A couple of cups from the imagination. 5"x7" transparent watercolor, ink. I didn't realize the one was sitting crooked thus the picture is slanted. Sorry bout that.
I wanted to get something up... anything artsy up. Lets start the year off right.
I'm focused on cleaning the apartment today. I'm also going to bake a chocolate cake (the easy way... outta a box.) The two grandkids will be over tonight and I wanted a treat for them. Something that says "gramma bought a box of cake!" (I should find me an apron next time I go thrifting. What says gramma more than an apron.)
This is an attempt to get youtuber Xelander here so I can tell him how much I am enjoying his youtube videos. He has quite a large fan base so he may not backtrack all the links, etc.
I searched for an email address but did not see one. I was going to leave a message for him on youtube, but I would have had to sign up and since I won't be posting any videos there I thought it wouldn't be right to take up space. This is my alternative attempt. And if he doesn't see it, no big deal. He's got plenty of fans.
Here is the latest video I just watched which cracked me up:
He's funny. He is also an American in England. I came across him while watching some of atree3's videos. In one of her videos she talks about getting beatup by him. (00) WTF? was my first response. I then had to track through several videos to finally understand it was all in fun.
In any event, Xelander... I am really enjoying your videos. Did I mention that already? Thanks for posting them.
Asperagus. Done a while ago and previously posted. I wanted it hung.
You may have seen this effect on other blogs. You can go here to do one yourself. (first option "museums")
I'm still stuck inside the apartment waiting for the snow and ice to melt. There is light at the end of the tunnel because its warmed up and the snow is beginning to leave. Main roads are semi clear but the side streets are still a mess... along with the sidewalks. (Now they're saying there's a gas shortage because the tankers haven't been able to deliver anything.)
Its been almost two weeks since first 'stranded' inside. If you add the previous week that my daughter borrowed my car... its three weeks of being cooped up. I've napped myself silly. I'm down to Top Ramen Noodles and/or white rice. I need to get to the store soon.
I have no 'winter gear' because its not suppose to get so 'wintery' here. (DO YOU HEAR THAT, MOTHER NATURE... NO MIDWEST SNOW STORMS HERE!!) I wear sandals and I do not want to be walking in the slushy snow in them. The old toes get cold.
If I don't make it to the store today (after I get my car back), surely by tomorrow it will happen.
Leanne, of Intricate Art, filmed a great Christmas surprise for her mother and family. (While there, if you're not familar with her art, check it out too.)
(This picture is from a previous year.) We've broken the 40 yr. record for the most snow in the month of December. 1968 use to hold the record. Now 2008 holds it. And we're headed to the next record. I just don't know what it is... most snow ever?
Now you folks who live where it really SNOWS, please hold your snickering until later, but our 1968 record was for 11.5 inches. The record was broken last night and we have continued adding snow to that amount.
We're working on the 11th day in a row of snow. (insert a weak yahoo here) And the end is not in sight... anywhere!
Update: I don't think the 11.5" is correct because I'm reading blogs saying they have 18" or more in their yards. The details I mentioned here are soft and are not to be quoted as absolutely true.
We're now having freezing rain and associated power outages and trees falling into houses in some areas. Poor travelers. Stranded.
The weather people are saying we may not get out of this mess until next weekend.
I'd post some pictures but my camera is not functioning right now.
The news stations continue to broadcast storm coverage. If you'd like to see some of the broadcast go to katu.com and look for the "live coverage" link. I tried it, but it took too long to come up (my pc works slowly sometimes), but it may work for you. They've got reporters all over and they show cam shots from various spots.
I wonder how long it will be before I start blubbering 'bu bu bububu bubububu bu bu' like Golden Hawn did in the movie Overboard.
Its been over a week of snow and its getting really boring. Cabin feverish. And today we are waiting for our big ice storm, but the weather system is a slow moving one. Ice brings down power lines, and generally sucks big time.
One of our hospitals is located on a hill (low mountain) and they have staff living there, sleeping in patient rooms, etc. Lots of staff can't make it in and staff already there are safer just staying put.
Early this morning a guy started across one of our bridges going the wrong way. When he swerved to miss on coming traffic he went over the side of the bridge (the part still over land) and dropped nose first about 40 feet. No injuries. Based on the fact that it happened at 3am, he was going the wrong way, and he had no injuries, I'm betting that he was drunk.
Its beginning to get boring. I might even end up doing some kind of housework just for a change the pace. Gasp. Just kidding.
I really like his watercolors... very 'active'. And I'm always surprised at how it looks when he starts out and how it looks at the end. Very wet-on-wet, for the most part. And it all starts out with a good basic sketch.
(a small rant.... expertvillage puts up GOBs and GOBs of videos so they take up 20-30 screens to get thru them... and not one of them is over 2 minutes long. Couldn't they put up videos that are a little longer in duration so it doesn't take up as much space?! Geesh.)
These candles are the extent of my holiday decorations... and even they are half gone now. Headless mother and father Christmas.
Today was a breather day as far as the weather goes. Although our weather is no where near as bad as the rest of the country, its still cold today, but it almost got to 30 degrees and the sun was out and melted a lot of the ice-snow mix. One of the weather guys was stressing that if we needed any supplies from the store we had better get in there today. A big bunch of snow (a technical weather term) is expected tomorrow morning. Twice as much as we just got... or maybe three times as much. By Sunday we should warm up a bit.
I got Candace to come over and replace the battery in the smoke alarm. It went off last night just after midnight and again at 2:30am. I was afraid if I didn't get it changed out today, by Friday it might be going off contineously. (If I was a neighbor and had to listen to it, I'd be really ticked off.) I couldn't reach the ceiling, even standing on the top step of the ladder (a large step stool with three steps), which I found quite handy as an excuse to get my daughter to deal with it.
This not-being-able-to-get-out-safely is playing havoc with Christmas shopping.
This picture is from last year. We got snow here yesterday, but not as much as what this picture shows. But you know what? Its cold as hell here!!! And the fun part is that it is suppose to last forever. Well, at least thru the WHOLE week.
Later in the week, we might get some freezing rain. YaHoo!
So... I'm stuck here in the apartment which is fine, but my smoke alarm has started going off to indicate the battery needs to be changed. And me without a battery. And I'm too short to reach the alarm on the ceiling. I'll be waiting for my American Ingenuity to kick in with some kind of solution. I'll let you know. If nothing comes to mind, I have my hammer and I'm not above smashing the hell outta the alarm to get it to stop beeping at me. If I can get it off the ceiling. How long can you keep hitting the reset button to stop it from beeping? Anyone know?
I can't believe its been a whole week since I've updated the blog, but when you don't have anything to say, I guess you just don't have anything to say. Know what I mean?
I'll be glad when its December 26. I can't seem to shake this blah feeling, no matter how often I watch Its a Wonderful Life. Sigh.
However, there is one Christmas that was the best-est ever and I don't think I got one thing. It was the first Christmas after I had been working for a year. It had been welfare prior to then. I had four kids ranging in age from about 4 to 9 or 10 yrs old. (Their father was gone and dare I say that was a real blessing too.) It was just us.
Just before Christmas I joined a credit union and applied for a $500 loan. And surprise, I got it. This was in the late 60s so $500 was a lot more then than it is now. And I spent every cent of it on the kids. Ohmygawd, can you say 'presents dripping out of her ass'... that would be me. I had so much fun getting the kids every possible thing I could. This was before electronic games so prices were cheap. Dolls, Easy-bake Ovens, play luggage, tea sets, trucks, tricycles, etc.
Christmas eve, after the kids finally went to sleep, I wrapped and I wrapped. Then I wrapped some more. I wrapped so much I finally said to hell with it and just put the rest of the gifts under the tree naked.
You should have seen the kids' faces when they walk into the room. They were overwhelmed and I just sat there with the biggest 'shit-eating' grin you ever saw. Man, that was such a charge to be able to do that. There were so many presents it was obscene. (And just to put it in perspective, previous holidays were Toy-&-Joy kinds. A teddy bear and a naked Barbi kind of gifts, not that I wasn't grateful.)
That was my best Christmas EVER!! It can still bring a grin to my face and a smile to my heart. (We won't mention the worse.) Is there one Christmas that comes to mind for you? Please share if you feel up to it.
As I surfed I snagged this link from someone else's blog (not anyone who comes here.) I really really like her work. And not only for effect, but for interest, too, some of her mixed medias use tar. (00)
I watched Bill Moyer's Journal the other night and he interviewed Mark Johnson. He is working to increase the human community and commonality through music. He and his organization is also building music schools and centers in the poorest of countries. From Moyer's web site:
"Bill Moyers sits down with Mark Johnson, the producer of a remarkable documentary about the simple but transformative power of music...
Johnson traveled around the globe and recorded tracks for such classics as "Stand By Me" and Bob Marley's "One World" — creating a new mix in which essentially the performers are all performing together — worlds apart. Often recording with just battery-powered equipment, Johnson found musicians on street corners or in small clubs and they would in turn gather their friends and colleagues — in all, they recorded over 100 musicians from Tibet to Zimbabwe."
I was moved by his documentary (the clips of it) and I thoroughly enjoyed the music. It touched me. If you would like to experience the musical collage, as it were, go here and click on "Enter" to get to the video. (pc isn't as good as on tv, but oh well.) Even if you don't have time to listen to it all the way thru, you can get a sense of it. Johnson seems to have done an excellent job of editing.
This is a picture of my friend's Christmas Cactus and it was taken about a month ago. A little early for Christmas but pretty good timing for Thanksgiving.
She said it has never bloomed this much before and it was a surprise. My friend had an emergency surgery and was hospitalized for about a week. When she came home from the hospital this plant was just one big batch of red blooms. She took it as a good omen.
I caught part of the Oprah show yesterday. It was about selecting winners of a 'decorate it yourself' contest. I live in a different world. Not better, not worse, just different. One lady excitedly told how she found and got her woven dining room chairs. (They were cool.) And the eight of them only cost her $1200. "They were only $150 each!"
(00)
Well, for $1200 they should be cool.
Like I said... just different worlds, different priorities. I bet I don't get as stressed as she does, although I do have my moments.
The next decorating contest Oprah should have is where nothing cost over $40. Now there's a challenge.
I can't seem to get moving today. Its cold out, but the sun is shining. I should be jumping all over the place but..... sigh. Things in motion tend to stay in motion and that's my challenge for the day. To move.
Yesterday my daughter Candace came over to pick up something and she brought Darius with her. When I knew they were on their way I tossed three frozen hamburger patties in the skillet to cook. Darius is always looking for something to eat when he comes to gramma's and I didn't have anything to snack on... besides, throw it on a piece of bread and viola... lunch.
True to form, when Darius arrived he began his normal search. A glance over the counter to see what was there, then a quick look in the refrigerator. He spotted the hamburger patties sitting on a saucer. "mmmmm. I like hamburger" he said innocently.
I told him and 'mom' they could each have one if they wanted, but 'mom' would have to fix the sandwiches for them, which she did. I waited until they left before I went to fix my sandwich. Below is what was waiting for me. . . .
I wonder if he thought I might not notice a bite was missing.
This is my day after, my recup day. The day I pull myself back together after having entertained one of life's natural energy bursts... the day after watching my two grandsons for the night. Some day afters are needed more than others. This was a pretty good sleepover. The boys were nice. They were nice to me and amazingly nice to each other. Go me!
"My gramma lets us jump on the bed!! We love my gramma. Watch me. Watch how high I can jump."
"Gramma, watch. Here's a Running-Belly-Flop..." (I think its a name of a wrestling move.)
The pile of rubble after the wrestling match. They had a lot of fun and there was no permanent damage.
You've heard about the employee who got trampled to death by shoppers? People have lost their minds. Or else their minds are terribly difficient to begin with.
I want to point my finger of blame somewhere. First, it goes to human stupidity and greed. "Gotta run into the store to get to the best sale first. Can't let Suzie Q over there get ahead of me!!" Second, it goes to the store management for possible set-up. Having only four TVs listed at a "killer price" (sorry) in a well populated community is not a wise decision. (that was just a made up example, BTW.) Not unless you work out a method of distribution that will keep the crowd at bay. But the biggest finger of blame goes to the media. TV News in particular. They hype this holiday rush to spend money all out of proportions and (bleep) people believe it.
I feel so badly for the family of the employee. How hard it must be to think your loved one died because people were running to spend their money and wouldn't stop for anything. This makes even less sense than Xtreme Sports.
Reporting from Washington -- Senior military leaders took the exceptional step of briefing President Bush this week on a severe and widespread electronic attack on Defense Department computers that may have originated in Russia -- an incursion that posed unusual concern among commanders and raised potential implications for national security.
Defense officials would not describe the extent of damage inflicted on military networks. But they said that the attack struck hard at networks within U.S. Central Command, the headquarters that oversees U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, and affected computers in combat zones. The attack also penetrated at least one highly protected classified network.
The full article from The Los Angles Times can be found here.
This is or could be a biggy, something very serious, something a bit unnerving. To someone who is not familiar with the possible fallout from a cyber infection, it might not seem like much. (I'm thinking McCain, here.) It could be BIG.
The article leaves a sense of unknown.... what was the extent of harm and are we protected from it happening again. If a virus got in, was it able to send info out or do internal harm. I just didn't get a feeling of "don't worry, all has been taken care of." Not an ounce of feeling.
It was a very nice Thanksgiving and I did, indeed, come home with some leftovers. In fact, the cranberry sauce is calling me now.
We were a bit late so folks ate right away. It was good to catch up with everyone. And my three granddaughters are growing up too fast. 10, 12, and 15 yrs old. The 15 yr old has turned into a glamorous young lady with some smarts. The 10 and 12 yr olds are your typical 10 and 12 year olds, but not for long. Sniffle. "Stay young... stay young for as long as you can!!" (That's me yelling into the wind.)
Daughter #2's family has gotten a small black dog. I think it would be called a lap dog. Shuzshit something. Anyway, its just a little cutie, but too excitable for me. The little freak wouldn't stop licking my toes. But its still cute. I think they called it Bo.
We played a couple of rounds of Boggle (not to be confused with BIG BOGGLE) with six people playing. Needless to say, everyone was crossing off words, because one of us would have it. It was fun.
Its going to be time for that first turkey sandwich soon. Just a little longer.
Well, its here. The start of the holiday season, the first holiday. Thanksgiving Day. If I could just get into football....
I hope everyone has a very pleasant day without too much stress. After all, if it doesn't work out this time, you can try it again next year. And the year after that. So don't worry, be happy. And don't throw that at me! I mean it!!
The family unit has shrunk a lot with family moving out of state. We have reduced our members from around 30 (if in-laws show up) to 10. It makes it easier to sit down at the table, but it is also a lot quieter. At least I think it will be quieter. We'll see.
We are getting together at daughter #2 home around 2pm. Perhaps I'll be back home by 6pm clutching a plate of leftovers.(Is it leftovers or left overs?) The downside is that the movie, a holiday tradition, Miracle on 34th Street comes on tv at 2pm. Sigh. Maybe its on the internet somewhere and I can watch it later. I've already watched Its a Wonderful Life. I think I've seen that movie close to 30 times. I can remember in grade school that they would show this movie at lunch time in 15 minute increments during the course of a week. It wasn't very interesting since you could only see a small portion at a time. Actually, I don't really watch it. Its just on in the background... but its my tradition.
I've finally reached the age where I don't have to bring anything for dinner, too. YaHoo. I've been waiting for it.
Once again, I hope ya'll have a nice Thanksgiving.
There hasn't been much to talk about lately. I'm out of coffee so must trudge to the store as soon as I upload this entry. The sooner I leave, the sooner it will be done. Push. Push. Must push myself to go out into the world. I guess it indicates just how much I would like a cup of coffee, doesn't it.
Traveling Goddess shared some photos on her blog of the workshop she recently attended. A few of us decided to use the photo of the model to see what we could butcher.
Here's (below) a quick sketch I did in a spiral notebook to see how it went, and it went fairly easily.
Below is the pencil sketch done on the watercolor paper.
Below is the painted model... no background.
My final version. I had to make myself stop before I screwed it up completely.
I almost screwed it up completely but made myself walk away from it.
Oh my gosh... You've got to go check out these cakes!! Did I say that already? Whatev... Old Man Lincoln has posted some pictures that first appeared in his Draw magazine in 1985. Go here.
(I know some of you are already regular readers of his blog, but I wanted to point it out to the others.)
I heard a local news story that had my mouth open. I couldn't find the story on the web so I can't show authenticity, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
In our state capitol city apparently the police will arrest you if your house is dirty. WTF? Two women have come forth and talked about it because it is so ridiculous. There may be more out there who are too embarrassed to step forward.
The pictures I saw (and I missed a couple) showed a house that had not been cleaned, but it was not filthy and discusting as the police stated. And if they came across a house that was so dirty they felt the children were in harms way, then they should call in Children's Services... not handcuff the parents and haul them off to jail and send the children off to someone else's house. And if there weren't any children involved, then the police should report it to the city's nuisance department and let them deal with it. What the hell are police doing arresting people who don't keep a clean house?
What the hell is going on in the United States?
If you are wondering what brought the police to the woman's house it was because they supposedly thought it was a drug house. The woman was at work and a friend who was at the house called her and she apparently gave permission for the police to search her home.... she knew she didn't have any drugs in it so she cooperated and said they could search it. According to the American Civil Liberties Union that was the wrong thing to do. NEVER GIVE POLICE AUTHORIZATION TO SEARCH YOU OR YOUR HOME WITHOUT A SEARCH WARRENT. NEVER GIVE UP YOUR PERSONAL RIGHTS!!
On another police subject... for a couple of years the city police here were killing people right and left. Seriously, they would be killing people and no action would be taken. (Stupid people on the grand jury must think police do not lie. There are exceptions enough to keep our hopes up, but the only difference between a police officer on the beat and a thug is a badge.) Ever since our current female police chief came on board, the killings have stopped, thank goodness.
Just remember, no matter how innocent you are, never give up your rights to the so called authorities.
No... its not that! What is warm and wet is our weather. It was 60 degrees this morning at 7am and its been raining for the last four days or so. Its raining so much today it feels like we could pick it up like a cloak and wear it. We would be fully covered.
I wanted to pass along some info that I got in my email. This holiday season you may want to rethink giving gift certificates. Don't Do It! Businesses are closing right and left. If they are not closing altogether, they are closing down outlets so who knows if there will be any in the area. Its sad. So many people out of work, out of their foreclosed homes, and out of time.
The auto makers are looking for 'bailout' money. I think one of them already got some but its gone now. They had to use it to simply continue with day to day activity. That is not a good sign. Now they need more. If we do not have enough people working and if we can not get credit unless we are rated A+++++ we are not going to be buying cars. If people aren't buying cars then how will another lump sum of money keep them afloat?
I heard American Express has become a bank. They wanted some bailout money, too. It doesn't seem right to me.
I wish we didn't have to wait until January for a leader.
Blue Monday. Blue Month. Blah Mood. I'm not sure if my mood just is, or was caused by the shift in times, or because of the rainy weather. Maybe its the state of my pocket. Its empty. (Not to worry though... I have everything I need and I only have a couple of days to go and the eagle will be flying again.)
I'm watching the boys this afternoon. 'Mom' has to go in early for a meeting (works swing shift) and boyfriend is working (days) so there's a few hours to be covered. I'm just not feeling the energizer bunny. Of course, the last time I felt the bunny it was probably 10 yrs ago or so. They're good boys. It just requires constant movement.
I better go pick up things I don't want them touching. Things like lighters, sharp objects, white paper, paints, etc. Sigh. I think I should also cook something for them. Whenever they come over the first place Darius checks out is the refrigerator. Everything I have requires cooking.
President Elect Obama just held his first press conference. That's what a leader looks like. Unfortunately, he also looks like he's aged 10 yrs and its only been three days. And he hasn't even been sworn in yet. Today was his first time of sitting in on a daily security briefing and I couldn't help wonder if he heard things that made his stomach churn. (I also wonder if McCain is, under it all, feeling relieved that he wasn't elected.)
Lines. Lines around the block. Lines of voters around two blocks. Is this the 21st century or 1500 ad?
We sent people to the moon in the 60s. We have instant access via cell phone. We can talk to people on the other side of the world in a second, via the internet. Yet we have voting machines that don't work. We have people standing in lines for four, six, eight hours just to cast their vote. What's wrong with this picture?
This should have been a 'snap' but it wasn't. The mark was missed, but the drawing got done before midnight. Oh... and by the way, have you heard? We have a new president. Go Team.
We stand in that one day from which history will take the next step. Will it be to the left of the fork or to the right? Many people are holding their breath. At the end of the day half of our citizens will be celebrating and the other half will be muttering "... to hell in a handbasket."
I'm rushing to beat the clock... to get something uploaded for the day. For the Creative Every Day project. Just doodles today. And again, I must apologize for the sucky pictures. (sucky's a word, right?)
Darius was a transformer and Vyron was some kind of superhero with lots of muscles.
I'll need to work on my CED for today after the boys leave. I'm just not sure of when that will happen. I figured calling 'mom' at 4am was too early, but 9am is looking better. However, I know she is getting a last chance to sleep in herself. She's a night person anyway. (Don't talk to her before 2pm.) I'll try to hold out until then.
"…the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” –Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarschall
A couple of cups from the imagination. 5"x7" transparent watercolor, ink. I didn't realize the one was sitting crooked thus the picture is slanted. Sorry bout that.
