Drawing in circles

Spirograph art by Lesley Halliwell 

Creating your own in Adobe Illustrator is so easy. Something I do all the time when I am playing around. 


 

Spirodoodle for the iPhone 

Unreal

Maybe she's born with it? (Nah, it's Fotoshop). A great video, Fotoshop by Adobé by Jesse Rosten. "This commercial isn't real, neither are society's standards of beauty." Behind the scenes of Fotoshop by Adobé. 

Celebrities Before and After Photoshop. 

What you see isn't real. ;0

Laughing is good medicine

Laughing is a good thing since I have had the flu the last couple of days and that wasn't very funny.

Another funny email from a friend today ... must share. 

To help save the economy, the Government will announce next month that the Immigration Department will start deporting seniors (instead of illegal’s) in order to lower Social Security and Medicare costs. Older people are easier to catch and will not remember how to get back home. 

I started to cry when I thought of you. Then it dawned on me ... oh NO, I'll see you on the bus! 

Also, David was watching Richard Jeni on a comedy show last night, I laughed until I couldn't laugh anymore. Richard Jeni took his own life in 2007 and that is a loss for the world. I know it shouldn't but it always surprises me to realizes that a great comics can be sad and depressed. More clips here ... if you need some laughs today.
 
On the right wing: A bunch of money-grubbin', greenhouse-gasing, seal-clubbing, oil-drilling, Bible-thumping, missile-firing, right-to-life-ing, lethal-injecting hypocrites. People whose idea of a good time is strapping a dead panda to a Lincoln Navigator and running over everybody in the gay parade. 

On the left wing: A bunch of bong-smoking, America-bashing, flag-burning, yoga-posing, incense-burning, dolphin-saving, salmon-eating hypocrites. These are the sensitive, liberal people who are always yelling about people's freedom of speech and expression, unless you happen to say something that pisses them off.

Warning: these videos might not be for all readers ....

   

Tea Light Holder

DIY: Wired Tea Light Holder via Pinerest.

Small stories

Dear blank, please blank. I wanted to submit something to my son for my beautiful Mother's Day gift, but thought it wouldn't be as edgy as the rest.

One Sentence, True stories told in one sentence. Most are very touching. 

Yes, I am going through my 3,000 drafts again. ;)

Roundness

The Devil’s Marbles in Australia

Nearly round, Champ Island in Franz Josef Land. 
 
Round Rock, Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe. 

Jumbo rock in Joshua Tree National Park. 
 
Round rocks formed by calcium deposits. 

 

Luke Haynes

Luke Haynes paints murals in cloth, assembles mosaics from fabric.

After .... ;)

I wish I had documented the "before". Boxes of summer clothes, piles of clean clothes (that dogs have been sleeping on), dirty clothes, things to be mended, suitcases, Christmas stuff ... this room was a mess. After talking to Maggy this morning ... I decided to pick ONE room and stick with it. Don't think about the other rooms. Not the Christmas that needs to be put away. Only this one room, task at hand! It feels great to have one small success in the massive effort to get my house right. And I am going to show off my success.

 

 

Really serious now about cleaning out and getting rid of ... decided I am going to start a virtual garage sale. I will be listing things on Something To Sell ... This is a McCarty Bros. 1943 ceramic planter. I am going to sell it for $11.00 (plus shipping). Interested?

 
And this 3-inch tall vase/pitcher. Champions of Champions 1966. $5.00 (plus shipping ... it is small, non-breakable, it won't cost very much)? Make me an offer.

I also went through a load of beach glass that needs more churning ... I am taking it back to the beach for someone else to find. ;)

Blown away

I am feeling just a little overwhelmed since returning from my quiet get-away. Every corner in my house is begging for cleaning, sweeping, mopping, folding, dusting. I need to start putting away Christmas. That is a good 2 days of work. I have real work to do. Brantlers to finish. It is all fun stuff ... but I need to find a spot and just start! 

I told mom last night, it all seems like another holiday that has passed by so quickly I don't even remember it! 2012! I am feeling behind before we are 8 days into the New Year! I didn't take time to wish everyone a Happy New Year. 

Thank you so much for stopping by here in the last year, sharing, leaving comments and sharing in my adventure to finding my new life. I cherish all the encouragement, advice and well wishes. You really prop me up to go forward when I feel like I leaning back. Thank you! 

So instead of cleaning ... I am shooting Pasque flower leaves that I  spotted while taking the dogs out. That plant morphs into the most interesting ways. From the exploding seed pod to the brown leaves fallen over in curled up beauty. Probably good for me to stop and smell the decaying leaves this morning? More Beautiful Afterlife.

Sad Sophie

I think Sophie just figured out that she is spending the night with us tonight and she doesn't seem very happy about it. She waits on the top of the sofa, at the front window, for her "folks" to come get her. ;( And she waits, waits ... It is funny, I can tell what kind of parents Matt and Bri will be by the way they are with Sophie.

Winter longing

It is that time of the year that I start craving a flower! Petals. Colors. It might be time to drive through the Arboretum. 

Floral illustrations at Amicus Botanicus make me salivate. 
 
Hellebores will be blooming soon. I wish I had planted an Allium in the fall! 

Sticky subject

I have been wanting to paint a Saguaro for a long time. A great site for Cactus Lovers (my husband, the cactus-lover). They are so very interesting in their growth and longevity in such a hostile environment.

Interesting observations about the math of the this wonderful cactus.

Saguaro Cell Towers, brilliant! 
 
Seasons Greetings from Arizona Cactus tree! 

Think I could make one myself? Artificial saguaro cactus (United States Patent 7118788).

As far as landscaping with them, they do not come cheap! Which is why having some sculptures seem like a better option!

 Interesting barbed-wire Saguaros by Wesley Hall.  Eric Richards does a nice cactus sculpture. And I love these from Lee Blackwell Studio. Steel Saguaro Cacti By Eric Carroll

I have blogged about Desert Steel cactus sculptures many times and my S-I-L have dreamed of how we could own some. I mean, seriously, couldn't you see some of these in your yard! 

 
Various images I have been hoarding on my computer when I search cactus. 

 

And below is the painting I have sketched out in Illustrator. I love the pixelated squareness in contrast with the cactus natural curves. And now I am totally inspired to finish this, very large piece I have been planning in my head for years.

What was Rome doing ...

I hate to even blog about this because it is just perpetuating the ridiculousness of it all ... but yesterday (my mom watches these shows, not me) ... Dr. Phil (I use to enjoy Dr. Phil in the past) had on some really stupid sounding women from 'Mob Wives', Ellen had some really stupid girls from The 'Jersey Shore' show. Listening to all the news about that Casey girl releasing her video, over and over and over again on the news ... I have really had enough. I am really close to canceling cable ... I don't even turn around from my computer to see what these people look like. I don't care. I don't want to hear them interviewed. I don't care what/or why they do the silly things they do in their lives. And I can't imagine that anyone else does either.

Enjoy Every Sandwich

Time Goes By has a wonderfully sad and inspiring piece on Dr. Lipsenthal book, Enjoy Every Sandwich. Dr Lipsenthal died last September. Very inspirational. I have to say, I think about death a little more lately.

Ed Mell

Imagery of the desert, Saguaros, colors sand with the sage green shrubs. All mesmerizing. Ed Mell's Forever Stamp (want). More art of Ed Mell here. and here. I love his vision of the desert lanscape! Angles, shapes and colors, just get me right here (pointing to my heart).
 

"Mell reduces visual phenomena into stylized shapes, color gradations, and contrasting tones of color to capture the ephemeral moments of the environment."

Getting a little buggy

100 bugs illustrated by Mr Steve McCarthy. 

Heading north soon

Singing along all day to oldies I haven't heard in a long time. (How is it we remember every word of those songs we heard on the radio so long ago?) Working remotely. Trying to figure out why my Skype audio is not functioning (Rick, where are you?) Gathering dirt to take. Packing up branches to mail home ... maybe I should warn David. ;) More twigs "incoming" ... make room in the garage. The last sunset in paradise. Hoping I can polish off the bottle of wine I just opened before we leave tomorrow. ;)

Temple in the rocks

Yesterday we ventured over to Sedona via Jerome. Jerome is this old mining town hanging on the side of a mountain side. Completely quirky, with towns people you would expect to live on the edge of nowhere. Artsy and independent. On the back of their T-shirts says, "everyone is high in Jerome."

Skulls at a fun restaurant.

Before Jerome, we passed through Enchanted Canyon Development outside of Prescott. Expensive homes being built on top and around these amazing, huge, rounded rocks (much better examples). It seems like it should be a national park area more than a housing development. Can you imagine seeing this every sunset? Anyway, it was soooo amazing. The structure of the rock is called spheroidal weathering and it is something I think you could never tire of seeing. 

This is for my friend, Ruth. We stopped by a new Buddhist temple, Amitabha Stupa, on the outskirts of Sedona at sunset. Sure wish you could have been with us to see this. I wish we could have spent a week in Sedona! Yes, and I grabbed a pocket-full of dirt for my collection.

A few things I saw today

Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed, devil's trumpet seedpod! 

Saw a Deer Brush and heard it has a wonderful fragrance when it flowers. Found some weathered sticks.

Very busy doing nothing

It is hard not to let your eye wander out to the desert, stop working and just watch the birds come and go. Quail scuttle by. Hawk's shadow pass over, a pair of Blue Scrub-Jays scrambling for nuts. Hoping for another Jackrabbit, lizard or roadrunner. (Just saw a tiniest chipmunk at the seed block while writing these, I think it is a Desert Chipmunk).

We had a very busy New Year's Eve celebration ...  neighbor's 'garage party' featuring a local blue grass band. Also where the cutest puppies I have ever seen (Yorkie-Poodle mix). Louie, my favorite, has wild, untamable apricot hair that is in a constant unkempt-adorable-look. Our next party was Cordes Lake Community Center, featuring a great local C&W band, Wells Fargo Band, with special guest ... anyone who wants to come up and sing. We hit the dance floor a couple of times with a two-step and off we went to the final party. 

Next stop, friend's house sitting on top of a bluff, an incredible view, tiered garden full of pruned Mesquite trees, each tree planted in remembrance of a passed loved one. An open fire and night sky full of twinkling stars was the perfect ending to 2011. 


The backyard is the source of all of my distractions ... all photos taken by Chris.

 

Anthony and me and my new-do

Louie, the cutest pup!

Bidding 2011 a fond farewell, in front of a fire with my good friend, Elayne. I promise this was the camera, we had NOT had that much to drink.

We have a pantry full of food to eat before leaving on Wednesday. I am afraid I won't be able to fit into my jeans traveling home.