Sick!


And I don't mean that in a "good" way.  As usual, right before a vacation, I pick up some bug or other (from my darling students? ya think?) and fall down in aches and sniffles with the darn ubiquitous crud.  Lucky for me,  I completely caught up with all paperwork for classes on Friday morning. Done for the moment, I could relax into the rotten cold... ick!  And grab me, it did.   I hopped (grumped?) into bed about 10 o'clock on Friday evening and awoke at 1 p.m. on Saturday.  Whoa!  Thanks to Tylenol Multi-Symptom Cold Night-time liquid (how about a little product placement, eh?).  Same agenda on Saturday night: gulped down the liquid and wafted off to dreamland until 11 a.m. Sunday.  Trust me, I did NOT drink any of that stuff on Sunday evening because I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. and leave for CSC at 6:30 a.m. -- cannot miss class!!!  I did swallow a "daytime" capsule to get me through my classes without coughing all over my students.  Thank goodness that worked.


By the way, between long bouts of sleeping, I languished on the couch with an NCIS Season 4 marathon (all the Netflix discs sent back today) and the end of Human Target, Season 1 (really FUN new show).  Sick couch potato.  


So... the best laid plans of mice and men did not come to fruition this weekend.  My Vagabond die-cutting machine arrived!  But I hardly garnered the oomph to lift the machine to the second floor and plop it on the studio work space.  Alas, the beautiful machine awaits me... beckons me... whispers to me:  you're not sick, come on, let's play!


Meanwhile, T!m Holtz has not stopped for love nor money.  He's cranking out the 12 Tags of Christmas and today was Day 6.  I'll just post all the pictures and you decide.  I am going to start working on the Day 6 Tag because he has two tutorials (say that about 3 x fast) posted on his blog, showing the way to use the Vagabond. -- exactly what I need!! Can't wait to try all the nifty techniques!!


Day 3
 Day 4  
Day 5 
 Day 6 




If you are interested in the 12 Tags of Christmas "challenge" project and/or the Tim Holtz Distress Inks and other products, visit his blog at: http://www.timholtz.typepad.com

And today, for my Christmas Wish List, I'm adding the latest iWorks program AND a new digital movie camera.  Hey!  Our grandchildren will soon number 5 -- and I want to get in on the ground floor with the new bambino.  Soooo, Santa won't you bring me the camera and the software?  And I will make wonderful movies!!!  I promise!

2 Tags and One Idea for the Wish List

The 12 Tags of Christmas (a crafting/art event!) is off and running.  T!m (yes, that's how he signs his name on the blog: http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/ ) Holtz designs the Christmas tags (a "tag" is a standard #8 13 pt. manila shipping tag, slightly smaller than a 4x6 photo -- a nice size and texture as a "canvas" for creating a little art gem) and teaches a variety of new techniques with each tag, uploading step-by-step photos.  We're on Tag #2 today, but I'll post a picture of Tag #1 (December 1) also.

December 1

December 2

I am finishing a "memory quilt" for my mom -- with photos of our core family (sibs in formal sittings)  printed on fabric and sewn into the squares.  Once I am done with that project (whew!) -- I'll start making these tags.  T!m archives the 12 Tags on his blog.  In fact, the last 4 years' tags are available. I enjoy tweaking the designs by using whatever products and junk on hand in my studio. 

 I recently bought his die-cutting machine (because his is very cool and makes sense -- it's a suitcase... clever, huh?  Maybe we need a little product placement?   "The Vagabond" die-cutting machine by Sizzix.  This machine can cut all kinds of paper AND even material (like felt!).  Exciting days ahead in my studio!

Now for the Wish List.  Is it too early for World Peace?  Or does that go at the bottom of the list?  Well, today I'm craving a new organization system for my studio.  I need to re-org the shelving for my stash of fabric and art materials.  I can't put my finger on an exact system, but I am ready to do something new in the studio!

We had a MAJOR wind/rain storm yesterday.  And we lost a HUGE tree, which fell away from the house, over a rock wall, and into the neighbor's backyard.  I guess we'll be hearing the lovely whirr of the chain saw most of the day.  In fact, Steve is already among the trees, assessing damage and rolling up his sleeves.  I guess I better join him!

WISH LIST!

I finally found something to LOVE for Christmas.  But.... do I really NEED it?  No.  And I can't in any universe rationalize spending... okay, I'll say it... something like $6000 on a .... sewing machine.  Unless I could drive it, sail it,  and it would also organize and write my syllabus each semester.   Oh, and take out the compost.


Actually, the machine is amazing.  It's an embroidery machine.  Yesterday I saw an actual photograph that the machine stitched (yes! stitched!) onto a piece of fabric.  The stitching was so fine and the shading was exact --- looked like a photo portrait.  Like f-ing photoshop on a sewing machine.  Wow. And the machine is programmable -- can do all the quilting in fifty bazillion styles.  Right now I've been avoiding the actual quilting part of the quilts because I don't have a snazzy machine to do the stitching.  Soooo....


Anyway... this is the first day of My Christmas Wish List.  Since it's a Wish List and not a "real" list, I'm putting the Husqvarna Designer Ruby at the top of my list.  I don't see it listed at Amazon, so here's the direct link:  http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/2820_19505.htm


Weather here:  expecting 50 mph winds and mild temperatures at about 40 degrees.  Yay Stick Season!

12 Tags of Christmas!!!

I'm excited because Tim Holtz announced the 12 Tags of Christmas for 2010!!!  I've posted my tags and linked to the Tim Holtz blog, website, and products in the past.  I will do so againg this year.

This project (well, actually 12 projects if you count each separate tag) is creative, invigorating, and just plain FUN.  Every year  I am sure that I have all the products to make the tags, but then Tim Holtz throws in a new product or a new way to use a product that I do not own.  The fun of developing these tags while following directions, yet making my own tweaks creates a wonderland in my studio.

 The crazy, creative journey starts December 1st     Can't wait!

Here's the link to the T!m Holtz blog, where you will find a cool announcement video and archives of each year's 12 Tags:

http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/

Here's the annoucement (I'm attempting to embed it.... cross your fingers)

NANOWRIMO

Friends, Romans, and fellow writers!!  NaNoWriMo is here!  Yes,  it is..... National Novel Writing Month!  Every November writers around the world start tapping out a 50,000 novel in 30 days.  Yes. You heard me.  


50,000 words in 30 days.


This amounts to a pace of......  1667 words per day.  


Every. 


Day.  


Oy!  I have signed the pledge every November for the past five years, and I have... as yet... NOT completed a novel of 50,000 words.  I have approached 30,000 words on a couple occasions.  But not the requisite 50,000.


Flu, finals, friends, and house guests -- those are a few of my excuses.


The dread dead middle of the book --- ah! that's the real problem, so 'tis, my darlings.


Well, I am off to start on my Writers Journey.  And yes, if you do want a GREAT book about writing and movies and classic heroes questing through time and space, love and laughter, fear and courage -- here you go (link and image here from Amazon) --  Christopher Vogler's, The Writer's Journey.  I use this book to teach Western Lit by following each hero's journey, and most of my students enjoy the focus of the course.  They also tell me they will never look at a movie the same way again.  Cool, huh?


Meanwhile, this year for NaNo, I have absolutely NO idea what I'm writing.  Last year I was deep into a spy novel.  Since I cannot use a novel I'm already writing, I've got to come up with a New Idea.  Oy yoi yoi.


Well, I am going to employ some sneaky ways to get to a start -- I am going to use The Writer's Toolbox (yet another product placement for this blog -- ah ha... do you think I will ever make money here?  NO).  Anyway.... this little box has "sixth sense" cards, three sets of 20 popsicle sticks (that's 60!) each with sentences introducing ideas, and four spinners: Obstacles, Goals, Protagonist, and Action. 


Whew! All I have to do is spin, pluck, and deal.  Et voila!  A novel.  Or maybe an inkling of an idea?  I hope so.







I'll be writing about my journey here.... if I am awake and able.  Coffeeeeeeeee!  










***Meanwhile, I have one note for whoever attempted to comment on my previous post.  Okay, more like four notes.  With reference to The Four Agreements, too.  


1.  Always be impeccable with your word.  If you stand by the courage of your convictions, why would you attempt to post by signing "Anonymous"?


2.  Don't assume anything.   You assume a lot.  You assume that because my blog offered no comments after the post, that I had somehow censored the comments.   Dude... I had no comments because nobody reads my blog.  Rarely have I any comments to read.  At all. Duh.


3. Always do your best.  Do you really think anybody wants to allow obnoxious, rude, denigrating comments to their blog?  You might want to re-think the Civility tone. Seriously.  Calling the blogger names is not a good idea.  Actually, as a rule of thumb in life, don't call people names.  I figure if you're calling names, you are the one with the issue, not me.


4.  Don't take anything personally.  I had to sift comments for odd reasons which have nothing whatever to do with politics or anyone else's point of view.  Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes crazy relatives are crazy.  But I'm betting most people need a refresher course in Projection.  Look it up.


I'm jus' sayin'......


Final product placement... The Four Agreements




Back to writing that novel ...  

End the Right Wing Election Hatred Cycle


Now they are going after Muslims.  The hateful actions of the right wing, left completely unchecked and uncriticized by any "leadership" on the right, call into question their love of the Constitution and the USA.  This nation's very existence is based on religious tolerance.  The Pilgrims arrived on the shores of this land because they sought refuge from religious persecution.  The reason we have a "First Amendment" is to specifically protect those freedoms we cherish.  And religious tolerance is the first and most dear on the list, combined inexorably with freedom of speech, which means freedom of communication with ANY deity, freedom to worship in ANY community, and also, freedom not to believe.  We hold the First Amendment (and the rest of the Constitution) as a sacred trust for which men and women have given their lives.  


How then, do these radical rightwing crazies justify their hatred and intolerance?  They cannot keep waving the Constitution in our faces and at the same time spit on it.  Okay, well... they "can" because they have no shame.  They seem to be ignorant to the core -- not only of the law itself, but of the real lives of their fellow Americans. Clueless, spiteful, and of course, in complete fear of "the other."  That's it in a nutshell.  They have been told that they (mostly white Christian males) are the foundation of this nation, that they are "special" and this nation was created for them.  When they hear "with liberty and justice for all," they see white faces and their own community, not a wave of faces ranging from Italian marbleworkers in Vermont to Cajuns in Louisiana; not Chinese building railroads in the West to Irish laboring in the bit cities of the East; not slaves shackled in the South or  Swedish mail-order brides riding across the prairies of the midwest. And they certainly never see the faces of the real owners of this land -- Native Americans of all tribes and communities.  No, these rightwing "conservatives" harbor little real knowledge or love of the history of this nation.  They see nothing but themselves and their narrow world of ideas.


If we want this hatred to stop we need to put a real face on the target -- just as we have with other groups the fringe-rightwing have made into targets right before elections. Muslims are real people, living and working and struggling andsacrificing for this country in our communities, next door to us, in the seat beside us on the bus or the desk in front of us in school -- every day. They aren't cartoon characters and they aren't stereotypes. We are all the same-- living life to the best of our abilities, caring for our loved ones, and loving this country -- and the more we understand this, the more compassion we have for each other and ourselves.

Trading on fear and hatred has become a way of life for the fringe-rightwing. If it's not gays, it's "liberals"; if it's not Mexicans, it's welfare moms. If it's not the unemployed, it's the "educated elitists." If it's not labor unions, it's "women who take jobs from men." Every election cycle they prod their base by heating up the fear rhetoric. When will the base realize they've been used? The right wing had house, senate, white house and even the Supreme Court and they didn't repeal Roe v. Wade, end gay marriage, stop illegal immigration, privatize Social Security and Medicare, or shut down welfare. Wake up, moderate Republicans; you're being used. 


End the hatred cycle now: VOTE!  


Vote for responsible leadership by putting an "X" next to the names of those who are on record against the hatred.  Read, in a variety of media, what candidates say -- and look for real answers, not evasions.  Research their stands on recent issues and look for answers that uphold the dignity of ALL citizens.  

SUMMER FADES


I haven't posted in ages.  I wonder how many bloggers start a post with a line like that at least once a year? every six months? monthly?  Well, I'm baaaaacccccckkkkkk.  A part of me considers this idle time wherein I could be "really" writing -- back to The Cheesy Christmas Story or Molly or The Last Spy or Magic in the Mix or... well, you get the idea.  I could be writing. 


But this really, truly is WRITING.  And it's a good way to get myself back in the swing, the saddle, the line-up... (or another metaphor).  The summer has delivered lovely and lazy days,  great for rejuvenation, not that I need much.  Here's what's up:


1.  I finished the 5k.  Ran all the way.  Well, almost.  Just walked up that last little hill.  Ugh.  I was the slowest runner in the pack.  I could have walked faster than I ran.  BUT... as my friend Betty Ryberg continues to remind me:  "you beat everyone who didn't run at all."  Okay, that's weak, but I'll take it.  I did beat those who slept in on the morning of the race.  I realize now how much fear I was carrying about running and how that impeded my progress.  I'm working on actually RUNNING now, not jogging.  And yes.... I continue to run three times per week, usually every-other-day -- MWF or Tu/Th plus either Sat or Sun.  I must confess, however, to abstaining during the height of the humidity.  No can do.  It's just too too overwhelming -- I can't work for the rest of the day if I start out all sweaty and exhausted.  Usually running in the morning exhilarates the rest of my day, but not when I'm a wet dishrag after running in the humidity. One more thing -- I never really ran 3 miles until the 5K race.  Yep.  That was a surprise.  I have been training by time and not by distance.  I haven't changed that ... yet.  But if I ever (ha ha ha ha ha) sign up for another race, I'll have to find a distance and stick to it.  But I'll repeat: ha ha ha ha ha... on that future race idea.


2.  Lots of sewing.  Quilts, clothes, bitty booties.... ooooooooh... that brings me to #3... (drumroll)...


3.  The BIG NEWS:  I'm gonna be a grandmother.  Now this takes some explaining, since I'm already a grandma.  I'm a grandmother to my husband's kids' children.  In essence, I'm a step-grandmother.  But I've always considered myself a grandmother (although I admit to having a bit of hurt feeling when one of the kids told my husband that I "wasn't really in the family").  


My son and his wife (wedding pictures from summer 2009 here somewhere in the archive) are expecting my first biological grandchild in February.  I suspect I'll feel something a little different with this bambino.  I'm not sure. I would hope my love is equal to the task of surrounding all five (5!) amazing grandchildren -- each with his or her own personality.  But you just never know what will happen, do you?  I am excited and happy and looking forward.  I love connecting in this even with Geoff and Carrie who are unique and delightful in my eyes.  Watching them welcome a new life will be inspiring.  Oh, it is already.  Do you know what they did?  They sent me a digital sound byte of the baby's heartbeat.  Did I cry?  Oh, please.  Tissue fairies have been alerted!


I'm sure I have more news, but I'm so not sure anybody's actually reading.  I'll get back to ... SYLLABUSVILLE.   I'm taking off the Spring Semester 2011, so I've got 3 classes now for which I need to prep and organize. Oy!