Monday-9:15am

The reorganizing avalanche has begun!!

What started it? Wanting to do some brush painting--hehe! Did I ever get to the brush painting? Nope.

I'm getting set up to paint, right? Wanted to fill the wooden taboret I bought a little while ago--planned on having a lot of my Chinese brush painting supplies in there. So handy--can roll them out from under the table, right?

Got that done. Love it!

My tiny palette collection, etc.

I may shift things around in there later--but was so happy with the fresh change. PROBLEM--that shift left a gaping, empty hole in the hallway bookcase. Which led to packing up the oil and acrylic supplies....

....which left more empty space...

....and more chaos. :)

I'd try to ignore it. I can only do a little at a time, anyways, right? I'd take breaks for an hour or so....

....and then I'd think--I'll do just a little bit more. That is how I moved half of a living room bookcase directly over to the hallway bookcase by evening.

An avalanche--hehe!

Little by little all day and all evening long--I finally filled the bookcase in the hallway. TADA!!!!

And emptied a bookcase in the living room!! (So much dust behind those books--hehe!)

Removed all the filled satchels from the other bookcase....

....and brought the new satchels (on the right) into the living room.

Total chaos over here--but I love it! It will eventually all get reorganized. The oil and acrylic boxes will be shuffled into the storage area down the hall. I have closets to go through, too--and other things I want to move down to the storage area. But first I have to clean and organize the storage area and take some things down to the garage....

And so the cleaning avalanche goes--hehehe! I can hardly move today, but I am very pleased with the progress.

Woke up to a real snowstorm out there! White! White! White! Travel advisories and the rest. I'm on R&R--and glad my huge cleaning and reorganizing project is finally under way. Guess I'll have to catch up with the brush painting group when I can, eh? Hehe! :):)

Sunday-9:15am

First of all, I have to say I was shocked to receive Kate's email newsletter and find my name and a link to my YouTube in it!!! :):) Still can't quite believe it. Cathy (Kate) Johnson is an artist who is a member of the EverydayMatters Yahoo art/sketch group. I already had a couple of her how-to books on my shelf before I ever joined the EDM group. I think she's a wonderful person and I love her artwork. She also posted her Tips Newsletter on her blog. (I'm down toward the bottom under "MORE ON BOOKBINDING"--do you believe it?!)http://katequicksilvr.livejournal.com/

You can see more about Kate at her other websites.

http://cathyjohnson.info/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25146557@N00/

If you're ever interested in learning to sketch or paint--she has great books! And now has DVDs on her website, too. Or you can do a search for her on Amazon.com.

Anyways, I am feeling better. Finished all the birthday cards yesterday--tada! Am continuing to make more blank cards with all Ann's pretty paper. Got all these done, too.

I got carpet tape on the back of all these smaller pieces of paper and plan to "frame" all of these--like the card to the right with the black frame. I'll have lots of regular cards for writing letters, eh? Can make them into any kind of card, actually--depending on what you have written inside. Could fancy them up, too, I suppose. :)

I did make a quick video update on the cardmaking project and uploaded that last night.

Then--I went to work on the Soul Coaching book. Got through level two and part of level three (on the first lesson). But then I was completely thrown when I came to the last list of questions!!!???? See for yourself!

Whoa! Now, if a person is going to seriously answer these life questions and honestly journal about them--well, this is going to take me a while. I am glad I didn't put any time limit on myself!! Some of these questions I have been asking myself all my life!! I have to do some pondering. :)

So, I put away the book and cleared off the folding table. Got it partially set up for brush painting.

Donn just told me about another Yahoo group he joined where they are practicing painting The Four Gentlemen (bamboo, orchids, plum blossoms, and chrysanthemums).

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtisticExplorations/

The first week they were practicing bamboo stalks--so I have to catch up. I think they switch today to bamboo stems. I figured it was another good motivational tool for me. Which I need--obviously!! Except for playing with my Zen Board here and there, I haven't been doing any brush painting for months and months!! So this will at least get me to practice a little each week--I hope. :):)

Sunny and 5 degrees up here. Wish me luck on those life questions--and my bamboo stalks--hehehe!

Saturday-10:30am

Here's Karma checking out the new situation with the blind pulls. The maintenance man came and installed the two new blinds I needed because of you-know-who! She had chewed the "strings" and I had retied and retied them--couldn't even shut the blinds all the way because of knots! So I asked if I could buy two new blinds from them. The girl knows I only have money at the beginning of the month and said she'd send a bill and not to worry--pay it when I can.

Leah sent over some small removable hooks made by 3M. She had the idea we could place them facing away from each other so that I could wind the cords up and away from Miss Karma--tada! Worked like a charm!
She never got to the cords on the left side window in the living room because they hung back behind the table. But to be on the safe side I hung one hook on that side, too.
The bedroom--new blind and hooks. These had been so destroyed that I had to add pieces of strings on to the cords. Good to have them looking nice again...

...even if I can't shut them all the way because Karma will bite them and leave little teeth marks in them if she can't watch her CatTV whenever the mood strikes her. Good thing I live on third floor, eh? At least now I can actually shut them if I am sitting next to the window at night working on my projects. :)

I worked on birthday cards yesterday. These were all made with Ann's paste paper! Bright and cheery cards, eh?

I will have a whole bunch more that I will use for regular cards for writing letters, too. Every one is different--no two the same! Thanks, Ann!! I will be finishing up with the embossing of the inside Happy Birthday's today on that batch of birthday cards.

Snowed yesterday, but it is sunny again today--which means it is below zero again, of course--hehe! Seems like when it warms up a little it snows and then when the sun comes out it gets colder. No clouds to keep any heat , I guess. Beautiful day, tho. :)

Friday-10am

My order from www.clearbags.com came yesterday! A box of the larger envelopes for my bookcards and for handmade paper cards...

...and these packages of beautiful handmade paper! Leah stopped by briefly last night, but she took the time to examine the papers, too. We can't quite figure out how they get the plants into the paper. We are going to try a couple of ideas next time we are making paper. Meanwhile--these were a real deal and I can use them for bookcards or regular cards and maybe even for the covers for a coptic journal? So pretty.

Leah also dropped off some more cookies--my goodness! I still have Christmas cookies here. :)

I'm not going to run out of cookies any time soon, eh?

Snowing and 12 degrees in Fargo today.

Have a great day!

Thursday-9:30am

Yesterday was a Tudors marathon! Sooo good! I watched the entire second season--Ann (wife number two) got her head chopped off in the last episode! I wonder how they are going to make this young handsome actor into a fat older Henry?

Anyways, I did work on birthday cards a little, also.

Leah was going to stop over last night after she ran errands, but her car wouldn't start--and then the hood was frozen shut, too! She had some kind of an extra set of jumper cables that work through the cigarette lighters. (Never heard of that! ??) I wonder if they got the car going last night? If she is out and about today she said she'd call to see if I wanted to come with to a couple of places (I still don't feel up to it--at least so far) or she'd stop by after.

Somebody asked me about the fibromyalgia and how I'm feeling. Well, sometimes (like lately) I feel kind of like I have the flu--without the tossing my cookies--hehe! Ache absolutely all over, physically weak, and just feel like you want to crawl under a blanket somewhere. I guess they call them fibro flares? Never know how long they will last. But the severity does pass--eventually. Patience. My body is teaching me patience. :):)

Anyways, I am glad I am all set up for making cards so I can just go over and work a little bit here and there. Another reason why I like using the carpet tape. Not messy, no clean-up--can stop at any time, come back, and pick up right where I left off. :)

Beautiful, sunny day today. Might get a smidgen above zero today. Supposed to snow again tomorrow and I haven't even gotten out to shovel away the last snow from in front of my garage door. I'm sure it's not going anywhere--hehe!! Patience, right? :):):) Have a great day.

Wednesday-9:30am

My experiment of not trimming the cat grass--well, it is still slowly dying, but it has lasted a lot longer than when I trimmed it. Looks like a small haystack, doesn't it? Karma is still chewing on it.

Hasn't been warm enough to melt much of the snow on the porch. Karma begs to go out--but she stands on that patch of carpet the door swings on. She cries when I try to close the screen door--doesn't want to step on the snow to get around the door--have to nudge her with my foot--hehe! But as soon as she has made it around the screen door and is on the green carpeting she is happily eating snow--for a few minutes. Been too cold to be out more than a couple of minutes lately. Then she cries when I open the door to let her in because she has to step on the snow to get back inside. But she's cold then and moves quite quickly past her dilemma--hehe! If I had ever picked her up and moved her either way so she didn't have to step on the snow--I'd be stuck doing that all winter--actually, for the rest of her life--hehe!

Had a couple people ask me what The Tudors was:

This superb and visually lush Showtime series provides a look at the world of the Tudors in the days when King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) was a handsome, charming, athletic 25-year-old. Inheriting absolute power at a young age, the king indulges his voracious taste for ladies-in-waiting, hangs out with his entourage of young nobles and makes momentous political decisions. The stellar cast includes Jeremy Northam and Sam Neill.

That was the summary for season one. Here's the summary for season two:

Hollywood icon Peter O'Toole joins the cast for a second season of the hit Showtime series. After King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) secretly has his marriage to Katherine (Maria Doyle Kennedy) declared invalid and weds Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), Pope Paul III (O'Toole) moves to excommunicate the king. Meanwhile, some of Henry's old friends and allies fall out of favor. The critically acclaimed drama co-stars Jeremy Northam.


Excellent show! The costumes, sets, and locations are a feast for the eyes! The political maneuvering and consequences are entertaining and complex--doesn't matter a whit that you know the eventual outcomes. The acting has been superb across the board! Showtime has really been stepping up and changing its old image. (I am a complete Dexter fan, too!)

A grey day--minus 2 degrees. Might get above zero today. :)

Tuesday-8:45am

The parking lot had become such a disaster that they put a notice up that everybody had to have their cars moved out Monday morning. But for some reason that didn't apply to our guest parking area--so that is still a mess.

I started the Soul Coaching book. Since I don't have room for me to keep an altar up all the time for me to sit at--I made a portable one in a box. :)
She suggested we could use the four elements. So I have the incense for air, a pretty empty candle holder for water, a candle for fire, and a crystal for earth. Now I can quickly set a little altar space up anywhere I have an open spot to sit.
I wrote up my personal contract and then started on lesson one. (I am calling them lessons vs. days--hehe!) Of the three levels, I completed the first one. Assessing your life--health, relationships, finances, career, creativity, and spiritual fulfillment. I'll go through all the levels on each lesson. I vowed that I won't move on to the next lesson until I feel I have gotten everything out of that particular lesson that I need. :)

Funny how difficult it is to start writing in a brand new "special" journal. I think that's why I picked my very, very favorite, most special leather journal that I just had to have but then have been absolutely afraid to write in because I felt--what could I possibly have to say that would be worth marring that beautiful journal! Well, if my soul isn't worth it--what is, eh? ROFL!! I used my new Cavalier fountain pen and dove in!!

The other little paint kit came yesterday. More expensive than the other one and a third the size--because it is metallic PearlEx!!
I didn't manage to catch the shimmer in the paints--oh well. They do shimmer--trust me--hehe!

Season Two of the Tudors came out yesterday and I totally lucked out!! My Netflix DVDs had bunched up again over the weekend and I should be getting the entire season two--today!! Delicious!!

Caroline comes today.....and you can guess what I'll be doing after the mail comes--hehe!! :):)

Monday-8:30am

This is the sidewalk below my window that was being blown out yesterday.

15 below and crispy this morning. :)

Today I start on the Soul Coaching book. I picked out a beautiful journal to use.

She suggests two separate journals, but one is quite enough for me. She has one for writing and one for what sounds like collage? A joy journal? Well, I have no problems combining the two or starting up another one later if I feel the need. For now--this will be my journal. If I feel like drawing or sketching--I already have a Moleskine going and have made a few sketchbooks, as you know. :)

Like I said, I am aiming for 28 weeks--but I am not too concerned with time since I have much less control over it these days--hehe! When I feel done with one lesson--then I will go on to the next one. I also have other interests, as you know, that take up my few productive hours a day and I am not going to give up the rest of my life--chuckle! This book will be more worked into my days.

The Overview:
1-7 Air--mental
8-14 Water--emotional
15-21 Fire--spiritual
22-28 Earth--physical

"A proverb from India states that each of us is a house with four rooms--mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual--but unless we go into every room every day, we are not complete."

Today I will work on writing up my own personal Sacred Contract and starting on Lesson One. :)

Yesterday I made my order to Office Max. Ink for my printer--one of the double packs with color and black. I was shocked that it is up to $70! Whew! Too bad that when I tried their cheaper refilled/recycled cartridges I had so much trouble and they didn't work for me. And I ordered some banker boxes and the first ballpoints I have liked in decades--hehe! I've been a gel girl. The orders usually come quickly from Office Max.

The banker boxes are for me to pack up some of the books/magazines in the bookcases. That means I can start on the big cleaning/reshuffling/reorganizing project--TaDa!!! And so it begins.... :)

Sunday-7:30am

Good Morning from Fargo! This is what it looks like right this minute.

We had over three inches already I heard last night before I went to bed. This is a shot of the maintenance man snow blowing the sidewalk--using a light to see in the dark. Looked like he was blowing out a lot of snow. I noticed that the sidewalk had totally drifted over again yesterday. It's 14 below right now--supposed to be sunny today, but wind chills of close to 30 below. Warnings out again. Sometimes you'd think we lived at the North Pole--hehe!

I've been on a low-energy swing. Read all day yesterday. Might do the same today? Not a bad thing to do when it is this cold out, I guess. :):)

Saturday-9:45am

Well, I am back to my more normal hours for the new year. Bed at midnight and up at 9am--tada! Nice! I walked down to the mail this morning and thought I'd get a couple different shots of the snow this morning...

...instead of you always seeing my bird's eye view--hehe!

Yup! It is snowing again. Supposed to get another couple inches--nothing big. It's a balmy 18 degrees today. :)

My Cavalier fountain pen came yesterday from jetpens.com! I guess I have looked my whole life for a fountain pen that could write a nice thin line. Even buying the extra fine fountain pens--they were still pretty thick to me. I've looked at this pen for a long time--decided to take a chance...

...and I love it!! And it does write a thin line!! About the 0.5 like they advertise! And it is a very slim pen, too--my favorite! The Japanese really know how to make pens!!

Having the new pen motivated me to at least write letters on a noodle day. I owed a small stack of them from Christmas. I wrote off and on all day and only have a couple left now--so I did get something done. :)

Leah, Chuck, and Michal made it back from Canada yesterday--home safe. Dagan had his first full day at the new job and he thinks he might like it there. All is well. Have a great weekend!! :)

Friday-8:30am

Yesterday was a lazy day. :) Let's see--I did some extra energizing with all my "stuff" before I put them all away in their various spots throughout the apartment. Got set up again for working on the birthday cards. Oh--and my check was put in early because of the holidays--so I got my grocery order a couple of days early! Nice!! Watched some DVDs from Netflix (X Files).

I also ordered some more of the larger envelopes that I need for the handmade paper cards--and some pretty handmade 12 X 12" paper they had, too--for some bookcard covers. (We haven't figured out yet how to add the dead plants properly to our handmade paper--hehe! I guess we need more practice this year, eh?) And I ordered a small set of the American Journey paints on sale from Cheap Joe's--not supposed to have any shipping and handling, but it showed up on the invoice? I wrote on the order that I wasn't supposed to be charged for shipping--as per their email ad--otherwise I didn't want them. We'll see how quickly they respond.

I'm getting back to regular hours!! Was in bed at 10pm and really slept well last night till 8am!! Ahhh! Apparently Miss Karma got a lot of solid sleep, too--she is just wild this morning! She's playing with the long red ribbon from a Christmas package--(now her new toy)--racing about with it hanging out of her mouth--being very vocal about her attacks--hehe!

Well, I have to re-read the Soul Coaching instructions and be ready by Monday. Need to wash clothes this weekend some time. Should clean the fish tank and get back to birthday cards. Always have something lined up, right? Hehe!

Right now it is 10 below and sunny. Another snowfall is expected to roll through later tonight. The snow shovel and I may become well aquainted this winter--hehe! Doesn't it feel like a good year ahead? Ahhh! A year for things to turn around. :):) Best to you all!!!

New Year's Day-6:45am

Hope everybody had a nice New Year's Eve! Dagan came over after his first day at the new job. (Went very well!) We made spaghetti and broccoli for dinner. Then we gathered up all my "stuff" from around the house for the annual recharging and (literally) dusting--hehe!

We took our time writing down all the things we were grateful for in 2008--mostly focused on gratitude and positive thinking for 2009 (thanking ahead of time). Then we did the burning bowl ceremony.

After that we picked out a card for 2009--asked what we were supposed to focus on in this coming year. The cards focus on the spiritual level of your life. Dagan got "Change" (we laughed!) and I got "Abundance"! Could just feel the good energy last night! :):)

I got a visit by the FedEx man, too. Martha Stewart came through with the samples of some of her other glues--finally!
And I have been working on my motivational list for 2009--now it is time to post it! All the things I want to do this year--and a more organized list, of course--hehe!! :) If I complete half of it (like I did with last year's list) I will be very, very happy. Some are left over from last year, of course--but I tried to include more levels this year. I always enjoy trying something new and learning new things--and practicing old loves. Hope you have some plans for joy, too! :)

Artistic, Creative, and Spiritual Goals for 2009
1. YouTube—keep making videos of all the art and craft projects.
2. Clean and reorganize all of the arts & crafts areas!
3. Spirit—Soul Coaching book and cards—journal.
4. Spirit—Insight Meditation course.
5. Spirit—Chakra Balancing course.
6. Writing—The Sound of Paper
7. Writing—Discovering the Writer Within
8. Writing—A Writer’s Workbook
9. Bookbinding—try some new styles/stitching.
10. Bookbinding—try some lighter weight papers (75-90 lb).
11. Bookbinding—make something using the Davy board.
12. Sewing—try to make a pattern and sew a shoulder bag like our red bags.
13. EDM—continue working on the list and try to catch up.
14. EDM—keep sketching in the WC Moleskine—ink and watercolors.
15. CBP—keep working on orchids and bamboo.
16. CBP—try some birds and flowers.
17. CBP—finish the inked/traced Flower & Bird Paintings.
18. Watercolors—continue with wildflowers and botanicals.
19. Watercolors—buy Winsor Newton’s for tiny palette.
20. Watercolors—buy Cheap Joe’s for tiny palette.
21. Watercolors—buy any other brands I want to try for tiny palettes
22. Polymer Clay—figure out how to finish the rose bouquet (ask Leah for help!).
23. Polymer Clay—try making book covers.
24. Polymer Clay—try making paper weights.
25. Handmade Paper—set of red and white Christmas cards.
26. Handmade Paper—get a larger paper mold (or Leah make one)—8.5” X 11”
27. Handmade Paper—try to make envelopes!
28. Handmade paper—experiment and use some of the dead plants.
29. Handmade paper—order some more envelopes.
30. Cards—make a second set of Christmas cards.
31. Cards—make a set of birthday cards
32. Cards—make a second set of birthday cards.
33. Cards—make up some regular cards—try some new techniques.
34. Cards—use from the bins for recycling and unfinished card projects.
35. Bookcards—make some from the pretty paper.
36. Bookcards—make some from handmade paper.