own, TV free and full of the things I love. Although it is small, it suits me just fine.
     Counting down the days until my workshop with Teesha Moore....ten days to go, woo hoo! I can't wait to just dive in and really immerse myself in the art of visual journal creation. I have all my supplies and have practiced using some of them too, so I shouldn't be too green when I get there. Lol, who am I kidding? I'm such a total newbie at it, but I am a lover of journeys and have every intention of learning all I can when I'm there. Alrighty, off to make some new visual journal pages and then I'll work on some photos from Cherry Festival and my "reading parlour" to share with you. Cheers!

Fat Free Garage Sale

     Ok, so there is no such thing as a fat free garage sale, but I had another fat free day and a garage sale and wanted to talk about both. We spent yesterday afternoon and evening pulling things together and doing a partial set up for the garage sale and then got up about 7 a.m. to finish the set up and pricing. Then we opened at 7:45 a.m. and had the most perfect weather for our sale. We met some interesting people and sold lots of goodies. The Blue Angels even flew over a few times during their practice. My daughter's lemonade and rice krispy treat stand did very well too. But I am totally exhausted even though we ended at 3 p.m.  Tootsies are tuckered out! Tomorrow we'll get up early and do it again. I have to pull some more stuff out tonight for tomorrow since we sold a lot of the bigger things.

   And now onto my current Dr. sanctioned fat free eating plan. I met with the surgeon yesterday who is going to remove my gall bladder at the end of the month. I asked if I had to keep to the fat free eating plan and he said "yes." Soooo, I have to avoid fat of any kind until the end of the month and am trying to figure out how to do this without losing my mind! I've been trying some new things that are fat free that I had previously snubbed. Some are still worth snubbing, So here is a short list of what I really like in case you ever have a gall bladder attack and have to stay away from fat for a little while.

1.  Ball Park Franks Fat Free Smoked Turkey Hot Dogs
2.  Spartan Brand Caramel Rice Cakes
3.  Delmonte Dilled Green Beans in a Can
4.  Black Beans, several different brands
5.  Mott's Natural Apple Juice
6.  Snack Pack Fat Free Vanilla, Tapioca and Chocolate puddings
7.  Fat Free Cool Whip
8.  Swanson 100% Fat Free Chicken Broth
9.  Strawberry and regular Marshmallows
10.Hormel Vegetarian Chili
11.Kraft Fat Free Sharp Cheddar Cheese Slices(good enough, melts very nice over chili, scrambled eggs and baked potatoes.
12. Eggbeaters
13.Cannellini Beans
14.V8
15. Snyders unsalted pretzels, they are fat free.

That's it so far, there are other things that I really don't care for, including fat free sour cream, fat free cottage cheese and Fat Free Saltine Crackers. I've also discovered some good combos from the above list. I like the dilled green beans with black beans and/or cannellini beans, they make a very satisfying warm or cold salad. The Eggbeaters on fat free english muffins with a slice of fat free cheese is also good. And then the vegetarian chili over a baked potato with a slice of fat free cheese in between makes a tasty dinner. I crumbled some fat free saltines on top and that made it better. So there you have it. If I find more things I like in the fat free world, I'll be sure to post them. I do so wish bleu cheese was fat free though...

Flowers and Mini Tiles

     My daughter Sophie and I took a break while doing dishes last night to pick flowers from our garden for the house. Since so many of the perennials are new, we didn't have as much to choose from, even though we have lots and lots of flowers now. This bouquet is made up of pink cosmos, a daisy with shredded looking leaves and whose name I cannot recall, baby's breath and some rose mallow. The Baby's Breath was so small last year and almost dead when I got it on clearance at Menards, but it came back this year and is quite big, I love it. I try to buy a couple sad looking perennials near the end of the season each year since they are so reasonable and if they don't take I won't cry about it. But they seem to do well if I work the soil well, add some compost and then get a wonderful surprise the following year. I almost pulled the Baby's Breath out this spring, to be honest, I couldn't remember if that is what it was. Thank goodness I followed my instincts and left it alone.

     I also took a photo of the mini tiles I collect that are peeking out from behind the flowers. They are waiting to be rehung on the wall since we took them all down when we painted, LAST year, lol! I have at least as many as you see here that are packed up. When I get them all back up on the wall, hopefully in our new "reading room," I'll take another photo. I collect mini tiles from places we visit if I can find them in the local galleries. Sometimes I don't find anything, so have to settle for shoes, beads or postcards. But love when I find a tile made by a local artist. I also buy some tiles I find on Etsy, since there are so many talented artists there too.  I'm going to Cleveland in mid-July and hope to find a new tile to add to the collection. I am particularly fond of rabbits, mermaids, flora and fauna, but I also like inspiring things and unique shapes.
     And did I mention that my 10 year old daughter beat the pants off myself, her father and her 16 year old brother at Monopoly tonight? No cheating and no helping at all!

Purging Monday

     Actually, I should say Saturday, Sunday and Monday since we have been tackling one room each day. Saturday was the living room, Sunday the dining room and today the kids and I tackled the pantry. Our pantry is also the laundry room and was in serious need of decluttering, purging, dusting and organizing. We went to town! And when my sweet hubby got home all tired from a hard day at work, he took the time to put up a new shelf that required a trip to the hardware store. We now have mountains of things for the garage sale that I am intent on hosting on Thursday and Friday. The tourists will be landing for the Cherry Festival and it is a perfect time to have a ginormous garage sale.
     Tomorrow we have the kitchen and back hall to overhaul. I actually got a couple cupboards in the kitchen started today, and thankfully it is a very small tunnel type of kitchen (though this is something I also lament about being so fond of the kitchen and cooking) so it isn't the massive job it could be. The back hall is another story. It is not a big space, but most of it is wasted. Our charming bunny "Stella" lives in it in his cage, but he only takes up a 2x2 foot space, the rest is basically all clutter, except for the recycling bins, of which there are two, that can easily be moved right into the garage which is adjacent to the back hall. My youngest daughter and I debated about all the things we could do with that little space and finally decided on turning it into a reading and game room. Yup. It will need a couple coats of paint, the bunny will have to move (the location is still tbd, but I just can't give the bunny almost the same amount of space that the kids have for their bedrooms) and we will need to relocate a book shelf or two, but it really has so much potential. It can be cozy and artsy with a mural or mosaic, some fun lighting and some pieces of art that really need to go up. I am  really psyched about this little project. I suppose I should take some before and after photos starting tomorrow.

     Speaking of photos, here is a photo of my daughters' new goldfish. I don't know why, but I felt like getting them some goldfish. One now lives in an old fashioned fish bowl in my youngest daughter's room and the other lives in a small tank that my kids bought for me one Mother's day in my older daughter's room. I did warn them that goldfish sometimes don't live very long but that we could afford to replace them, unless they started dying everyday or every other day. I have a really colorful curtain that looked quite cool behind the fish bowl, colorful, almost circus-like in the photo. Doesn't look like that without the fish bowl in front of it, lol, not at all! My son said he was content with the bunny and did not want a goldfish. But maybe he'll change his mind.

     And then there is my new Gall Bladder badge/patch. I'm feeling so much better, obviously, though the fat free diet is still a pain in my patootie. However, I can report that I must have lost at least five lbs since my brand spankin' new clam diggers are now so loose I have to roll the waist band. Yes I'm thrilled to have lost any weight, but bummed about not fitting into my cute new pants! Life is full of balance right?

Sweet Saturday

     I love Saturdays. Although we usually spend a good part of the day keeping house, it feels so good to get something accomplished and then we also make time to play. Today we worked on straightening out and purging items from the living/family room. It is a small space, so any real clutter is just not cool. I also set up a new visual journal work space in the same room right under the big picture window. I've been spreading out on the sofa for the last few weeks, so I needed to do something. And there is actually room after the room was decluttered! I'm just thrilled to have a little spot to play. We also spent some time weeding the flower garden in front of the house. It is looking so lovely, really filling in nicely with all the wonderful weather and extra rain we have had. The weeds have also been trying to get a foot hold, but we pulled a lot of them out today. I try to spend a few minutes each day pulling a few weeds to stay on top of it, but with all the rains, they are just going wild!  And I finished reading two books today, "Jane Austen in Scarsdale," and "Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art." Both were excellent books. I'm a huge fan of Jane Austen, so the modernization of "Persuasion" was just for pleasure. "Creative Time and Space" was like a play date with other artists, learning about how they find the time and create space to work.
     I usually do some big cooking in the kitchen on Saturdays, but with my current fat free diet restriction, I am trying to stay out of the place. I'm really missing cheese, butter and good chocolate right now, but I know it is temporary and I most certainly do not want to have another gall bladder attack before my surgery. I think I'll pick up some fat free cottage cheese tomorrow and see if it will satisfy my cheese cravings.
     And then to wrap up the day we are watching "Paulie," such an adorable movie, I think it is one of my top five family movies, we just love it. Like I said, "Sweet Saturday!"

You've Got to be Kidding and Mermaid Wisdom

  
     A couple new visual journal pages. One about my ridiculous gall bladder called "You've Got to be Kidding." Might as well have fun with this right? And I had fun making a grand poobah type headress for this persona, and very prickly looking hair.  I also had fun with her shoes, love to make curly toed shoes for some reason, I don't own a single pair and wouldn't know where to buy them either. The jelly belly logo in her hands represents my own jelly like belly that probably got me into this mess as well as the irony that I can still have jelly belly products, since most are fat fee. The stand up collar is something I want to add to more figures as well, something regal yet silly about it with lots of potential I think. We'll see...

     The other is titled "Mermaid Wisdom." I am crazy about mermaids, among other things. They appeal to me artistically in a way that invades my thoughts pretty often. I find the idea of mermaids mysterious, sensuous, beautiful, serene and playful all at once.  I also love the water and maybe that has something to do with my feelings too. And then there is living so close to Lake Michigan, you can't help feeling inspired every time you drive by or jump in. I'd love to write a book, create a few sculptures and some dolls, all are already formed in my head, but I haven't done more than collect the items I need to start...just procrastinating at this point for some reason. Visual journal pages give me the opportunity to explore a little more with them in a more manageable way until I'm ready for the big stuff. At least that is what I'm telling myself, don't you love rationalizations?

New Books

     I am so thrilled! I got two new books in the mail today, Rice Freeman-Zachery's "Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art," and Alison Eads' "The Artful Card." I'm about halfway through Creative Time and Space and highly recommend it for anyone struggling with this issue, finding and making time and space to create, it is very inspirational and full of great ideas. I just skimmed through the other book,  but it looks yummy as well. It has some great techniques that I can use for visual journal pages too, and lots of collage of course.
     As for my inconsiderate gall bladder, still feeling it, but not bad enough to go to the ER, just bad enough to not feel up to doing anything very active. I have piles of "housework" but no real energy to get to it right now. Oh well, it isn't going anywhere, is it? The fat free diet has been interesting. I'm not starving, and actually, my appetite is way down, another sign I'm not feeling up to par. But I have had to be pretty creative. The liquid diet the Dr. recommended ended yesterday, so today I've been able to eat solid food too. My favorite today was a can(I normally don't go for canned veggies except beans) of dilled green beans with a can of black beans. The two together were pretty good. The dilled green beans were actually green beans marinated in a vinegar and dill and they were very good, surprisingly. But even better with the added black beans. I would eat this again, fat free diet or not. I will have to be eating fat free for a few weeks until I have my gall bladder removed. Any fat will cause it to "turn on" and could bring on another attack, so I don't want to agitate the thoughtless thing if I can help it. And I have to admit, it was time to change my eating habits. I won't cry if I never eat another piece of fried anything or fast food, honestly. The chocolate covered twinkie is another thing altogether though.

Happy Birthday Julie!

     My friend Julie turned the big 5-0 this week and we threw her a surprise cocktail party. We had vintage photos from her childhood along with more recent ones plastered around a big photo from her childhood that everyone could sign. We also had some balloons in the tropical bright colors she and I both love, turquoise, pink, orange, lime green and red, forgot the purple though. The cosmo is her favorite cocktail and she had enough to keep her happy and cute all night long. I made this card for her using the visual journal techniques I've picked up, especially influenced by Teesha Moore, of course. My friend is among other things, a survivor of breast cancer, a wonderful mother of 3 smart and good looking kids, supreme knitter, seamstress, photographer, crafter, boss lady and generous friend. I feel so lucky to have her in my life and delighted in celebrating such a milestone birthday! Happy Birthday my friend!
     And it was after the party that I had my ridiculous gall bladder attack, can you believe it?

Gall Bladder attack anyone?

     I had my first gall bladder attack, guess I need to make a patch for that! Started around 9pm last night and by 2:30am, I had my husband take me to the emergency room, in the middle of a big thunderstorm, of course. I thought it was just gas, lol, really painful gas, and was too embarrassed to go sooner. And apparently the best cure for a gall bladder attack is to have it removed! I think that is overkill, no? They don't take hearts out for heart attacks do they? The staff at Munson hospital was wonderful and kind. They took some blood, hooked me up to an IV and gave me some dilauden for the pain and then a lovely ultrasound. We left at 5:30am, with the sky lightening, but too many clouds to see one of the five sunrises on my list of 44 things to do before I turn 45, darn it. I felt better and was advised to take it easy and stick to a liquid diet for the next couple of days, broth, water and jello type things. But after that kind of discomfort/pain, I could care less if I ever eat anything again the rest of my life! So looks like I'll be losing my gall bladder at some point in time probably sooner than later considering that the pain has been creeping back up on me for the last couple hours, even though I've been laying in bed trying to sleep and have only had some water to drink today. Why didn't I think to put "have something removed" on my list of 44 things to do before I turn 45? BTW, number (5) is the gall bladder in the illustration, tucked under the liver...

Birthday and Father's Day

     It's my son Ricky's 16th birthday today and Father's Day, so we had mucho amounts of celebrating to squeeze in to the day. We had a lovely ice cream cake thanks fo my mom for the birthday and we had a brunch of chorizo sausage and eggs along with homemade tortillas, also thanks to my sweet mom.
We didn't get to visit with my dad as much as I would have liked, but we still had a four hour drive home.
     Now we are getting ready to enjoy my hubby's Father's Day present, a slide show! His mom and dad gave him a nice big box of slides years ago and I finally found a projector and trays recently at a garage sale so we can all take a look at them. We have a sheet hung up on our entertainment center and we are just waiting for it to get a little bit darker and then we'll have our show! There are photos of him in the hospital up till his high school graduation and lots of birthdays and Christmas' in between. We are so excited to see these, there is something about old fashioned slides that we just love. As I was putting them into the trays last week, I got to see little snippets of them, which was like getting to have a whiff of baking brownies but not getting to taste them!