Saturday, August 27, 2011

Good Morning Saturday!

Right now I'm sitting in my most favorite spot in our whole house drinking coffee and reading. Its my sky chair on our newly enclosed porch! Its quiet for once and I'm just enjoying the sun, the sky, and the peace. I feel that today is going to be a great day. Don't you feel like that sometimes? There is no particular reason for it, you just feel today will be great. I've got a few little things planned but nothing to spectacular. Just living simple.

One reason I'm just so happy is that I'm reading the latest issue of Artful Blogging and feeling very connected to what some of the bloggers are talking about. When I get a magazine the first thing I do is go thru it pretty quickly just looking at pictures and big things that jump out at me. Then I go thru it again and focus in on articles of interest. Funny but the first article of interest was the first one by blogger Kelli Murray. Loved the images and art and then loved what she was saying. I can't tell you how important it is to really take the time to learn about someone....you make connections you'd never thought you'd make. Once I read about her in Artful Blogging I found similarities in ideas and thoughts. Thats something you just can't do by only looking....you have to be able to ask or read more about that person to feel connected.

Here are a few other reasons I'm feeling happy today:
:: Heading to the market for tomatoes, cucumbers and berries. Planning on doing a bit of canning in the days ahead. This always reminds me of Fall....a favorite season.
:: Taking some time to read my book club book, My Fair Lazy. Its hard for me to sit still but today I'm dedicating some time just for that.
:: Studio time. Before the school year starts I like to cram as much beadmaking in as possible. I have Clothesline coming up as well as some other events and I need plenty of product.
:: A nice long walk or bike ride with my husband. He has been plenty busy this summer and we really have had limited time together. Simple things are often the best.
:: A little knit time. Oh, I love to knit but I don't often make time for it. With all the other things I've got going on, knitting takes the last seat on the bus. Today I feel like knitting too......I have plenty of projects to work on.

Hope you have a wonderfully happy day too!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Summer Wrap Up

Summer is coming to a close in just a few short weeks. Back to school. Back to work for me. The nice thing about going back to work is that I love my job teaching art!  I don't get sad about the work, I get sad about giving up my life of leisure. Once the school year begins however, I feel like I'm back in the saddle & ready to roll.



Sonnenberg Gardens had their Arts at the Gardens show this past weekend and it was glorious as always. Saturday was beautiful...hot actually but I didn't mind a bit. Sunday was a mixed bag....gloomy and wet at times and nice and sunny at other times. This picture is when we arrived to set up...Peter's favorite thing (ha, ha, ha). The Sonnenberg show is one that I look forward to every year since the atmosphere, the staff and volunteers really are exceptional. All the vendors are awesome too. Of course, this show is extra special because we were married there 20 years ago almost on the date of the art show!


These are a few more of my rubber bangles that I've been making. Love them. However, I made my first batches using my hand & wrist as a guide. Makes sense right? Well, I never realized how small my hand was.......to me they look like an average size hand. Ah, but I was wrong. The first batch fits someone with a small knuckle to knuckle span which I've learned is not the average. To fit a bangle properly you need to measure knuckle to knuckle since this is where it needs to fit over.  So, I've adjusted my measurements and now have a great sized bangle that I hope will fit many.......I hope to have a number of these for the Clothesline Festival in a few weeks!

Now that summer is almost over, I have to really think about all I want to cram in! I was thinking of doing some canning....haven't done that in a number of years! Always like pulling out fresh tomato sauce in the dead of winter....or jam...or chow chow! I'll need to talk with my friend who is a great cook to get ideas from her!