Frame

I wanted to put pictures of the batiks here, but Blogspot is having problems right now. Yesterday too. I don't know when it will be fixed.

Well, the deadline for the fair is the 7th, if the entries are mailed in, the 8th if you can deliver them. It's about a 2 hour drive, freeway all the way.

I had the batik I wanted almost done Wednesday, all I had to do was iron the wax out on Thursday morning. I started at 6:30 am. There was a back up piece that was so close to done that I did one more wax and dye to it and ironed the wax out or it too. Turns out I like it better.

So after the barn,-- No Aaron, Joe was with me hoping his friend Aaron would be there but he wasn't-- We went up to Fremont to the framing gallery there. We looked and looked at frames and mats and couldn't find one that I was really happy with. Thanks to the 44oz Super Big Gulp from 7-11, Joe had to use the bathroom three times, but the bathroom at the gallery was funked out and we had to walk around the corner and down the street to Mission Coffee and use that one.

We finally found a frame that I liked. Cost? Over $500! Could have knocked me down. I said "I could never sell it for that." (That means "It's not worth that" in a way that was difficult to argue) So the frame store guy got really weird and started showing me all the "cheapest" stuff that was not suitable. Joseph asked why we were trying to get a "cheapo" one. That was exactly what I needed him to say. I replied to Joe that we weren't trying to go cheapo, but we needed to compromise and find middle ground. By telling Joe, I could also tell the frame store guy indirectly.
So we did. and we costed it out at just over $200. Better. SO I asked "How soon can you do it?" Well, the frame store guy was pissed at spending hours on a $200 sale and told me he was backlogged with work(which is why he wasn't working when we got there) and gave me a long lead time. Well, If I miss the deadline there is not point in doing it at all. So we left, everybody pleasantly pissed.

From there we went to Micheal's at McCarthy Ranch in Milpitas. Inexpensive custom framing with limited capabilities. If the computer program isn't set up to take that option, they cant do it. But.....they just has a sale last week and are backlogged and can't do it in time. So I figured we would go to Marshall's mega outlet dept store and buy a picture in a frame I liked. Dave could cut it to the right size, skip the mat. The framing lady at Michael's said, "You could do that here." So we did, and the frame I selected was on sale, so I got two, one for each piece. They are a little bit primitive, so mat-less suits them fine. Two frames, under $80.

And only 4 1/2 hours later. I told Joseph that it was a long day for him and he was very good and patient and I thought that merited 40 extra minutes of XBox time.
We stopped at Blockbuster to rent a game with the gift card he got for his birthday and he had just enough left on the card to join a new game club for a month. He can have an unlimited number of games for 30 days, just one at a time. He can trade the one he has for another one as many times as he wants.

He was happy, I was happy. When we got home, both Dave and Ferm were crashed On the couch. They looked happy too.

Doll For One

It's almost done, and early too. Launch is set for July 9 (I hope I remember it right) Wait 'til AuntyM sees what I did with her pattern!

Click on the logo to see all of AntyM's Primitive Folk Art patterns



Yesterday I had a migraine and spent the day in bed. I got new glasses for indoors and I think they gave me a headache that started in the back of my head. Joe and Dave were at the San jose Giants baseball game and my old indoor glasses were in the car they took to the game, so I had to wait until they came back. If I had known the headache would turn into a migraine, I would have taken the new glasses off and been blind for a while. I've had that prescription in my sunglasses for a year, so it's not that, it's the glasses. I'm really sensitive to having the pupil distance correct.

These swallow pictures are from the day before yesterday. I was sure the babies would have flown out by the time I got my camera, but they were still at home. You can easily see that all five eggs hatched and survived.








"Dad, Stacy's pushing me off the edge!"



"Well....Steffie won't poop over the side, and Steve stepped in it............ and then he touched me with his foot!"


"I did not!"

...............Mom!

"Mom, Steve's standing on my head!"

"Mom, Scott's poking me in the wing!"

"Mom, Sam's hogging all the food!"

WIP One For All Doll

The FOAF group is having a challenge. They are mostly doll makers, so it is a doll challenge.

The rules:
Everyone uses the same pattern (Pioneer Girl from AntyMs Garden store on eBay)
The torso and head must be made according to the pattern.
Target date is July 6th for listing the doll for sale on Ebay.

The front.












The back.

The dress.
Getting the dress on. Right here it looks like one of those hopsital gowns that opens in the back.

The bloomers go all the way to the top. I don't know why people always check to make sure dolls are wearing panties, but they do. Some are blatant about checking, some are secretive. Maybe we can get Geraldo to do a show on it.

Welcome Harley

Hamster aquisition is complete.

It only took two years of asking. But if your are 10 and you have been wanting something for two years, you must really want it.

So I said he could get a hamster when school was out this year.Before school was out, he was ready.

He'd been to the library and checked out books on hamsters, which he read.

He comparison shopped all the pet stores in Milpitas and two in Fremont for hamsters and supplies. He recieved some things for his birthday and purchased others.

He took good care of Liz the lizard, and bought her a new cage and water dish and a heated rock.

He helped with Paula and Chicka even though they have icky poop(A bird characteristic, they can't help their heritage,) so I said he could have a hamster on the last day of school, a Friday.

On Monday evening, he wanted to go early, since it WAS practically the last day. Nope. On Tuesday evening, he wanted to go early since it was practically the last day. Nope. On Wednesday evening, he wanted to go early since it was practically the last day. I said it was a possibility, but I couldn't promise anything because it depended how the morning went with Janow and batik.

On Thurday morning he was trying to get me to say that I had promised to go that day after school, but I said "Maybe. It's a possibility. I can't make a promise." Finally he asked
"Is that a confirmed 'maybe?"

So Thurdsay after school we went to the selected pet shop and he chose one. He was very quick, he knew as soon as he looked that he wanted this one.

This is Harley, he is a baby. He was very frightened to be in a big new cage all alone, so it was hard to let him alone to adjust. He's very active and a little squirrely, so it will take patience to tame him. But he IS cute!

Mindy Hewitt

Mindy makes primitive folk art Americana. This piece is clever. It's Uncle Sam, of course, but on his day off. He's dressed for the greatest American sport. You can see details and read about him by clicking below on where it says "Mindy's Art." He is for sale this week on eBay. He would be a great housewarming gift for the people you dump your kids off with for a week this summer!

This link:
Mindy's art
will take you to a list of everything Mindy has right now. As I write, Uncle Sam is the only piece, but, knowing Mindy, that won't last for long!

Running Out of Space!

Here are the baby sparrows, yesterday. They are running out of nest space.

Today, they were clinbing over each other and stretching their wings. Tomorrow, they may be gone.

The parents fly in and fly out very fast. I tried to get a picture of feeding, but it was impossible. If I had a fancy camera, I could do better, but then I'd have to give up a fancy something else I want more.

When the babies were smaller, the parents would give a little bit to this one, a little bit to that one. Now that they are bigger, one bite from the parents feeds one chick.

Mr. Oblivious. "Don't bother me, I'm eating."

I'm SO bored!

Yesterday was the last day of school. I picked Joe up at 12:30. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his whole long afternoon. He gave me an ultimatum, we do this, or we do this, or I have a meltdown. Well, neither one was a possibility, so I told him not to waste so much energy before the summer even got started. At 1:40, he said:

"I'm bored! I'm SO bored!"

This does not bode well.

I almost told him that the best way to make summer vacation seem longer was to sit and do nothing except think about how bored you are, but I decided not to risk it.

Forty-five and finally learning when to keep my mouth shut.


This picture is from June 11th.

Hard Eggs

You thought eggs were hard!

It gets even harder after they hatch! This is how they looked on Wednesday. These demanding beaks have the parents flying in and out delivering food as fast as they can.

There are three Kildeer just in back of the paddock, each defending it's nest of pebbles and eggs on the ground. I haven't seen the nests, but every time I look there is frantic cheeping and running around to divert my attention from the nest locations. This season is for birds what the Christmas season is for retail sales.

...and oh yeah.....

..........and on top of everything else, the deadline for entries to California State Fair was Friday but I couldn't access the website or reach anyone by phone or email. Finally got a call back and the deadline was extended to today due to website problems, which I somehow remembered in time to complete and mail in!

Weak from last week

Last week was the week nobody hopes for. Janow colicked Monday afternoon and after some Banamine muscle relaxer pain killer, it looked like he would be better. Not so. More phone calls to the vet, who finally came out at midnight and found a large impaction on its way to becoming a torsion. Torsion means surgery or death.

Lots of mineral oil and fluids, both into the stomach and IV, and getting a mothballed trailer out in the dark for safety inspection at first light. More painkiller for Janow and no sleep for me, and we were off on a two hour drive to the equine hospital.

When we got there, the impaction had improved, but he still needed treatment. I was upfront in saying that I would not have colic surgery. It's to hard on the horse for too long a recovery. It's something I decided years and years ago, but had never actually believed I would have to say for Janow. I said it for Frix and that was hard.

Janow pulled through without surgery. I drove back the next day to visit, and then again Thursday to pick him up and bring him home.

The Cub Scout two night camp out at Ed Levin began on Friday afternoon. Fortunately, Ed Levin Park is the one adjacent to the stable where we ride when we ride out. You have to actually drive through part of the park to get to the barn, so I was close enough to pop up the road to look after Janow. Dave and I took turns popping down the road to give Ferm Cat his pills and look after Mary Shelley, Chicka and Paula.

Saturday night we had s'mores and campfire skits. Joseph read a spooky story outloud to the whole pack and did a super job. He reads outloud better than most adults. I was really proud of him.

Sunday was the Bridging Ceremony and Den 3 stepped up from Webelos 1 to Webelos 2. Next Fall they will visit Boy Scout troops and pick the one they want to join. Then step up to Boy Scouts at the Blue and Gold Banquet.

After two nights in a tent, we came home to find that our huge Mimosa tree in the back yard had fallen and missed the house by a narrow margin. Dave worked on that for a while and then decided it wasn't an emergency so he came inside and fell asleep on the floor.

Today is the first day of the last week of school, and after drop off and checking on Janow, I have to drive to Walnut Creek, about an hour, for an MRI.

You should see the heap of laundry! Also the empty refridgerator and the cat hair dust balls, a pile of unread mail and newspapers.....but a healthy horse and a Webelos 2.....and half a bottle of Dalmane.

Clothes Horse

Here is a vest I made. It was for "Theme Week" in the group Horsin Around with Hoof Art. It was the first time I participated in one of their events. Probably the last. They prefer listing in a catagory that has low sales, and using a search term for the group that gets you all kinds of gag gifts, many crude, unless you limit your search to that catagory, which seems to have few serious buyers.
Needless to say, I had to list it again in a different catagory. Hardly anyone even looked at it.

It's a size Large, the exact measurements are in the listing and on my website.

It's unique One-Of-A-Kind, and sure to get a lot of compliments.


You can find it by clicking here.

And there is a link to it from my site

Just click on the sign.

It's on the New Things page.

Fitting In

          Sometimes the fit just isn't quite right, but I feel compelled to keep trying. That seems to apply to everyone, including cats.
          Mary Shelley has haunted the garage by day for a long time. She has had certain spots for hiding and sleeping. There has just been a major re-org in there, and her usual spots are gone or changed. She hasn't found new ones yet. She is out of sorts, but at least she hasn't bitten me about it.
          I have been out of sorts too. My web site is not doing well. Dave uses the computer to do actual work that has real income during most of the day, so my time is limited, as is my time to work uninterrupted. Nothing sells on eBay. The boutique at the quilt show was not successfull for me. I have looked into festivals, but the cost is so high that even if I had a good day, I would break even.
         I have to find a way to sell art where I am the one making the money. There are lots of ways to sell it where someone ese makes the money and I break even if luck is in the wind.
          The rain lasted longer this year, I have not started to batik, and with the garage re-org, I have to find the stuff first. I am way behind. The camp-outs and other activities are not helping, nor is the ability to work at home uninterrupted.
If I could just sell something, I could buy a laptop to load my software into and actually work, if I could work someplace else. Caffe Romeo closed and sold. It will re-open as The Litte Table some time in the future.
          My friend D is also out of sorts. I don't know how to help her. Maybe I feel that if I helped her, it would help me too.
          Yesterday, I put new link pictures on my site. I took out the buttons and put faces. Do you like it?

click here to go there

A little goes a long way.....

This swallow was sitting, but the camera scared her away. I think this is the female. I suppose I could look it up and find out.
Five eggs is a pretty good number. The nest is so close to the ceiling that I can't see in except to take a picture and look at it.

You can tell a lot about something from it's smell. Like if you can eat it.

D was at the indoor arena banding a horse for a show. She has braided for dressage, but this was different, for western pleasure competition. She had a mouth full of Braid Binders (that's what it says on the package). They are little rubber bands that come in different colors for different colored horses. I just needed to talk a bit after trying to ride Janow in the indoor arena.

He had so much energy that it was impossible. There were two beginners in the ring, so the outer edge by the fence was unavailable to use as a brake, and I couldn't ride him in a straight line because he would have just taken off, so I did lateral work and 10 and 8 meter circles and transitions. After a brief demo of how a dressage horse should NOT go, I decided to leave before I endangered the beginners. The beginners didn't seem to know enough of be afraid of us. I had gotten a round of applause from someone who hadn't had her first lesson yet and thought we were wonderful. That's OK, everybody starts there.

C was just finishing tacking up when I walked in after putting Janow away with his beet pulp and mucking out. I told D I had given up, Janow was just too pugnacious to ride. D was trying to talk, but had put too many Braid Binders in her mouth. It's the easiest place to put them because you don't have to reach or look for them when you have a teeny handful of hair attached to a figgity horse. C said "Be careful, don't swallow them! They're very.........non-nutritious? What's the word?"
"They're binding." I supplied. D tried to laugh around the rubber bands. C just gave me a blank look. So I just looked back. She finally figured it out. I don't know if she didn't laugh because she was embarrassed that she didn't get it right away, or embarrassed because it was SO OBVIOUS and she hadn't thought of it first. Or maybe she had but was too tactful to say it. I decided it didn't matter.
She rode up to me the next day and asked me "What was that word you used yesterday?"
All I could think of was 'binding' but she's a nurse and should be familiar with the term, so I just looked at her.
"You used it to describe your horse....pugnacious? Does that mean cheeky?"
I smiled and said it does. She smiled back.



One thing you learn with chickens as pets...a little regularity goes a long way. That's Chica Chicken in front, Paula Pullet in back. Sometimes they sit quietly for petting. Getting them both to do it at the same time is a little tricky. The amazing thing is that they like people.

The Sleepover

The 10th Birthday Party Sleepover was Friday night. It was pretty successfully. This is a Cub Scout Den that has been together for meetings and activities for years, so the group dynamics are pretty well established.

Seven boys came, but two could only stay for the evening, then go home. Memorial Day long weekend has family plans.

They played so hard. Everyone asked me what activities I was planning, but Joseph said they didn't get enough time to just play. At the Den Meetings, all the activities are planned and organized. So at the party, I just planned on letting them play. They had to be called to dinner many times, and came reluctantly. It was Round Table Pizza, which is generally a favorite.
A mom and a grandma stayed for dinner. Each guest was invited to bring a chaperone, in case parents wanted to become familiar with the house before leaving their child overnight, or in case they wanted to drop off a sibling and have a quiet evening alone.

When it started to get darkish, we went inside for cake and presents and goody bags. The presents included two Nerf shooters, and with the shooters Joe already has, there were enough shooters that everyone could have a shooter, so there was war. Yelling, screaming, running from room to room, and it went on and on and on. At 10:30 or so I got them to lay out the sleeping bags and I put in a Goosebumps DVD about a haunted house. I made popcorn. They were settling down. Then Dave put on a Halloween mask and shroud and wandered around the back yard in the dark. They saw him through the glass door and screamed like girls!
G kept saying "This is the best seep over ever!"

They tried to stay up as late as possible. Whenever someone fell asleep, they bugged him. Joe said B snored, so they shot him in the neck with Nerf bullets until he stopped, then he started right back up again. When G fell asleep, they took turns standing on him and doing the Macarena. He didn't wake up.

When I got up at 5:00, three boys were asleep sitting on the couch, never willing to fall asleep at all but unable to stay awake. We had pancakes and sausage with orange juice for breakfast. They were an interesting bunch to watch. R had speared a whole pancake on his fork and was eating it like a cave man. I said "R, would your mom let you eat like that?" (R and Joseph were in playgroup together when they were 2 yrs old, they know their moms know each other.) R said "Yes...........but she wouldn't like it." N would wipe his mouth all over the back of his hand, and then wipe his hand all over his clothes. I asked: "N, do you need a napkin?" "No." He did the wiping thing again and I said "N, you really should have a napkin." So he got one. He still wiped his mouth all over his hand but used the napkin to clean his hand.

B very methodically picked every stray crumb from his placemat and discreetly put it on the floor.
G cut his pancakes into teen tiny bits with his fork, then picked each on up with his fingers to eat it and wiped his fingers on his pants. He was sitting on the sofa later, picking his nose, and I said "G, do you need a Kleenex?"
"No." but he was looking at a booker in his fingers. So I asked "Are you sure you don't need a Kleenex?"
"I'm sure." I don't know if the booger eventually went on his pants or on my couch. I don't want to know.

It was sad when the first parent came at 10:00 for pick up.

Well, that's a deep subject.

Walking out the church doors today, Joseph announced: "Well, we got THAT out of the way!"

Horsin Around With Hoof Art Theme: Foals

Here is a vest I made for the Horsin Around With Hoof Art Theme. I haven't participated a lot in this group. I think they do a new theme every week! That's too much for me. But this one seemed like fun and I had an idea.


I made the vest and then added the collage. It's a size large. Machine washable.



The vest is made of all new fabric, the collage is a blend of new and vintage,some knit and home dec, and some ribbon and beads.




The fabrics are all sewn together securely by machine.

Most of this group are painters, so this project is different from theirs. I haven't quilt found out where I fit yet. My projects are always different from everybody else's






It's listed on ebay:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZdoublecatbatik

The listing has a link to other items from the same challenge

Gobble

Finally caught two guys in the spring mating dance. They had quite a rivalry going! I didn't see any hens around, I think they got bored and left!They were making a lot of noise too, it's very loud "gobble gobble gobble!"
The funny part of the whole display to me is that this is a spring display. It started a little while ago and is almost done for the year. It is exactly OPPOSITE of Fall when all the school kids will drawing pictures of turkeys looking like this.

Now I have to go finsh my May Theme week project! We are supposed to list on ebay today! I dont know if I'll make it.

Hunt and Peck

These pictures are from May 2, they are growing so fast! I need to take new pictures, but I am a little bit behind. They have become very friendly, Paula especially. If I set her on my lap and pet her, she will sit down and just look around. Joseph usually holds Chica and he is not as patient with just petting, so Chica isn't either. I need to hold her more.

I am working on two challenges. One is for Horsin Around with Hoof Art and the theme is Foals. They don't call it a challenge, they call it theme week. Most of them work faster than I do. Most of them paint. I'm not a painter. It's pretty interesting, I'll put a picture if it in progress tomorrow, I hope.
The other is for Folk-of-Art-friends. Everyone is supposed to use the same doll pattern to make a project. Most of them are doll makers. I'm not, so my project is not really a doll. That should be interesting.



I also got involved with Cedara who is reading a book on handwritten correspondence and started a snail mail project on the FOAF forum. She said she'd put tips in her blog. I sent 11 snail mails already but am still waiting for the tips!

http://www.thrutheatticdoor.blogspot.com
Go here and see if she posted her tips yet!

Egg?

Well, after the fallen nest problem, I was concerned. I had to go on the camp-out with Den 2 and I worried about the swallows. Tuseday, it looked like they were sitting, so I brought my camera and took a picture. The nest is so high up it was easier to just hold the camera up high and then see what I got.
As you can see, they have one egg. It looks huge for such small birds!
"Oh, so your finally done?
It's my turn now.
What have you got to eat?"
A swallow came in to sit, so I had to take one more picture.