Hold Dear

Rooty Toot Toot.

I am done-didely-dood with my Research Paper. All that's left to do is print it off at work (SUCH a better printer than the one here at the house!) and make a copy for me and we're good to go! My eyeballs are SO SORE! Sunday night when I finalized the content I just had to sit and keep my eyes closed. Just so much computering, thinkin', and woodcutting!

And speaking of woodcutting, man that was tough! I mean CRAZY tough! My fingers were killin' me! Wow...just so much more intense than I dreamed it would be. And so much more different than stamp carving. Man, that's gonna be a breeze after what I just went through! :-) I wasn't super happy with the result but, hey, for a first effort, not too bad I guess. I worked on three different versions, each one using less and less detail.

So here is a picture of the woodcut and then a picture of the illustration it produced.

Don't be surprised if see this image on your Christmas card! I worked hard on it and so I'll be using it every chance I get! :-)

Haiku Tuesday.

I am very pleased to announce that we have a special "guest poet" for today's Haiku. My sister Simone has been penning some Haiku lately and this one brought me to tears. Yes, Haiku will do that to a person. She agreed to let me share this one with you. It's about our sweet sweet Daddy.

Big strong arms hold me.

A sweet kiss on my forehead.

Please, do not let go.

Our wonderful dear father. Gone ten years now. We were reminiscing about some of his idiosyncrasies like how he would always leave a paper towel on the counter for the next morning's breakfast preparation or how he always kept that big glass of water by his bedside. We agreed, though, that the one thing we miss the most is being in his strong arms. Safe from everything. Time stopped when you were in his arms.

Blah Blah Blah.

I was just thinkin', I don't write enough on my blog. Oh sure...there's lots of words and all that but they are usually there just to support pictures of the art and fun that I post. So today's post will just be words. I have a few thoughts I need to "earmark" in my brain.

I decided not to take a credit course during the summer. I really want to have some time to spend with my family and ENJOY my new artsy endeavor, aka Just Johanna Design Team. I'd also kinda like to be doing some scrapbooking too! I am thinking of taking non-credit class too. Jewelry Making, specifically, beading. That would fun and NO HOMEWORK! :-)

This spring term has been slightly stressful for me. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that in addition to the History of Graphic Design class, I am also taking a LOMA class which is an insurance industry course. I'm still on the fence if I want to withdraw from the course. The exam is this Friday and I'm WAY behind in my reading. It would cost $40 to withdraw but I'm thinking that might be a small price to pay for my sanity. The thing is, if I fail, I have to pay the $40 since I've failed before. So, in my mind, either way I'm about to lose $40! Even though I've worked in this industry for 12+ years, you've seriously got to READ the textbook. Some of the stuff I know through osmosis but apparently not enough to pass! That's just what happened last time. I only got about half way through the reading and still took the test thinking I could get by. Didn't work that way though. I just don't work with the actual contracts enough to know all the intricacies and details. Lesson learned!

And speaking of insurance, I had a VERY pleasant conversation with my new Supervisor, Lee, yesterday. My current job title is Senior Project Leader. Totally not anything I ever meant to do...I just kind of landed in this job. I was doing the whole Supervisor thing but about four years ago, I decided that my family needed my emotional energy and not the immature people at just didn't get that when you come to work, you should work!!! Gadzooks how frustrating! Anyways, Sr. Project Leader has never been a good fit for me. I've taken a class here and there and have facilitated a few projects but it has always stressed me out. Well, as luck would have it, there's been all kinds of reorganization in my department and there is now a Technical Writer position open on my team. I expressed some interest in it and spoke to my Manager, John, (Lee had not been hired yet) but kind of let it drop because I thought the salary would be too much a step backwards. So Lee came by yesterday and asked if he could talk to me about my interest in the Technical Writer job. He told me that John spoke to him that I had shown some interest and based on the direction of the team and my known skills, he wanted to find out if I was still interested in the job. Needless to say, after my conversation with Lee, we both agreed that this job would be a great fit for me and me being in that role would be a great compliment to our team. Lee's vision for the Technical Writer is that they would work very closely with the Training Developers and create all the E-Learning documents. Well, I'm already doing this. Plus I've also served as a Training Developer so I've got that perspective. Lee and I are work out the whole salary details because this job is not that far off where I'm at now. There may still be some adjustments for me dollar-wise but but I'm so okay with that since it will mean I'll get to do fulfilling work and not feel lost. Years ago, I worked as a Word Processor (before personal computers!) and once in awhile I got to fill in for one of the Proofreaders. Yes, this was a real job and OMG I LOVED that job. I coveted that job. I am a natural born proofreader. This is going to sound weird but it bugs the living #$@! out me if someone spells "recieve" instead of "receive" or if they use "their," "there," or "they're" the wrong way. I love the rules of grammar and I love consistency. If I'm reading a book and I find a typo, I will circle it and will then send a note to the publisher!

So Glen went off camping this weekend. I came SO close to going with him but realized I just couldn't miss two days worth of working on my report. I cried because I felt like I was letting him down. He has been looking forward to this camp weekend for about 10 months. He is such a good sport. He was disappointed but respected that I had my priorities. I had to go into my office to get my most current version of my report. I FINALLY got around to buying some disks and saving it that way. I was just e-mailing it back and forth between the work computer and home computer. Not the best plan. I've had to rewrite several things twice.

I hope you have a great long weekend. It is raining raining raining here. Ugh. Very gray. Guess it's just as well. It will keep me indoors!

Studio Friday

Today's topic on Tine's Studio Friday is Aged/Antique suggested by Jane.

Jane said: " I love aged things- anything with Rust or Patina... is just too wonderful to me. I use metal paint on anything that is NOT metal (like Plastic, Glass, Wood or even Paper) to give it a faux metal surface and then I age it with liquid patina or sometimes just vinegar and ammonia... What I get in return is something that looks like it is over a hundred years old..."

Well I couldn't agree more. I love old. I love aged. I love vintage. I love patina. I love rust. I love weathered. And I've realized, it's not that I necessarily love antiques, but it's more a process thing...I love things that show their age. Like a weathered farmhouse. Like the Velveteen Rabbit. THAT'S what I love!

In looking around my little studio, I don't have too many things that are genuinely old. I'm just starting to build that collection! A few weeks back I did find a couple of 1903 Encyclopedia Brittanica's at Goodwill for $1.99 each. Not in great shape (which is probably why they were there) but the pages and illustrations are stunning and all in excellent condition. I'd say they are the *stars* of my studio in the category of "aged" with the runner up being those wonderful envelopes from the 40's that I also bought at Goodwill a few months ago.

Here's some detail of the inside of the encyclopedias....

Until I do build up a collection of genuine aged articles to use in collages, cards, projects or just to love, I'll just have to be satisfied with aging things myself. I have a veritable plethera of new "vintage" items as well as a variety of distressing and aging tinctures, ointments, and concoctions!

Hope you are loved like the Velveteen Rabbit! Happy Friday!

Haiku Tuesday.

Remember the rule.

Five-seven-five syllables.

Haiku do-over?

Just in case you're wondering...this is my personal penitence. Last week's Haiku had a few too many syllables in the last line. Oh well, "gotta practice more." (That's five syllables in case you're counting.) :-)

Garden.

Howdy! Just wanted to make a quick post and show a few pics from my garden. Although as a whole, it's just a crazy mess, there are a few sweet spots that I wanted to share with you.

A lonely little peony. More on the way though!

Vivid campanula surrounding a little cherub. I love that her nose and cheeks are getting weather worn.

A view of the front part of the garden that's under control! I LOVE the japanese irises. You can see ONE California Poppy. I reseed these little darlings like crazy but they won't come back as profuse as they did that first year. My goal is to have a sea of purple irises and orange poppies. Hmmm...I'll just keep trying!

On another note, Glen and I went to see The Weepies last night. They were SO good! I just adore Deb Talen and am now a Steve Tannen fan. I hope they never stop making music. It was also fun because they have such great stage presence. Joked a lot with each other and with the audience. They playing until midnight and I wanted them to go more! Never did play one of my favorites from their first cd. ("Happiness" is the song I was wanting, in case you have the cd.)

Hasta la vista for now!

More.

Okay so I'm very anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Just Johanna Design Team Starter Kit!!!! Cannot. Wait! I love her stamps and have all these ideas and visions swimming around in my little head. I can't wait to play and create and see what these ten fingers are gonna do with this stuff! The magnetic sign in my studio above the closet is even waiting to welcome Just Johanna to my studio!!!

Thank goodness I have my Research Paper to occupy my mind until I get my stamps!!!!

Book of Dreams.

I wanted to post the two pages I got done for my poor, neglected Book of Dreams project. I LOVE how it turning out and thoroughly enjoy working on it, but alas, life is FULL right now and this is the project that is not getting the attention it deserves. After I make this post, I HAVE to log off of the internet and start working on my Research Paper for my Graphic Design class. It's due May 31 and I HATE that I haven't even started it yet. I am not a procrastinator and the fact that it's done yet is frustrating! :-) Then this evening, Glen and I are going to see The Weepies at Doug Fir Lounge. Yay! That should be marvelous but adds to some stress I'm feeling about my paper. PLUS, Glen and I are scheduled to go camping next weekend! That's another stressor (especially because it's a flying camping trip!)

So here are the pages I've completed for the BOD. The picture is one I took on Mother's Day of Glen and I. I held up the camera and said "I want to take a picture of us." Without missing a beat, he quickly turned and gave me this gentle kiss on the forehead. I am SO in love with this picture and SO in love with this man! The picture is on a playing card and so I also included a pic of what I did on the flipside.

Okay...I'm signing off now. Enjoy your Sunday! It's just beautiful here! Sunny, breezy and 70 degrees. Perfect sweatshirt weather...my favorite!

Sunday.

Okay so thought I'd post a bit and share some pictures from yesterday. It was a BUSY day! In between the Eco-Party, I realized that I should probably get a gift for the anniversary party we were going to! Zoinks! I hate it when that stuff doesn't hit me until last minute.

So I went to Jennifer's and had a great time. Learned lots. The party was through the Northwest Earth Institute. It was all about reduce, reuse, and recycling. Most things I'm aware of but not always good about practicing. Did you know you can reduce your junk mail and get rid of those unsolicited credit card applications? Visit www.optoutprescreen.com for more info.

Jennifer's house is adorable. So cozy and lots of love. She and her husband Todd also have two cute free-range bunnies, Brian and Peaches. I tried to get pictures of them but they were elusive. I did get to snap off a few of Brian but none of them turned out! Boo! Jennifer also has this wonderful wonderful garden full of yummy greens that they eat and feed to their furry family members. She also gave me some more worms for our compost bin! I LOVE this kind of stuff! I'm sure it's just an excuse to play with worms and dirt, just like when I was little! Jennifer and Todd also served lots of delicious food including vegan pizza, vegan chocolate cake AND homemade mint tea. I didn't want to leave!!!

Thanks Jennifer!!!

In the evening, Glen and I went to Rashida and Daniel's 10th Wedding Anniversary while Miranda worked. Oh what a lovely, touching, emotional event. It was so beautiful. These two young people are so spiritual and honor each other so much and still so in love. They also have three of the most beautiful children. There was a video presentation which included pictures of them when they were dating -- these were pretty cute and funny -- they were high school sweethearts! And then after this emotional video tribute to each other, Rashida and their pastor stood up at the altar with their daughter......the doors at the back of the church opened up.....there was a big burst of fog and then Daniel and their two sons, all in matching tuxedos with long coats, stepped through the fog and walked...no wait!...strutted!...down the aisle. It was SO hilarious and SO perfect!

Another nice thing from this evening was that Daniel and Rashida had a bouquet of flowers that they wanted to present to the couple who have been married the longest. There were a few people who had been married a long time but it was determined that the couple had to be present to win....so....Glen and I won!!! That was very cool.

A couple of pictures....this was the best one I could get of all of them together. It was totally like the paparazzi (sp?). Dozens of people with cameras! Such a gorgeous family!

I just love being able to call Rashida "my friend." I was just thinking about how the two of us, these two random women from different backgrounds, different generations, different color, have become such good friends. I'd have to say the root is our love for our families. We first "clicked" because of our scrapbooking hobby. That led to these wonderful conversations about what makes us happy and about documenting those seemingly insignificant moments in our day to day lives that really reflect our values and how we want our families and, most importantly, our children to remember us. So in thinking about this, even though outwardly we are different, we are exactly the same in regards to the things that guide us in our daily lives...our commitment to our families and our values.

Hope you have a sweet-filled day and know that you are loved!

Saturday.

Gonna be a busy day. This afternoon I am going to a Home Eco-Party hosted by my wonderful friend Jennifer. This lady is the coolest! A GREAT role model and just such a kind spirit and so respectful of the planet and all of its inhabitants. Should be fun and educational! I'll post some info later and I'm sure I'll get some good website info.

Then this evening, Glen and I are going to a 10th Wedding Anniversary of my sweet friend Rashida. I ADORE this woman. Another great inspiration. So spiritual. Totally adds to her outward beauty. Okay so Rashida is a 27 year old black woman. I'm a 46 year old white woman. Somehow, somewhere, we connected on a very deep level. We have become very good friends. I just love her. So needless to say, I am very touched and honored that she has invited us to her 10th Wedding Anniversary party.

So I'll post more later once I get some pictures of the above events!

Enjoy this and every day!