AEDM~ Day 5

Well, today was a day where I didn't do too much as far as creativity goes.  My poor hubby was sick with the crud that is going around the college campus.  You know how guys are when they are sick... the whole world comes to an end.  I know, I know, when we are sick... we are expected to suck it up and keep carrying on... but when THEY are sick the whole world goes on hold.  As far as my hubby goes... he hardly EVER get sick, so when he does...he a big baby and I do baby him.  He, on the other hand, does take good care of me when I'm under the weather, so I owe him.  I didn't get a lot done today.  I DID take our 4 legged daughter out for a few walks today and got some wonderful camera shots... so they are my art for day 5.

We had an eagle on the top of one of our trees and even though I don't have a decent camera to get a great picture, this one was pretty good.  My little point and shoot did an okay job at so far away.

This is today and

THIS was 3 weeks ago!  I can't believe the difference is 3 short weeks.  Today there was sunlight and COLD but it was a great day to take a long walk.  Here are a few more shots of November Autumn beauty~

and one last one

 So this is God's Art for today and I'm so happy I caught it on camera.  Isn't it just grand???

Thank you to everyone who is encouraging me on my way.  Tomorrow you'll see some of my art, but for today... I had to capture the art of nature!

HuGGs!

Debi

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I'm hoping you all enjoy greeting the happy little "Trick or Treat" little ones at the door tonight.  That was always my favorite part of Halloween!  Here are a few photos of my granddaughter Lexie with her wonderful boyfriend Justin getting ready for the fun day.  They are so sweet together!!

See you tomorrow with my first creative post of November.  I'm going to be participating in Art Every Day Month, which is held the month of November over at Creative Every Day.  I'll be posting whatever little 'ol creative thing I might be doing each day of November.  You may be surprised at some of the things I'll be posting.  See you next month!!!

HuGGs!

I'm BACK!!!!!

So, this is my little neglected corner of the world.  It's really sad, because I think of coming here every day... it's just that my day gets away from me and then it's time for bed!  I've been recuperating from several spinal treatments for the past 6 weeks.  I have the last one on Monday, February 26, and then it's just 3-4 more weeks of recovery, and hopefully, I will have pain management that will last longer than a few weeks.  They say 6 months to 2 years.  I'd be happy with 6 months of pain management at a time, but I'm hoping for better than that.  And, no, I'm not sitting around (or laying around) doing nothing during this recuperation time... but I can hit the wall fairly easily, and I've learned not to push another fraction of an inch.  That way the next day I still feel up to doing something!

The weather has been gorgeous this September!  I couldn't wish for better weather to recuperate in!  Bill and I were down on the docks the other evening.  I was walking short distances and then resting on a bench while he and Sydney walked further and came back to get me to walk a little further.  I had my camera with me (I've been carrying it everywhere with me lately) and her are a couple of pictures I snapped!

I've been working on a large (24X36) painting for the last 7 weeks that has MANY layers of glazes on it.  It also started with MANY layers of texture before the paint was added!  I'm to the point of finishing touches which is slow going... but that's okay.  Hopefully when it's finished I'll have a bright enough day to photograph it.  Just need a little more time of sunshine please...

I'm also taking a sketching class online (which includes faces).  I've always wanted to learn to do faces.  This is my very first attempt at a graphite sketch of a stylized face.

It's a very meditative activity which I'm really loving.  I wonder if I can translate it to fabric????

I hope all of you, my friends, are having a wonderful beginning to Fall like we are here!  Blessing to ALL of you.

HuGGs!

Plans for July

It's hard to believe that June flew by so fast!  I spent a few weeks in Wyoming with my daughter and my granddaughters.  The time went by too fast and the only thing that makes it bearable is that THEY are coming HERE in August!

When I first got to Wyoming little Olivia was still a little thing.  So tiny, she felt like a wee doll in my hands.

Now I'm back home, unpacked and ready to see what's in store next.  I'm going to be taking a long-term class lead by Jude Hill over at Spirit Cloth.  It'll run until the end of this year and I'm looking forward to learning more about myself through the medium of making a "Big Cloth".  I was really heartened to hear that this didn't necessarily mean Large in size, but more "complex" with deep meaning.  Also, creating in a slow and meaningful manner.  Every time I take a class from Jude, I come away with a little more knowledge of myself and a deeper appreciation for the blessings in my life.  And that is a very GOOD thing to do.  The class starts on the 5th, and I hope to be sharing my summer with you as I grow into my creative skin.  In parting, I want to share one more photo.  Speaking of blessings, here are a couple of pictures of Tammi, Olivia and I at the airport.  I was breathing deep and trying to soak up some of that wonderful baby goodness to take home with me.  It has to tide me over until August when I get to see my girls again!

Tammi and Olivia

Olivia and I saying good-bye for now.

Have a great 4th of July weekend everyone!!  See you next week!

SHE'S HERE!!!!

I'm so excited, I hope I can sleep tonight!  So, Olivia was on the move today and she arrived safe and sound right after lunch this afternoon.  I'm not exactly sure of the precise moment, but she greeted the world between 12:30 and 1:00 today!  I can't wait to snuggle that sweet baby close.  Finals are over on June 6th and I'll be holding her on June 7th!  Here she is at 3 minutes old!

Isn't she lovely??  And so is my beautiful daughter Tammi!

So, last night I was talking with my daughter while she was resting with little Olivia and she put the phone down by Olivia.  She was making the most delightful little coos and the tone of her voice was going up and down, almost like she was talking.  It was amazing.  Tammi said she's been vocalizing almost since she was born.

It's Been Awhile... I know

So what are you going to DO with me?  This past quarter at school was hard.  Every class I took was essential to my certificate.  I worked my little backside off, and it was good.  I got an A in all three of my classes, and what's more, I ended up with a 97.62 accumulative for the quarter.  I have to take Medical Terminology next quarter and, unfortunately, that should put me in my place.  Lot's of memorization.

But, I'm enjoying my week off between quarters.  Actually, I had most of last week off also because I finished my final tests by Tuesday.  So what have I been up to during this time to relax?  I started a heart cloth in January for Valentine's day, but there wasn't a lot of time to pick up needle and thread.  I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the progress so far.

This is what it looked like as I had it pinned and was basting the first layers.

This is what it looked like early on Sunday, the first day of Spring.  I did continue to work on it off and on all day Sunday and Yesterday and it looks very different now.  I'll have to take a moment to post an update tomorrow.

I also took a couple of pictures on Sunday, the first day of Spring.  Just a little something to remind me that Spring weather is truly right around the corner.  Of course, about 3 hours after I took those photos the clouds rolled in and by evening it was raining (again) and it rained all day yesterday also!  But, on the first day of Spring, for at least a little while, it was beautiful.  Here's a whisper of Spring for you!

New growth!  It will bloom again!  We lost so many plants and bushes with our extremely cold winter, but this one will make it!

An early blooming azalea!  It looks so pretty.  There are many more that aren't quite this far along.  This one spends some time in the sun (when it shines that is!) so it blossomed a bit earlier than the rest.

And this nest wasn't there before.  We have seen some birds and the other day I saw my first Swallow.  So it won't be long!  I love to watch the tiny Swallows dip and sway in the breeze in the evening.  We've also begun to be serenaded by the frogs this past week or so.  It's still pretty quiet out there, but before long we'll have a symphony of voices so loud you won't be able to hear anything else in the evening!

Bye for now~ More later....

It's Almost New Year's Eve

Today was a WONDERFUL day.  Our granddaughter Lexie came and spent some time with us today before she went back to her dad's and off to the airport to go home.  She was only here for a week and everyone was hogging the time with her.  So, we waited until the last day to see her.  She's even more beautiful than ever.  I took a picture of her and she wanted to put make-up on so I could take another one of her looking "nice". I told her she was beautiful and didn't need make-up to make her more beautiful!  I still can't believe she's 17 years old.  Time FLIES by so FAST!   Don't you agree???

So after she left our little tree came down, but she made me promise to take a picture before I dismantled it.  It's not much, but it was cheer-y!  Our apartment is so small we couldn't have anything too big!

The rest of the day was anti-climatic.  I'm so wishing I could hide myself away in her suitcases so I could travel with her and see my daughter.  I want to rub that sweet tummy that has my sweet little Olivia in it! On Monday Tammi felt her kick for the first time and has been feeling her everyday since.  I can't wait to meet this sweet little girl!  I'm looking at clothes, toys, books....  dreaming!

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's eve.  I plan on a post on New Year's day so come on back for that!!  I have some special things I'm going to be doing this next year and I'll tell you all about it.  I start back to school on Monday.  I'm looking forward to it!!  I'm taking all my classes online Spring quarter though, so I can travel to Wyoming to see my granddaughter born and spend time getting to know her.  I figure as long as I have my computer with me I can do my work!  If the crying gets too bad I may have to spend the night at my girlfriends house in order to get a good nights sleep, but then I'll be right back in the fray!

Late this afternoon I took a couple of photo's of the snow on the mountains.  The light wasn't the best but I couldn't resist!  The sun was setting and there were the most wonderful cotton candy clouds BELOW the mountain-tops!  It looked so cool.  These pictures aren't the best, but you get the idea!  Bye for now!!!!

View From My NEW Balcony

So, I decided you would like to see the view from our balcony on a nice spring day.  This is the first sunny day in a while... it's been a little of this and a little of that for a while now (usually all on the same day).  But the clear sunny sky gave way to a nice view so I snapped a couple of pictures for you!

Isn't that nice???!!!

More this weekend!

BiG HuGGs!

Debi

Long Overdue Pictures

I promised some pictures of our new (to us) place that we just moved into to. There are a few rooms that are still in process so those pictures will be uploaded soon. We'll start with the outside first.



This picture is of our front porch. This is Bill's favorite place to sit in the evening while he smokes his cigar. The sun's in the back, so it's nice to sit out here when it's not too hot. Across the street are some delightful neighbors, Wendy, John, and Ian. Sometimes Wendy will bring Ian over to see us and we have a really nice time chatting.




This is a shot up the street from each direction on our corner, so you can get an idea of the neighborhood.





This is the front of the house from across the street. Not too bad for a very old house that's had a bit of a face-lift.







Here are some shots of the backyard and the dog-run that Bill built for Sydney and Max to be contained in when we need to get something done. We live on a VERY busy road and I was so afraid one of them would get hit by a car or truck driving by. Since we're renting, Bill didn't want to attach the fence to the house or garage, and he wanted to be able to de-construct it to move it to wherever we go next, so he built it on raised concrete blocks and reinforced it with braces. It's incredibly sturdy and it looks nice too!! The white house in the background is where our neighbor Tim lives. He's a great guy and Bill really enjoys visiting with him. He frequently brings dog bones over for Sydney and Max. He's determined to make friends with Sydney. It takes her awhile to warm up to people as she's very suspicious and protective. Max is your friend the minute he sees you, but she will take her time warming up to people. Tim really likes her as is determined to make friends!






Here are some shots of the living-room/dining-room to show you that, indeed, our furniture DOES fit in this tiny area. I'm still working on wall-art, and my next big project is some quilted window shades. There are some of those temporary paper blinds up right now and they work for privacy. But, they don't block the heat and they won't block the cold. Everyone keeps telling me winter is right around the corner! What the heck? Summer just started several weeks ago! But, I'll take their advice and get working on this stuff while it's still summer so we'll be ready!

I guess that's all for now. But stay tuned for more pictures as this home becomes more of our home!

The Blizzard is Over

So, the wind has calmed down. And we are now ready to dig ourselves out of the house.

There are different stories all over Gillette, WY, but for us we have three 7-8 ft drifts to dig away from the house. The one in front isn't as high as Bill and Mark spent most of the day yesterday trying to get the snow away from the front of the house and the driveway. The one on the side of the house is a hill that tops the 6 ft fence. That has to be moved so we don't lose the fence. The one is back is well over 8 ft tall. Our poor dogs didn't know WHAT to do when we let them out this morning and they saw that wall of snow. They just whined and dove into the snow to try and plow their way over the drift.

Bill spent all morning trying to shovel the snow away from the house so there was a 2.5 ft area we could walk out and the dogs could get out. But that mountain of snow isn't going anywhere fast, that's for sure.

I told Bill if he had faith the size of a mustard seed he could tell that mountain of snow to move and it would throw itself into the sea. He just looked at me, you know the look, with sweat dripping off his nose. I don't think he was amused.

So, starting tomorrow, we'll have more art on here. But I just had to share the excitement we've had the last day in a half!!!!!!

One last post today

So, it's 9:30 pm and I'm off to bed. I took this picture at about 5:00pm right before dinner. The guys had just finished snow-blowing the front drive and out to the street. This is a picture from our door in the basement apartment. It's still snowing and blowing. We'll see what it looks like in the morning. This is the worst Spring Blizzard in this area in over 15 years. Will it stop tomorrow?? They're calling for snow all week, but we're hoping it'll at least slow down. I hope you looked at all the posts and pictures for today. You may have to scroll down the page a bit to read it all.
Nighty-Nite!