I Would Be Blogging...

if not for this:

I picked up the prints late yesterday morning and I'm overwhelmed! I do love the new paper for sure though. As you know, Bruce was very anxious to get a new table, so since he was working from home he suggested we go to Ikea a little after lunch. Well, within hours I was sitting here thanks to my in-house handyman:

Actually, this was taken after dinner, thus the darkness, however in the next few days I'll give you the daylight version. As well, we got a super cute chair for the room. Why, you ask? Well, Baxter needs somewhere to hang out, doesn't he? Of course, humans can use it as well, but you get my drift.

Hopefully, this adorable shot of Baxter, ready for bed on a cold winter's night, will make up for my absence:

I am anxious to share my Ocala trip with you, but that will have to wait until the mound of prints is signed, priced, sealed and sorted into the new baskets! Oh my, what have I done?

Beautiful Morning

Apparently we are the only state without snow on the ground, for which I'm grateful. That said, it is still mighty chilly around these parts, more so tomorrow morning if the predictions prove accurate. Nonetheless, I can take just about any temperature if the sun is shining, and shining it is. Without any humidity to speak of, the sky seems to be a more brilliant shade of blue, which I'm now facing in my new space. I liked my "Dancing Green" office very much, however, I'm loving facing a window in my new space. Life is good.

After returning from the Polasek yesterday afternoon I couldn't wait to give the food coloring experiment another try.

I began, once again, by coating the foam core with corn syrup and dropping red and black food coloring. Not entirely pleased with that, I added a blue drop on top of the red which I fully expected would become purple. It did not, as you can see. I LOVE how that blue turned out. For the record, I tried it on glue, which proved to be unsuccessful--no movement of the color. The idea for the glue came up because after seeing my photographs online, Bruce said he wanted to see them in person. Sorry baby, they won't be around for long because they are too messy!

Lest you think I've gone completely crazy, I'm still taking photographs of just about anything I can find. As you know, I recently bought a kettle which I'm loving by the way. When Angela was over on Saturday night the discussion turned to tea. She claims that tea tastes better when consumed from bone china, a notion that seemed a little far fetched to me. Well, at some point in the past, my dear friend Mary Whited gave me a lovely bone china cup and saucer I retrieved from the buffet drawer.

I can't say that I noticed any difference in the taste, but it sure is prettier than my mugs! Another gift from Mary, whom is both a most generous and gracious lady, is this very cool blue vase which I've been trying to do justice to in a photograph for a while now. Still not there yet.

And then there's this delicate camellia I brought home from the Polasek yesterday:

 

So you see, I haven't completely abandoned the real world! Tomorrow I've scheduled a trip to Ocala to make a charitable donation. Here's a copy of the email:

Dear Gail,

I saw your work in Ocala at FAFO and was extremely impressed.  Not only did I love your work, but I have also continued to talk about it.   I work for the Marion County Children’s Advocacy Center - Kimberly's Cottage, and our agency is creating a gallery in our conference room.  We would love to see some or your pieces displayed as inspiration for our staff and our community partners.

Kimberly's Cottage is a non-profit agency that offers cost free medical exams, forensic interviews, and short term crisis intervention counseling services to children who have been victims of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and severe neglect.   Our conference room is not only where we hold meetings with community partners, but also where prominent members of our community meet with our board to discuss donor opportunities.

My request is that you consider donating one or more pieces of your amazing work to be displayed in our gallery.  We would display this piece with your contact information and the price of the piece – offering the individuals who see your work the opportunity to learn more about you and where to find more of your art, or potentially purchase the piece as it is displayed.  Not only would this offer exposure of your work to many of our community’s affluent individuals, additionally, your generous donation to this outstanding cause would be tax deductible. 

I am looking forward to hearing from you soon about this opportunity. 

I responded first by saying "what a flattering letter she wrote and really, how could I refuse?" Seriously, Bruce and I have been so blessed, I'm more than happy to donate to what seems to be a very worthy cause. 

A clever way to segue into this  The Humble Cabbage 
just wouldn't come to me. Clever or not, I love cabbage. I've not always loved cabbage. In fact, I used to hate it for many of the reasons sited in the article, chief among them, the smell! I don't know about you, but I can still remember walking into the elementary school cafeteria and being overwhelmed with the odor, yes that's the right word, of overcooked cabbage. Here's how I like to cook cabbage:

• Cut in half and slice. Maybe cut up the slices a bit more.
• I use a glass pie pan and fill it with the cut up cabbage.
• After putting in less than 1/4 c water, cover with wax paper.
• Microwave on high for about six to seven minutes. 
• Poke with fork to determine doneness. Keep it a little firm like you would brocoli.
• Season with a little bit of butter, and generous amounts of cider vinegar. If you're Bruce, once it's on your plate, cover with freshly ground black pepper. If you're not Bruce, do it your own way!
• Be prepared to be surprised at how delicious it is!

Time to get away from the computer and over to my sewing table. I told you life was good.

Making Art

You never know where inspiration for art will come from. After naming all new 75 pieces for my bins this morning, I read the instructions for a Christmas gift from Matt. There is a pack of both watercolor paper and fabric that you expose with the sun, however today the sun refused to make an appearance. Nix that idea.

Here's what I did come up with after coating foam core with corn syrup and dropping food coloring:

It was really amazing how much they looked like flowers. I then tilted it upright and here's what happened soon thereafter:

By now I put it in the sink to contain the mess! Obviously I had to take photographs to show you how cool it was. Here's one taken about thirty minutes later:

Now my abstract flowers have stems!

Tonight is the last college football game of the season--the big show down between Oregon and Auburn.  At this point it's anybodies game, however, later tonight there will be a bunch of disappointed people. I'm always saying that you must be prepared to have your heart broken (at least for a night), if you're a sports fan. I know of what I speak. Bruce has already left for the week, so it will be me and Baxter on the couch rooting for my Alabama neighbor Corrine's team.

Lastly, here's a funny outtake from my latest self portrait. This scarf Nancy gave me for my birthday rocks!

I swear it looks like I'm about to get sick!

P.S. I forgot that I put this cool link up earlier today: Books, Books, and More Books

Switcharoo

Well folks, we did it. More accurately, Bruce did most of it. This morning, shortly after getting up, Bruce asked if I wanted to make the change. Well....why not?

Bruce concealing all the wires while Gail takes photographs. See reflection in mirror. It took most of the day, but here's how things finished up:

More than a year ago I purchased the comforter/quilt before Matt came home for Christmas. My intention was to use it on the fold up bed we purchased, however that never happened. For the moment, this is good.

When we began moving the furniture this morning I called Jonathan, the farmer from the market who generally takes all of our furniture when we make changes. They have seven, yes, seven children! I didn't hear back from him until later in the afternoon, but when I mentioned we had a twin bed and mattress to give away, I think I heard tears in his voice. He said, "You have no idea what a blessing this is for our family." Gosh.....

I've photographed most rooms of our home except for the room that was formerly the twins' room. I loved that room. Cool and calm. My chance is over. It's new. Maybe not so calm. About the middle of the week I lugged my six foot table that I use for markets (when I don't use my tent) into the room. I placed it in front of the closet to see what I felt like being in the back bedroom. I liked it. A lot.

The light is amazing in this room. Although Bruce is not all the way pleased with my using this table, and I suspect he'll do something about it when I'm not around, for now, after all the work, here's what it looks like:

As I type this I'm seeing the beautiful crescent moon out the window which makes me very happy. My very first blog in my new space! There's still a bit of tweaking to do, but not much. I've got so much room! The best part is that the table can be taken down and at least a double air mattress can be used in the middle of the room. Turns out we've solved several problems at once. Not really problems, but it seems as if we'll be using our space more efficiently. In my former office, when we have four visitors we'll take the treadmill down and set up the folding bed, and there you have it! A big switcharoo that benefits everyone. Doesn't get any better!

Change is in the Air

Don't you just love January? Of course, living in Florida, as I do, has something to do with it. Yes, the weather is ideal most days but what I like about January is the newness, if that's a word. Anything seems possible. I've never been one to make resolutions, however, I do like to make changes. But you knew that didn't you? I always like to say, everything is subject to change, except my marriage! Speaking of marriages, oftentimes I don't recognize how special our relationship is until I hear tales of other marriages. Whew! There are some mighty unhappy married folks out there. I'm ever so grateful I'm not one of them.

So what am I changing now? Lots.

• First, my hair. I've had my hair highlighted since I was about seventeen and it's time for a change. What's wrong with brown anyway? Furthermore, I'm going to do my best to let my bangs grow out. That's another thing I've done for most of my life, starting with the time in elementary school when my friend cut my bangs with fingernail scissors. Can you imagine? My mother would never let me have them, saying my forehead was too narrow. When I think about it, I've no clue how I had the nerve to defy her wishes! Bring on the headbands!

•  I've bought an electric kettle. One of the most fascinating things about Tom was his approach to the kitchen, or more specifically, food preparation. Very scientific. The error of my ways was gently pointed out--making a proper cup of tea requires an electric kettle. Yesterday morning I did a little experiment, filling both the kettle, and my regular stove kettle, with enough water to make a cup of tea. Kettle won hands down. Nancy will recognize my little spoon rest from one of the cool little shops in DeLand.

•  One of the biggest changes I am making is my prints. Monday I spent more than three hours at Rogers house figuring it all out. I am going to regular mats with lustre paper. There, I've said it. The time just seemed right to step things up a bit, although, with my decreased sales last year, I'm not sure where I got the idea to spend more on my product, but hey, you only live once! He made two images with both the matte paper and lustre for comparison. Both Bruce and Angela voted for lustre after inspecting them. What did I think? It's a go! As such, I had a BOGO sale last week, and will do so again this Sunday, to clear out as much inventory as possible. The remaining prints will be donated to Habitat for Humanity, or friends if they'd like them. Lisa and Nancy got their share on Sunday.

• While at Hobby Lobby on my birthday we finally found some new baskets that match my tablecloth. No small feat I'll tell you. Looking for months, I'd never found four baskets that matched before so when we saw these we didn't hesitate.

• My prices. For nearly three years I've kept my prices the same, however, with the changes I'm making, I am raising them slightly to help cover my costs. We'll see how that affects my sales. Last year I sold nearly $7,000 less than the previous year. Pretty significant wouldn't you say? January makes me hopeful that this year I'll see an improvement.

• One thing about selling at the same location is that keeping things fresh definitely helps keep people looking. As such, I'm having Roger make lots of new images, keeping only the perennial favorites. It's not like I don't have others to try! One thing I've learned is that you never really know what will capture people's attention; almost all of my big sellers are surprises to me. Maybe this new batch will have a few, however, that remains to be seen.

That's my list so far. Subject to change...

I've got a great link for you courtesy of Matt:
Estate LivingSeeing those faces and reading their stories was wonderful. I was fascinated that the interviewer asked them their original hair color. Plus, I liked how they gazed at the camera rather than smiled. Most of us don't spend our days smiling so they felt more natural. You probably already know that the introduction of the Brownie camera was the dawn of forced smiles in photographs. I like to smile as much as the next person, just not so much on cue!

Bruce spent much of the holidays working from home, but he's on the road again now. I stayed up WAY too late finishing this novel, Father of the Rain
It was one of those novels that are compelling while reading, but upon completion, makes you wonder why you bothered.

If you've ever wondered if you should spring for Amazon gift wrapping, here's what it looks like:

While reading the card I wasn't sure if it was my quilting book or not, but it was. Speaking of Jonathan, he still has no job, but he has been through two interviews at the Apple store. Waiting for a call now. It's a start!

Finally, here's a little cutie for you:

 

While shopping I can never resist cute little things like this to photograph. Thunder and lightening woke me several times during the night with the rain continuing this morning. Guess that means I'll be staying in to finish my year end bookkeeping, a dreaded task if ever there was one.

P.S. Forgive me for the excessive use of exclamation points please.

It's A New Year

It may be a new year but that doesn't mean I'm done writing about the old one. With the opening of Hobby Lobby, I've re-discovered my love for quilting. What I like about the store is that they have a nice selection of fabrics, however, it's not an overwhelming selection. I'm not happy when there are too many choices, something the modern world provides in spades. Have you seen how MANY types of orange juice are on the supermarket shelves? Ridiculous. No wonder people feel so stressed out!

So, before I move on to another project, I thought I'd show you a closeup of the zigzag quilt I finished for Matthew's Christmas gift:

I learned some new techniques while making this quilt, and hopefully, with the new modern quilting book I received from Jonathan for my birthday, I'll be learning more.

Speaking of gifts, here's a shot of the gorgeous orchid Ruth's parents brought on Christmas day:

 

If you can imagine, there are thirteen, yes, you read that right, thirteen buds yet to open! Expect follow up images to come.

Bruce's knee problem improved dramatically, enough so, that on January 1, 2011, we went to Ikea on a recognizance mission. What, pray tell, are we doing now? I'm thinking of moving my office to the current guest room where I have the room to keep my sewing machine up, and have more of a photography studio in the room with the best light. Still puzzling about where this idea will go.

After Bruce left to set up the booth Sunday morning I went out back, and what to my wondering eyes should appear? A beautiful rainbow!

 

It would seem as if I am destined to never get a good shot of a rainbow, or at least to date that's been the case. Rarely do I see them, and both times when I have in the last year, I've had camera issues. Here's a little lesson I've learned--don't buy a generic battery for your camera. Although the after market battery I purchased for the Olympus works fine for a bit, there is no blinking indicator to let you know the battery is almost spent. Thus, I had no idea the battery was dying when I put my camera away. Running inside and grabbing my camera to catch the rainbow before it faded, I discovered the battery was DEAD. Great! Quickly changing it, I was barely able to get a few shots off before it was gone. Moral of the story? Spring for the good stuff.

Nancy and Lisa made a guest appearance at the market Sunday afternoon, posing for this shot before they walked around the lake:

 

So glad they both wore black! Nancy left yesterday after spending two weeks here visiting with the clan. Sadly, both my tech support (Matt), and organizational specialist (Nancy), have departed for another year before I was able to exploit their talents fully!

 

Tom shot this while we were in DeLand. Actually, he made two exposures, which brings me to lesson 2 of the post. Most times when taking family shots we don't think a lot about the composition, however, looking at the two photographs reminded me of something Professor Strout taught me in my one photography class at Valencia. I'm passing it along to you guys so you can be mindful of it while taking your own family shots. "Don't cut people off at the joints." I'm going to show you the other image to demonstrate the point:

Do you see the difference? Amazing what having feet will do! This is no dis on Tom's photography skills, I'm as guilty as anyone about not being careful of this. Note to self--pay attention to the details! Because this blog allegedly has something to do with photography, every now and again maybe I should share my limited technical knowledge?

I love ART. All kinds of art. Knowing this, our son Matthew regularly gives us art as gifts, with this year being no exception. Both Bruce and I are delighted with these new lino-block cuts of two of our favorite places in London. 

I can't tell you the amount of times I've heard people say they have no more room for new art. Hogwash is what I have to say about that! Moving current art to a different location gives it new life because you're seeing it differently. Buying art is a highly personal endeavor, but once you do, it's always nice to have folks admire your selection. Never once did anyone comment on the art that currently is hung over the fireplace when it hung over the piano. I can't tell you the number of folks who've asked if it was new once we moved it. No, we've had it for several years! Now, folks comment like nobodies business.

Good grief Gail,  you sure are full of advice today! And you thought you were coming here for a little entertainment....

A Birthday and a Funeral

First off--Happy New Year to you--let's hope it's a good one without any tears! So, we'll get to the title shortly, but if you'll allow me, I'd like to back up a few days. Every day seems to have been so action packed that it's hard to know where to begin.

You may recall that Matt, Tom and I went to Gatorland last week to show Tom something he'd never seen before. Alligators and crocodiles are most definitely in short supply in England. He was awestruck at the sight of them to say the least. Love can make a man do surprising things don't you think? In this case, Matt, a devout vegan, suggested we might want to watch the Gator Jumparoo. For those who've yet to experience the wonders of Gatorland, this is when the trainers stand amongst a large number of alligators, holding whole chickens (from the grocery store) high in the air above the gators, thus they allegedly jump up to grab said chickens. I've yet to see it myself, but apparently they normally do just that, however, on our visit, instead the gators headed for the water!

There are a few exotic birds around the park that are great fun to photograph:

Love the light on this one don't you? Wonder what the purpose of the feathers covering part of the beak is--maybe a warming thing? It was indeed chilly that morning, but with a bright blue sky and warm sun, it wasn't long before we were very comfortable.

December 26th we were invited to not one, but two open houses. We made a short stop at Kelly's house first, and then on to Steve and Kirsten's home. Annually they throw this huge party with the most scrumptious food you can imagine. Here's a look at the beautiful serving area:

You can tell what a gifted hostess Kirsten is because at least 100 people gather at times around that table each year!

On Wednesday the 29th we took advantage of the cold weather, driving to Blue Springs to see the manatees, another creature in short supply in England. Because we've had such an unusual number of cold winter days the last few years, Bruce and I have visited several times seeing loads of manatees trying to stay warm in the springs. This visit, however, was our best because not only were there lots of the graceful creatures swimming along the run, they were playful in a way we'd never seen before. As well, lots of mother manatees had babies either swimming beside them or nursing:

Matt took over my camera for a bit and got this wonderful shot! Afterwards we headed to DeLand for a nice stroll through their cute downtown and a yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant on Woodland Street.

Thursday morning, bright and early, Bruce handled the airport duties, sadly saying goodbye to Matt and Tom for who knows how long. To say that the holidays were wonderful does not do it justice. 

Back to life--back to reality:

Although I don't make lists with any regularity, Thursday, I knew that without one, I would be overwhelmed with what needed doing! I made good progress thank you very much.

So now to the title.....

December 31 arrived and so did my 57th birthday. Very low key, with Nancy's help I took down the Christmas tree after attending a very, very unusual funeral/memorial service for our neighbor one house away. Answering the call from his wife a few days ago, I was surprised she sounded downright cheerful about her husband's passing. Now I know why! Surrounded by home owners in their 80's, Dave Crowson was no exception. He was an odd man, however, we all are are in our own way. Well.....arriving at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, the place of our wedding, I had no idea what was to come. Really, no one could have guessed that after the minister and two contemporaries of Dave extolled his virtues, his eldest son would stand at the podium, proclaiming his nervousness. Believe me, he should have been nervous!

He began by talking about all types of relationships, family, friends, co-workers, etc. It wasn't long before he launched into discussing destructive relationships. For at least 15 minutes he basically told the gathered souls that his father was a monster who used words like a knife to belittle both his wife, and children. Imagine being the minister who had to conclude a service like that! Seriously, I was stunned! Bruce has been nursing a sore knee for a few days and decided to let me represent the family, however, after hearing my story, he was sorry he missed it! Almost all the neighbors were there including Herb and Corrine from across the street. When I visited them later in the day to get their take on it, turns out neither one of them heard it well. Hearing aid problems. I told Corrine a bit about it while Herb was messing with his aids in the kitchen. She shouted out to him, "Herb, Gail tells me Dave's son basically was saying he was an asshole!" Truth, my friends, is always stranger than fiction.

For my birthday I was blessed with beautiful weather, good company, and warm greetings, however, the best gift was saved for last. The Seminoles won! The Seminoles won! The Seminoles won!