Out on the River

I was up early and thought how cool it was for once and decided to go down to the river. I did not even think about bringing my camera so I have no pictures. I went to Freemen Park, walked to the river and sat on a rock and just watched the current and the little rapids that appeared when the water hits some rocks. It was partly cloudy so it was cooler and it really was a heavenly moment. Of course I thought, why don't I do this more often. I wish you all could have been sitting by the river with me it was quite nice.














I went to a craft store yesterday, my first time in over a month. I had a Michaels coupon and one for the other craft store in town. I got some sale yarn for future embellishments, some acrylic paint and another bottle of Adirondack Colorwash, and a new ink pad. I used these VersaFine pads at the Artnest retreat on fabric and I really like them. I was happy to find them locally. I have been also collecting the Colorwash, I have three colors now, I guess thats enough to really try them out. Has anyone else used these? If so I'd love to hear about your experiences with them.

I had Sarah move my Baby Wolf Loom to the front room. I am going to start working on it again. Or at least see if weaving is doable right now. I headed to the Art studio and made some cards, that felt good. When I haven't done anything for a long time I feel my confidence is really down and I just have to dive in and go for it. I think your art mojo as I like to call it, comes back if you just let it.

Quote of the Day:"It is only in playing that the individual is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self." Donald Winnicott

Trouble at the Drive In

Well I had the adventure last night. Sarah works at the drive in Movie theater on weekends. Last night I decided I would go see Harry Potter movie. I figured I could recline the seats if I got too uncomfortable sitting so long. Half way through the weekends. Last night I decided I would go see Harry Potter movie. I figured I could recline the seats if I got too uncomfortable sitting so long. Half way through the movie my car battery died. I went in to concessions to get a radio to watched the rest of the movie which was great by the way.

Sarah had driven the truck to work so I thought maybe the truck has jumper cables and I went and looked. Yes they were there. So I proceeded to drive the truck to where my car was. I popped the hood but could not get the stupid thing open. I really felt like an idiot. Here I had the means to fix the problem but I could not do it. Its about midnight so I call Dave knowing he is asleep and as usual he doesn't answer the phone. Sarah can't help cause she is still working. So I think I wonder if my friend Amy is up or not. So I call her and yes she is still up. I thought she could help me figure how to get the hood up. She says oh I will just come and jump you and thats what she did. Now these are the kind of friends a person needs. Thanks Amy. It was quite entertaining since we couldn't see inside to find the battery. I had this little light on my keys that I was using but it kept going out. we did manage finally and I was able to go home.

Today I decided its time I got back to using the Law of Attraction(the secret). For me that means getting back to a gratitude journal and work from there. I do want to do update my vision boards and a few other things. No matter how many things I got to do or people I was able to talk to that day, every evening I would depressed again. I am tired of wallowing it. Depression is o easy to fall into and so hard sometimes to get out of. Its time to move on, I want better things in my life.

I just realized that Sarah will be leaving in about 3 weeks. All I could think was here we go again. I hate this letting go stuff, it is so hard. Perhaps if I use the Law of Attraction this time it won't be so hard. Worth a try I guess.

Spinning

I tried to get back to spinning again. I can spin for a little while but then I have to rest. Slow progress but its still progress. I had to ply this first as it was on the wheel. Its a very light lemony yellow with some variations in color. Next I am spinning this orange-yellow colorway of Blue Faced Leicester. I have 3 rovings in the orange/yellow range that I am planning on doing. Its kind of strange being a blue/purple person but one has to branch out once in awhile. I am trying to spin up some colors I usually don't have so that I will have them on hand for some mixed warp projects or 2 color knitting.




























Quote of the Day: "All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on".-- Havelock Ellis

Shop till you drop

Sarah wanted me to go shopping with her today and it ended up being quite the excursion. We went to Linens n Things to get drapes for her new apartment. They had a good sale and she wanted to use her discount and also wanted my advice on her choices. Then it was on to Target, JC Penneys, Barnes & Noble, and Victoria's Secret. She had a blast but I just got tired. Dave is finishing up Harry Potter so he is not talking at all.

Last night I picked up Pen on Fire; a busy womens guide to igniting the writer within and started reading and doing some of the exercises. The author Barbara De Marco-Barrett writes really well and I am getting excited about this again.

This is for Kai and Lisa O, I want you both to seriously think about doing Nanowrimo with me in November. You have plenty of time to plan for this and I will be your personal cheering section and help you along. Please say you will join me. This is the year to finally do it.

I have to also say I really like Foolsgold which I talked about earlier. There are some profound passages that I really had to read over and over before I truly understood them.

Quote of the day: A "no" uttered from the deepest convictions is better and greater than a "yes" merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble". - Gandhi

I can Drive

Yesterday I got in the car and drove to the Dairy to buy milk and of course I had to get an ice cream too. Some roads are more bumpy and uncomfortable but I managed to do it. So it is like getting my independence back and a major step for me. I am heading to the mall today to see if I can find a couple of cool dresses to wear in S.Carolina in September where I know it will be very hot with humidity on top. I hope all the summer clothes are not gone.

Well the shopping trip wore me out. I did find 2 dresses that should work for the Thread Project evening events that I need to go to. Now I need something for the afternoon and then just general sightseeing wear. This body doesn't do shorts and I think it will be too hot for slacks so I think a skirt that I could wear with a sleeveless shirt or more dresses are the attire I need to find. I have got about 5 weeks so I will come up with something.

Dave bought the tickets today using his frequent flyer miles so now it is really official. I am going to get to meet another internet buddy. This time it will be a Glitter Sister so that will be awesome.

Quote of the Day: A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart. ~Author Unknown

Rockin' Girl Award and more

My friend Denise sent me this award, its all about blogger friendships all around the world. This is what she said "The Blogging World embraces global friendships and all of my blogging friends like yourself have become so special, reliable and caring". I am honored Denise, to add this to my blog and to have you as a friend.














Then Violette gave me this award and here is what she said "To Kate for her beautiful writing, gorgeous art……she elevates her art to another dimension by imbuing it with her wonderful spirit". Wow that sure was nice. Thank you so much







I don't know what is wrong but I have been unable to post any pictures that I took with my camera for days. If its something off the net I have no problem. I wonder what the problem is. I really want to share a gift from JudiRedhead but need to get those pics working first.

I seem to go through periods where I am just tired of not being able to do anything. Tired of reading tired of watching TV and movies and so forth. Last night I picked up my journal and started doing collages of all the get well cards I received. It was fun to be doing something Artsy again. All these hours on the couch I guess I could be drawing something. Sometimes it is the simplest thing that we can do to lift our spirits on one hand but it takes us a long time to come to that realization. I know Art can heal but yet I avoid doing it, now does that make sense at all.


Quote of the Day: "Don't ask yourself what the world needs
Ask Yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive"
- Harold Thurman Whitman

Rain and Harry Potter

It rained today, I went and stood out in and felt the blessed coolness of it. It was a thunderstorm which was nice. I love the thunder. Flynn my dog goes berserk though. I also hope that it does not start any fires, we have way too many of them already.

I finished the new Harry Potter book, now Sarah and I can talk about it which is great since there is so much to talk about. Like what we thought about certain scenes and what we thought would happen and whether we like the ending or not, what we'd have liked to see and didn't. She read the book in 8 hours. I did it in 3 days, 759 pages or so. I was really impresses with JK Rowling this time. How she kept everything straight and managed all those characters is amazing to me. I guess after doing Nanowrimo and trying to write a novel I really appreciate a master so much more. I can't imagine the number of diagrams she had to have made up to keep things straight and checking for plot holes and more. Such amazing books that she wrote.

I really want to read all the books over again. We have the British editions for books 1-5 in paperback so I think I will read those first. I think I will have to see if one of my British friends can get Sarah the 5th book or go on Amazon UK to get it. I know they will be a little different from the US versions so they will be interesting to read.

I have been trying to clean up the chaos of my house. I have to use my little grab-it tool to pick things up and slowly but surely things are getting better. Then it will be on to the Art room. I need to start working on the Heart book so I need a little organization first. I can't do too much but I can do a little each day which helps.

I love books

A package arrived from Amazon yesterday. I ordered these two books. Foolsgold by Susan Woodridge. She wrote Poem Crazy and this book has been highly recommended by several people.
















The second book Faeries of Dreamdark by Laini Taylor. I bought this book because I read Laini's blog and really like her and I like fantasy and its great to support new writers.

When I opened the package I thought oh I love new books. I like the paper and the colors chosen for cover or I like the feel of the raised letters. Its sort of a tactile feeling. Then the feel of the paper and the magic of the words that the writer has given to the world, what a combination of magical things this is. Now my readers you will either understand this or think I am off my rocker. I do hope there is something in your lives that gives you the same feeling and pleasure.

I started reading Foolsgold and it is very good, full of quotes that inspire, another thing that I really like. I have peaked into Faeries of Dreamdark too and it looks like a great escape that will be so much fun to read.

I finally had to make the decision not to go to the Spinning Retreat in Utah. I just could not take the long car ride to get there. I gave my space to my friend Amy, she will have a really good time, but I am still sad about not being able to go.

We have been talking about getting a new printer/copier and now that I am not going to retreat we will be able to get it earlier than planned. I really need a new machine to get back to scanning by grandparents letters. All the money I am saving on gas will go into the machine. So that is one plus from all of this. So I guess looking on the bright side makes it all easier.

A gift from Violette

I got this lovely card and magnet from Violette. The magnet is for the GPS (Glitter Power Sisters) and says GPS ROCK I also have a button with a mirror on the back. Sorry the picture is so dark. If it hadn't taken blogger forever to load I would go fix it.

I just heard that my friend Claire who had a stroke awhile back is now home from the hospital. What good news, she still has some recovery to go through that will take time but being home finally is fantastic. Welcome home Claire.

Progress is normal

I had my appointment with my surgeon and all is progressing well. I see him again in 6 weeks. Until then I can't bend, twist and all that jazz. Retreat is next week and pretty soon I will need to make the decision if I think I can go or not. I feel a little better every day so I hope I will feel good enough to go.

Just heard that my friends Deb and Mary ellen lost their Dad and husband to Lung Cancer. Light a Candle and keep them in your heart.

Thats it for now.....

Still down for the count.

I have tried blogging a couple times but my heart just was not in it. It just became a litany of medical stuff. I am recovering from surgery just fine. Its just a slow process and I tend to get frustrated. I meet with my Surgeon tomorrow, and the bandage will come off then. I am sitting a little more but not for a long period at all. Each day is a little bit better. I took a trip to town yesterday and I managed it. Dave bought me a new computer so now I am working on getting that all set up. This was not a total surprise as we have been talking about it for same time. My new machine is a HP laptop and it weighs nearly half of what my old Dell did. I like it a lot.

I'll be back to blogging regularly as soon as I feel up to it. Thanks for all the comments and emails they really do help the healing process.

Monday

Its a bright Monday Morning and yes its still hot. I know some of you have been experiencing this awful heat wave, those of you who aren't please enjoy the cool while you have it.

Slowly but surely I am healing. I still have a lot of pain so I am on constant pain meds so that keeps me truly in a fog. I can walk fairly well and can get in and out of bed by myself but no bending, twisting or lifting. As for sitting, I can only do it for short periods of time. It looks like the computer may be fixed but who knows.I will try and keep in touch.

I have been knitting and reading and doing a lot of sleeping. I long to be in the studio doing something creative. Its downstairs so my goal this week will be to get down there and at least make a little art.

An update

Well, this is Sarah again, but before anyone frets, my mom is perfectly fine. Well . . . she's in pain and not doing much, but nothing is out of the normal. So yes, everything is good. I'm just here to say that our internet got shut off because apparently one of our computers had a virus (my mother's actually) and instead of informing us, the internet provider just shut the service off. So yeah, it's been off for the last day or so, and will either be up by tomorrow or Monday. So yeah, everything is fine and you guys haven't heard from my mother because of said internet issues. Umm, yes, that's all.

Back to the Original Program

I'm back at least for a little while. Thanks to Sarah for reporting in and doing a great post as guest blogger.

I am feeling a little better, just dealing the pain for the back surgery and I have good meds for that. I can walk pretty good with a cane but need assistance getting in and out of bed. I can't bend over or twist or lift anything over 10 lbs for 6 weeks but I think in about 2 weeks I'll be doing great.

I want to thank all of you who sent well wishes and prayers. Dave says he can't believe the progress I have made. I keep telling him I had all this outside help aka all of you. I was worried how I'd handle the anesthesia but that went well. It took me awhile to wake up but I am doing fine, no nausea just some a little dizzy from the pain pills.

I have quite a pile things in bed with me to entertain, SARK's Succulent wild woman (you can't feel bad reading SARK), a novel by Anita Diamont, a new poetry book, a MP3 player to play soothing music, my sketchbook and pens and markers, a couple art books, a book on hand spinning, a knitting project, some magazines. If I didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom I'd be set for days.

Once again thank you all for your support, it really has made a tremendous impact on my recovery.

An interlude from the norm

Hello everyone. I don't know you, but I'm sure that you've all heard about me at some point. I'm Kate's daughter, Sarah, and today I am guest blogging while she chills out in her bedroom.

Ahem, yes. First of all, I'm sure that you're all wondering about how the surgery went. To answer that question as simply as possible: it went extraordinarily good. We left for the hospital around 4:30 in the morning, got a great parking space since there wasn't a soul around, and checked in. Following the prep, the surgery started at 8:00 and ended somewhere around 8:40-8:50. Apparently it went very well - there were no major issues and everything went quick and clean. After another four and a half hours we headed home and that's where we are right now. My mom is tired, dizzy, and in some pain, but her bleeding in minimal and according to the nurses, she's handling everything very well . . . and her leg doesn't hurt anymore. She'll be slow moving for the next two weeks, but all should be good. So yay for that. :)

Also . . . since I'm a guest blogger, I was asked to guest blog about something not so . . . medical. In fact, I think my mother wanted me to talk about Copic Markers for a little bit (she kept hinting that I could talk of it on this glorious guest blogging day), since I have some experience using them and you're all art people.

So yeah. If you didn't know already, Copic Markers are a well-known brand of markers that are made in Japan. I don't know their origin, but many of the comic book artists in Japan use them with such skill that one might think they are using watercolors instead of markers. There are hundreds of different colors that are shockingly vivid and each pen has two nibs. But a cool thing? Even though they're quite expensive (generally $5-$6 a marker) you can buy replacement nibs and ink. So in the end, you save money and it's kind of awesome. :D I have 30+ of the markers, most of them being the "Sketch" type. There are multiple types of Copic markers, Sketch being one that has a fine tip and a brush tip nib, while the traditional Copics have a fine tip and a broad tip nib. Either way, if you're interested, take a look around copicmarker.com, or take a look at this picture I colored using them. The scan isn't that fabulous - it put these strange light/dark bars in the colors - but it kind of shows what Copics can do, despite my limited mark coloring skills.

Umm, yes . . . I'm going to stop babbling now, but have a nice rest of the day ladies (and gentlemen?).

Quote of the Day: "If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it." -Anais Nin

Yes . . . I know it has nothing to do with anything that I've said previously . . . but despite its harshness, it's one of my favorite quotes on writing. We should all try to put as much as we can of ourselves into our projects, be they writing or not. The more you invest yourself into something, the deeper it becomes, and the more valuable it will be to yourself and everyone around you.