Mountains

Wow! I haven't been on in awhile. Geesh! I do apologize but life was happening. I did manage a road trip with a writing friend, Donalee. Thank goodness she's got a Prius. Gas was next to nothing so I bought her lunch. We went to Marshall, NC. What a cool little town on the French Broad River. Population 900. Yes, I'm in love. I will have to go back. It's right in the mountains.

The skies opened up before we went to have lunch. Boy did it pour. It was nice and refreshing.

This shot was taken from the island in the middle of the river.

That's the City Hall building. This little town is the County Seat.

Anniversary

Yes, it's my anniversary. Yesterday was the day I left Michigan for North Carolina ten years ago. I can't believe it's been that long. I thought I would be upset but I wasn't. I learned a lot, met some really nice people, and did some really cool things.

• Participated in many art & craft shows
• Had my work in several shops and galleries
• Was part of a three woman show in the Delta Arts Center
• Was interviewed on the local radio for that exhibit
• Showed up in a couple of local papers for my artwork
• Visited two National Forests, a waterfall, and other scenic areas
• Made it to the coast and the mountains
• I started writing a lot and made the goal with National Write a Novel in a Month, several years

And other things. I don't know exactly what the next ten years will hold. I don't know if I'll be in the same spot. But I am hopeful. I am ready for another part of the play. I have new ideas for artwork, which I will finally own. So many have told me how much they like my work, many have bought some but I just didn't see it. Now I do. I will own my creativity, my talents and be the crazy art lady. I will be prolific. And I'm ready. Many demons have been slain. 

Let's do this!

A New Year!

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a fun time doing things throughout the month to celebrate my special day. Capped it all off spending time with some friends at an art reception and eats at Muddy Creek Cafe. It was so good talking and laughing with good people.

Today starts my New Year. I have some major plans on the drawing board and will have to work like a maniac for the next two years for it to happen. I've been in this spot for nine years, it's time to make a move. I have started my recons to the  mountains of North Carolina and I think I've found the spot where I want to settle. It has everything. A great art/craft vibe, lots of interesting people, tons to do: tubing down a river, rafting, hiking and biking, fishing, museums, great places to eat, lots of festivals just about all year round, and natural beauty. That's for the move, I will also kick up the creative projects up a few notches. My artwork, quilts, writing will all go into override because I am moving to the mountains. I've been toying with the idea for the past several years and now I've put it out to the universe.

Am I scared? Heck yeah! But the excitement is even more powerful. You can accomplish a lot when you're excited about something. And I will document everything. So let's get started.

I got these today from a local craft store. It has a point program and if you get so many points by the end of the year, you get a $10 coupon. Yeah, yeah, you spend more than you get back but when that $10 comes in at the beginning of the year, that's when I really need something from the store. So I'm good. I've just about run out of my paints. Some, not very good ones, so I've decided to go for the gold and get better paints. One, you don't have to use as much to get the color you want. The color saturation is so much better and basically, you get what you pay for. Plus, I haven't used artist grade paints since I was last in college and that was a long time ago. Years. Eons. You get the point.

I love the little beach chair. What will I do with it? I don't know but if I'm going to go back and get a couple more, I need a good reason to do so. I have an idea and will start sketching it out. The paint is Golden Manganese Blue Hue. Coupons help too.

I've got a list to attack. Have a great day.

Moving Right Along

I've been working on my Raggedy Ann doll. Her parts have been stuffed and will be ready to paint today. I may even work on some other dolls too. The day is still young. I was invited to a fiber arts guild meeting earlier this week. The meeting changes locations each month and this month was at one of the member's home. Nice place. It was in a part of NC I hadn't been, Sparta. It's very pretty there.

I also finished longarming another quilt top.

 
Last Saturday I went to the local farmer's market. I found beets. I love beets and they were worth every penny spent because I knew they hadn't been treated with a bunch of chemicals. Plus, I'm helping my local economy. I had seen articles on growing new plants from other plants you get and cook with. Like onions, bok choy, celery. So I thought that I would try the beets. I asked the farmer if he had any plants and said it was late and they would have plants closer to fall. That beets can be planted in the fall, covered with hay and they will be ready for harvest in the spring. Nice. But I didn't want to wait so I did this. Cut off the tops, and I do eat the beet tops too, and place this remaining part in a little water. The worse would be for the thing to get slimy, moldy and just die. Or, it could sprout, like what it's doing here in this pic. Amazing. So maybe by fall, I'll have some beets.

Happy June!

It's a new month. My birthday month and I will be working to do some neat things leading up to my birthday at the end of this month. I'm excited. I haven't been excited about my birthday in a long time. I'm grateful that I've made it to this age. I've done quite a few things in my life that others may not get a chance to do. But let's wrap up May.

May

• Read 4 books
• I did some writing but didn't get my short story finished, I guess I'm going back to 100 words or one page a day for June
• I longarmed 5 quilts
• I planted a veggie garden and I've got flowers popping up
• I went to the One Way Art Show in King, NC
• I went on an overnight stay with two friends to Hendersonville and Flat Rock, NC; saw some lovely quilts at a quilt symposium, had dinner at Hubba Bubba Smokehouse and breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe.
• Did 6 daily sketches and some other small sketches for Halloween pieces
• Started watching a series on Netflix
• 12 World of Wendy Lu blog posts
• 5 wendy b quilts blog posts

I had a great time going out of town for a day and overnight stay. Sometimes you just need to get away to clear your head and rejuvenate your creative being. Now I feel like I can rock 'n roll. Here are some sights from Hendersonville.

My friend Hattie was looking for antiques for her jewelry and artwork. I was the one who found some treasures. Cigar boxes for some ghoulies and Deliverance, the novel. Hardback even. I've only seen parts of the movie, never all the way through even though the river scene was filmed in North Carolina.

I've got some sketching to do, writing, and catch up on some sewing now that I have my sewing machine back! I have some plans for the month but left room to do other things. I hope you hang around to see what goes on in my wild and wacky life.

Carolina Mountains

Just because.

Blue Ridge Adventure Part II

 Fog.

 Sometimes when we would come out of fog from around a bend, I'd be waiting to see a headless horseman or some spooky specter. Nothing.

 Things being boarded up for the winter.

 This was a unique picnic area. There was a meandering stream throughout the park and tables were set up around.

 In a couple of spots, there were these stones in the stream so you can cross over to small islands. I did cross here and got wet. Cold but fun.

The water wasn't that deep and I didn't get wet until on my way back. We also saw a small herd of deer. From Asheville, we drove to Blowing Rock and stopped at Kilwins to get caramel apples. Not just any caramel apple, I got a turtle caramel apple with pecans and chocolate. Oh my goodness! I love Blowing Rock too. It's a very nice little town. I love the small shops and eateries. Then we headed to Boone where we had dinner. I love fall and I love the mountains. I really could live in the mountains. We got back home around 8 on the PM and we were beat. But I was invigorated creatively and ready to take on my next artistic challenge.