i like banjos

Super Good Art Stuff

2012-01-30T10:01:00.001-07:00

I received some bummer inducing news earlier this week, my application for Kickstarter was denied.

I have been debating about what to do. The reason behind a Kickstarter campaign was to allow the friends and family and random strangers to donate a few bucks, in a legitimate way. [Please don't hand me $3 cash, I will probably end up at a froyo shop.]
Moving forward I think the best thing to do will be to place info on this blog and FaceBook, set up like a Kickstarter page.

The Down Low:
I am opening a small art supplies store in the Tennyson Art District in Denver, CO. My dream is for this to be a warm, fun, community friendly store, carrying student and professional grade art supplies. I plan to run classes for children through adults- think Painting With Your Pet, Graphic Novel Illustration or Macaroni Snow Flakes. I cant wait to participate in Tennyson First Friday shenanigans.

What I Need:
I need $63,000 to make this happen. That seems like a lot of money, and it is. But fear not, at this time I have raised $38,000 through a grant, gifts and a generous private loan. At this time I am researching SBA type loans.

I NEED $25,000

How Your Contribution Helps:
SBA type loans have very high interest rates. The less I have to pay back, the easier it is for me to financially run a successful business.
The money collected will go toward working capital, fixtures, office equipment like computers and printers, and inventory.
I have heard a lot of support from friends and family. People telling me that they would like to help me out- if you have $2 to donate, that's fantastic. If you have $100 to donate that's fantastic. If you are broke and want to send well wishes, I would love to hear from you!
If You Contribute:
$1- $25: A heaping spoon of gratitude and an invitation to our grand opening.
$26- $50: Store logo bumper sticker
$51- $75: 4 post cards designed for this project
$100 and up: 1 piece of original art work

CONTRIBUTE

You are making a contribution to ME. This is not a charity, or a non-profit. The money collected will go toward working capital, fixtures, office things like computers and printers, and inventory. A contribution does not make you a shareholder, or in anyway involved with the business. No money will be returned or payed back. You are not guaranteed anything, except the contribution "prizes" as stated above.

2012-01-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

I didn't get x-mas cards out this year, so I figured I would go for Happy New Year cards.

In 2011 we:
Bought a tent with our REI dividend. On one of the trips an animal stole one of my shoes, in the night. I have now happily replaced them.

Went to NYC for a dear friend's wedding. It was pretty fabulous.

Insulated the crawl space of out house. The floors are much warmer now.

I was able to get new hearing aids, and sent my old ones one to someone who was desperate to have anything. I hope they are serving him well.

Our cats are still cats.

In 2012 we:

Look forward to more home improvement projects.

Getting my store up and running.

Attending a wedding in Madison, WI over St. Patrick's Day.

And, having more camping adventures.

Denver County Fair 2012

2012-01-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

The poster for the Denver County Fair 2012 was just realease. I. Love. It.

I am planning to have booth this year and I hope to get a copy of this poster for my self.

ups and downs

2012-01-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today was a bad day... mainly I discovered that I set some things up incorrectly and trying to correct the situation left me in a temper tantrum aimed at the computer. I think things can be sorted out, but not in the mood I was in today.

On a better note, my husband has decided to start training for a 200 mile relay that is planned for this summer- with a team of equally geeky and out of [running] shape, friends. His usual exercising interests are not of the gym going sort, so the shift to running is new. He is starting with "couch to 5k" and then going from there. I am proud of him for trying something new, committing to this race and recruiting a large number of people for the team.
With the store opening soon, I just cannot commit to this race planned for July. But I am sure it will be great fun.

in other news I have almost 2/3rds of the founding I need to open shop!

New Year- 2012

2012-01-01T10:00:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning feeling like I should do a 2011 reflection post. I realize that this is about the most common thing being blogged right now, but then, this blog is more for me than for my "readers".

In a nut shell: had an epiphany, started working on a projects, went to San Francisco, went to Arcata, got an awesome job that never materialized, Mr. got a new job, played in the garden, went camping- learned I'm not a bad shot, went camping- lost a shoe, lost unemployment, insulated the crawl space, got new hearing aids, finished business plan, started rewriting business plan, went to Long Island for a dear friends wedding, picked up seasonal job, writing, writing, writing, had a really great birthday, had a pretty good and very family filled xmas and New Years. Now? I'm as I have been saying for weeks, desperately trying to wrap up the second business plan. The end result will be a large grant, and hopefully something solid that will get me a bank loan.

Overall 2011 was a poor year for us. However, it was a happy year, for me, mentally. I think because for the first time, in a long time I have something I want and am working towards it. I have been more focused on my goal of starting a small business than I have been of just about anything else in my life. It feels right and I know that it is going to work out. I have tons to learn, and will for quite some time. I am excited and terrified.
The next steps? Secure all funding and find a location to lease.

Resolutions from 2011? One of them was to make a bigger effort to capitalize the beginning of sentences. I was spoiled using Word early on, it auto caps a lot of things. However nothing else does and since I'm closer to 30 than 25, it seems like I should get my typing shit together. I am still working on this, but it is very slowly becoming more second nature again.
The others? Well, I believe there were some half success' and some un-expected things that technically count, sorta.
All in all 2011 was a pretty happy year for me, I found purpose in my adult life, I learned a lot and I'm quite proud of myself.

I cant wait to see what 2012 brings!

[probably a lot of stress]

Tree

2011-12-18T17:17:00.001-07:00

Finally got my xmas tree up this weekend. It is a cute little tree, and I only had to move 1 chair. ha. :)

Put up lit garlands on the other side of the room, over the pass through. Looking very festive now. Falkor has decided that he really likes the pine flavored water. Maybe because it doesn't have Kabuki cooties.

Cheers!

Roller Derby Nationals pt. 2

2011-12-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

I took a few photos at Nationals with my point and shoot Cannon, as well as a few from the first Team USA practice and scrimmage.

My cheering mates

Fight Club warms up

FC vs Gotham

Team USA practice

Team USA first group photo op

In case you weren't paying attention: Nationals was a bit disappointing, Gotham took the title. World Cup Team USA over powered everyone else in the world. literately.

Birthday Round Up

2011-12-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

I had a particularly great birthday week.

It Started with a First Friday where I met some local business people, made connections and networked like an adult.

I spent the weekend in Kearney, Nebraska going junking, and helping my aunt with a little bit of xmas decorating.

The week rolled out Birthday shopping with my mother, where I scored some fab MAC lipstick [Rebel- a purplish berry color that seems a bit like the bad ass version of the color Scully wore a lot.] and a scooter ornament. A trip to the zoo and frozen yogurt with my husband, a 6 coarse dinner party and ended with Dim sum at Star Kitchen on Sunday.
It was quite fabulous.

I am working away on projects and carving out some time this weekend to do some xmas decorating of my own.

Its That Time of Year...

2011-11-21T14:23:00.002-07:00

What I REALLY want for my Birthday/ Christmas is to find retail space and all the founding I need to open my store.

What I have learned over the years, is that people like lists, and you are more likely to get what you want because of them. Also, this was fun to make.

The list I made back in March, still holds true as well.
Other ideas: Vespa anything, Gnomes, bird bath or house for the garden, vintage table cloths, ?

Of course there are some other over priced gadgets that I lust after, but none that I actually need *ahem* ipad2, nook, patagonia down sweater, cannon rebel, wing back chairs, scooter chrome, etc, etc.

further rambling about Nationals.

2011-11-11T09:09:00.002-07:00

[from g+]

Hello Derby Weekend!

Its like a 3 day xmas here. We are that excited. Nationals is in Denver this year and our team is defending its claim to #1.

Why? well, its a weekend full of roller derby. Really good roller derby. It has been part of our lives for almost 3 years now. Its a hard to play, high action sport. Its growing in numbers at an unbleaveable rate, it is so new that rule changes are being made yearly to account for loop holes that have been found and new situations that arise. Its a bunch of women who dedicate between 20 and 40 hours a week to practice, bouts and running the league. Some have never played organized sports in their lives. They wear booty shorts and fish nets, because its fun- and ideal for speed skating in packs, but don't judge them as slutty, they work their asses off- or on, because there is some seriously impressive derby ass out there.

But also, Tim has gotten into it. Its the one sport we both enjoy watching, so his excitement about this weekend is equal to mine.

General admission tickets are still available, the action starts today. If you want to watch online, go to the WFTDA web site, there will be a streaming link.

Roller Derby Nationals 2011

2011-11-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

Roller Derby Nationals 2011.

Thats right. They are in our back yard this weekend. Well, Broomfield anyway. We have tickets for all 3 days. Our team is defending its title of number 1.
This is going to be an amazing weekend. It feels like a 3 day Christmas. On top of that we have party plans with non derby friends to fill our evenings.
On top of that Team USA is scrimmaging at RMRGs war*house on Monday, and I'm NSOing.

To kick off the weekend, I woke to this cute card from my husband and mimosa makings in the fridge. <3

Stuffed Animal Project

2011-11-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

A friend commissioned stuffed animals from me, as gifts for... people he knows, I expect.

I found patterns on line, and made adjustments. For the most part I feel that this project went well, especially since stuffed animals are hard, and I haven't attempted making one since I was about 7 or 8.

Elephant- found the pattern here. The directions are a little sketchy. I actually inserted some wire Us in the legs, as they ended up splayed strait out, on their own.

Penguins. There was originally supposed to be a frog, but the sample one turned out bad, and frankly there is a serious lack of cute frog patterns out there. So we went with two penguins. I made my own pattern but the idea was originated here. (ok, i can no longer find the site where this originated, i will correct the link if I do. Also the origin of the panda, below.) Super easy, and way cute, this pattern is a win.

There was a request that the panda have wings. So it does. I do not recommend trying this with corduroy as I did.

Pumpkins!

2011-11-03T08:23:00.000-06:00

I only got 3 of 6 pumpkins carved this year. Maybe I will cook the others down for food stuffs- even though they are the wrong kind.

world pop

2011-11-01T22:06:00.000-06:00

Yesterday- Halloween 2011, the world population officially reached 7 billion people.

Dia De Los Muetros

2011-10-25T16:37:00.000-06:00

A storm is rolling in. We are supposed to see up to 6" of snow in Denver tomorrow. The fall colors are really vibrant right now as the gray clouds roll in. I wish I were spending tomorrow carving my giant pumpkins, but instead I am spending it writing. Maybe I can get them moved inside anyway.
Not sure what I want to carve this year. I didn't do any last year, due to the neighbor kids breaking them before i could do anything with them.

As an adult I find myself looking forward to Dia De Los Muetros more than Halloween. Why? I don't know, I don't really celebrate it. Some years I make a small shrine, but at this point in life I don't have many old photos- they still reside with my parents. I think, I just really like the symbolism of the holiday and the celebration. Don't get me wrong, I freakin love Halloween, but this is bigger somehow.

As I said, we have a snow storm moving in. One of my giant marigolds was quite successful this year and is- or was, still blooming away out there. This afternoon I cut all the flowers and strung them into a garland, adding in pretty pink roses. I made a little shrine in the living room. I may only have 2 photos to add to it, but when I look at it, I think about all of the friends and relatives who touched my life in one way or another and are no longer with us.

Pumpkins. I actually have 6. One is out of the shot. Should I do a series? Ideas? Anyone desperately want a giant pumpkin of their own?

RIP Uncle Bill

William Chilvers 1921- 2011

Zombie Crawl 2011

2011-10-24T08:29:00.000-06:00

da yard 2011

2011-10-20T10:18:00.001-06:00

Every year I like to take spring and fall photos of my yard. Usually in May and September.

2011:

Spring! I spent a couple weeks cleaning out my garden. I prefer to let the vegetation sit and rot er... compost... through the winter. Two reasons, 1. I am lazy, and tired of working on the yard by late fall. and 2. It it is natural composting for the soil, and gives me something to do in the spring when I am ready to get going and excited about working in the garden again.

All cleaned out. Old fire pit. Added doors found in the alley and fencing, that I hoped would work as a climbing trellis.

Shade garden. Added some $1 plants [hosta's, shown here] from the local green house, hopefully I can keep them wet enough.

Perennial geraniums and quince. unfortunately right behind them is a viscous, invasive shrub, that I am trying desperately to kill. So for now there is a bare patch where I cant plant anything.

Tulips looking good, before the lavender gets big. Love my evergreen Yugo Pine [below]

Shade garden is... still alive [above]. New fire pit going in... slowly, and everything up front is looking great. Can you believe this is only the second year for the plants in the front yard? Plants in the back are all from seed.

September! I always feel that our gardens look best July through early October, here in Denver.

Giant pumpkins. A love from childhood. I have 5 out there this year. trying to decided what to carve and if i should give a few away.

The cosmos are a great burst of end of the year color. They have appeared in light pink, dark pink and white.

Next up:
I am planting purple and pink tulips. I picked up a bag of 50 at [I am ashamed to say] Home Depot. Money is tight, so that is what I can afford to do right now. I am hoping to add a little bit more spring color to the front garden.
Also, mulching the shade garden for winter. Hopefully the leaves falling off of my giant snowball bush will do it for me.

Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T08:57:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we lost Steve Jobs, Apple tycoon, age 56, pancreas cancer.

Market Research Surveys

2011-10-04T09:58:00.000-06:00

If you Live in North Denver I would appreciate if you would take a couple minuets to fill out a survey. Thanks.

Art Students

Professional Artist

Hobbyist Artist/ Parents with children

Salida, CO

2011-09-20T10:25:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I headed down to Salida with some Roller Derby folks, to ref a bout between RMRG Kill Scouts and Ark Vally.
It was both a fun and horrible trip. Coming off of a cold, I found that congestion + altitude change = complete deafness. it was a bit scary, and I was with a group of quiet talkers who just didn't really "get it." I also suffered my first ever migraine following the bout. My friend Amy came to the rescue with Excedrin and good company. But I had fun sardined into a car with 4 other people for the road trip, meeting new people and having some amazing green chili at the Boat House in Salida.

Looking South over Salida from the "S"

Looking West over Salida from the "S"

A cute blue house with a yellow roof

Stiff Peg Pete with with a Party Boat sized drink

A pretty window box, still in full bloom outside Amica's Wood Fired Pizza

hello fall!

2011-09-07T18:05:00.000-06:00

Its been a hot summer here in Denver. September 2nd the temp dropped to the 70s and its been heavenly ever since. Today we had some of my absolute favorite weather- 55, cloudy and rain. I'm spending the evening snuggled on the couch with my kitties, laptop and watching You've Got Mail.
I'm so happy my favorite season is here!

WANT aka: New from Wacom aka fucking amazing

2011-09-01T17:06:00.000-06:00

Coming mid-September
Inkling by Wacom
$200

I am thinking this might be a really cool thing to carry in the art store. I am not otherwise planning to carry software.

Technology here we come!

2011-08-25T11:17:00.000-06:00

Big news on my end- I've been approved for new hearing aids! This is a really big deal, new aids can cost between $3,000 to $6,000 a pair- and insurance doesn't usually cover them for adults.
So how is it happening? I'm working through DVR- I originally went through them for help getting my business up and running, and while they may help with that, they are starting off by getting me some new hearing aids.
My old ones, at this point are over 8 years old- usually aids are replaced every 3 to 5 years if possible. So, long story short, with my non job having status we are in the income bracket to have aids covered completely. I am happy that they also allow me to keep working through my current audiologist, who is also deaf, and entirely awesome.
I will probably test a couple different pairs, just to see what works best.

First up: Phonak Solana

Features:

ZoomControl

When you cannot easily face the speaker, e.g. in a car, ZoomControl can be selected to zoom to either side, the back or the front for effortless understanding.

UltraZoom Advanced

In noisy situations with several people talking around you, UltraZoom automatically zooms to the voices coming from the front. Noise from the side and back is cut out.

SoundRecover - Awareness of the sound environment and listening pleasure
WhistleBlock - Feedback free hearing
SoundFlow - Continuous and instant optimization to all environments
Real Ear Sound - Natural sound orientation
NoiseBlock Advanced - Comfort in background noise
WindBlock - Suppresses wind noise
SoundRelax - Eliminating annoying sounds
Acoustically Optimized Vent (AOV) - Minimum occlusion
QuickSync - Control both instruments with one touch

I have some questions about this model, of course- like how does it handle on the phone and so forth. But I am excited to try it out.

Sylvan Lake Campground

2011-08-19T08:05:00.000-06:00

Some photos from our trip to Sylvan Lake Campground, and hike near Fulford Cave.

The winner....

2011-08-02T10:14:00.001-06:00

The winner doesn't remotely reflect the voting choice.

Super Good Art Stuff looks like the way I'm going. Why? Because I like the logo best.. I have had an incredibly hard time deciding and it may still change at this point, but for now, that's the decision.

Help me choose a name!

2011-07-12T12:12:00.002-06:00

Please vote for your favorite. I am trying to choose a name for my art supply store. The poll will only let you vote once, if you have a second choice, please leave a comment, and i will add it to the results.

Thanks!

4th of July 2011

2011-07-07T08:12:00.003-06:00

Whelp, Tim and I had a pretty gosh darn good 4th of July weekend this year.

Thursday: Dollar bowling with friends
Friday: We hit up Santa Fe for First Friday. After I got claustrophobic we went over to Pirate art gallery, where, in true Pirate fashion, some of the art was taxidermy animals.
Saturday: Tim and I headed to Boulder to find him a new pair of shoes and wander around. We lunched at the Tea House, where we enjoyed tea picked by trained monkeys and delicious food stuffs, and had a terrible waiter. Then we headed over to a big back yard bbq, hung out and chatted and ate and ate and ate.
Sunday: I went to roller derby, Tim went to his current RPG and then we headed to Slones Lake for a picnic with friends and to watch the Edgewater fireworks.
Monday: Lazed around the house watching X Files before going down to the horse races at Arapaho Park. The horses run every 15 minets or so, so it's quite fun. Once we were too hot to enjoy the races any longer we wandered over to my parents house for dinner, drinks and a round of Bocci.

And that was that. 5 days of friends, family and food.

Gypsy Bowtop Caravans

2011-06-29T10:07:00.004-06:00

Someone posted this on FB this morning, and my heat went pitter patter.

Greg's Gypsy Bowtop Caravans are beautiful, to say the least. Screw the tear drop camper, I want one of these!

Apparently they can be rented or bought in Europe.... now I search for an American version.

Found a page with numerous links showing home made and commercial made and for sale caravans. Check it out!

Following follow up

2011-06-29T10:01:00.002-06:00

Following follow up

DVR refuses to schedule appointment by email, despite my telling them I cannot hear over the phone. Yes Tim could call them for me, or I could try again, but it's the princible of the thing. I don't think requesting to do business over email is unreasonable.

A Follow Up to Last Weeks Rant

2011-06-20T09:21:00.002-06:00

So, apparently there is a cohesive website that both answers questions and has an email address. You know how I found it? Looking for the location that it was insisted I would be closer to [I'm not. at all. but traffic might be better.] Clicking on the location link took me to an entirely different web site- one that does not appear just under google search. This strikes me as odd. Also, that they would not give me an email contact after I repeatedly asked for one, when clearly one is available. We'll see if they are more helpful in person.

A Rant: Disability Services Discrimination

2011-06-15T11:22:00.000-06:00

I needed someplace to rant, so here I am.

I'm trying to start a small retail store in my neighborhood shopping district. I have been taking business classes through SCORE. To my luck, there happened to be another Deaf woman in the class who had an interpreter with her. They both encouraged me to contact Disabled Vocational Rehab. SCORE also links to DVR as someone to contact for both business help and grants.
So I look up DVR.. they have a terrible website that does not include much of anything. Today I cant even get it to load. I believe there was a phone number. But no email to ask questions, no information on how to contact them or for what for what, no list of the steps that need to be taken. In fact it gives me the impression that if I were to go through them for a job they would help me find the most menial task possible. For some people that is great. For me- well, I attend college, held a corporate job for almost 5 years- one that included a lot of responsibility and communicating with venders all over the world. I was fine. And I refuse to believe that being HOH means I cant do what ever I want. I will admit that I am uncomfortable applying for jobs I feel I can not do: answering phones, loud environments, anywhere where lots of information is exchanged quickly.
ANYWAY. I broke down and called [shudder] the phone number listed through SCORE. Its a different person now, who is apparently unaware that SCORE is giving out his number, and he has nothing to do with business stuff. He passes me on to someone else who, apparently does. That guy passed me on to one of their locations to set up an appointment and do the orientation. That office decided I was too far away [I'm not really, I'm happy to drive down there], and passed me on to a different location [equally far away], where a woman with a heavy accent that I would place as German, maybe, answered, and have a very confusing conversation with me, and now apparently I am showing up for an orientation next week. I didn't get an address. If their web site will load, maybe I can find it.
Every person, I asked "can I do this online? is there an e-mail address I can communicate through?" They seemed to be confused why I though that that would be an option, and then skipped past the question as fast as possible and gave me a new number to call. Somehow I successfully wrote down 3 different numbers. I'm impressed.

Why? Why in this day and age is there not an e-mail contact given. E-mail is FREE. Why am I expected to call them, multiple people, at the DISABILITY office. The first person I talked to should have taken my email, e-mailed me the pass on information, for who to email next.
OR
They should have the steps to take to get in touch with them listed on their completely non helpful website.

RAWRRR

Hero Quest

2011-06-09T10:49:00.002-06:00

We've started playing Hero Quest on Tuesday nights. A board game Tim acquired for his birthday in the early 90's.
The original game has 14 dungeon crawls [with back stories], and of course, we have 4 expansion packs... or something.

Anyway, we are actively playing through. It's kind of like Clue. Only fun.

not updating

2011-06-06T21:21:00.003-06:00

so, I've been crap about updating lately.

It seems most often, that I am waiting to get photos off my camera/ phone, whatever so i can do a long an proper update.

I am having problems getting photos off my phone with out emailing them to my self. long story short. i'm annoyed and missing a number of trip pictures because of it.

I hit up McKinnleyville/ Arcata/ Eureka and San Francisco a couple weeks ago. Spent a week with my aunt, just hanging out. It was a great vacation, way relaxing- probably because of horrendous allergies making me lazy.

Have I mentioned? I'M SICK OF ALLERGIES. Yes. They followed me back to Denver.

Had a short sto0p in San Fran, where I attended/ reffed the RMRG vs B.A.D.Girls roller derby bout. The bout was held at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. A beautiful old warehouse that has been cleaned up and is available for events. It looks out over the bay, with a view of San Fran.

The job I apparently have, still has not started. Annoyed, but it sounds like cash flow problems on the owners end. So I am applying for jobs and working on my own projects.

We built a standing desk for the office. A nice replacement for the one we had that has been falling apart.

That's it for now. going to try to get some pictures posted soon.

um....

2011-05-13T10:42:00.001-06:00

I'm so confused....

I posted a few days ago. I know I did, because I was looking at stats the next day... but.. where did it go? And why is it gone?

Deaf/ HOH?

2011-05-11T22:38:00.000-06:00

I recently stumbled across something I have been looking for for a long time. A forum aimed at people who are Deaf or HOH.

There are other of course. But often they focus on only hearing aids, or only parents with small children.

But this one could be really great. If people start posting.

How could it be that there are not other people looking for the social outlet of talking to, sharing frustrations with and encouragement that could be found in a community like this?

The forum is http://www.outerdialog.com/ . There is also a Wednesday night chat offered a la 1999, as a large room of people responding randomly to several different conversations.

In theory, there is a topic of discussion each week. Sometimes we get near that topic, but mostly its like a book club. We're there for everything but the book. And thats fine. It appears that most people who show up are looking for something like I am- a social group that understands the everyday frustrations with hearing- or lack there of.

So pass the word. I need this. And probably a lot of other people do too.

Goat and Bee

2011-04-28T09:01:00.002-06:00

Goat and Bee has been reactivated.
Do you need a woodland crown for Renaissance Festival, or another summer event? Stop by and take a look.

Miniatures

2011-04-27T08:52:00.005-06:00

I have wanted to try my hand at painting miniatures for quiet sometime. Recently I had the chance to paint a few for our Pathfinder game.
We have a Necromancer, Boom Mage and Druid.

Miniatures were purchased from Reaper Miniatures, I used MSP Core and HD series paints form Reaper along with Liquatex acrylics that I have laying around.

I attempted to layer thin coats, shade, highlight etc. some things worked better than others. I found that while the MSP paint applied beautifully, when i went to layer on the washes I was often pulling up the colors I had previously put down. It seems that these paints are designed to re liquefy to some degree once they have dried. Something acrylics will never do.

Here's how they turned out:

Druid Though I tried to work on all three at once, I ended up concentrating on the Mage first and Druid last. My thinking was that I could figure it out as I went and be able to put the most detail into the Druid. But after my problems with the paint- having to walk away from the project to let things completely dry, I found that by the time of got to the Druid I was tired of this project and thus, didn't spend as much time on her as I intended.
Why is her hair turquoise? Because in game I am playing a gnome druid and yes this min is actually Seoni, but its make believe, so we're makebelievin' she's a gnome druid. Under that assumption, her skin was supposed to be more pinkish too, but I did the skin first, and then had to touch things up several times and didn't want to keep trying to match the pinkish skin tones.
I might go back and add some detail. But I'm not sure I have small enough brush or steady enough hand to achieve the kind of detail shown here:In fact it took me about 20 tries to give her 2 eyes.

Necromancer

officially listed as Bledsoe, Evil Cleric, I tried really hard not to paint everything black. His pants are actually green and hist shirt a bluish gray. I forgot to paint his ring.
Here is a version someone else did. someone who, once again has smaller brushes than I do.
He was really quiet fun to paint, I spent a long time on the cape.

Boom Mage

Reaper lists this dude as "Halmer, young wizard"
He was actually harder to paint than the other two. The cast surface seamed to be less smooth, I had particular problems with his face. The facial features were not as crisp as they looked in the photo on Reaper and seemed to look blobby when painted, though I used the same paint and did it at the same time as the other two. After 6 attempts I am still not terribly happy with his face.
Looking at other people's miniatures always make me want to go back and adjust my own. I admit, I had no idea what to do with the items on his belt. In real life they are so small they are just slightly different shaped blobs.

I now know why everyone is so obsessed with matte paint. When photographing, the satin topcoat I used looks far more glossy than it actually appears.

As always, click on any of the photos for a larger view.

Alexa Meade, may she inspire you.

2011-04-07T08:05:00.003-06:00

I was posting so much for a while there...

Today's awesomeness: truth + fairy tales has a blog post on 24 year old artist ALEXA MEADE.
A few images below, check out the original blog post, and Alexa's web site, portfolio, flicker page and online interview with Juxtapoz magazine.

I feel like I have seen this concept before, but where, I don't know. Alexa's work is beautiful. I cant wait to see where her career goes.

Artist Statement:

Growing up in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to work as a press intern on Capitol Hill throughout high school and college. Later, I worked as a press staffer on the Obama Campaign. Spending my formative years immersed in the world of politicians and PR led to a fascination with the possibilities of repackaging source texts and adding superficial modifications that would profoundly alter perception. What the audience ultimately unpackaged was a personal interpretation of an already mediated re-presentation.

In my current work, I construct and then photograph ephemeral installation sets that feature an assemblage of found objects and live models, which I have covered in layers of acrylic paint. I paint the surfaces of the human subjects, the material objects, and the architecture of the installations so as to collapse the subject, foreground, and background into one continuous plane. I present my ephemeral portrait/performances as both live, interactive installations as well as permanent photographic indices of these experiences.

By using paint as a mask that mimics the surface attributes of my source materials, I repurpose the common codes of painting and create a reciprocal self-referentiality in which the reference envelops its referent. The time-based portrait/performance installation is mediated through still photography, providing a record of the performative act in which the codes for representation/painting and indexicality/photography converge.

All images are copyright Alexa Meade.

Happy Place!

2011-03-30T09:41:00.001-06:00

Cover Tune Grab Bag - "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"

Really. I loved this. It took me to my happy place, and gave me that blat of energy to get things done and be enthusiastically happy doing so.

have a great day. xoxo

2011 hearing update

2011-03-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

beautiful antique dresses

2011-03-23T10:29:00.003-06:00

You have GOT to go look at the beautiful Edwardian dresses in this post by Dear Golden.

There are more where this came from. Go! Go now!

Spring wish list

2011-03-22T09:27:00.011-06:00

http://www.fossil.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sculleydesign
http://www.anthropologie.com
http://kinokofry.com
http://www.phonak.com/us/

First Fire of 2011

2011-03-19T07:50:00.004-06:00

Solar Ivy

2011-03-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

I am fascinated by solar and wind energy producing products. I once thought up the genious idea that someone should be making solar shingles, and it turns out that someone was.
Today while flipping through Departures, a Vogue level of affordability geared towards travel; I spotted an article on Solar Ivy.
Designed by some siblings who are, [my god] my age, the Solar Ivy was a senior thesis project that originally included wind in its energy conduct. It was found that the wind conduct was too expensive for the amount of return energy. The idea steamed from the cooling effects of ivy covered buildings. What if that effect could be recreated and turned into solar conduct as well?

Inhabitat also has an article on SMIT's Solar Ivy.

The project turned into a company. As of 2011 the first orders for Solar Ivy are being accepted.

I would love to have this on the sides of my house, the south and west facing walls would look lovely drench in Ivy and Colorado's incredible sun exposure works solar panels of any type, to the highest of their capability's.

[The article states that the price per leaf was predicted to be $7 - $10 USD. In reality it is looking more like $19- $27.]

tHE MOre YOU KnoW...

2011-03-17T15:33:00.002-06:00

Over at Not Martha, they have perfected the Leprechaun Cake.

I'm a post some pics, but go visit them for step by step instructions.

St. Pats

2011-03-17T11:51:00.000-06:00

May your day be lucky and full of spring!

Movie Barcode

2011-03-16T09:18:00.002-06:00

I seem to like the colors in the animated films best.

Bambi [1942]

http://moviebarcode.tumblr.com/

hearing, a friendly chart.

2011-03-15T21:35:00.004-06:00

A colorfully illustrated look at 2 decades of hearing loss.

tiney house pt. 2: cottage

2011-03-15T08:50:00.003-06:00

I love houses of all shapes and sizes, architecture styles and time periods. I find that quite often, I am drawn to smaller houses, preferably ones with overgrown gardens, that can be claimed as a cottage.
Looking through the Tiny House gallery, I stumbled upon a house I have seen before, and fell in love again. It is most certainly a cottage.

Such a fun sloping, sod roof.

Some how i feel like there should be little white lights running along in the ceiling.
The inside looks so cozy.

Great sketches showing a side slice and birds eye view.You can see more at this homes web site. http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

Most definitely click on the "similar buildings" link. I dont think I can point out a favorite there.

Sweet Dress and Spring Dreams

2011-03-11T08:34:00.005-07:00

WANT.Yes, this is a $250 vintage dress, that would never fit me in my wildest dreams.

It. Is. Fabulous.

Not a terribly complicated style, really I could make this. I have got to finish some other projects first. And I'm not sure about the yellow ribbon.

It would go great with my newly coral nails.
Shellacked. and holding up quite well so far. I am not gentle on manis.

Loving the liberty inspired prints and soft spring vintage styles currently in stock at Target.

small house

2011-03-11T07:48:00.004-07:00

We have a fairly small house. Under 1000sq. ft.
I like small house for several reasons; they keep my pack ratting tenancies under control [read consumption of chairs], its cheaper utility and upkeep wise, and frankly its cute.

However I find it quite frustrating to look at magazines, especially the ones touting small room organization and makeovers. They tend to expect a number of things:
1. That your room has flat walls and square ceilings.
2. That you have up to date electrical outlet locations- we have a couple rooms that have 1 or 2 outlets total.
3. That a cheap renovation is anything under $1000.
4. That your room will be no smaller than 12 x 12.

this room is the size of my living room.

These shelving units don't look cheap. And its hard to tell how efficient this really is because they have staged craft materials, which is to say, nothing. I don't think any one project could be completed, except maybe wrapping a gift or... well, where are they going to plug in that sewing machine? or cut out anything, and your button choices are limited to one of these couple colors. Yes. some of the ideas are good, like the pegboard wall of hanging supplies, that could work.

5. That buying random knickknacks from hobby lobby is a good idea, and that you will either have space to hold the ones that used to be in the room, should you care about them or that you are happy to toss nearly everything you own.

The truth:
I have all kinds of stuff.
We have curved ceilings
My craft room has one outlet.
I'm terrible at getting rid of stuff.
Spending $1000 on a room is just not an option.
I need honest to god small house organization ideas.
10 x 10 rooms. I have a couple rooms that are larger, they are longer and they are awkward.
How to work with awkward door/window/outlet placement for optimal space usage and usable organization.

I think I have seen tinyhouseblog.com before. but had long since forgotten about it. Maybe it will help. And maybe it will help me find other useful blogs.

the long week

2011-03-10T08:17:00.003-07:00

general update:
M & M have been in town this week and thus we have been doing family activities out the wazoo.
Monday: Dinner at the Birkshire.
Tuesday: Pirate exhibit at the History museum, followed by Mario Cart, Dinner, and it was our turn to host D&D. This is a pretty fun exhibet, i want to know how much the coins on display are actually worth.
Wednesday: st.patricks themed dinner on ash wednesday at the UU Church and then bowling. Bowling was quiet fun and silly.
Thursday: girls pedi & mani date and dinner, boys poker and beer or something manly.
Friday: birthday party/ rock band
Saturday: baby shower, KT, birthday party. One of my friends from Kindergarten is due in April. Cant wait to see her. she going to be a great mom.

OMG. so much stuff. we cant even keep the days strait.

In other news, I'm headed to the audiologist to have her re test my hearing and look at my old HAs, gonna give em another shot if we can get them working. I cant hear the one turn on at all, and the other turns on, but doesn't seem to do anything. Of course I would like to have the new and improved ones, but I need to get retrained on my old ones and see if i can keep it up long enough for new ones to matter.

I have the yard mostly cleaned up. We need to have a big fire soon to get rid of the xmas tree and wood in my garden.
Were going to try trellises this year, see if it keeps things better organized and pick-able.
I am starting seeds indoors as well. Maybe our garden will look better sooner this yr if the plants have a head start.

ref name

2011-03-08T21:13:00.004-07:00

I have finally been offered a Ref name for roller derby. Ref names tend to be more fun and less about your brutal destruction.

Something to think about is how it will be shortened.

i'm really pretty damn excited. I've been with the league for over 2 years, and 1.5 of those as an NSO.

I had an awesome name idea a couple months ago, but forgot to write it down and thus forgot what it was. booo.

A name is often quiet personal. But I don't seem to be able to come up w/ anything that is personal to me, with the exception of Most. Deaf, or hair color references.

Mos Deaf

Awesome Sauce

McKnockydownytime

Red Hornet

Ginger Rael

Poppy Shiner

Randi Knickers

Nikita Krushyou

Whats your vote?

its quiet in here

2011-03-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

its quiet in here.....

in other news my incredibly expensive health insurance doesn't cover audiology or hearing aids or you know, that helpful stuff. glad i pay so much.

re praise

2011-02-18T08:08:00.003-07:00

How Not to Talk to Your Kids. A friend posted this article on FaceBook yesterday. I read it and initially thought, "huh. this is interesting." The article has stayed on my mind, I'm finding my self thinking of all the people I think would find this interesting- the psychology student, the mom of a toddler, the friend teaching 4th grade.

The primis of the article is that you are hurting your kids with endless encouragement, telling them they are smart, that they played great. What has been found is that kids who are told endlessly that they are smart tend to give up faster on subjects they are not naturally good at, dont develop good study skills and dont know how to handle failure.

What does seem to work is rewording the praise. Tell them that you could see how they worked to get the ball, or look for the right pass.

"But a growing body of research and a new study from the trenches of the New York public-school system strongly suggests it might be the other way around. Giving kids the label of smart does not prevent them from underperforming. It might actually be causing it.

Dweck had suspected that praise could backfire, but even she was surprised by the magnitude of the effect. Emphasizing effort gives a child a variable that they can control, she explains. They come to see themselves as in control of their success. Emphasizing natural intelligence takes it out of the child’s control, and it provides no good recipe for responding to a failure."

I would like to see this studied in work places and college campuses.

This really struck me as probably the most defining reason people play WOW. There are people who do nothing else with their life, some one supports them somewhat, they dont work, didnt finish school and rarely leave their computer. Things are strait forward with lots of instant success in WOW.

"It turns out that I was the real praise junkie in the family."

This solidifies a lot about the game that bothers me.

I'm not sure I agree with everything in it, mostly things that were found in polls, that I felt deferently about, in regards to myself.

For example, the article states that teenagers often see positive compliments from a teacher as being the opposite. Also that children under 5 are the only people who take compliments at face value. It depends on who I hear the compliment from- a teacher, i take it at face value, a coworker that I am wary of and probably don't like, mostly likely not at face value.

Read it. Its interesting.

Night Sky

2011-02-08T15:47:00.003-07:00

Night photography is an art of its own. Add color to the element and the stakes for a good photograph are seriously stacked against you.
I am blown away by this photograph of Ouray, CO taken by Colorado photographer Robert McFarland.

To see more of Robert's work and learn how he got this image check out his photo blog.

cold

2011-02-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

this morning its -11 with a wind chill of -31. wooo!

ALSO, THIS IS ADORABLE.

2011-01-31T09:07:00.002-07:00

PANDA!

Cake by: KralleCakes, as seen on Cake Wrecks

statistics

2011-01-31T09:00:00.002-07:00

I admit, I love that Blogger added statistics. Its fun to see how many hits I get, and where they come from. What I don't understand though, is why I have multiple views of the same post always.

It's not even an interesting post. Three years ago I rambled for a paragraph about my weekend, where we went and what we watched. There are no links or even photos involved. So why, why does that post always have several hits, every day?

underground homes

2011-01-27T11:23:00.004-07:00

I have been fascinated by underground homes for as long as I can remember. [and tree houses, but that's a different post.] I stumbled across this posting on Inhabit back in December and it's been on my mind ever since.
I love the idea of living in the country. But the suburban city kid in me wonders if I could ever truly leave the city. On the outer edges of the metro area, I believe it would be possible to have both. No we wouldn't be minuets from down town and in the hart of restaurant heaven, but we could have a small bit of landscape to let go wild, while being no more than 15 minuets to the grocery. Somehow and underground hose seems to fit into this idea quite well.
I think my favorite, at least from a modern architecture standpoint is the house featured from Vals, Switzerland. Because it lacks surrounding I had a hard time understanding the scale from the photos. It seemed that the varying pictures made it appear to be everything from a small cabin to a huge structure. Probably I would opt for some stained concrete, or devise a way to add a change of color to various rooms. I love: the natural light, self sufficient heating cooling aspect, modern look, lack of attack on the landscape and the overall aesthetics. The house is also visible in this commercial. [enter at 23 seconds]

The designer [Christian Muller] won at least three awards for this project and it appears to have gotten quite a bit of attention. [in fact it appears to have its own web site. re: Squee1 photos!] My understanding is that this was privately built, but available for vacation rental.

The blue tub is actually a hot tub.

Lakeside history and pictures

2011-01-14T17:27:00.002-07:00

I stumbled across this great little write up today. [and also this one] As you know Lakeside is just about my favorite pace in the world, and now you can see why.

Movies

2011-01-02T17:05:00.004-07:00

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Beautiful scenery, great costuming, use of the cold sun of the southwest. And if that doesn't do it for you, the Gatling gun on a stage coach should.

Stars Russel Crow and Christian Bale.

Ladron Que Roba a Ladron (2007)

Set in California, the movie is in Spanish. A classic heist film that is fun and a bit silly. The story of a thief getting revenge on a thief for breaking their code of ethics. Available on Netflix on demand, worth a watch.

Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

Not a new watch for us, but one that is not nearly as popular as other 80's films. Probably because John Hughes was not involved. Pretty much everything that happens in this film is an example of the worst fears and warning told by people from small towns, or in this case suburbs, about the Big City. Hijinks ensue, theres a gang fight, carjacking, blues club, hookers and a frat party. The cast includes Elizabeth Shue, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp and Bradley Whitford.

enter 2011

2011-01-02T09:26:00.003-07:00

Well, looks like I never got back to blogging in December. I've been thinking about blogs, what i would write, what i would save for another day. Apparently its all been saved for another day. Really what that means is that I should type them all up and have them auto update. we'll see.

December ended up being pretty crazy for me. I worked part time retail. in a mall. Really it went better than I expected. I admit, I had never worked retail, not really. and the thought of being in the mall at xmas was horrifying. In the end I really enjoyed it, worked with some awesome people and found the 2 weeks leading up to xmas to be about as much as my introverted self can handle. I enjoy helping people and i like running around with lots to do. I like going to work at the butt crack of dawn to unload pallets off the truck and I like that i was in food and not clothing. when you hand people truffles and other candy, most of them are nice. I only dealt with a few irritating people.

Looking at last years new years resolutions. it looks like i succeeded in all but one. the one is still rolling around in my head, but maybe in other forms.

This year i am thinking about:

creative projects that i want to get seriously rolling.

picking up the banjo again- I started learning, but got distracted around October. I need to get back on that.

finding a job. a good job. or get those creative projects rolling on a level that get me some income.

Because my memory is pretty much crap [looking back at this in a year will be helpful], here is a run down of the last year:

-started seeing an endocrinologist about my thyroid. [turns out i had, in fact had a problem the last 2 years and it went un treated.]
-started taking banjo lessons.
-lost my job in July. admittedly, i had been unhappy at that job since I started, so it was a good thing.
-went to Tod's wedding in WY, and saw the black hills, took a cave tour and finally saw car-hinge.
-picked up a seasonal job at Harry & David
-went to NYC in Oct, to a fashion job fair.
-we went to St. Louis for thanks giving, had a fun time, met the rest of Tim's relatives.
-experienced seasonal retail
-mom and dad went to California for xmas.
-had a fun xmas eve party with freinds from out of town.
-after a warm, brown December, the temps plummeted and we had several inches of snow just in time to cancel our new years eve plans and watch movies on the couch.

2010 was a very up down year for us, I'm thankful I had Tim by my side. I expect good things in 2011.

busy

2010-12-06T13:50:00.002-07:00

for being partically employed and rarely getting moer thant 15 hrs a week. i am feeling quite busy.

maybe once i get the xmas cards done, the packages shipped and some drawings done for a friend i will have time to post some photos from our trip to ST. Louis.

woo. go go go holiday

British Vogue

2010-12-02T12:43:00.006-07:00

"British Vogue has just published one of the most beautiful — and original — fashion editorials in ages. It's all about the signs of the zodiac, and it is downright dreamy."

This. This is the kind of magazine spread that make me think December is the most romantic month.

paper art.

2010-11-19T09:31:00.003-07:00

ai continue to be fascinated by paper art. the things people make- and how, apparently, they don't completely lose it trying to glue tiny bits of stuff to other stuff.

stumbled across this, this morning. not a new concept, but i do love the example shown, and love that artists website even more.

"As an experiment, artist Sarah Musi sent blank postcards to forty-five famous artists. She invited them to create art with the postcards and mail them back:

So I had this thought the other day: what if I made little pieces of art and sent them to a bunch of famous artists, along with a tiny blank canvas for them to create something and return it? Would I get anything back? Would they even read my request?

Pictured above is the response from cut paper artist Jayme McGowan."

Below is an example of Jayme's work- featured on her website.

love it!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-19T08:52:00.002-07:00

This year we are headed to St. Louis for Thanksgiving. The plan is for me to meet the rest of my husbands relatives, and for him to see people he hasn't seen in 6 or 8 years.
There will be several cousins there, who are all over 17 or so. We have a fun couple days planned that include a trip to the City Museum and the Art Museum.
[side note: i love to visit art museums everywhere we go. you never know what unexpected awesomeness you are going to see. in Pitsburgh we saw the largest collection of plaster architectural reproductions in the world... i think. and a wonderful set of sketches of California style houses from the 50 or 60s]

Who knows what will happen. every family has their crazy, on some level or another. Every family has their traditions.

Being away from home for the second Thanksgiving in a row has me thinking about my family's traditions and funny [now] stories.

Story: We were eating with my dads side of the family, who all live in another state. being the holidays things quickly diverged into their usual pattern. some bickering, some poorly worded comments, etc.
my grand mother made a Waldorf salad. it was good. this is the same grandmother who makes my favorite date roll cookies. after dinner my mother asked if she had put dates in the salad- it was different, but good. "No. it was SNICKERS. AND IT WAS GOOD."
heh. dont question it.

on the other hand, my parents have formed a tradition of pulling the deep fryer out into the drive way. making drinks and appetizers and inviting anyone who wants a deep fried turkey, to bring one over. people hang out, drink, eat, have a good time. it lasts all day. usually they have a invite to the neighbors house in the evening, for an actual sit down dinner. i really like the eating all day and seeing lots of different people.

Last year we hit tow different turkey days in Seattle. both involved a large number of people we are sketchily related to due to marriage. the first was the huge family and friend dinner, that i had been hearing aobut for years, on the account of their being just an awful lot of pie involved- like a pie or two for every person there. The other was also a big extended family party. where we were given some more pie. it was a good deal.
we followed all that up the next day with a family dinner involving crab, pie [:)] and ice skating.

Cant wait to see what this year brings.

birthday

2010-11-17T10:50:00.006-07:00

my birthday is coming up. it seems quite far away before thanksgiving, but it comes up quickly afterwords. ask me at any point in the year what i want and i can tell you, that is until about October. then i draw a blank. probably its because i don't really need anything. or the things we need are new windows for the house and car repairs.
but what i want usually rides along the line of pretty, sparkling and expensive.
my conscience tells me to ask for things that we need, that are also low in price. but i try to slip something in there that i want, thats also low in price.
price is a problem. the economy is down. we aren't rolling in it, and most people i know aren't either.
will i be happy if i get flowers and a fun trinket?

yes.

Here is my very expensive want list:

Fossil bag
i like to add one bag to my collection each year. some times i'm good and change bags with the season, but quite often i carry a bag for the entire year. This is the bag that currently makes my heart go pitter patter.

Dior nail polish from Sephora.
I tried on this color in the store. It. Is. Amazing. it's also $21, which is crazy. but beautiful.Ugg Slipper
i have been wanting a pair of warm slip on, outdoor soled shoes for a few years now. i love the royal purple/blue of this ugg moccasin. also, since my thyroid med.s have kicked in, i no longer find our 65 deg house to feel like 85 deg. and have been wearing socks and shoes out of my own free will.
Patagonia Down Sweater
i bought the long down coat a few years ago and just love it. i still heart my vintage wool coats, but as an everyday jacket the light weight and warm down is great. Now i have my sights set on the down sweater zip with hood.
Punched Tin Xmas Ornaments.
i love these- not just the ones pictured, but most in general.

Apple ipad
i don't like Mac. but i do like how the iphone and ipad work. so much fun, this is a great media viewing tool. I think it would be great for recipes- so were not printing them out every week, and it does everything i expect a lap top to do. Fox Mug
Darling 4oz, hand made mug, is perfect for tea. support an etsy seller [i also like the bear and squirrel].

Poppy ring
Someone posted a posey ring on a blog i read, about a year ago, ever since i have been on the search to find one that was not $2k and involving actual diamonds. I adore this hand sculpted silver poppy ring, found on etsy.

Branch Bangle
Love the branch design here. need to get back into wearing bracelets. also, i need a nice sized jewelery box. Doesn't etsy have the best finds?

When in doubt, anything sugar skull related is always awesome.

cover those windows!

2010-11-17T10:31:00.002-07:00

if you're like me and living in an old house with old windows, you know that winter can mean COLD and that your heater goes into overdrive trying to keep the house at 68 at best.

one option is to buy the window shrink wrap kit. these come with double stick tape and shrink wrap. This works Great! ... except that you cant open your windows on a warm day to air out the house. also its not reusable.

option two, i read about this morning, and would be willing to give it a try.
Basically you spritz your windows with water and then stick up large bubble, bubble wrap. apparently the wrap sticks to the water. sounds like it works similar to the shrink wrap method. but it can be eaisly taken down and put back up, should you want to open your windows, and the wrap can be used for something else later.

Below images and info courtesy www.dailydanny.com

"Spray the entire window surface with water."
"Stick a sheet of bubble wrap on top."

"The entire window covered. "

"My understanding is that this boosts the window’s efficiency by double because the air pockets in the bubble wrap insulate the windows and also allow the sun’s rays to still come through the window during the day to heat up the house."

so cute

2010-11-16T10:18:00.001-07:00

My god.. Cuteness that i could no longer keep to myself.

See the full range of photos and recipe at here.

what i learned in my garden today

2010-11-08T15:39:00.002-07:00

what i learned in my garden today:

carrots have viscous sticker seeds.

its been so warm in Denver this year that my hollyhocks are putting out new leaves, as well as my rhubarb and the quince are blooming.

crazy.

glad i got some stuff done in the garden today. supposed to get below 40 this week. you know, like its supposed to.

whats flowering?

2010-11-04T09:31:00.005-06:00

yesterday, on the 3rd of November, i sat on my back porch in a t-shirt and jeans. the sun was warm and everything was dry. We have only recently had our first frost- and no snow. they trees are still changing color and have many of their leaves. I am thrilled that fall is lasting forever this year. it is, hands down, my favorite season.

i took these photos about 2 weeks ago. this was everything that was still blooming in my garden. a lot of it still is, even after the frost. just bizarre for Denver.

Garden grows

2010-11-04T09:18:00.003-06:00

first set was taken June 1, 2010 shortly after we completed a large and almost finishing planting of the front yard.

The second set is from October 1st, 2010. things look good! i cant wait to see what happens next yr. [ i thought i had a photo showing the whole front, but apparently i don't.]

Work

2010-10-23T10:55:00.004-06:00

For the last few months i have been applying like mad to, well, everywhere. The market is tough, and its really tough with only a few years of experience.
I was recently asked to submit some hand and computer drawn textile illustrations. I haven't done a fabric print by hand since college, mostly its unusable. sometimes i sketch something, scan it and create the actual print in illustrator, but rarely.
Below is what i came up with to send them. I'm rather happy with how they turned out, I always feel my croquis are a bit cartoon-y.
p.s. click the images for a larger view.

makeup

2010-10-11T08:41:00.003-06:00

I don't talk about makeup much. mainly i like clothing, and makeup irritates my skin- even the hypoallergenic stuff. so i just don't wear a lot.

Recently i discovered that a certain fashion/gossip web site that i frequent does reader submitted makeup/skin/hair advice.

It's worth a read through.

Beauty 101

i know what i want for my birthday

2010-09-27T07:47:00.002-06:00

I want this.
Could I make it? Maybe. or something similar, that gave the same impression, but was less complicated. frankly i think you need an industrial machine to do some of those seams.
Absolutely stunning.

garden finds

2010-09-24T08:31:00.004-06:00

Rummaging around in my garden the other day I found a few ripe tomatillos. This is the 3rd year we've had them, and the first year of any actually ripening. They came back from last year- most likely because I am a lazy gardener and left everything in the garden over winter. Clearly the seeds were incubated enough from the plant material to come back. I also found a tomato. Who knew?
We also had lettuce come back, and of course pumpkins of some sort.
Everything seems slow to mature this year, i hope we have some full size pumpkins by Halloween- assuming it doesn't freeze too hard. [Last year i planted giant pumpkins, only to end up with yellow squash.]
I had not really realized that leaving the plant debris would be enough for seeds to sprout in the spring. Denver- while it is fairly dry in the winter, does get quite cold at times. Last year our first big freeze was the second weekend of October, where it hit 17 F.
I recently visited a picking/ homesteading garden with my mother [you can read about it on her blog], in Boulder, where I learned that the owner overwinters her Zinnias by covering them with leaves every fall.

I'm hoping for some of these big flat red lovelies

Autumn!

2010-09-22T14:30:00.003-06:00

It's finally here!!
Summer is nice and all, but i dislike the never ending heat.

Autumn means warm days with cool nights. shirts to sweaters, sun to snow and beautiful beautiful leaves.
For me there is this kind of energy around autumn, its like, anything can happen and all sorts of wonderful things do happen. This is the best part of the year- what i look forward to most.

mittens, apple cider, halloween, pretty trees, pumpkins, tea, cool air, bonfires, comfort food, sweaters, etc.

what do you love about fall?

cabin

2010-09-21T08:10:00.002-06:00

We had a lovely trip.
the aspens are starting to change in the high country, the nights are cool and the days are sunny and breezy.

I believe we have started a new tradition. Campfire Curry. No one is skilled enough to actually cook it over the fire, but it was a perfect, round the fire dinner.

Apparently it is also hunting season, as shots were heard while hiking.

i don't have any really great stories, but we had a good time, the weather was beautiful and that is all i can ask for.

Cabin Weekend!

2010-09-17T08:59:00.004-06:00

Cabin Weekend!
it's been 2 years, i cant wait!

from the last time we were there:

peach ice cream

2010-09-16T15:01:00.003-06:00

I got some peaches from my neighbor recently. A big ol box. First i made a couple pies and then i but some in a jar with some rum and then i thought i would can some and make ice cream.

Being lazy, as i am, the peaches sat for a couple days and by the time i went to do some canning they were rotten. Well, not all of them, about enough for a pie or two batches of ice cream.

I stumbled upon this recipe the other day and decided to give it a try.

from what i can tell from licking the spoon, it turned out pretty good. Even though i forgot the vanilla.

the result

2010-09-13T18:58:00.002-06:00

For those of you waiting with baited breath, I chose the fancier and cheaper Morgen Monroe.

maybe I'll paint the case.

sold a roll top desk and a pair of roller skates to buy a banjo.

2010-09-06T08:33:00.006-06:00

For several moths i have been taking banjo lessons. Actually for the last couple i haven't, but have been practicing at home.
I have been renting an instrument, the deal was, the rental fees from the first 6 months become a store credit towards purchase of an instrument, after that they just go into the void of rental fees.
I've reached my 6 month mark, and I'm still interested in learning. really learning, how to play.
Its an instrument that i like, and my chance to have a musical ability beyond the simplest one note song i learned on the recorder in 3rd grade.It has become clear that it would be in my best interest to invest in a really good beginner/ intermediate banjo, rather than a cheap one.also i have been renting a nice one. so you know. hard to go back now.
So. i sold my roll top desk, and my roller skates to buy a banjo.
Option 1.
I've been renting the Deering Goodtime II. it's easy to tune and the sound is good. but its plain. and who ever designed the head was an idiot.

But I've been researching painting it. I've heard that painting can change the sound, but by how much i don't know. A number of months ago i fell in love with the Sara Ryan painted Creston guitars.What if i added similar style designs on the back and head? [i do know of people who have taken the whole thing apart to refinish it, but i don't want to do that.]

Option 2.
The Morgan Monroe MNB-1W
I've looked at numerous pics of this banjo and it is very red and apparently there is quite a bit of gold- rather than nickle color on it.
i like the mother of pearl inlay. overall it is much prettier.

the catchiest video on the internets this week

2010-09-02T10:53:00.001-06:00

the catchiest video on the internets this week

OO, OO, OOOOOOOO

PHAMALy Presents: Disneys Beauty and the Beast

2010-08-28T08:32:00.003-06:00

Several years ago i was working with PHAMALy on costuming. After I was hired at Miller i found that even volunteering for the evening show portion was too much- 5 to 1am.
Thursday I found that the girl i used to do cosumes with, was back in town and helping with the show. i showed up to help dress fro 2 nights. It as fun to be back. PHAMALy is an amazing company.

This years production was Beauty and the Beast.

The review in The Denver Post.

oh Etsy. you make my heart flutter.

2010-08-27T11:34:00.003-06:00

i was going to post about our trip last weekend to Yarmony Grass. But alas, my camera's battery charger is no where to be found.

I have been looking around Etsy lately, always amazed at what i find there. thinking aobut opening a store. Seems like as good a time as any to get into the faery crown buisness. [besides i have some supplies, might as well try to sell a few.]

I always find so many wonderful things at Etsy.

Love this woman's jewelry- especially these unique constellation rings.Sagittarius, of course.

A beautiful leaf and floral scarf.
To, fun steam punk goggles.I really try not to spend too much time here.

jelly and so much more

2010-08-04T16:42:00.003-06:00

the weather was perfect this year for fruit trees- even early blooming Apricots that almost always get frozen out. I believe its been close to 15 years since my mother apricot tree produced more than 3 pieces of fruit.we are now quickly finding various ways to preserve this bounty of fruit.
i actually started a couple weeks ago with making Cherry Bounce. a simple recipe caught my attention and i figured it would make great gifts.previously we have tried to make apple butter and plum jam and have not had luck with the seals working correctly. my friend Mary sent me a couple recipes out of the book she uses.

today i made apricot jelly and apricots in rum- following the same theory as the cherry's.
yesterday i started making apricot leather. and i hope to add apricots in light syrup, and apricot habanero jelly.
assuming these projects go well, i may see if i can get my hands on some more free fruit. apples and peaches are both popular in Denver.

Oregon Trail: The Musical- update

2010-07-27T09:08:00.003-06:00

we mentioned this a couple weeks ago, and had some enthusiasm. we are aware that someone has it on youtube already, but we think we can do better.
beyond some enthusiasm, nothing much has happened on the project. unless Tim is secretly writing songs when I'm not around so he doesn't have to hear my helpful lyrics.
i have pretty much been forbidden to write lyrics.
So that is where it stands. i would really like to see this project actually happen. it could be fun and creative. and we had a blast helping Adam make is Dr. Horrible Henchman application.

music video of the week

2010-07-24T13:45:00.000-06:00

Love This: Jonathan Coulton - First of May - ASL Song

ouch, my kidney

2010-07-24T09:18:00.003-06:00

well, really Her kidney.

a friend of a friend who we have met on numerous occasions took a spill while out mountain biking Wednesday. She hurt Her kidney and had internal bleeding. She hopes to be out of the hospital soon, but doesn't have health insurance and cant return to work for a while. Below is the official write up from the Colorado Mountain Bike Association.

Help Nancy Kelly!

Nancy Kelly, Founder of the Dirt Divas and COMBA Board of Directors member, sustained an injury to her kidney while leading a Dirt Diva's ride at Lair o'the Bear on Wednesday July 22nd. She is currently in Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge while doctors monitor internal bleeding that resulted from the trauma. Luckily, Nancy's condition is improving rapidly and she hopes to be back home soon. Please send her your love and healing thoughts.

Nancy is a cornerstone of the local riding community. Through her work with the Dirt Diva's, COMBA, and local shops, she has introduced hundreds of women to the sport of mountain biking. Unfortunately, helping your community does not always come with large financial rewards -- or even health insurance. Nancy's stay in the hospital will hopefully be short, but she has already amassed a large amount of medical expenses for testing and hospital stay.

Join us in coming together as a community to help one of our own. While Nancy is resting and healing her body, we can help her heal the financial wound by contributing using the secure button below. Thank you!

If you prefer you may send checks to help Nancy with her medical expenses to:

ATTN: Nancy Kelly Medical Fund
COMBA
PO Box 280415
Lakewood, CO 80228-0415

Kinko Fry

2010-07-20T08:26:00.003-06:00

i have really come to love KinkoFry. this comic makes my heart go pitter patter.

road trip to the balck hills

2010-07-19T09:29:00.006-06:00

A couple weekends ago we headed to the Black hills for a family wedding. the wedding was held at the Flying V in New Castle Wyoming.

Bride and Groom

Family

After the wedding, Mr. T and i headed over to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We took a Lantern Tour at Jewel Cave- which was awesome.
We lucked out and had a cool rainy trip- instead of 100 deg and humid. We Found a homemade pie and ice cream shop in Custer SD.
Then we ventured over to Custer State Park, where we walked and climbed around Sylvan Lake. It is beautiful and different than we would have found in Colorado. My interest in Sylvan Lake steams from a family road trip photo album from the 1920s. My great great aunt and some friends borrowed dads car and took a road trip from north eastern Nebraska to the Black Hills of South Dakota. the camped and stopped to make jam along the way. Below are the photos i took and a couple of the photos they took.
Ladies on a hike. in the book, they write that they got up very very early to hike to this point, hoping to be there when the sun rose. i believe that the sun rose quicker than they could hike, but they had a good time anyways.
A fish made from a car at Carhinge in Alliance, NE.

it was an awesome trip.

and new begins

2010-07-13T08:45:00.003-06:00

Thursday i was fired. i suppose i could say laid-off, but since it was just me and fir job performance, fired seems more correct.
to be fair i have been waiting to be fired for 2 years, and have been unhappy at my job for 4.
i am sure i wasn't doing a good job, because i felt that i was told a number of completely contradicting terms, with out explanation of what they really wanted. and they felt that i should just "know." there was a section of the "process" that i really didnt know, because my former boss did her best to have her assistants do all of the work, but not have quite enough information to be successful if they ever got out from under her. to the prase "just do it like Susie does." is really not helpful, since i was never involved. then there was the woman i worked with in another department, who would tell me everything was good and fine and then complain to the department head that i was doing things wrong. well, yes, because i didn't know that you wanted it done differently than the other 4 people in the department i have previously worked with, since you didn't mention it to me. i have to say, i am happy they fired me instead of moving me back down. i would have quit.
so now i am free... and out of health insurance at the end of July. i am hoping to find something, even if its not a career move, that has health insurance, and we will see what we can do.

Where have we been?

2010-06-29T10:36:00.002-06:00

We went:

bowling at Lucky Strike
dress shopping
to a neighborhood festival
to the vet w/ all three cats in tow
Ren Fest
to see Christo speak
for a pedi
to the swimming pool

we are not:

keeping up with the weeds
and the lawn mowing.

it seems we are never home, or at least that we work way more than we have time for fun.

i suppose there will be years where we are not busy, and the garden will be fantastic, and the chair and the door will get fixed. and the sprinklers will work right and we wont eat dinner at 9pm every night.

i think i will like that time too.

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Banjo Cover) - Anna Vogelzang

2010-06-15T14:01:00.000-06:00

Like her

Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel

2010-06-08T19:51:00.000-06:00

Old Crow Medicine Show

2010-06-08T19:50:00.002-06:00

song for this week: Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show.

movies- Milk

2010-06-08T11:20:00.003-06:00

We watched Milk a couple nights ago. before the movie started Mr. T was kind enough to tell me the guy gets shot in the end. thanks honey. i hadn't remembered that bit on my own.

it was good. i know nothing of Harvey Milk- before my time and never mentioned in history class.
i only hope it was portrayed accurately. i always have to wonder about movies that portray a single side to the story- as most do- just how realistic the portrayal of the hero character really is.

i do admit

2010-06-04T15:46:00.003-06:00

i do admit that faery things have a very very very fine line between fun, elegant and enchanting and absolutely bat shit nutty.
i actually like very few actual faery things. a few art pieces, flower faeries, movie looking things like the below post.
please. do. not. buy. me. anything. faery.
or anything cat. we don't need anything w/ cats on it either.

faery tale wedding.

2010-06-04T11:46:00.003-06:00

i recently stumbled upon photos of the most beautiful faery wedding.

if i had a dream wedding, is would be it. more or less...