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