Hold Dear

another adventure...

I'm off on another adventure! Funny how even with Glen's job situation and finances and the economy and all, there's still lots of artsy running around in my life. I'm SO thankful for these this! It's totally what keeps me sane! Guess that's why it's always my priority. :-)

So I do believe I'm all ready for Art Fest. Got my roomie gifts and all my supplies packed up. Also got some trades done. These one are pins made out of Fimo clay in the vein of the "Sea Monsters" theme...

Some other trades not in line with the theme...

 

These are little packages of recycled wool squares about 2 x 2 1/2" with a bit of lace or daisy trim. Oh and I also got some new Moo cards. I LOVE this batch probably because I actually used art I've created and not just pictures.

I'm so looking forward to seeing lots of friends I met at last year's Art Fest! I'm staying in one of the dorms and two of my roomies are Cheryl and Nikki! Oh these girls are so much fun! Can't wait!

And then this year's Art Fest is going to be even sweeter because several local gals are going. Denise, Melissa, Diane, and Sue. All wildy talented artists and my friends (she said proudly!)  These are the gals that are also members of a once-a-month (plus field trips!) art group called the "Council of Muses." Dawn and Marci are also in this group but aren't making it to Art Fest this year.

This past Sunday was a Council of Muses meeting and Denise brought some of the goodies that she sells in her Etsy shop for us to buy/drool over.

This stuff is amazing and in person? Breathtaking!

 

 

I also cheated and did a pre-Art Fest trade with Sue. Sue has two Etsy shops...here and here. She is SUCH a talented and prolific artist. Look at this amazing necklace she made out of a domino (please ignore the freckles).

 

I LOVE this piece! Thanks for trading with me early, Sue!

I'll take lots of pictures to share this adventure with you...and if you see me at Art Fest, please say howdy!!!

Okay...I'd better get...still have lots to do. Tonight was the first night of class (another Spanish class) so I'll probably be up late tonight packing and loading up the car!

Hasta luego mis amigos!

wildly happy!

Seriously excited and SO looking forward to this nostaligic treasure coming to the big screen...

I can't even friggin' believe it! Watching this trailer just brings tears of joy to my eyes! The casting of Max is perfection. Visually, this is exactly how this movie lives in my imagination! Can't wait! And with one of my fav bands, Arcade Fire, on the soundtrack, (that's them doing the song in the trailer) it is destined to be an historic event for me!

rainy saturday...

Hello hello...just poppin' in to say hi. Feeling very happy and loved these days so stands to reason that some of that is gonna spill out into blogland. :-)

Last night Glen, Miranda and I met up with some of my co-workers for "happy hour." That was fun but the best part was afterwards. We were downtown (Portland) and when we left happy hour, it was only 6:30 and it was still light out!!! Oh joy!!! It was overcast and gray but at least it wasn't raining and the temperature was mild (okay...if I didn't have my jacket it would have been chilly).

We went for a nice long walk along the waterfront. I had my camera with me and got this picture of a heron we watched fly in and land on the bank of the Willamette River. VERY cool!

 

I'll be spending this weekend finishing up my trades for Art Fest. Can't wait!!! I've also been finding lots of fun goodies on a few recent junk shopping sprees. I'll be trying to catch up and show you pix as I take them. Why in my right mind would I EVER buy more buttons...but I did...

 

And I have been IN LOVE with searching for rolls of old tickets. Here's a stack, in progress...

Take care and hope you have a LOVELY day!!! I'll be back soon to visit with you more!

beach weekend...

Hi there...

I went through my pix from the Happy Anniversary weekend. I felt like I took SO many pictures but I realized that the majority of them were of either the ocean, rocks, or driftwood. :-) Here are a few of those...and some others thrown in just to mix it up.

Our drive to the coast was so relaxing. We've gone to the coast several times for our anniversaries in years past and ISOOOO adore seeing all the daffodils along the way that have naturalized.

This is what I look like when I am heading out of town on a Friday night...happy and relaxed...already!

 

Friday night pix...view from our 3rd floor room...

 

Out for a walk...

 

 

Sunset by the pool...

We then went out for a meal at a cute place on Highway 101 called Wildflower Grill (no website).

We went to supper late so Glen, being a gentleman, took me by there on Saturday so I could take a picture of the outside during the day.

 

Saturday we spent the day boppin' around...we went for a long walk on the beach and spied this gang on a spit off in the distance..

We then made our way to Mo's for lunch and had something way too greasy.

 

We got there about 11:00 am and got very nice table overlooking the bay. As we were leaving, we realized the place was PACKED so our timing was perfect!

Glen discovered this in Mo's giftshop...

 

My nephew, Eric, is getting married in May and his fiance's name is Emily! Cute!!!

After some more (okay, lots!) more walking around, we made our way to the car and went drivin' around. We stopped at one of Glen's airplane club's "Boy's Night Out" destinations, Side Door Cafe.

Very fun place...and I LOVE this idea for a coat rack...

After all this folderol, Glen took me to some antique stores and a Goodwill. The man knows what makes me happy. :-)

Saturday night we couldn't bring ourselves to going out for dinner again because we both had LOTS of leftovers from our Friday night meal! I brought a bottle of wine (along with chocolates and Chex party mix!) for the weekend and so we opened it up and had our evening meal in our room...

 

Saturday after dinner, we went for a walk on the beach and then the rain started. We got in just before the sky opened up! During the middle of the night, the wind and rain came through like crazy! I was SUCH a happy girl! I LOVE the ocean when it's all stormy!

Sunday we went to a little place we found along the way for coffee and breakfast.

 

Then we went to Pacific City -- briefly! - it was so windy and chilly! I did take a picture of my dream house...

 

I didn't get any closer but I'm just assuming this is where I will live someday. :-)

Then we went for a hike at Cape Lookout. Oh man it was so gorgeous...

 

 

Right when we got back in the car after our hike, it started to hail! We had all manner of weather during the weekend. On our way home Sunday late afternoon, we even ran into some snow!

Overall, it was just one of those perfect, relaxing, everything-you-hope-for-weekend-getaway. I even got in some craft time while Glen got in some nap time (smile!) I got some art journaling done and finished up a scarf...

Said scarf...

 

And art pages...

 

Written along the top of the hotel are the words, "I couldn't have done it without you." This is in reference to a really amazing, powerful dream I had where I was "flying" a tree the night before. I think I was talking to myself...which makes me very happy. :-)

Okay...these two I had in progress before the weekend...but I added more stuff and writing to them...

 

   

Okay...time to run...this is my Spring Break so I'm SOAKIN' up not doing anything this week. I did take Baghera in to get microchipped today but that just needed doin'!

Also....he he he...for all my belly achin' I did about my Spanish class, I got an "A!" A friggin' "A," people!!!! Wow!!! I'm so happy...honestly, I'm quite surprised...but I'll take it!

Take care and thanks for hangin' with me. See ya on the flip flop!

home...

I am home from a memorable, magical weekend with my honey. We had such a great time. I got in some serious down time. And the sweetness of the weekend will linger because this week I don't have SCHOOL for one whole sweet week! I think I'm going to get to do some catching up with my life! Hallelujah!

The only thing on my agenda this week is to have cat #3 (Baghera) microchipped so we can throw her evil @ss outside! :-) I think it will do her good. I think there's the potential for her to be a sweet kitty because once in awhile she'll be affectionate. But most of the time, she just snarls and growls at us!

I'll be blogging about my weekend in a day or so. Lots of fun, great memories and it seemed like we had perfect timing wherever we went (got to Mo's for lunch JUST BEFORE the rush, got back in the car from our hike JUST BEFORE it started to hail, etc.)

 

As I'm typing this, I have a very affectionate kitty cat sitting on my lap (Bastian) and the other kit kat (Atticus) is trying to sit on the keyboard so I know those dear, fuzzy fellas missed me. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying whatever makes you happy. :-)

Hugs to you!!!

hello...and see ya later...

Hi Bunnies!!!!

Just wanted to pop in and say hi! So many lovely things happening right now in my life. Tonight I took my final exam in Spanish...it was an oral exam! My instructor was VERY generous and gave me a B+!!! This class was very tough...probably tougher than any other class I've taken. I was thinking I should write an essay about it because it has been a very interesting experience for me. I learned a few things about myself and gained some awareness about short term vs. long term memory. Oh and I'm TOTALLY thinking of buying the Rosetta Stone for Spanish! Has anyone had any experience with that?

Okay...so having said all of this, I've decided that I'm going to enroll in Spanish again next term. Several weeks ago I was feeling like I wanted to take a break but then all of a sudden, I had a break through and things are sticking a little better in my brain. Maybe I grew some more neurons or something. :-)

And now that I can stop thinking about school for a week or so, I can get on with a few other fun things in my life!

This past Tuesday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) was my 25th Wedding Anniversary. Twenty-five friggin' years! I'm still amazed at the longevity of my marriage...and it's still a good one! That's the part that gets me. Our first year or so was pretty rough but once we got through that, it's been smooth sailing. I think a big part of our success is that Glen and I both have hobbies we are super passionate about. We do lots of things together but we each have our own thing and we do lots of things apart. This way, when we are together, we have lots to share and lots to talk about. This works for us.

Also, Glen did a lot of traveling for several years and I feel like that did two things...1) it forced me to become a very strong, self-reliant, and independent woman and 2) it made me never, ever take him for granted and appreciate everything he does for me, our family, our house, and our life! He's a pretty special guy. :-)

So with that, I'll leave you with a song that Glen and I sang to each other on our day...just a couple of  romantic kids, we are...

I'll be away for a few days. Since this week was busy with school, life and what not, Glen and I are just now getting away for a little romantic getaway. Hopefully when I return, I'll be rested and ready to take on the next semester of my life!

sweet gift...

Oh my soul...I should be doing so many other things instead of blogging. I have TWO tests in my Spanish class this week and I should be studying but alas, I'd much rather spend some time visiting with you! :-)

And speaking of visiting, I got to meet up with my friend, Andrea, for bagels and coffee this morning. What a lovely visit! I gave her the circle journal of hers that I've had (for a long time!) along with a few little gifties. I bought one of these (on sale!) for myself at Tuesday Morning and couldn't resist picking one up for Andrea. Oh how this little gadget makes me swoon! And Andrea's such a sweetheart...she brought me a gift too!

 

A potpourri pin cushion. Full of fragrant lavendar. And don't you just love those rhinestone pins??? Oh that girl finds the sweetest things! She has a few of these up for sale on her Etsy site (sans the rhinestone pins).

After our visit, Andrea and I hit our neighborhood Goodwill where we both found some crap we couldn't live without. Ironic because we had just been talking about having a joint de-stash craft garage sale! :-)

Okay...it's time...estudiar mi Espanol!

Hasta luego!

12 of 12 March

Hola! It's been a long time since I joined in on the 12 of 12 action! This is a project that Chad Darnell came up with. To see more 12 of 12ers for March, go here.

The premise is on the 12th day of the day, show your life in 12 pictures. It's a fun exercise because it gets me to keep my camera handy and take pictures in situations I wouldn't ordinarily even THINK to take pictures! You'll see what I mean in a minute...

First order of the business for the day is to feed the meowing cats...we currently have three. Here's the newest cat, Baghera. We thought this was gonna be a foster cat situation but I'm suspectin' this cat is ours for good.

 

Next, I gave Miranda a ride to school (this is our usual Thursday morning routine). It's a good chance to just chit chat and grab a coffee with my girlie.

 

Headin' into the office with all the other morning commuters...(note the bicyclist in the rearview mirror!)

 

Not long after I arrived at my office, I had a phone call from a very dear friend in Utah that I had just spent some time with. TOTALLY made my day!!! :-)

 

Found myself at the post office today at lunch...seems like I'm always there! Good thing it's a gorgeous building with lots of interesting things around it! This pic was taken from the front door.

 

While I was out and about, I took a pic of another fabulous Portland landmark...Portlandia...

 

A sneaky shot of a co-workers cube...

 

A picture of my poster that is hung up around my company...the text is about how I'm taking advantage of my company's tuition reimbursement program and pursuing my lifelong goal of getting a degree. :-)

 

Afternoon snack...

Ah...the glamorous life...

 

In the restroom at school. I don't think I have ever taken a picture of myself in a public restroom. Maybe once to take a "before" haircut picture. But that was of my hair and not me. I should thank Jane for planting the seed to take a pic of myself in a restroom for this project. :-)

I got to the campus a bit early so I dug in tried to squeeze in some homework...

 

Heading home after class...

 

Okay...I'm off...time for tea and some kind of snacky. Thanks for visiting and hope to see you next month!!!!

and the rest of nest...

I was looking through all my Art Nest pictures and goodies and realized I still have a TON of stuff that I would love to share with you! Most of my pix are on Flickr but I really haven't even begun to show you here pictures of some amazing artists I got to meet and hang out with. Oh and plus there's the gorgeous art that came home with me to Oregon. So I'm just gonna get right too it and try to keep the chit chat to a minimum. This is a long one, so hope you can hang in there with me! :-)

Here's the inside of the trades I brought to Art Nest.

 

These are what I call "girlfriend gifts." You know, those extra little treats that your sweet pals bring special just for you? These are from Kari, Cassondra and Natalie. Thank you, girlfriends!!!

 

I'll get you a close up view of that little birdie...Natalie embroidered that and it's so cute!

Here's what inside the stripey tin, which was from Cassondra.

 

I showed a pic of the Welcome Packets that Julie and Candice put together for us before but here's what the inside looked like. Such treats!

Here's Kari admiring them... :-)

 

Julie and Candice made the packets from Anthropoligie tablecloths. In fact, those girls even had matching aprons that a friend made for them from the tablecloth! !

 

Zoom in of that sweet spot!

 

And then there were the trades....

 

Utterly gorgeous. EVERY one was so beautiful, clever, and artistically unique.

 

Here's a close up of Julie's...

 

This is a handmade bowl that Denise made...

 

And this was Cassondra's...

 

At the Artist's Sale, Kari, Cassondra and I shared a table. It didn't surprise me that I let this situation turn into the situation I always let myself get into when I have a garage sale with my neighbor. We always end up pretty much just exchanging  junk. Here's the goodies I bartered with Kari and Cassondra for...

 

This seems like a good spot to squeeze in what what I made...

My paintings from Kelly Rae's class and from Mati's class...

 

Here's lucky me with the two of them...

 

Here's most of artwork from Kelly Rae's class...

Most of the artwork from Mati's class...

And then here's what I made in Jane's class...

 

I LOVE how this one turned out. This is a bead that Miranda bought for me when she was living on Maui. I love it.

Me and Jane, when I was buying one of her necklaces...

So on to the art I actually bought. I absolutely wanted to buy something from every artist. Kari, Cassondra, Beth, Jane, Gloria, Caryn, Natalie, Julie, Mati, Jane Wynn, Kelly Rae, and Britt all had amazing jewelry, originals and prints of their art. Jodi had her homemade Chai Tea (which I bought a bag of! Yum!!!) and then Julie invited her local antique dealer to bring in some of his wares.

I make no secret that Glen is out of work right now. He is, fortunately doing some contract work which we are SO thankful for, but still, I'm feeling that with this economy, there may be some rainy days in our future and I'm trying to be frugal where I can. Having said that, there were a few pieces that just spoke to me. When I saw this piece of Caryn's, I just had to have it. I love the message that "she carried joy." It just gave me a feeling that I may feel like I searching for happiness, but really, I already have it. :-)

 

So lovely. Then this set from Julie Haymaker...

 

Since it had the word "nest" in it and a nest, this just seemed like a lovely piece to own as a sovenier.

 

These are very special little treats that I bought from Julie's amazingly talented daugther, Marina.

 

And then the last night, Jane Wynn set out her spectacular pieces and I decided to buy ONE MORE sovenier for myself! :-)

 

 

Gadzooks...I could go on and on...I'll just share a few more pictures of the people...

  

Me and Denise. What an absolute pleasure it was to get to know Denise. Bright, funny and such a kind heart.

BTW, you'll notice in these pictures that there was an awful lot of hugging and cuddling. It was always just the spontaneous reaction when I got close to these people. I just wanted to keep hold of the beauty of each person WHILE I was in the moment. Sometimes it looks dorky, but that's how I roll.  As I look through these pictures now, oh how I wish I had taken a picture with each and every person at Art Nest. I could easily say something nice about every soul that was there. :-)

 

Karen and I. What a sweet new friend I found. Karen has a project in the works to host an Art Retreat in Alaska! How beautiful would that be??? I'll be sure to share any info with you that I get on this!

 

Diana and I. SUCH a sweety!

Britt and Maya. GORGEOUS women inside and out. 

I'm thankful I spent some quality time visiting with Maya. She said the prayer before our meal on our last night. We all gathered in a (very large) circle and held hands. Maya's words were so perfect and so eloquent. The love that poured out of everyone during this time was just magical. Thank you, Maya.

 

The dream team...Julie, Mati, Jane, Kelly Rae and Candice.

  

Me and Kari. I LOVE this girl!!! How lucky am I that she is my friend? She's just magic and gifted and funny and sweet all rolled in to one!

 

My sweet and talented friend Natalie, and two new friends Jane and Courtney.

 

Me, spectacularly talented Beth and Kari. I regret not buying a piece of Beth's jewelry. I definitely need to get something of hers. It's breathtaking!

 

Me and Caryn. WHAT a marevelous talent and soul!

 

Kari and Laurie. SUCH sweet, sweet peeps!

 

Diana, Candice, Lorraine, Courtney, Julie and Lorie.

 

Cass and I. My girl.

 

I was THRILLED to get to see these girls!!! I met Sherry, Deb, and Shannon at Art and Soul last October!  These girls are SO kind, so talented, and definitely contributed to making this such a special retreat for me!

And one of my favoritest pictures of the whole event...

 

This is Jane, Gloria, Karen, Lorie, and Debbie (L to R). There were just so many smiles, lots of love, and genuine caring happening every day in every room of the house. It was so wonderful seeing my pals...

 

And making new ones. I am so thankful I get to say, "I was there!"

Thanks again to Julie, Candice, and Cassondra. Dream team, in deed!

music to art by....

Just thought I'd share something real quick. I have more Art Nest love to shower you with, and I'm getting to that, but in the mean time, I wanted to share with you the music that now, in my mind, defines Art Nest.

I've noticed that about myself. When I go on a trip, there will be a few songs that I end up listening to non-stop and they seep into the part of my brain where the memory of an event lives.

When I went down to SoCal last summer for Anahata's classes that Emily hosted, it was Joanna Newsom with this song. The trip down to Ashland two summers ago was all about Wilco with this song being my anthem. (It was SOOO hard trying to find this song...this video is obviously a bootleg...sorry!)

Silver Bella last November was Iron and Wine with this song and Arcade Fire with this song.

Art Nest was all about Radiohead. This song and this song (this song SENDS me!) are now in my soul and are part of my amazing Art Nest experience. Whenever I hear these songs, mentally, I will be back in that beautiful house with all those beautiful people in beautiful Utah. :-)

Hope you heard something that you like. Hugs to you...