What I've Been Up To

Working hard on pieces for two shows. So far, this is what I have done. At least what's new. Angel ornaments and more Cauldron Critters.

These will be a different doll ornament. They are cut out and ready to be sewn.

I have to keep up on my pics. I do have some button skull ornaments I'm working on and some Figi Mermaid paintings that I've started. My list is long. I also have my Ghoulies stuffed and ready to be painted. Yikes!

Very Bad Paintings

I working very hard to do a painting a week.  My online art community's prompt was to paint using a color you don't normally use.  So I chose this green color.  The pics aren't the best.  Still trying to figure out how to be able to fix photos.

I'll try to get better pics later.  But I wanted to show that I'm creating.  They are acrylic on hot press 140 lb watercolor paper.  Not the affect that I wanted but I tried it.  I wanted to do something fast and I worked on both at the same time on one piece of paper then cut in half.  Took about two hours.  I'm really busy making things for my upcoming shows and this, right now is just for fun.

I don't know what's going on with Blogger

Fart!

Battleground Park - 5 August

Another post dated post. I will catch up on things very soon.  Battleground Park aka Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.  Maya took me to the park so we could play an interactive game.  I love that park.  It's the site for a Revolutionary War battle between General Greene (colonist and supposedly Greensboro was named after him) and General Cornwallis (British), who lost.  Amazing tactics on General Greene's part and now I must brush up on my Revolutionary War history.  There's tons of it right here in my backyard.  This is my first historic battleground I've visited.  I drove past Gettysburg once and that was solemn and creepy at the same time.

There are many monuments and graves there.  The walking/biking/car trails are excellent.  The Visitor's Center is very nice with a museum, small auditorium and gift shop with some awesome books in it.  And once a year, not too far from the park, there is a reinactment of the battle.  I have a friend who would go out there in costume.  I may just have to join her next year, if she's still going.

One cool story (this is a present day person looking back on history and it's many stories, war is not cool at all) is of a British soldier who died and was never found.  Years later, a farmer was plowing the area and found skeletal remains.  Years after that, DNA testing was done and his family found back in England.  I want to find other stories like that and get my costume designed.

Statue of General Greene.

Hello August! (post dated)

I wrote this the day my laptop crashed, so I'm posting it today.

This is late.  I didn't do an end of the month blog (July) wrap-up because my computer was on the fritz.  If it's not one thing, it's another.  Life just keeps throwing things at me (pies, greasy piglets, engine blocks) just to keep me on my toes.  I couldn't believe it.  I tried to be positive after crying myself to sleep the night it decided it was going to mess with my mind.  I told myself that crap happens.  They call it life.

I decided to let it go.  August 1, I had to run errands.  That's a great way to suck the creative juices from you.  Got home and tried to reinstall Windows.  Nothing.  I had lunch and read a book.  Loamhedge by Brian Jacques.  One of my favorite authors and I've been blessed to have met him before he passed away.  He writes the Redwall series, and I still have a few more books in the series to read.

I worked on my Google+ introduction for when I get back on my laptop.  For the rest of the day I wrote and worked on a doll.  I'll also add some sketching.  Halloween is approaching and I've got to get busy.

What I accomplished last month (July):

• Bless This House quilt top
• six doll pins, one a special order
• four short story rough drafts
• Map Hunter II rough draft, finished two days ahead of schedule
• finished my short stay for whenever I get to make a Regency gown
• finished my blue dragonfly blouse
• read two adult books, one kid book
• one landscape painting

I did okay giving up TV for the month.  I fell off the truck four times but as the month went on, I didn't miss it.  I did get the weather in the morning before my walk and I watched Under the Dome every Monday night and Sunday Morning for three Sundays.  I think that's pretty good and I don't really need TV.  I will continue to listen to my music during the day and watch movies.  I plan on giving up sitting for so long at a time and do more stretching and drink more water for August.

For this month, and it will be a bit crazy, I will attempt:

• finish one more quilt top
• make another blouse for me
• read three books
• Map Hunter III rough draft
• two short story rough drafts
• finish my socks
• goo gobs of Halloween stuff
• a painting a week, does not include sketches or practice pieces, yeah that may be harsh but we'll see
• finish my mermaid

I am off to do, something.  Hopefully my laptop can be saved.

I'm Back With No Pics

Hello people!  I'm back.  My laptop crashed and burned August 1 and I just got it back.  I've been reinstalling things, anti-virus stuff, browsers, Adobe, Java, and whatnot.  Good grief.  It's been quite an experiment not being online or just having the ability to type up stories.  The first two days were horrid.  I cried.  Then I got used to not having it and actually worked on things.  I did miss having it when I wanted to do some research or work on my stories.  But now, I'm back in business.

I will be backing up things on a regular basis.  I have to redo my document files and I'm glad I had the majority of those on a flash drive.  The full impact of what I lost hasn't hit me yet.  But I'm back...  I did write some blogs and I will be posting post-dated ones.  So bear with me.  I just uploaded pics and the program is different and I haven't figured out how to resize or fix photos.  Not too happy about that, but I've got my laptop back.

I also did a lot more reading too and almost finished another blouse.  I'm getting ready for an upcoming show, Halloween, the holidays, some workshops (one I will be taking and those I hope to teach), and more clothes.  I don't know if I'll have a costume ready for the Ren Fest coming up.  Oh well, there's always next year.