First Friday Arts Crawl in ABQ

My friend and I went Arts Crawling tonight, a feature of the ABQ art scene. We only made it to three galleries, but we really enjoyed the evening and some great art. I also discovered a new Fabric store, Nob Hill Fabrics, 3810 Central, in the same area as Matrix Gallery. My friend found a great looking batik that I just had to have a yard of (you can never have too many batiks)

I helped a friend with her final project in a internet communications class and you can see the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/imentor4success

I am so glad it is Friday, and I am not on call!

I am off of Facebook for some time. Freaked myself out by clicking on something I should have know better, and sent spam to all of my FB Friends. Slight withdrawal, but OK so far! I will probably be posting more to my blog!

A thoughtful post

Since the death of Osama Bin Laden, I have been mulling over in my mind how I was appalled by Americans dancing in the street over his death.
A friend from Rainbow Artists sent this quote around:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." -- Martin Luther King, Jr

No Dust today!

Yesterday was a hot, dry, windy sand filled day. The wind is bad enough, but when there is enough dust in the air that you cannot see the 10,000 ft. mountains from downtown, that is too much! My sinuses and lungs don't appreciate it either, but luckily it is only a few weeks a year when it is this bad!

Another quote:

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.

Henry Ford

I have been working in my new altered book, making background pages and should have some pictures soon. Also will work on my new paper piece this afternoon after brunch, errands and some housework are finished.

Another great qoute

I am such a quote junkie! And I find them everywhere!

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948)

Great quote

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Wish that I could attribute a source, but it was harvested from one of those multiply forwarded emails. This expresses my views on life exactly.

Another amazing talk on TED

Very Intricate Art

I know I could never do that!

The website is ART NATION and here is another link

Annual Recycle Fair

It was gorgeous Sunday, so I went to the westside and saw the 3rd Annual Recycle Show at the Coors Open Space Center. I parked a long way away, walked, then walked the nearby Labryinth.

There was some very nice art and a lot from friends that belong to Rainbow Artists.
There was an exhibit of haikus and this one really impressed me (they were written in calligraphy, with accompanying water color sketches).

When your world goes wrong
reinvent the world with new
Suns, skies, moons and love.

B. Rojas

Positive inspiration

I took a slight tumble this AM, luckily I fell into a juniper bush which broke my fall... This always upsets and depresses me, but I got on facebook and found this quote:

When you are in a hole, stop digging. Michael Josephson

That gave me a whole new perspective on the day. Thank you Positively Positive from FB! I also shared a video on FB which you might check out.

Kitteh Pics

It is hard to see but this is Fuzzy Bucket all snuggled among the quilts on my bed.

I ARTED tonight

Looking at a friends blog, Cheery Tomato Productions, I was inspired and started cutting and sewing! Thanks Judy!

Creeping Crud

I guess that it finally caught up with me. Everyone at work has been sniffling, hacking and coughing, so it was almost inetivible. Felt really bad yesterday with stuffy nose, sore throat, but I made a roaring fire in the fireplace last night and that made me feel better. I went to work, but depends on how I feel in the morning. I plan on watching Dancing with the Stars (my secret vice!)and going to bed!
No art yet...

Lazy Blogger!

Well, I kind of fell off he blogger wagon! I have been having allergy (??)issues all week, and he wind has been roaring! Expect gusts of up to 60 MPH today, so I plan on actually doing some art!
Happy Dance: my problems at work have been minimized! My nemesis is taking a job which will remove most of my problems!

Great Video Called "Dear Woman"

You have to copy and paste the link below:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_uRIMUBnvw

Weekend trip from Albuquerque to Amarillo

This bank sign just made me happy! Happy Texas is where this bank started.

One of the original fireplaces in Palo Duro Canyon. Longhorns were supposedly in this field, but we did not see any

Beautiful vistas on the way down to the bottom of the canyon.

Had a great visit with my friend L, who just moved to Amarillo. It is amazing that all that flat land opens up to this canyon!

Dr. Oz Info (Mammogram and Dental Xrays) for WOMEN

On Wednesday, Dr. Oz had a show on the fastest growing cancer in women, thyroid cancer. It was a very interesting program and he mentioned that the increase could possibly be related to the use of dental x-rays and mammograms. He demonstrated that on the apron the dentist puts on you for your dental x-rays there is a little flap that can be lifted up and wrapped around your neck.
Many dentists don't bother to use it.
Also, there is something called a "thyroid guard" for use during mammograms. By coincidence, I had my yearly mammogram yesterday. I felt a little silly, but I asked about the guard and sure enough, the technician had one in a drawer.
I asked why it wasn't routinely used. Answer: "I don't know. You have to ask for it." Well, if I hadn't seen the show, how would I have known to ask?
Someone was nice enough to forward this to me. I hope you pass this on to your friends and family.

In Memorium: Vicki McQuagge 1950-2011

left to right Ray Wakeland (dec), Shari Adkisson, Charles Weatherford, Lyncia Langdon, Vicki McQuagge

A long time ago, in a land where we were all much younger, there were four women who met at Parents without Partners. We immediately became fast friends, and partyied, danced and played together with our sons (the four of us had 8 boys between us). As we aged, we drifted apart, but still stayed in touch. Two years ago, we lost the first Musketeer (we fancied ourselves the Four Musketeers!) Kathleen Woodward. This week we lost the second, Vicki McQuagge.
I looked and the only pictures that I have of Vicki are from a 1984 PwP photo album. Since this was pre-digital, the scan quality sucks, but the Vicki-ness comes through. Vicki always had a joke to tell and a smile on her face!

time to kill

I had some time to kill the other day, and there is no place I would rather waste time than in a bookstore! I was closest to Borders and found this book on sale for $3.99! It is large, about 1.5 inches thick and has gorgeous photos. I am still working my way through it.

Another sign of spring-- I saw my first prairie dogs on Tramway yesterday! Only ABQers will understand that!

A good quote

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
- Beverly Sills, 1929 - 2007

Quote of the Day and Kittie Pic

Doesn't Fuzzy look comfortable? I never know where I will find her!

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice. - Johannes Eckhart, 1260 – 1328

Spring has sprung

Every year I drive by this church with beautiful trees and swear that I am going to take pictures. This year I did, but they are not at their best, I needed to get there three days ago. Anyway, here they are, and when I see them I know it is spring!

I find the most amazing things on TED.com

Sarah Kay speaks on Spoken Voice Poetry and she is amazing! It is about 19 minutes long, but worth listening to.

What a week!

Monday started as usual, I got hit when I walked through the door (at 7:30 AM)with problems AND it only went downhill from there!
About 10, a very important server went down and had to be rebuilt from scratch. I spent the night in the server room at work, and did not leave until 9:30 AM on Tuesday. Long night, and we would fix one problem and then another one would come up! A tech's worst nightmare!!
Got that fixed and went on from there.
No excuse for not posting, except that life (usually worklife!!) got in the way.
I am going to try to post at least three times a week and have some artwork to show too!

JRs art project to turn the world inside out

I just watched the most amazing video on TED. A new project has been launched about using art to turn the world inside out. Go to TED.com or go to insideoutproject.net. The video is long and may take a while to load, but is very interesting.

Vinyl Albums - Circas the 70's

My first husband and I had a fantastic Akai stereo system that we bought at a steal when we were stationed in Germany. I have carted these albums around for over 30 years... (my ex took the stereo and I took the car in the divorce).
Nine years ago when I moved to New Mexico, I left a box of "stuff" at my mothers. We are now in the process of cleaning out her house and I brought the albums to Albuquerque with me.
Quite the eclectic list - I don't remember how we split up the albums but this is what I ended up with:
Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (should have gone to him, I really don't like Bruce Springsteen)
JJ Cale: Naturally
2001 A Space Odyssey soundtrack
It's a Beautiful Day: It's a Beautiful Day* My all time favorite album! We wore one copy out and had to buy a second one!
The Moody Blues: Days of Future Past
Harry Nilsson: Nillson Schmillson
Harry Nillsson: Son of Schmillson
Christmas Albums
Moody Blues: To our Children's Children's Children
Moody Blues: Every Good Boy Deserves Favor
Santana: Caravanserai
Santana: Abraxas
Bread: Guitar Man
Jefferson Airplane: Bark
Jim Croce: Photographs and Memories * My second favorite album!
Ferrante and Teicher: Fiddler on the Roof
Moody Blues: On the Threshold of a Dream
Cat Stevens: Mona Bone Jakon
Jethro Tull: Aqualung
Traffic: John Barleycorn Must Die
George Carlin: FM&AM (includes the 7 words you cannot say on TV)
Led Zepplin II
Ten Years After: Rock and Roll to the World
Beatles: 1967-1970
America: Homecoming
As I said, eclectic, but it was the 70s! In 1967 I had my entire album collection from the 60's stolen, and I am sure they would have been even more odd!

(Almost) Spring Cleaning

Getting ready to shut down my computer and really dig into some (almost) spring cleaning. I also have to finish unpacking all my art supplies from my Michael deMeng workshop! So lots to do and I can sit and noodle on the internet all day long.
Wish me luck!

It has been a while since I blogged!

I treated myself to a trip to New Orleans for my birthday this year. Michael DeMeng was the instructor, and it was a great workshop. I arrived on Wednesday and left on Sunday and created an apothecary box titled: Queen of the Mardi Gras Remedy box.

Below are some of the boxes completed from the workshop.


My box is the middle box in the photo below and Juliana Coles' box is to the left.


This is my completed box.

Here are some of my bottles in pre-production.


Juliana Coles after a long day of sanding and drilling!


Michael DeMeng gives a great class and I am so happy that I treated myself to this splurge!
For more pictures see the Valley Ridge website. If you get a chance to take one of his classes, be sure to take it.

6.5 inches and a 3' snow drift.

These are the nice pictures. Not the one of the 3' snowdrift that I had to shovel out of the way so I could back out of my garage this morning.
This afternoon when I got home I had to finish the job and it was only 3 degrees! My fingers were frozen!
This is not what I live in the sunny southwest for!

Moonshadow

As I was driving south on US 54 I was wondering where the almost full moon was. Suddenly I was treated to an amazing MOONRISE! The moon was HUGE as it came up over the mountains. I wish that I had my camera, it would have made a gorgeous picture (if it would have come out).

Photoshop and textures

I signed up for Kim Klassen's blog
She offers free textures, and free instant classes. I have not taken any of her pay classes (just discovered her last week!). Check it out

CBS Sunday morning

This program has been part of my Sunday morning routine for many years. Lots of interesting and thought provoking features.
But this AM, as part of the coverage of the Haiti earthquake, they showed the most inspiring game of soccer. It was played with amputees who has lost legs in the earthquake, and they were playing on crutches, full bore, all out, falling and getting up. Per the feature, being an amputee pre-earthquake in Haiti was shameful, and they were outcast. Since the earthquake and the number of people who have amputations, the outlook for amputees is much brighter. Outside agencies are teaching Haitians to build prosthesis (wow, that is had to spell???) and become physical therapists.
All in all, an inspiring story.

Great Quote

Good artists copy, great artists steal.
- That one’s been attributed to both Picasso and Steve Jobs of Apple.

It was 48 degrees today and it felt like a heat wave! It has been cold here, no snow but in the teens every night and only in the 30s during the day!

Collages

I am taking a fotoshop fun class from Lani Puppetmaker. She asked us to do some collages and I came up with these two (the one above I had already made last year, but the one below is new.)
On Thursday we will do some layering in photoshop, which is one of my (many) weaknesses in Photoshop! Should be interesting.

I am also going to Notions and Potions, An Apothecary with Michael de Meng and Kathy Engen in New Orleans. Check out Valley Ridge!

New Years Clutter

I found this quote on mystoryart.com:

"Affirm for yourself that you are a success. Affirm that you are successful in getting rid of your clutter. If you are having a hard time getting started, be grateful that you are such a successful clutterer. Who else could have amassed such a collection of stuff?" --Norman Vincent Peale

I am a very successful clutterer!

Interesting Quote

"Art is not a thing; it is a way." Elbert Hubbard

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

My therapost recommended this video from TED. I love this site and got a lot out of the video.

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

We got snow today

I went back to work on Monday, and it was OK. It took me most of the day to go through my email! I found out that I had a vacation day and a floating holiday that I needed to take before the end of the year, so I was off yesterday and today! Not bad for my first week back at work.
I removed my Holiday background and now cannot find where I got it from to get another one! But I will find something.
Worked on the black and white wedding quilt that I have been working on for a long time, and got a lot of it basted, but it is a king, so it is huge. I said this is the last full size quilt that I am doing!
Happy New Year to all...

Happiest Holidays to one and all

I am visiting my mother and family in Tularosa, and wish the best of the season to all.

My Daily Horoscope

for today:

Pisces (2/19-3/20)

You are very artistic. You have artistic sensibilities. You have artistic socks. In almost every way, this is a good thing. You do a great job decorating. You see possibilities other people don't. You're more in touch than the average bear with the magical and the spiritual. But sometimes you have trouble accepting reality as it is, rather than as it could be.

Work on realism.

I will have to really work on this...

Beautiful poem for a gray, rainy, wintry day

My sister-in-law Sissy and I used to call these the drizzmibles~

yellow - Anne Sexton

When they turn the sun
on again I'll plant children
under it. I'll light up my soul
with a match and let it sing. I'll
take my bones and polish them, I'll
vacuum up my stale hair, I'll
pay all my neighbors' bad debts, I'll
write a poem called Yellow and put
my lips down to drink it up. I'll
feed myself spoonfuls of heat and
everyone will be home playing with
their wings and their planet will
shudder with all those smiles and
there will be no poison anywhere, no plague
in the sky and there will be a mother-broth
for all of the people and we will
never die, not one of us, we'll go on
won't we?

I was in a Santa Fe Gallery and saw a breathtaking yellow painting (yellow is still my first love) and this gorgeous poem was posted beneath it. The gallery owner graciously printed it out for me!

You may never look at a pencil in the say way again

Check out this link:

http://kronikle.kidrobot.com/pencil-tip-micro-sculptures-by-dalton-ghetti/

Truly amazing!

Weathers's great here...

I know a lot of you are shivering or crawling out from under snow, but I just came back from my daily walk. It was 58 and I wore a light jacket and short sleeve T shirt (I immediately took the jacket off...)

I have been trying to decide how to work on some anger issues that I have, and have started this three page spread. Background is red, violet, magenta with oil stick writing, more lettering and paint. I am sure that I am not through with this yet, but it is a good start.

Another TED video

Birke Baehr: What's wrong with our food system Video on TED.com

I guess that I grew up knowing where my food came from from my grandmother's garden and my grandfather's animals.

Fascinating Talk on TED, great ideas

William Ury: The walk from "no" to "yes" Video on TED.com

Check it out.

Great website

http://www.mystoryart.com/ is a great site for information, kits and inspiration. Stop by and check out her downloads.

FANTASTIC! I love the flash mob things....

PORK CHOPS

I got this from my friend Wild Horse Charlie...

In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.
The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cub's, perhaps she would improve.
After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species, will take on the care of a different species. The only 'orphans' that could be found quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops?? Take a look...

Now, please tell me one more time.........? Why can't the rest of the world get along??

Getting Better! I am finally able to do more art!

I have decided that I have been living in scarcity, and I need to get back on the abundance side of the equation! This is the beginning of my abundance piece. The quote is from my sister and reads "abundance is appreciation, not accumulation!" It's amazing how the "just right " quote will make it's way to me when I REALLY need it. BTW there is a hammock between the two palms!















This is the cover that I made for Women Who Run With the Wolves. Teesha Moore has You tube videos on how to make the small pieces.

quote

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect.

It is not what a man knows, but what he thinks of in time.
Mark Twain

Polaroid Pogo

I don't have one of these, but I know people who do....

Thanksgiving Eve Quote

"My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return."
Maya Angelou

Wishing all the world peace and happiness this Holiday season.

Artful Sunday spent creating Comfort Dolls

Ginger Quinn is working on a great project. This is part of a larger movement "The Price of Stones Nyaka AIDS Orphan Project ". This project is funded by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri for children orphaned by AIDs.

Read about Twesigye's school at http://www.thepriceofstones.com/ or http://www.nyakaschool.org/.

We all got together at Suzanne's house and created about 14 dolls (pictures will follow).

Dolls should be a maximum of 12" tall and lightweight. Mail your doll with a monetary donation (tax deductible) to

Nyaka AIDS Orphan Porject

P.O. Box 339

East Lansing, Michigan 48826

Fly the Flag

I signed up to fly the flag on a facebook group for veterans day, but I fly a flag everyday. When my oldest grandson went to pre-school and learned the pledge of allegience, he came home and wanted to practice. We had to hold up a hankie for him, and I said that I was going to go and buy this kid a flag to pledge to!
He is now 24 and I hope that he remembers pledging to the flag at Nana's house to a real flag. I still have it and put it outside yesterday for veterans day. The rest of the year it resides in my studio where I can see it everyday.

Quote:
Trust that still small voice that says, "This might work and I'll try it" Diane Mariechild

Video on TED.com

This is an amazing video. I read the book and it was inspiring and so is this video.

Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight Video on TED.com

Daily Optomism Wednesday

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. - Clive James

Tuesday quote

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. Carl Sagan,

Again, these are all from Qoutes of the Day qotd.com

Subject: Tell Congress: Don't cave to Sarah Palin. Stand up for NPR

Dear Friend, National Public Radio recently fired Juan Williams after he appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show on FOX News and made some controversial remarks. Now, Sarah Palin and other professional right-wing demagogues are exploiting this issue as an excuse to push Congress to defund NPR, which is something conservatives have wanted for decades. Whatever you think about the Juan Williams controversy, we cannot allow the right wing to dictate public policy by throwing a fit. And we cannot allow Congress to lie down when confronted with hypocritical, fake outrage from the Right. Join me in telling Congress: Don't cave to Sarah Palin. Stand up for NPR! It's really easy to do so at the link below. http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/stand_up_for_npr/?r_by=11984-2796343-Pg_VoJx&rc=paste1

sitting looking out at the yellow and red leaves on my trees

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
Eden Philpots

A great Dream Workshop:

See my friend Pamela's website:

Awakening to your Dreams

Awakening to your dreams:

Free website - Powered By Wix.com
I found that I had never posted this to my blog, so I am now.

No optomism today---

Of all ghosts the ghosts of our old loves are the worst. - Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859 - 1930

Learning to Dance in the Rain Movie

Learning to Dance in the Rain Movie: "Learning to Dance in the Rain Movie - It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word... gratitude, can change your attitude, and thus your life, forever. Sarah Breathnach said it best... When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present... We experience heaven on earth."

Thursday post

Aesthetic value is often the by-product of the artist striving to do something else. Evelyn Waugh
BTW--Van, without QOTD.com (Quote of the day) and LOL cats, my day would certainly not be as much fun!

I think that this is optomistic? Sure hope so...

Pisces (2/19-3/20)
Is there a whole lotta shakin' going on? Well, that's no surprise, especially since you've seen fit to start making some big changes in your life. Initially, things might seem crazier or more unsettled, but you just have to hold on past these disruptions. All change is stressful -- even change for the better. You may be revamping old patterns or foundations that had been in place for a very long time. Stay calm and it will get better soon.

Tuesday Quote

Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
Hilary Rodham Clinton

Monday again

this is a mite serious, but it struck me as the quote from www.qotd.org that I needed to post this chilly Monday morning

"A free society cherishes nonconformity. It knows that from the non-conformist, from the eccentric, have come many of the great ideas of freedom. Free society must fertilize the soil in which non-conformity and dissent and individualism can grow." Henry Commanger

Let's stop the fearmongering!

Lots of News

Beside my usual quote (www.qotd.org) my friend and I who were already in Santa Fe went to the Buffalo Thunder Casino to try out for Wheel of Fortune. There were probably a thousand people there. It was crazy, and they just draw your name out of a barrel. Hilarious, but neither of us got picked. Oh well....

here is my optomistic quote for the day:
"So far as I know, anything worth hearing is not usually uttered at seven o'clock in the morning; and if it is, it will generally be repeated at a more reasonable hour for a larger and more wakeful audience."

Moss Hart

Grey and cool day here, no rain yet today

All one's life as a young woman one is on show, a focus of attention, people notice you. You set yourself up to be noticed and admired. And then, not expecting it, you become middle-aged and anonymous. No one notices you. You achieve a wonderful freedom. It's a positive thing. You can move about unnoticed and invisible. Doris Lessing

Twas a dark and stormy night

last night, which was unusual. My sister who lives down south still has no power@!

Optomism for the day- you may have to read it twice before you see the optomism:

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. - Martin Luther King, Jr, 1929 - 1968 (Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964)

Tuesday Optomism... easier today

A day spent without the sight or sound of beauty, the contemplation of mystery, or the search of truth or perfection is a poverty-stricken day; and a succession of such days is fatal to human life.

Lewis Mumford

this is my latest brainstorm. My staircase is FREEZING in the winter, I created a stairwell quilt to block the cold air! I am adding it to my etsy shop~ www.etsy.com/shop/nmcreatrix.

Size is approximately 45" x 76" or a custome creation is available if your staircase is larger than those dimesions

Monday morning is here again and I need inspiraton

or at least optomism!



Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is no mere translation or abstraction from life, it is life itself. - Havelock Ellis

Oscar Wilde Quote

Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.
Oscar Wilde, 1854 - 1900

all from:
http://www.qotd.org/subscribe.html.

Smile Box

Create your own slideshow Cute, but I don't see how to stop it! It does open in another window so you can just stop that!

Optomistic--It's hard today

but here goes:

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." Twyla Tharp

This guy is great!

Personal Barcode

This should take you to my twitter site if you scan it into your mobile phone?? We will see.....

You can go to web.scanlife.com where you can create your own personal bacode.

Eternity

“Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.” Edwin Hubbell Chapin (borrowed from my friend Kathy Malkasian's Facebook post! "thanx Kathy")

I like to think that morning glories on my balcony give me a piece of eternity, even if they die and come back next year.

Optomistic Monday

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built."
Eleanor Roosevelt

Again from Quotes of the Day: http://www.qotd.org/subscribe.html.

Lazy Saturday

John Lennon would be 70 today had he lived. (Quote of the day is my source: http://www.qotd.org/subscribe.html.

"If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace."  John Lennon

Positive Quote for the day

"Aviation is proof that given the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible." Eddie Rickenbacker

Quote of the day is my source: http://www.qotd.org/subscribe.html.

Juliana Coles' latest class preview

Thursdays thought for the day

Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion.
     Desmond Tutu

I need to remember this every day!

In line with Dancing with the Stars...

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.

- John Milton, 1608 - 1674

I am indulging in my guilty pleasure -Dancing with the Stars

so here is my quote for the day:

... the main task of a creative person is to move from his or her “everyday mode” to that quieter, deeper, more passionate, more contemplative, livelier “space” where the creative encounter occurs."

-Eric Maisel, The Ten Zen Seconds

Optomistic thought of the day

I am going to post something optomistic as many days a week as I can.

Today it is a quote:

None of us really changes over time. We only become more fully what we are. Anne Rice

Remember the Good, the Bad, the Ugly?

I first saw the movie while attending NMSU in Las Cruces. The Rio Grande runs through the town, and as college students are wont to do, we went parking and partying on the river. Imagine my surprise when the hanging tree from the movie was one of our favorite parking/partying spots! So I feel a special connection to the movie and was fascinated by this rendition of the iconic theme song!

Quote of the day...

Nine times out of ten, in the arts as in life, there is actually no truth to be discovered; there is only error to be exposed.


Henry Louis Mencken, 1880 - 1956
 
Home from vacation and as always it is good to be home. I enjoyed my trip and visits with family and dear friends...
 
My son and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium, and if you are in the DFW area, you must really see it. And if you haven't seen it lately, they have added a new wing...
 

I am on VACATION!!!

And I REAALLLLLY needed it. I came down to my sister's house yesterday to celebrate my Mother's 87th birthday.
Since it is apple season in southern New Mexico and my nephew has LOTs of apple trees, we about a half-bushel of apples. We used my sister's apple peeler/corer and worked through them in less than an hour- much shorter than peeling, coring etc. by hand. It is a very ingenious, low tech machine and works like a charm. And it taught my nieces that apple juice comes from places other than a juice box! They were organic, so there was some critters to deal with but that is to be expected.
This afternoon we will have apple treats!

Great weekend!

The J squared nuptials came off without a hitch last night (Joe and Jan= j sqaured). Great ceremony performed by our friend Marya, and then we all jumped into the pool and hot tub.
Sunday the girls went to see Eat, Pray, Love. I enjoyed it.
My dear friend had to have her 22 year old cat put down on Friday, so I am very sad for her.
It is REALLY RAINING in ABQ this afternoon!
So all in all a very good weekend

This is green engineering!

A solar roadway. Great idea, check it out!
Getting ready for the wedding of Jan and Joe tonight! Best of luck!

While cleaning my studio this morning

UGH! I hate to clean the studio, but I was down to about a 12" square space to work in on my HUGE worktable (about 54" x 40") so the time has come....
Anyway while I was taking a break and reading email I found the following two quotes by Andy
Warhol:
I like to be the right thing in the wrong place and the wrong thing in the right place. Being the right thing in the wrong place and the wrong thing in the right place is worth it because something interesting always happens.
and

When people are ready to, they change. They never do it before then, and sometimes they die before they get around  to it. You can't make them change if they don't want to, just like when they do want to, you can't stop them.

Back to cleaning... fun fun fun

This big box turned over my giggle box!

thought that I would share it with you.

Since I have been surfing instead of cleaning, I found this cute video!

Another great quote for artists and/or writers

The blank page is only pretending to be blank. Everything that ever happened is hiding underneath it.


Margaret Atwood
(who just happens to be one of my favorite authors!)

Old technology effects from new software

Intersting article here: on apps that imitate imperfect old technology. Check it out

What a jam packed week!

But in a good way! Work is still work, but the Computer Creatrix 

is really moving along. New client and that is good.

Extreme Journalism is still also fabulous. 

And I have posted two of my videos to my You Tube channel. Check it out here

And it has been RAINING all over New Mexico for the last two days.

We really appreciate the rain, as it is sometimes very rare!

  

Can't get blogger to let me center this sunset pic, but this is an un-retouched photo from my balcony. Since there is moisture in the air the sunsets are spectacular

Immediately before I took this pic, there was a squre bolt of lightning.

I waited for 15 minutes and it never happened again.

Just one of those once in a lifetime things, I guess.

20 things that I love (besides my family...)

Part of an exercise for Juliana Coles' Extreme Journaling Workshops is to draw a natural scene and then list 20 things that I love.
1. rainbows
2. trees
3. BBQ smoke
4. Sizzling steaks in #3
5. fecundity ( I just love the sound of it!)
6. waves
7. labryinths
8. blue skies
9. Stairway to Heaven (the song)
10. oceans
11. the smell of rain
12. popcorn
13. the moon
14. the smell of baking bread
15. hummingbirds
16. red wine
17. waterfalls
18. cats
19. mangos
20 2012, as that is when I can retire
21. roses
22. sunsets
Of course I could go on...

New Videos from Juliana Coles

From the Trenches: Notes from the Field


Juliana Coles Favorite Supplies (a two part video!)


Enjoy!

July 4: gettng real and personal int the pursuit of happiness: {589}

Third installment of zingers (for me) of Simple Abundance:
"Many of us mistakenly think that lowering our expectations means we must surrender our dreams. Absolutely not.  Dreams and expectations are two very different things. Dreams call for a leap of faith, trusting that Spirit is holding the net, so that you can continue in the re-creation of the world with your energy, soul gifts, and vision. Expectations are the emotional investment the ego makes in a particular outcome: what needs  to happen to make the dream come true . The ego's expectations are never vague: Oscars, magazine covers, the New York Times Bestseller list. Your dreams must manifest exactly as the ego imagines or someone isn't going to be very happy. And guess who that is? The ego! Since none of us can always predict the future... this kind of thinking is self-destructive. Because if we don't live up to the ego's expectations, we've failed again. And at some point we really do give up.
The passionate pursuit of your dreams sets your soul soaring; expectations that measure the dream's success tie stones around your soul. ...Living your life as a dreamer and not an "expector" is a personal declaration of independence...Dreaming, not expecting allows spirit to step in and surprise you with connection, completion, comsummation, celebration. You dream. Show up for work. Then let spirit deliver your dream to the world.

Simple Abundance Part 2 It's always my choice

Second quote from Simple Abundance
July 2: The simplest of Pleasures: One Good Thing That Is.
"Not too long ago, an 8 A.M. phone call announcing a major change in plans sent my day careening out of control. I hung up the phone, my heartbeat accelerating. In one stroke my carefully arranged coping stragety was out the window and my host of commitments had been amade almost unmeetable. This was too much, I thought, as I paced back and forth, muttering and moaning under my breath. I had three choices before me, but only one real-life solution: scream with rage a the top of my lungs, put my head in the toilet, or take a deep breath and redeem the day with Plan B.
...So I poured myself a cup of tea and reaclled the Hasidic prayer, "I know the Lord {Goddess} will help --but help me Lord {Goddess}, until you help.
The reality was that the day would be as hards as I made it. Or as pleasant. There was nothing I could do about my circumstances but accept them. "It's always my choice," I reminded myself. Not necessarily  to like ... but to try to catch the ball. ...success in life is not  how smoothly we execute Plan A; it's how smoothly we cope with Plan B. "{Curly brackets and bold are mine}

Simple Abundance

As some of you might remember, I am following Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I will go for days, and then a ZINGER will really hit home. June was a very active month, and alot of stuff went directly into my soul.
June 28: Repotting: Giving Roots and Yourself Room to Grow:
"" I don't know when I myself am potbound," Gunilla Norris confesses in her numious devotional, BEING HOME, "lacking courage to be replanted, to take the shock of the new soil, to feel into the unknown and take root in it.
We too, need to consider repotting for growth. But when? When we wilt even before the day begins. When we can't remember the last time that we laughed. When we have absolutely nothing in the next 24 hours to look forward to. When this happens, week in, week out, we need to realize that we're pot-bound. We need to gently loosen the soil aroud our souls, find something that sparks out imagination, quickens our pulse, brings a smile or giddy lilt  to our converstaions.
But repotting does not mean that we have to leave the marriage or quit the job. It just means that we need something new. "
I'm not so sure about the last statement, but time will tell. More in my next post.