Friday, October 31, 2014

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Organized the book shelves in the basement. Most of the books on the shelves had been read once and never read again. Those books will be donated to the library to make room for calligraphy books and reference material.

2. Had a chick flick Monday night and watched Lassie Come Home. Baby Roddy McDowell is so cute.

3. My friend, A, sent me a wonderful Halloween card she made. It has a witch riding a boom across the full moon. The witch is on a wobble spring so it jiggles. There was also a lovely note inside. Thank you, my friend.

4. Started another painting

5. From Ink: Herself brought home a piece of mail art addressed to me! Thank you, my dear FinnBadger. The snack on the card is just delicious looking. Perfect timing for the card, too, as today is my 17th birthday.

So, a Happy Birthday to Ink, Blessed Samhain, Happy Halloween, Happy Reformation Day, or just Have a great Friday!

How was your week?

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Fellows

Spent a couple of hours at the studio of Carrie Crane, the artist in residence for the Art of Science Learning. Carrie will be using some of the statistical data from the Worcester Incubator to create artwork.

Carrie invited the Fellows (that's our title) to her studio to help her out. She wanted us to help her make "Fellows" from found objects.  She's thinking of using the "Fellows" to make an animated feature about our journey in the program.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

I Hear You Knocking

2:30 AM. I was awakened by someone knocking on a door. 4 raps. The girlies are night owls so I thought someone was rapping on the bathroom door to get someone out. And then in mama mode I thought someone had knocked on our bedroom door.

"What's the matter?"

The Eldest was in the hallway.  "I was listening to some music and someone knocked on my door. But when I opened it, no one was there."

"Maybe it was someone tapping on the window," Himself  added not very helpfully.

"Then you best get up and go take a look see."

Himself's remark really upset the Eldest.  "There was a knock on the door."

"I heard it, too. I thought it was you."

"I thought it was you. This is really weird"

"Where's Ink? It was probably him. Earlier in the day, he was sitting by your door wanting to get in. And this is the time he usually comes around looking for cuddles."

Himself's reconnoiter turned up nothing. (Thankfully!) We headed back to our rooms, and the Eldest found Ink happily nestled on a pile of clothing on her bedroom floor.

Friday, October 24, 2014

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I showed the Eldest to make pizza dough.

2.  Was supposed to have a team meeting after a workshop. My team got all our work done during the workshop so we got to leave early.

3. Himself had recorded the 1939 classic The Four Feathers. The movie has been remade tons of times, but this is the best.

4. The second session of my class is running. Yay!

5. While shopping for carrots to make soup, I heard my mother's voice, "Get a bag with big ones." Made me laugh. Ma hated to peel vegetables and really disliked peeling small ones.

How was your week?

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Enter The Dragon

Dragon commission is finally completed and ready to deliver today. Colors of the mane and tail correspond to the belt colors of the studio. Text of the attributes of the dragon adds the texture of scales. Acrylic and acrylic ink on canvas. 2 ft. x 3 ft.


Sunday, October 19, 2014

Today Is

the 292nd day of the year. There are 73 days of the year left.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Exercise Your Brain

I've been seeing television commercials for a game site where you can exercise your brain.

You don't need to pay to exercise your brain. You can go to your local library, get a free library card, and take out books to read for free. If you really want to exercise your brain, read a book!


Friday, October 17, 2014

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Savored the sunshine and lunch on the terrace at Tower Hill. Good food, great company, and beautiful scenery.

2. Attended a team meeting. I thought we would be going round and round at a brain storming session for two hours. We were done in half an hour!

3. A breezy day, and it snowed bright yellow leaves. Ink was very entertained.

4. One of my students, a fourth grade teacher, brought some beautiful paper to share with the class. She got the paper from print shop. Once a month, the print shop allows teachers to pick discontinued cards and paper for free!

5. I dusted off the donut pan and baked a batch of Pumpkin Spice donuts.

How was your week?

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Pan




















While wandering the wooded paths of Tower Hill, we came upon this statue of Pan. I wanted to enroll this statue in the Statue Relocation Program. I would relocate him to my yard. Isn't he magnificent?
Don't Blink!

Monday, October 13, 2014

Gems

Friend and teacher, Gemma Black posted wonderful images from her Purely Pencils workshop. Wishing I could take her workshop (a trip to Australia and Tasmania is on my bucket list), I was inspired to try my hand at the From Nature to Paper exercise.

 In this exercise, Gemma asks students to bring in something from their garden, a flower, leaf, etc. Students are to analyze the colors that make up the plant. Then, they draw a letter and create a pattern to color. Dominant colors that make up the flower get larger or more areas.

When I first did the exercise, I wasn't aware of the color ratio. I was happy to draw a letter with double pencils and color in the pattern with watercolor pencils. I used the cover image from "Better Homes Than Yours" (Better Homes and Gardens). I liked the cover image which had bright orange Chinese lanterns in a cobalt blue vase and a pumpkin. The background was faded, grey wood. I really liked the striking orange and blue combination. I called my creation a Gem and emailed a pic to Gemma. She very kindly explained the workshop and reminded me that dead leaves have color inspiration in them.

Looking at it reminded me of a stained glass window. So, I did another. Outlined the letter with double pencils and colored it in with a black Inktense pencil. The black lines were colored in with a black Sharpie pen.

Both were done on a 4 inch square of watercolor paper (whatever I grabbed from the scrap paper box). I really like the look of the stained glass Gem.

If you get a chance to take a workshop with Gemma. don't let the opportunity pass. Gemma is a wonderful, patient teacher (I took an online class with her) and a good friend.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Tower Hill

from the summit looking toward Wachusett Mountain
I'm glad my friend, Teague and I, took a trip to Tower Hill Botanic Garden yesterday. It's raining today.

We had beautiful weather to meander our way through the wooded paths and gardens enjoying the colors of the season. I don't know why people feel the need to travel north to view the foliage. I think colors in our own backyard are just as beautiful.






Friday, October 10, 2014

The Friday Five Good Things

1. Lunch and shopping with The Young One.

2. Bought a silky open jacket. Just my shade of blue with a light blue fern pattern

3. Prissy wanted me over to have tea with her on Saturday, but I was on my way out. I usually have tea with her on Sunday afternoon and at the same time pick up her trash for Monday trash day. Sunday, her daughter was taking her on an outing. Prissy called me on Monday for tea. She had bought muffins for Saturday and saved me one.

4. Was supposed to have lunch with a friend, but there was some miscommunication. Instead, we had a nice chat over the phone as we try to figure out another day to meet.

5. Skyping with Red has become a weekly habit. A virtual break I look forward to.

How was your week?

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Why

Mask The Young One  is making.
The Young One is planning her costume for the CDP (costume dance party). She needed black trousers which she has. A black blazer and white button down which she ordered (trousers, blazer, blouse  will double as interviewing outfit). She also needed a red tie.

We were out shopping so bopped into the mens' department to look for red ties. There were several shades to choose from. She debated between a couple of ties. The red needed to be a dark shade.

"So what's this character you're going as?" I innocently asked.

She took the tablet I had with me and did a quick search. Handed the tablet back to me.

"That's him. Wolf from a game called Payday 2."

I'm terrified of clowns. So I nearly shrieked right in the middle of the store. Instead, I wailed "Why can't you be a princess?" The Young One just laughed at me.

Deep sigh. Long gone are the days of the cute outfits: bumble bee, kitty cat, lion, Hedwig from Harry Potter. Deep sigh.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Save The Date

For the National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair. 28 - 30 October. Live lectures with tips and techniques for using federal records at the National Archives for genealogy research. Plan out your day ahead of time by reviewing the lecture schedule

And the best part? The event is FREE.

Friday, October 3, 2014

The Friday Five Good Things

1. I'm not much of an ice cream person. I like ice cream, but it's not a goodie I usually crave. Maybe it was the warm weather over the weekend. I had mentioned to Himself I wish we had ice cream. Himself ran out to get bread and milk. When I went to the freezer to get some veggies for dinner, there was a container of ice cream. He loves me! Or he was craving ice cream, too.

2, On the way to meet my cousin for lunch, something under the front bumper/fender was dragging on the road. I debated just toodling on my merry way with people waving to me pointing something was wrong. I was close to the dealership where I bought the car so pulled in and cancelled lunch. Yeah, not such a good thing. Service department heard me scraping in so took the car right away. Fixed me up and sent me on my way in 45 minutes. And no charge.

3, My friend, A, told me she got a Martha Stewart Scoring Board at A.C. Moore on sale for half-price and then had a 50% off coupon. There isn't an A.C.Moore store close by so I took the Moore flyer to Michael's to see if they do price matching. They did! So half price on the scoring board. The Young One was purchasing some items for her Halloween costume and we had a 25% off entire purchase coupon. SCORE!

4, Mass Save, the energy audit folks had a special on a fancy power strip that's supposed to help save $$$ on your electricity bill. The power strip arrived and hopefully it will work as advertised.

5, In 1963, Harvey Ball an artist from Worcester, Massachusetts created the smiley face. Over the years, Harvey became concerned the meaning of the smiley became lost in commercialism. Harvey thought at least one day a year, people should do an act of kindness and make someone smile. The first Friday of October was designated as World Smile Day and has been celebrated since 1999. Happy World Smile Day! So today, (and maybe every day) go out and do something nice for someone and make them smile. Pass it on.

How was your week?