Lazy Sunday

I think I could stay in bed all day, unfortunately that is not an option.  I have cats to feed, kitty boxes to scoop, cushions to make, errands to run and a myriad of other things to fill my day!  Now the cats on the other hand, sleep all day.  I think in my next life I will come back as a pampered house cat.  What a life!

We are making progress on the upholstery project, I can almost see the end in sight.  I will be so happy when this project is complete; there's too much repetition for me.  I have been working on some ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) just to break the tedium - it's been fun.  It also keeps my creative juices flowing in anticipation of getting back to work after this project is finished!  This is going to have to be a very short post, I've got to quickly make some juice before it is time to pick-up Mutt to work on the cushions.  I am learning a lot, so that's a positive thing.

Bharata returns from Canada tonight, so that's exciting.  He's been at a yoga staff reunion since Wednesday.  I'm glad he was able to go and he's having a great time, but I miss him, so I'm glad he'll be back tonight.  The cat's miss him to; I'm much stricter than he is!

Well, have a spectacular day, I'm going to!

Awesome Afternoon

Success! Oh how sweet it is. I can't tell you how happy I am this cushion is now behind me. It was beginning to feel like the movie "Groundhog Day," it seemed all I did was remake this cushion. It isn't perfect, but perfection is highly overrated. I cannot believe those words just came out of my mouth! Well, in the words of Julia Child, "never apologize and never make excuses." I think it looks pretty good.

I desperately needed a diversion to keep the cushion for the ottoman from totally making me crazy, so I started playing around with making a throw pillow and I rather like the way it turned out. Very yogic, don't you think?

I told you this morning I was going to treat myself to a movie if I finished the cushion and I did just that. I went to see Julie and Julia. It was divine! Meryl Streep was incredible, as usual and Amy Adams gave a great performance. I had no idea Julia Child had such Joie de Vivre and it was contagious, it made me want to take up French cooking! Ha, that won't work, I think it's against the law or something to say "French cooking" and "raw vegan" in the same sentence. Well, I can at least let her teach me to live my life with complete abandon. Might as well shoot for the moon, right? Hey, I can always settle for a star if I don't make it, but if I don't even try where will I be?

I forgot to post the picture of I took of Red napping in the sun this morning. He looked so peaceful. Well, I'm going to leave you with that. I have to get myself to bed or I will never make it up for meditation at 6 AM. Ciao!

A Fresh Start

The base upholstery is completed, all that's left is the cushions & pillows, which I thought would be the easy part. Wrong! They are proving to be quite a challenge, at least the ottoman is, which is where I started. I completely made it once and ripped it apart, partially did it a second time and ripped it apart again, third time's charm - keep your fingers crossed. After I work out the kinks on this one, the others should go quickly. The base upholstery came out looking great. It totally changes the room, it's bright and cheery!

I needed a break from the cushions, so I spent yesterday cleaning & doing laundry. It cleared (cleaned) my head, as well as the house. Today I begin with a fresh start and I feel certain the cushion will work out this time. How's that for optimism? I'm also thinking of giving myself a little treat and going to see the movie "Julie and Julia" this afternoon; assuming of course I work out the kinks with the cushion! That adds a little more incentive to get it right this time. I'm experimenting with some throw pillow ideas, so that provides a little fun between seam ripping. I finished the portrait of a friend I was working on. This cleans up some more loose ends, I can start fresh on several fronts, which is a good feeling.

I would like to get through with the cushions in the next few days and get back to my art before I leave for San Francisco. I'll have to wait and see if the Universe is in agreement with that plan or if there's more I need to learn from seam ripping. So far it seems (no pun intended) that the lessons are patience and perseverance, but there could be more or I may need to advance a bit further on one or both of those. I hope not, but we'll see. Have a fantabulous day!

Rainy Wednesday

Today is starting out rather wet & dreary, the remnants of tropical storm Ana are passing through as they make their way into the Gulf. I'm not complaining, the plants love the rain and I'm quite happy the storm dissipated. I have my fingers crossed we will escape yet another hurricane season with no storms! This makes for a great day to finish up little projects. I have a lot of those lying around, the upholstering is playing havoc with my time to work on my art. It shouldn't be too much longer and I can get back to my normal routine. I can't wait! I did finish two more pieces and a third is almost complete so that's progress. I can live with that. Well, I won't get anything finished if I don't begin, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll leave you with these two new pieces and I'm off! Have a great day.

We Did Good!

Well, I've impressed myself, I had concerns about how we were going to do on our reupholstery project, but so far we're doing great. The breakfast set (chairs) look better than they did when they were new. Better fabric choice :-)

Before

After

I have the "before pictures for the sofa & chair going in the living room, but I forgot to take them until I had removed all the cushion covers, sorry! But you still get the general idea - ugly! I can't wait to see how these come out, I have a very interesting plan for them - which I think is going to be great, so we will see! Here are the before shots.

Let's face it, these do not scream "HAPPY" but you just wait until Mutt & I get through with them, they'll have everybody smiling! Well, I have to keep this short, time to get started upholstering, this is actually turning out to be a lot of fun. Have a GREAT day!

What was I thinking?

Well, its official, I've lost my mind. I'm preparing to "reupholster" a rattan sofa, chair & ottoman and 4 breakfast chairs - knowing nothing about upholstery! I think that probably qualifies me. Mutt, my mother-in-law is going to help me with it; we begin tomorrow. I want it to have a fun, colorful, happy look (much like my artwork) so I have some bright fabrics and we're going to sort of mix it up! Which is probably going to complicate things a bit, but I will keep you posted. I'll take some before pictures and post them tomorrow. This is going in the "yoga house" and a friend was kind enough to give us some furniture they were getting rid of, but it just didn't scream happy. I'm hoping when I'm finished, it will, but I'll let you be the judge of that. We should have a lot of fun tomorrow. I may want to redo our house when I'm finished! I better not mention that to my husband :-)

Sunrise Blogging

Seems like early morning is the best time for me to blog, before the day runs away from me! I don't know if that happens to anyone else, but it certainly happens to me. The graduation Sunday was great, everyone had a terrific time and Lisa made delicious raw tacos, so I even had something I could eat. Yeah! Thanks Lisa. Durga took some great pictures, as usual. Here's a sample.

I didn't get much work done yesterday. Ione fell the other day, trying to get a small snake out of the bathroom, so she ended up in the hospital. Mutt and I went to visit her yesterday. Somehow it seems like I don't get a great deal done on days I have running around to do, regardless of how long I'm actually gone. I guess I should check into the whole time management thing! Obviously something about that is still eluding me after all these years. I did however discover the key to free motion quilting which I believe will help when I'm working with multiple layers of fabric and paper, to prevent jamming. The internet is such an amazing thing! It always amazes me when I stop and think back to BI (before internet) how did we survive, mailing away for information, going to the library to research something and if lucky, the book we needed hadn't been checked out. Now, everything is at our fingertips, immediately available. I guess this just feeds into the instant gratification mindset we all seem to possess these days. This just confirms there's an up and a down side to everything! I'll suffer the down on this one, I don't think I could ever go back - it would drive me crazy. I barely survive when our DSL is running slow. That's really bad, but I can't help it. Somehow I doubt I'm alone in this!

Lazy Sunday

Today has been one of those lazy days where although I'm doing things it just has a very laid back, lazy kind of a feel to it. You would think this kind of day would linger on and seem to last forever, but no, it has just flown by! I have to be honest though, sometimes when I'm working on a new piece, that happens, I seem to be in a different dimension where time seems to standstill. By now I guess you think I'm totally crazy, but it's true. I can't explain how it works exactly, but it has to do with my mind being focused or at least that's my understanding of it! But you're saying, "what does a crazy person know?" I'm saying, "you would be surprised!" Well, enough of that, I'll put pictures up when I finish the pieces from "the other dimension."

Unfortunately my post must be brief today, tonight is teacher training graduation at my husband's yoga center. This was a really great group of people, so I'm looking forward to their graduation. Toodle-oo!

Sleepless in Lake Worth

Well, I think this will be an early night. Durga and I went to an opening last night at Clay Glass Metal Stone Cooperative Gallery in Lake Worth. We both enjoyed it. I was impressed by how many people were there. Galleries don't usually draw such a crowd during the summer; I guess that speaks highly of the work. Anyone who has a chance should get by and take a look, you can find the hours posted on their website.

I haven't slept well the past few nights, I think it's the heat, we're going to leave the air conditioning on tonight and see if that helps. We went for a bike ride just before dusk, there was quite a breeze, so that made it invigorating. It was just what I needed. That should certainly help me sleep! Hope everyone has a great evening, sweet dreams!

Morning Cup of Joe

Mornings are such a peaceful time, well, after the cats are fed, they can be rather demanding! It's my time to go outside and read or journal while I have my morning coffee. Well, I don't drink coffee or anything with caffeine for that matter, but Maya herbal coffee "Chocolate" by teeccino is fantastic! It has no caffeine and it's organic; add a little alcohol-free vanilla and a few drops of stevia and I'm in heaven! This morning I was leafing through Quilting Arts Magazine listening to the birds and the crickets chirping, while I enjoyed my morning cup of Joe! (I never realized this phrase originated in the Navy). The early mornings and late afternoons are about the only times you can really spend outside during August in south Florida. Mid-day, even the birds aren't out, I may see the occasional dragonfly or perhaps some butterflies but that's about all. Yesterday I saw the most beautiful dragonfly it's wings were an iridescent red. Growing up, I only recall having seen green dragonflies, but in the past few years we've had green, blue, red and a golden yellow - they are spectacular. I think Saint Francis helps me really appreciate nature, there's a statue of him nestled among the foliage directly across from my chair. I wish I could talk him into attracting some fireflies! They are such magical little creatures. I remember watching them as a child, I would be mesmerized for hours. My husband and I did a lot of kayaking in Everglades National Park a few years ago and we saw them quite often out there. For anyone who has never experienced the Everglades, it's a national treasure that shouldn't be missed! I can't begin to describe the magnificence, it defies words. I'll look for some of my photographs and post them in the next couple of days, but if you ever have the opportunity, definitely go. It is the only ecosystem of its kind in the world. Meanwhile I'm going to continue trying to persuade Saint Francis to encourage the fireflies to pay me a visit! Hope you all have a great day!

Too Much Stuff

My husband forwarded me a link to a great podcast about clutter's effect on creativity, it was Marianne Williamson broadcast on Oprah.com. After listening to this, today becomes clear out some of the clutter day! I'd like to say I will clear it all, but I'm being realistic. I'm going to start with the arts & crafts supplies I've collected that never seem to make it into my work. I always seem to end up with things that don't totally resonate with me and therefore they keep getting pushed to the back of the bin. It reminds me of the kid in elementary school who was always the last to be chosen for a team at recess! I feel sad, all these poor little craft supplies that have the potential to shine in the right persons project! I know the perfect new place for them. My mother-in-law, Mutt (my husband's early attempts at saying mother came out "Mutt" and the name stuck) and her friend Ione started an art club at the retirement home where they live, so they will be the beneficiaries of my extra arts & crafts stuff. It's a win win situation, I clear clutter and the Art Club has fresh supplies. The club has actually been quite beneficial for the group at the home. Several people have said it gives them a reason to get out of bed each day; it has put meaning & purpose into people's lives. Any of you crafters or artists out there who find you have excess supplies might keep retirement homes in mind as beneficiaries, children aren't the only ones who benefit from donated supplies. Ione made me copies of several of her drawings, she did a nice job.

Art imitates life

They say art imitates life and when you see my house, you know that at least for me it's true. I told you I dream of living on an island - well... I created my own (you have to use your imagination)! My house is painted many of the same colors I use in my artwork, I have whimsical little painted turtles & lizards, wind chimes, and even a thatched roofed screen room, all nestled among plants so it's a little oasis. Bright colors have always "spoken" to me, I'm just not a subdued person when it comes to color. Actually, I should probably look at this, because I've always been rather subdued in other respects, maybe my art is telling me something! I'll get back with you on that one. Honestly though, you be the judge, does my art imitate my life (house)?

OK, now that you've seen my house, see how it compares to my art!

Fabulous Tuesday

I had a really great day today; finished two mixed media pieces & worked in a 4 mile bike ride in addition to making my juices and some great raw hummus; oh and don't let me forget spending some quality time with my kitties! One of which just happened to be the subject of one of the pieces I finished. I'm really feeling great and I truly believe the art is playing an important role in my regaining my life and my health. For me, art makes me look closer at what's important in life, I really see instead of merely seeing what my mind tells me is there. I guess you could say I take time to stop and smell the roses! It makes me really appreciate all that I have and it makes me more conscientious of how I treat the earth.

I really enjoyed making this piece. The cat's photo is a transfer from a color laser print. I started with a piece of muslin which I painted and wrote on, I sewed assorted scraps of fabric & ribbon on top of it, tacked the transfer on and finished with more paint (which I also used to stamp the letters) the final step was adding these bright colorful fish brads (which I love). Most of my work tends to be bright, tropical colors - I guess that's what happens when you live in south Florida. The only thing that could be better than this would be living on an island! I just returned from a long weekend on Sanibel Island, it was wonderful. There's just something about island living, everything slows down, worries disappear and I feel totally relaxed! We'll save my dream of island life for a later time.

Each new day is a new beginning

2009 has been a rather eventful year for me. In two months, from March 14 to May 14, I lost my mother to colon cancer, was laid off from my job and then I was diagnosed with breast cancer! At first glance these events appear rather devastating, and although they were, they also gave me a new lease on life! I decided on alternative treatment rather than conventional medicine for the breast cancer; so I went to Hippocrates Health Institute for their "Life Change" program. Life changing it was! This program allowed me to see that over the years I had allowed all the day to day minutiae, as well as other people to take over my life and because it happened so gradually I didn't even realize it. I had lost myself! In order to regain my health, I had to regain control of my own life; to get back in touch with who I am and to reclaim my creative nature. The life I had been leading for so many years wasn't nurturing my soul, it was draining not just my energy, but my very desire to live. So I guess this is about not just my art, but the recovery of my life! Which is rather exciting, to me anyway!