ABC ATC's Round 2

It's been several weeks since I've shown my ATC cards for the ABC ATC Round 2 group. I have already shown my A for Aurora Borealis, B for Birch Trees and C for Caribou. This group and the Global Greetings group has helped me to discipline myself in drawing and painting at least once per week. I am supposed to post the next letter of the alphabet every week on Sunday. I've been late a few times, but all in all, I'm getting much better at making time for art. I'm trying to expand my horizons and use different mediums. In this batch I've used pen/ink, watercolor and watercolor pencils.

D is for Dungeness Crab

E is for eggs, salmon eggs that is.

F is for Fireweed

G is for Grizzly Bear

H is for Halibut

I is for Iceberg

J is for Junco

K is for King Salmon

L is for Lemming

New Flooring

The new flooring is starting today. Last night before bed, we moved the computer desk, file cabinet, fridge and stove out from where they normally sit and everything is scrunched into the dining room. I've moved the fridge a time or two so that wasn't too bad, sides were clean and underneath not scary because sweetie spilled something under it about a year ago and he moved it out and cleaned under it.

But not the stove. That was scary - I don't think it's been moved for 21 years! And apparently I'm a messy cook. I found marbles, tinker toys, magnets and what looked like Travis' magic wand from back in the day when he wanted to grow up and be a magician. He's married now and a junior in collage so that was quite a while back when we had those kinds of toys in the house. I ended up cleaning the outside sides of the stove. My sweetie insisted on taking a picture of how bad it was but I'm not posting it. You'll have to use your imagination.

I should come home tonight after work and find a new floor in my kitchen. Living room, dining room and hall get re-carpeted next Wed. Then the bedrooms are the week after that. We are going to re-paint the bedrooms as we move stuff out. It's going to be a busy three weeks!

Changing of the Guard

A sure sign spring is really coming is when we have the changing of the guard at my workplace. For those of you who don't know, my sweetie and I both work for the city's garbage utility. Me - inside in the offices, him - outside driving trucks. Since we work in garbage we see lots of birds that are attracted to garbage; seagulls, ravens and eagles. All winter long it is ravens and eagles and then there is a week in the spring where it switches to seagulls. Today Tim saw three SEAGULLS. That means spring is really here.

Sunday Sketching

Today I sketched this woman who normally sits in the front row on the right hand side. Today she sat in front of me and my sister and even turned around and SHHHSSSHd me very noisily because I was talking to another lady - it was just at the end of the "meet and greet" time so I didn't feel like I was making that much noise. I had a few feelings of irritation and then I reminded myself that I was in church and that I should just forgive her. That's what it's all about after all. So I did, and then I drew a nice picture of her. Her coat was kind of bulky and she had the collar tucked up high around her neck.

PS I could see it snowing while we were in church, it had stopped by the time church was over though and none of it stuck. Spring still seems too far off for me!

Carina

My book Carina was sent to the printers either today or this coming Monday! We should have it back in four weeks. I did several sketches of sea-going creatures for ends of the chapters. This brown pelican is one of them.

I'm starting to think about my opening reception/book signing. I'm supposed to have a 2-3 hour reception, serve light refreshments and invite about 200 people by postcard. I think I know that many, but now that I'm faced with it, it's starting to get a bit scary. I'm supposed to be compiling a mailing list, but as you can see, I'm not working on it yet. We will be sending out postcard invitations to all ( even though many of you are out-of-state and won't be able to attend.) Once I receive the copies and figure out how much it will cost to mail it out, I'll start taking orders by email too!

What is your opinion about a book signing? Should it be in the evening? On a weekend? mid-day or late afternoon? I really value your advice so please let me know....my first thoughts are a Saturday afternoon from about 4:30 to 7:30 pm. (Some of my co-workers don't get off until 6:30 pm on Saturdays.)

Singin' don't worry....

This whole loan process has been a roller coaster ride. First we were approved, then we weren't, now we are again. It really messes with your mind. Getting a loan to purchase property has you jumping through hoops that make you wonder who's in charge? Who makes these rules? Who gets to decide if we are a good risk or not? Some dude in a business suit in New York?

In our case it all came down to our flooring being "near the end of useful life" and some "dog damage on trim by door." That is NOT a lie. We do have horrible carpet (it's 21 years old and has gone through 6 dogs, 3 litters of puppies and 2 kids). We also have multiple scratch marks by the back door where the dogs tell us with their feet when they need to go out.

The bad news is that we are being forced to purchase new carpet and fix the trim. The GOOD news is that we are being forced to purchase new carpet!!!! I could care less about the trim.

So now I get to go and look at new carpet! I've been wanting it for a long time!

Since I've been reading my book for about the umpteenth time, I leave you with this little song I learned in the Caribbean:

Rise up this morning. Smile at the rising sun. Tree (three) little birds, on my doorstop,
Singing sweet songs. A melody pure and clear. Singing: This is my message for you....
Singin' don't worry 'bout a thing. Cuz every little thing is gonna be alright.

Amazed

I'm truly amazed. I am proofing my book....again, for the last time. I'm on page 109 out of 222 and I've found 5 errors in spelling already. That may not seem like alot, but keep in mind I proofed it thoroughly just 2 weekends ago. And I edited it and proofed it at least 15 million times before this. How can I be so sloppy!? It's not possible, you think, until you proof it again.

I'm amazed. I can now see why I find errors in books occasionally. They are hard to find. Either that, or my editor is putting in errors when I return it to him to test my sleuthing abilities. Yeah, that's it!


Here are two recent pics of my cutie patooties. Hailey, age 6 months is on top. Bottom is Emily, age 3. I get to see them in approximately 4 weeks! YAY!

Sunday Sketching

I didn't bring my sketchbook today, I decided to just do a small sketch on the bulletin. I was sitting near the back and since my eyes don't see very far without squinting, I had to pick something fairly simple. I wish our church had more interesting windows, or architecture, or something.

Artsy Friends

I appreciate all of you! If you've been following my blog for any length of time, I started out with mostly family/dog/cabin news. Then I met all these artist bloggers and my blog started to grow and change! I have so enjoyed the challenge and encouragement that has been provided through all of these new artist friends. Because of them I now sketch, paint and write more regularly than I ever have before. I am enjoying getting the art side of me back into my life. (I wonder if I joined a group that cleans houses if I would become a better housekeeper?)

It started with joining the Cactus Monday group. What a hoot! That's been a lot of fun! Then I joined an ABC ATC (artist trading cards) group where we create an ATC using letters of the alphabet and send them on to the next person on our group list. That means I get a fun ATC in the mail every week and soon will have 26 of them, from A to Z. Around that time I also joined the Drawing in Church blog where we all sneak our pens/pencils into church and draw pictures. After that I joined a Global Greetings group where we each send a creative postcard to other members in the group. The cards can be sewn, collaged, painted, drawn, whatever strikes our fancy. That has been fun too as I get all these cards in the mail.


One of my new friends, Peg, just sent this in the mail for no other reason than she was thinking of me! She made this bookmark for me because it reminded her of my new book coming out and she sent along with it a print of her ATC "Art in My Heart" design. I love them both! Thank you for thinking of me!

Here is the collection of postcards from my Global Greetings group that I've received so far - aren't they a lot of fun?! Some are sewn, some are stamped, collaged, painted, etc.


Thank you all! It has been so much fun to be included in this group. I promise to send some more postcards out this weekend. (I wonder what the postal carriers think of us?)

More cabin pics

This is my niece Jadyn. She was pouting because the other kids "wouldn't let her have a turn on the sled". I told her to come over by them and I'd make sure she got a turn. She was laying in the snow while waiting. I told her I wanted to take her picture, so smile. She didn't. So I took her picture anyway. Then I said, "why won't you smile at me?" And she said, "I did, my body is shaped like a smile!"
These are the trees my nephew JoJo "planted" in these snow buckets for us. After Tim had shoveled and swept the porch clean, JoJo brought big chunks of snow up on it and ground it against the boards to "make snow" although he was surrounded by tons of snow all around him.

This is the "water hole". It's a natural spring that someone has dug out and attached a hose to and sheltered under this little A-frame. Lots of the people out here snowmachine or 4-wheel to this place to get fresh water.
Me and sweetie in front of a trail marker.
Our friends, Rick and Patti. Patti always claims I spell my name wrong, but of course we all know she's the one that spells her name wrong!

Moose - 2, Patty's Tree - 0

There's been a pesky moose hanging around our neighborhood.

This is a moose bed in my front yard. I came out the front door two mornings ago and was very startled when a moose scrambled to her feet just 15 feet away. I think she's slept here two nights now.
These are moose tracks, all swarming around my front yard and my May Day tree. (and a few kid tracks too)

These are the branches that my sweetie trimmed after the moose munched on my tree again and broke a bunch more branches.

At this rate my tree is going to be gone soon. And the moose will be fatter.

Projects

I had lined up a few projects for myself to do at the cabin.

1. finish the dog coat for Maryann
2. proof my book Carina
3. finish an ATC card for my ABC ATC's Around the World group
4. Create a painted postcard for my Global Greetings group
5. finish a fleece blanket (you just tie two pieces of fleece together all the way around)

Here's what I got done:

I finished the coat for Maryann but the coat didn't fit. I didn't estimate enough fabric around the chest area and she kept pulling the velcro apart where I planned it around the neck and waist. So I got frustrated with it and threw it away. She had to wear a sweatshirt instead.

I proofed my book. That is something I accomplished and felt good about.

I did not paint or draw or make the fleece blanket. But I did do a lot of snacking, snowmachining, visiting with my friend and all around had a good time.

Timber

There are three trees in our front yard area at the cabin that partially block the view of the lake and Mt. McKinley. While at the cabin Sweetie decided to take one out since he had the help of another man (my daughter-in-law's dad). Rick hauled branches with the snowmachine and sled up to the fire pit in front of our porch.

The one on the right that leans towards the lake has got to go!

Sweetie showing you proper tree cutting posture -he's notched the other side to make sure it falls towards the lake.

Timber!

Now the clean up begins. They hauled all the branches up to the cabin so that we can burn them in our fire pit. Sweetie saved three sections from the base to cut in half lengthwise and use as bench seating around our summer fire pit.

This view of Mt. McKinley was taken from the cabin loft after that tree was cut. Yes, a zoom was used, we are not that close to the mountain.

The trip to the cabin was so much fun! I plan to post a few pics here over the next couple days. I really enjoy getting out in the fresh air, visiting with good friends, working on projects and riding on the snowmachines.

Back for a few hours

We just got back from the cabin and got rid of the monsters brought home the three precious darlings. We raised two of our own children, but it's different when they belong to someone else.

There were a few tears (one of them missed her mommy) a few fights (she told me she won't be my friend anymore!) and lots of giggling! We took our grand-niece, our nephew and another girl from church who is friends with both. In truth, we had a marvelous time. The kids were great considering they had to use an outhouse to go to the bathroom, they had to eat whatever I cooked them (not how my mom makes it!) and they were cold...lots! But they got to all learn to ride snowmachines by themselves, they went sledding on our little hill, they planted sticks in buckets of snow and indoors they colored, drew pictures and played with some toys they brought. They were troopers, it was only 10 degrees when we got there and -2 degrees this morning. Playing outside in the cold takes a lot of energy!



Tim and I are exhausted. Tim took the kids three different times out on the lake and let them ride the snowmachine up and down. I dressed them in boots, mittens, hats, snowpants and coats at least 20 million times.

Now we're getting ready to drive back up with some friends of ours; our daughter-in-law's parents. At least I won't have to help them put their mittens on! I hope.

Mountain Majesty

We've been getting snow - a couple more inches last night. (Update - I was sadly mistaken - we got 6+ inches of snow with another 8-10 predicted!) This is good for snowmobiling but not so good for those of us who are craving spring. Since I'm in both categories, I guess I'll be happy about it!

We leave this evening to take three kids and three dogs to the cabin. It's going to be fun but also crazy busy. Last time we just took two kids and I spent the whole time helping put boots, mittens, hats and snowpants on and off all day. In between all that I'll be making cocoa.

I did NOT finish MaryAnn's jacket so she will probably have to wear a sweatshirt or I'll just wrap a blanket around her. I got the blueline of my book, so I'm taking that with me to proof. When I told my husband I was taking the book to proof, the jacket to finish sewing, my watercolors to create a few more ABC ATC's (I'm behind - I didn't get G done yet), maybe draw/paint a postcard or two....it was about then that he told me "you sure are optimistic" which I think meant, "you crazy woman! You will never get all that done!"

That's me, eternally optimistic. Oh yeah, and I won't be here so see you all when I get back.

Cactus Monday

My mom brought me this small painting back from Arizona. She met a woman, Tevila Rockwell, who uses melted crayons to paint with. If I remember correctly she used toothpicks to apply the crayon to cardstock. I googled her name but couldn't find any information on her at all.

I really like the texture of it and the colors used; it looks very southwestern to me. Happy Cactus Monday to you all! Head on over to Teri's blog to see more cactus art and pictures.

Skipping Church

There are no Sunday Sketches today since I skipped church. I do have a meeting at church tonight at 6:00 pm that may allow me time to do a quick sketch but we shall see. I've had a cold for a few days, popped something in my knee that is causing me pain and today I have a migraine. I'm feeling a bit unprepared for heading out to the cabin this week, but I'm sure it will all come together.

I spent much of yesterday working on a homemade coat for our dog MaryAnn to wear while going to the cabin. Since we are taking three children, MaryAnn is going to have to ride in the back of the truck with Panda. Panda is plenty furry and part husky so she won't care. MaryAnn is a pampered indoor dog with hardly any fur. The truck has a cab covering so she will be out of the wind and she'll be in a kennel with blankets and Panda which will provide her warmth, but I still want her to have a jacket to wear. I've looked for coats around this town before and she's rather large, I've not been able to find anything to fit at a reasonable price, so I decided to make my own. I forgot that I HATE to sew. I don't know if it's just me or does thread spin and twirl and knot up on everybody?!

Please don't make me ride in the back of the truck with the other dogs!

Little Moose

The moose are back. At least this little guy was (his mom is probably my tree killer!). He started out in our neighbors back yard, but when he saw my sweetie taking his picture from the back porch, he moved around to the front of the house.

Tim opened the front door and kept taking pics as the little guy came up and nibbled on my rose bush and then he came right up to Tim and let him pet his nose and rub his muzzle.

There are about 1,000 moose that live in Anchorage year-round. The municipal site I checked states that in a winter with very heavy snow we see even more because they are drawn to areas with less snow where they can navigate easier.