Thursday-11am

I was never able to get anywhere near creating anything this week, but I thought I'd enter my very first art journal page from my little handmade WC journal for Artist's Play Room.  This week the APR challenge was to illustrate a word and I remembered I used "Play" on this first page to encourage my grade-schooler to emerge--LOL!

When Caroline walked in yesterday her eyes got big and she laughed.  My "always-looks-the-same" place is a mess--LOL!  

I told her it was pointless to try to dust or vacuum in the living room or bedroom.  

There are piles stacked everywhere. 

Chairs, too.  (I've kept one open by the table or Miss Crabby Pants cries because she can't sit and look out the window.) 

I keep tweaking and moving shelves and supplies about. 

Started moving a few things in the direction of the new bookcase a couple days ago. 

The bedroom is a mess of stacks and piles, too. 

The living room isn't the only room that is being majorly tweaked--LOL! 

There's a bookcase in here, the wire cubes shelves, and my closet to deal with. 

In the dark hallway I caught Miss Karma attempting to claim a satchel. 

A girl wants what a girl wants, but this claim jumper will be booted out in short order.  Well, maybe tomorrow--LOL! 

The mess will get worse before it gets better.  I warned Caroline that it may look pretty similar when she comes back in two weeks.  She did an extra thorough job on the kitchen and bathroom...and even vacuumed up the dried cat grass that has been flying about in the wind out there for the last few weeks.  Caroline showed me some pictures on her phone of her wedding (was a beautiful bride!) and told me where all they went on their honeymoon trip to Duluth.  Happy newlywed young lady.  :)

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The long string of those perfect fall days ended yesterday with it near 90.  Not that it wasn't a beautiful day.  I guess I should say the string of open door and windows days ended for me.  Still closed up today and will be for a couple days as predictions are around 90 degrees & possible thunderstorms for the next couple days.  Was the prediction for yesterday, too.  We got the heat but never saw a drop of rain and, so far, blue skies today, too.  For now I am keeping it closed up and cool in here till the weather breaks again.  Especially since I'm hauling things about and all.  ;)

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But today is definitely a recovery day and not a tweaking day.  Since I am four days behind reading blogs and have over 100 emails waiting in my inbox...I will do my best to at least do some catching up online today.  As long as my back holds out, anyways.  Basically, I am either organizing or recovering from organizing lately--LOL!  Ahh, but the vision I have of when this is all finally done...keeps this snail lady moving.  ;)     

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Waves, smiles, and hugs from Fargo!  :):)

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"The little things?  

The little moments?

They aren't little."

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Monday-10am

Okay...grab a cup of coffee or tea.  When I only blog a couple times a week (I'm trying for Mondays and Thursdays to see if that works well) I have a lot of catching up to do--LOL!  ;)

The little white plastic baskets arrived early.  Which got me to playing about with the wall shelves...

...which led me to emptying out the two banker boxes marker "acrylics" (notice Karma's been adding to the mess by emptying her little toybox)...

...trying to fit more paint supplies into the wall shelves...

...which led to my moving the brushes back to the bookcase behind the love seat...plus more of the acrylic paint supplies.  But the fact that I want to get as many supplies grouped together niggled and nagged at me...

...until I decided to move all the card stock and paper over to the bookcase behind the love seat...

...so I could move all the brushes over into the bookcase next to the art table.  In future to be known as the "art bookcase".  ;)  I even fit the Chinese brush holder on the top shelf with the rest of them without wasting more room buy taking a hammer and knocking the three little feet off the bottom--tada!

So, of course, next I was trying out all kinds of art supplies and satchels in the art bookcase to see what all would fit where.  Pastels, markers, pencils, templates, tissue papers...and so it begins!

The chaos...

...of the reorganization has begun.

When I take one of my many breaks...Karma rests, too.

I can only work for a day or so and then I usually have to take a day or two off.  But I have jumped off the cliff and there is no turning back.  ;)
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Miss Karma has a new batch of cat grass germinating under the dirt.

We have had such perfect weather I can hardly stand it!  50s at night, 70s during the day...ahhhh!!!  I think I have a smile all day long.

Dagan and Leah made a quick trip over yesterday and put the bookcase together!!

I was kind of surprised they made it over before Leah leaves today for two weeks for work.  Grateful!  Who knows how much I might get done in two weeks while she's gone, right?  Here it is awaiting usefulness orders in the dark hallway.

I actually asked Dagan and Leah to pull out the decorative trim on the top of the new wall shelf unit.  It looked nice, true.  But I lost 1 3/4 inches of clearance up there.  Not practical for me when it's easier for me to get things down my kind of one-handed way when I use tubs and baskets.  Still looks pretty darn good, though.

And then...TaDa!  Dagan and Leah have been taking pictures as the house has been going up but didn't get them out of the camera.  Leah got them up last night...so here's a quick view of a house that's going up fast!!  :)

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The triple garage floor and basement.

I'd never seen wooden window wells till I saw them on the model home.

Looks like steps in there?

I think this is what the holdup was...that the builders were waiting for.

Lumber arrived...

...and then they really went to town!!  

The triple garage.  Leah's planning to put together a little workshop in that end by the single garage door.

Here they're standing in the living room looking towards the front door.

Living room...but Leah said that smaller window was supposed to be up higher?

Living room window. 

Where the sliding glass door will be in the dining room. 

So, the house is coming along quite rapidly now!  :)

Blows my mind what they've done in just a couple weeks. 

Maybe they will be able to move in by the end of September?  Time will tell.  But it would be awful to give notice and then the house not be ready. 

Dagan and Leah wanted to take me over to see the house yesterday but I was so very sore from everything I've been doing over here that I had to pass.  By the time I get over to see it there might be stairs to the other floors and a roof, eh?  ;)
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Meanwhile, I keep moving the bookcase shelves...trying things out...sometimes moving them again.  Kind of like one of those women moving furniture about from here to there.  Oddly enough, I am not one of those women.  Truth.  I usually take measurements and make up a floor plan so that I have the arrangement of the furniture all planned out before I ever move.  Once I move in, the furniture is not moved unless out of necessity (like loungers breaking or needing a big piece of furniture to hold a huge deep TV or putting up a wall shelf unit).  I've never found the need to move the furniture around, I guess.  (Good thing here as it is pretty much jam-packed!)  But the shifting around of smaller stuff...like the bookcase items...oh, I can be a tweaker and multi-mind-changer until I get things just the way I want them.  ;)
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Anyways, another gorgeous, perfect day!!!  
The shifting and tweaking awaits.  :):)
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"If you look at every human being as a Divine mirror, you will know yourself and understand life."
Sherif Baba

Thursday-8:45am

Okay.  Let's get this over with.  I apologize ahead of time.  The challenge for Artist's Playroom this week was to make Jenn laugh. Was trying to think of something all week, can't draw well...so this is the best I could come up with.  Sadly, I even had a hard time drawing this--LOL!  Now THAT makes me laugh, anyways.  ;)

For the zendala challenge over at The Bright Owl this was the template for this week. 

I puttered for three days and this time I even used several tangles from Tangle Patterns online.  The first one I chose is called Vache 1.  Make irregular shapes (loose tangle for me!) and then draw in shapes within those...

...and then fill the inner shapes with striped lines. 

See!  Proof that I wasn't using a ruler and was being sloppy and loose.  ;) 

Then I added some Beadlines. 

 Decided to try something a little steampunkish...

...and did Blox inside the triangles. 

Added Barberpole around the middle... 

...some more dark black accents...

...my own doodling to add some swirly contrast... 

...and tied it all together with some more Beadlines and stripes. 

I was shocked that it seemed to all come together in the end!  This was so much fun! 

Meanwhile, the bookcase arrived.  Dagan and Leah weren't able to make it over this week--well, Dagan stopped by briefly last night to say hi and pick up some low carb cookbooks I wanted to send over for Leah to peruse because that's the kind of diet she's been on.  They may get over this weekend before Leah takes off Monday for two weeks for work (Seattle again).  If not, the bookcase isn't gong anywhere. 

A surprise gift arrived from Trisha Trixie!  Woodland Wisdom cards, an ATC she drew, and some blank ATC cards and sleeves.  Thanks, Trisha!  I have never done ATCs before.  I guess that's another thing I could try one day.  :)

Karma and I have spent quite a bit of time on the porch this week, too.   

This weather is absolutely gorgeous!  Only 70s or very low 80s during the day and 50s and 60s at night!  I didn't have the place closed up for a week and a half.  Got hot enough in here last night that I finally had to close it up for just a few hours, but then it cooled off at night again--ahhh!  Lovely chilly sleeping weather.  

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Goulet Pens started a monthly Ink Drop challenge in July.  You can submit any kind of writing or artwork using the five ink samples from that month's Ink Drop.  Remember the August Ink Drop colors I showed you?  

Well, I decided to enter the contest this month with a small mandala...  

...since I was having so much fun doodling this week.  This is all just my own playing about.  The top three winners (customers vote) get gift certificates.  Whoohoo!   

They predicted rain and thunderstorms yesterday...and it sure did look like it.  

Maybe it rained someplace along its windy way, but it didn't rain here more than a few drops.  Proof is in the no puddle on this sunny morning. 

 And all those clouds blew away.

Supposed to be 70-75 degree days and 48-50 at night for the next few days.  Happy dancing here in Fargo!!  I know it is early for fall weather, but it's been such a hot summer and fall is my very favorite time of year, anyways...so excuse me while I dance!  I hope the fall weather stays with us till November!!!  ;)

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Obviously I am getting in more playtime.  Plus some reading and letter writing on the porch.  No additional organizing this week, though.  That will commence soon...when the plastic baskets arrive and the bookcase is together there will be no excuses, eh?  LOL!  I'll have to take pictures of the chaos so you can see what a mess I make as it all gets sorted out.  

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I have been mostly keeping abreast online so far.  I'm trying to post less often, too.  Less of my long posts is probably not a hardship--ROFL!!  Anyways, so far so good.  Have a glorious day!!  :):)

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"When we come upon beautiful things...they act like small tears in the surface of the world that pull us through to some vaster space."

Elaine Scarry

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P.S. 

I can't remember if I posted that quote before, but I do really like it.  Sometimes I read it as tears (flowing from our eyes) and sometimes I read it as tears (ripping a hole).  They both work and give me very different visuals.  Myself, the wet tears presents a softer more fluid image of the world expanding.  Which did you read it as?