Thursday-6:15am

We've had some sunny mornings and have hit the 40s!  This was Tuesday, I think.

Snow has been having a chance to melt for several hours during the days. 

But it takes a while for it to actually warm up to melting temps.  Can you see the ice floating in the parking lot puddle? 

The steady sound of hammering rings in the air all day as they work on that apartment building across the way.

Every morning that it's not too windy on the porch Karma sits in that patch of sun and watches the swallows swooping about building nesting spots... 

...smells the wafting scents... 

...and listens to the chirping and traffic as she soaks up the rays--even though it's only been in the 20s in the mornings--lol! 

I glued the cover paper on the front and back, trimmed the paper down, clipped the corners, and let it dry. 

Re-poked the holes.  Then glued the cover paper around the edges and let that dry. 

Hard to tell, because the inside paper I chose is almost the same color as the davy board, but I glued the inside paper down.

Re-poked the holes on that side and the covers are done. 

The handmade paper with the inclusions folded easier than I expected.   

Next will be punching holes in all the signatures and then sewing the whole thing together.  After that I have four smaller ones to put together.  ;)

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In the meantime--from another of the 21 Secrets workshops (I've Got A Secret)--I threw together this pamphlet-style journal.

Yes--it has a manila envelope for a cover!

 She used cardstock for the inside few pages, but I had an old drawing paper pad that I wanted to use up so I cut a few sheets down to size and sewed them in.  Next we cover everything in gesso and use watercolor crayons to blend swirly colors all over this.  I had everything at hand and so I thought I'd at least slap this together so I'm ahead of the game when I get to that workshop.

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What a look!

I almost caught Karma cleaning her bottom!  She does not like to be watched, so I backed off.  After all, I wouldn't want her posting pictures of me cleaning my bottom--so that's definitely off limits.  She really glared at me.  And she doesn't even know she's on the internet--ROFL! 

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Dagan and Leah were here last night.  Leah's on different hours at work for the next few months for a project they're doing (time change coordination with another office out west) and is working 10am till 7pm, so she came later after she was done.  Dagan updated my TV computer and helped me figure out how to finally be able to scan and size photos.  I have to use Windows on my McLap (I forgot I have both Safari and Windows on here) and then transfer the pictures over to the Mac side later or something.  For now--I just have to see if I can remember how to get to Windows and how to scan and save.  I shall have to practice.  Eventually I will be able to show you some old pictures.  (Yes, for those of you who have been following me for years, my life moves at glacier speed--ROFL!)

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Okay, my art table has become a temporary dumping ground, but I wanted to show you...

 ...that Leah put up this old wall pocket for me by my art table last night.

And then...drumroll, please...we played with the gelli plate!  I tried a couple prints and then I let Dagan and Leah take turns and play till they were tired and ready to go home.  I had to chuckle that Dagan tried to form a pac man eating a ghost (didn't work) and then Leah tried it, too (didn't work).

Shows you what generation they are from by what came out when they were feeling like kids playing with paint--LOL! 

My OCD self was freaking out over what acrylic paint does to...well, everything!  The stencils and brayer were coated with this thin layer of paint that crusts on with fervor.  It took me half an hour standing at the sink last night just to clean the brayer and one stencil with a toothbrush, soap and water.  (The gelli plate cleans fairly easily, though.)  Leah said she has this white non-abrasive scrubber they use (we don't want to scratch things up while cleaning them) so Dagan was going to try to remember to drop one of the white scrubbers off after work tonight.  

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I will have to be able to clean things off.  You know me.  Dirty stencils with paint buildup will drive me bonkers.  Leah, too.  We are already thinking...  If anybody has any helpful hints--please let us know!  :)

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 This morning I was up at 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep.  Standing at the sink last night scrubbing--well, my leg started this going to sleep thing it does on occasion.  I think it's bone on bone arthritis in that hip or possibly even my neck.  (The nerves go down the whole side of your body and I have heard people having leg problems from pinched nerves in their neck/shoulder area before.)  Anyways, my leg still has that odd numbish, tingly feeling and I couldn't get comfortable to get back to sleep.  Got a dramatic picture of the pre-dawn sky, though.

The sun is now coming up on the other side of the skyline--right behind the water tower. 

You can see how much of the snow is gone since Tuesday.

But in the morning there is still frost on the cars and ice. 

We're supposed to get into the mid-40s today and might hit 60s by the weekend--whoohoo!  Most of the snirt pile might even melt away by next week.  ;)  We didn't get as much rain as they had thought the last week so they are thinking the flooding may not get as super high as they first expected--but the flooding will be upon us soon.  I've been here since 1999 and I still can't get used to the fact the Red River flows to the north up here.  Well, I grew up next to the Mississippi River...water that definitely flows south from Minnesota--LOL!

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Last shots for today...

...are of the very first gelli plate play... 

...that went on last night. 

Not sure standing for any length of time is going to work well for me till my leg quits being a poop, but I can find something I can do sitting down--never fear.  If I can quit yawning.  ;)  And I am going to try to stretch it out--work that wrong pressure spot out, you know.  Well, have a good one!!  May you life have no bad kinks.  See you soon!

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"Trouble creates a capacity to handle it...meet it as a friend, for you'll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it."

Oliver Wendell Holmes