Christmas Eve...

Merry Christmas to all...

My thoughts were so loud...

First off, I cannot believe it's been almost a month since I posted.

I went to see my family and friends in California and with several exceptions, I had a lovely time. Those exceptions included being stuck over night in the Phoenix airport on the way out and getting grounded in Charlotte, NC on the way back. Fortunately, after much hassle, we got our luggage and I hired a driver to drive us back to Roanoke, VA.

Of course, during the eight days that we were there, a lot of things happened. I had two Thanksgiving dinners, lots of conversation and quality time and I got sick.  Sister was also feeling bad. She was sneezy and I was experiencing nose and ear problems. We both think or thought it was allergies. I'm still not sure, because by the time I got home from vacation I was well into it and probably past the stage where antibiotics would have helped, if at all.

I took Zycam for colds and benadryl for allergies, and aspirin or Tylenol for sore throat. You know the drill. After about four days at home, what ever it was moved into my chest and I started to cough. I got cough medicine similar to Robitussin and even though I was taking the proper dosage, I had slight hallucinations.

Actually what I experienced were not exactly hallucinations, but it was a weird feeling. sort of like a drug trip where you are really able to connect with yourself.  Do not concern yourself as to how I know about these things. The first thing I noticed was that I could hear my thoughts. They were so loud that it was almost like voices in my head, but it was my own voice. They were the most intense when I was in the shower trying to let my sickness slide off of me and exit down the drain.

What were these thoughts about? Mostly about me. I found myself telling myself that I needed to make some more changes.  My entire life I have done things according to how they will appear to others. I don't know if this is nature or nurture, but it is how I have always been. This next sentence shows that I am still of that mindset. "I hate to bring everything back to my husband dying, but seriously, that event really changed my life in many ways".  Why do I feel that I have to apologize for still thinking about my husband's death? I have always felt like I am different than other people. Mostly because of the abundance of thoughts that I have always had. I think so much. Other people don't act like they have a running dialog in their heads. They just run and play and work and whatever. It must be me, I must be different...I know now that I am different. With this in mind I should have known that my grieving and mourning would seem different. 

Grieving and Mourning. These two words are usually used together and because of this, people sometimes think that they mean the same thing.  They do not.

Grief has many stages and most of us have heard of five of them and they are usually listed as: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.  As we know, these are not the only human emotions. There are certainly other emotions that occur when someone loses a person close to them. Grief is your emotional response to the loss, while mourning is basically your physical actions. How you present yourself to the world that you are now entering into. What you do. I know now that everyone deals with things differently and each person has his or her own time period.

Back to the voices in my head. As I mentioned above, I could almost hear myself think as I shampooed my hair and used my body scrub to ease some of the tensions that my body was holding.  Being sick is always a great excuse to marathon watch television and I have been watching a television show with several American Indian characters. This sounds odd, but I have always thought I was an Indian.  I am not. Physically. My heritage is not native American at all. Even as a child I related to the Indians that were on the shows that I watched and in the books that I read.  Maybe it was just that feeling of not being like the other kids.  I still have that feeling. I'm just not like the other kids. My sisterlaughs at this. She understands. She gets it. We are not twins but we are often of one mind.

In my shower, I am an Indian, in a sweat lodge, having my visions of change. I add more hot water to the mix that is helping me shed my old ideas. My new ideas start to form. I will be more mindful when being convinced to do things I do not want to do. I will be stronger about being me. I will do the things that I want to do and not feel bad about them. I do not care if you cannot sleep. I can and I will. I will sleep twelve hours if my body needs it. I will continue to be nice to my friends and family but I will not be bullied into things I do not want to do. I will be more about me. I will listen to the only voice that really matters...my own.

This sounds so conceited. So vain, so self-centered.  I really hate those qualities when I see them in someone else, but I know that I need to be stronger and listen to my inner voices and thoughts more. I think sometimes my thoughts are only questions, questions to myself. 

I try to have a balanced life. I ask myself is a balanced life really what I need? Do I want a balanced life because of what someone else has said? Is it what I want? Do I really need to set aside a certain time for a project? Why cannot I paint when the mood hits me? Why do I only wait until winter to work with yarn. Why do I have so many rules? Is it time to question my own rules? Is it time?

My thoughts were so loud I could hear them in my head...now my thoughts have put on fuzzy sweaters and are huddling happily and more quietly back where they usually reside. I am different from the other kids and I'm happy about that.

Well, what to post???

My last post about the beggar, has an update. So many people called this girl out about the GFM page for the cruise that she finally got embarrassed and took it down and promised to return the money. I doubt if she will.

I'm not doing anything much right now, just waiting for the holiday to arrive cause I'm going to do something different this year.  I, the person who doesn't like to be inconvenienced, am going to go to California for Thanksgiving.   My sister and I had discussed it, but I was a whiny baby and finally a friend that lives out there convinced me that I didn't need to be by myself. His daughter and family are my local friends and we hang out all the time and they were planning to go and stay for over a week. Well, they were having a fit about me being by myself and I finally decided...why the hell not???

I think the reason I was so reluctant to travel the week of Thanksgiving is that in the past, travel was a big pain in the neck, but now my travel companions are different and young and ready to take anything as it comes.  I had just gotten into a rut and sometimes I think things are like they used to be, but they aren't and I'm busting out again.

My neighbor always wants to get my mail and paper and this will be the second time in a row that I am not letting her do that. I have put a hold on my mail and newspaper delivery.  All my bills are up-to-date and I'll be parking my car in the long term parking at the airport. No one has to take us to the airport or worry about my house.  I will, of course, tell neighbors that I'll be away, so they can keep an eye out, but other than that, I'm taking care of  stuff myself.

Computer problems will be address when I get back and a couple of new art or craft projects might be in the works.

I kept the baby yesterday and the funniest thing happened.  I was feeding her little star shaped cereal snacks called Gerber Puffs, and when you put them in her mouth, she likes to move them up between her top lip and gums and it looks like she has hillbilly buck teeth. So funny.

I tried to post the picture, but my computer wont cooperate.  Anyway, that's it for now. We'll talk soon.

Beggars (go get your coffee, it's a long one)

 Last night I found out that ex-stripper and long time fan of Kid Rock has spent all her money going to concerts this summer. Her husband gave her an ultimatum, it's either me and the family or him. She tried, she really did, but just couldn't put her marriage and family above her love for Kid Rock.  But she's really sad now, all her money is gone. She is in her forties, her dancing skills have diminished and apparently she doesn't want to pin a name tag on those gigantic implants and sling hash. She is so sad, she cannot afford the several thousand dollars that it takes to go on the Kid Rock Cruise. So sad.  Enter Go Fund Me. "send xzxzxz (xxxzzz) xzxzx on a cruise". Her friends are raising money to send her on the party cruise... again.  She feels horrible, she knows she's been several times before, but she would be so, so SAD if she missed this one.

Did you know that if you put "poems about beggars" into the Google search engine, you get about 385 results.  If you go to GoFundMe.com to any of the various categories, you get page after page (into the tens of thousands) of people asking for money for non-emergency, non-charitable events. Beggars is what I call them. You don't have the money (or don't want to spend your own funds) for your wedding, honeymoon, vacation, trip or cruise...beg someone to buy it for you.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are lots of people on this site that legitimately need funds. Good decent folks that have fallen upon hard times due to no fault of their own. There are all together too many people that have experienced tragedy and need money to pay for hospital procedures, trips to out of state medical facilities, bone marrow transplants, moneys to help after a fire that destroyed everything they own, things like that. I understand this, sympathize with their plights and often donate to these causes.

Until last night I had no idea that Go Fund Me was for anything except charity. I try to keep up to date on current events, to a degree. I use a computer, a smart phone, have Netflix, have several social media accounts, read the news and know way too much about celebrities, but I didn't know this. I just didn't know. I seriously thought that all Go Fund Me accounts were set up for charity.  I am not unfeeling. I feel bad when I read of someone who has come upon hard times and I do realize that the old small town fundraisers of my youth are not enough to pay for all the needs of the less fortunate. Which takes me down another avenue. Sigh.

All the needs. To slightly misquote Hamlet..."therein lies the rub".  I, personally, do not think that all the needs must be met by the thousands of kind hearted people who have empathy and sympathy for those who have fallen upon hard times. In my opinion, it is a nice thing to help out folks, but I don't feel compelled to completely relieve the suffering of all people. I don't think it is my job. If, in your belief system, you do, then so be it. Give until you are in worse shape than they. You may get your reward. Perhaps someone will start a Go Fund Me page for you. I do not know.

Back in the day, in the olden days, back when we were kids, instead of online help groups, there were benevolent societies and organizations (usually run by local worship centers) for families that needed help. I, myself, have used my chubby little hands and made up care packages filled with soaps, washcloths, toothbrushes and toothpaste, to send to the poor children. I have always been well taken care of and often spoiled as a child and as an adult, as well.  As a child, we were loved and taken care of the point that I never grasped that the weekly box of groceries my uncle brought my mom often helped keep us from being those poor children. As an adult, I have been blessed to have family and friends pitch in when I needed help. So I have been there, I emphasize and sympathize when I hear of someone who is in trouble, I really do. 

So let me drag you back to the beggars. There are still people that would rather be jobless and beg money at traffic lights than hold down a traditional job. There are still people that begging money is their job. They are willing to stand at the highway entry ramp to the mall, in the freezing cold, every day to make money. They won't take Burger King coupons, either. They want your money. Personally, if I needed money, I would much rather be inside taking customer orders, making beds, greeting patrons, even listening to office politics, anything other than standing outside begging.  Perhaps they just like being outdoors... and cannot find a job doing landscaping, holding a flag for road construction, shoveling asphalt. Maybe holding a sign or a plastic bucket is now considered a prime skill set. Maybe I really am much more out of touch than I thought.

What ever happened to having a sense of pride? Pride for a job well done?  Maybe they do take pride in the amount of money they are making from this new career. This career that is apparently called "let someone else pay, pay, pay my way".

Yes, my friends, there is an app for that.

Just another day...

In 1982, a singer named Bertie Higgins had great success with a song called  "Just Another Day in Paradise".   I loved this song and was living in my first apartment in the big city and I played it often.  So whenever someone says it's just another day, I always add "in paradise"...

So the reason for the title of this post...well, it's just another day.  I love my life and am fulfilled by the way I live it.  I know some people would shake their head at what makes me happy, but as you, my loyal readers know, I don't give a rat's ass what they think. They don't know me.

What made me happy today was going about my daily routine, tweeking it as I go.  I wake up, always thinking and analyzing the dream I just left.  I brush my teeth and look at my hair to see if it will last another day. Today it would not. So it was shower and shampoo before dressing to go out to the newspaper box.

I watched television and had some coffee and cake and watched it rain and rain. Chelsie and I postponed our lunch plans.  We will wait for a dryer day.  I watched some more television, catching up on Gotham and Scorpion.

I thought about making another video, but for some reason that didn't go as plan, so I went on to something else.  I am not easily frustrated, if something doesn't work after several tries, I go on to something else.  That something else today was illusion drawing.  Super realistic drawing and painting intrigues me and sometimes I take a stab at it.  Today's stab was in the form of an exercise (or project) for children in which you draw the outline of your hand on a piece of paper, then add straight lines and curved lines to make the flat hand-print appear to be 3D.  This is sometimes called 3D art or as I mentioned, illusion art.  It can be very elaborate, involving more than one drawing surface, such as this...

and often the use of scissors to cut portions of the drawing out, to add to the illusion..

or maybe some illusion letters...

While all of these techniques are awesome, they are a bit daunting. I practiced today on illusion art of my hand.  I posted this on my fb page tonight, but I'll show it again here...

the idea is to outline your hand and then to do straight lines on the background and curved lines on the hands.  It's something children can easily do and if you search for illusion hand art for children, you will find several websites showing you just how to do this.

All of this is leading up to what I did today...yes, I spent several hours doodling a picture of my own hand. I was joking before, but there may actually be people that think I have too much time on my hands. Those unfortunate folks don't understand that something like this is extremely educational.  You learn that curves and shadowing can take a flat drawing and make it appear three dimensional. It can apply to anything, once you learn the technique.  You can make block letters that have dimension and you can put shadows under something to make them appear to be lifted from the paper, which adds dimension.  In any event, for me, sitting around and doing something as simple as drawing an outline of my hand is important. I am very happy that I have the time and means to stay at home and do this.

I love doing it.

I may be twisting wire together tomorrow for a sculpture of some sort. This weekend I arranged silk flowers.  I am happy sitting around doing these things and I thank "all the powers that be" for being allowed to do this.

Well, that's all for now. We will talk later.

I'm talking about something I know nothing about...

Those of you who know me know it's not like me to know nothing about a subject. I'm not a know-it-all, but I am well-rounded and try to keep up with a minimal amount of current events. I do this, not to be able to debate or even chat about the things happening in the world, but to remind myself that there is a real world outside my bubble.

The real world...ahhhh, it is one I no longer understand. I am of an age... and I'm sure it happens in every generation, that I no longer understand certain things. I don't get them. More accurately, I suppose, I don't understand what motivates certain people to act the way they do. I don't suppose that my lack of understanding is actually an age thing, but perhaps more of a cultural thing.  I was raised in the southern US of A. In a small town, where some houses had gardens and folks five miles up the road even had cows. Lots of kids had dogs and some of them ran loose. House cats spent most of their time outside of the house and people still ironed their clothes. Things change. I know. I get that.

I don't mind change at all. I have always been one to embrace new ideas. I certainly have been on the receiving end of many (probably most) of the wonderful new things that have happened since our house cats roamed free and our dads' and brothers' necks chafed from those freshly starched and ironed shirt collars.

Yes, I would have to say that I embrace change. This started at an early age. I can tie my own shoes and put a bobby pin in my own hair. Soon I will no longer want to twist a plastic knob on the back of my Thumbalina doll to see her head wobble and hear her coo . Soon I don't want a baby doll. Five years old  and I am embracing change! I had the first Barbie doll that came out and... now that I stop and think about it, she may have been the catalyst for all the chaos that followed. Maybe it is Barbie's fault, after all.  As usual, I digress.

So let us fast forward fifty-five freaking years...yes, fifty-five years since Barbie first donned her stripped bathing suit and sported her pony tail. Fast forward to my post of today. Fast forward to the things I know nothing about... and probably won't understand when it's explained to me. If it even can be.

Enter one Lamar Odom. I had heard of him, only because he (was/is/might be) married to one of the Kardashians. I only know them because they are a reality television family that is famous for nothing. He is now in the news because of this:

Odom, 35, has been hospitalized since Tuesday after he was found unconscious at a brothel named Love Ranch in Crystal, Nev., located about 80 miles outside of Las Vegas. He was placed on life support and was reportedly close to death.

In the 911 call released Wednesday, Love Ranch employees said Odom was unresponsive with a light red fluid and white matter oozing out of his nose after using cocaine and taking sexual performance supplements...

I am stumped as to how I feel about this man. Back in the good old days I seem to remember there were celebrities that acted wild and got caught at it, but it took several days for it to become known and if the person had done something of a sexual nature, it was whispered about and certainly not reported like it is today. It may have been on the news or in a weekly edition of Life magazine. No, these days it is on almost every electronic news and sports page and website and social media page that exists. It is being reported almost in real time.  Most of the country is riveted to this story.

Most of us have sown some wild oats in our lifetimes, I've heard there are a few that have never rebelled at all and if that is actually true, then that's OK, too. With all of that being said, right as I was making up my mind as to how I felt about this,  I heard someone say how sad this situation was. How sad it is that Odom had made such bad choices in life. How sad it is that he is very, very sick in the hospital due to the bad choices. (four days of drugs and sex in a brothel that result in you being at the point of death are extremely bad choices in my opinion).

This is a man who, from all accounts, is a prominent sports figure, has played professional basketball and is supposedly worth between 50 to 100 million dollars. This is a man who supposedly came from humble beginnings and was talented enough apparently to rise about it all and play professional basketball and become unbelievably wealthy from this.

Supposedly Mr. Odom and his Kardashian wife are still married but live apart or something. Who knows. This man made his fortune playing basketball. His wife and her entire family have made millions going to parties and being, in my opinion (from my limited exposure to them) quite vile and often appear half-naked on this thing we refer to as reality television. Back to Odom...

This man, who is in the hospital, near death, due to prolonged drug usage and a four day sex binge at a brothel, this man is who is in the news this week.

Why do I not really feel sorry for him? Society loves him. Loves him and his millions. Loves him and readily accepts his bad decisions. 

I never want anyone to be in pain. I never want anyone to overdose. I never want a child to lose his parents. I certainly don't want anyone to die before their time. No one wants that. I have experienced it first hand and it's not much fun. But at what time do we, as a society and a nation, stop not only accepting, but idolizing these people and their bad decisions.

Being a girl raised in the south, I was preached to as I grew up. Preached to by parents and grandparents and by, well, by preachers. We went to church, we read the bible, we even remembered some of it.  I'm not one to spout scripture, but one passage that has always stuck with me is 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse eleven...

 

 "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things"

What in the world is more childish than to have everything you could want or need...a Kardashian wife, cute children (from what I'm told), fame, money, the celebrity life... and apparently just throw it away...ending up in the hospital after "partying" with sex workers/prostitutes (legal, but still sex for pay) all the while doing massive amounts of illegal drugs...stopping after four days only because you collapse??? It's time to put away childish things.

Now I am not asking for an interpretation of the scriptures, and if you are thinking that's what I need, just back away right now so your feeling won't be hurt and your nose will remain unbroken. I'm not asking for an explanation here, I'm just saying I do not understand this. Actually I do understand it, but I think it's stupid. Basically what pisses me off is that, once again,  it is hero worship for someone that doesn't deserve it. Not at all.

I could say more, but I think I will end my rant for now. 

Enjoy what is left of your day and do some art.  Seriously, do some art. 

Sigh...between projects.

As my title suggests, I am in between projects right now.  I have a young friend that wants me to do a paint night with her and we are currently trying to find a picture that will be easy, not daunting to a new artist, and yet not juvenile.  I have several projects that I think I want to work on such as twisting some wire trees...

Here is a tiny one that I did, the base is a river rock that is about three inches long. Until I perfect the technique I will continue to work on a small sized trees.

Another thing I want to do is a my version of clay houses.  I have done ceramics before, but I really prefer working in polymer clay and I think I want to do something like these, adapting them to polymer clay.

Actually this seems to be two pics of the same art, but you get what I'm talking about.  I love drawing and painting architecture and I think it would be fun to do a fantasy version of some houses.

When it comes to doing something like this, I know my limits.  I love this next one, done by a Russian artist and I haven't translated the page yet, but I know I am not interested (time or patience-wise) in progressing to this level, but I love to look at it.

So that's just two of the things I have been thinking of art wise.  But on the other hand...

When the weather starts to cool down (I'm still waiting for that here in Roanoke, Virginia) I tend to want to get out my yarn or roving and do a fiber related project.  I have several felting books and the supplies needed to do a funky project, so who knows?

So, until next post, have fun and play with your projects, pets or people. You'll be better for it.

Pumpkins, Mums and Such

Good morning, all. I have the feeling someone needs a bit of distraction today, so I'll post a few pics of how I made my new silk flower arrangement.

First, I prepared my favorite antique crock to use as the vessel.  Sometimes the vessel doesn't really match the flowers that I want to use and I have to improvise.  I wanted to do more than just ram the fake flowers into the vase, so first off...

I made a clear tape grid on the crock, so it could stabilize the individual flowers.

Then I got out the flowers that I picked up at Walmart for about $16.00...

Because I already have flower arranging supplies I didn't have to purchase florist extension wires for the stems or that nifty green florist tape that sticks to itself. That stuff is awesome, by the way.

Next step was to remove the individual flowers from the bunch. Chances are you cannot use a regular pair of wire cutters, as routinely these flowers are on heavy duty wire.  I use my "memory wire" cutters. This is a jewelry tool and it is easy to use on any kind of heavy wire.  If you don't have this tool, you just might have to take a hacksaw to the stems. I'm telling you, this is heavy wire, like an old, Mommy Dearest style wire hanger...

To keep the length of the stems you will want to trim the wire as close to the base as possible, but you may still need longer stems, depending on your vase, as I did.

Placing the extension stem and the end of the silk flower stem together, overlapping at least two inches, I then wrapped (gently stretching the tape as I wrapped) the two pieces of wire together.  The florist tape is designed for this purpose and is used on cut flowers, as well as the faux versions, when a longer stem is required or desired. Before placing the flowers in the vase, I slid the greenery up  towards the blooms.  This is usually an easy process, but sometimes leaves or flowers fall off. No Big Deal.

I started on the outside of the grid in my crock using the shorter flowers. I wanted a really full arrangement so I used all my flowers.  I wrapped quite a few with the extension stems and placed them in the middle of the grid where more height was needed. Remember these flowers are on wires and can be manipulated somewhat after you place them in the vase, but it's a lot easier if you have visualized your design before hand.  Of course, we are all different. Some gentle souls don't care for the same color flower next to each other, while some of you who are, hmmm, shall we say perhaps... more Chic or Bourgeoisie may prefer to make an inverted "V" shape with their flowers.  It's all up to the individual and their own unique style.

This is what I eventually decided would be best for me...

I did find some artificial pussy willows in my stash, and placed them in the back of the arrangement and also added a wired ribbon around the crock for additional interest.

I could have probably gone with a larger arrangement or placed it a table, but it still complements the wreath that I made for the wall.

This arrangement is quite rustic. I used specialty and novelty yarns to make fabric flowers to fill in the empty spaces. I also strung beads and draped them, oh, so artfully, here and there.

Well, I have made several other things lately, so maybe that will be incentive for more frequent posting.  Hope you liked my little picture tutorial.

Take care, and remember to breathe.

THINK

In today's virtual world, this sign is especially needed...

As some of you know, people who make rude and unnecessary comments on news articles and blogs, etc, are one of my pet peeves.  The sign is actually titled Before You Speak, Think  but I'm going to try to apply it to social media and online comments. While this sign may be too cutesy for some, perhaps that's the demographic at which it should be aimed...

T - is it True?  Seriously, those that just post what they hear without knowing if it's true would benefit from doing a bit of research. In the real world of conversation, though, in my opinion, if it's not true and you speak it...than you are either an idiot or a gossipy old ass-munch.

H - is it Helpful?  Helpful (?) you may ask. I'm not sure how this applies to a blog or social media situation. If an article has gross errors in it and someone could be helped by pointing out inaccuracies I suppose your comment may be considered helpful in that way. If you are having an actual conversation with someone and what you are saying isn't helpful, you may want to remember what Grandma said "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". Personally, I think the H could easily stand for hurtful or hateful, which no one ever wants to be. No one in my world, anyway.

I - is it Inspiring?  Now before you get your old lady panties in a wad, what's wrong with being inspiring? Nothing. The dictionary defines the word inspiring as "causing people to want to do or create something or to lead better lives".  Seriously, who wouldn't want to be inspiring?

N - is it Necessary? Necessary...here is the one that gets me the most. Is it necessary? Will anyone benefit from your input if it is not necessary? Are you just talking to hear your porcelain veneers rattle? Are you simply using the comment section as an opportunity to call attention to someone's misspelling or bad grammar? If that's the case, you are wasting my time and also probably pissing everyone else off, as well.

K - is it Kind?  I know some people resent the notion that the internet is just one large mutual admiration society, but you know what...it kinda is.  So, as Bob Ritchie says, "don't be a dick".

In closing, I might add, if this little hand-lettered sign offends you or you think it's too sweet, well, as we say down South, "don't let the back door hit you where the Good Lord split you" as you waddle yourself out of my life.

So those are my words of wisdom today.  You just never know, do you?

Rock on, Baby, rock on.

Rainbows

Don't really have the time or the inclination to do a lengthy post here, but did want to post some of the pictures of the rainbow that folks in my city were shown yesterday...

This is the rainbow directly over my house...

Here it is from the yard of the other house I have several streets over...

One of my friends from the gym was out taking a picture from her point of view...

Here is the same rainbow in the neighboring town...

And last but not least, here is a rainbow shimmering in a raindrop from my deck railing...

So that's it for today. Just wanted to let you all know that I'm still hanging in there. Been spending a lot of time in the studio working on wire jewelry. I promise I'll post some shots of some of my newest pieces soon. Take care and rock on.

Hello again

Well, today I'm going to try to figure out  how to transfer my Facebook videos to my blog. Wish me luck...

For those of you who aren't on my FB page (friend me, I'm always into something), here is a video of my friends three month old baby girl, Reagan Aubrey.  We call her Bree (thanks Peri) or Chunky.

So let's see if it worked...

I cannot believe it's been one month...

In the month that I haven't posted anything I actually did several things.  I went to see Bobby in Virginia Beach (Kid Rock and the Twisted Brown Trucker Band). They have Foreigner as the opening act and I would have driven to the beach just to see them. Always been a fan... 

We started off eating and pretty much either ate or drank our way through the weekend...

We were on the next to the top floor of the hotel...

and the pool was on the top floor...

I took flat Bobby to the beach...

Yes, I wore a bathing suit in public, and if there is anyone out there that thinks I'm too fat to do this, boo hoo hoo, I hate you.  But I digress...

Anyway, Foreigner was awesome and I really enjoyed them. I was close enough to flirt with them while they were playing and in a crowd of 15,000...they noticed and flirted back.

They were energetic and the lead singer has such great vocals and the entire band is just awesome.

But I do have to admit, I'm not really a shrinking violet, and I was rocking out...here I am meeting another KR fan in person that I had only seen on Facebook...

 Horrible camera angle, I am not that chubby faced in real life, but once again who cares???

This was my first Kid Rock show and I am so glad that we had good seats.  I missed a lot of what was going on the screen, because I was so close to Bob that he was all I watched, for the most part. There was always something being shown there, but I didn't see much of that. I didn't even know that my picture flashed up briefly, I was too into the show.

 Bob's shirt says "F--ks given, 00...

As you can tell from the pictures, we stayed in an ocean front hotel. We went down a day before the concert and had another day to play afterward.  I took flat Bobby with me, of course, and Chelsie and Jordan were good sports about him, too.

 My bracelets say "Redneck Paradise" and "Let's Get $hitfaced"...always the lady, right?

Here I am hanging on to Bobby for dear life, don't want to lose him...

We even went to a video arcade...

and jewelry shopping at Pandora...

We had a great time while we were there and didn't have any problems with traffic or parking or any of the headaches that one might experience while at the beach.

Since we came back I cleaned up the studio and tried to work on making some new jewelry...

this copper bead and bluish green bead necklace turned out so pretty. I really like it a lot.  Then I practiced some bead weaving...

I made the one on the right...I used the black and white one for a "go-by"...

I  freaked slam out over a crop of mushrooms that sprang up overnight and didn't last much longer than a day...

and I had six bucks visit me all at once, several times...here is one...

It's really hard to sneak outside to take their picture, so this is through a screen in the window...

I did some other stuff, but most recently I got on a kick to make some wire flowers and this is what I ended up with on that...

So, that's it for now. More to come later. I'll try not to wait an entire month to post this time. Hope you enjoyed all the pictures. Take care and remember that life is just "a walk in the park"...

I'm having a shiny moment...

My sister taught me this term.  It's when you are distracted by something that looks much more interesting than what you were just doing or thinking.  It's like one of those moments that Dug the Talking Dog has in the movie UP.  Anyway, I have been having a morning like that this morning.

It all started out after I ate my breakfast and was going to work a crossword puzzle in the magazine that I was reading while I ate. Yes, I still read while I eat, but only when I'm alone. I believe it's very rude to read or text or whatever when you are in the company of someone else.  I have seen people in social situations reading when...Squirrel!!! 

Sorry...as I was saying, I have been flitting  from one thing to another this morning. I came in to get a pencil for the puzzle and ended up doing my hair  and make up and checking facebook before I finally made it back out to the puzzle.  Sigh. 

I did work a bit of the puzzle before I popped up like a jack-in-the-box and came back in to check my Pinterest page.  You would think that I would only weigh 85 pounds if popping up from a sitting position was considered exercise...OMG, I'm going it again...anyway while I was on Pinterest I saw a beautiful painting of an eclair...

The artist is Mary Ellen Johnson and she does hyper-realism paintings. This is something that I really want to try and looking at her page, I see that she works on large canvases and I think I just might make something like this one of my next projects.

Seeing this painting reminded me of sitting in the driveway yesterday evening, listening to a comedy routine by Jim Gaffigan that was on Siriusxm...

Jim was always one of our favorite comedians and Timbo and I would laugh until the tears ran down our faces watching him and listening to his silliness.  In fact, if you have some free time, I think you can watch the entire routine here on youtube. 

He makes a lot of jokes about food. Part of this routine was about donuts versus fruit. How still life paintings always include bowls of fruit because an artist can walk away from a bowl of fruit and come back and continue painting...because no one has taken any of the fruit. He says he doubts if there are any paintings of donuts because every time you walk away from your donuts someone steals them.  It's a funny routine.

So now I don't know if I want to finish the crossword puzzle, go clean the studio in preparation for doing a painting, or get in the car and go get an eclair...

What was your shiny moment today?