Merry Monday, 11.11.2013

First of all, Happy Veteran's Day to all of our veterans. We have a very somber, poignant assembly at our school every year and it really does help remind us all of the sacrifices that others have made for us, so that we all may enjoy freedom on so many levels. And no matter your political point of view, I think that is one thing everyone can agree on.
As a mother, I never thought I would have to worry about my kids being part of the armed forces. I just didn't. It was never thrown out there as an option because, in my mind, it wasn't an option. But, a couple of years ago, my son, Jamey Schuster (yes, that is his real name!), graduated from college, then made the decision to train as part of the Army National Guard. At first I was shocked and asked him to reconsider. But that was pure selfishness on my part. I was worried about him, but I was also worried for myself- that I would have to endure days, weeks and months of missing him and worry for his safety and that my worst fear may come true- that we would lose him if he was ever deployed to a "less than desirable" location. I was not a happy momma, I have to be honest. But, what I didn't know was how great the discipline would be for him, how much direction and focus it would give him and how much pride it would instill in him. I still worry, don't get me wrong. But now, pride is overshadowing the worry. I am a happy momma again. And a very proud one!
So, again, Happy Veteran's Day and a huge "Thank You" to all of them.

So proud of our Army boy, Jamey Schuster.

I'll be taking a short break from the blog again. Just for a few weeks so I can focus on some works-in-progess, finish them, and get my Etsy shop up and running again. It has me listed as being "on vacation" for quite a while now, so I think it's time to focus on that! I'll leave you with some works that have been inspiring me lately.

Works by Tracy Potts found here and here.

Works by Kirstine Higgins found here

And works by Karola Pezarro found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Monday-11.4.2013

A few things making me merry on this Monday....

Having time to work on my stitched painting, which is coming right along. It's a really long quote, so it seems to be taking forever, but it will get there.

My nine year wedding anniversary tomorrow. M. and I have definitely had our share of trials and tribulations, especially over the last two years. We've teetered on the edge several times, trying to decide if staying together is really the best things for everyone involved. Well, we decided that it is. We work very hard on our marriage and hopefully the hard work will pay off and we will one day be able to celebrate a twenty, thirty, maybe even a fifty year anniversary. Well, 50 may be pushing it a bit. M. would be 102 and I would be 88!  But, hey, you never know, right?!

Memories of Peanut's second Halloween. He couldn't decide if he was a witch, a cowboy or hipster in blue sunglasses. So he was all three!

These collages I purchased from a former student. Her work is very thoughtful, thought provoking and well crafted. You can find more of her work here. I am a very proud teacher :)

The view from my front porch. I will definitely miss my front porch when we move (if the short sale is ever approved!). This beautiful view sitting on top of this hill is one of the best things about living here. But, the convenience, close proximity to my kids and parents and simplifying and downsizing are definitely advantages to moving. So I'm REALLY looking forward to it.

 Have a great week, I'm back to my stitching :)  Juli

Merry Monday 10.28.2013

We had the best weekend. Sister's surprise 30th birthday party was a success- good people, good food, good fun :) Perfect. The party took place on Friday, the 25th, so I have to admit, Saturday and Sunday were rest and recuperation days for me. I did a lot of nothing. Although I did clean the catering dishes, work on my stitched painting and stream a LOT of Netflix movies (Top Gun, Broken Flowers, Heartburn, The Great Gatsby (the original), Manhattan and Who is Harry Nilsson). Wow! That is a lot, isn't it?

As you can see, the candles are not lit. She had to reenact blowing out the candles because I missed the shot!

What has been on my mind quite a bit, though, since then, is how hard it is to believe that I have a thirty year old child. Really. I can hardly believe it!  But, it really has been thirty whole years. And looking through her pictures and putting them in order, by year, confirmed it. And made me realize (or, rather, re-realize) what an amazing girl, woman, wife, mom, sister, daughter, grand daughter and niece she has been, has become and IS. And how much I look forward to spending the next thirty years watching her become even more. I'm a very proud mom, can you tell? And this is just about one child! Just watch out when I start talking about all three of them!


So, having this thirty year old child can mean only one thing. I'm not young any more. And you know what? I couldn't care less. Or, maybe I should say, I care less and less as the years go by. That's probably more accurate! One thing that makes me feel better about aging is the video below. I came across it a couple of years ago and whenever I'm feeling kind of down or depressed about getting older, I try to think of it. Who would not want their "old age" or their "golden years" to look like this?

When I watch it I understand that there is something to look forward to as your years progress. Sure, you don't look, feel or think the way you used to. But I actually think that might be a good thing.

In my youth (meaning 40 and under) I remember being obsessed with the way I looked, always feeling uneasy and restless-like I should be doing "more", and always dwelling on the past or worried about the future. I am finally feeling like I'm learning to live in the present. Yes, I still worry (about my looks, about the past, about the future,etc.) but it certainly is not consuming me. And that is such a good thing. Because now, instead of worrying about things I can't control, I find myself wondering how I will be remembered by my kids and my grand kids. And this is something I at least have some control over. Because I know it's possible to teach by example. Yes, I know my kids will remember the young mother who worried a lot and lost her patience a lot. But I also know they will remember the mother who listened to them a lot, talked to them a lot and cared for them a lot. And as I get older and wiser, I am better able to think ahead and plan a little. So, I've made a short, "leaving my legacy" wish list, inspired by this post.

I hope to teach by example:
1) the value of living in the moment 2) the value of  living and having a healthy lifestyle 3) the value of  being satisfied with simple things and 4) the value of being creative and making things with their own two hands. Yep. Those are my wishes. Oh, and 5) the value in living in a tiny shack/cottage, doing yoga outside and growing and cooking your own food :) That's it.

Have a great, remaining, Merry Monday :)   Juli

Lately...

So...lately I've been pretty busy. When I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off for too many days in a row, I tend to get sick. So I've been laying a little lower for the past couple of days so that doesn't happen :) Here are just a few of the highlights of my busy-ness:

I'm finished stitching the grapes, vines and leaves on my stitched painting.

Now it's time for the text, which will be a quote from the movie "Sideways". It's a pretty long quote, so I hope I finish this in a timely manner, since, as I mentioned before, it's a gift. And I'm also debating about the thread color for the text. I'm leaning toward a very light, almost white, green. But...I'm open to suggestions on that ;)

I had some quality time with Peanut and Little Man on Saturday. Here they are doing their "homework" together. For Little Man- actual, real life, homework (Psychology test) and for Peanut- circling the toys he likes in the toy catalog and showing us how good he is at clicking the ink pen open and closed! He cracks us up!

And he cracks himself up, too!

Yesterday, an unexpected thunderstorm rolled through and left an awesome rainbow, which you can barely see by the time I had a good spot to pull over. It was pretty, take my word for it! haha

And finally, by the time I write my next blog post, this beautiful girl will have turned 30 years old. Oh, my. It's hard for me to believe!  I was only 17 when she was born, so I'm glad she made it through those first few years with such a young, inexperienced girl for a mother. It really does seem like just yesterday that she looked like this :) Happy Birthday, Sister!

Have a great evening!  Juli

Leaving a legacy

Leaving a Legacy is our theme at school this year. And, although I'm not really into some of the themes they've come up with in the past,  I think this is a great one. So, I'm stealing it and using it as the theme for this post :)


 leg·a·cy  

n. pl. leg·a·cies

1. Money or property bequeathed to another by will.

2. Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past.

*freedictionary.com

 

Leaving a legacy is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. Since my children lost their dad, there have been a lot of court dates and lawyer visits to deal with money and "stuff" he left behind. It's very easy to get wrapped up in being angry, bitter and resentful over some of the things that they've lost throughout this process. But I keep reminding them (and myself) that they have the things that no one can ever take away from them. No one can ever take away Eddie's brown, puppy-dog eyes, Sister's long eyelashes and freckled cheeks or Little Man's smile. Those are physical traits that they inherited from their dad and that no one else in the world could possibly have. Those things are part of his legacy. Money, stuff and property are the things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. They will always have memories of growing up with him as their dad. And they will always carry with them his best character traits: his fun-loving,silly, carefree attitude; his over-the-moon love for them; and his dedication to taking care of  the people he cared about. They will always have those things, because those things are now a part of them. I truly believe that this is how people live on. And he is definitely living on in them. I witness it every single day. They are his legacy. And he would be proud!

 

 

 

 

It is the two year anniversary of Gary Schuster's (aka Ruben J's) death. And I thought is would be most appropriate to use this space, today,  to keep his memory alive. 

So... lots of time for art talk next week (and the weeks thereafter), as, hopefully, that will be part of the legacy that I leave behind :)

Juli

Merry Monday 10/14/13

Just a short post for this Merry Monday. It's getting late here and I'm getting an early start tomorrow to drive to Columbia to watch Little Man play in his last golf tournament of the season. Sister, Eddie and my parents are going, too, so it will be a nice family day out. It would be their (my kids) dad's 53rd birthday tomorrow, so it will be a bittersweet day. But, they aren't the type of kids to mope around, so they will be celebrating his birthday just the way he liked it, with all of them together. And, even better yet, on the golf course, watching Little Man play :)

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” Jim Valvano


"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart...I'll always be with you."  A.A. Milne

Merry Monday- 10/07/13

Okay, I'm going to grin and bear it and say "Oh, what a wonderful Monday!" Even though it was actually a typical, 'case of the Mondays' cliche, BLAH Monday. But hey, I got to spend some great time with family this weekend- a belated birthday/family dinner night for Falicia on Friday, some quality BiBi (that's Peanut's name for me-Swahili for grandma) and Peanut time on Saturday, movie night with Little Man and M. Saturday night, and shopping with Little Man on Sunday. Wow. I didn't realize how busy the weekend was until just now! No wonder I'm tired :) Here are some Peanut highlights and a little shot at some progress on the making front that I got to on Sunday afternoon.

Our little cowboy. He loves this hat, a hand-me-down from Little Man :)

Making progess on the stitched painting. I see more of these in my future :)  And the free form crochet pieces will be appliqued onto reclaimed wool (sweaters), embellished with stitching and made into pillows. It looks better in person, I promise. It's not looking so hot in these photos. But they are "in progress"!

Sorry for the short post tonight. It's Monday. And I'm merry, but also really tired :)    Juli

Merry Monday- 100!

Well, this Merry Monday is my 100th blog post since I started writing in this little space. So I thought this would be a good time to talk about the good aspects of the internet, Facebook, blogging, etc. I know the popular opinion is to balk at so much technology and  complain that it is turning our kids into zombies and it is making all of us less "social" (at least face to face or voice to voice). And, believe me, technology has caused my family some major heartache, so I get it. And, I agree, to a certain extent. But, at the same time, I think there is at least as much good to all of this technology as there is bad. So here are just a few good things about technology from my little part of the world:

1.) Texting- I can communicate with my kids all day, every day. And, yes, I text them. Because, to be perfectly honest, I don't always like having long, extended conversations on the phone. There is always that weird, " Uhm, are they finished talking? Uhm, should I start talking now?" It's just awkward sometimes. There is (or there is supposed to be) a certain cadence to phone conversation. And I've never been good at it. Now, if there is something urgent at hand that needs serious discussing , I'm fine with it. But I'd rather see them in person. As for texting, it's really nice to be able to quickly connect with them throughout the day. It's great to be able to text Eddie about a movie we're watching, to get a funny text or picture of Peanut from Sister or to tell Little Man "Night. Love you" before I go to sleep. It's quick. And easy. And they know that they are always on my mind.

2.) E-mail-I get reminders from doctors, dog groomers, hair stylists, etc. about upcoming appoints. So, not only do I get an  e-mail or text to jog my memory, I can also save those messages as an ongoing reminder to myself. I love it. And I sure they love it because I miss less appointments now :)

3.) Facebook- Facebook has enabled me to reconnect with and stay in touch with friends, family members, former teachers, former students and co-workers who I know I would probably never, or hardly ever,  be able to see or visit in person.  I get to hear their funny stories, see pictures of them, their kids and grandkids, receive kind words from them and give kind words in return. There is nothing bad about that. At all.

4.) Blogs- I follow a LOT of blogs. I have to admit, I probably spend too much time reading blog posts. But at the same time, if it hadn't been for reading other blog posts, I wouldn't have started my own. And, for me, this blog is a creative outlet. I don't consider myself a skilled writer (by an stretch of the imagination) but I jumped in anyway and put my fears about bad grammar, incorrect punctuation and boring stories to rest. Just showing up here keeps me on track and forces me to be accountable for creating something. Anything, really. Whether it's a loaf of bread, a painting or a new onesie design. It doesn't matter what, as long as I'm reaching a little bit out of my comfort zone, getting my butt off the couch and maybe (hopefully) inspiring other people to do the same. Because that's what what other's blogs do for me.

5.) Pinterest- I know, I know! It's online hoarding! But, Pinterest helps so many people try new things and be more creative. They get an idea, along with a picture and usually detailed instructions on how to create something of their own. And they do it! And they are proud of it! And they are proud of themselves! What is better than that?

(And I haven't even touched on Pandora, online banking, online research and art images for my students, Netflix, etc.. It's crazy! But I think you get the idea.)

And, whether it be Facebook, Pinterest, Blog posts or texts, you have the power to pick and choose what you read or watch. I choose to take in the positive stuff and just scroll right past the negative stuff. Because, really, there is enough negative stuff out there and I don't need to willingly take more of it in. I really appreciate the inspiring words, quotes, videos, etc. that people put out there. Some days, it's like an online counseling session! And it's strange how some of these inspiring words come through at just the right time.  Like these, which remind me to:

get my butt off  the couch and make something,

realize that, no, something bad is NOT about to happen,

be okay about having a not-so-perfect and/or  not-so-clean house,

 keep calm and do my yoga (duh!),

keep weeding out the clutter,

realize that grieving is a lifelong process,

 

and, finally, to enjoy and make a difference in this life because it's the only one I have and the only chance I get.

Merry Monday!   Juli
*information for all images found here

Dye results...

Dye experiments were a success! Here they are:

Here they are in their dye baths. To the left (in the green bowl) is leftover onion skin dye. I wanted to see how much lighter it would be if I saved and reused it. In the middle (in the blue bowl) is a strawberry dye bath. And in the yellow bowl is arkansas grape juice. The photo on the right shows the arkansas grapes after straining the juice out. Nice, huh?!

So, the onion skin dye (on the left) was really just as vibrant as the first time I used it. So that's good because you have to eat a lot of onions to get enough skins to make a dye bath! So, now I know I will be able to use it several times before pitching it. The photo on the right shows the fabric dyed with strawberry juice. It's very subtle, but it's a really pretty pinkish, brown.

And the big success- the arkansas grape juice. I should have known this by looking at my husband's shirts after a day of crushing grapes! The pulp I used was taken straight from the top bin before they started the press. And you can see it produces a very rich, deep color. The cotton knit onesie really took the dye well. (It was actually an over dye over the failed results of the blueberry and beet dye). It was randomly bound and soaked in the dye bath overnight. The samples on the right are also the results of the grape dye. The top one was achieved by folding the fabric several times, then dropping about a cup full of dye right into the middle before binding it loosely with a rubber band. The bottom right shows a sample that was folded, bound with rubber bands and left in the dye bath overnight. I love it! Each one is different- the onesie more solid, dark blue and the others with patches of deep blue, but also brown and just a hint of green.

 All of these samples will become "something" very soon (probably pillows) and will be available in my Etsy shop along with the onesies.

In the meantime, I started over on the stitching, this time using a more subtle thread color. I like it much better. I haven't gotten much more done, but will be working on it tonight while I catch up on my Homeland episodes (love that show!).

And this is the latest free form crochet piece, felted in the washer and dryer. It's interesting to see how differently the various yarns take to the felting process. I still don't know what the heck I'm going to do with these- but I'll think of something. They are a lot of fun to make.

I'll leave you with a shot of my front porch- now my drying area for all of my experiments :)

Have a great evening!  Juli

Merry Monday-9.23.13

Well, another Monday has come and almost gone. The weeks are flying by, it seems. It's been busy around here lately. I'm trying to fit in my making time, while making sure I have family time, too. Sometimes it seems like I only have 20 free minutes at a time. But, that's okay. I'll take it! It's better than none, which is how I'm sure many people live. Especially when they have young kids at home. I've been there, done that, for sure!
Anyway, you'll see below what I've been up to on the making front. Once again, some failures (or just re-dos) and some successes.

Another natural dye experiment. This time, yellow onion skins vs. red onion skins. I chose to leave the skins in the dye bath this time, hoping it would maybe make some unusual marks and/or make the finished product a deeper color.

And I think it worked. At least the deeper color. Not so sure about unusual or unexpected markings, but I think the color is awesome. Just what you would expect from yellow onion skins- a deep, golden brown color.

This is the red onion skin dye bath, again, skins and all. And so far, just what you would expect- a reddish, brown.

But, the finished product, after being washed and dried, was more of a greenish color. My husband said it looked like the color of vomit, but it's really not! Just a very natural colored brownish green. Definitely not what I expected from red onion skins, but I still consider this a success. (I'm not quite sure what showed up on the photo above. The dark gray streak right through the middle is not there in person, so just imagine it without that- haha!)

And I started stitching on my painted cloth. I'm actually glad I took the picture, because I knew something was off, and the photo made it clear. The embroidery floss that I'm using is too dark. So, I'll be ripping that out tonight and starting over with a more subtle color.

I'll try to match the thread color to the paint.

And I had lots of family time over the week:

An overnight visit with Peanut. He loves his little school chair and his chalkboard :)

And Little Man came home for the weekend. Yay!! And we had some movie and pizza time with him on Friday. This isn't really the way his face looks- that's just his "special" look for photos :)  Peanut wouldn't really go for the pizza, so he had some major popcorn time. He couldn't get that popcorn in his mouth fast enough! We had a great time hanging out together. The only thing missing was having Eddie and Falicia here, but they got to have some Jason Aldean concert time, so it's all good :)

And, I ended the week with a little shopping time:

I found this on sale at Joanne's so I bought it to add to Sister's owl collection. I told her a while back that if there is such a thing as reincarnation and her dad could come back in any form, it would probably be as an owl. So she has been collecting them ever since. (He could hoot exactly like an owl. It was crazy! Even crazier to me- the night he died, an owl was the first thing I heard when I went outside. Kinda cool.)

And this is what I found for myself- yarn, needles, embroidery floss (the usuals!), but what I'm most excited about are the Dyn-A-Flow fabric paints. Supposedly, they are paints that act like dye. Hmmm...we'll see. 

 Well, I hope your are having a Merry Monday- at least what's left of it :)   Juli

Merry Monday- 9/16/2013

Well, it's Merry Monday, again! Last week flew by, didn't it? My week consisted of lots of grading at school, rearranging the furniture and making some things at home and actually getting out of the house to just have some fun on Sunday. It was a good week. (Well, other than not having any kiddo time, I really hate that.)  So, here's a look at my week:

On Wednesday evening, M. and I felt honored to be spending time with a group of German filmmakers who are working on a project called Utopia- a traveling exhibit and documentary about a group of German immigrants traveling to the United States in 1834 and settling in Missouri. You can read more about that here. More to come on that later, but I can tell you that M. will be creating a new wine to specifically coincide with the exhibit. He's excited about it and I'm very happy for him :)

On the making front, another experiment, and yet another fail. This time I was attempting to over dye the onesie (originally dyed with blueberries) with beet juice. Well, it looked really good in the dye bath. It looked just okay when taken out of the dye bath (after 28 hours!). And I knew it was a failure after I washed and dried it. Oh, my! It looks almost the same as when I started. And I even bound it really tightly with dental floss, hoping to get a somewhat striped effect. Well, I didn't. So, needless to say, I don't recommend dyeing with beet juice!

The free-form crochet is going much better. I love the process. On the left you'll see the piece that I started last week. On the top right, the same piece, felted in the washer and dryer. I like it! The middle and bottom left show the new piece that I made yesterday. The best thing about this is playing with the color combinations. And, of course, not having to count stitches! My husband thinks I'm crazy because I'm having so much fun making them but I have no idea what they will become. But, I'll think of something :)

On Sunday, I had a little time to spare in the morning, so I tried something else that I've been thinking about for a while now. The photo on the left shows my attempt at painting directly on a piece of cotton muslin, using thinned acrylic paint mixed with textile medium. The photo shows it after washing and drying, so, in my book, this one was a success. I wanted a very subtle, watercolory (if that's a word), blurred effect because I plan to accent it with stitching. I'll keep you posted. It's a gift for someone, so I HAVE to finish it! Oh, and I also had more spare time for a glass of wine- in the middle of the day :)

Later Sunday afternoon, we visited the St. Louis Art Museum. I hadn't seen the new addition since they finished it, so I was anxious to go. The middle photo shows a Wayne Thiebaud painting (one of my faves!). I had never seen one in person, so that was cool to see. My first impression was that it was much smaller than I expected. For some reason, I envision all of his work as very large scale pieces.  And my next thought was how much the paint resembled icing (which is appropriate since he is best known for his paintings of baked goods). Other favorites: works by (clockwise, from top left) Louise Nevelson, Joseph Albers, Jackson Pollock, Lucian Freud, Gerhard Richter, Chuck Close (close up), Chuck Close (full view), and Richard Serra. I have to admit that Gerhard Richter is not really one of my faves, but I just thought it was a cool concept- that we, the viewers, become part of the art. Fun!

 I hope you're having a merry Monday :)  Juli

Word Wednesday- Names

name  (nm)n.

1. A word or words by which an entity is designated and distinguished from others.

 

*a partial definition of the word "name" by freeonlinedictionary

I had a completely different idea for today's post until I read this- a beautiful poem written by Billy Collins and posted on the blog, A Simple Life Afloat. Basically, at least on the surface, it's a poem about names. Although, I'm sure if I read it and re-read it many times, I would find a deeper meaning. But, to me, a poem about names is enough. Because I don't take names lightly. I think a name becomes so deeply embedded in a person that it becomes part of their story, their personality, who they are, what they believe in and what they are about.

Here on this blog, I use nicknames for my kids. I don't do this as a security measure. I am really not afraid of someone seeing them in one of my pictures, reading their names and then hunting them down to do them harm. Maybe I should be, but I'm not. I do it for them. Because the names I use for them here are their nicknames given to them by their dad. Using those names is a small way to keep part of their dad alive. Keeping that alive feels right to me. And I do it for them.

And their dad and I didn't take it lightly when we gave them their real names. We really thought long and hard about each one before they were born.

In the case of our daughter, Chelsi (aka Sister), her name wasn't definite until moments after her birth. She was born "back in the day" before ultrasounds were routine, so we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl. So, we had decided on Zachary for a boy and a girl would be either Tabitha or Chelsi. Without hesitation, the moment after the doctor announced, "It's a girl!",her dad called her Chelsi.

So, Chelsi it was!


Our middle child, Jamey (aka, Eddie), came along a few years later. I had one ultrasound and we were pretty sure he was a boy. So, I begged and pleaded with his dad to name him Catlin. I LOVED that name! Not only could you call him Cat for short (which sounded really cool, I thought), it was also the name of one of my favorite soap opera characters. haha! I know,right? Kind of embarrassing to admit, but it's true! Anyway, his dad would have no part of it, so we started throwing other names around. We decided on Jamey. He is named after his uncle James (Jimmy) who had passed away several years before.

Seven years passed before our youngest child, Colbey (aka Little Man), was born. Once we knew he was a boy, we let Chelsi and Jamey play a big part in choosing his name. (That in itself meant a lot to me.) We decided to let them choose a few, then we would all narrow it down. Although their dad had his mind set on naming him Jesse, they had different ideas.  As soon as I heard them say, "Hey, Mom, do you like the name Colby?" while they were looking through the baby name book, that was it for me. I/we won the Jesse/Colby battle and Colbey (we added the "e" to be more masculine and set it apart from the cheese!) it was!

All three of them have traditional,family middle names- Kay, Dale and Ray. I liked the idea of carrying on a traditional family name, although I wanted them to have their "own", unique first names.

So I often wonder if Chelsi, Jamey and Colbey would be completely different people, with different personalities and different interests in life if they would have ended up Tabitha, Catlin and Jesse. I like to think so. I like to think that the beautiful people that they are had at least a little to do with the time, effort and consideration we took in choosing the names that would identify them and set them apart from the rest of the world for the rest of their lives. That's huge, isn't it?

I hope you take time to visit the blog, A Simple Life Afloat and read the poem, The Names. You won't be sorry!

Have a wonderful end to your week ~ Juli