Mexico (mas)

Being outdoors a lot was so wonderful. The weather was perfect. The only day it rained was on the day we were leaving SMA to Return to Mexico City.

 This is the Virgen of Guadelupe, which was everywhere. See the angel holding her up and the rays of light emanating from her? Everywhere, on buses, on buildings, in restaurants, and, of course, in churches.

Hat seller.

Hats for sale, everywhere.

I like these two people chatting and the third just standing an looking off to the left, the palm tree stuck there. And then there's that pigeon and a leg. Something about this composition was very satisfying to me.

The Parroquia in SMA. There a funny story about this.  It appears that this is the top of a tall cathedral, but it's not. The architect had no idea that this design was part of a larger structure so he built this as the actual church.

Mail Art and knitting and SPRING!

 I've had this Gettysburg, PA battlefield postcard for awhile. It's got a message on the back and was originally mailed in 1941. How to alter a postcard of the bloodiest battlefield in the U.S.?
It felt good to put the little musician (or big by scale in this case) there to play a commemorative tune. One day, I'm planning to take a road trip to Gettysburg. Have you been there?

 In my knitting group, I'm challenging myself to learn new things. I wanted to learn to follow a color change pattern.

I made the small hat, or rather it turned out child sized, first. I made the color changes too tightly, but Zinn looks great in this hat and she liked it.


I plotted out a pattern on graph paper and using only two colors, made this slouch hat. It's worked on a round needle. I'm pleased with the results and, Voila! It fits an adult head!

My next challenge is to learn to use double pointed needles. I've found an easy fingerless glove pattern to work with.

Did I show you these cute little baby hats that my sister makes? I put them in my Etsy shop.

I sent my sister the slouch hat pattern and the circular needle. I'm excited to have her try something new, too. I hope she's excited about that.

Spring is here! These Star of Bethlehem plants always make me happy. I dug up some of the plants several years ago from a nearby alley way and planted them in our front garden. They spring up amongst the rocks and look so friendly.

 Okay, so I spoil him by not immediately chasing him away from the laptop. It's sort of my way of seeing how BIG he's getting. Still growing, oh my.









Yesterday was drizzly and chilly, so I decided it was Lentil Soup time again. This is a fabulous recipe, which I've posted before. it's from the cookbook Veganomicon. Even if you're not a vegan or even a vegetarian, you'll enjoy this recipe. It can be found on my recipe blog HERE.

Enjoy!
    Let me know if you make the soup.

It's Wednesday! Midweek hooray!

 Hats for sale! Hats for sale! My sister makes lots of hats for little ones and hasn't any outlet for them. She sent a dozen to our grandgirl, who looks so cute in them. Now she's sent me a bunch which I'll put into my Etsy shop at some point. However, if you need a last minute gift for a baby, let me know, I've got hats galore.

Here are a pair of my mitts keeping Bad Girl Art's Keithley's hands warm. They're made from cotton and linen blend yarn. Oh, look, they kind of match her puppy!

 Chilly weather here, so tea time is anytime during the day. N gave me a lovely gift of a Tardis tea "ball." How cool. It's big enough to fill with tea for a pot but also works in a big mug with a smaller measure of tea. I love it! And that's my nice breakfast blend tea from Carytown Teas.

#349

I'm coming into the final stretch of my 365 project - can't believe it. A relief in so many ways, but hopefully my practice is well established and I'll carry on daily in my studio.

#350

In this series, I'm using old postage stamps to create scenes. Above, a landscape of a city with a bridge, airplanes overhead, and a bus headed for the bridge. In the one on the right, a family takes a walk in a city, visiting the sites.

#351

I'm totally not religious but what does one do with sooo many Madonna and Child stamps! Look, a Mary Cassatt painting in the center. I like this theme, it works so well. What do you think?

Boxes, Mail Art, and more.

 Boxes, my life has been about boxes, recently. And today, I emptied that last of the ones in my studio. It's been difficult because I didn't want to just take things out and pile them back on shelves or wherever. I sorted - give away, throw away, keep - and filled my car with stuff to take to the thrift shop. So much stuff, where did it all come from.

Here's Bizoo enjoying a box.

Here's a view of the boxes in my studio just a few days ago. It seemed daunting. They were stacked up so high on my studio table. And they were heavy! 

Many of you have had to go through this. What was it like for you? Did you find it emotionally draining, or just tiring, or boring. I've found it all of those things.

Here are more boxes.  Now I have to go through some of the boxes that were in the boxes and decide what to keep.

 Also, I have 5 bankers boxes to go through, but that's another story.

#264

#265

#266

#267

I've altered a card for this Mail Art. It's a necklace, actually, but I think it become something so different with the addition of the 2 people, don't you?









I cut the figure out of the painting and planning to use it but then the background was more interesting. I put the flowers behind the "empty" area. Some random text makes it all work for me.







Here's another attempt, though not as successful as the first, in my opinion.












And here's a minimal collage.

And here's our baby who is so fun and engaging these days.
She recognizes me. Yippee. In this photo, she's wearing a hat made by my older sister who is making at least a hat a day. She sent a dozen to Zinn, and a box full to me to sell for her. Do you think people might buy these? I can put them in my Etsy shop, though we hand crafters can't compete with foreign made goods, that's for sure. Our prices can't be so inexpensive. What's your take on this? Hand made goods vs commercial goods. I'd like your thoughts on this.

An award!

How nice to be noticed. I got this lovely award from Lesa.
Now I'm supposed to tell you seven things about me that you might not know, but since I've been blogging awhile, and you might be a regular reader, I'm a pretty open book. Seven things, hmmm. Okay, how about these:
1. When I was little, way before most electronic devices were invented, I wanted a device that I could put under my pillow that would teach me languages while I was asleep. I day-dreamed that one day I'd wake up and be able to speak Italian fluently, or Greek, or French, etc. I was about 10 years old at the time.
2. I sang with the Virginia Commonwealth University Choral Art Society for 7 years. I miss it.
3. I was a pretty decent ice skater when I was a kid.
4. I love hats and have some really nice hand made ones. Check out Ignatius.
5. I have lots of different colors of nail polish & once I had 8 different Golds.
6. I once swallowed a dime.
7. I've known my husband for 50 years. (OMG!! how can that be!?)

I want to pass this award to: Beanie at Found-art, what fun to read.
and to: Anke Martin, who here shares her family life, her art life and her beautiful photos with us.
There are soooo many more blogs that I adore and read regularly, you know who you are, YOU make my days delightful. Thanks, merci beaucoup, danke, gracias.

Today, Vendredi #2 (Friday)

We had a mission to accomplish today, but it didn't quite work out, however, our walk over toward the Jardin du Luxembourg made it possible for us to have a lovely lunch out. The brasserie Luxembourg had seats near the window for us and I was able to catch some sun, for the little time it was out. Chuck had a Cesar salad with chicken and shaved parmesan cheese. He loved it. I had a spinach salad with blue cheese and nuts. It was quite good. We added a plate of our first pomme frites for this trip. Next to the restaurant, Delayau, a shop with very artistic looking desserts.

This evening, because we'd had a bit of sun today, the sunset was actually visible. The sky was so nice but my photo doesn't do it justice, only gives you an idea of it.

Later, before dinner, we stopped at a little restaurant on rue Charlemagne, just a block away. We saw a display of hats in the window there last night and wanted to see what was going on. We poked our heads in, but the display was just being set up. Two sisters from Germany (Köln) were selling hats that are handmade. I got a nice green one that has little sparkles on it. I was surprised that Chuck liked it, but he said the sparkles looked like rain drops. Here I am, looking to me, like someone in a 1930s photo, with Gabriela, Marguerite, and Francoise, who owns the restaurant. Check out their site here.