Post Boxing Day Celebration

We met at our favorite Greensboro eatery, Pho, for an excellent Vietnamese meal. James One was in fine form. He seems to like noodles.

Christmas Day 2015

My Bro with his girls, Mal's girlfriend and Mal

My brother decided to drop by on Christmas with his girls (home for the holidays from Princeton). Unfortunately his wife was not feeling well and couldn't make the drive. His oldest girl is in Korea right now teaching the natives how to speak English. You can visit her at her blog here. I had not really planned on holiday guests, so we had our traditional dinner of nachos. Brother and girls stayed at a hotel over night (yes, I'm a horrible host) and we had breakfast at Elmo's in Carrboro before they headed back to Virginia. I went to Ft. Bragg to babysit for James Two so his parents could go see Star Wars. I definitely got the better deal. Me and JT had a wonderful time.

the Boston family

Bert, JT and Calvin

Miguel and I found ourselves with an opening in our schedules yesterday and decided to make a quick trip to Ft. Bragg to check on the kids. JT is teething again, so he wasn't feeling super great, but he was still adorable. A coworker gave me her kids' old workbench and tools. James LOVED it. All is going well with his future sibling. Bert is about 32 weeks along now. She feels fat and tired, but otherwise OK. Hope to post some pictures of James I soon. I saw him last weekend but forgot to take my camera. He is also adorable. Amazing that I ended up with the 2 most incredible grandbabies on earth!

Visit with JT

Stained Glass Workshop

I signed us up for a stained glass workshop at Kaleidoscope Studio in Mebane. We learned how to score, cut and grind glass, then wrap in copper foil and solder the pieces together. We both made sun-catchers. Bert's was a sunset design and mine was a modifier cross. I thought it looked a lot like the Zuni sun symbol (which is on the New Mexico state flag and license plate). We had a great time and I would love to make something else in the future, but I am really not interested in doing this as a home hobby. It would cost a fortune to get all the necessary equipment. I do not need to adopt another hobby at this point in my life. I barely have time to work on the thousands of projects I already have planned. My goal in 2016 is to use up most of my supplies before investing in anything else.

Nativity Display

Annual Nativity Display in Apex. There were over 800 nativity sets and art work from all over the world. Very interesting to see how different cultures interpret the same theme. I ran into an old friend and it turns out 3 of her kids were singing in the Youth Choir that evening. It was a wonderful performance.

More Crochet Projects

Prototype Fish Bag in cotton yarn

blurry shot of a bunch of practice baby fish

Fish Bag with drawstring mouth closure

Version II mesh fish bag

This is what I've been up to lately...trying to perfect a pattern for a crochet mesh bag shaped like a fish with a drawstring closure at the mouth end. The first bag took FOREVER to crochet. It is huge. So I made the next one smaller and in a mesh stitch rather than straight single crochet. The idea is to have a little bag to put the baby fish toys into. I'm using cotton yarn because it holds it shape better and is washable, even though it is much harder to work with. Don't know how many of these I can make because it kills my gnarly old arthritic fingers. I'd love to make one for the boys and a couple of my friends' grandkids. We'll see. I'm pretty happy with Version II up there. I made the whole thing this morning. I've got to go rest my hands now, so probably won't do any more crocheting today. Oh, I did take the red bag for a test run. I let my grandson play with it and he seemed to enjoy it. So, this has been thoroughly kid tested and approved.

Current Projects

Crocheted toys for the boys and a scarf for me.

I have not been in the mood to paint for a few months now...but I have started crocheting again. I came up with an idea for little mesh bags. They are supposed to look like fish nets. They'll have a drawstring top and will hold a bunch of little crochet fish. It's sort of a quiet toy to keep kids occupied in church or restaurants. That's the idea anyhow. I am modifying a mesh shopping bag for the fish nets. I've made about a dozen little fish, but haven't found the perfect pattern yet. When my gnarled old arthritic fingers get tired of holding a crochet hook, I switch to loom knitting. I'm making a cowl neck thing--like a scarf only with all in one piece. Nevermind. It will look great. Take my word for it. Well, Thanksgiving is over. Me and Miguel spent a QUIET day at home watching bad movies and eating nachos. All the kids were spending time with their significant others, so we went no where and did nothing and LOVED every second. This has to be the first holiday EVER that we weren't obligated to be somewhere. I know I sound like Ebenezer, but sometimes you just need to be left alone. So now, with my batteries recharged, I can face the upcoming Christmas season with renewed interest.

Sunday at Kidzu

James One with his mommy

James Two with his grandmommy

The boys in the kitchen

I took the boys to Kidzu Children's Museum at University Mall in Chapel Hill. What a fun place. They had a good time running around and exploring all the stuff. James One was mostly interested in the tree house. Luckily his parents are much more spry and have young knees, so they could climb up the steps several times. I stayed on ground level with the rest of the oldsters. James Two was fascinated by the kitchen set up. He went all Gordon Ramsey whenever anyone encroached on his space. He wasn't mean about it....but he CLEARLY didn't appreciate other kids messing with his stuff!

Current Diversions

My much loved Midori and new Moleskine

I've been creeping around the interwebs lately and discovered this HUGE community of folks obsessed with planners and journals. It is amazing and wonderful. I thought I was some kind of freak and it turns out I AM....but I'm in good company. I've been a journaler for years, most of my life in fact, and I've experimented with all kinds of systems. I may have discovered a system that works, although I'm sure I will continue to tweak it for years to come. I'm using the Midori Travelers Notebook for monthly and weekly planning. Plus I have an extra notebook in there for my version of bullet journaling and record keeping. I resisted as long as I could, but finally had to go out and get a Moleskine notebook. I'm using it for daily notes, diary type entries and a little bit of junk journaling. I find that "brain dump" activities are very healthy. There are some things that you just need to get out of your head and onto paper so that you can move on with your life. I tend to perseverate on things that bug me and helps to work it out on paper. I'm old school, man. I love good paper and pens. Maybe eventually I will get back to making art, but in the meantime, my creative efforts are directed more to writing.

JT blows his nose

JT Rules!

I had to go to Ft. Bragg to take care of some business today. I stopped in to see this cute little man. Isn't it a statistical marvel that I ended up with the 2 cutest babies that ever lived? Whoda thunk it? Me, Bert and JT went to eat at a place called Yesterday or something like that--a sports bar and burger joint about 10 miles this side of Bragg. Pretty decent food. JT had a grilled cheese sammich and sweet potato fries. He is cutting some molars which makes him grumpy, but he's eating pretty well these days. I had to rush back home and log back into work. But I'll be spending a lot of time with him next weekend. I will be babysitting while his parents attend a wedding in Charleston. Good Times!!

A Flower Blooms in Winter

Gardenia

Clematis

These 2 crazy plants are blooming. The overnight temperature just dropped to 31 for the first time this season and here we are well into autumn and yet I have flowers. It's weird, but such a beautiful sight. Gardenias were dad's favorite. They smell so nice.

More reasons to get a dog

They make excellent pillows and neck warmers.

I just learned dogs are sensitive to aliens (I mean extra-terrestrial aliens, not illegal aliens--although technically speaking, I guess ETs actually are "illegal" aliens). SO, beware when dogs barks at night.

Cats can sense aliens as well, but they don't care. That's the difference between cats and dogs.

That gives me yet another thing to worry about--alien home invasion. Bummer. And I just resigned myself to the fact that in the event of a zombie apocalypse--I'm doomed. Miguel and I realized we are particularly unsuited for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. We have no skills of any practical value. When anarchy reigns, there will be no need for visual artists or guitar teachers. I repeat...bummer.

the Cat's in the bag

This looks like a great place to take a nap.

See! I told you I could fit in here.

A couple of quick things

postcard from my niece in Korea

painting in progress

 I got a postcard from my niece. What a lovely surprise. She graduated from William & Mary and is now in Korea teaching English. She is loving it, plus she's able to start paying off those school loans. Yikes. Also I'm posting a photo of a painting I am working on. Acrylic with palette knife, based on a design by Peter Adderley. Must give credit where credit is due. My co-worker, Glenna, volunteers for Cat Angels--a rescue and shelter for kitties. They are having a fund raiser next month and I am donating a painting (or two) for the auction. I keep saying I am not going to do any more acrylics, so I quit buying paint. I was using up some tubes from my stash with this painting. The kitties need a face, so after that I think this painting is complete.

Doing some sketching

quick sketch in my Moleskine watercolor notebook

It's 76 degrees and cloudy. I LOVE it. Finally getting to enjoy some gorgeous fall weather. I stepped outside for a few minutes to do a quick sketch of the front of the house. It's watercolor, watercolor pencil and pen (Micron). I haven't done much in the way of "real" art in months. So, I'm trying to force myself to look around and paint/draw what I see. Because of rain and hurricanes and whatnot, the last Triangle Sketch Crawl was cancelled. These days, that's about all I'm doing, artistically speaking. I want to keep my hand in, but I haven't felt very creative. Can't really BE creative if the spark isn't there. I'm kind of waiting for the muse to return. Until then, I'm piddle around with this and that and see what happens.

Hops Burger Bar

After church today, picked up Miguel and drove to Greensboro. Met Mal, Jon, Lila and Jaymart at Hops Burger Bar in Greensboro. Let me just say quickly--the place was BUSY. I was talking to this young lady in the bathroom line and she said it doesn't matter when you come, they are always packed. We had about a 20 minute wait, then got seated outside. Let me also say, it was well worth the wait. Best veggie burger I have ever had. I thought Buns in Chapel Hill was pretty darn good...I'll give them a solid  'A', but Hops gets A+. I got the cauliflower/mushroom burger with a fried green tomato on it. Mike got the nutty burger which was a bunch of different kinds of seeds and beans. Both are excellent. Oh yeah, and I got to see my grandbaby. He was adorable, as always. What a great kid. So easy going and so smart. I am one lucky grandma. So, it was a nice 3 day weekend for me. Got a LOT accomplished. Even washed the dogs and brushed their teeth. Actually had to wash them twice because they rolled around outside in something foul. I am almost finished with the cat painting I am going to donate to the Cat Angels auction to support their rescue and shelter operation. And then tonight is the season premier of Walking Dead. Perfect way to end the weekend. Going to work a little from home in the morning so I don't have to go into the office at dawn. It just doesn't get any better than this!

Jaymart, 16 months and 12 teeth

Nauvoo Sculpture Garden

Bathed in a heavenly light

Outside of the Nauvoo Visitor's Center is the sculpture garden which contains 13 life size bronze statues in honor of womanhood. The gardens are beautiful and the statues are inspiring. I snapped this one and later was surprised to see the light effect. I didn't plan it and couldn't reproduce it even if I tried. I think it is really cool and quite appropriate. We had such a good time on the trip. I had wonderful traveling companions and everything went smoothly. But, I'm glad to be home and won't be doing any long car trips for awhile.

A Few More Nauvoo Pix

Me and the girls in front of Lucy Mack Smith's house

Wandering around outside Brigham Young's house

The mighty Mississippi viewed from the eastern shore

Nauvoo Temple

Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum

Nauvoo Temple

The original temple was destroyed a short time after its completion. The church rebuilt and dedicated it in 1994, I think. Anyhow, the only thing remaining from the 1st temple was 2 sun stones. One of them is in the visitors center, the other is at the Smithsonian. The statue represents Joseph and Hyrum looking back at the temple as they rode by for the last time. They never got to see the temple completed. Very sad.