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Archive for May, 2009

This and That

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

scootercute

A 5 month old puppy requires almost as much attention as a 5 month old child. Scooter is adjusting well to our household. He wants Maggie to play with him and she just isn’t into that – cranky old lady. He kept us up the first night. The second night I got the idea to have talk radio (progressive, of course) near his crate. At 3:30, he was howling again. The station had gone off the air so I found one on all night. Last night he was quiet all night long. He is learning to walk on a leash. Today, we had a good 45 minute aerobic walk. He loves to stop and say hi to other dogs which Maggie never has cared to do. We are working on the housebreaking. It requires someone to watch him at all times for visual cues that he needs to go. As I said, we are working on it. He is now playing with all of his toys and running up and down the basement stairs to hang out with me. I am his favorite person. I don’t know how he will take my leaving for almost 2 weeks. Here he is in the studio with me. He got an aok from the vet.

scooterinstudio

I can’t believe how fast this month is flying by. I leave for Kansas City in a week from Friday. I have a lot to do before then. Today, I did my thermofax test prints for Jane Dunnewold. She posted on the Complex Cloth list for volunteers who have a thermofax to do some prints using different paint spreaders, including one that she sent us. Here are my prints. I used red Versatex Acrylic printing ink on muslin.

First is the print made with the paint spreader sent by Jane. It was the best print, I have to admit. It is one of those plastic thingies for creating texture in paint, but we used the smooth edge.

janepaintspreaderprint

This is what I usually use on a small screen, a credit card. Not so good.

ccthermofaxprint

This is a Bondo spreader. It is thicker than the other paint spreader and was not as good.

bondothermofaxprint

A lot of people use a foam paint brush for the screens, this created very uneven printing.

foamrollerthermofaxprint

I went in to get my hair cut and the color back. I tried going gray and that was how I felt, gray and old. So, here I am, red again.

redisback

Tomorrow, I have STASH at Reva’s. M & M are getting to meet Scooter tomorrow, for the first time. I am sure it will be love at first sight.

Hi! My Name is Scooter

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

mynamescooter

Gerrie found me in the Oregonian ads this morning. I was being held to go to a woman undergoing breast cancer treatment, and she decided she could not care for me. So Gerrie and Mr C drove out to Battle Ground, WA this morning and brought me home with them. I barfed in the back seat of the car, but it didn’t seem to be a big problem.

My mom is a golden first generation Labradoodle and my dad is a standard black poodle. I was the runt of the litter and so I am somewhat timid and very respectful.

My big sister Maggie is very aloof and tries to eat my food so I eat hers. No problem for me.

maggiescooter1

Gerrie has taken me for two walks and I have gotten lots of attention from the neighbors. When she stops to talk, I just chill and wait for her to move on. She bought me some toys and a new collar and leash. I think I am going to like it here.

scooterresting

When I get my haircut, you will be able to see my eyes and I will have a curly coat. It is time for me to settle into my new crate next to the weird old Jack Russell. I sure hope she doesn’t snore. I am worn out from all this activity.

I Can See, I Can See

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

I picked up my new glasses yesterday. Here I am wearing the two different frames.

tealglasses

These are teal with lime green lining.

redglasses

These are a very dark,  cool red. I really need a cut and color. I have decided that I can’t go gray just yet so the red is coming back. This will make Mia happy.

Last night I did some hand stitching while watching Slumdog Millionaire. It was much easier with the new specs. I undid the sewing I did down at the beach. I was sitting next to Terry and I think I was channeling her. I did stitching that was so even. Two rows of line stitching then one row of exes. I got home and said what was I thinking. I need to do random stitching on this. Here it is now:

funkytreestitching

This morning I made a key lime cheesecake with fresh key limes. I bought a bag of them and it took all 20 to produce enough juice for the recipe. It had a key lime custard as the first layer on the crust, then the cheese mixture and then a layer of sour cream for 10  minutes at the end of the baking. I served it with some fresh strawberries and it was delicious.

In the afternoon, I went out and bought a lot of tomato plants. I am going to try lots of varieties to see which does the best in the area that I have set aside.

We will have a quiet Mom’s day. Steph and family are camping. Lisa sent me a copy of the San Francisco Kitchens book, a Japanese publication. She is on the cover, with the adorable Wilfredo.

sfkitchenbook

Hope you have a nice Mom’s day tomorrow. My Mom has been gone for a long time. She was younger than I am now when she died in an automobile accident. I am told that I have her fiesty personality. She loved to be busy doing things — crossword puzzles, knitting, cooking, making doll house furniture, painting and firing ceramics — there was always something happening. But I think the best thing she taught us was tolerence and empathy for others. I never heard any discriminatory comments from either of my parents. She did not know that she had 3 gay granddaughters when she passed away, but I have no doubt that she would have stood up for them and their rights and would have loved them unconditionally.

Fiber Art in About an Hour

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Here is Scrap 050709. These little pieces are taking me about an hour. I try to work quickly, not over thinking. I pull out a fused scrap and let it lead me to the design for the night. Tonight it was the background fabric that looked like a forest on fire.

scrap050709

Doing these little pieces is saving my sanity. I can do something fun and creative when I have a spare hour.

Today was play-date with Mia day. Miles has a special group thing on Thursdays. I get to have time with Mia and make dinner for the family. Tonight it was lamb moussaka. It was so delicious. Mia had a very rigorous field trip to downtown Portland where they toured city hall among other sites. She was too tired to do anything but veg in front of the TV.

A very rainy morning turned into a lovely afternoon and evening. I was able to get in two 30 minute walks.

Mr C hung the woodblock print that I purchased from the latest Trinity show. We hung it over the family room fireplace. The room has so many windows, it was hard to get a photo without reflections and a glare. Here are two views.

mullenwoodblock

mulllenwoodblock2

Tomorrow night is the opening reception for the Trinity Artist’s Among Us show and sale. I do not have work there, but I am working.

A Scrappy Landscape

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

I really don’t know if I will get back to bona fide studio work until I am finished with my responsibilities at the SDA Conference at the end of this month. In the meantime, running into my studio for some scrap play, makes me happy. Tonight, I was feeling really tired. I had been at the computer most of yesterday and today, catching up on registration work and updating the SDA website. This afternoon, Mr C and I went down to Trinity Cathedral to help hang the Artists Among Us show, happening this week-end. I have no work in the show, been too busy!!

I watched Idol and voted several times for Adam. I wanted to just call it a night, but didn’t. I grabbed a piece of batting and went to work … er … play. The piece I picked up was long and narrow, about 2 and a half inches wide. Today, my friend Diane blogged about the Sonoma County landscape. I guess that was on my mind because I did this funky piece that is very reminiscent of the valley where we used to live.

scrap050509

A funny thing happened. I donated one of my scarves to the silent auction this week-end which will go to support the arts at Trinity. I took it in on Saturday and left it behind the stage in the hall where the shows are held. I thought I put it in the arts box, but I couldn’t find a light switch. Long story, short — they couldn’t find it. We looked and looked. It turns out there were some boxes of donations to the pantry that had been put back there. They had been removed at some point between Saturday and Monday evening. Steve and I then went to the pantry storage room and finally found it.

I know she is sound asleep in New York State, so I am going to wish my sister, Carole, a happy birthday when she wakes up tomorrow and checks in on the blog!!  Hippo Birdy, Sis.