Kayaking

Kayaking on the Marina

Since I have been AFK for most of June I thought I would share one of the other things that is taking up some of my time.

This is a picture I took while Kayaking on our local Marina, I know a Marina in the middle of Northern Nevada- what?? The marina used to be a rock quarry which flooded in January of 2000. Now it is a fabulous park which they stock with rainbow trout, with a dog park, walking paths and of course a couple of beaches. It is the perfect place to Kayak in my town and since I live about 10 minutes from here I get to visit it often.

It is amazing how many places there are near me to take the Kayak, we live 45 minutes from Lake Tahoe plus there are a least a half a dozen lakes within driving distance. I love being on the water. There really isn't anything else like it. My man and I are going to kayak Tahoe a couple of times this summer. I can't wait! There are some really cool water trails we can take the go past osprey nests and all sorts of other cool things. I will definitely share those pictures once we get back!

Alice Sculpture Update

Alice

Summer is just breezing by and wowza have I been busy! Since I had a couple of spare moments I wanted to share where I am on at least one of my previously mentioned projects. This is Alice, she is borrowing the crown while she waits for me to finish her costume. She may end up with it in the end, I was planning on making her a top hat and titling this sculpt - " A Gift from the Hatter", we'll see what she thinks once I make the top hat. If she insists on the tiara the piece may be called 'A Gift from the Hatter to Anger the Queen" LOL.

 She has been fun and a definite learning experience. I burnt her fingers as I was baking her so she'll probably be wearing some sort of gloves. I can see 1000 things wrong with her but I love her anyway and each sculpture I complete is better than the last.

The fabric she is wearing is a scrap that I was testing some embroidery on. It is a hand dyed raw silk. I love the color, it is exactly what I was thinking of when I started designing her clothing but couldn't find it in anything so I just got some dye and did it myself.  I always have white dupioni silk hanging around my studio - it is just the perfect start for so many of the projects that I work on. My boys kept harassing me about her standing on the table naked so I draped the scrap around her until her clothes are finished.

Clothing these little creations is always time consuming. I want everything to be perfect and I also need to work with any obvious flaws, burnt fingers, and see what creative thing I can do to camouflage them.

I'll be checking in as often as possible over the summer and will post more pictures once Alice is complete. Once things calm down I'll be back to my usual postings and be looking for some blog parties to attend.

Have a great week!

Autumnwind 

Fitness update

As I was once a part of the Get Off Your Broom Challenges I am happy to see that the Get Off Your Broom Blog is going to stick around for a while. I have been plugging along on my Get Healthy lifestyle changes this year and while I haven’t lost any weight I have gotten much stronger and I am finally starting to see the muscles in my arms – which is so cool!

I had to switch from the weight training class that I was taking to a gym membership due to my crazy work l schedule, it was painful to pay so much for a class and then have to miss ½ of the sessions… so I now go to the gym that is a 2 minute walk – yes WALK – from my house. It is awesome! I meet with a personal trainer 2 times a month and I am finally following the Weight Watchers program so I may actually lose a few pounds.  My goal is not to be skinny. I want to be strong and healthy. So I get up and go to the gym in the wee hours of the morning. I love it!

I have been working out on average 2 times per week since January and while my weight has not changed my energy level has drastically changed. I have more energy now. This past holiday weekend I spent no less than 6 hours each day working in my back  yard – seriously, weeding, planting, weeding, helping my man build a roof for our deck, weeding.. you get the picture. The thing that I find amazing is that in the past I would have been exhausted after 30 minutes, now I am happy to work all day out there. What a difference steady exercise makes!

I’ll update in a month or so, we’ll see how the addition of some directed cardio to the weight training changes things up!

One more bennie of switching to the local gym, my youngest son asked for a gym membership too, he likes to go there with me and with his buddy!

Prayer Flag Project

When I read about this I was intrigued. I love the idea of a prayer flag and I have always wanted to make some to hang in my yard. This project has gotten me out of the “want to” stage and into the “heck yeah, I am making some flags” stage. I am making several to hang on my deck and this is what I am working on right now. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post next weekend.

1)      For no longer keeping my opinions to myself and listening while others spout off, now I find that I am much more likely to offer an opinion which either shuts them up (bonus I no longer have to suffer through), or we have a discussion over the topic. I don’t debate my beliefs, I believe what I believe and I am quite comfy and happy with my beliefs.

2)      For my kiddos and the kids that grew up with mine who are part of my heart. Half of them are spread out over the country right now, the other half are still home, at least for a little while. I am always thinking of them and want my love and strength to flow to them no matter how far from home they are.

3)      For me and my boyfriend. Our relationship has been tested in the last several years (we were married for 16 years, divorced for 3 months and got back together – story to follow sometime in the future J) and we are so much stronger now than before. So one is for us. For love, for strength and for the future.

4)      For my garden – to welcome the fairies and keep the birds from eating too much.

I have some other ideas I am kicking around. These are addictive little pieces of art. Something that I can whip out quickly, try new techniques on, or just play with. I’ll show you more once they are complete.

Project Updates

As you read this you’ll probably be able to tell that I can’t just work on one thing at a time. I need several things to keep me occupied, otherwise I get board or worse, when I am challenged by a project (usually when my blood sugar is dropping) rather than move on to something else, I quit – I hate to quit so I always have at least 4 or more things going on at once. Having another project to go to when one is frustrating me helps me reassess the issue and eventually I come back to it refreshed and with new ideas.  I like it and it usually works for me. So…. an update

Alice is still naked and without hands but she is being very patient. I have the fabric to clothe her and the clay and clothing for her friend the White Rabbit so hopefully I’ll get back to her soon. (her hands freaked me out so I had to take a break)

The prayer flags are planned (I’ll tell you more about that soon)

My garden is planted and now I am making some sculpted birds to decorate it.

The materials for my garden creature have been purchased and plans are underway for his/her design. This one is something that I have wanted to do for a while. I am making a door to attach to the bottom of our deck, and a creature to place near the door, maybe peeking out from behind a rock or something. I am working on the size I want and then I’ll make the creature then finally the door. I hope to have this finished by the end of the summer.  

My studio is a mess- this is usually a good sign but since the mess is from things just being dumped in here so they’ll be out of the way it is a bad thing. I have been busy with work and the yard and the garden and the deck – yikes!

The inside of the house has been neglected the past several weeks so that we can spruce up the outdoor area.  It is looking good, my arms are tired, my body aches and my legs are wobbly by the time I collapse into bed at night but the new roof we are putting on the deck is almost done, the weeds are almost gone and my gardens are planted and looking good! I have 2 whisky barrels that I will be planting this week and then I am done!

Whew - I love the warm weather but I sometimes want to go back to work so I can relax!

Happy Memorial Day

To all the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country, for their sacrifices, their bravery and their dedication, I offer my sincere and humble thanks!

And the Winner of my 100 Post Dragon and Chopsticks is...

Congratulations to Kat of EMKatCreations. She is the winner of the Dragon statue and chopsticks I brought back from Chinatown last month. Thank you to everyone for hanging out with me in this corner of cyberspace!

Autumnwind