twisted blossom

sssssssay now... what have we here....

Jeez , last week just zipped by in a flash! With sick kids and doctor visits, evening honors ceremony at the high school, in-laws' birthday party, etc., I hardly had time to come up for air. I'm sure you know the type of week I am talking about. I am happy to say that I finished Manny's snake painting in a few spare minutes I had here and there. We even got it hung (I need hubby for measuring and such). Over all I am pleased, though I didn't realize until it was hung (and way too late) that when I sketched the snake out I did so with the canvases pushed together; that was a mistake. I should have sketched them separated as they would be hung. I have a habit of jumping into a project and not thinking it all the way through. So, my poor long friend has a body that is a bit off. I tried to name this guy but Manny was having none of it. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey sweetie, I have a name for this snake of yours.

Manny: Like what?

Me: I was thinking Boris Klinovsky. (This guy has the look of a Russian spy.)

Manny: ahhhh.... no Nana that's too weird and way too long.

Me: Weird? Really? What were you thinking?

Manny: Well, I was thinking of calling him The Movie Super Hero Snake That Protects Me.

Me: Wow, that's something. That one is kind of long too.

Manny: Not really, that's just what it is.

I suppose I can't argue with that.

I like to use bits and bobs of paper in my paintings. I think it adds depth and it makes me smile. I like to think of it as background noise. When working on this fellow I knew scales were out of the question, but so was a smooth, clean body. He is a rough and tough guy, after all. I had fun filling him in with all kinds of ephemera, including some bits from Manny's school papers.

 

I am sure the little man will outgrow it in a few years and will want it replaced with something cool. For now, it adds a splash of color to his room and it takes up lots of wall space, about six feet worth. On to the next project...

foible

 

Foible-  a minor weakness; slight flaw or defect.

This is one of the many little collections I have arranged all over the house. This one winks at me from my kitchen counter many times a day. There are many more pieces to this collection, vintage religious icons, odds and ends, a cigarette tin, and many more dice of different sizes and colors. Only this one dancing girl though, as there can really only be one in any group. You understand. I have to pick these things up when I see them, I NEED to!  Weird maybe, but I prefer to think of it as a minor weakness.

 

the one word project

I am feeling rather fired up due to my decision to participate in shutter sisters, The one word project . I have recently stumbled onto their blog and have been in awe of the beautiful photographs I have seen there and in their Flicker group.  For me there is some anxiety involved in participating in this; I am not a professional. I just recently started sharing my photos with a few people outside of my guys at home, except for the photos I have posted here, of course.  It does not help that my brother was a photography major and is very talented, and my dad is quite accomplished as well. This will be a stretch for me. I keep telling myself that this is how we grow. Right? All that being said, I have decided my word for this month is "daily." Many times during the course of a day my focus goes to the little details of my environment. I try to relish the little things that are in danger of going unnoticed, or at the very least, that are a tiny part of the landscape of my busy life, details that make me smile. Sill I tend to regard these things as too "daily" to be worth recording. I need to work on validating these things, if for no other reason than they matter to me.

knit possible? and bamboo yarn...

 

We are having sun for the third day in a row, bliss!

Before the holidays I made a scarf for Manny's teacher. I loved the way it turned out. I tried a new yarn and l really liked the way it felt. I have sensitive skin and have some problems with wool. This makes me very sad as there are so many beautiful wools out there and I am crazy about all the beautiful things I have seen many of you make, most of them made from wool. I am always on the lookout for non-wool yarns that have a nice, quality feel. I can say I have not hit on "the one" yet but I loved working with this yarn. I used the Naturally Caron SPA. It is a blend of microdenier acrylic and rayon from bamboo. Very silky feeling. If you are looking for something new to try you may want to give this a go. It lends itself to lightweight items, very good for spring and summer things, I would think. If by chance you have used something other than 100% wool and really liked it, I would love to hear about it. I am always on the hunt.

I have been a crocheter for many years. My babysitter taught me when I was around 7 years old. I started by making little purses using margarine containers. I did give knitting a try eons ago and, as Max would say, it was an "epic fail." I have not considered trying again until recently. I have seen so many beautiful knitted things out there like the lovelies Ms. Pink Purl creates and handmade Kate and I want to try. I am just not sure I can pull it off. I did buy myself a set of bamboo needles a few weeks ago, just picked up a size that looked good. Where the heck do I begin?  How did you get started? 

a post of things not being posted about and some good news

 

Today I thought I would post about this cute picture I took of my sweet Ranger while he was stretched out on the couch, pondering his new year's resolutions, which he does every year, even though he never sticks with them for very long. Not chasing the squirrels in the backyard and not barking out warnings to anyone walking down the street are usually the first to go. I was then going to mention how I don't believe in resolutions, at least for myself, and I don't even like the word "goals." It just sets one up for failure and bad feelings about oneself. I like to make lists of hopes and what I like to call grand aspirations. Anyway, January 1st and the time for all that seems so far behind us, I decided to forget that line of thinking; though I do have my share of hopes and an aspiration or two up my sleeve. I then thought about expounding on the weather here and the insane cold and the few inches of snow but naaah, it really isn't news. Lots of you are dealing with that. I could write about how bad I feel that I have not posted much as of late and how I really "hope" to change that. Nope, redundant. Crazy exam week schedule, no. Details of the four-panel snake painting for Manny's room, uh-uh. I will share that when it is done (hopefully this weekend). How about riding in the car with a fifteen-year-old new driver. YIKES, absolutely not. A pic and post of the sweater with the giant cowl neck I am working on in the evenings. Um, no... It looks funny on me without sleeves. It should be done soon. My drippy nose, GROSS, no way.

I think today I would rather share the wonderful news that Miss Pink Picket Fence has let us in on. I think I can see her glow from here. I am wishing her and her family happy months of preparation and great joy when their new angel arrives. Now that is big, exciting stuff!! 

My wish for you...

 

Hoping your Christmas was sparkling and wishing you a new year filled with peace, passion and joy!!

just in the nick of time

Jeez, I was beginning to think I was never going to finish Manny's quilt. I finally tacked down the last of the binding and voila... done. Timing worked out great (she says as though it was planned this way). We have been seeing temperatures in the low thirties and have had several snow showers this past week. So begins the time of year when one needs a warm blanket to snuggle under when sneaking a nap on the couch.

Pixie perfection?

I have gone and done it, and there is no turning back! The pixie hair cut. I have been thinking about this for several years, but just didn't have the guts to do it. When I was a youngster I was not given a choice. Pixie it was, 60's style. I was asked on a regular basis by my long ponytail/pigtail-sporting friends why I wanted to look like a boy. Scarred for life!  Mom was adamant that there was no way she was going to deal with a long head of hair every day. "When I think you are old enough to take care of it by yourself, you can let it grow out." By 4th grade, it was shameful having hair shorter than the heartthrobs I was crushing on, the princes of Tiger Beat magazine: Bobby Sherman, Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, etc. By sixth grade I had shoulder-length hair and I swore I would never, ever have short hair again. Not so. In my early 20's a very bad perm (done by a "professional") burned my hair so badly that it all had to be cut off. Again, I swore never again.  In the past few years I found myself admiring women with close-cropped hair: gutsy, hip, artsy, and above all, confident. Now had I been blessed with a luxurious head of thick, beautiful hair I may have been content, but alas, I was not. I have a head full of fine hair not much thicker than duckling down or cotton candy. It took me until I hit my forties to realize it was never going to get better and I was never going to be a candidate for a Breck commercial. So I gave in and got a bob. I think bobs are cute as can be, but I felt out of sorts. The bob is not me. It is neat and organized and sometimes even conservative. With the bob hairdo I felt a bit off, like I was playing dress-up. The only time I have felt like me in my hair was back in the perm days when my hair was long and wild and permed (and severly damaged, never to be the same again). So here I am, after an amazing cut by the ever-wonderful Ms. Paula, thinking "OH YEAH!" It's totally me! I think I am in love with myself (just for now). I am indeed kicking myself for waiting so long, just as Paula said I would. I feel like me. My husband, who was a tad nervous before the scissoring, loves it, as do both the boys. Whew! I hope when the honeymoon wears off I don't look in the mirror and see my dad or Tracy the lunch lady staring back at me. For now its all about the game, whose hair is the shortest. 

Good intentions

   

I really had such good intentions! I had made serious plans to be here much more frequently, at least 2 times a week. But you know what they say:  "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." I have been keeping quite busy, and when I have not been zipping about these past few weeks I have been trying to get my whirring brain in order. We have been living cross country, car trouble, wind storm and clean up, landscaping at the in-laws, a week of all-day headaches, absess in the mouth, ... Here is a big one I can't get used to: afternoon kindergarten. Good grief, how does one budget their time around that? Seriously, I am having a lot of trouble with that. I have also started working a bit more. For ten years I have worked for my friend, Miss Jacquie, who had a business running estate sales for famlies. That required working on a Saturday when there was a sale. Recently she and her new partner have changed the business to online auctions where the contents of a household are auctioned online. Wow! This has really taken off for them. I had been working just the previews and the pick-ups, but as of a few weeks ago I have taken on being more involved in the process. Over the course of two weeks I helped with picture taking and discription writing.  There is an evening preview that is involved with each auction, and then a pick-up day. Yesterday was the pick-up day for the sale I was involved in. They also ship so the out-of-towners can bid too, though the line is drawn at some of the big, unmanageable things. I enjoyed it, but it just ups the chaos around here. I am hoping with time the schedule will feel more settled and we will have worked the kinks out at home. I would really like to keep doing this. Here is the auction website http://www.ebth.org/  just in case you would like to take a peak.  My biggest problem is not bidding on all of the tantalizing goodies!

Since I have shared "the" painting as it has progressed, I wanted to share the end result as well. My lady is framed and settled for the time being on the family room mantle. When I look at her I see so many things: the deep-felt meaning and how it reflects my emotions and the journey our family was going through during the time I was working on her. I feel a twinge of saddness when I think about the huge time gap between the time when all I did was eat, sleep, and breathe art to being forced to stop abruptly during a rough time in my life 30 years ago, which continued until I picked up the brush again a year ago. So much wasted time...*sigh* I am so glad to be back at it!!

at autumn's door...

As I sat in front of the kitchen window this morning I was struck by how much the light has changed in a few short weeks. Very evident is the clean, almost golden glow that heralds the coming of fall. I am amazed at the rapid shift from this :

 

to this:

 from this:

 

to this:

 and from this:

 

to this:

 

Without giving it much thought, I have made the shift from summer to fall, though it will not technically be fall for some time yet. I am ready for sweaters, knee socks, and a change in nature's color palette. I am feeling the twinges of a need to hibernate. Is my clock off? Am I jumping the gun here, or are you feeling it too?