Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Tuesday-9:30am

Well, it's T Stands for Tuesday over at Elizabeth's.  Over my way--T stands for Starbuck's Verona coffee black and testing acrylics on the cheap watercolor paper.
You may remember the art journals I made a little while back. 
The two smallest ones have 90# Dick Blick student grade watercolor paper.  The next largest two have 90# cheaper Bienfang watercolor paper.  The large one has cheaper 140# Bienfang watercolor paper. 
I really don't want to take any of these apart if I don't have to, right?  I figured I would try the DB WC paper with gesso and acrylics and see how it held up.  They're all cold pressed so they have a texture, but the Dick Blick has a deeper, bumpier texture... 
...than the Bienfang.   
So the Bienfang should be easier to hand write or draw on with ink (for possible sketch journals) or to use with drier mediums in general. 
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The only one I would dare actually use for my watercolor backgrounds (I do tend to be quite the juicy watercolorist--lol!) would be the giant one.  So, I got out a few craft acrylics and tested out the DB WC journal.  I coated the pages with gesso and let it dry.  Then I, quite literally, scraped some colors about in patches and let that dry. 
Finally I scraped another layer of gesso on top of that.    
Discovered that the pages held up very well with acrylics and didn't even buckle or curl much at all...unlike when I used watercolors...which is funny because it's watercolor paper.  I wasn't trying to make anything--just test the paper.  It is okay for acrylics.  Don't have to take the journals apart.  But that means I am going to have to learn how to use acrylics--LOL! 
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I had my first bread disaster.  Tried to make this Italian herb bread and it stuck to the top of the bread machine.  
Topless, but it was still edible.   What a mess to clean up!!  I don't know if it was that I didn't measure properly or what the deal was, but it rose too high.  I was getting a little casual, shall we say.  (Not used to measuring that carefully when I cook and bake normally.)  Will have to measure very exactly in the future, I guess.
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I saw these two guys go pick up a couch that was left by the dumpster. 



Yup--they took it with them.  Could have been theirs in the first place and they changed their minds, I suppose.  I only gets bits and pieces of Karma's Cat TV programs--LOL!  Even though I was sitting by the window writing a letter, I never noticed them until they were making a ton of noise moving the washer and dryer.  People do come and go here all the time, after all.
I did notice the truckbed then, though!  Filled up with toys!  (And, no--that's not from the garage you saw recently because that lady had boys and this lady definitely has girls.)  I wondered how they weren't going to lose some toys out of the back?  But they weren't driving very far because... 
...they were back shortly for another load.   
Tons of little girl things!  
Here they both were...nervous about moving...
...and wanting daddy, I assume. 
They were sweet girls.  Later, they ran around and hugged all the people who'd been helping them move goodbye...and they all drove off in many vehicles that were also packed up.  Was a nice day to move, but HOT!  Has been in the 90s for days and supposed to stay like this all week...with occasional scattered showers.  We had rain briefly yesterday, but mostly the thunder was off in the distance.
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And what has Miss Karma been up to? 
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Soaking up the 90s.
I don't know how she can stand it?!
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Caroline comes this afternoon.  I've started the Call The Midwife trilogy of books now.  Been slowly writing letters.  Just haven't been up to much because you just hate to move.  When it is this hot and humid my wall AC unit just can't keep up.  Running it on high day and night keeps it in the mid to upper 70s in here (76 in here when I got up), but you can sweat just sitting because there's no way it can remove all that humidity.  Makes it harder to sleep well and I'm up and down all night long.  It actually feels a good ten degrees cooler when I go downstairs to check the mail.  Yup--heat rises.  So, I feel sorry for Caroline having to clean in here today.  Dagan and Leah and I were all sweating just putting up that shelf last week.
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Later in the day, as it gets hotter...I will have ice water or a cold smoothie.  Ahhh!  So glad I bought a new blender!  Stay cool!  See you tomorrow.  :)
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"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose."
Indira Gandhi

18 comments:

Intense Guy said...

Hopefully all that "stuff" was theirs and/or re-purposed/recycled!

Karma might be part iguana... cold-blooded beasts like sunshine!

Oh, about the bread - flour is sensitive to temperature and humidity (as is yeast) so when it's warm you might have to back off some on the measurements (or be super careful) - PBS cooking shows has learned me this!

:)

TexWisGirl said...

at least karma likes the heat you're getting. maybe those guys thought they couldn't fit the couch on the trailer, then got yelled at to go get it. :)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

So fun to see Karma sleeping and lounging. Loved the tale of the movers. And those little gals were adorable. Pink is NOT a color I want in my house. Looks like these were headed to Pink Paradise.

So glad you don't have to take the watercolor books apart. And gesso cures about every problem, including paint that's too bold.

Thanks for joining in with T today. I wonder if it should stand for measure exacTEA (grin).

Sherry Ellis said...

I never realized there were so many types of paper!

What a way to move! I hope nothing falls out of those trucks!

Janie Junebug said...

In my neck of the woods, it's very common to put out old furniture or whatever on garbage night. People drive through the neighborhood in trucks and take what they want. When I replaced my front door, I put out the old door. Someone took it. It's the Jacksonville method of recycling. So maybe those guys were recycling that couch.

Love,
Janie

Halle said...

You are catching Karma's programs lately. She's sleeping too much..you have to keep her up to date. LOL
Those journals look great. Looks like you definitely have a lot of area to cover now with those.
Happy Tuesday!

Zue said...

I think you need really heavy duty paper for watercolour.
Recently I bought some that is stiff like cardboard. Will get it out and post so you can see it.
Your journals are wonderful, I remember you making them.
Have fun xxxxx

Denise Price said...

Glad that your experiments with painting in the journals worked. Sorry that the bread didn't work too well, but, as others have already mentioned, heat and humidity can affect the yeast, so you may have more luck in the autumn, when it's cooler. Happy T day!

Jenny Woolf said...

I'm slightly concerned about trying to make gingerbread in my breadmaker. I was all set to do it but then I wondered if it would really work. |Gingerbread is so sticky - I didn't want the pan to get yucky. Right now the bread slips out easily but I'm afraid if I had to scrub it, it wouldn't be as good any more. I made gingerbread the traditional way and it was fine :)

AliceKay said...

Once or twice a year, our township has a cleanup where they supply dumpsters and you can toss your old stuff out free of charge. (i'm sure the township taxes we pay eventually pays the cost) There are some things you can't toss in them but most can be tossed. It can be a free-for-all for people. If you see something you want over there, you can take it. LOL

I've noticed on the TV weather reports that it's been hot out your way. The local forecasters don't think we'll get that kind of heat here in the northeast, so I hope they're right. Try to stay cool until the cooler weather comes your way.

voodoo vixen said...

Were they moving thier own furniture or collecting a load that had been left out... I would have been watcing their every move too... such fun to people watch! Karma is a smart cat... lions do the same in the heat of the day... sleep it off and wake up when it cools off a bit!

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Good luck with the acrylics. I used to do a good bit of oil painting, so when I gave acrylics a try, I didn't like them at all. Poor things. It wasn't their fault. They were fine, but I didn't like them purely because they weren't... oils.

roffeycreations said...

Hiya - its like an episode of TV watching your neighbours move - such great shots too - thanks for stopping by - Happy T for Tuesday...Mxx

Shelly said...

How interesting to watch the folks pick the sofa, and then the moving, and the sweet little girls' goodbye. It looks like Miss Karma has figured out how to beat the heat: sleep it off!

Darla said...

Glad you found you can use the journals for acrylics, it would have been a shame to take them apart. You and Karma have a great view from the window - all that activity, better than TV.

Darla

Mimi said...

Karma is a beautiful cat. One of your fans directed me to your blog.

I HATE word verification. :-)

~*~Patty S said...

Very impressed with your journal making...how nice to have such an array...

My watercolor paper journals don't have nice covers on them ... I took the lazy way out and just stitched down the middle of my #140 hot press paper...
Gesso is always our best friend...isn't it ;)

Fun view you have of the couch rescue and moving (oh the work involved with that!)

Stay cool the heat and humidity combo can be ugh! that's for sure...your kitty sure is cute

your hockey stick tape sure is fabulous too btw!
oxo

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

The books you created are lovely! So perfect in the binding. The horses do exactly what Karma does. I don't see how they handle the sun and heat sometimes. Once they get enough, though, they head into the barn to cool down.

Looks like the family with the truck sure was hauling off a lot of toys. Can't imagine having that much to choose from as a child!