Mondays, mornings and age

I find as I get older, as I am getting older, that I dislike Mondays more and more. Start of the work week. Back to the dreaded cycle of having to get up, get dressed, leave home, go work for someone else, not get paid enough, and not get to do stuff I want to do. I dislike mornings. I used to be able to do mornings. Get up bright and early. Get to work before anyone else. Now, not so much. I don't sleep straight through the night. By 6:30am or so, I am ready for a good nap. But no, I have to get up and get ready for work. Blech! I am writing this as a steady flow, stream of whateverness. The grammar is going to suck. The older I am getting the more I hate getting up in the mornings. I don't think it's so much a need as a demand to get ready for work. Sure I need money to pay the rent, buy food, etc... However, I feel that my soul doesn't "need" it that much, it's just a necessary evil for general survival. Blah blah whatever. I am amusing, at least to me.

January 2018

A lot has changed in the last five years. I'm hoping 2018 will be a good year. I don't do resolutions anymore. Now I have goals. Not that goals are more successful than resolutions. One goal is that I would like to write more, blog more. We'll see how that goes!

This is my January block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2013. My first crazy quilt block ever. It's kind of an art quilt version. I'm going to try for a more traditional attempt for February.

I got a packet of Lutradur and a packet of TAP for Christmas from my sister Laurie. Now I just need to learn how to use them. Today I ordered a book on Lutradur for my Kindle. Hoping this will give my mermaids some more interest, texture, depth...

I do seem to have a thing for mermaids. I think it has to do with being a "water baby" (supposedly people born in July like the water) and partly because I live in the desert southwest where water is a scarcity. I will have to do one or two... mermaids with my Crazy Quilt blocks. Fun!

Crazy Quilts and Bunnies

I just signed up for the Crazy Quilt Project Challenge for 2013 (http://www.cqjp2013.blogspot.com). I've been wanting to do a crazy quilt, so I figure this will be a good way to get me into it.

Hopefully I will get a block done a month and post them here.

And in the mean time, I'm making bunnies.

First Day of Fall

Today I went to the TAWN Fall Fest. It is held at the UU Church on 22nd, just east of Swan. Kind of odd to have a pagan festival at a "church" but it works really good. This year the festival seemed to be more active and better attended. More vendors, more people coming through.

My friends John and KC banded together, and shared a booth. John is "Left Hand Asylum" and KC is part of "D Eclectic Gifts." They seemed to do very well together, and easily sold enough to cover the cost of the booth. I helped out some but mostly I had fun.

One of these years, I'll get my act together, have my own products, and my own business. One of these years. (laughter is appropriate here)

School is going well! I have a 3.8 grade average. At least no math for now! Yay!

New adventures...

I turned 50 in July. Kind of scary. 50 and still not published, unemployed again, and still living with my sister and her husband.

So I decided on some goals. I started the "medical administrative assistant" program at Pima Medical Institute on July 17. Passed the first two sections with good grades, and now I'm stuck in math hell. Oh well! I will survive.

Okay, one goal is to finish a novel and get published before I turn 55. I have one story in mind that I've played with off and on for the last few years. It's a sci/fi story of a young man from a medieval society stuck on a spaceship, and trying to get his friend Maria back to her family and the relative safety of Republic territory. That's more "mainstream."

Then there is one story that I had been writing for my own amusement few years back. It is not mainstream, and harkens to a genre I love called "slash fanfic." It's pretty much gay male erotica. The working title is, "Almost but Not." I'm thinking of working on this one first, giving it an ending, cleaning it up editing-wise, and try my hand at publishing as an e-book on Amazon. Could be amusing.

Today I went to a writer's group meeting, and met some very interesting people. I've tried a few writerly groups in the past, but they weren't for me. This one definitely seems more promising.

Other goals include getting a solid job, saving money, and moving out. I was hoping for my own house before, but I don't think that is realistic. Apartment first, house of my own later. I need to clean up my credit score, and be more responsible.

I will try and be better about making entries here. It will be good to follow my progress along with everything. Class, writing, life. Thanks for listening.

"Cindy the Art Quilt"

I am still alive. Recently I have discovered doing a kind of Crazy Quilting. Kind of "Maggie Crazy Quilting." I'm still learning how to do it, and call them art quilts. "Cindy" started when I was talking (listening) to a friend on the phone. An older male friend of hers had recently passed away, and she was supposed to inherit his dog Cindy. Well, this guy's b*tch of a daughter had the dog put down instead. She didn't wait for her brothers or the reading of the will. So this "art quilt" is in Cindy's memory.

August/September

August was an interesting month for me. 1) I was laid off from my job of 19 years. Actually it came down to 19 years and 1 week. It was very bittersweet because I was kind of looking forward to being released, and sad because I would miss a lot of people, and I do. I'm going to get some training, and hopefully it will help me get a better job in the future.

2) My sister and her husband went up to Idaho to bring their daughter and family back down to Tucson - help her move back here. Her husband has been in Korea, and he got home about a week ago.

3) My long time fur friend and companion, Jiri, had not been feeling well, but I kept hoping it was the heat. That one week the swamp coolers stopped working, I had ants in the bedroom, and realized that Jiri needed to go to the vet. I took her, and unfortunately she was doing so badly that it was just better to "let her go" so to speak. Sometimes life just really sucks.

So now we start heading into September, and Jiri's sister (littermate) seems to have a growth on the left side of her chest. I take her into the vet. He wants to do surgery, and I might have been able to scrape the money together, but the big thing for me is that Bridget (as was Jiri) is 14 years old. That's getting up there in years for a cat. Would surgery really be the best option? I decided no. So I have her here at home, and I keep I close eye on her, and as soon as she seems uncomfortable, I will take her back to the vets.

Life really sucks sometimes, you know? But she seems to be doing okay, and we muddle forward.

vacation

I'm going to Comic Con in San Diego. My friends KC and Donna are going too. We're driving over in Donna's car. It will be fun, a nice break, and hopefully we will have a great time. The last time the 3 of us tried going on a trip together, Donna's husband died. Kind of scary, ya know?

Got a new Paper Mache book for my birthday. It's very inspiring. I need to finish up my wizard, and try something else. I saw a really cute gangly cat from an art fair, and I think I want to try something like that next. We shall see!

Drawing Day 2009

Found out late last night that today is Drawing Day. I hadn't heard of it before, wish I had of! I'll try to get a few drawings in just to show support.

This is the link to the website:
http://www.drawingday.org/index.php

Drawing Day - June 06, 2009
drop everything and draw
Drawing Day is a worldwide drawing event encouraging everyone to drop everything and draw for the sake of art. Help us create 1 million drawings online this day.

Drawing Day has arrived - tell all your friends!

Still here!

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted here. Getting laid off from work and not all that choked up about it. Last day in June. Working on going back to school for digital arts program. Took math placement test, and thank gods it was really low. I need the basic stuff again. Never have been good with math. Words are my thing.

Saw Wolverine twice this weekend. Once on Friday with Dear Sissy, and once Saturday with Ms. Collins.

Checking the watermark motif to make sure I got the directions right. Sharing it with a couple friends.

Going to try and make my own tiles for "mixed media mosaics". Got the Laurie Mike book, LOVE IT.

more me-tangle art

Mostly black Sharpie doodle art. Okay, there's some color.

paper mache figure

This is my first attempt at making a paper mache figure. I decided he is a wizard, though I haven't figured out his name yet. He isn't finished yet, so this is just the starting photos of him.






Wire frame on pillow










first layer of paper mache clay








More clay, one boot, and his staff.










I'm noticing that lately I'm having trouble getting steady photos. I know I've had jiggly problems in the past, but this seems to be more constant. It's annoying!

wizard

I've decided that my first paper mache sculpture is a wizard. He's not anywhere near being done. Got more work to do, and of course this evening I've spent not accomplishing much at all.

I'm wondering if I should try my hand at making a unicorn for my sister-in-law for Christmas. Or should I just stick to the Family Calendar plan, and see how I do as a sculpture artist. Artiste. I crack me up!

I was reading the webpage of that Louie Rochon. What an interesting person! Like, wow. What a life!

Having to work a regular day job really sucks! Eats up too much freaking time! But it is nice to have money for cat food and soda. :)

another day in paradise

Fateful trip to Michaels on Sunday. Saw this book on paper mache art dolls. Book was over $20, and I've already wreaked serious damage on my budget this payday, so no book for me. However, I look at the book, show book to my sister. Dear Sister says, "you can do that easy." I'm thinking, you know, this would be really fun. It could combine other things I love like painting, beads, strange abstract thoughts... LOL

We already have the wire for the body frame. Dear Sister already had some of the paper mache type clay. And it's not hard to make paper mache. Got paint. Got beads. Got scrap fabric, yarn, etc...

So Sunday evening I started my first person. Don't know what "he" will turn out to be yet. I'm thinking it'll need a staff, the way one hand is already angled. Maybe I'll get one of those little birdies made from styrofoam and feathers to put on the other hand. I could do a kind of Winter Solstice Santa...? Or a wizard.

See, first person is already "artistic". My sister said this with a smile. One arm is longer than the other, one foot is bigger, the head is kind of an odd shape. LOL

I've been taking photos as I go along so I will post those soon. This is fun.

just dropping by...

I'm really tired of all the political commercials for everyone about everything. But I do feel strongly about Prop 102. gggrrr!!

Same old, same old

Nothing much to report. Things are just doing. I did go to San Francisco in July. That was a lot of fun. My friend KC helped me swamp out (clean out) my bedroom. That was a major undertaking! But it's almost time for classes to start up again. Work is getting a bit busier. Quilt-a-thon this week too. Whew!

Photo

Here is a photo of my tote bag!

Don't faint!

I was actually sewing yesterday on Sissy's sewing machine. She's been harassing me about "why, you don't sew". I don't sew because I don't want to hurt her machine, it's this fancy expensive quilting machine. It's kind of scary anyway, with all these different buttons and stitches.

So I had bought some quilted fabric, and she's helping me make a tote bag. I'll post photos when I have it done. It's really neat!