Summer books have been made

Climbing the Mountain

Life is funny isn't it?!?  When you are at the top of the mountain, be careful a stiff wind can blow you off. Keep at it. Climb back up the mountain. You know the path already as you have done it once before. Although this time it may be the cold dark of night, you got this. Run up the path like dogs are chasing you. Be prepared to stumble and know all you need to do is get up and start running again, no matter how exhausted you feel...that mountain top is still there...you just have to find it in the dark.

Thesis work has begun.

i dont know if I even remember how to post

Can I post on my own blog??? I have fallen off the planet and I am trying to climb my way back on.

Pinch pots

I've started working on my degrees again this year. A Ceramics class that began with pinch pots has been keeping me busy lately. Here's my first 3 in the bisque stage.

Ceramics come to life

So I am taking a ceramics class...

Grandfather Tree

So...every year it rains, pours and storms on my birthday. This year was no exception...huge storms blew through just after midnight. The first pic is the view from my kitchen window a couple weeks ago, the second is this morning. Eeeps!

Turkey Poults

We decided to try out raising turkeys this year. We got 4 one week old poults. They are the most inquisitive little buggers. They want to interact with you so much. They have totally imprinted on us in the 2 days we have had them. I still have not decided exactly how I feel about encouraging imprinting. Who knows. We are really looking forward to watching these littles grow up big. We are unsure at this point what sex they are. We are very sure that they are very fun and very cute.

Spring Mini Quilt in 3D

For a few years I have been sewing up a mini quilt a month to send off to a partner. There is usually some sort of theme. I think we have all decided to swap every other month now instead. The theme this month was 3D. My friend Shruti lives in India and she is my partner this go round.

Funky Chair for a Friend

A very good friend of mine has inspired me to finish all the projects I always wish I had done. About 12-15 years ago I found this awesome chair, I have always wanted to paint the legs and add funky fun pillows. So I unearthed the chair and liberated it from the farthest dark corner of my garage...followed by a very sunny day, I painted the legs, then quickly sewed up some funny little pillows. One pillow for the funky garage liberated chair and one pillow for a chair that already exists in my friend's living room. As a surprise I brought the chair and pillows over to my friend. I think it was a very appreciated giftie. I am thankful for the inspiration to complete yet another project I have had on my mind for years.

Doll Quilt Swap 10

I have been participating in a few swaps over on flickr. I was lucky enough to get into the tenth round of the Doll Quilt Swap .


My partner lives pretty far away and I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the package I sent her. I made her a Cathedral Windows quilt with lots of glass beads and shell buttons. It was great fun to make. I hope she loves it.

Sunny Spring Days

The anticipation and magic that fills the atmosphere in Spring time makes the hairs on my neck stand up and a tingling fill my soul. The excitement is so full of amazing energy and possibility. I spent the day out in the forest, watching as the mystical forces played out in a one pocket of woodlands. The day was so outstanding I really expected to see small faeries, elves and imps carefully at work preparing for the upcoming growth.

Yummy Treats for Gallery Walk

We had a good opening on Friday evening at John's gallery. The artist was energized and the crowd was enthusiastic. I chose the menu and made food and desserts for the event. It went over really well. I had a great time blending up all the chic peas into hummus. I made garlic hummus and basil/garlic hummus.....a gallon and a half total....I think I should have made 3 gallons. A recipe for Lentil and Barley stew was found in blogland( http://dreamaboutfood.blogspot.com/2011/03/cumin-lentil-barley-stew.html ), so I quadrupled the batch and made over 4 gallons of the yummy warm stew. We resurected a recipe from John's old restaurant, made a huge batch of Quinoa Salad. We also had trays of crackers, veggies, pita, and olives. I baked 3 apples pies for the dessert table...I think I should have baked 9 or 10..seriously...they were so good and everyone loved their deliciousness. As an added bonus...it was all vegan.

can music exist where there once was none?

I have this revolution occurring in my head recently. I guess the last 2 years or so, maybe a little longer. My husband and I have some pretty different opinions about music we listen to for enjoyment. So...I spent much of my teenage years following my fave bands and hanging out with that scene, and hooking up with friends on weekends to listen to their bands belt out tunes in funky music halls, basements, houses, and small retail establishments. Much of that fun ended when John and I realized we could not stand the others choice of recreational music. So stagnant we became. John has a fairly decent musical background, where mine is pretty much void of any personal musical expression. Anyway, my story is this...we have not listened to much music, until my daughter started listening to her own music. I mean I guess my kids have always known a few...Johny Cash, Crosby, Still, Nash and Young, Sting, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, etc. I am really rambling here. Anyhow, about 3 years ago Lexi started listening to a pretty nice group of country music tunes. I have previously shied away from that genre, but I listened and realized I liked most of it. So...that in itself opened the house to some new sounds. My whole life growing up I never learned to play an instrument..who knows why. My parents never shared any music of their own creation with us...I think at some point my sisters tried something. We always had this old guitar languishing somewhere in the house...oh how I longed to be able to pick it up and really know what to do with it. Many years ago, I finally decided it needed a face lift. So I sanded it down and stripped it of all its glossy sheen and hardware. I started painting it. I guess it never really looked the way I wanted it as I packed it away in the back of the garage years and years ago. My daughter, the country music fan, has been asking for years to take guitar lessons, so she finally found a teacher she likes. We bought her a guitar and she is knee deep in learning. So, this has renewed once again my interest in painting a fun guitar, with the hopes of someday figuring out how to plunk something out on it. So, I dug back into the dark recesses of our treasure trove of a garage and found the guitar...once again I have started over painting it. I think this is the 3rd or 4th time to have a go at this, since I was about 12 years old. Here are the paintings from this week. Maybe someday I will finish this guitar, reinstall the hardware...wonder where that is....and finally learn the skill of playing guitar. We shall see if this dream ever comes true.