Artful Adventures

It Was a Great Day!

 

Jessie, our first born, came out to spend the day with us for my birthday a week or so ago.  It was nice, very nice actually, since we don't often get those "one on one" kind of days with her.  It was just a low key day, just the way we wanted it.  We decided to go over to The Flying Pig, since I've hardly been there at all this summer.  I think I've mentioned that recently, but you seriously feel like family when you're there, and you'd miss your family, right?  Gary likes to always drive a new route to wherever we go, always promoting a car full of groans, as some of short cuts add on a ton of time:)  But this one was perfect!  I couldn't make it to the Art Studio Tour this year, and I really wanted to see Bren Sibilsky's sculpture work.  If you haven't clicked on her name, do yourself a favor and do so, seriously, she's so talented!  Brenda lives just on the outskirts of Algoma, but coming in from the other side of the Flying Pig, so we took that route so I could see where she lives and her sign proclaims that "The Idea Factory"-it's perfect!  Can''t wait to call & go see her!  For anyone wanting to give sculpting a hand, she also teaches at the Peninsula Art School.  So, on with the tour----we came up on this little park, and I do really mean little, but it's charming in a rustic teeny kind of way, and I do want to go back. 

We stopped & had to do a little exploring, the place was full of tangled tree roots and even some of the trees-couldn't you just see those couple of archways for fairies? 

Everywhere you walked, there were those crazy roots and green rocks that lined both sides of the water.  Having been raised "up north", this kind of thing is like going home, finding little creeks, swimming in a river, finding magic wherever it seemed it should be.  Now on to "The Pig" for a cup of coffee, a little birthday treat, and a glimpse of their fall gardens.  Come on up here sometime, and we'll show off the magic that's hidden in this farmland!

  
 

Another Year Older & Still Kicking:)

 By this time of year, you just never know what to expect.  I've seen it be anywhere from 80 degrees or snowing and everything in between.  But the one thing that happens for sure, is that I have another birthday.   Funny how our priorities change as we get older, what's important now and what's not so important anymore.  Think about it for a bit, you'll be surprised.  I remember chuckling years ago, when someone quite a bit older would say something like "if you've got your health, you have everything".  That statement didn't mean anything to me back then, I lived my life like a crazy woman, taking risks, being the daredevil all the time, with no thought to my health at all.  I figured if I didn't break anything, I was good.  Well, I'm paying for it now, but I'm done bitching about it.  There's too many good things in my life that I need to concentrate on instead.  
Like this deck-I Love this deck!  It's not huge, just right, on the east side of the house and weather permitting (and sometimes not) that's where you'll find me.  It's a place where I can watch the birds, have a bonfire, sit quietly or have it jammed with friends and family.  It's a GOOD place, a favorite place, a place to be grateful for and grateful that I have friends to share it with.  Friends and family are everything, and something I never take for granted.  So on this birthday, I'm celebrating the dreams that have come true over the years, like being an artist.  That got put on the back burner for so long that I never thought I'd have the opportunity to give it a shot, but it happened!  A husband that's stuck around for over 30 years, through the good & the bad, 2 kids that are wonderful and can turn me into an angry banty hen if anyone messes with them.  Friends, how important you all are-those who I've known forever, some not so long, but you all play a part in my life.  So Happy Birthday to me-I have a lot to celebrate!
   

A little entertainment---

Just recently, Eli Mattson announced that he's going to be the new spokesperson for Cellcom, the company that our daughter works for.  A couple of weeks ago, there was a small intimate kind of concert given by Eli, that some of the lucky Cellcom employees could attend, and Jessie was one of them!  She could bring a guest, and because her partner couldn't attend she decided to bring either
Gary or I with her.  Hmmmmm, who to go with her:)  As much as I'd liked to have seen this concert, I told Gary to go ahead & go.  I knew he'd love it, and a little father/daughter bonding is always a good thing, so off they went. 

But I did tell them to get some pictures, and Gary also brought home an autographed CD.  Cool!  Eli went to high school out here with the kids, I'm think he was a couple of years behind Jeremy, and I'm not 100% sure, but he & Jeremy most likely performed together in one of the high school musicals that LC was known for.  This photo of Jessie & Gary with Eli, will be one that'll bring back memories for Gary & Jessie for years. 

A little over 10 years ago, when our good friend Russell tried to explain to me what winterguard and WGI were, and that Jeremy should be doing this, little did I know that it would change his life for the better, enrich our lives for having been involved in this activity from the sidelines, and that he'd still be active in what is referred to as "The Sport of the Arts".  His marching days are over, but this past year, he was a staff member for Velocity, helping to write some of the choreography for this year's show.  Click here and you can watch the show that they performed this year.  Watch closely, it's hard to see that besides the obvious dance movements & flag work, they're tossing rifles and sabers up into what seems like the sky, and catching them.  Beleive me, it's not as easy as it looks!  Here's a few more pictures from the dress rehersal.  I didn't realize how much I missed hanging out around all the kids & the activity, until we went to watch this.  Maybe next year---

Unless you're lucky enough to be involved in this activity in some capacity, you wouldn't believe how hard these kids work!  And they learn life lessons that put simply, helps them grow into good people, learning teamwork, work ethic, and good sportsmanaship to name a few.  Ask me sometime and I can elaborate much more:)  This year's season is done, but if you have a chance to catch a show somewhere near you, or better yet, have an opportunity to volunteer & help them out in some way, do yourself a favor and participate-you won't regret it!

Jeremy's on the right, Alyssa on the left, and Russell in the middle-all staff for Velocity and friends for life.  They're like proud parents after watching the perform their dress rehersal!  And by now you've all quessed that I despise being in front of a camera, but I'm breaking that rule for a moment.  A picture of Norm, a good friend, my fellow chaperone when we took the winterguard kids to Amsterdam for a show in 1999, and well, just one of the nicest men you'll ever meet, was there and we had our picture taken together, me with my bad hair day & Norm with his arm in a sling from having shoulder surgery earlier in the week.  But it was so much fun chatting with him, talking about the fun we had in Amsterdam (hush up, Jeremy!), and just catching up on things.  That's all for today-hope you all have a great week end!

Special Treat

 

Today Gary showed me this, what appeared to be a bundle of papers tied up with yarn, didn't have a clue at first glance what it was.  Well, what a treat it is!  His aunt passed away in January, and we inherited her recipes, all glued into handmade books that she had made!  The covers were mostly cereal boxes, flattened out, then filled recipes she had taped or glued onto the pages which consisted of everything from more cereal boxes, to paper bags, junk mail, or large envelopes that mail had arrived in.  Nothing was wasted in her house! 

Each one is neatly labeled, one was even made using an old shirt box for the covers, and all sewn together with bits of yarn into the holes she had punched into these pages.  I remember Katie once talking on her blog about how her Mom, and now Katie herself, saved cereal boxes and any other box that they got their hands on-now I really know why!  This is the type of thing that could so easily have been thrown away, and in reality is such a treasure.  Sometimes, (ok, most times) I get so hung up on doing things "right" and trying to get it as close to perfect as I'm capable of, that it takes some of the joy out of creating go flying right out the window.  This is such a perfect example of a straightforward approach of getting the job done, making it functional, using materials at hand, and not stressing out about it.  It wasn't made to stand the test of time, or win a prize, or to question the ability of the skill level needed to create this.  Instead it was done to serve a purpose, has such great character, this is so much better, perfect in fact!  I never could get any of her recipes to turn out right, maybe now I can:) 

This was just too sweet to not share, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!  I ran into a blog post on Beth's blog today, asking her readers to send her suggestions of pictures they'd like to see her take today.  I'd like to ask my readers to find a treasure in their house, old or new, that they'd like to share-like I just did with the cookbooks.  Take a picture, post it, and tell us what makes it special to you.  If you don't have a blog, just leave a comment to tell me, and if you do have a blog leave a comment with the link so I can go see.  This could be fun!  And don't forget to go over to Beth's and give her some ideas!

A new month/a New Year!

 

January was a bust, in every sense of the word, so for me on this day of Feb.1, 2009, I'm declaring this as my New Year, and will start all over again, there's no doubt that it'll be better.  Plenty has happened, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  One of the good things was that Gary had a birthday on Thursday, but the celebration will be delayed until sometime later this month.  A couple of weeks ago, his aunt, who was truly more like a 2nd Mom to him because she finished raising him when his own Mother died when he was just 16, fell & broke her hip.  At 92 years old, that's a hell of a hurdle to get over, and she couldn't do it, passing away early Tuesday morning.  The funeral wasn't held until yesterday to allow time for out of state relatives to attend.  Making this past week feel like a lifetime-waiting.  To complicate matters, with the stress level high, I screwed up on taking the correct amount of Warfarin, which sent my bloodwork plummeting right back down to close to the level that I had in the hospital.  It's corrected now and all is well on that end, but between that & the blood clot, I wasn't allowed to attend the funeral.  Even though I knew I couldn't go, the tremendousus guilt that I feel for not being there to support Gary when he needed me the most, is something that I'll have to live with.  It's a shame that it takes something so dramatic in life to realize just how fiercely you love someone, and want to protect them from anything that hurts them.  After being married to him for over 30 years, and as angry as we can get at each other, sometimes wondering what's the point, now I know without a doubt that the point is-we really do love each other.  A good comforting thing to know. 

After several phone calls & a little sit down with the docs, it was explained in a language I could understand, that my version of taking it easy & theirs, wasn't the same.  To keep everybody happy, I haven't left the house much at all (they hadn't explained that car rides were bad) and now have  footstools in several places all over the house, so that no matter where I sit I can put that foot up.  We even have a drafting table set up in the living room so now I can do art with my foot propped up under the table.  But the best was getting a laptop, so now I can get back to spending some time on the computer, back to posting here, and catch up on the rest of you-all with--you quessed it-with my foot propped up.  But January wasn't all bad, I got art shipped to PA to  Arts On Union for a show that runs the month of February, featuring the artists of MMCA Marketplace, how exciting!  But more on that tomorrow:)  And I can't let the good things go by without thanking Amanda for being coming here to work on art together, for sitting with me yesterday while everyone was at the funeral, in general for being a friend and going out of her way to help-thank you again!  Lots more to tell, but one day at a time, in the meantime, being cooped up isn't so bad when I have these kinds of views right outside my window. 

Recent events:)

 

Success!  Yesterday we got a new computer, after having the same one for well over 6 years and working with the same old programs, this has been----let's say "challenging".  I've had a few other words for it, but if I can make this post and add photos, I'll be thrilled.  So to get you all up to date on the happenings around here, first of all, as I'd said in a previous post, Dec. 17 was the day for the hip replacement surgery, but the powers that be had other plans for me!  My leg was swollen up about 1 and 1/2 times the size of the other one & hurt like hell, but we all thought I had strained it in getting the house ready for recuperation.  As a precaution they quick did a sonogram to rule out a blood clot, but instead of ruling it out, they found one.  A good sized one at that, starts behind my knee, branches off into 2 pieces (so it looks like an upside down "y") and ends about mid calf.  Needless to say, both surgery & all treatments at the pain management clinic have been called off for about 6 months or until the clot dissolves.  They say I was very lucky they found it and I suppose they're right, but it sure threw a kink in the plans.  After spending a night in the hospital, they sent me home with a pile of syringes filled with a blood thinner that I got to inject into my belly twice a day, with the last shot being Christmas morning, making it the best gift yet to be done with that!  Now I'm still taking a different blood thinner and have blood work done every few days until they get it thin enough for their liking.   

Until further notice from the doctor, I can't do anything that will increase my heart rate which would pump the blood a little harder & faster, which in turn could potentially dislodge the clot or break a chunk of it off.  So I've been keeping a pretty low profile, doing a little walking, and sitting with that leg elevated.  I'm already bored with that, so am hoping that those limits are short lived. The swelling is almost all gone now & it doesn't hurt nearly as much, so something must be working right.  But the main thing is that they found it, I should be ok now, and will just have to have some patience, knowing that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel-and I don't mean that big bright white one!  With all this going on, Christmas was low key, but good.  The kids did the cooking & clean up (well done, by the way!) and the gift exchanging was good.  This year we decided (truth be told, I told them) that all gifts had to handmade, purchased hand made, or something made in the USA (no plastic allowed) from a small independently owned businesses.  There was a tad bit of skepticism, but everyone got in the spirit of it, and truy enjoyed it, knowing that we helped make a small difference in the economy for those that support themelves.  And it will be repeated next year.  I quess that's about it for now, except for truly thanking those who kept in touch and kept assuring me that everything would be ok when I was scared to death abut that blood clot, sending lots of white healing light  and keeping my spirits up-it won't be forgotten!  I hope you all had a great Christmas and were able to spend some time with family & friends.  And now-on to the New Year!!

Still celebrating!

 

This morning we woke up to our first snowfall of the season, and it suddenly felt much colder than what it really is.  But we have a nice toasty warm house to stay in, so I can't complain.  In fact, it's something to celebrate-yes, even though I haven't been posting daily, I have found reason to celebrate everyday.  Have you?  In fact, we even picked up more candles, this is fun!  And if you have no clue what I'm talking about, you'll need to scroll down & read the previous post.  Done reading?  OK, then on to more celerating!  Gary had a follow up post op appointment last week, and is now the proud owner of a leg without a cast, still on crutches for another month, but the cast is gone & he can ditch the sweatpants & go back to wearing jeans-that's the part that he's celebrating:)   

Yesterday we made a quick stop at Kele Alpaca for the artists reception held for those participating in the Holiday Sale.   It always feels good to walk in and see my mixed media collages hanging on the wall, wierd, but good.  The place was packed, I mean seriously packed with a line you wouldn't believe waiting to check out.  Crowded to the point that we didn't stay long (we'll go back maybe tomorrow) and headed up to the Flying Pig for a cup of coffee before going home.  Robyn & Susan are back from vacation looking well rested, and gearing up for the holiday season.  Welcome home-that was worth a candle or 2!  Hanging from the cupola above the 2nd floor of the gallery was this sculpture of 2 boys climbing a ladder, it's made from packing tape with the willing models being 2 little boys that frequent the place with their parents.  Isn't it cool?  Directly beneath them is the ground floor and the tables where we sit for coffee, what you're seeing behind them is the 2nd floor.  If you want directions how to do that packing tape thing, you'll have to email them!   

You can sure tell that Gary's more mobile these days, I have pictures to post again:)  I'm so bad at that, just can't seem to take a decent photo to save my soul, but Gary does have an eye for it-light a candle for that one because this blog would be awfully boring without his pictures!  Now if I could only get him to take it more seriously, just enough to even just enter a few local photography contests or something.  But maybe he wouldn't enjoy it then, so it's up to him.  Last week I had my annual physical and came out of there with a clean bill of health.  While there, I noticed that my ortho doctor's name was on their board-what the heck??  This man is the best, seriously!  He replaced a hip over 8 years ago, did some repair on my knee once, but he'd been out of network on our insurance for a few years, so even though I knew I had a bad hip I was toughing it out (after a bad, horrible experience with another ortho) as long as I could stand it.  Turns out he's been back in network for about a year (why don't insurance companies keep us better informed?) and he was coming to the clinic the following day.  And---they got me in-yay!!  I've never been so happy to see a doctor in my life!  As I suspected, the other hip is bone on bone and needs to be replaced-but he can do it & get it done this year before our insurance coverage changes on the first of January when it would cost us a chunk of change.  So on Dec. 17 I'm going in for a hip replacement with a doctor that I trust, and I'll have a matched set of metal hips:)  Lots & lots of candles for all that!  Between getting that hip fixed, and the magic that the pain clinic is working on me, I'll be a new woman by spring!  The last few years I've dropped the ball more often than I care to admit, and haven't been myself at all, constant pain will do that to you.  But there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it appears that Murphy's Law has quit circling overhead & has moved on. 

It's deer season here, I hate the thought of deer being shot, but after hitting a few with a car over the years, I do understand the need to keep the numbers under control-I think.  As a kid, we were raised on venison, but with Gary not being a hunter, I haven't eaten any in years.  A friend was telling me yesterday that her husband had gotten his deer & she was cooking up steaks for dinner, and I told her much I used to love a good venison steak.  About 1/2 or so later, she comes in the front door with a steak for me (she lives across the street) wrpped in foil, still warm & ready to eat.  What a treat!  It was delicious, but I have to admit that I had to make a conscious effort to not picture a deer in our yard while I was eating it.  But I do the same thing whenever I eat meat, I just can't think about it.  And it doesn't stop me from eating a good steak!  To change the subject, did you read this post on Tammy Vitale's blog?  it's a great one, well they all are, but I particularly enjoyed this one where she shared an article by Christine Kane, well worth reading.  So much so that I ran right over & signed up for Christine's weekly e-zine called "Live Creative".  Somewhere along the line I'd lost the link to her blog, so thanks, Tammy, for bringing it back to my attention!  And if you aren't already signed up to recieve Alyson Stanfield's Art Biz Blog, give yourself an early Christmas gift & go sign up.  Today it was about showing gratitude, not just showing it but really feeling it.  She's right, and it seems to fit in with our 37 days of celebrating, we're all trying to live better lives, right?  And on that note, it's time to go watch the Packer game, but not before I share my steak with you:)

Thank You!

 

Now that Gary's a few weeks post op, has a new slime green cast that he can put a little weight on while still walking with crutches, things are slowly starting to get back to normal here.  Maybe not normal, but at least more manageable.  Enough that I can start trying to play catch up a bit, kind of like a puppy chasing it's tail:)  We're calling Monday morning to have the hospital bed taken out of the living room, now that he can manage steps-carefully.  Life will slowly return to normal, it will.  But he did want to make sure that a huge THANK YOU was said for all of you that sent him cards & well wishes, we both appreciated it more than you can know.  I owe so many people for all the help we've had, generous friends that gave up their time to help us out, so much that another post soon will be devoted to just that.  See, another "catch up", not necessarily in the order of events, but it'll get done-one day at a time.   

Jeremy's home for the week end, perfect timing as a quarter of beef we ordered was ready to be picked up today, so his help in hauling it down to the freezer in the basement was more than welcomed.  We got the meat from a couple that we met at the Flying Pig, actually it seems like everytime we'd go there, Lynn would walk in right after us, something we've joked around about with him & his wife quite often.  This was the first time we'd been to their farm, named Guardians of the Field Farm, an absolutely perfect name for a beautiful place.  They have a huge old farmhouse painted yellow, with the widest wrap around porch that I've ever seen, all of the outbuildings painted barn red, and all of this on the end of a dead end road.  It's a beautiful, peaceful place, perfect!  And so fitting for their personalities, as Jeremy commented when we left that Lynn was such a gentle soul, and he's so right.  The whole family seems to have that trait and are in perfect harmony with all that surrounds them.   

Now I'm backtracking a little, the first stop for today was at Kele Alpaca where I dropped off some collages for their annual Holiday sale coming up next week end.  We had a chance to peek a little at some of the handcrafted art that was already there, but by next week end it'll be packed to the rafters with everything from paintings, jewelry, purses (I always get a purse there!), yarns & fibers, clothing, and everything in between in the old restored log building where the sale is held.  It was nice to have a few minutes to visit with LeAnna & Amanda for a bit and then we were on our way.  Our last stop was at the Flying Pig for a cup of coffee and to have a few laughs with 2 sisters ( they could put on their own sister act!) Pat & Marcy in the picture above, who are holding down the fort while Susan & Robyn are on vacation, due back in a day or so I think.  Can't wait to hear about their adventures finding new artists, visiting art galleries & checking out the surroundings.  Tomorrow Jessie & Michelle are coming out, so we'll all be together, eating chili that we made tonight and watching the Packer/Bear game-it should be fun!  I'll leave yuo now with this saying that's painted on a wall by the coffee bar at The Flying Pig, I love it! 

Fall colors, but no orange:)

 

Last week on one windy day, every single leaf fell off this tree, exposing this nest that we didn't even know was there.  Another one of those fall wonders, watching colors change, leaves falling off & flying all over the place, covering the ground in wonderful shades of yellows, oranges, burgundy, and a fewe brown.  I'm so shoping to have a little free time to go gather some of them up to dry.  A few seconds in the  MicroFleur and they're perfectly flat & ready to be stored & used in art this winter.

Rather than show the brilliant fall foliage, thought I'd share some other plants instead.  This plant has turned into an unexpected surprise, and a welcome one at that.  We've had it for years, but moved it this year and split it up.  It wasn't liking it at all at first, and took a lot of tlc to convince it to live.  But once that it decided to live, it went to town, spread like crazy and has been in bloom for months.  Sometimes, plants (or people!) just need to find their element, the place that's right for them, and then you cxan sit back & watch them thrive & grow.   

The Obiedient plant is another one of those fall surprises, it doesn't look like much of anything all summer, but when fall rolls around it puts out it's delicate purple flowers that last well into frost.  And did you know how it got it's name?  If you gently push a blossom to one side or the other, it'll just stay there-very obiedient indeed!   

And for an update on the patient, he's doing just fine!  With all the bedrooms on the 2nd floor, we had to bring in a hospital bed & park it in the living room (right in front of the tv-lol) until he can manage the stairs with crutches.  In the meantime, the dogs are loving it, they just hop right up there with him & make themselves to home:)  Mr. Silk just plops right on top of him, while Mr. Smooth chooses the edge of the bed, and they sleep up there all day long!  The surgery day was a long one, it got pushed back about 1 and 1/2 hours, then took longer than expected.  By the time they got him settled back into the short stay unit, it was obvious that he wasn't coming home that night.  He was white as a ghost and couldn't keep his eyes open for more than a minute, so the decision was made to leave him there & bring him home the next morning.   

Jessie came up to the hospital after work, drove me home from the hospital, and then spent the night here.  It's been awhile since this child of mine has stayed here, so it felt good to have her around.  The next morning with the help of Trina, we managed to get both him and the extra car that was left at the hospital overnight, home-safe & sound.  I needed the extra help here anyway to get him back into the house-getting up those few steps that we have just to get inside the house are tricky on crutches when you're not used to using them.  And with Trina being an RN, I felt comfortable that if there was a problem, she'd know what to do, and Jessie kept a level head-all helping to counteract me being a nervous wreck:)  

When we drove up the driveway, we were greeted by this beautiful banner made by Paige & Sarah who had come over while we were gone and hung it across the front of the garage-what a wonderful surprise!  Being the budding artists that they are, they had leaf prints on there, had cut out letters from magazines to form words, used some stamps, did some drawing, and in general were quite creative & extremely thoughtful!  It won't be forgotten. 

With this being the first summer that Gary was retired, it seemed like rather than get more chores done around here, we got less done!  It was offically a summer of goofing off, I quess.  So when this surgery came up so fast, it was glaringly obvious just how much had been pushed to the back burner.  After the initial panic of trying to get everything done quick, then realizing that it wasn't going to happen, there's no choice but to just go with it-and learn a good lesson!  Not cutting the peonies back turned out to be a good thing, the pods & seeds that they make are pretty interesting, don't you think?  I'm picturing maybe a little spray paint, maybe not, who knows really, and long stems of them in a tall floor vase, or maybe in an assemblage.  Lots of possibilities here!  And to end tonight, have to share a little of the jewel like berries that form on the porcelain vine.  They look like little pearls to me!  Tomorrow morning, Amanda is coming to take me to the hospital for the first of who knows how many spoinal injections.  They're sedating me so I need a driver, and Gary can't drive, so once again I'm so fortunate to have friends that'll help.  Keep your fingers crossed for me that all goes well tomorrow!

Can I ask you a favor?

Later this week, Gary is having surgery on his achilles tendon & will be laid up for quite awhile.  He'll be in a cast & crutches, non weight bearing for about 6 weeks and then on crutches and a walking cast for another 6 weeks or so.  It's going to be a long winter:)  We're already threatening to have duels-his crutches against my cane-I'll still win-lol!  Here's where the favor comes in, I'd love to see him swamped with cards from as many of you that are willing to send him one.  This is a secret, he doesn't know I'm posting this, so to my kids-shhhhhhhhhh!!  For anyone that'll take a minute & send him a card, a million thanks ahead of time, and please do feel free to pass this on, tell your friends or post it on your blog.  He doesn't ask much of anyone for anything, so it'd be great to see his face as he gets a bunch of mail.  You can mail to: Gary Pieper. E557 Macco Road, Luxemburg, WI 54217.  THANKS!!!