Seeing something new

We are headed back to Yellowstone for what is left of our vacation time. Dave is doing better and did just fine on the stress test so we are headed back up to the park till Monday. Have a great rest of the week.












I will leave you with a spectacular site, these Big Horned Sheep were on a hillside posing for pictures. There were 11 of them in all. We have never seen a group together like this before, usually just 2-4 rams together on a hillside. This was quite a treat to see. I had to climb this muddy hill to get this shot but it was worth it. What spectacular things there are in the world for us to see. I have been to Yellowstone at least twenty times and this trip I saw things I never saw before. I think that is quite magical and I think we can have the same experience in our own backyards. Take a look around you and perhaps you will see something new and magical today.

Vacation- not as planned

It has not turned out to be the trip I expected. We planned 10 days and we have already been back home twice. This included a 60 mile drive to a clinic, a late night run home and a trip to the emergency room, then back up to the park and the next day to have one of my crowns come out. I was beginning to wonder if we should be in Yellowstone or not.















My raven buddy.

To make a long story short Dave wasn't feeling good and he passed out in the trailer while I was out walking the dog. After several calls to friends I got a hold of Debbie who is a nurse. She thought it was his blood pressure. The clinic in Mammoth was closed so we had to drive 60 miles to Old Faithful. After getting looked at there Dave had his BP taken lying down sitting up and standing. The last reading was 70/50 which is not good. They wanted to put fluids in him, a 3 hour procedure and take him to the hospital by ambulance or we could just drive back home and go to the emergency room here. We went for the latter. We didn't get to the hospital till 1:30 am as we had to drive back to the trailer and get the dog and then drive another 5 hours out of the park and back home.

They did a zillion tests and gave him an IV and he was doing much better and seems ok now. The wanted to do a stress test but we had to wait till Tuesday to make an appointment, due to the holiday so we went back up to the park for a couple days. We cam home Monday night hoping we could get his appointment today and then be able to go back but we have to wait until Thursday. The Dr. thinks it was a combination of just having been on steroids for his back and the prostrate meds that cause dizziness and his blood pressure meds. He has gone off the BP meds and the prostrate medicine so we'll see how it goes. Now if that wasn't enough one of my crowns came loose. Then the battery of the trailer wouldn't hold a charge so we had to recharge it every night. I began to think what is going to happen next.If all goes well we'll head back up to the park Thursday afternoon and perhaps have a little bit left of our vacation.

I did manage to see some wildlife and will have pictures of wolves, bighorn sheep, black bears, and ravens to share later.

Yellowstone bound

I am headed back to Yellowstone for a vacation. We are taking our travel trailer this time. We have a new camera to attach to our scope so hopefully we'll get some great pictures. We've heard that there is a Grizzly hanging around near the Slough Creek Wolf den so we should be able to see some activity there. I'll be back in ten days. See you then.

Gifts from Gemma

The lovely Gemma sent me some fun things as a birthday gift. First is a Red Rock painting. Its is really gorgeous. I've done some of these myself but never knew how to incorporate the trees. Now that I have seen a master at it I will know how to at least try it. I think I will pop this beauty in a frame soon.


















A copy of Artella 10 and a CD just full of goodies.

















Samples of self portrait ATC's. There were several of these sheets. This is such a great idea I think I will put it on my list of things to do.















I also received this book on Dance, it is just full of wonderful dance quotes. It will always remind me of dancing under the full moon in Sedona. Thank you Gemma for all these wonderful things.

Sad Event

I just got on the computer this evening only to hear some terrible news. My dear friend and Glitter Sister, Judie lost her adult daughter in a freak accident. She writes in her blog a wonderful tribute about her daughter. Please keep her in your heart right now. Such sadness is hard to bear.

Silk Painting

Here is a little mermaid that I drew yesterday and painted with twinkling H2o' she was lots of fun to do.














I got this baby at the fiber fair, its like a Mary Poppins bag. She is made of woven fabric and has feet too, I love it.
















I took a class on silk painting and really loved it. I tried photographing the scarf I made but it never looked good so here at least is a picture of the butterfly that was in the center. I had dragonfly's at either end and the butterfly in the middle with swirls of purple color between them.

















Then I tried this drawing of faces and I made a lot of mistakes so some of them look a lot like aliens but it still was a lot of fun. The color is more intense than it looks here. I really want to do more of these.

Last minute preparations

I've been busy getting ready for the Fiber Fair. Set up is in 2 hours and I still don't have the shawl finished. I am putting on the fringe right now. That is 310 pieces of fringe so it takes a long time. I figure to work on it tonight when I get back and hopefully have time to wash and dry it by tomorrow. If not then I will at least have it for Sunday. I am just so tired from working on it that I dont want to work on it.

News to report; Sarah got a job today, Yippee even though Linens N Things is under new management they did hire her back. Dave has a bulging disc which they are treating with steroids and he is feeling much better. We are supposed to go back to Yellowstone next week and I was wondering if we were going to have to cancel the trip. He still wants to go so I guess we will.

I found out about another show I could do in Montana in June but at this late date there might not be any room left. I am waiting to hear back about it.
I had better get back to my fringe. Have a great weekend.

Rainy Day

Its one of those overcast rainy days that make you want to crawl back in bed. I plan to go to knitting and run some errands. Dave is getting an MRI today. He has some mysterious leg pain and lower back pain. It sure sounds like a disc problem to me, probably a protuding one to give that much pain. I hope that the MRI will tell us something.

Missoula was fun but tiring with all the driving I had to do. I had some snow on Loss Trail Pass in Montana but other than that things went smoothly. I had a wonderful walk at the Labyrinth but Patty was not home so we did not get to visit. When we went to the University Book store's Art Depot where Sarah got me this for mothers day.

















Its a small Japanese accordion moleskine, it opens up to one continuous long page. I have been fascinated by these and think it would be great to do a project in one. I have no clue what I want to do yet. Perhaps a theme contest, any ideas out there?

I keep drawing ladies like these and they have no real purpose other than trying out different materials and hope that I will get better at them. I have tha biggest problem with hair and thats why those dreadlock girls are so much fun. Maybe I should put a headdress on them and then hair will not be an issue. Or a series of bald ones.



















This one I used pastels on and I like the way she looks.

















I used pastel pencils on this one too, but when I sprayed a fixative on it the color from her hair ended up on her cheeks. Maybe its right she should be blushing in purple.

















I did this one using twinkling H2O's I am really enjoying painting with those. I need some more colors now. I wish I could buy them locally. For some reason these were both done on a diagonal, not sure why.

The only other shopping I did was at the Import store for 2 pieces of Fiestaware. The rest of the time I just relaxed. I have been having lots of insomnia and I had the best nights sleep there. We got Sarah all packed up and headed back home, we stopped in Butte for lunch.. It is so weird parking on the streets there. Its an old mining town and the streets are really steep.

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all the wonderful Mothers out there whether you have 2 or four footed children its still a day to celebrate.

I was treated to breakfast in bed, eggs, sausage, English muffin and juice, and sliced strawberries nestled in a spinach leaf. It was so pretty I wanted to take a picture but my camera was far away and I ate it all instead. Then when I got up I had these roses too. What a great day so far. I don't get Sarah's gift or anything until tomorrow when I go pick her up.

Yesterday I had another round of dyeing and I am delighted to say that it is all done. Once again I dyed 2 favorite colors Violette's Dream and Oceandreamer. Yes I named colors after Violette, lots of purples and Lisa, some Ocean looking colors. I can't seem to get a good photograph Oceandreamer but here is Violette's dream.

















There is an Egyptian exhibit at our local museum and I came away with this Papyrus kit. You get one stamped page to paint, one blank page and pieces of papyrus to make your own paper. I know it is marketed for kids but it was perfect for me.

















The printed sheet, I have painted a little but of it since I took this picture. It takes Twinkling H2O's very easily.

















This shows the pieces of papyrus, they are very spongy feeling to the touch.

I am headed off to Missoula for a trip to pick Sarah up for the summer, I plan a stop off at the Redsun Labyrinth on the way. It should be a nice trip. See you when I get back.

Black and White

My first pet was a cat name Snooker and she looked like this.
















Then I have always liked these guys.


















These two are favorites too!















These are favorites also, I love looking at all the different stripes. Now is it white on black or black on white

















Then here is my dog Flynn, can you see a pattern here.
















At the Glitter Gathering Lisa Oceandreamer made these little totes for everyone. The pockets are for all of us to decorate in our own way. Its a nice little size and holds a journal and a slew of art supplies easily.













Then I found this yesterday at Target, it reminded me so much of the bag I thought I need this little guy. I got such strange pleasure out of looking at this little bag, not sure why. I usually admire all the bags other people have but never buy them for myself. Usually I am all about color but there is something in the simplicity of black and white that draws me to it.

Some visuals

I have been posting so much with no visuals ready so I am thought I need to fix that.














I attended our church fund raising auction last Friday and came home with this watercolor painting done by my minister. She said it was painted from a scene from Pike's Peak Market in Seattle. I only paid 20.00 so it was quite a deal.














Here is the shawl I started this week. Its is not a very good picture.














So here are the yarns that I am using












These are 2 pages I did of mementos from Phoenix and Sedona. That purple blob is the wrapper from some fantastic chocolate that Nicci brought. I never knew that wine and dark chocolate were such a good combination.


















After watching Lisa O drawing in Sedona I thought I would try my hand at a dread lock girl. She was fun and I kept wanting to draw them even more. I hope she doesn't mind. I will probably add some writing or something else to this page not sure yet what. I used those tapes I got previously and miscellaneous paper layered over soft pastels. I love how when you blend them you get all sorts of different colors.

One thing that happened in Sedona is I got to watch some of my favorite people create art and in the process learned a lot about the supplies I already own. I never really used my Twinkling H2O's much but now I do after watching Nicci, Violette and Lisa using them. I also never thought to take a paint brush to oil pastels or watercolor crayons. I used them all mainly as backgrounds using them as is. Now that I can use a small paintbrush with them they are so much more usable for all sorts of things. I also just realized that set of markers I got awhile ago are water soluble, hmmm another way to use them. Its like getting a whole new set of tools. Thanks girls

Clarifications

Since a couple people have asked in the comments I guess its time to clarify. The 14 lbs of wool I dyed are to sell at the Fiber Fair on the 16th of May. Its one of the ways I am manifesting money for the trip to TAOS. I think the most I have done in a day before was 9. This is doing it in one pound lots, so that is 14 different ones. Perhaps I shall take pictures of the dye studio to share or make a little movie. I have 7 more pounds of fiber to do so maybe I will do it then.

I worked on my portrait a little more and right now I am trying to decide if I should just gesso over the whole thing and start over again. I needed to fix the nose and when I made a new skin tone bland the color was not right. So I thought I will move on and fix it later. So I did the eyes and lips, and then hair and I guess it hasn't gotten any better. Then there is the thing its like the portrait is a person now, do I dare just wipe her out. I know its silly, but I think I will give her another try before I literally wipe her out. One of the techniques used it to use water soluble crayons as a next step and I may be able to fix her with that technique, we will see.

Tuesday

It late and I started this post this morning so I had better get back to it.

I dyed 14 lbs of wool yesterday, now that is a record for me. Its all dried and separated but I need to print labels for it and weigh it. I have some silk coming in a couple days and then I will spend another day dyeing and then I will be ready.

Today I am at the Villa downloading the last video in Paulette Insall's face painting class. I have not managed to work on my portrait for weeks but hopefully soon. Then I will head to the dentist for prep work to be done on 2 crowns. I imagine that will kill the rest of the day for me.

Well it turned out the dentist trip was not as bad as I thought. Sure my mouth is still sore but I did not spend the day in bed or anything like that. After much trial and many mistakes I printed out my labels, wrapped all the fibers, weighed and priced them and they are all neatly put away until they are needed. That feels good to be done with that. Maybe now I should clean my house, its always a disaster after one of these marathon sessions. I promise some Art soon, I am working on a journal page that should be ready soon.

Check out this movie Its a great visual of our planet.

Dye Day

It is just gorgeous out. Finally spring has arrived, its actually been here for 3 days in a row, what a record.

I am spending the day in the garage dyeing fibers. I was not going to have a booth at the Fiber Fair which is May 16-18 but you know how it goes. It a way to make money for my trip so I need to take advantage of all opportunities. I am taking a class on silk painting on Saturday but that still leaves Friday and Sunday so I called my friend Madelaine and she was willing to share her booth space. So now I need to dye the 15 lb of wool I have on hand. I can't have a booth without silk so I put in a quick order for a few pounds, it should arrive in a couple of days so I'll be able to dye it in plenty of time. Right now my closeline has rovings dyed in yellow, purple, blues and greens.

Yesterday we preformed the Thread Project play down at the Unitarian Church in Pocatello and it went really well. In fact they paid us which was a totally surprise. So now I have some more money to throw into the Taos fund. Yes! I love how this is working out.

A day out

I was feeling in a funk this morning so I felt I had to turn it around. Thoughts become things so I decided to change them and make my day a fantastic one. I started by doing these pages in my little journal.


















In this one I use pieces of a paper bag that my Japanese daughter sent a present in. The Japanese package everything so fun that when Sarah gets packages I save all of it to use again. It was the polka dot paper and the little sticker of a purse.


















I just made a background with layers of stamps, this was fun.



















Then I went to town and found this tissue paper at big lots, it looks green but its black and at .80 it was a deal. Then I headed to Roberts our local craft store and got a new micron pen and an angle brush since I forgot to clean my old one and the acrylic paint would not come off of it.















I found these tapes at Michaels.



















Next I found this book and an atlas at a thrift store. The book is about a new york couple who leave the rat race for a garden in the south of France. Some escapist reading is always good.

















These note cards I got at the Dollar Tree. It turned out to be a fun day. I did some art and I found some goodies at great prices, what fun that was.

Domestic Photo study

I am following the lead of Gillian from Indigo Blue who showed these domestic scene pictures, and then Lisa and Gemma followed suit I just had to play along.



















A view of a crewel piece my mother did for me back when I was twenty something.















A bit of a heart box.















A view of my spinning wheel















Part of one of my turtles.














A look through the triangular loom















Another view of the crewel piece, I couldn't decide which one I liked so you get both.














My message board with a cross-stitched cat.


















A lone peacock feather.

Now some views from my weaving studio, this is getting addictive.












My critters all crowded together.











Some beautiful shades of chenille yarn. I should really weave a scarf with this.


















Some beautiful silks in blues and greens, they are all handspun yarns.











Dyed cotton ready to be spun into yarn.


















Cones of weaving yarns. Now I think you have enough visuals for the day.