Playing In The Pool

Today, Gracie's dad came home from the store with a kiddie pool! Of course, the temperature at our house was hovering around the 85 degrees....

Prior to the pool play.

Gracie has always loved water...if it is outside, not the bath tub. She especially loves the water that comes out of the hose. She bites at it over and over. So, while Alan was filling her new pool with the hose, she was biting at the water over and over. It was so cute.

Gracie biting at the water coming out of the hose.

After Alan turned the hose off, Gracie knew just exactly what to do with the kiddie pool. She would race across the yard and run through the pool on her way. It was hilarious!!! Then, she would stop in the pool and whip the water with her face and then start the running thing all over again.

She had a wonderful time and so did we. ~smile~

BEST MOMENT OF THE DAY:

Working in my COOL studio most of the day on a commission piece.

ZENTANGLE OF THE DAY:

I just finished this one today. It will be in my show on the First Friday of July.

A Weed is a Flower in the Wrong Place.

I hope your weather is something that you are enjoying. I keep thinking that this unseasonal hot weather is preparing me for my trip to Europe in August...Think positive.

Huggs,

Janie

The Artist's Heart

I follow a blog I receive by email and the one I received this morning made such an impression on me that I wanted to share parts of what this person wrote.

They received a heart in the mail. A clay heart. Heavy for its size, beautifully glazed. It looked like a pastry. When it was unwrapped this person rubbed it with his/her fingers and palm and found it was very satisfying.

This was a tough little heart in pastel colors. It looked sweet but was hard. On the back was an inscribed spiral and a hole. The artist had sent a note that said, "I had to put a hole in the heart or it would explode in the kiln. Remember to breathe when in the creative fire." That is what every heart must endure--to be pierced and bruised, marked and damaged, and healed to work effectively. 

We, as creative people--we put our hearts out there and show them to people, willing to be accepted or rejected, loved or hated. Being creative means risking it all.

This meant a lot to me especially today because last night I had a second showing of my "fine art". It was a small gallery but over 50 people attended. I was one of several artists who showed last evening. I didn't sell anything but the fact that that many people came to see all the art and enjoy an evening of art, music, and conversation was very special. 

I am eternally grateful to my friends who look out for me, for my daughter who came and stayed most of the evening with me, and for all those who come to see what others put their hearts into. My friend, Lori, told me about this show and without her "looking out for me", I would never had known about it. I made some new contacts and friends last night and believe this will lead to more shows.

BEST MOMENT OF YESTERDAY:

I created a small piece on brown canvas paper as a door prize for the art show I participated in. The woman who won my piece showed it off, was so thrilled to receive it, and came to tell me that she loved my work. Wow!

ZENTANGLE FOR TODAY:

This was my small grouping at the Art Show last night. I'll do close-ups of my new pieces in a few days. My art is still at the gallery.

I hope that your heart is protected from the pain and piercings of life, and that your day is the best day of your life so far.

Huggs,

Janie

Pocket

This weekend our friend and her three cats and dog came over to stay because of a big fire that appeared that it could burn her apartment building down. Thankfully she was able to return to her home last night as the fire danger is no longer a threat. 

Pocket

 While they were here we got to know "Pocket". She is a very cute little girl and so very sweet. These pictures were really hard to take because she is so active. She was very well behaved and her name just suits her so well!!

Pocket enjoying Gracie's perch on the top of our couch looking out the window.

Our Gracie was not her best self the past two days and I am really wishing there was something I could have done to make her feel better about Pocket being here. The biggest problem was that Pocket is really tiny and Gracie is this big dog compared to her and so Gracie was just jumping on Pocket and we couldn't let them be together. 

Gracie had never been around cats before either and even though they stayed in the bedroom where their "mom" slept, Gracie could smell them and I believe she wasn't sure about what the smell was and that that upset her.

Animals can be complicated sometimes and boy, do I wish Gracie could have talked to me the past couple of days and told me what she was feeling!! She's our Princess, you know?

BEST MOMENT TODAY:

Sleeping Late, because I can.

ZENTANGLE FOR TODAY:

You have seen this  tangle before but I have enhanced the color and have made a cell phone skin for my daughter's iPhone as my way of saying thank you for all the help she is giving me.  I also ordered her a clear cover for the whole phone so she can see the skin and have the phone protected too. It is like my phone that I showed on here previously.

I hope you had a good weekend and that all is well in your area, that there are no fires of any kind. Fairbanks suffered a large fire in town and a huge wildfire close to town and thankfully things are better today. Fire is scary!

Huggs,

Janie

As The World Turns

I am sitting in my favorite place looking out our picture window. I always do this, especially in the mornings and THIS morning what do I see? I see Birch trees, as always, but THIS morning I see GREEN on the trees!!!! That can only mean one thing....Summer is just around the corner. 

Roses my Love gave me for my birthday!

In Fairbanks we have a long cold and DARK winter, hardly any daylight. Then, when spring hits the daylight starts coming back and gets longer, and longer, and longer!! We do have blackout blinds in the bedroom so we can sleep better. I am not really sure what time it gets "dark" now because I have gone to bed as late as 11 pm and it has still been daylight. I've been up at 3 am and it has been daylight. I was really surprised at this phenomenon when I first came to Fairbanks, but now I rather look forward to the daylight.

In winter, we eat dinner about 5 pm and want to go to bed by 7 pm. When the daylight comes back, we eat about 7 or 8 pm and go to bed when we need to in order to be able to get up the next morning! 

I am so thankful to live in a place where the long hours of daylight create a beautiful forest of green and all the weeds and flowers outdoors grown all the time for our enjoyment. We probably won't live in Fairbanks the rest of our lives, and I'm sure that I will miss the long daylight hours.

BEST MOMENT OF THE DAY:

Feeling well enough to cook a nice breakfast for my Love.

ZENTANGLE OF THE DAY:

Getting ready for a show on Tuesday night so none to share today....maybe tomorrow! 

I hope your day is filled with daylight and green growing things!!

Huggs,

Janie

Are We Having Fun Now?

My daughter, Lizzy, has started coming out to the house every day to start to tackle the huge pile in the garage that used to be in my studio. I sit in a chair and she brings boxes, etc. to me and helps me sort and decide what goes where.

OMG!! What a pile!!!!

The "Purging" question is:

WILL YOU USE THIS IN THE NEXT YEAR???

There have been a lot of "NO" answers....which rather surprises me. I have been into all kinds of crafting and art work so have supplies for things like:

• scrapbooking
• card making
• painting on everything from canvas to metal
• felting
• altered art on canvas or paper or whatever
• sewing
• quilting
• crocheting
• counted cross stitch
• drawing
• Christmas crafts
• photography
• rose making (from ribbon)
• soft doll making
• many different crafts to sell at Holiday bazaars
• and most recently in the last year....my Zentangle Art

You can imagine the amount of storage I have with supplies to do all these things. Last year I gave a whole tub full of cotton pieces because I figured I would never use them, although I have been wanting to get into soft doll making...but this was for a good cause...went to kids in an Alaska village to make a large quilt. The person in charge was very nice to send me a picture of the quilt my fabric helped create. It was really a nice feeling to know I was helping others.

So, yesterday was Day #1 of the purging and sorting. My back felt better than it has in months. Woke this morning with the worst pain in my back and leg that I have had in at least two months. Needless to say, I'm Pissed!!!! 

I will be sharing with you the progress of this huge undertaking as we go along. After the sorting comes the packaging and marking for the biggest craft garage sale this area has seen in 10 years. I hope it will pay for my vacation this summer!! 

No pictures of the "event" today, but when we are finished I'll be showing the progress here. How am I feeling about this? Absolutely Great!!! 

BEST MOMENT TODAY:

Seeing the beautiful sunshine another day.

ZENTANGLE FOR TODAY:

A few images from the film strip frame from yesterday....

I hope that your day is a wonderful one. Thanks for reading.

Huggs,

Janie

Images on a Spring Day in Alaska

Many of my friends take to their vehicles and drive off here and there to take magical pictures. I rarely do that....but instead "re-see" what is around me. In a way it helps me get better in touch with myself and what I'm feeling.

I have been trying to find a new home for my two little girl guinea pigs because I am finding it more and more difficult to care for them properly. I advertised on Craig's List, in the free ads in our local newspaper, on Facebook, and even on Petfinder.com (which got me three VERY strange emails!!) to no avail. I even tried a national chain pet store that was reportedly taking small pets to adopt out. Nope, Nada, Nyet! So, last option was to call the Pound. Now I think we all assume that the Pound will only put pets down....this is not the case. My little Tilly and Molly were in loving arms being petted and cooed over when I left them there on Saturday. I had a sad moment but it was for the best and I am sure some little girl or boy will be holding them in no time soon. 

Here no more. :(

Now, I have to clean their old "space" and move on. 

Images from my home include this wall in my studio. The Celtic Cross is beautiful and I love it. There is art from one of my favorite on-line artists, and little fences with dried flowers. It is on one side of my studio. I have little things sitting around that give me comfort and positive energy.

I especially like the "When Pigs Fly" and "Whoops" from my cubicle days.

I have a new project ready to go and love the look of the paper, a little sketch to get started, and my selected pens waiting for me. 

This will be shown when finished right here on this very blog! LOL

Since I last wrote I had a wonderful Mother's Day and another birthday. I got lots of roses and many other flowers, balloons, a wonderful plaque which I posted before, stuff paid for on my trip in August, and a gift card from a local book store. My daughter, Lizzy, also brought me my favorite apple cider drink from Starbucks, and the promise of a lunch date. My husband got me the most tasty Boston Creme Pie Cake and sad to report, I ate most of it with a little help from Lizzy. It was the BEST!! I got lots of good wishes and so the week sort of drifted off into a cloud of sweets and the awesome smell of stargazer lilies upstairs and downstairs....turning older was definitely worth it.

Never saw white lilies like this before! Smells sooooo good!

BEST MOMENT OF TODAY

Only had to take 2 pain pills today....shot and pain patch are working!!!!

ALSO, I went outside with Gracie this morning - early - sat on a blanket with my straw hat on, Gracie laying on the blanket beside me, listening to the birds and feeling the sun and the wind on my back. It was quiet and wonderful.

ZENTANGLE FOR TODAY

I am going to be showing a few Zentangles in a photography show in a couple of weeks. I think this will be appropriate....only got one frame and can't remember where I got it....want another! 

I will take photos of each one individually and put them up tomorrow.

 I hope that your weekend was awesome and that your house is being shined on by the beautiful sunshine that is shining on our house.

Janie

I Wish I was a Dog

Do you have a pet? Do any of your pets have to get up at a certain time, make any meals, go to a job, pick up after themselves, go anywhere they don't want to go on a daily basis or do anything they don't want to do on a daily basis? Does your pet look in the mirror and moan about how much older they are getting? Does your pet pull out that first gray hair? 

I wish I was a dog. 

Our dog, Gracie, wakes up about 5:30 am.....give or take.....and taps on the gate we have across our bedroom door. When I say "taps:, she takes her cute little right paw and taps, oh, 3-4 times. What she expects is to go outside and "do her duty" and come inside to an already prepared bowl of her favorite dog food. How does she know it's her favorite? BECAUSE IT IS FOOD! Gracie is, how should I put it, a "foodie"! If it is food, she loves it! cheese? no problem. lettuce? bring it on! veggies? More! 

The rest of her day is spent switching back and forth between the doggie bed downstairs (where it is cooler in the summer), her "dad's" soft recliner (no, she hasn't learned to recline yet, but just wait, it'll happen), and the couch which she laid claim to quite some time ago. She prefers one end where she lays not on one pillow, but two pillows. When 11:30 am rolls around she stands and looks you in the eye until you get the message that it is time for another meal. The same thing happens between 5:00 and 5:30 pm. I swear she has a clock in her stomach!!!!

I want to be a dog. 

Does a dog care how old they are? Do they have "issues" that they need to deal with? no, no, and no. 

Again, I want to be a dog. 

OK, why am I wanting this so badly you ask? Well, I turn 66 this Friday....the outside and inner workings of my body turn 66, but the core of me is in the 32 range. Is this fair? NO I'm also dealing with physical and emotional issues no 66 year old should be dealing with! I should be sitting quietly in my rocking chair, knitting, humming to myself, without a care in the world, not giving a damn if I'm a few pounds overweight, not caring what color my hair is or if I have some wrinkles, but that's not the case at all!!! So, the answer is:

I will become a dog on Friday!!

BEST MOMENT TODAY:

Will be when I get a pain injection near my spine for constant back pain.

ZENTANGLE FOR TODAY:

It will be posted tomorrow because the rest of today I'll be laying around like a 65 year old soon to become a dog person.

Love ya!

Janie

Mother's Day at My House!

My day started out a little "rocky". I started thinking about my mother and my mother-in-law who have passed and I felt a deep sadness that I hadn't done enough for them while they were living. Just the way I am sometimes...beating myself up for not being perfect. I'm learning to NOT do that but it's difficult to change, you know? 


The first thing that I received was an awesome email from my daughter-in-law, Amy. She sent photos of my son and her and also a video of them all saying "Happy Mother's Day". My son said that I have a card in the mail. I am looking forward to receiving it!!


The second thing that I received was a beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered (on a Sunday???) from my daughter, Tambo, in Seattle and her very loving husband, Mark. I love him and Amy as though they were my own children. The bouquet had a wonderful message which I really want to share:

"If there was a day for everything you have given to me as a Mother,

 it would be Mother's Day everyday! We love you"

Wow! I cried and cried because this touched my heart in ways they will never know or understand.

Then, to top my day off, my other daughter came, Lisabeth, loaded up with roses, a balloon, and a wrapped gift. The gift turned out to be this wonderful little plaque which also touched me deeply:

"Life takes us to unexpected places....

Love brings us home."

She stayed a while and visited and I went to bed early. My Mother's Day was very, very special and through it all was the loving looks and kisses from my wonderful husband. I am a very lucky person. I must NEVER forget that!!!!

BEST MOMENT OF THE DAY:

The whole day was my best moment.

ZENTANGLE OF THE DAY:

I'm working on a new piece that has Zentangles in it but the whole thing looks like a huge piece of film strip. It will be for my next show. This is just one of the pieces that will go into it and it still needs to be shaded.

I hope your day, even though it is a Monday, will be awesome!!!

Janie

"First Friday" Art Show and My Mother

FIRST FRIDAY ART SHOW

Well, it's all over but the shouting! My first "First Friday Art Show" was last night at an upscale menswear store last night from 5-8 pm. Let me say that the owner, Sarah, was so awesome...letting me put nails in her walls, move her clothing around, and practically take over her store. I am more than surprised to report that the show was a great success with several sales and even a commission to do!!! I am more than thrilled and have lots of friends who came and supported me.

"THE GARDEN PARTY"

Red on a red wall....looked so awesome!

Shirts and Tangles

My daughter's favorite. It just might appear on her cell phone as the cover......hummmm

Brown on brown....my very FIRST sale!!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! 
THANK YOU!

So, the work keeps progressing for my next show...maybe next month but definitely the month after. 

MY MOTHER

My mother's birthday was Thursday, May 5. If she was still with us she would have been 93 years old. She lived with me the last 5 years of her life. She was funny, loved to knit, and cooked up a storm (all high fat but so delicious). She made cream puffs from scratch and homemade soup to die for. We laughed a lot....went shopping together, and once when we were coming in the door to the house she and I were loaded down with packages and she was in front of me and tripped over her own foot and fell onto the carpet laughing, and I fell over her onto the carpet and we laid there for at least 5 minutes just laughing and laughing until tears were running down my face!! She loved to go see her friend, Rogna, in Michigan and the would go gambling. She just loved it. She worked very hard most of her life but the last five years she wasn't expected to do anything so the things she did were done because she wanted to and because she loved doing them. The night she died, I had the privilege of washing her face and combing her hair before putting her to bed. I kissed her and told her I loved her. She said she loved me and those were the last words exchanged between us. She passed sometime in the night. I am so thankful for those memories of her during the that 5 years. We became women friends. How wonderful is that?

THE BEST MOMENT OF TODAY:

Having the love of my wonderful husband and children/children-in-law.

ZENTANGLE OF THE DAY:

These are some small ones I am working on but they still need to be shaded. I'll show them to you again when they are framed because it will be really fun!!

Pink on white

Purple on white

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who read my blog.


Janie

A Little Glimpse of Where I Live

I live outside of the town of Fairbanks, Alaska. We have a branch post office about 8 or 10 miles from our house where I have to pick up packages, where I usually mail packages, and buy stamps. It is really just a small place and I should have taken a picture of it today. 

What I DID take pictures of are some cabins that I drive by on the road that leads to the post office. If you have ever seen a pot hole then you will understand when I say the whole road IS a pot hole!!! It is terrible both summer and winter. Along this terrible road just before the turn to the post office is a line of old log cabins. They are called "dry cabins" because they have no water. I think they have wood stoves in them too. Out behind these cabins is a small lumber mill....when I say small I mean about a half of a block in size. They probably sell the wood there to the cabin dwellers. Anyway, most of the cabins have sod on the roofs and have looked the same for the last 25 years!! I just thought they might be interesting to share with you.

Line of cabins by the post office.

One of the cabins close up.

Looking at the line of cabins from the opposite direction

On my way home from the post office I happened to look up and saw.....what for it.....buds on a few trees!!!!! You know what that means? It means it's really spring!! We do still have snow here and there and it actually snowed a little yesterday but it's definite now....spring is on the way!. I am sooooo happy. No more icy roads!!

BEST MOMENT OF TODAY:

Getting out in the sunshine for a while and getting things finished up for my art showing on Friday evening.

ZENTANGLE OF THE DAY:

Sorry! You have to come to the show to see the newest ones!!

I hope you day tomorrow is full of wonder and excitement and dreams coming true. Tomorrow I set up for the art show on Friday. My youngest daughter will help me and I'm so excited!!

Janie

My "Place"

I just bet that you have a special place where you sit/rest/read/nap, etc. I do. I call it my "Place", but actually it is a recliner I bought my first husband for Father's Day one year *many* years ago. It is a beige color and very comfortable. I especially like it because I can sit with my legs elevated off the floor which is very helpful for my back pain.

My "Place"

My "Place" is in the living room and there is a nice window looking out over the front walk and driveway just behind my left shoulder when I'm sitting in my "Place". To the right of me is a table I had built especially for my cookbooks about 40 years ago. It has heart shapes cut out of the wood and I love the design (since I designed it, I guess. LOL) It has two shelves plus the top. The top usually contains a mixture of papers or drawings, my little computer, and pens, Kleenex, a hairbrush, and the ever-present something to drink.

40 Year Old Table with all my "stuff"! What would we do without  STUFF????

The second shelf holds our printer/copier, extra ink for said copier, the cord for my camera and my cell phone, and other papers.

The bottom shelf holds extra paper for the printer/copier and some boxes with software in them.

On the floor to my right is a plastic container holding magazines and books that I plan to read and behind that is my every present hot pad. Oh, yeah, there is also a drawing tablet behind that.

To my right, behind the table, is a floor lamp that also has a high intensity reading light that is great when I'm drawing while in my "Place", which is often. Attached to the lamp is a fan too.....so you can see I have ALL the comforts of home here in my "Place".

I would love to hear about YOUR "Place"....because I know everyone has such a place. I believe that some therapists might even think this is your "Safe Place". It isn't what I would consider MY "Safe Place".  Now that's an idea for another slow blog day. 

BEST MOMENT TODAY:

Taking a nap in the middle of the day.

ZENTANGLE FOR TODAY:

Am working on a series of 5 small pieces that will fit in a black frame that has these areas split up...hoping to have it finished for my Art Show on Friday.

Black pen and ink on Cream colored paper. Sorry my photo isn't very good today! :(

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Janie