Dots With Meaning

Sign language fonts. Dot Braille alphabet. Basic braille. The history of braille.

Drain eye-catchers by Joana Meroz has a beautiful "braille" quality about them. And I love her Crackery tableware.

The Last Rose

The last rose is always the most perfectly formed, the most delicious one.

Hurray, three days off! My brain is spinning with what I should do with my extra day. ;)

One Crazy Day

Taking all of my complaining about car breaking down in the parking lot. ;)

Look at this wonderful seed pod!



I found this white flower near the parking lot.



Jared sent me a thank you gift. Thank you so much. I LOVE IT.



Mom found this poor guy buggin' out, pointed out the wonderful colors.



Going to bed now. Very exhausted!

Color

My nasturtium did not do very well this year. But here is ONE.



Taika dinnerware begins a new tradition with colorful Nordic motif.

Goodbye To Shirley

We had a "going away" party for Shirley today. We were all there to wish our wonderful, brave friend good passage. It was much easier with all that loved her together in one place, to remember, to celebrate her life.

Taking Root

Mom has been rooting some things for fun, a potato and a tree seedling we found.

Explore The Sky

Explore the sky with Google Earth. This is very cool!

Fantastic Fennel

So this is sad, so get your hankie ready. I have no flowers to photograph! Really, the only thing I could find was a big fennel that found it's way to a small patch of weeds in the front. But with an hour left of light last night after getting home and before going dinner at my neighbors ... I needed, really needed to shoot something, anything. And so, fennel it was!

My life is just splintered right now. No time, absolutely no time for blogging. No time for art. Main computer is in the shop. My son has been spending the last 5 days putting his new pc together and has taken over my normal work space in the family room. I am working on one of my many "old" macs around the house. So I am grabbing a couple of minutes before rushing off the bed. I miss blogging! I am sorry I have been so terrible at answering my email. I keep telling myself, things will get better and this too shall pass.

Very Small Stuff

The Collier Classification System for Very Small Objects, visit the database collection for explanation. Very fun!

Self-Portrait Challenge 08.21

2 times a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks in a year for 12 years = 6,240 round trips to work. Is that right? That feels like an unbelievable pattern.

Space Shots

Incredible! Space shots of meteors and more from msnbc.com picture stories. Marred Mars, my favorite.

Busy Day

Tara, Mom and I did our 3rd annual "garage sale Saturday". Didn't find too many things worth noting here. And I was threatened by my husband not to bring any more junk into the garage that he has been cleaning for two weeks (trying to organizing me). Regardless of the lack of 'good finds', we had a great day of driving around, enjoying hamburgers and listening to "This American Life". Stopped by my favorite store in the city (image below)



Then off the a Mariner's Game, a company sponsored "get-together". (Grandmother alert). M drove us to and from the Mariner's game. In the rain and dark. ;0 He is a very good driver, despite his mother in the backseat squealing in a high-pitched voice to "slow down".





Then grocery shopping and ran to work on Sunday. The weekend flew by.

ArtFest 2008

ArtFest 2008 workshops are posted. Can't wait to have time to read it!

Sunday Surprise

There is one good thing about coming into work on my Sunday to try and get caught up for the coming week ... this link that my pal Katie sent me with subject line "Gorgeous". Ah, yes, total agreement. Pistoles Press blog.

Friday Faves

I love this one. These two napping. This linen bag makes me drool with desire. The apple of my eye. My friend's wonderful sense of interesting photography pieces.

The Dirt

It is time for me to leave work and go home. I picked up a book being reviewed off the free table, started reading and searching. 40 minutes later ... I have not headed for my car. Shame on me! My favorite home computer is in for repair. M got a new pc (I never thought I would have a pc in my house). I am hoping having his own computer to play games, search out graffiti, creating graffiti online will allow my computer a little more room FOR ME and my work, thousands of unnamed photos, etc.

This is a wonderful application -- Native Plants Database found via the writer Amy Stewart's blog - Dirt. And oh, her long list of garden links!

Make some Sushi Bug Bites or a Tomato via The Rodale Institute via The Gardener's Notebook.

One flower is enough by by Rob Ryan reminds me of this (you know I punched many, many leaves and they stayed like that all summer, even gave one to my friend with the word "love" with a bouquet, and she gave it back to me a year later, pressed!) via Paper Forest.

The International Plant Propagators' Society. I should enter this photo contest.



I love the Antique Rose Emporium and the Rose Rustlers, blogged about them a couple of years ago. The idea of rose rustling makes me happy.

Mad Dog

Chihuahua mad at the world for getting a bath from my pal Paul, who just had an excursion to Ecuador, lucky guy!

Her Dream Comes True

"It’s a dream come true to have my own clothing line," she said. "It’s just Paris style: fun, bright and flashy"

Hilton said she spent a year submitting and approving designs.

"It’s just from my closet to their closets." (This is my favorite quote!)

Someone, please hand me a barf bag.

Sil van der Woerd

Independent filmmaker Sil van der Woerd's Swim and Microbia via SiouxWIRE Annex.

Rough Weather

Active warnings and advisories from stormspotter live

Wallpapers of extreme weather from Extreme Instability.

Cloud and aurora photography via spaceweather.com.

Seismic Monitor

Seismic Monitor from Incorporated tesearch Institutions for Seismology.

USGS lastest list of earthquakes for the past 7 days.

Did I ever mentioned I live in the Marina in San Francisco during the 89 earthquake! That was exciting.

In-turd-esting

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

Friends Find Me

Thank you ALL so very much for soothing me with kindness, emails and treasures during my little down moment. Pushing myself forward, have been cleaning after work this week. Pulling some morning glories from unwanted spots. Walking around a cool, cloudless night dreaming of what I should do in the backyard. I am trying out the new Miller beer with lime this week ... over ice with more lime and salt. The perfect summer night drink.

Judy sent me a present of this wonderful photo and this -- "Hang in there and keep enjoying art, it's the extra oxygen of life". Maridon, who told me "A sparkle by nature is a flickering light", reminds me to hold on and it will return ... sent me a wonderful link to Birdie Jaworksi and her beautiful piece on "Shattered".

Self-Portrait Challenge 08.14

Is it Tuesday already? Time for one moroe of my boring pattern SPC. Family room patterns. Go see lots more patterns.

White Light, Black Rain

This was breathtakingly hard to watch but so worth it. An HBO documentary on the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, White Light, Black Rain. Peace declaration from the Mayor of Hiroshima.

Expensive Paper Club

"Expensive Paper Club" is the special project name generated by Idea Generator via Metafilter.

Franck Juery and his diary.

Project Shutter

Project Shutter 'Live in My City' Photo Contest Results via Surface Windows Live.

Guilty Pleasures

I am not really a writer, but I do get a kick out of Guilty Pleasures. Mine are Danish Wedding cookies and Bridezillas.

My Drive Drove Off

My best pal, co-worker gave me an inspiration speech the other night about how I really needed to jump back on board and work on my art. I was making my excuses and telling him about how I feel so overwhelmed with everything in my life right now and art, making art has taken a back seat.

But driving home I started comtemplating why. What has happened to me? Is it menapause? I thought I was through the worst of it. Did my drive haul ass when I turned 50? Leaving me in the middle of a dark road, without a map or flashlight? Is it my new schedule? Has not having that one extra day send my into a tail spend?

Am I feeling completely defeated by life? Dirty, dusty rooms, laundry needing an iron, junk, toilets needed fixing, dryers going out, yard needing attention, cars needing cleaning ... the list I carry around in my head makes it heavy and hard to hold up. And of course, I recoil in guilt thinking, "Listen, Kim, at least you HAVE a house to clean, a yard to enjoy, water to bath in, a toilet to use ..."

My sparkle is gone and I want it back. My ideas have not dried up ... I want to get back in a place that I am excited. A place where my exhilaration pushes me through, makes me want to stay up all night making something, anything.

Today, I made myself get off the sofa, drank lots of coffee and cleaned three rooms! Progress. This week, after work, my art takes a front seat. I will get accomplish something, even if it is a small thing.

Marvelous Macro

"You lookin at me?", Spider eye, Luna Moth, Hey You!, Orange Wing, A Good Dinner and I See You, all images from Macro Photography World.

Bug Macros

Macros by Igor Siwanowicz

Frank Phillip's Beautiful Bugs and How to Do Macro Insect Photography

DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio

Bug Dreams

Shifting Pixels

Insect eggs from Eye for Photos

Global Support Mission

Leigh & Diane make me feel so honored to know them, so small in my own bloated life, when I read about their mission... their Global Support Mission! Read about Diane musing on a River. You guys are the greatest.

Thursday

CoolGlobes

From June-September 2007, the City of Chicago is hosting “CoolGlobes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet,” an innovative project that uses the medium of public art to inspire individuals and organizations to take action against global warming. See some globes here. Seen in FiberArts Magazine.

A Copy Of Yesterday

As Seen In

Is is chilly outside! Someone is complaining about it and I feel completely lucky that most of the U.S is boiling hot and I am sipping hot chocolate and needing a little wrap around my shoulders. Brilliant!

Blaise Hayward

Robb Kendrick

Chuck Shotwell

Paolo Pellegrin

David Field

Kate Quinby as seen in Communication Arts, Photography Annual 48.

Creation Station

Looking for the perfect domain name, let Dot-o-mator help you.

Or generate yourself a Web 2.0 logo (and look like everyone else).



The Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator™ and The Sun in Motion by Gary Palmer (put your sunglasses on).

Feelimage and the blog. Search code on koders.

Killer Startups, (I am feeling very old and out-of-it, all of a sudden) ... found Supermarket Wine, finally a site I can actually use!

Road Trip

Mom and Ralph headed out on a road trip to Goldendale, Washington in search of the Maryhill Museum of Art.

The Prisoner

Mel Robson

Mel Robson's delicate and wonderful ceramics. Blog

Self-Portrait Challenge 08.07

Bedroom patterns for Self-Portrait Tuesday..

Cream Of The Crop

Andrew Clemens sand art.

The Needlepoint Museum

My grandmother would be in hog heaven with David Steinlicht's Crop Art Gallery

Paint by Numbers

Holy Cards and lots of other fun links at Rick Saunders.

Vestigial Tool

Fred Birchman has created a set vestigial tools. Very clever indeed.

Magnificent Rubber Stamps

Magnificent Rubber Stamps at PingMag via Ah-Yi.



I also found half-dress! I love that. Thank you Ah-Yi.

Color Scheming

I finished my second color scheme on Saturday. 6 color schemes for 18 units. Working with the architect we finished the plans on Saturday morning. It feels so natural for me to do and I hope I can do more of them. Of course, when I took it on I felt confident, excited, full of ideas ... when I start applying color to the units, I think "What I am doing?, "How did I think I could ever do this?" ... But I love the colors and the combinations. I have been working up a little "color scheme chart" book, just for me, for fun. Haven't worked out all the kinks yet.





The rest of my weekend should have been filled with cleaning or art, but being completely overwhelmed with choices "to do" list, instead, plopped down on my sofa and watched mindless TV. Napping through most of it. What can I say?

So Much To See, So Little Time

Yann Le Coroller, the art, the talent and the wallpapers.

Tabblo PhotoCubes.

Global young art connection from Osaka, Japan on digmeout.net, ZAnPon, Tadaomi Sibuya, all whom look like modern pieces of art in their avatars ;)

All or most of these found and much, much more via the delightful MBC Design Studio. Thank you!

Over Exposed

Type City

Veer exploring type in Type City, brilliant.

Little Blooms

I love the little blooms found in the center of the hydrangea.

Butterflies, Moths And Beetles

Butterflies and Moths and Beetles from Smithsonian Galaxy via the always inspiring BibliOdyssey (links). My fascination leaves me to think, why didn't I study Entomology?

Gone To The Dogs

Stephen Huneck's (art below) Dog sculptures, carved furniture and Chapel of Dog.



Duane needs this Airedale Topiary. Paint my dog portraits. Paul Boddum portraits. Dog as art. Spectator Sport by Wesley Anderegg via Run Otis! Beautifully engraved dogs. That dog can hunt. Cocker Spaniel carving.