The world is in turmoil

Have not written my thoughts down for a while.  Not that I don't have thoughts.  I have them all the time.  Sometimes they are clear and concise and sometimes there are so many I can't sort them out.  Since the last election I cannot wrap my head around what has become of this country.  The racist misogynist clown in the white house, his criminal family and his fascist cabinet.  It is just so incredible.  I feel like I have been in mourning this past year.  Every week is worse news than the last.  I'm now reading Hillary's book.  It is painful.  What they did to her was undeserved.  So, if she can stand to write it I guess I can stand to read it.  I've put it away a couple times because I get emotional over the loss.  Now I'm listening to MSNBC as I do compulsively, about all the other pussy grabbing sexual predators we're hearing about.  This should not take away from the incredibly important work that Mueller is doing investigating the administration - won't say his name- nor will I call him President.  The Russian "thing" is more important above everything else.  We can't forget how they were allowed to steal the election.  The news that as of this date, the administration has had at least 30 contacts with Russians and contact with Wikileaks.  Odd that everyone connected to the administration has been to Russia, worked in Russia, met with Russians, got paid by Russians, got awards from Russia, got on Russia TV etc etc.  hmmm I don't remember one person associated with Obama as linked with Russia, how come all these people are?   It is no great relief to me to say it but I do keep saying that Hillary won the popular vote by 3 million.  Too bad for all the people that didn't come out to vote because at this time I could be writing about President Hillary Rodham Clinton instead of my anxiety about orange Hitler.

My Anniversary

Today is my anniversary.  35 years married to the same person.  How can that be?  Seems like yesterday that we met, worked together, went out with the group after work and gradually started our relationship.  We've been to a lot of places together.  I guess that is one thing we have in common, travel and explore.  Not that we go to exotic places.  We love Hawaii and would rather go there than any other place on the earth.  There might come a day when we move there for good.

We went out for dinner at a great steak house.  They gave us some lovely champagne.  Then we took a drive to look at the Christmas decorations at the Teddy Bear House.  Now, he's napping in the recliner and I'm on the computer.  Come to think of it this is what we did last anniversary and the year before too!

My anniversary, coming on day 2 of the new year is always a time of reflection.  What will I do this year.  What changes can I make.   Okay, take off another 30 pounds.  Write more, paint more, live more.

Rest in Peace, Smokie
My precious girl
7/4/06-10/25/15

New year New Job

One of my New Year's Eve predictions actually came true.  I have a new job at work.  Totally unexpected but a change in the department created an opening and I was approached for it.  I've done the work before so it is not entirely foreign to me.  Management asked me what I wanted for this job and I gave them some figures, really didn't know what they would pay.  They came back "how about a thousand more?"  Uh, okay I'll take it.  Then, they wrote the acceptance letter and the offer in it was actually $2000 more than I asked for.  Man, are they hard negotiators!  So, I think this is a good start of the year.

Happy new year!

Happy New Year.  So long 2014.  What will 2015 bring?  Maybe a new job, new house, maybe nothing new.  This is the year I will be 60 - Six Oh.  Don't feel that old but I guess I am.  So maybe I need to focus on making some changes.  Lose weight, different hair style, take better care of my skin, improve my wardrobe.

Other things to resolve.  Paint more, sew more, read books again.  Dig through the closet and revisit some crafts like kumihimo and jewelry making and maybe weaving.  Bring up the oil paints and canvases from the basement.  Travel to new places or revisit old places like Chicago and Kansas City.  Make a list of movie favorites and watch them all.

I feel a bit inspired so I'm going to close this and pick up my watercolors.  Auld lang syne.

Good Night Newsroom

My favorite series The Newsroom has ended and I'm sad.  It was a show that did not have any violence, no blood, no vampires or plotting royalty or dragon slayers.  This show was real.  It was fast paced.  It was about current affairs in the news and serious issues and it had humor.  I looked forward to the new season only to find it cut short and coming to a conclusion.  Add it to the shows I also loved and miss like In Treatment.  Not for the populace, never going to be "popular" but the kind of shows I seek out to make me think and feel enlightened.  With what I spend on cable TV I would like to say that I have more than one show I watch regularly but most of it is really bad.  I enjoy Bill Maher's Real Time and still watch some PBS.  I would rather watch QVC shopping network than most of the premium cable series.  Hope that something comes along soon!

Baby is sick

I should have written before about my dog's cancer but I got away from blogging for a time.  On November 2, 2013 Smokie was diagnosed with lymphoma.  We are lucky we can afford to get her treated.  Six months and $5000 later she was in remission.  She was amazing.  There were no side effects, no emergencies, no periods of sickness.  She was such a trooper.  Well,  after 6 months treatment  free the lymphoma is back.  She seemed to be agitated the other night, licking everything, restless, wanting out to eat grass.  Next day, another lump in her neck was felt.  Got right to the vet and a biopsy revealed that the cancer was back, so we are back on the chemo schedule.  As long as she responds well we will do everything we can to get her back into remission.

Night, Mommy

Feeling better

I'm finally getting better after 3 weeks of bronchial infection.  Ended up at the emergency room Sunday after calling my ex-doctor.  Got my steroids, cough syrup.  So, today, beautiful warm weather, I couldn't enjoy going outside. afraid of what the pollen would do to my breathing again.  Driveway is covered in green dust.  When my husband drove the car away there was a big black rectangle that didn't get covered in pollen.  So while I would have loved to putter around my newly sprouting ajuga, daffodils, phlox, lavender I stayed in and did laundry.  Just watched a show on Hawaii, made me long to be back there again.  Maybe next Spring.  Or maybe this Autumn.  Or maybe next week!

Sicko

Sicko.  That's me.  Bronchitis again.  I've had this every year since 2005, when I was hospitalized for a bad viral infection.  Called my doctor on a Saturday.  Guess she didn't appreciate that. She won't send the "usual" drugs to pharmacy without seeing me Monday.  Can't believe she is going to let me suffer the whole weekend when I could be getting better for the classes I have lined up Monday and Tuesday.  Its the last straw, I'm in the market for a new physician.

This is not the first time I've encountered resistance to do what I ask.  To return a phone call.  To give a letter needed for something.  Not to mention the lecture I got when asking for anti anxiety medication.  Yes, I'm just a common drug seeking addict.

When you know what works, a little steroid, some cough suppressant, maybe an antibiotic, why do you have to jump through hoops to get it prescribed?  Is this a game of wills, where the powerful can refuse just because... oh yes, if I come in Monday she gets PAID by my insurance.  Yes, I had forgotten that small fact; it isn't about helping someone get well and feel better.  I know that once I walk in to her office looking gray, breathing heavily, wheezing, feverish, and coughing nonstop, she will give me the drugs I know I need right now.  Thank you very much Ana.  The least you could have done was to advise me what to do in the meantime and what to get over the counter.  First, do NO harm.

Time flies

I can not believe how long it has been since I posted.  I feel like I've been hibernating through the winter.  Job is consuming my energy.  At least the days are getting longer and I no longer leave in the dark in the morning and return in the dark in the evening.  I saw a few plants sprouting up in my flower beds today, but that saddens me because I know we will still have cold and frost and I don't want them to die.  Tomorrow night is my art club meeting and I'm hoping to get energized again with some creativity and artistic ideas.  I need to have some FUN!  I will be going to Memphis this weekend for some shopping, good BBQ and hopefully get some entertainment.  And, in my brand new Camry.  Good ride!

Birthday book

Inside

Made this book for my niece's 21st birthday.  I had this Victorian fairy tale paper and tags and envelope for her birthday gift. I sewed the little insert in it with waxed thread, and strung some beads.  Scrabble tile E for her name, Erin. 

back

Brown paper packages tied up with string...

While driving in my car this morning I was thinking about mailing a package.  As my mind wandered during this relaxing drive on a cool Autumn morning I recalled sitting at the dining room table when I was six or seven watching my father meticulously wrap a package for mailing.  We lived in Bermuda and there were always little knickknacks and memorabilia to send back to Grandma and others.  I watched as he wrapped the ugly re-used cardboard boxes with plain brown paper.  He added the appropriate labels and stickers with the red, white and blue striped borders for airmail.  Then he took a ball of white string and wrapped up the box this way and that, tying the knots real tight – I provided the finger to hold the string in place.  Sometimes he did more than two crisscrosses of string.  Sometimes there were two or three rows each way in a precise grid pattern.  Always, the strings were knotted really really tight and clipped off real close to the knots, creating little tufts of cotton at each intersection.  Well, this was the way we did it in the early sixties.  I guess we didn’t have packing tape then.  I’m not sure why the string was used but it certainly was useful in carrying the package and if you planned it out you could end up with a very workable handle in the center, which of course you could reinforce with two or three thicknesses of string.  So, instead of rushing that re-used, taped up, marked-over nasty little box to the post office tomorrow I’m going to wrap it nicely, with perfect corner folds at the ends, tie it up with string and use a pretty label.

Pretty bird

Took this pic at the K.C. Zoo parrot cage.  Its not the best picture but does show the variety of colors in the feathers since he is fluffing them out.

Focus on Clear Embossing

Here's a technique that I really like.  Take a piece of scrapbook paper and coordinate a card front.  Select a 5" x 7" section for your background.  Then stamp and emboss a reverse image stamp on a  quieter part of the paper.  A reverse image is one where you stamp the background and the images remain un-stamped.  The technique is to use clear ink to stamp with and clear detail embossing powder on that.  The purpose of the clear medium is to see through the background to the design of the paper.  Then, taking water-based markers such as Marvy, color the designs.  Use a baby wipe frequently to wipe off excess marker ink from the clear embossing.  A totally coordinated design to layer on top of your background piece.  Use coordinating colors to mat the layers.

Zentangles

Here is my entry into a recent Zentangle card contest.  Because I had been doodling faces in my sketchbook in a zentangly way, I thought I would add faces to a background of traditional zentangles.  No, I didn't win the contest but I had so much competition it put my shaky hand to shame!

Little Tramp

This ATC was made from Tim Holtz's ATC-sized embossing folder.  The man with umbrella is also available as a rubber stamp and a die for cutting that shape.  I stamped reverse text onto the inside of the embossing folder, inserted paper and ran it through the cuttlebug.  I also sponged some tea dye ink over the raised image.  Since this image reminds me of Charlie Chaplin in the movies I added a piece of tiny film strip and called him the Little Tramp.

I kissed my stamp

Love this technique.  There are two stamps involved.  The main stamp, the dress form is inked up.  Then take the second stamp which is reverse text and press it to the other stamp (kissing).  Pull them apart and stamp the dress form with a new design.  Try checks, swirls, dots.  Lots of new looks for one stamp.

October sky

I am a fan of Silk Baron's dupioni silks.  The excellent array of colors are scrumptious and delectable.  This beauty is call October Sky.  Check them out at http://silkbaron.com/silk/index.html and don't forget to register for free fabric.

Garden Green

From my own tomato vine, some small tomatoes have ripened and we used them in a salad today.  My first of the season!  Of course I bought this pot last month when it had alot of tiny green babies and a bunch more flowers.  In a pot with a trellis.  How easy is that?  They were very yummy.  I don't care how red the store tomatoes are, they still don't taste the way a home grown one does!

Big Win!

My husband won a jackpot recently on his favorite Monopoly slot.  A thirty cent bet for $430!  He hit a bonus and free spins to go around the board.  All aboard the money train!