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

Merry Monday 9-9-2013

Surviving the stressful week last week is making me very merry this Monday. Man, it was a long week! But it ended on a very good note, so I will share those moments with you and leave the crappy stuff out. (It's not my intention of spreading crap on Merry Monday, you know!)

Family time is always at the top of my list of my very best times. I had a lot of Peanut time this weekend, along with a surprise visit from Eddie and Falicia. And on Sunday, Sister, Peanut and I drove to Columbia to spend the day with Little Man. We did some shopping, some eating and some hanging out. And Peanut thought he would spend some quality time in the dumpster (see picture, top right) until Mommy coaxed him out! Silly boy! It was the perfect day and the best way to end the week.

With the little bit of down time I've had lately, I've been trying my hand at free form crochet. I absolutely hate counting stitches, so this seemed like a perfect fit for me. And, I have to say, I kinda like it! I'm using wool yarns, so I'm going to experiment with machine felting some of the pieces and using them as applique/layering pieces on some collage style fiber projects. The experimentation with the fiber works is just what I needed to transition away from the painting for a while. It's giving me time to think about and plan for some more involved pieces (at least compared to what I've made in the past).

And, this gluten free diet that I will probably have to be on for the rest of my life is getting pretty boring. I really miss bread! Especially a good piece of toast in the morning. But I've found a really good bread mix that really tastes like bread! Amazing, huh?! It tastes really good the first day. After that, it's really only good for toast making. Which is fine with me. I'm also pretty sick of white rice. But, little did I know that if you buy better quality rice, and try different varieties, it makes a huge difference. This weekend I did a comparison of Basmati and Jasmine rice. They are both sooo good! They both have a nutty, popcorn like aroma, but the basmati is very fluffy and the jasmine is sticky. They both have so much flavor that you don't really need to put anything on it, although I did put a pat of margarine on mine. Yum!!

 

 Well, that's about it for this Merry Monday. I'm hoping I come up with something interesting for Word Wednesday. It's been a while since I posted a word for Wednesday, and I've been "collecting" some pretty good ones :)

Until then~ Juli

Wacky Wednesday

Well, I wasn't sure what to post today, since it has been a really busy one- unusually weird, stressful and long work day; unexpected doctor's appointment right after school (I thought it was tomorrow until I called after school to check on the time for TOMORROW's appointment and they said it was TODAY) and a 45 minute drive to doctor's office; stop at home for 2 minutes on the way to leave money for the kid who cuts our grass; grocery shopping after the appointment; walk the dog when I get home, then put away the groceries while I heat up our supper (thank goodness I had leftovers from last night!). Finally, I'm sitting down and having a glass of wine and taking a deep breath at 8:30! Oh, my. I'm tired!

So, what do I do to unwind? Crochet! This blanket, that I've been working on for a while, is the same exact stitch I use for the dishcloths, so it's a no-brainer, non-thinker kind of project. I just zone out and keep moving my hands (for as long as they'll move!). And it's going to be huge, so I'll have it to fall back on as a stress-free activity for quite a while.

I hope your Wednesday wasn't as wacky as mine :)   Juli

Merry Monday

I love three day weekends! They seem much more balanced than the regular two day weekends, don't you think? And...they make my Mondays much merrier :)

So, this is what I did with my extra twenty four hours:

Received a picture of our new family member- Sister's new puppy, Tessy. And spent time with my Peanut, who has a very handsome, big-boy, just like Uncle Eddie,  haircut :)

A little bit of making going on- stitching on my natural dyed onesies (which didn't really turn out like I'd hoped, but, hey, experiments are good, right?!). And my go-to when I'm bored (or stressed!), making dishcloths. They are stacking up around here!

Received my copy of 3191 Quarterly in the mail. So much good info. And awesome photography.

Lots of movie watching. By looking at the assortment of movies watched here over the weekend, you would think that I have multiple personality disorder! I mean, Safe Haven to Zero Dark Thirty, in the same day-wow! Anyway, my quickie reviews (left to right)- old stand-by; don't waste your dollar; Matt Damon is always good; very, very, very dark and perfect chick-flick. Got it?!

My kids were all in one place, at home, with me, on Saturday. They are still sorting through their dad's things and it has been a daunting task, to say the least. They stopped here for a meal when they were finished and I loved every second of it!

Did a little research on this, one of their dad's most treasured possessions- an old movie projector he found in the late seventies when he was working as a trash man for BFI in St. Louis. Although it had no sentimental value at all, he always talked about how that movie projector would be worth so much money one day that it would make him rich. So funny!  It was kind of a joke, but I think deep down, he kind of believed it. Well, it didn't make him rich, but I think our kids made him rich in ways that money could never buy. Now...what are we going to do with this goofy projector? We can't just toss it, there is too much history there. Door stop? Paper weight? Oh, my. Probably just closet dust collector :)

I hope your Labor Day was a merry one ~ Juli