pear shaped

I have never gone through my life doing things effortlessly, or smoothly.I've dealt with that kind of life rebuttal in many ways. I'm sure anger was one way, or emotional eating was another, but as I get older, I realize, that I don't or try not to let these weird events bother me very much. A kind of "there's no use crying over spilt milk", because well it's spilt,and god knows what was on the floor,so shush and get yourself another glass, and move on with your life.

Thursday I received my first Mac book, it was exciting but I had to work, plus I needed to update some things on it,so I really didn't have time to play much with it. Friday I did I discovered, my mac book pro doesn't recognize its' battery, huh!?!?
So this portable device , now becomes something that I have to anchor to a plug.
All in the name of saving a few hundred dollars$500to be exact,I bought it from a 3rd party vendor. A really reliable one , instead of apple.com itself.So I should just call them and that will be that, except well they are an Orthodox Jewish run company, and are closed on Saturdays!

So my solution to my battery problem, is delayed.

My son and I search their website, and discover that a battery problem, does exist, and we should just be able to download the solution, but wait my little mac book pro says "I don't need no stinking update," when actually I do.

So another avenue of solution is blocked, wtf?!?!

So I can't call the third party vendor, but I can call Apple.com, for support and I do, and a nice young man named Jason , I'm sure he's younger because, well everybody seems to be younger then me, but anyway.He helps me, or well tries too,I give him serial numbers, which tells him my Mac is a 6 month old Mac!! I tell him I just bought it this week, he notes that down,I remove the battery I reset the Mac, and it still has no battery,as far as it's concerned...bah!

I get a case number, and my phone support from Jason ends, he suggests that I register my Apple Care plan online later on, as that would be helpful for myself.

I do that very thing the next day, or well try to, because well as far as apple is concerned, by the serial numbers that I give I'm no longer eligible! oy vey!

I am counting my blessings that tomorrow is Sunday, and hopefully a solution.
I guess I would be more upset if it didn't work at all but it does, and well. I will solve this problem, but in a leisurely relaxed way, whether I want to or not, dammit!

bird rescue, 2

Last fall I rescued this bird out of my potting shed, I know because I had my magenta hooded gloves on, it was a crazy gift, from the universe, and made me smile big.

Today as I let the the dog, and then the cat out, I saw this crumpled little shape of a bird, It looked maybe injured, or maybe my cat Ginger, had caught it, but no she didn't give this little feathered shape a second look, neither did the dog, so I had to investigate.
On went the boots,my wool V-neck, and my bird rescuing gloves, as I stepped out I noticed a little movement, but not really. I was afraid, maybe the birdie, had flown into our big window in the mud room, maybe it's neck was broken. Gingerly I picked up this soft little form that just barely filled the palm of my soft gloved hand, I clasped my other hand over, this little feathered mass, which didn't try to fly away, it didn't move much except for breathing, and occasionally blinking. I could feel her heart beating, as I now recognize, this soft colored bird, as a female goldfinch.
She is gripping my finger with her feet, so I think that has to be a good sign. Now I begin to think maybe my little bird friend is suffering from hypothermia, it is only 21 degrees F, and I did find her in the shade.
So I hold her nestled in my gloved hands, for a while, long enough to consider, if it's "smart to be outside, in my flannel pajama bottoms?", "should I go get my camera,and take a picture of this?" I tell you the pattern of small feathers across her head were to "die for", the detail awesome, it helped me ignore the cold.

I held her long enough to consider getting a small box, and bringing her in maybe she's not going to get more alert, about that time I thought that, I felt her little heartbeat, stronger. She began to blink and focus her little dark eyes, her body tensed, she began to move, I moved too, opening my hand, making that magenta glove that held her , more of a point to take off, then a warm furry nest.
Then time stopped briefly, for she stood, paused a beat or two ,then spread her wings. and flew off.

And yes, I thanked the powers that be, for this morning's gift.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

I think often, I'm better at the visuals then the written word.

the dog and the chocolate cake

It began quite innocently. I received this really cool plate, from my friend, for Christmas.
She mentioned, she had wanted to make a cake to put on it, but she didn't have time. I assured her I would accept this cake anytime later, and not to worry about it.

So on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, she made the cake, a German chocolate cake with coconut pecan glaze, and dropped it off, my husband happily accepted it, and placed it on the counter, meanwhile I was asleep because I had worked the night before.

Tom was in the other room online, reading his blogs, when he became aware of the rustle of wax paper.You see the cake was covered in waxed paper. He came around the corner, to see our dog Wilma eating the cake, it was a star shaped cake, and well now it was missing a point.

Wilma is a 60lb, English coonhound.Who eats pretty much anything you'll give her, except maybe figs.

So like any good dog owner, he called the vets, only to get their answering machine, after all it was Christmas eve. So then he went to the internet, and read the awful things that were due to happen,hyperactivity, extreme thirst,then vomiting, and diarrhea. All these symptoms would occur in 1-3 hours. About the time all our guest would arrive.

So about 3:30pm I woke up, to Tom telling me the story I just told you.The ending of the story, I'm happy to report is boring, nothing happened, she got none of those symptoms, and enjoyed her Christmas Eve just like all dogs do, cleaning up potato chip crumbs, possibly getting a raw carrot that fell to the floor, or a goldfish cracker or two.

Am I telling you this tail, umm tale, to tell you that chocolate is good for dogs, no, not all all.I'm telling you so maybe you'll make sure the chocolate cake isn't on the counter, within reach of the dog.

I'll have to say the only thing Wilma does when we have a piece of the cake,Yes we still have the cake, come on people I wasn't going to throw away the whole cake, I just cut away the dog nibbled part. She looks at it longingly, because well we are not sharing.We don't want to push our doggy luck.

happy holidays

So this year it's Christmas Eve, at my house. Family is coming. I've made skateylleven Italian meatballs, so we won't run out. I have munchies for the crowd to graze on, drinks to drink, and I look forward to the whole loud mess, as usual.

We'll have NORAD tracking Santa, on the computer, to see where he's been, and where he's going to.It's all computer generated, but it gives me chills , plus watching my younger niece and nephew, watching it with excitement, is enough to put any Scrooge into the Christmas spirit.

There will be music playing, and the dog will get lots of goldfish crackers, from the kids.The only thing missing is my sister and her husband, she has to work a 12 hour shift, so there's no question, the girl has to sleep.They will be missed.

There will be the massive un-wrapping, paper flying ,as people open gifts.It's easy to miss what people get.Something my husband decided one year, the year he decided to buy gifts before Christmas, it was for the 3 of us to open our presents , together after everyone else went home,mostly so he could enjoy our son's, and my reaction, on the job well done, he did in buying gifts that year.
and he did really good.

Whatever your holiday traditions, be them old or new,I hope you have a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Hanukkah, or a festive Kwanzaa, and a most Happy new year.

the ice storm cometh

Thursday the rain started, then the temperatures dropped, then the ice started forming.When I opened the door to let the cat out, it wasn't wind I heard blowing, it was creaking ice laden branches. Around 9pm the light flickered dim, and then again at 9:30, I should have followed my thoughts, that told me to turn up the heat some, and turn the temperature of the refrigerator down, just in case the power went out. I of course ignored those voices, I was too busy photographing the icy trees, reflecting the light outside my window.

Hours passed, then at 12:15 am ...POP booop, the power was out, My son and I wait a few seconds for it to come on, and then we realized it wasn't going to happened, off we went finding flashlights, and some LED lanterns, that I had bought years before, and use around Halloween, to light the stairs to our walk way. The dog was less than pleased with the power outage, "what was going on, why were we running around, in the dark?" So off to bed we went, me to my electrically powered heated water bed, and he to his room.My husband was already asleep blissfully unaware, at one point during the night, I thought the lights had come on, but I was too warm in toasty in our bed, and fell back asleep, I'd shut them off in the morning. In the morning noticing the lights were still out , and it was cool in the house, I realized my brain was processing a cars headlights going by,not actual lights coming on.

In the daylight hours the ice covered trees were magnificent, in this kind of surreal frozen fairytale like setting.It was amazing to see how ice covered everything was, and how it came showering down when the temperatures outside increased. We sat, read, drank alot of hot tea, and cocoa, made grilled cheese sandwiches, and naively believed the light would be on in the afternoon, just like a friend rumored, no such luck Chuck.

We ate dinner by candlelight, and camping lantern light.We did the dishes a la camping style, we heated pots of water on the stove, to combine with are only cold running water.I slept on our water bed , this time above the covers, in my sleeping bag, surrounded by a cat or two, I got ready for work, by LED lamplight, and missed the heat in my house , and the hot water alot. I felt unshowered, and tired,and I was. I was also a little annoyed that the neighbor had electricity, and we had none, damn it.

I drove to work,Friday night. It was another surreal event, I and the full moonlight were the only light on the road, as I drove, an occasional lone driver would illuminate how ice covered bushes and trees still were in some areas.One road I drove down the trees were bent so far forward, I wondered if they might touch the roof of my little Subaru.I went through several towns where the usual signal lights were out, the funny thing was I still slowed down, just like they were working.I guess old habits die hard. That night the temperatures dropped to 14 degrees.

On my ride home Saturday morning , I got to see those ice covered trees, in the daylight, which didn't make it any less scary, but more so because you could see how thick the ice still was, and how affected everything was by it. I also noticed at the top of trees the stark pointed white tipped branches left behind after all those that had broken off from the weight of all that ice

I arrived home with some necessities, milk, juice, cat food, and bread, as I got out off my car I noticed a white wire, extending from our house to the neighbors, my husband, the jack of all trades,had hooked us up, he used to be an electrician, before he became the boiler repair man. We talked briefly the night before of putting an extension cord, from our house to our neighbors. Well lo and behold, he had done that very thing! I walked over the thick white wire, to be greeted by my son, telling me that "Dad is hooking up the furnace so we would have heat, and hot water!!"

Yay!! Our house had dropped down to 55 degrees, and the mud room was even colder, colder than the temperature in our fridge, where the temperature was rising.By the time I ate my breakfast in my heaviest wool sweater, the heat was slowly rising, the smell of heat is wonderful, if you haven't had it, for a 24 hours or more. I went to bed that morning, in sweats, with a cat joining me for warmth. I woke up in the afternoon, to warmth, and no lights, but no lights, is nothing compared to no heat.
The hoards of candles I had received as gifts, many a Christmas, did us well, as did my little LED lanterns.

That evening at 6:30 precisely, the lights came on, at first my husband didn't realize, because we had turned the lights off, the first day we were without power.
But quickly we got the picture, and celebrated, with pancakes, and bacon. after all I had to work that night .

day 155 | stop mo laundry

This was my first foray into trying stop motion, using Windows Movie Maker.
It was unreal how many times the program crashed, and I restarted over and over.

What the hell Microsoft,were you thinking when you created this program.Lets create a program, that's kind of lame, and crashes alot, once the person using the program gets really proficient at it, you crash and freeze up more.Seamless interface would be a lie, it was more like dogged determination, that I would prevail.
rawr!
I don't want to sound totally disrespectful, for this program has been helpful in my learning curve, of video. which i really like doing. :)

But at the end of it I got tired, of taking a single still, and did video.I compressed 7 minutes of still photos into 1 minute, shooting 95 stills, and adding a little video at the end.

the music is by engeo

tea city

I'm not sure if there is a tea city, but if there is, I'm a citizen.

A lovely flickr friend, sent me a tea gift certificate, for $5 dollars off, and I figured, I have to check this out, because money off, if well money off. So I went to Adagio teas to check it out, I was able to purchase a black tea sampler, with 6 teas, and a special blend made for my zodiac sign.

I received it in two days, with no extra postage paid, the 6 cannisters are packed full, and the tea is awesome, it's actual loose little leaves, not dust in a bag like most tea bags. My favorite flavor so far is golden monkey, now I know it was the name that attracted me first because sometimes I am a 12 year old , but it's smooth and yummy just like a great black tea should be, and I love to add milk to my tea, and it only added to it's wonderfulness.

So if you want to be a citizen of tea city, why don't you come by and have a cuppa, the water is always hot enough.

World AIDS day

oh the places you'll go

Another visit to museums, for Zack's art appreciation class.

come take a look

I feel lucky , to have figured out, what really attracts my eye, as an artist, it's definitely the patterns in thing, those lovely repetitive colors or shapes, and if they occur around me even better.
I'm thankful, that I looked at it I didn't pass over any object, no matter how mundane. I found my pattern to look at, no matter where it occurred.

If you have never viewed anything on a PictoBrowser, you just click on the image to advance it, or rest your mouse in the bottom edge of the browser, and a thumbnail scrim will pop up.

bird rescue

I'm not exactly sure how a little bird, got into my potting shed, but it did.

I keep the birdseed in there, in two old playmate coolers, they are perfect containers, they are mouse proof, and keep the seed fresh and dry, they also have great handles, when I need to fill the bird feeders, I can take them with me.


I walked into my potting shed to do that very thing, fill the feeders. I heard this fluttery noise, then I spotted a little slate colored junco, flapping against the windows. I thought for a minute how to get him out, I opened the barn door wide, and considered shooing him out, but then I thought that would just scare the poor little birdie,or drive him deeper in the corner of my potting shed.Slowly I reached my soft gloved hands toward him, caught him and cradled him in my hands, feeling his warm little body nestled in my gloves. I stepped outside, slowly opening my hands, where he sat for a second, then picked up off of them, rising up and flying away.

It made me feel happy, like I had received a little gift.

the B word

That's right, I'm going to type it, Bra!
There is something to being forty something, that gives me a new appreciation of the need to wear a bra.A proper fitting bra. Even Tim Gunn, says the foundation of a woman's wardrobe, is a proper fitting undergarment.

Before gravity, or weight gain, or lactation, changed and modified my girls into something other that what I expected,I began as a small breasted, almost flat chest young woman, and grew into a more well endowed, cross your heart type of bra Woman!
I used to be able to get away with tank tops, or camisoles, and even a sports bras, but then I began to notice, that these undergarmets of my youth didn't really cut it.As gravity will have her way with your body I noticed my breasts decided they were very enamored with where my feet are, decided they should head in that direction. At first I ignored this, until one day looking in the mirror, I realized those wayward sinking bumps on my boobie horizon, were my nipples, and how in the hell, did they get there, and why? Was my body paying a cruel trick on me, or did I just need a bra. oh the betrayal!

So online I went ,and bras I bought, sometimes successful, sometimes not at all. I figured if the bras I wore without trying on, didn't fit me well, it was a waste of my time to go to a store where a bra lady would help me, find my right size, because there is no right size with me.Part of my reluctance was that I believed I didn't have the right body shape for a bra, I had sloped shoulders that's why, my straps never stayed up, I decided I was a size I really wasn't, and wore mostly bras that didn't fit right.

Until a dear friend clued me in to my delusions, the error of my thickheaded ways, she told me to to run, not walk, to go to Lady Grace, and I did reluctantly.There I met Stephanie,a very nice sales consultant, she did what all bra ladies do, they measure, and have you try on, and they adjust your wayward girls in the bra, what a concept! . Her assistance was non judgmental,gentle and told me most women wear the wrong bra size until they get fitted for the right one!!She turned me around, helped me see the light, and buy the right size
It was amazing to wear a bra that fit right, there was no pinch, no slipping strap, and the girls were looking up again. I actually enjoyed wearing a bra, because here's the shocker, it felt good!!

So If you've always believed you were a bra misfit, because you weren't the right shape,it isn't true sister, you just need to go get measured, and you will see how great your shape actually is.

working title

Over the last 3 years, I have participated in some type of attempt at daily self portraiture.I began in 365 days, here the main focus was a daily picture, which at the time was a struggle, I have insecurities or had insecurities about how I looked, I got over that, and rarely cringe at photos of myself, there are times , more then not, that I enjoyed and found it to be very empowering. my attempts at year 2 , really were that attempts, I just really had been there done that before, and for me, it wasn't creative, it was more of an annoyance, and that's silly, to continue with something you don't really feel.

This spring flickr introduced video, which I thought cool, but it really doesn't apply to me. I never did videos of myself,i couldn't imagine it. Then I received my first invite to a group called "just say no, to video" and frankly I was intrigued, as to why I should say no.. So I started to do videos, and well It was exciting and creative, and huge eye opener.

If I thought I might balk at still images of myself, there are body angles,and chin doubling, you just can't hide in full motion video,so you either grimace, or get over your big bad self.

In July I joined 365 minutes,at Ipernity. A groups started by two friends from the original 365 days.
At first, months before I started I felt intimidated,by what others were creating and then in July I got over myself and I jumped in.Though it makes me grimace to admit I have a less the firm chin,or belly or anything, that also the beauty of it, it's gone in a flash erased, by another action, or music, or image I am portraying. It's an honest views of my life, of me, of my need to be a poseur video rock star wannabe, sometimes, but mostly they are real, and fairly mundane.
What will I do next July,when I finish, well i guess I will decide that in July.

the big love post

So this post isn't about the HBO series, but about how you love your family. They make you feel huge amounts of pride, even when they do the simplest things.

This video was taken on my ride home from my Open Studio weekend,my son, his girlfriend, and her friend, were great about helping out.
There is something for me , when your riding in a car filled with family, and friends, that just is cozy, and gives me the warm fuzzies. Come take a ride, won't you.

printmaking

I have been a print maker, steady for the last 6 years. Over the last year and a half i have done strictly relief,linoleum block, wood cut. I've pulled prints, full of line and form. I am mostly a representational artist, but I have begun to revisit my love of pattern and color. Before that I used to switch back and forth between etching and relief printmaking,then I decided in the Autumn of 2007, to just strictly do relief.





I didn't suddenly hate etching, I just wanted to focus, on one thing, at that time I figured I would switch back and forth on a yearly basis. When I came back in September to the studio, I thought alot about , How now it was 2008, and I should be doing etching, but I didn't really feel like switching, which frankly had my little obsessive mind worried,maybe I just didn't have any skill at etching , where I had skills at relief printmaking, and then some, maybe that's why I didn't want to switch. Then thankfully my inner wisdom, took hold of me and game me a shake, and said "there could be worse things, are you really questioning whether you should continue doing a type of printmaking that you are really good at?"
Yes it's true, I can be that insecure about my art. So I took a deep breath, and realized I'm the one setting the schedule here, so it was up to me to choose. I chose to continue on with the relief.



Well that was until I joined in the soft ground practicum, where we experimented with soft grounds, and it was great, wiping a copperplate, came back to me, with ease, phew! It made me want to take a little break from doing relief printmaking, and concentrate on etching.
Recently a artist friend and I decided to trade prints, she has one that I really like, and vice versa, it's also giving me the idea to return to an old set of plated, I haven't printed in years, and revist them, and possible go from there, and create another version of this quilt series, I started over 5 years ago.
Either way, the possibilities are endless.

yoga-riffic update

I am pleased to report, that I did commit and mostly do daily yoga.I am also pleased to write that it has changed the flexibility, and strength of my body. Are my arm rock hard, well they are firmer, and jiggley part under my arm, doesn't jiggle anymore.
I found another benefit, It made me slow down and focus , on myself, get in touch with how I was feeling, and how I would feel after I finished. Which was empowered and relaxed. It also delighted my dog, in the fact I was down on the floor, and she could give me a nose lick now and then. Will I stop my daily yoga? No. Did it hurt my back? No!!
Will I sometimes be too busy, yes, unfortunately, but you know on the days I had to skip, I was all the more determined to do it, the next day, and I did.
Did I have to play new age music to get into the whole yoga thang? Nope!
I found playing my new music obsession , named Adele, if you don't know her, you should, this girl can sing, plus her music is sublime. You should play the music the resonates with you, and that will do you the most good.

So will I return to my glory days as a couch potato, no. I will become a limber yoga-mama that sometimes sits on the couch. Yes ma'am.

falling off the wagon

Not that wagon, but off the daily posting wagon, called NaBloPoMo.
I've been busy .

Last weekend, was our Open Studio weekend, it's changed from past years, it became more of a print fair, all the artists at Zea Mays Printmaking showed their work, if they wanted to join in, in years past, only the full time members showed their work, that gave somewhat of narrow view of what the studio was about, and what kind of art was being produced.

Do I like the change? The answer would be yes! It freed me up from bring every print I've ever done to just 20 prints, that represent me the best. I also made my usual greeting cards,which a young woman thanked me for making.Every year,she looks forward to them, she can't afford, to pay for a print, but she can afford, my cards. That was great validation for me, sometimes I question whether I should do them, but that was answered by her, I really appreciate her for telling me, it quashed that self doubt that I had about it.

And now for the video part of this post, a glimpse into our Friday night preview party.

print fair north

This weekend marks Open Studio weekend at the Arts and Industry building, where my studio is located.
On Friday we are having a VIP event, for print collectors, friends and family.We have rearranged the studio, so people can flow through, view our prints, and maybe even purchase.

the day after.

I'm still happy and hopeful. I feel blessed that my fellow Americans believe in hope and goodwill just like I do. It makes me very proud, to be part of this historical event.

If I had to describe how I felt in one word, it would be proud, than satisfied, and then ready, for a change.

Ariel at Electrolicious summed up the phenomena, of election night perfectly in this lovely set of pictures. That displays the feeling of shared emotion.All in one word, mostly.
Though I wasn't at her gathering I was at one of my own,watching the election results come in,with friends and acquaintances, we were enjoying a good glass of wine, and a yummy nosh, for that alone was worth it,and to think this country stopped what they were doing to pay witness to this defining moment, along side me, gives me the warm fuzzies.