sassy bella mélange

Be Happy

2009-01-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

This round "thing" appeared down the road a year or so ago, and we all tried to guess what it was for, a wrecking ball maybe? At that time is was just a grey metal color. Then one day not too long ago, we drove by and it was painted the bright yellow. So we figured someone just bored seeing that grey ball day after day. Then a few days later the eyes and mouth were painted in and tada! a happy face. This has got to be at least 5 fee tall and probably that big across. I drive by it almost everyday and it makes me smile every time.

Yes...More Fall/Halloween Decor Ideas

2008-10-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've found so many cute ideas on the web for fall and Halloween that I have to post them. You may be thinking that this is fall decor "overload", but there's just so many clever ideas out there, I wish I could do them all!

I love this country looking vignette with a white pallette. So simple, but yet striking.

The black and white decor is striking and modern in these designs.

Hope you are getting some inspiration for your own fall holiday displays!

New Halloween Art

2008-09-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt at doing a little fall decorating. I really dont have that much table room for displays, so I guess this will have to do.

I'm creating more Halloween art to put in my etsy store. I love creating Halloween stuff, there's such a variety of things you can do. I want to create a little bit of everything. So here's another sampling of what I've been working on. These are either in the store now or will be shortly.

These are some ACEO's I drew by hand and then painted with acrylic paints. Made them in a vinage style.

More Fall Decorating Ideas

2008-09-27T18:54:00.002-07:00

I've been searching around the web and found some more fall decorating ideas. Thought I'd share with you and hope they inspire you.

Cute and easy ideas for a table centerpiece

If your summer annuals are now gone, just leave the dirt and add a premade twig or grapevine wreath, some berries and leaves and a pretty pumpkin. Also how about decorating your birdbath like this too?

A cute idea if you've got some old garden tools laying around. If you decorate with a bale of straw, how about adding some old tools into the decor.

A couple more tablescapes.

New Art & Supplies in My Store

2008-09-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've added a few more pieces of art and some supplies for inspiration for Halloween. Take a look in my etsy store (link is on the upper left)

Fall Inspiration & Tutorials

2008-09-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

The themometer seems to be dipping lower and lower each night here in the foothills. Gets me in the mood for nesting. Airing out the down comforters. And searching for ideas for fall decorating. I found a few here and thought I'd share. I subscribe to BHG newsletter and they have so many ideas for decorating at any time of year!

This photo is from Better Homes & Gardens. The instructions for the pumpkin centerpiece is here

Instructions (& photo) of this cornucopia courtesy of BHG

Here's a beautiful idea from Heather Bullard of Present Past Collection. She's got some beautiful pictures of fall decorating that's sure give you some ideas. The tutorial for this beautiful crafty idea is also on her blog. Photo used with permission.

A different way to display those fall grocery store flowers instead of a standard vase. Very easy to do (maybe a little more messy than you'd want, but the results look pretty) . Courtesy of Country Living.

This is probably one of my all time favorite vignettes. I wish I was brave enough to paint a wall orange! This is from an older Country Living Magzine issue.

I have yet to start any fall decorating, but I'm really inspired by all the pretty pictures I've found of others' that have been so nice to share their ideas and home decor. There's also alot of links over at The Inspired Room that feature fall decor to give you even more ideas.

Witches, Goblins & Bats, Oh My!

2008-09-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

I actually started ahead of the season for once. Here are a few of the Halloween items I've made and put in my etsy shop.

These are some folded pinwheels that I made with vintage music sheets. They were very time consuming to make.

A little hanging with twigs, burlap, raffia and ribbon.

I really like how this one turned out. The photo is an original that I had in my collection. This woman has creepy light eyes. I've also had the old wooden frame for years and invested in some black gloss spray paint and presto!

I really got into making tags this time. I found I had a lot of vintage Halloween images already, but they were small pixel images so would only work on a smaller project.

Dog Days of Summer

2008-08-12T23:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure exactly what the phrase means "dogs days of summer" (I'm sure I could look it up on the 'net). I believe it's something about the heat, of which we've had a few days of some hot weather again. Luckily my downstairs stays fairly cool, and the wrap-around porch helps alot. My dogs seem to sleep 20 of the 24 hours in a day and I get to listen to them moan and grown, toss and turn, and one who even snores. When one barks or whines in their sleep, the others come to attention to see if they need to bark at something. So to that tune...I took some pics over a couple days to show my funny dogs sleeping. (Yes, I do love my dogs)

Black and White Photography Love

2008-08-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

I love black and white photography. I keep forgetting that Canon digital camera can take black and white photos! (along with many other functions I'll probably never learn). I guess its how the subject in the photo seems to be the only thing you focus on, instead of all the extraneous background in a black & white that makes it so intriguing . I wish I was a "photographer". I wish I could see a subject and make it seem "more" on film that it was in real life. So these are my measly attempt at being a photographer and trying to make a black & white seem "arty", lol. There's always room for improvement, but it satisfies me...for now.

I remember when instant pictures came out, i.e. polaroid. We couldn't get enough of those new fangled color pictures. I remember my parents getting the "new" Polaroid, where you had to use this tube like device and run it over the photo to I guess "seal it" or something. Then came the shaking of the Polaroid picture. How iconic was that (there's even a line in a song about it!) I look back at the color pics of my newly married parents in the late 50's and love the muted colors. I see how people use imaging programs to take new pictures and manipulate the color to seem more "old" if you know what I mean. I also love when they add just one element of color in a black and white pic. I also remember my parents having a Brownie camera. I sure wish we still had that, not that I'd use it, but just for display.
Someday...I'll have a fancy digital SLR. My daughter and boyfriend have a fancy Canon that I covet. I've made her promise I have first "dibs" if they ever decide to get rid of it. She assures me they won't.
I just finished this latest piece, I wanted to dip into some painting which I haven't done in awhile. I've been loving this color combination lately and wanted to use them. I'm pretty satisfied with how this one turned out. I painted it on an old book cover, so it has a ragged edge. I pick up books by the handful whenever and where ever I can, and like that I can re-use them before they go into landfills.

Out of the Comfort Zone

2008-07-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

I’m really liking graphic art lately and I’ve been wanting to create something different (at least for me). Wanting to go (a little) out of my comfort zone. I came across some large ledger sheets that I forgot I had hidden away (not usual). I just started doodling and cutting and pasting. Two of these came out (somewhat) to my satisfaction.

I really like the artwork of swallowfield, jp-art and abbyjane among many. Eventually I want obtain some carving tools and try making a couple carved blocks to try my hand at block prints. I just love all the two color graphic art you see everywhere. I see fabric, pillows, curtains, etc. in all the home dec. magazines. I’ve just got so many ideas floating around, and I’ll never live long enough to do them all.

A Trip to the Zoo

2008-07-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

A huge weird flower

A couple weeks ago I was having a bad time, so I took a little trip to stay with my oldest DD and grand D. I had to put down one of my jack russell terriers so I just had to “run away” so to speak, and not be in the house where I knew it would be tough. I wanted to go to the San Francisco Zoo with them as I hadn’t been there in many years. In fact my youngest DD and son were tiny the last time we went, maybe 12-14 yrs ago? I was a little dismayed as alot of the exhibits were closed and areas of construction were evident. But there were many new exhibits/enclosures that were modern and soo much better for the animals. I'm sure it will be really nice once they finish.

The giraffes had a 1 yr old and a 5 mo. old baby. We watched them at feeding time and talked to the keepers while we watched.

These were all juvenile gorillas, doing much of nothing. They had a nice enclosure with a viewing window.

The last flamingo was doing this dance in the water where he/she stompped his feet each in turn and then spun around while doing it. I told the grandbaby that the flamingo was dancing for her!

This prairie dog sat at the viewing window for the longest time, like it was in a trance. Then all of a sudden just turned and ran away. Cute!

I could watch the meerkats for hours, they're such characters.

I don't remember this "island" with birds of prey from before, everyone rushed to the edge when they saw this bald eagle emerge to drink. I had to wait until it was clear of people to get a decent pic.

The female lioness was down in the corner of the "moat" grooming! (because she can!)

I had the best time with my granddaughter!

Fire in the Sky

2008-07-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

sunset and moonrise

Here's a couple pics from earlier in the week, and of course its because of the smoke in the air that they look like this. We've had more clear days lately. I haven't even checked the news to see what fires are still going. Like I've said before, and I'll say it again, we've been lucky so far--no fires near us. I live near a road that people take to reach part of the American River. We always seem to get at least one fire near the river canyon where some idiot obviously throws out a cigarette or something to start the fire. I don't know how many times I've been on the freeway and I see some idiot hauling his trailer full of toys and the connecting chains are dragging on the ground shooting off sparks. Duh! all it takes is a little spark (like Smokey the Bear says) to start the fire, and they just keep driving oblivious to what they cause. Ok enough of that!

I put together a sewn paper banner, my first, but I'm not too happy with it. I wanted to use some embelishments I already had on hand and incorporated them with some of my trims and papers. I decided to start out small and used the word "NEST" as my inspiration. I'll be putting it in my etsy art shop.

A confused butterfly

The Heat, Smoke and Lack of Creativity

2008-07-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

We’ve had such a mild summer I guess I’ve been a little spoiled. Until NOW! OMG its freakin’ hot, feels like Arizona (except they have dry heat there, lol). I’m here in the Sierra Foothills (about 2300’) and for the last couple days its been hot, hot, hot. We do have central air but I don’t even want to imagine what the PGE will cost with running it. According to the thermostat it’s about 104 in the shade. Add to that, we’ve had smoky skies for weeks (a day of clear air here and there), but at night you can smell the smoke in the house if you leave a window open. The kids and I like to walk in the evening but haven’t for weeks because of the smoke. I’m getting “cabin fever” stuck inside. ARGH!

My good for nothin' cat who has survived the perils (coyotes, etc.) of country living for about 12 yrs now, decided to leave a present on the porch the other day. It must have fallen from the sky, 'cause I know she's too lazy to hunt. A quail was left intact for me to find. It had the prettiest plumage and I saved a few feathers. I wanted to take a few pics and when I set them out they fell into the shape of the bird (somewhat) so I grabbed a few things that were right there on my desk and created this hommage to the quail. Don't get me wrong, I really do love this old cat. A couple years ago she was attacked by one of my jack russells, and I sat with that cat overnight and then nursed her back to health, so we have a special bond.

Trying to keep my garden green in this heat!

I haven’t been able to create anything in the last week, can’t get any ideas, or maybe there’s just too many ideas, I can’t settle on any one thing to start. I think I’ll look thru my old Somerset Studios issues to see if I can get any ideas, if not, there’s always the eye candy.

July 4th and other stuff

2008-07-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

little patriotic cutie

I had a great 4th. Oldest DD brought the grandbaby (she’s just about 2 ½ now) up and we all went to the hometown parade, fairgrounds and that night the fireworks display. So glad it was a mild day, unlike last year—hot! We actually live in the country but 10 mins. either way are small towns that have festivities going on. The grand D played on those air blown jumping things until she was covered in sweat! She had a great time. When it was time, we went just outside the fairgrounds to watch the parade, we usually are farther up on the route and there are usually a ton of people, but not where we were. It came really close to us at the edge of the lawn. Grand D wasn’t too sure about being so close to noisy fire trucks and extremely large horses, but she did really well. Afterwards we found a place on the grass, spread our quilt and waited for the fireworks. When they started granddaughter was scared. She covered her eyes and kept saying she wanted to go home. Mommy and I tried to reassure her and get her to look, and finally I said we should cover her ears. Mom did and grand D slowly peeked thru her fingers to watch, but she kept her hand up to her face pretty much the whole time. Towards the end she started falling asleep! She actually fell asleep for awhile all the time the loud Booms! were going off! Who can figure out kids? Lol.

I finally broke down and bought some glass glitter. I’m not one to use much glitter, but I’ve been making some things that just seem to say “glitter me”. I bought a pound of clear to be able to sell a little in my etsy shop.

I also found a couple more clear glass containers to store arty supplies on my shelf. I got the pretty little lead crystal dish for $2 and the large canning jar for a buck more. The canning jar has some French words around the top which I think is so cool! I needed a large jar to keep the little bits of trim I have so I can see what’s there. I’m always forgetting I have some stashed here and there.

This little metal pan I found all rusty and I had the green spray paint so I now have a little tray to store all the little things that seem to accumulate on my desk. Now they won’t be knocked to the floor and lost in the corners. See I’m trying to stay organized.

A Little Vacation at Home

2008-07-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

artI guess it was last week, I was alone for 4…whole… glorious… days! Everyone had gone to different places, the kids, the H, and I was enjoying every minute of it. It was quiet and relaxed, just me and the dogs. I also realized that during that time, I found I was really creative. I had lots of ideas and actually created quite a few works of art, which is unusual for me to create so many at one time. So what’s up with that? I should pack up and leave? (had that thought many times, lol) live in a cave? But seriously, what does that say about our creative selves? I guess for me I need quiet, some people can work with music or background noise, apparently not me. I also realized that I had long periods of uninterrupted time (except for the occasional doggy potty breaks, where I rounded up all 5 and let them out at one time). I could follow through on an idea, not be interrupted and loose my train of thought. I’m lucky in that my kids are teens and I don’t have little ones demanding even more of my attention. I don’t know how you do it - those of you with little ones - I see the art created by you and am amazed.

My creative space is nothing fancy, just an alcove on one side of the kitchen. I recently redid it, painted, added shelves, combined and conquered the clutter and organized the plastic drawers. Stayed nice and neat for about a day! I find that I work better in clutter, then when I can’t stand it, I clean, but only if absolutely necessary!

Well, off to finish some art, here’s some that I created during my little 4 day vacation.

A Senior Moment

2008-07-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

That “expensive” year has already started. Does anyone with a senior or past senior in high school know what I’m talking about? lol. My middle child will be one next year and had her “Senior Portraits” taken yesterday. So up we were at 7 am for an 8 am appt. (which I wasn’t told about, as usual) in town (we are about 15 mins. from town). We actually arrived early and after looking at my swollen eyes and sleep marks still on my face, I asked my DD if this whole thing was really necessary. Of course my reply was the standard eyes rolled into the back of the head. We met the photographer (hereafter known as “photog” to save a couple typing strokes :-) and her assistant at a park I’d never explored, just only past through on a couple occasions. The photog explained what she had planned and off we went each of us carrying something, I’m carrying a bag of purple fake flowers that the photog assures me “look real” in pics. It was still just a little bit chilly but there were already walkers and dogs about the trails. It was a nice park, it had a bridge over a little rushing creek, lots of trees, and areas of flowers bed plantings. The photog asked if there were any questions and did we bring our check and then we proceeded down the path.

The night before I was shown the price brochure and was assured by DD in a loud voice that she had shown me this a long time ago (well I didn’t remember, but that’s not unusual). We settled on the lower price range photo package, which sure isn’t cheap in my book, with prices ranging from about $200 to $600 and of course you can add even more from the “ala carte” side!! I then said go talk to your Dad he’s got the checkbook! We aren’t the type of people who need hundreds of pics to send to relatives. We don’t have that many, and only figure the immediate family would care about having a photo anyway, i.e. grandparents, sister, etc. Anyone else would probably, go “yeah, ok, so we got another pic of some kid we barely know and throw it in a drawer, never to be seen again until their estate is cleaned out. We chose just a few photos and the option of one “pose” and figured it would be fairly easy when we got there.

We stopped at the bridge and she set up an impressive shoot with a very nice digital cannon camera (read: jealous) and the assistant (a petite fresh-out-of-high-school young woman) had these large reflectors to hold and different angles. I made jokes about arms of steele, yada yada. So…the photog got into clicking away asking for smiles, turn this way and that, chin up, ok, now climb over the top of bridge railing and don’t fall in the creek kind of poses. After what seemed like eternity, she said it was time to move to the next spot. Which surprised me and my DD and I looked at each other as we assumed it would be just the one pose. So off to an area of trees… the photog then set up again and wanting my DD to do the old tree hugging, lean against, be one with the tree poses. But before that, the photog took out some garden clippers and proceeded to cut down some hanging branches from the tree and throw them aside. Well, that surprised me, and I wondered if the parks department often wondered where all those cut branches come from, as I saw several laying all over the place. While my DD was doing her best not to twist her ankle and fall down around all the roots sticking out of the ground, I made a comment about her not doing the scene from the movie “Superstar” (with Molly Shannon of Saturday Night Live fame, if you know the movie, you know what scenes I’m talkin’ about, lol), and she opened her mouth in a “guffaw” and the photog laughed and said she just got a shot of her uvula. But I don’t think they knew what I was talking about. Can’t wait to see that one tho! Yeah, I do have a warped sense of humor. Then after it seemed like another hundred pics, she wanted my DD to move down the slope near the edge of the creek. By now I’m getting hungry, my legs and feet are tired from standing and I don’t know what time it is.

After moving my DD up and down the bank, forward and back from the edge, there were a couple of times when I giggled, when the photog kept saying “ok, another step back, ok just a little more”… I was picturing my DD falling into the creek, he he. I guess my DD had the same thought as she took a look behind her real quick, but didn’t move her hands or smile from the position the photog had asked her to do. What a little trooper! Then the photog asked the assistant to get the clippers and prune some more of the parks’ lush and beautiful foliage near the water’s edge. Obviously we couldn’t have any funky foliage in the background of these shots. When the assistant didn’t get it quite right, she climbed down from her little step ladder (she was pretty short) and did the job herself. By now I’m walking in little circles and lifting my legs as they feel like they’re getting varicose veins.

Another eternity of photos and asking me if my DD looks ok, anything else I want her to do, etc. Nope, and she says it time to move to the next. The photog says “now we get to use the flowers. We go even farther down the path away from car in the parking lot, which I longingly look back at. Climbing down another slope, they both start cutting more foliage then start placing the bouquets of flowers in amongst the blackberry vines. I don’t have the vision to see what they are planning, but soon find out, as they set my DD down on a piece of plastic behind a rock slightly bigger than a basketball. They have her sit what looks like “side saddle” with her arms folded across the rock. The photog heads back to her ladder and my DD catches my eye with a look that says, “I’m being contorted and in pain”. So after more body contortions and with more “head left, head right, tilt, chin up, etc.” commands, they take a little breather. During this time I started feeling sick, a little nauseated, and clammy (which had me a little worried as I’m not one to be sick), so I say I really have to excuse myself and go back to the car as I’m not feeling well. The photog said “you’re not going to pass out, the last one that said that passed out”. I assured her I was not, never had in my life. She then says they only have two shots left, they’ll be right there. I start to walk, what seemed like miles, back to the car. I get to the car and check the time, I’ve been standing for 2 ½ hours! Not to overlook my DD was doing everything but standing on her head all that time, too. Shortly, I saw my DD walking back and then a few minutes later the photog and assistant. I got out and we made small talk about sickness yada yada, I politely refused to come closer in case I was really getting the flu or something, gave her the check, made an appt to come view the shots later and left for home. Whatever was going on with me abated shortly after eating and laying down when we got home, go figure?

Well I have to say that whole thing was an “experience”, and actually the photog was very nice. I can hardly wait to do it again in three years when my son is a senior. Maybe he’ll drop out of school before then…over my dead body, lol. These pics here are self portraits my DD took awhile ago.

"Slimmin' Poo"

2008-06-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

The grandbaby was here overnight Fri/Sat and I decided to take her to get a little swimming pool or "slimmin' poo" as she calls it. I never thought that I could love a child more than my very own, but she comes pretty darn close. She seems to be growing overnight and her vocabulary just amazes me, and soo precocious. Last week when I was staying at her house, she and I were in her bedroom and we were having a conversation and then she kind of looked around the room and ceiling with her eyes like she was trying to think of something and I asked her "what?" and she replied "hold on" with this air of exhasperation. I had to say OMG and we both starting laughing, she obviously knew she was using a phrase she heard from mom or dad.

She has also been begging to go to the library or "lyberry" as she says. When I was visiting last week she asked her mom to go and I couldn't believe that she remembered me taking her months ago for the first time. Unfortunately, we didn't have time, so while she was here I asked her if she wanted to go. She was so excited and I couldn't get enough of how she says library, so I kept asking her where we going? tell them where you're going, etc. She probably thought I'm a little senile. We have a good childrens section and of course she goes from one thing to another so fast and won't sit still long enough to even look at a book with me. But when we said it was time to go, she ran to a shelf and grabbed a stack of books she said she wanted to take with her. I managed to put them back in the right place and directed her to the more 2 year old friendly board books and helped her get two. She grabbed a barbie princess (of course) and one that had cute childish hand drawn pictures of a baby. I didn't know what it was about, but in the car she wanted me to read it, so i glanced through quickly and told her it was about a little baby with a smelly diaper. She thought that was the greatest thing. She kept asking me to tell her more. Then out of the blue she "inserted herself into the character of the book taking the place of the baby David in the story. She kept saying "my....name.....is.....K----" like she was actually reading, and she asked me several times "do I have stinky diapers?" to which I aswered the positive! (she's potty trained, except she's refusing to #2 in the toilet, she still asks to put on a diaper when he has to go #2, go figure?)

I have such a good time with her, but like that saying goes, it's nice to send them home. I'm exhausted....

A Trip to Hawaii ...

2008-06-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

My 16 yr old daughter has been in Kona, Hawaii for a week and due back on Saturday. So that’s almost 9 days FAR away from me for the first time. Sure she’s stayed at grandma’s for a couple weeks or gone camping, but never away from me on an airplane and over an ocean. She’s gone with her Girl Scout Troop and her two Leaders. They’ve been planning on this for the last 5 years, knowing that this year was their last together as a troop. Some of them have been together for 12 years! All but one will be seniors in high school this next term and this was a culmination of years of saving. They earned the money by cookie sales, fundraisers, and even a rummage sale. I’m happy that she could do this because its not something we could have afforded to do for her on our own. They even became local celebrities and appeared on the local news. Thing was, they had everything done and paid for when one of those airlines they booked through, went belly up. Needless to say there was a little panic after that. Finally they were able to rebook the flight the same time (as they had the condo booked and deposits on trips and excursions, so they had to go at same time), but found out it would be about $5,000 more for the tickets. After getting clearance from their Council, they went to the media and public for help. They were interviewed by local paper and then a backlash started. People wrote into the editorial saying things like “how dare they ask for money, when the state is cutting programs for elderly” and “they should be ashamed for begging…” yada yada. I was pissed. I wrote back saying that these girls are all good kids, not in trouble, good grades, etc. and did anyone know about the community volunteer work they’d done in the past? Probably not. So why punish them for something that was out of their control. Why not blame the airline for going bankrupt, yada yada. So anyway, the local t.v. station came to interview them and the girls appeared on the news. Of course it was only seconds for each shot of them, but my little girl was on TV! lol She’s been having a great time, doing things she may never ever get a chance to do again. Even if she does get to go to Hawaii again, it’ll never be the same as that first time seen through the eyes of a young woman, starting on the path to adulthood.

My Time Away

2008-06-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

I do have to say that during this time away from blogging I did accomplish some long overdue cleaning, decorating and purging. I mean this was no easy feat. I was given the ultimatum by my oldest daughter. Plus I knew it was time. I admit, I have a problem with hoarding. OK, I said it, it's out in the open, I'm "out of the closet" so to speak. I mean not like stacks of newspapers to the ceiling hoarding or houseful of cats hoarding, but the kind of hoarding where you look at something and say, "hmmm I might be able to use that later" hoarding. Ok I admit its not healthy, but there have been numerous times my kids come to me asking for such and such for a school project and I go to my “stuff” and produce it. But I have to say it did get out of hand. I had boxes and boxes of stuff and nowhere to put it anymore. (BTW we don’t have a garage or storage other than an already stuffed small shed. We also don’t have closet space to speak of as my home is an old barn with gambrel roof that we converted).

house in dire need of painting

My motivation was I was going to have a garage sale. My oldest DD and I decided that we'd have it at her house since she lives in a large complex of houses. I live on a dirt road, with no parking and neighbors who shoot trespassers. :) So we planned for weeks and seems like everytime we agreed on a weekend, something came up. That just gave me more time to go thru the shed and all my crafts, fabric and junk. So I had a ton of stuff. We were all set for this past weekend. We put up the signs around her neighborhood and got everything set up. Come Saturday morning, we were up early and by 8 am it was like already 100 plus hell degrees. So we sat and waited and waited and waited for the big crowds. HA HA the laughs on me. We might have had a dozen people all day. No one of a sane mind wanted to come out of their airconditioned abodes. So I might have made 40 bucks and 10 of that I owed my son for toys he sold! ARGH. So we packed everything up and split it between us to take to goodwill. I had to bring mine back home (a 1.5 hr drive one way). I've since taken it to a local hospice thrift and even got rid of more stuff via freecycle. I'm actually feeling pretty proud of myself. Plus we can actually walk into the shed now.

While we were having the garage "no-sale", a huge fire started in the hills that we could see in the distance (the Napa fire), and apparently there was a thunder storm with lightning and rain in some areas including where I live. Thankfully, no fires close to home, but we've had some aweful smoke since then. I woke up this morning to smelling smoke inside the house. There's no wind (which is a good thing for firefighters), but the smoke is just sitting there.

looking down at our neighbors property from my front yard

I was all alone for four days, and loving every minute of it. I got alot done and created some art too. Here's a peek. I still need to put on some finishing touches to a couple of them.
'Til then....

I'm Baaaack

2008-06-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

photo of a photo f/ a garden magazine

practicing w/ my camera

Where does the time go? That old saying. So where’ve I been? Not on some wonderful trip to an exotic locale, not even on a trip out of town, just been, well, messed up I guess. I went through some hard times personally. Back in December I decided it was time to change my medication. Yes, I’m one of those that suffer from depression, a family legacy you might say. My Dad suffers from it and I’m sure my mother did now that I think back. She’s been dead for 22 years now. So back to switching meds…I was on Paxil for about 8 years and I felt it was no longer working for me (boy was that an understatement). So Dr. said I should try Welbutrin XL. The thing he didn’t tell me was the absolute hell I would go through with the withdrawal from paxil. About 2 weeks into it, I looked up on the internet and surprised and relieved to see the wealth of info on the withdrawal from this drug. I cried when I read it. I cried as I relived this wasn’t just me and I cried because no one told me I’d be in hell for 5 weeks, and I cried just because [I felt sorry for myself]. Now fast forward and I’m feeling SO much better, got my dosage good and I’m feeling pretty good about where I’m going (which isn’t really anywhere spectacular). I hope to post again regularly and I’ll get you caught up on what’s been going on.

Fall According to the Dogs

2007-10-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

According to my calendar, fall is officially here in the Sierra foothills--I finally had to put on socks to warm my feet in bed. A light quilt is still all I need for now, but when its time to bring out the heavy winter quilt, I get the signal from the dogs. The colder it gets, the closer they push, pinning me in one position so that I can’t turn over without causing a major shuffle of 10, sometimes 14 legs (and my two arms). So with the signal of winter according to the dogs and the “laying on” of the heavy quilt, they share more of “their” bed with me.

Well my lone maple tree is turning the most beautiful colors and will soon start dropping its leaves in earnest and for a short time the ground underneath will be covered in a sea of gold. Until then, every time I crest our road, I’m greeted with its glowing colors over the roof of our house. The oaks are also slowly dropping their leaves and every once in a while I hear a reminder of “fall”-- when an acorn goes ping on my car parked underneath.

I cut the last bunch of my roses and brought them inside for a last blast of summer. I’m going to cut some hips on another rose bush to add to a project I’m working on. I’ve been in an artistic slump. Just been trying (and not very successfully) to finish a few things that have been hanging around. I did do a few Halloween tags that sold on my etsy, and a few other misc. Halloween related stuff. I think it’s too late to list them, so I’ll just hold them for next year, makes me that much farther ahead, right?

Feelin' Witchy

2007-10-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

I’m usually never on time with making holiday decorations/crafts, but this time I’ve actually already made a few Halloween items to sell in my etsy store. I usually start too late and then the items end up in a box in storage for next year, but then I forget I have them and … Such is the cycle of my life, “a day late and a dollar short” as my Dad always says.

I’ve been on a kick making tags, which I’ve never really done to any extent before. Below is one that I made from a photo I have. OMG are they a homely couple, such a sourpuss face on the older one. They are not related to me (bought on ebay)!!

Seems like when I get an idea in my head I have to search all over to find the elements I'm looking for. Take for instance the crow tags below. I knew I wanted crows, but I only had one pic of a crow.
I wanted to use several different views, so I had to search all through my books to find images, then I had to scan them, then print them (finding I'm almost out of black printer ink in the mean time!). Is it that way for you? Do you find your elements first and then put the idea together? It just seems that I spend alot of time looking for just the right element to add. Am I too picky? Just seems like it takes me so long to get something done. Even when the ideas are flowing, it just seems that a simple project like a few tags takes me several days to complete. And it never fails, right when I'm in the "zone", I get interrupted! Kids to pick up from school, dogs need to be let out, dogs to be let in (most of my day is spent doing this). ARGH!

This is a small painting (5x7) I just finished. I haven’t done any real painting since high school many, many years ago, lol! I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I’ve never been good at drawing people that look real. But I’ve never tried to draw a figure that has a primitive look that seems so popular. Since this was my first attempt I didn’t want to waste one of my canvases so I used 140 lb cold press watercolor paper. I painted gesso on first, and then when almost dry, I set it under a heavy book to get it to lay flat. It worked pretty well with the acrylic paints, but did want to curl some, so I pressed it flat overnight a few times. I put it in a thrifted frame that was already painted a dark brown (looks almost black) and I’m keeping it for now, he he.

I think I might have a few more Halloween ideas somewhere in my mind, so back to the crafting table!

Ok, Enough of the Kids, Already!

2007-09-25T03:01:00.000-07:00

To continue the “maternal” theme of late, I just finished this piece, called appropriately "maternal love". Its one of the largest so far at 8 x 10 inches. My camera broke recently so I'm forced to scan everything, so can't show how nice this looks hanging by the ribbon. Its listed in my etsy store, check it out.

I guess I’m pretty lucky; I’ve got some great kids. They are healthy, well adjusted, compassionate, and generally well-behaved (maybe that’s because of the daily cattle-prod, whether they need it or not!) Just kidding of course. For the most part I don’t have to do much in the way of discipline (to my two youngest still at home). My middle child, just turned 16 and she’s awesome in school and I don’t even have to nag her about it, go figure? Just have to rein in her mouth sometimes when it goes a little too far. I’m sure no one knows how that is with a teen, right?

My oldest daughter lives with her boyfriend and my 18 mo. old granddaughter. We had some tough times during her 16-18 years, but thankfully no drug/alcohol problems. I think our main problem is that we’re just too much alike (both like the last word) and we bumped heads a lot over her schooling and some boyfriends. But you can’t believe how gratifying it was to hear this the other day, and I quote “Mom, I can’t believe how well you raised me and how lucky I was to live with such a normal family”. We had been talking about how some kids just don’t have a chance, because parents let them run wild, no rules, do drugs in front of their kids, etc. So this mom felt pretty good after that conversation. (picture strutting chicken with chest puffed out ;-) I couldn’t be more proud of this beautiful, mature, baby of mine (at almost 23 yrs old!)

And then there’s my son…my last baby and my baby boy. It’s so true what people say about the bond between a mother and her son and its probably doubly so, when he’s the only boy and baby in the family. He just turned 13. We have a great relationship, we talk a lot and he knows he can come to me with anything (the girls know this too). Then there’s the other side of this pre-teen boy coin that shows its ugly head. He just seems to do those typical “boy things” that cause him to get into trouble, with a typical response of “I don’t know” when standing in front of me. I’m even smiling as I type because I’ve told this kid, over and over, “don’t even think that I won’t find out!” I think I’ve got him believing that I do have some kind of sixth sense (got to keep him on his toes ya know). It’s never been anything bad…who drank the ?, when I said not to, how did such and such get broken, etc., you get the idea. I probably get more of those sharp pains above the eye, that you have to put your index and middle fingers on and press hard, than I should, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I love my kids.

Ok, I promise no more about my kids, maybe.

Thinking About How They've Grown

2007-09-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my youngest daughter’s 16th birthday, and that got me thinking about my kids and how fast time has gone by (the old cliché). We had a quiet little pizza party for her and wish with all my heart we could have thrown a party she’d never forget but we just don’t have the money. We did what we could and she was surprised with her gifts. I did surprise her with a “Sweet 16” banner that I made and she said she really liked it. (My camera broke recently so can’t take a pic, but will try to scan a couple to post soon.) So anyway, my little girl is growing up. I remember her first day of school, just a few days after we moved into this house (which wasn’t completely done, and still isn’t after 11 years!) I hadn’t realized she should be starting school that year, with us building our house and trying to get it done after 9 months while living in my in-laws home with 3 kids! (and yes, I was ready for the nut house after those 9 months, believe me). She has always been almost painfully shy, and I was so worried about how she would do with riding the bus alone and being in a new setting. She was so tiny and only 4 yrs old (she wouldn’t turn 5 for another few weeks). So I frantically searched for daycare (she was used to daycare been there since she was about 6 mos. old) that could watch her before/after school and also meet her at the bus. I did all of this while working 2 hrs away still (yes, that’s a 4 hour commute daily). But we made it and I remember following the bus on that first day, having promised her I’d meet her at school. I remember choking up and her just walking into class like not a thing was wrong, waving to me through the door. There have been plenty of times when there were tears or nervous stomach aches, but she always knew she would just have to choke her way through it and get it done.

Flash forward to a bright, loving, beautiful 16 yr old who has that same attitude and there are still times when she has to stand in front of a class and choke back nervous tears, but I’m so proud of her that she knows she has to do it and gets it done. She is just starting her driving training online (boy how times have changed since I took my driver training), so no permit yet to drive, which means no big worries (for me) right now. She doesn’t seem to be in any hurry either. My son secretly told me that she said she’s “sort of afraid” and it’s “too much responsibility”. I’m not pushing her, But I’ve mentioned that it’s her right of passage of sorts, her ticket to freedom, and just something that need to get done.

A Birthday Wish

2007-09-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

In approximately 20 minutes it will be midnight and a new day, and that day is my baby girl’s birthday. She was born 16 years ago on a Friday the 13th. What a very, very lucky day for us. She is a beautiful, kind, generous, talented young woman, and I couldn’t ask for a better child. She does well in school and knows what she wants from life and I hope she gets all of it and more. I’m so proud to be her mom. Happy Big 16 Baby! We love you.