Exteme Life (Extreme Ice)

Okay, unemployment is keeping me a little busier than expected! Filing, meetings, seminars, applying, interviews. Whew, I am exhausted. Give me my cruddy job back. (just kidding) :)

Had an interesting seminar today. Rewriting my resume, defining what and who I want to be when I grow up. Wait, I thought I all ready knew that? Okay, I am rethinking all of that. Noting and writing it all down (for my next seminar).

Things I noticed today. I haven't been drinking Coke, at all. Only mint ice tea. No vending machine candy. I haven't been driving in traffic, well really, driving at all. Today, I drove in 1 1/5 hours in traffic and arrived home with a backache. (I haven't been taking much Ibuproben either). It was weird to even drive over 5 miles in traffic but I did remember this is where I did all of my brainstorming with myself. It was nice to have a little quiet time, to think, alone. I feel less stressed out. I feel hopeful. I feel excited. I feel optimistic (even if it is an illusion). I feel energized. I feel fortunate. I had an interview yesterday, and they like my work. It was a wonderful thing to hear, from someone's mouth - I love your work. I cried driving home after hearing those words. It was a great tonic.

I find myself being nicer to people. Strangers. Little kids at the checkout. I say hello and engage. I also find myself answering emails and seeking out friends. I visited a dear friend today, saw her house for the first time (she has lived there for sometime). Scheduling brunches. Making plans. Noting it all on my Google calendar so I won't forget. My brain is still not keeping up with all that is going on around me.

I have started an illustration series on unemployment and job searching after 50. With humor.

I applied for my 'dream job" today. Think they will email me back? ;0

Got home from all of that and really needed some mental down time. If you didn't get a chance to see Extreme Ice on NOVA, please, do yourself a favor and watch it.

It feels like fall - SOUP time!

Mom made this amazing soup Carrot-Coconut Milk Soup, a recipe by Amy Pennington, she found in Seattle Woman. It is a must for cool, fall weather!

WHFoods: Carrot Coconut Soup

my recipes Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup and lots of Soup and Stews

allrecipes Carrot Coconut Lime Soup

Anja's Food 4 Thought has a curried version

Going to seed

My desktop wallpaper was accepted into the September 2010 roundup! Thank you! Smashing Magazine! You made my day. This wallpaper by Sandrine Abraham is brilliant! Want to see more Beautiful Afterlife happening?

Anne Smith

I want to drink up Anne Smith's Cup Series.

Victory!

My wonderful neighbor gave me this miniature rose called "Victory" when I published my book. She loved my book and gave me a lot of feedback, suggested I added descriptions of the flowers (which I did). I planted it and it has 5 buds about to bloom now! Woo hoo, since not much is going on in my yard right now. The hydrangeas are starting to change. Clematis is growing and I need to train it back up the arbor. Japanese Anemones, rained has sent them right to the ground.

I have said good bye to my sofa for now. Finally cleaned up my room, uncovered the bottom on my closet, hung up and ironed clothes for this week, got my hair trimmed so I won't look like a street person for my interview tomorrow, washed the dogs, creating my Etsy banner, now I just need to add something to the store. ;0 Tara is giving me advice about Etsy. My neighbor/best internet friend and I are starting an Edmonds Local blog detailing artist events happening in here in our little village. I am exhausted and looking forward to Vampires and Mystery tonight on TV (before I cancel my cable). ;)



My new Rue

Ron Ulicny

I am loving Portland artist Ron Ulicny's viscurrealistic fabrications.

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar

I almost forgot I had created a submission for Smashing Magazine's Desktop Wallpaper Calendar. Just wrapped that up. Maybe mine will be one of many chosen. Keep your fingers crossed. Will put it up here for downloads on September 1st.

Lauren DiCioccio

Lauren DiCioccio's sewnews series is fantastic! Via Christine Mauersberger fantastic blog.

Mercifully, this week ending

Mercifully, it is the weekend. A very long week. I haven't been so busy with personal matters in years. My truck, which slipped out of park while my husband had parked it and rammed into another vehicle, was considered totaled by the insurance company is now back home, safe in the driveway. Well, I don't have the mental or financial capacity to buy a new vehicle, opted to just have the damn thing fixed. But after writing a $2,850 check, received an insurance partial payment today.

Trying to figure out insurance for the unemployed. Can you see my forehead crinkle?

Had my eyes examined today.

M's car has a flat and needs new tires. Our 4 cars have been down to 2. No moving cars around in the driveway to let people in and out.

I have been doing online, never-ending job searches and filing for unemployment. Still, unemployment is questioning my status. I have an interview for freelance on Monday. Have been doing a small freelance job for now. That has been fun and rewarding.

Have a local blog for local artist/calendar idea started and proposing it to the local art connection tomorrow morning. My wordpress-expert-neighbor and I are very excited about all the work it will take to start and build this. But it will be fun.

Pica had an a vet appointment and both were down to get their nails cut. I bathed them for fleas.

M has been working full-time but without car at the moment. New tires look to be in our future.

And did I mention job-hunting online is like sending off a paper airplane to the moon never to see it again? I have an entire job-hunting-online-after-50 illustration series started in my head.

Have still not hung up my clothes in the last 3 weeks. That must be number ONE on my list for next week ... clean up and iron clothes. Life seems a shambles right now.

The printers are reprinting my friend's business card. I designed and had printed last week. 


I can't remember going to the bank so many times to make deposits. But deposits are a good thing, right?


Started working on my new ring ideas, need to get those to the laser-cutter. But still have not ventured down to my studio all week. Number two priority, after clothes.


My brother is in trouble, again. Got a collect call (won't bother to say from where). Told him I can't afford too many of those. $20 dollar collect calls.  I really wish he could find a solution to his mental problems. I love him but I can't stop him from hurting himself.


Did you know they don't make Coast soap anymore? I can't find it. I have bathed with that soap for 20+ years. Depressing. Trying to get my hair cut before my meeting on Monday. But have decided to stay with gray hair.


Paid bills and saw my bank account diminish. With no idea where more money is coming from. That was really depressing. Must cancel Comcast cable and get rid of storage unit next week.

Have a meeting with a career counselor next week. Revamp resume. Hung out at WorkSource for fun.  I have a story written in my head about being a career mother and missing out on precious childhood memories while pursuing a career which doesn't last past 50+. Not sure that was worth it now.

Neighbors complaining after our hedge being too tall and blocking their water view. Getting another estimate from landscapers.

On a good note, my wonderful neighbors gave me yet MORE wood to burn in my fireplace.

Have watched lots of good movies "On Demand" before I cancel service.

Feel the need to take a nap at 2:30pm and just fall down on the sofa with the dogs. With no remorse.

It rained, and watered my withering hydrangeas.

Received the most precious cards, emails and phone from loving friends. Wishing me the best.

So that was my week. Has it just been 17 days since this all began? It really feels like a lifetime. :) Looking forward to next week. Have to keep a detailed account of my doings on my Google calendar so I can keep up.

Who doesn't love a thimble?

Love Notes From a Thimble Psycho. More love of vintage silver thimbles.  An Interview with antique sewing thimble Collector Sue Gowan. Recycled thimble jewelry by Amy Pfaffman.

Perseid Meteor Shower Failure

Perseid Meteor Shower Failure, not such a failure. Via Christopher Butler via Feltron.


Perseid Meteor Shower Failure from ph dee on Vimeo.

Asian Slaw

Mom has been making this Asian Slaw, delicious. Crunchy, sweet. Today Mom added golden raisins too. She says it is kind of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along. ;)

3 cups of broccoli, diced small pieces
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup almonds or walnut (if desired - I don't think mom has added these additional nuts)
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
2 pkgs Ramen Noodles (break up in small bits while in package)

For dressing
Bring to a simmer and pour over slaw ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
1/3 cup vinegar
2 pkg sauce from Ramen Noodles

Julia Pott

Howard, a film by Julia Pott. Lovely.

Howard from Julia Pott on Vimeo.

Reminding myself

Trying to remind myself what is important tonight. The little things! The beautiful things that we overlook in the rush of the day.

West Seattle adventure

Tara and I ventured over to West Seattle to an Artist Garage Sale. Good stuff. Thank you, Stacie for the heads up! Then over to Dick Blick's to look around. It was rainy and cold this morning. Sorry to those of you in hot Texas and Kansas.



Mike surprised mom yesterday with a bagpipe serenade (he has been playing in a parade earlier that morning). That was a great surprise!

Explore this painting

Getting really close to the masters at The National Gallery, London while you are explore this painting. A nice feature to see amazing details as the lace below. Explore more here.

Florian Schulz

Florian Schulz's Visions of The Wild. Wildlife Photography Tips.


Visions of the Arctic from Florian Schulz on Vimeo.

Butterfly Conservation

A-Z of butterflies at the Butterfly Conservation and the UK butterfly count results are in.

Little Drifters

Little Drifters at BOOOOOOOM! is super cool!

John Keats and Fanny Brawne

Bright Star, a movie about John Keats and Fanny Brawne is such a lovely film. Costuming is extraordinary. Is is slow and wonderful and sad.



John Keats letters to Fanny Brawne, February 1820 collection.



Once John Keats was off to Italy for his illness where he eventually died, he wrote his friend, Charles Brown, 1 November 1820 and you can feel his love and pain at being away from Fanny.

Having fun

(Grandma post) My son is having fun! His friend's parents wanted them to paint the side of their garage. His friend is off to school to Berkeley today. And they finished yesterday. Matt is all aglow.

Dalton Ghetti

I put this on my Pinterest the other day but forgot to blog it until my wonderful S-I-L reminded me! Pencil Tip Micro Sculptures by Dalton Ghetti. Isn't this amazing. Go look at his other sculptures.

John Arabolos

John Arabolos "investigates our natural world and the way we perceive and relate to it".

en Plein Air

Jared is the nicest guy in the world and full of so much talent! Looks like he is participating in en Plein Air official trailer by Wildman Pictures on Vimeo. Remember his Jared's Cougar Peak-A-Boo series that I am in love with?

en Plein Air (official trailer) from Wildman Pictures on Vimeo.

Visualizing unemployment

Short Sharp Shock - Visualizing unemployment. Thanks Michael, you made my day ;(

See what I mean?

DailyOM - Embracing Grief and Letting Go of Understanding from my inbox. ;)

My first full week of blur

My first full week of unemployment has been a little busier than I anticipated. The first two days are a blur and since then, just busy. Filling out and filing papers, meeting at WorkSource, making note of all job applications and possible jobs close to home. Applying for jobs online is so strange and impersonal. One doesn't even know if your email was transmitted someplace. I dreamed of an illustration last night of that process. Lots of phone calls and a long to-do list, that is getting longer. ;)

I found a treasure trove of beautifully hand-built vases with unusual glazes today at the thrift store. So new vases for shooting.

ANTS in my scanner

ANTS in my scanner > a five years time-lapse! by François Vautier. Via Make: Online.

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The Art of Hand Lettering

The Art of Hand Lettering, I loved it.

Hoffmann Design

Duane has his site live now, Hoffmann Design Legal information graphics. Excellent!

Patchwork: Pattern Maker

Victoria and Albert Museum - Patchwork: Pattern Maker via not martha.

I just tried it and it is fantastic. It also generates a pdf of your uploaded image transformed into a quilt.

Matsuo Bashō

A bee by Matsuo Bashō and many more of his poems translated at PoemHunter.

A bee
staggers out
of the peony.

Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉?, 1644 – November 28, 1694) was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku. His poetry is internationally renowned, and within Japan many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Interpretations of Basho's work and in classic Japanese

I found this poet on this wonderful, beautiful, funny blog ... not all those who wander are lost, stories and tales from the prophet of bloom on the edge of the whirled. You should go visit.

Talkin' to me?

Sometimes I think Daily Om has a thought-tracking device in my head and is writing their daily inspiration just for me. Like today's A New Approach, Taking a Break from What You Are Doing. Right before I opened Hotmail I was thinking something in these lines "Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in our thoughts that we wind up going round in round in circles, finding it difficult to concentrate on things and, because we are so distracted, not really accomplishing much". And there it was in Daily Om. Home Flow was another.

Going to see if I can force myself back to sleep. ;)

IF - Star Gazing

Starry-eyed for Illustration Friday. One more in my series of ten which is now a series of 11. ;) Don't forget Perseid Meteor Shower 2010. I am going to remember to have a look tonight. Just a few quick faves, Sherree Boyd, Valérie Tremblay, Natalie Huges, 10,000 Pages, Doodle Isle, Eyecreate, frogup, Kate Berube, Alan's Art Desk, bnagel and old IF friends, Roz Foster and Val.



Star gazing in depth

Architect Curtain

Architect Curtain designed by Joon & Jung, design teller.

Before the sun

Will I ever stop waking up at 3:30a, 4:40a and 5:30a every morning? And now the dogs are so accustomed of going out very early that once I have taken them out, I can not drift back to sleep. Start the coffee and blog or create art in the quiet of the morning. Maybe this is a blessing.

The bees were on their mission very early this morning. The lavender and Japanese anemones are calling to them before the sun comes up. Yesterday D tirelessly weeded the new beds where I transplanted most of the peonies. I hope they become happy there because they didn't do so well this year. We have removed many established Barberry bushes that were out of control, added the beds, that the yard doesn't seem familiar anymore. I hated to take them out but we replaced them with friendlier Red Twig Dogwoods. I planted another Meadow Rue, I couldn't help myself, I had to buy another. Bill Casselman has a great post on Meadow Rue.



I can't keep up with the thoughts going on in my head. So I sit at my computer, file for unemployment, search for jobs, make my list, create art, think happy thoughts, dread the scary ones.  I think I am trying to remember how to create something. It has been a long time. Yesterday I played around with making dandelions out of type, O, !, Y, T's. Why, you ask? I have no idea but it was fun and occupied most of my day. Then I tried my hand at animating one in Flash. Again trying to remember what Flash I learned so long ago but haven't used it. Now I think I might used one of the designs in a card, or carve it and make prints. Screen print? Still trying to finish up the art for my 4-card series based on the Bird postcards I created long ago. Found a printer. The last 5 days have literally felt like a month of solitude, in a good way. I am finishing up a painting and now incorporating the 5 stages of grief. I am thinking I can work through this phase of my life in paint. Thank you all again! for your good wishes, compliments and happy thoughts. They are being put to good use. ;)

Mobile Kitchen Islands

Ideas for Mobile Kitchen Islands at Country Living. These are my two favorites.

Wild Geranium seedpod study

Remember this photo of the wild Geranium going to seed? Sitting in my yard last night I started looking at those seedpods from the wild Geranium and noticed an odd thing. I assumed the long stalk of the dying flower was where the seeds were housed. But in shooting the original photo I did notice 4 tightly arranged "balls" at the base of that stalk. I remember thinking, those look like the seeds but didn't take that much further. Now I see that the "stalk" dries out and peels up taking the 4 seeds in their protective shell up to be dispersed. Not at all how I thought it would happen. Isn't that amazing!









Great flower identification at Wildflowers of St. Stephen's

Wild Geranium growing and reseeding in the wild

Photo Contest from Gurney’s Seed and Nursery and Spring Hill Nurseries

Human Flower Project is an international newsgroup, photo album and discussion of humankind’s relationship with the floral world. We report on art, medicine, society, history, politics, religion, and commerce.

Seed collections and seed exchange

in a garden

Garden Voices

Wild flowers from WinterWoman's Observations, a beautiful garden blog.

Mary Vaux Walcott was the wife of the then-director of the Smithsonian Institution, Charles D. Walcott. During the first three decades of the 20th century she made over 400 paintings of North American Plants. Some very nice person scanned them for us to enjoy.

Giving seeds as gifts

The Casual Gardener

The Casual Gardener: Save Your Old Shovels and Rakes From The Landfill. Lovely idea.

Tim Tate under glass

I am blown away (pardon the pun) by Tim Tate's creations in glass. Just when you think you have seen it all ... there is something else out there fantastic and new.







Washington Glass School

Tensta Konsthall

Tensta Konsthall created a silk and plastic flowers are mounted on the wall, like a three dimensional wallpaper. On Front » Projects.

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Love notes to the Gulf

Photograph love notes to the Gulf found on Pepsi's Do Good for the Gulf project. I think I have seen this before, Lisa?

Eye spy at Sky

Meeting with the printers and decided to swing by Sky Nursery and see what's blooming. Met a lovely woman asking me about my shooting flowers. My son is making me lunch while I blog. I am spoiled.

The most interesting bits can sometimes be hidden behind the flower petals.



Explosion of color



This on has little ears



I almost like it better before the petals



Notice those little dots at the base of the flower petals. Something I would have probably missed with the naked eye.



All fuzzy-wuzzy inside

Martin Bergström

Martin Bergström, speed reading through images. And they are marvelous.

Package heading east

Don't overlook those perfect small boxes at the thrift stores. I found a black lacquer box with red interior, cleaned it up, packed it with presents and wrapped it with a red thread. The box becomes part of the gift. Perfect. (My husband always says, is that another box I see in your truck?) ;)

Waterlife Emergency

Watched two shows, depressing and enlightening, Waterlife and Seal Odyssey.

First day

It's on my calendar, it must be true!

colr.org

Fun with colr.org occupied a little of my time. Feeling a little green today.