Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Flu......

The flu worked it's way through our house. Everyone but me (knock on wood) got sick. Is seemed to be a quick one. Not lasting more than a couple of days. Jim seems to think that I may not be human being the only one in the house to not get it. With his imagination, he referred to me as Data from one of the old Star Trek series.

Speaking of Star Trek, we went and saw the new movie. I have to say that it was excellent!! But to get the whole effect of it you REALLY need to be familiar with the original Star Trek series with Kirk, Spock and the rest, otherwise you will miss a lot of the humor. A few times Jim and I found we were the only ones laughing, or should I say "getting it". Since it's kind of a prequel to that series.

Instead of creating right now I've been taking care of sick kids and working in the garden. Plus I got a Wii Fit for Mother's Day and that occupies as least an hour of each day for the workouts that I have been long past due in needing. I'm now on my 10th day but am moving them earlier in the day so that I can get them out of the way and get on with my day. I've already lost a couple of pounds but hope to drop many more before the Summer is over.

I'm finishing up a couple of things today and should have some pictures up tomorrow. Hope all is well and it's not raining where you are, like it is here.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Wow....



The week flew by! Only two posts......so I have to tell you about my Mother's Day. It was great! The boys all fixed me breakfast in bed and then I got to play my new Wii Fit! Talk about fun! That's the one thing I did manage to squeeze in all week. A 1 hour work out every day, so far. I don't know if I'll be able to do one today since we have a couple extra kids over this weekend but I'm going to try........and just so you know, this is something I've been wanting since Christmas! Yes, it's to get in shape and drop some weight! So far so good! I'll keep you posted on if it keeps me interested but so far anything that lasts more that a couple of days is, excellent!!

Two of my 3 boys were sick for a couple of days. Funny that is ended up being the oldest and youngest. I was pround of Duncan for getting up and going to school without a single complaint, but he said it's because he's got a great teacher. Two Thumbs up to Mr. Movius for keeping my son motivated!!!

I'm working on another stamp. This time I'm using the rubber that they sell. Feels like an eraser but it cuts like butter with the cool carving tools they have for it. I can see another hobby coming on. Dang!!!

Can you guess what the flowers are? No they are not stamps of any kind......

I also want to link you to another blog I just started watching called, Two Frog Home. I've joined they're "Doing, Not Thinking" Challenge. Yes, I do think I spend far too much time thinking about things instead of acting, so now's the time!!! Here are my goals:

1. to be working full time as an artist by September (when my youngest starts 1st grade). 2. to finish de-cluttering my house by the end of Summer. 3. to start completing at least one small project 5 days a week, by the end of June.

What do you think?? Click on the link if your interested. Her blog is geared towards natural living. Things like canning, composting and the like. Check it out!

The weekend is going to be beautiful so I'll be heading outside to get some gardening in. Maybe I'll pick some dandelions greens and give them a try. Lord knows, I've got plenty handing around the yard!

Later Gator!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Weekend's Here!!!

I've been missing in action the last few days. Between sick kids and school functions, things have been a little hectic. Tomorrow I'll have a little more time but for tonight I'm going to catch some ZZZZZZZ's.

Good Night!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!!!

A pretty pink peony for all of the wonderful Mom's out there, but especially for MINE!!! And to my Auntie Dana too!!! My other "Mom". Enjoy your art walk on Camano today! Love you both!!!

Friday, May 08, 2009

I'm Planning On Some Flowers.....

and maybe herbs for my front walkway. Sorry no pictures today. Jimmy came home early and the boys always have an early release on Fridays so the rest of that day just ends up being........well, busy! (more on the front walk later).

I'm starting another blog for my crochet and fiber venues. www.crochetchar.blogspot.com......I only have one post and, of course it's on knitting. I must apologize to all the crochet fans out there but I was seduced by Cable knitting. It just happens to be something that I wanted to learn that happen to coincide with the start of my blog. I figured that since it involved fiber and a couple of sticks.....well.....what the hell!!!! No worries!

Anyway today ended up being one of those get out and multitask days where I should have gotten everything I wanted to get done (grocery shopping, etc) done. Only to come home and find that I (of course) forgot a couple of things. I'm hoping to get through the weekend without having to leave the house again, but it's looking bleak........

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

I Feel Another Stamp Coming On......

I like this stamp so much that I think I'm going to do a couple more. These are great for doodles and for passing time when I'm waiting for the computer or internet to do what it's supposed to. You can see that I have some rubber to carve on and a few tools which I bought awhile back. The first stamp I made was on a lino block. I think I'll enjoy carving the rubber more. We'll see!

This is my shoulder cat. He jumps up when I my attention isn't focused on him and rubs his face against the side of mine. He'll stay up there until the mouse pointer on the screen catches his attention and then I have to put him down to keep him off my desk.
It's another cold and rainy day. Supposedly the sun will be back for the weekend. I can only hope!!

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

A Note Of Caution & My First Stamp



So you know I have a little wine experiment going on.......well one of the bottles broke under the pressure. Jimmy told me that I never should have tightened the lids but it says to in the directions.......this is the result. There were a couple of big cracks down the side of the jar and that piece was laying a few inches away. Of course the cupboard has a slight yeast scent to it now. All the other bottles are intact and at this point I'm just going to leave everything as is and see what happens. Hopefully I won't have anymore blow outs :o





My first stamp is complete and I'm really happy with the results. Now I just need a decent ink pad. Looking back I probably should have done something a little simpler but I learned a lot, so the next one will go much quicker. I'll get another picture of her after my next trip to the local Ben Franklin. They have an excellent selection of pads.

I'm still working to get my oxy generator up and running. I hope to give it another go sometime towards the end of the week. We'll see how it goes.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Blooming Tea & Dandelion Wine

Blooming Tea doesn't look all that good or pretty to begin with.....
It's actually prettier than this picture looks and very yummy too!!!
Dandelions picked for the wine experiment. Ready to be rinsed!
Cooking them down.....
Bottled up and ready to ferment!


Honestly, I don't really have high hopes but who knows. You can see that it's not clear so I don't know if that's good or bad. My kitchen smelled like yeast all day yesterday and I finally had to light incense to get rid of the smell. It did fizz when I stirred it up before the final jarring so I take that as a good sign, but we'll see what happens in a month or two.

I did some lampworking Friday but only got through about a half dozen items before my oxygen generator just stopped working : ( I'm looking it over, cleaning filters and the like to see if I can get it up and running again. If not I'll have to track down a company that services them and see what they can do. I don't really want to ship it back to the one I got it from but if I have to I will. I'm sure it just needs a general "servicing" to get it back to good.

Last night it stormed like crazy, wind, rain, the whole nine yards. Today is turning into a beautiful day. The kids are really gearing up for Summer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they don't end up closing the schools for a week due to swine flu. I don't know if that kind of thing extends the school year or, not but to be honest I think the whole thing is being over blown. The press is doing a wonderful job of spreading the paranoia.......get on with your lives people, it's just another flu!

Anyway, I'm still working with fiber but am going to drag my clay back out to and work on some.............well I'll let that be a surprise. "I think" the idea is a cool one but I have to see if it works first (kind of like wine), I should have something to show you next week.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Friday, May 01, 2009