a long and winding...........road

i am slowly finding my way i think,
i did three outlines (see yesterday's post) for the three main projects i am working on currently
and i wish i could grasp how to sort of put them all together if that is at all possible ....if not.... oh well.

in the meantime, i finished the layout of the new nest painting, and started to lay down first washes. (see the layout transferred- that is how i begin working, i transfer it and then erase it!)
i also have now gotten a better way to plan series.
i began to cut all the paper for the series first, so they are all the same size (and type, you would not believe the mess of different papers the bird series is on)
boy it really IS the journey huh?
i've decided first off.....better late then never, and also that when i start the series, the first thing i am going to do is pick and cut the paper!

(*** i put the catalog number of each paper on the back of the paper, and when i cut the paper i also make sure that the catalog number is on every single page back. then i keep a master list of the catalog numbers with the paper manufacturers name, the #, and the surface finish, inside the box of cut papers-now when i go to photograph these paintings, i will take a scrap of the paper it's painted on to set the white balance in the camera with- finally i figured that part out--- for now this feels like the right way to do it) oh and i long for a flat file..... or two, i am thinking now....20 drawers would be about right...to be added to as i continue to paint.

now today started out sunny but it fast became very overcast and threatening. we even brought the ducks in early as they looked miserable out there.
it's not really cold out but raw, so we've kept the woodstove going... i've used pieces of dried bark from time to time to heat it up a bit more then what the log is doing by itself.
it's sort of a lazy day around here.....in spite of my poor overloaded brain.
bernie keeps nodding off in his chair, the cats are laying around like furry little lumps, even the chickens seem subdued, the only ones that seem not to be affected by the day is the budgies.....they are screaming their fool heads off inside.

i want to thank everyone that came to visit me .....i hope you all come back soon.
i am slowly trying to tag the back posts so that recipes, and information on how to do stuff is easier to find, as well as some of the funny stories.
a few posts a day i am tagging with their contents, i am not sure how many i can tag per day but i am doing a few here and there

i spoke to a friend of mine today and read her the post about bernie's angel, i am sharing the link with you folks as it reminded me.... (i ended up crying as i read it to her..) really maybe we aren't alone, even during the darkest times? so since another one of my friends pointed out that this is the beginning of advent if you are a christian, i think putting the link to bernie's angel is ok.

now i am not a religious person at all, BUT, i do believe there is a higher power in the universe. however i definitely do not believe that only one religion has a handle on it-  and i do believe in angels.. maybe not with the whole wing and halo thing though..... (the one dream i had about a winged being scared me shitless for MONTHS)
i also believe in miracles cause we've had them happen to us. anyway this seems appropriate for the current holiday season as well as some of what appears to be going on in my life---

i definitely have had a huge burst of creativity- it's like my brain is getting stuffed to overfill with creative ideas, so very many, and a part of me is trying to enjoy that, because i love when i get a bunch of wonderful interesting and irresistible ideas like that, and a part of me that can't quite see how to accomplish all i want to do yet (despite the project planning lists) throws my hands up and says to the universe, 'well if this is what i am supposed to do.... help me find my way'
somehow that seems to work........ not always fast, although there have been lighting fast responses that i have no choice but to classify as miracles

pyrex oven proof bowl

well folks you'll all read this tomorrow morning, but it's sunday night right now. i'm about to go into the kitchen, we are making sort of pot pies out of tortilla  and leftovers, so we'll do that together (they are actually pretty good and if anyone is interested, i'll tell you how we did it)
oh and rho asked for information on how to dry food and how to use dried foods
so i will get to that too, in a while ( i wrote it down rho)

drape tortilla over the outside

softened tortilla in the bowl

 ok i drape the tortilla over the bowl on the outside and put that in the microwave for about 15 seconds, it softens it up enough to put it INSIDE the bowl then

shaped into the bowl while warm

you can now add your filling, and bake it in the oven. i usually add the filling pre-cooked and hot. you can moisten the edges with water/egg and add a softened tortilla on the top then bake at 350 until the top is crispy (it puffs up)
i'll have to make a start to finish for you on this.
you can make the filling with dried veggies and leftover meats in a homemade cream sauce....
if you want me to run through an whole post on this please let me know


take  good care everyone.....

tis the season... and my brain is on hyper overdrive

good morning!!  it's not quite as cold as it's been.
good thing too,  as the log i put in the woodstove at 4am hadn't really caught, and things were cooling off down here. but thankfully  not quite enough for DA BOY to scream his fool head off at the very top of his lungs.

now i am so excited to show you, a photo of one of the prints.
 i liked it so much i signed it! ( yes the photo of the print is terrible but the print itself is WONDERFUL and i will take better photos for etsy)
i am giving my eyes a short rest and then continuing on with photographing and printing of the nest series and of the bird series.
and i will be taking much better pictures of the digital prints and uploading to etsy.

meanwhile i started a second series of nest paintings, these are larger, and i am hoping will be a worthy successor to the first series.
the second series at this point is planned to be 6 paintings of 8x10 with a larger print size, of i think maybe 11X14 (which at this point will have to be commercially printed)

as many of you can see there are some changes going on around here, one is i have returned to daily posting on the blog. this is something i did for years then stopped when i realized people actually read me!...... i guess now i am thinking ok-- the more the merrier, although it may take me a bit to find my way again.

now today, i am continuing with yesterday's list.--

right now, i have a billion creative things going on in my head, series of paintings that i had planned as books, series i want to paint, crafts that i do, that i want to put together instructions for so the art isn't lost, and all the other things i been babbling on about.

over the years i learned that it actually is pretty easy (in a way) to do some really big projects by writing down an outline in a notebook.
i take a part of a page for where i am (that's where i am starting from)
i have a page for where i need to end up
then i plan the steps in between
i use post it notes in different colors for things such as  'supplies needed'
and then i sit and figure what i need to do step by step
the other thing i do, which normal people may not have to do, is transfer each step to it's own index card
and then only put the ONE CARD in front of me where i can see it.
(don't laugh, but it's how i clean the bathroom too- it's also how i planned the garden, the freezer meals, batch cooking etc-- i just wish i wasn't housekeeping impaired, you can actually write in the dust on the bookcases, and we named the cobwebs!)

so for the print project, where i am starting from is completed paintings
where i am going is digital prints available through etsy
my steps are:

1. research cameras 
2. research how to take art prints
3. research lights and lighting
4. take photographs of the paintings under different lighting to test the best
5. sort, and prep the digital files for printing
6. research printing options, paper and inks
7. test print and quality check
8. print
9. coat with uv coating
10. research shipping options
11. add costs up
12. write listings
13. photograph prints

i may have some sub steps and if i do i list them on the back of the index card
i hope this helps someone as when i was first learning how to make dolls (way back in the late '70s)
i remember how overwhelmed i was when i realized what i had to do and how much work i had ahead of me......i couldn't think straight!, then one day i decided to do it this way and everything clicked!
i reached most of my goals (the biggest one was to be in Nutshell news magazine and to get a cover, and yes...yes i did!)

my main project is the etsy store,  but i also have a second project of submitting to agents
and a third project of planning a kickstarter (that one is after the etsy store)

i can suggest if you need to plan a project try it this way... and remember to research in between
if you need a suggestion leave a comment and i'll try to help you figure your steps.

ok, i am finished with my second cuppa, the cats are sprawled like little furry rugs in front of the woodstove.
i am going to finish transferring my layout to the watercolor paper and see about first washes on that
then i am going to debone the last of the turkey from thursday and make some 'tv dinners' for the freezer, and turkey stock from the carcass (also for the freezer)

what are you folks doing today?

Clear, cold and saturday

what do you all have planned?
it's very cold here today, but the sun is shining, bernie just asked it i thought it may be too cold for the ducks to go out, (no as it's not windy, so they'll be ok with their little feather coats)
the woodstove is cooking pretty good too.

btw, i want to thank jamlady for testing the 'email me' button, yes it worked thank you, and i responded to you. (thanksgiving week was probably a bad week to ask for that huh?)

i'm sitting here with my second cup of coffee, and i am doing paperwork, making a list of what i have to do today to continue with the etsy store stocking,

*shoot the photos of the printed painting, and then watermark then
*continue to test print, and prep files for that
*research where i am going to get the shipping supplies,-these prints are THICK, they won't roll into       tubes, but i am going to look at 'no bend' mailers
*transfer a layout to start painting part of  the second nest series
*do tear sheets for submission to two manufacturers
*how do i upload a pdf file for people to download?

that's part of my continued list.  please bear with me through this, right now this IS my daily life, more so then normal. bernie's been doing a lot of the cooking (remember all the 'tv dinners' i froze?) as i am a bit overwhelmed with what i have to do, some of which i am learning on the fly so to speak. (and my turtle pace has been seriously speeded up )

i am also considering self publishing that crow book, and maybe part of my sketch planning journal... with the in progress photos of my paintings, along with the notes and things about the paintings
this occurred to me while i was writing the story of how the paintings came about for when i start uploading them to etsy.

i know i am always interested in how folks did stuff, what they were thinking, how they came to that place. then i thought, well if i was interested maybe other folks would be? people seem to like to watch artists and craftspeople work...

actually you folks joining me right now for coffee are sort of part of my planning circle, so any ideas you have let me know. i am doing my thinking out loud to you guys.
as right now a thousand things are swirling in my mind.
seriously suddenly there are so many projects that sound interesting ...... between books, and paintings, prints, and pdf files with patterns for some of the crafts i do.

i am also trying to convince myself that marketing is not an evil endeavor of self promotion but an incredible interesting way of meeting new people...(still working on that idea.... feel free to input)

well folks, i am about to finish this cup of coffee, and i think i'm finished with the stuff on the computer for now.... so i am going to start shooting the bird series and seeing about finishing up with the files and test prints of the nests.
i am going to post some of the photos of the test prints here, you guy can maybe let me know which exposure looks the best to yous?

have a good day
ttyl
vi

GOOD morning! how was your holiday?

i hope everyone had a wonderful day.
we had a very quiet day.
we won't discuss HOW stuffing ended up on my head......
(except to say it was my own stupidity--)
we have hot water again so i was able to take a shower....YEAH!!
i really didn't want to walk around smelling like sage and turkey, (cause no matter how hard you try a sponge bath doesn't really do it as i have discovered) i had visions of every stray carnivore in 15 miles following me around.

i will admit to being lazy about our meal prior to yesterday. we'd had mashed potatoes earlier in the week so we had saved them for yesterday. we roasted sweet potatoes instead of that casserole with the marshmallows and i threw the cranberries in a pot to make sauce as i was letting the turkey rest.

here is a very fast way of making home made cranberry sauce.
i don't really measure things so i am going to give you an approximation

1 bag of fresh cranberries, usually about 12-16 oz
1 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider, or apple juice, OR orange juice
1 whole organic orange or tangerine (you're going to zest the colored part of the peel into this
3 spokes off a star anise

zest the citrus fruit into the pan, and if you didn't use orange juice as the liquid, then squeeze the juice out of the citrus fruit into the pan.
then dump all the rest into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally.....i gently boil it until things sort start to pop and the liquid is nice a red.
it will start coating the spoon....
that's it .....it is pretty much done. fish out the star anise and toss that into the compost.
chill it, and there you have it
if you want to can it, i put it in either the small (see the picture-i even made it sorta pretty for you all) 4oz jars or the 8oz jelly jars.
i use a boiling water bath canner and it's 10 minutes time.

now you can also at that point chop some apple into it
and or add some chopped nuts
one of my friends chops bananas into his.
this is fun so experiment a bit.

i was snacking on this sauce last night long after supper.
a fast note on this, i put it in the small 4oz canning jars for serving, cause it looked so cute in there, and it was just about the right amount per person (if you love cran sauce like i do)

ok, now in my painting news, i am still working on photographing my work, having discovered that thought i THOUGHT i was doing the custom white balance correctly, it turns out i wasn't! (remember the polar bear painting from the other day where i showed you what a difference a good crop makes?)
so since i discovered that youtube video on my camera's white balance i realized i needed to reshoot almost all the paintings again.
guess what i am doing today? and tomorrow most likely, and well......i guess every day until i get them all done.
i am working hard on getting them ready to offer the prints in the etsy store i in the middle of working on.
i've also started writing the stories behind how each series started, and what i was going through while painting them, which will go on the listings and also be printed and enclosed with the digital prints.
i am also beginning to plan a kickstarter for valentines day or spring/easter
so if anyone wants to give me some feedback on what they would like to see my images on....... that will become part of the set up. and yes i will blog about it
i personally would LOVE to offer garden flags, i don't know why i want to see my work on them so much, maybe because i have a few and really do like them.
i will be submitting to toland flag in a few weeks hoping to become one of their artists, but i am also going to inquire about having them do a run of a custom flag for me to maybe offer on etsy.

i will tell you folks, any imput any one of you may have for me would be invaluable.
so either post in comment or email me from the 'email me' button
(actually someone want to email me from that email button to make sure it works ok? i tweeted it a bit)

now december of 2014 marks the 10 year anniversary of this blog. yes it's true, i been blowing hot air for ten whole years on this blog! amazing huh?
i am thinking i need to celebrate, so i am planning on having a giveaway.... i am not sure what yet, or how to do it but i'm open to suggestions

so now, i am going to finish this cup of coffee, and get started on my list of chores
i hope everyone has a wonderful start to the holiday season

edited to add, since the inception of this blog, it's been a way to talk to my online friends over a cup of coffee, normally i post either after supper (and publish that in the morning) or in the morning when i drink my coffee. just so you all know.....for the most part it is just us over coffee!
someone pass the bagels now?

i wish you and yours all the happiest of holidays

no matter what you celebrate.

i wish you the warmth of togetherness
i wish you good food, laughter, love and magic
for now and for all your days

what says home to you?

today here in the north east, we have a winter storm. (this is being written 11/26 at night-you'll see it tomorrow morning)
it's cold, wet, raw.....and generally miserable to be outside.
(i didn't bring all the ducks out, and the ones i did take out only stayed out about 3 hours before i decided they needed to come in the house)

i was however outside a good part of the day. there were big things afoot out there and i was in the midst of them.
i'm in the house now and waiting for bernie to come home.
it got me to thinking... what says home to me?

i remember when i was young, before i married bernie, coming home on a day like today to the smell of mom's cooking when i opened the door with the slight steam that went with it,...... to a warm house due to the fire in our fireplace (we heated with wood in a giant masonry heater/fireplace) and the yellow glow of the lamps in the living room.
i would take a hot bath or shower, get into my nightgown and robe, snuggle my toes into slippers... and sigh.
i was home- i was safe - i was loved.

now my folks and childhood home are long gone.
and our current home is VERY tiny, and a lot cluttered- books overflow almost everywhere.
we also keep a very full pantry, all over the main part of the house as well as the basement - we don't have closets either.
but it's warm thanks to our woodstove, there is always something cooking it would seem, and we keep the lights dotted around low. (we also keep some 'christmas light's on all year round in the studio...the tiny led fairy lights)

it's lived in for sure
by us, by the pets we have, even at times by the uninvited  mouseguests.
one other thing that wasn't always done at my childhood home.... we normally listen to classical music in the fall/winter
my preference is baroque
it's on low, as i can't abide loud noises... but it soothing to me
after supper (tonight is beef stew i made and froze a while ago) i will knit, while bernie works on a model car.
the cats will snooze in front of the woodstove.
*** i uploaded a video of our woodstove from a few years ago, it still looks the same, so i figured you all may like to see it.....

so now.............

my question to you all... what says home to you?

count down, to the holidays, winter cold and keeping warm

are you all ready for the thanksgiving holiday?

we mostly are, since there were the turkey breasts on sale for .99 a pound.
i have to make cranberry sauce.. which i most likely will some time between now and thursday...or maybe not..if i find a home canned jar on the shelf then we're good to go with that.

i've taken to roasting poultry breast down for the majority of the time- i can recommend it.
i flip it for the last maybe 1/3 of the time, really just to brown the skin
i have found that the meat doesn't dry out.
i like doing breasts instead of whole birds because legs take longer and when they are done it seems that the breast can be dry... but really try a breast down bird ...( try it in an off month, see if you like it)

today was an insanely busy day for me, i had a lot of stuff to do for bernie, then a lot of stuff to do for 'the family' financial stuff, getting the elements that didn't fit returned, tracking down where the other elements are ...all sorts of stuff like that
i managed to print the polar bears, (the wider one) and it looked good but is a bit crooked on the paper...so i have to make sure that the paper is loading right for the next print.

the weather warmed up a bit (yeah all things are relative...it's not above freezing), i was up with the woodstove several times last night.... today i shoveled a coal bed out of it and let it burn down too.
now for those of you contemplating a woodstove or pellet stove, i can tell you some of my reasoning behind what we got (prompted by a conversation i had with someone recently about non oil heating)
i had a list of things i needed/wanted/expected

1) warm/cook food in an emergency
2) radiate heat for a while after it burnt down
3) be safer at around 400 degrees instead of 800 or more
4) non catalytic (the catalytic converters cost a LOT of money to replace )
5) burn something easy to get a hold of
6) easy to maintain

the few years before we got our woodstove, while i was ruling out things like pellet stoves, coal burners, heat pumps, solar.......

Pellet stoves---there was a pellet shortage...no one could get the pellets as at that time i believe, there was only one place making pellets and something happened- (now a lot of 'pellet' stoves also burn 'biomass' so you can burn cherry pits, corn, barley etc... not just pellets- you can't cook on them, and you need a battery back up to run the hopper incase of electrical outages- plus you need to shovel out the ash daily)

Coal or duel fuel coal/wood---i looked at coal or duel fuel coal/wood.... coal burns HOT, too hot to be in the studio. and i wasn't at that time interested in a whole house duel fuel furnace.
i didn't want to shake the grate down and remove chinkers either.... the technology is very good however, they don't pollute like they used to and you can cook on them- but they aren't soapstone so they are HOT

Catalytic wood stoves--- the only thing against them was the need to periodically replace the catalytic converter

Outdoor wood furnaces --- not very fuel efficient, have to go outside every 12-ish hours to stoke them- can't cook on them but they will heat a few buildings, and heat water all outside!

so our choice was a soapstone woodstove.....the hearthstone phoenix-- and really it was the right choice for us.
when we move i swear i am going to carry this stove on my BACK if i have to and take it to the next house!
however if i get a crack at a soapstone masonry heater..... i may reconsider
we burn about 4-5 cords (@ about 500 per 3 full cords of seasoned hardwood) in a bad winter, but we also have very poor windows and insulation in the studio where the stove is...
it does keep the whole house pretty warm, with the exception of those couple of weeks in dead of winter. but still so far (since 05) we've never had any thing actual freeze except the front door a few times ....but then we don't have a storm door

the fire is so delightful.......

currently on the needles, vine lace scarf on size 2 in 'aegean' zephyr-blue isn't my color really but i had gotten a decent deal on zephyr, before TSHTF....... so i'm knitting 'rhinebeck' scarfs....on tiny needs for mindless comfort knitting..

well it's cold, really cold....like january/february cold--
windy as hell too.
the ducks and chickens will be staying in the house.
now this week, we are to get a bad storm, from what i understand.
although it's been downgraded from snow to mostly rain
i feel for everyone traveling on thanksgiving
i am so happy that we have that wood stove, and i am so very thankful we have a lot of wood in..... bernie is splitting that big maple up now that died and was dropped two years ago (it wast two right?-- either 2 or 3)
i miss that tree, it was my favorite one (don't tell the others, i tell each of them that they are my favorite, except for that swamp maple out back that insists on dropping bumper crops of pollynose seeds into my garden right after i plant it)
anyway that maple is now keeping us warm.
and now the front maple died (smaller tree) and that will be coming down and be used for firewood as well.

are you folks ready for thanksgiving? we pretty much are as ready as we are going to get. i would have liked a rutabaga, but probably won't get one.
i could also have used an orange for the cran sauce..... but i have some dried so i will most likely use that.

i have two turkey breasts and a full turkey in the freezer, we'll do one of the breasts for the holiday and i think roast the full turkey and cut that up for freezer meals.
i love turkey, i think it's my favorite meat ........ i am eating turkey soup with pastina as i type this (on sunday night, it'll publish tomorrow morning)

today i was not well, bernie made us scrambled duck eggs this morning, and didn't realize that 5 duck eggs are way too much for two people.... along with bacon....
it was way way too rich for me and i got very sick
at the most i think two to 3 duck eggs are more then enough for two people to split....
they are huge!
 they are much richer then chicken eggs
oye....and now.....nothing i am doing is keeping me warm, even with the woodstove having the studio temperature up to 80, and me all bundled up in fleece and wool..... i'm chilled

ok so today i finally learned how to set white balance on my camera, which means that the paintings are going to be redone (some are ok, but some aren't so i plan on redoing all of them)

some of the paintings that i love the most are actually studies, loose, fast and charming to my eye
i'm experimenting with different cropping to see how i like them best...
one in particular is the momma and baby polar bear......it's actually done on a failed aurora borealis study!..... it just was a bunch of experiments that worked ...i cropped it very tight at first (digital cropping, the painting is actually huge).... then cropped it wider...
i like both, as the tight crop shows the bears better but the wider crop makes the bears part of the desolation of the arctic...... how utterly empty it can seem during the winter there.
see what different ways of cropping images does to them?
if you have a print you love but maybe there is one area .... not so much, you can get the mat made so that area is not there anymore.

i think when i offer that as a print, i will offer both...... and even though it is a study, i love it........and that is WHY i am going to print it.
i can tell you, i am getting some inquiries on prints, i actually have been even before inna talked to me.
this has surprised me, as i thought mainly that these paintings need to be 'something' like a card....or a calender or garden flag... maybe i was wrong?

well folks, i been working on this post for the last three hours or so, on and off... in between eating soup and knitting while bernie watched a pirate movie on dvd (one of the johnny depp movies...they all look alike to me)
so now i am going to hit publish and call it a night
sleep well

tell me if you hate it ?

i allowed adsense back on the blog.... tell me if you hate it ok?
if it's too distracting i will remove it again.

ok so this is what is going on here, i continued to print more of the nest paintings...and of course ran into trouble with the colors, but being the turtle person that i am, kept plugging away.
i am going to start to document this printing/licensing journey with you all
i know some of you folks have been with me a long long time
the blog is going to be 10 years old soon!
i will admit that at one point i took a break, having gotten scared at how high my readership got....
i thought i was talking at most to like what? 7-12 people, and then realized it was a lot bigger then that
i am ok with that now.
in fact now i am thinking..... the more the merrier
i've hoped that i have helped some folks along the way here and there...
maybe helped them avoid some of the pitfalls i fell into with things ( such as the water heater element fiasco)
i hope that some of you got enjoyment out of watching my paintings evolve.....
or a smile at the duck stories.....
maybe you got a laugh from some of my family stories?
i hope so
i know for a lot of the time, it's just me and you having coffee together......

i also know now, i am being pushed toward putting my paintings out in the world, part of me is scared shitless..... thinking ...'well they are just another painting, there are plenty others just as good if not better then i am'
and part of me is saying..... 'listen, i don't know WHY but i feel driven to do this, so want to come along on the journey with me?'
so that is where i'm at right now
and i am so very far out of my comfort zone that i feel like i almost woke up in someone else's life....
or on mars or something....
yet at the same time.... some of the work i am doing is really fascinating me!
and i am determined to LEARN marketing.... to get my work licensed.....i really really REALLY want to see my crows on garden flags.....
and see some other as yet unpainted work on dinnerware
books, calenders....... journals..... plus cards and prints too



oh and we got a light dusting of snow too.... (when you read this, the snow will have been last night-- i am writing this now and it'll post in the morning)

sponge baths are for the birds *** edited, scroll to the bottom!

and not even my birds! (they take real baths)
and here is an older photo of phoebe (before the woodshed was built!)
we probably won't have hot water until tuesday
so we have been taking sponge baths with stockpots full of hot water.... i hope this no hot water thing isn't now an annual pre-thanksgiving tradition.....
(and to insure that it isn't we are so getting not only solar showers but point of use hot water heaters, just in case-the small ones .... one for the kitchen one for the shower)

now on to other things.
as some of you may know, i am going to be putting my prints on etsy soon.
i am still working out bugs (like the black and white prints are printing with a gray background)
well as an adjunct to this, i have to market them
so i found some online sites that have marketing tips for artists.
one site in particular stood out, with the following article
99 ways to market your art

and with that
this is a quote from there (it's step 5)

5. Realize you’re already brave. Ask friends, fans, and customers what things you have the nerve to do that they admire. You probably tend to take your piano compositions or playwriting for granted, yet how many people have told you they could never do what you do? You can talk to them in person or send them an email with a few simple questions. You might get some surprising answers.

 so i am asking you folks that read me....... what would you tell me? (and this is a huge leap for me asking you folks)
i don't know what it is exactly about marketing that makes me (and so many other artists especially) get the 'run and hide hives' but it does

i know i am at the point where i am actually liking my work, (not enough to set on my laurels mind you/ i got a love hate thing going on with it)
it seems that other people like it as well, i've been getting feelers out about commissions
which at the moment i am not doing (unless it's prints)

anyway i read through that link and a lot of the stuff that they suggest makes sense to me......some seems over the top but i know a few people that are successful working self employed and they seem to engage in endless self promotion
(which at this point even the thought of it is exhausting to me)

anyway, i hope some of you folks will comment on this and give me some of your thoughts
(i also hope that the comments link is working now)

oh and we are hoping to have some big to us news in a few weeks... so of course i will let all you folks know
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ok, this isn't the huge news we are hoping to share in a few weeks but this is news for me~! this is my first color test print of one of my paintings!!!! it's part of the nest series and it's centered on a 8x10 heavy weight photo paper. i like it very much, (excuse the crappy excited photo of the first one)
i will be offering the prints for sale on etsy soon, (with much better photos) for 20.00 plus shipping.
they are sized so that they can be put into a standard frame, under uv glass (seal the back of the frame with brown paper and tape as all art prints should be)
so... whatcha all think??

water heaters, parts and such

well you never know around here when you get up in the morning what the day will bring
today it brought me...... waterheater parts!
we have a kenmore survivor water heater.......it's 20 years old now and nope does not leak
however getting elements for it is a nightmare
this doesn't use the standard elements
in doing research i have discovered that not only is this water heater still available....(it's now called 'marathon' ) but that it's made for RHEEM now by water innovations inc
i tracked this all down by looking at the marathon water heaters at home depot web site...then reading the use/care manuals...... THEN calling home depot online to ask 'well you sell the water heaters, where do you get parts'
they told me rheem
i went to rheem and FOUND THE PARTS NUMBERS for what i needed!
then i realized on the old boxes that it was drop shipped from water heater innovations!
which i had also called but couldn't get through
so there you go
the marathon water heaters are the exact same guts as the kenmore survivors....with some minor differences
and the parts numbers are the exact same!

oye
meanwhile i am out about 200 bucks at the moment
and i am going to put an instant hot water unit at the kitchen sink and probably the shower in the future
as hot water problems drive me absolutely apeshit nuts

i swear i hate sears..... ever since we bought appliances from them......we will NEVER make that mistake again..... the appliances are good (or were) but their customer service sucks....and has sucked for at least 30 years
i will dance when sears finally goes under (and walmart too- another company that should be ashamed of themselves)

further researcch

EDITED TO ADD- i am considering a limited number of my black and white illustrations, hand colored.... what do you guys think? they would be a lot more money though, the actual drawing i would print and then just hand color in selected areas.... (i don't know how much to charge for that ) they would be archival to about 400 years from what i understand from the pigment tests.....

at this point i can sell 'digital prints'
not giclee prints ( also not at giclee prices which are a LOT of money anyway)
so this is the deal at the moment
i'm going to be offering a lot of my paintings as digital prints
the sizes will at this point, be a maximum of 8x10
they will have uv coating for an archival life of approximately 75 to 100 years
(from the research i've done-)

i believe that the prints will retail for 20.00 .... before shipping
the prints will be unframed but they will fit in commercial frames so that no one will have to pay custom frame costs unless they want to

now if there is enough interest (ie: sales) then i'll move up to larger sized prints, and even maybe the books will get printed

now i will need some help marketing this project when it launches, if you folks wouldn't mind
because between marketing/agent search/printing/shipping/painting.....well we all know i will need to spend a lot of time painting too

and no this won't stop me from looking for representation because i would really like to see the crows not only as a book but as garden flags........ and the arctic goddess myths~legends, maybe as a calender?
not to mention some of the new work i want to do.. with the teacups/teapots, the botanicals and a very limited entomology, (yes jennifer, there could be butterflies).
of course bernie wants me to continue crows..... i may  but i am not ready to face the crows again yet, they really did take over things- and while i was painting crows, we had a TON of crows hanging around outside..it's like they KNEW

now in the meantime, i am continuing to work on getting this stuff printed up
so i can stock the etsy shop
i will need to drive traffic there ......and i am researching that as well
marketing so has not been my thing
tooting my own horn is something i am trying really hard to get comfortable with .......
i kept thinking that if i was a good enough artist the sales would just come!
ahem......maybe that's why a lot of artists had to wait until AFTER they are dead 100 years?

i don't really want to wait that long

again, any one have any comments.... please post here or email me
this is a bit scary for me, way out of my comfort range
and (thank you so much don for the comment) all the support you can give me is appreciated

dreams again

i dreamt that bernie was working at a new job... and that we were packing for some sort of trip
now the last dream that felt like this did, came true (october 04 )-- which i am hoping that this one does as well-- the last one was bad though.this is a better one
so we'll see-- i also had a dream a while back that my work was in a gallery ......... of sorts
it was like a museum ...and it was built to house my paintings.... it was a surprise in the dream, and i was brought to the opening gala.... which i ducked!
and wandered into the gallery..... shocked to see my paintings and drawings all hung
(especially since i am not focused on getting into a gallery but getting commercial work~!)

meanwhile
i have a SCORE mentor, who asked me to pick 10 dream companies i would like to work with
(i wonder how she knew i actually had that list?)
so i sent the list by return email
meanwhile i am still plugging away--i am also looking for paper to print these paintings on
putting together a plan for hiring an agent and also for licensing submissions
with an additional plan for producing some work inhouse.
and seeing about distribution
in a way it's exciting and in a way it's super scary....as it's all fine and good painting and designing in the studio... (which i am always doing) ....but it's another thing entirely to start sending your 'children' off into the big wide cold world.

AND
in the midst of this the elements on the hot water heater went out!
FYI, kenmore is actually made by AO Smith......and they had elements to fit
our elements have a 1-3/8'' nut, not the 1'' that is common now
so we ordered two from them
but i think we are going to look into one of the tank-less hot water on demand heaters
one for the bathroom and one for the kitchen-
i would also like a solar water heater too...

it's been very warm here ......... 50 at night and  60's during the day
bernie's been doing seasonal laundry too, the quilts and that ( i can't get the laundry out of the machine let alone carry it up anymore so he's been doing it....we fight over who gets to hang it out)
eventually we plan on putting a stack able washer/dryer in the studio- but we'll still keep the big washer downstairs for seasonal quilts and the big towels

ok before i forget, i've noticed that some folks are trying to comment and can't.. at the top of the blog on the right is an 'email me' link.... if you can't comment, email me.....
i'm trying to make sure the comments are fixed but i am not sure if they are or not

ok my shoulders are super super bad today, i've already iced them several times and taken a lot of Tylenol- which just took the edge of the pain off.....
it's bad today
so i've got to stop knitting, typing and painting for a bit

take care all
and email me if you can't comment

it's the middle of the night

yup yup a bit after 2am and i'm up --partly cause bernie is having a restless night, partly cause my head is in a total muddle

my dear friend inna ( you've heard me mention her before. inna from ingo jewelry http://www.ingojewelry.com/ and https://www.etsy.com/shop/ingodesign  -- yup that's her inna of the amazing shawl pins and jewelry) had a heart to heart talk with me about my work,  and suggested that i open an etsy shop to sell prints of my paintings (while i am looking for representation)

now i have to tell you all.....first off i am so blessed at the amazing friends i have......(you guys know who you are.... i wouldn't have gotten this far without you all)
people who've not only stood by me but been there when life dumped on our heads repeatedly.....
they are smart women too... very smart so when one of them starts to talk to me, i listen up
i don't always take their advise to heart but most of the time i do

and inna made a lot of sense today-it overwhelmed me, it moved me way out of my comfort zone....but she's right....and you guys are right
and i am going to listen

i've been moving towards selling my images for the past few years. it's a scary thing for me, because what i paint is who i am, it comes from my soul....it comes from the place that i touch the divine
now everyone has that place, some folks pray in a church....me i create.....i work with my hands
most of the time that's meant doing something like sculpting or painting, gardening or cooking.

so it's sort of difficult putting what i do out there, i took a huge leap out of my comfort zone last year when i did the kickstarter that didn't end up funded.
now i am thinking that maybe it was a good thing, although i didn't think so at the time, at the time all i could think of was how i failed...

so with that printer that i have had since last year, ( with the good archival ink technology )
this is most likely going to happen
we're going to set that printer up and test it.... now that i have the right RAW digital files of my work ( the images are blowing my mind, they are exactly the paintings)
this part i think i can do myself!

i have hopes that down the road i can get a wider bed printer, and photoshop with a really high end computer and digital drawing tablet to help but i can work with what i have now it looks like without sacrificing quality.  and the end quality is very very important to me

now i've been getting inquiries before this for paintings, which i have been turning down, as i didn't have a way to do prints until i had the paintings converted into digital files- that's almost finished now, so i can so do this.
i have a few other surprises too... i did a whole set of  'paper dolls' as well as halloween images on treat cups for dogs and for humans
i can print them too!
while i really at first didn't want to do manufacturing of product anymore here at home, (tiny house, without real space to hold supplies or do the work)
i think that for prints i can do it...
if i actually can make this work and start to grow then a new space would have to be found but for now, i think i can do this!
there is also the possibility that i can work with a commercial printer if i get to that point-
which brings a few other things up
the books i have half finished, they could happen too
they are a lot of work but they've also been a very exciting idea.
even though i plod on slowly like the turtle i am

so that is also why i'm up tonight (this morning) yes, i am worried.... about bernie mostly, but then i have all these wonderful swirling ideas buzzing in my head
not that they are actually new ideas.....some i've been working on for almost 10 years! but now it seems like they are do-able.....that maybe their time has come?

and most importantly....
i am again looking forward to the future, and starting to enjoy the present again!
and i secretly suspect......i am getting over the fears i had about my work....about putting myself out there again

and i hope the 7 people that still read me, will join me while i do this

photography success at last

FINALLY..... i have been wracking my brains and repeatedly (doggedly) reshooting the paintings
i would shoot a batch... come down to download.... check them and delete the entire mess
i finally figured out how to see them on the camera before downloading ( and being able to super zoom in so i could tell how in focus)
of course the very first IN FOCUS batch that i then downloaded got completely obliterated --- i thought it was downloading to a formatted dvd, i did run the format
but there was a different formatting program that needed to run to actually format so the entire shoot was gone!
however, now i am zipping along nicely
next stop US Copyright office to batch copyright
then packets off to agents and manufactures both by snail mail and email
 i can't wait!
i'm shooting in RAW and also jpeg format

oh and that painting is a study of a teacup, that is being done in prep for a new series.... which i have been kicking around, teapots, teacups, fruits....still life and botanicals
whatcha think?

that's my mom's china on a piece of silk i plopped on my painting table... i've never painted china before so i want to do studies to learn it (that's how i work, i do studies then go from there)

now if anyone has suggestions or comments....please by all means feel free ok?

WTF ?? totally out of focus

ok so i set up for a shoot with the new 16.1 megapixel camera that does (apparently) everything on the face of the earth, including but not limited to......sending photos to your tv, phone, printer.... with wifi
washes the dishes
turns on the woodstove
sings to the cats
hangs the laundry
however for some odd reason
i can't get it to focus!
the old camera.....3.2 megapixels ......sharp as a tack
this one........ omg my eyes are killing me
my back is too (cause the way i have to set up the lights)
and my brain

out of all the photos i've taken i got ONE in focus......from the first time i used it for the paintings
and while i have the shutter speed and ISO information
i have no idea how it came out sharp and clean ( but skewed cause the painting was of course.....not perfectly straight)

meanwhile i am sitting here waiting for the battery to recharge

so that means my new list is

a few rechargeable batteries..
a few extra memory cards
a card reader
and a ball head for my tripod as opposed to the pan/tilt head i currently have
oh and a new computer
yes ma'm ...... JUST for this special camera
(i'm thinking a desktop-no?.......i can send the photos over wifi)


until then
i am going to try and figure WTF i did wrong....oh and i am supposed to be able to check it with a zoom thing.... guess what doesn't want to work????

again life turns on a dime

well first off......virginia is now democratic again....well done to them
i am a confirmed democrat ...... i used to be more moderate until they started to try to clamp women into slavery again
so i had no choice, as i had to fight for women's rights.. so i vote democrat now

we've had some set backs here too

but we are soldiering on

i am painting teacup studies, but the plans have changed as now i am going to paint only what is laying around....
we'll see how creative i can get with the crap i either inherited or purchased along the way
so i am expecting to paint teapots sooner rather then later...
maybe this is a good thing?
i had planned the work and was preparing to work the plan...... now the universe decrees that the plan change

damn i wish for a crystal ball right about now
i think one thing i really can't stand is upheaval and change- some folks thrive on it
some like the turmoil and swirling of change.....they are able to pluck opportunities from it
for me, i am a steady plodding on sort of person.
i've learned from years and years......that i picture where i am going....and i just keep moving towards it.
that's how i taught myself to make original porcelain dolls..... how i ended up on the cover of a magazine, how i ended up writing and being published......
how i taught myself soap making and built a small business
how i taught myself watercolor......and am working towards licensing
sort of a slow and steady tortoise of a person---

so naturally when i planned on teacups and had to change it further unsettled me
but maybe it's a good thing........and switching to just the stuff i had around the house already may work out for me
i had planned on picking up teacups and after the paintings and studies were all done.....selling them off maybe with the prints of them
maybe next time.....although i can't see me painting too many teacups can you?

the other thing that i've been looking at is light fast artist grade colored pencils
and i have decided on a combination of faber-castell and caran....... that too will wait it's turn..... as will the botanical work i am planning (have been planning)

the one thing i've learned about myself is that .......i do eventually get around to most stuff  i say i am going to do
if i decide that it is really something i need to do.....eventually i do it

i don't know if it is a muse (although i refer to it as the muse) or what... but i sort of do seem to do what i set out to do

so the past few years i've set out to create a body of work for licensing..... slowly building up paintings in series
i got the camera (still trying to learn it - but i figure i will when it's the right time)
i've started to contact agents.......started getting my 99 NOs
all along the way i have crystalized where i see these images...... and i see them on flags.... cards, puzzles....... maybe even ipad/ipod cases.....prints too
journals
part of me would LOVE to produce the product myself...... and do the packaging because i really did enjoy packaging when i had the toiletries business..... i had a total blast designing a 'brand'

(i thought of it as a 'coherent, consistent line'- and it was totally satisfying to envision and then create it- it also boosted sales.... the packages were as pretty as the product was good and that still floats my boat)

so the temptation to do a whole 'product' line INCLUDING packaging is very great for me

i have an overwhelming belief.......feeling......idea? compulsion? that something, anything you purchase should be presented with exquisite packaging..... the anticipation of opening something..... and packaging so very special that you buy the product as much for that
it makes YOU feel special and you save that package....
(i have saved some beautiful packaging over the years)

it's not just me.... cosmetics....jewelry..... perfumes.... yup

anyway....this is where my brain is steering me on this very warm november evening...

i am for some really odd reason, thinking of my paintings as product and wondering if it is at all possible to get the financial backing to get them produced..... myself!

oye

happy halloween

this is my favorite time of year..it's also for me, the most magical time of year
seeing leaves change to brilliant colors.. the smells of the fall
warm sweaters, cozy fires, comfort foods

this year isn't quite as magical as years past have been-
i don't know if it's that bernie is working graveyard this year...
or is it an aftereffect of the past 18 months or what
but i'm not quite with it this year- and TODAY, at 7am asshole dickwad neighbors fired up duel chain saws and decided it was a great time to rip into a pile of logs!
i was up anyway but had planned on another 2 hours worth of sleep .......yeah that was not happening

i am however doing a lot of cooking ahead type stuff and started the teacup studies in watercolor
the first one for me proved extremely difficult
trying to get the teacup to look delicate, thin, shiny, without being a cliche......
i know a lot of folks like the study when i was finished but i'm not sure about it

ok updates (these really are more for me then i think yous all cause who really cares right about how i efficiently used my leftover pork loin? )

first off i did up a small pork loin roast, low and slow in the oven, which we had the first night, thinly sliced with baked potatoes and steamed veggies
then last night i slivered it all up, part made us enchiladas with mixed steamed veggies, and my 'fast down and dirty too lazy to do it up right' cheese sauce which is simple
some stock, last night was chicken stock
cream cheese and cheddar/jack cheese
first bring the stock to a simmer, cut the cream cheese into little cubes and add it to the simmering stock.... whisking very very often.... add whatever seasoning you want, i added freshly ground pepper, some tiny bit of basil, parsley, a 1/4 teaspoon of good sweet paprika, a bit of mixed citrus zests...
and finally when the cheese was all smooth and dissolved ...the cheddar/jack mix shredded and whisked to melt/combine
if it's too thick add either more stock or some water

i used all that sauce to make up more enchiladas for the freezer .....and i have leftover roast pork for fried rice or something else....(bernie wants me to make fried rice for him but i think not tonight)

i am so going to do this again.....the enchiladas were really good

now i was also supposed to go to town to the antique flea market for teacups, as i need 5 more.
at least 5 more, i figured 2 bucks a pop and then .......i went to look on ebay and etsy.......WTF?
teacups are like 25 bucks! for the ones that i found 'right'

oye
some of the ones i also found 'right' (actually i found perfect) were like 200 bucks!
so i need the muse to sprinkle tons of luck down on me for this series....
i am thinking that maybe after i should just resell the damn cups
what am i going to do with them after i paint them anyway?

in studio news..i think i've settled on a combination of caran and faber-castell artist grade colored pencils... it's a really PITA to sift through all the BS to find all the totally lightfast ones...
really if any of the pencil companies REALLY did a totally lightfast line with decent pencils and a good range (like the pastel lines are) they would CLEAN up.. i swear

so now i am waiting for a few good sales
dick blick never discounts the faber-castell polychromos .....but cheap joes does..
blick has a better price on the caran.... and they will discount them so i am going to get a combination of them-- this is going to take a while i think

in knitting..i am still working on that feather and fan....it's about 28'' long now..... i think it's going to end up about 7' long...... it's such a soothing knit i maybe want to do a second one... in another color....something maybe.... a glowing wine or something like that? for my gray wool winter coat
it's really that nice a knit...
no pattern, just 4 repeats across of the feather and fan variation, with 4 garter stitches on either side....
it's in the jaggerspun zepher and i like it! i got the lilac at rhinebeck on a whim as it was pretty cheap, i got 600 yards... i had planned on putting a collar on one side but i may not now...
it's just so pristine in it's laceyness.....

ok that's about it
i need to go and paint, do dishes, cook......
happy halloween to you all
it's raining here of course (why does it seem to rain a LOT on halloween)

fall is here in earnest i think now * i know i have said this before *

we've even gotten some frosts!

feather/fan-zepher lilac-3needle

*** ty to jamlady*** i am hoping next rhinebeck is a less stressful on me- i was worried about the van

we got the potatoes in for the winter, i finished painting the front door
bernie is going to repair the studio roof for the moment
(we'll order more wood in about a month)
i am planning on getting the cess pool pumped too before winter
all in all except for not having room for the chicken breasts ....we're ready i think
this fall is definitely better then last fall

i am still in the process of stocking the freezer with reheatable meals.
i did more breaded pork chops as they were fast and very easy for me
i am planning on more enchiladas, meatloaf, and i am really trying hard to get things like sliced chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy in there... i'll just have to bite the bullet so to speak and roast some chicken along with making mashed and package the ENTIRE MEAL up for the freezer....
i even told bernie that i was considering making two turkeys for thanksgiving..one for us and one for the freezer as cooked/sliced

i am not doing as large a batch at a time lately, but i am still keeping up with batch cooking
i want to do meat loaf again
sauce
 and stuffed peppers too
and chicken casseroles.... with veggies- right now the freezer is loaded with veggies and cheeses!
i would like about 20 recooked meals in there.... that along with the raw but frozen food should get me through painting til the end of the year (IF i can get the 20 precooked done)

in painting, i am trying to decide if i am to continue with the arctic series or go on to the teacup/teapot still life series...
i have six of the arctic
i would need 7 more for a calender.....
i will say it was not only a challenge but a departure and something not seen every day
but i follow the muse and the muse right now is silent
i am however getting 'colored pencil' tweeks.... and i am trying to figure a way around 250.00 for the lightfast ones... sadly i don't think there IS a way around that .....except a 35% off sale
they are for botanical work....
the other ones are not light fast and i refuse to put that much work into something that will fade

ok the van....is screaming it's fool head off... there have been some problems....but bernie plans on fixing them tomorrow ...they would have been done yesterday but the tire place cross threaded the lugs so we had to rush the van there this morning to get that taken care of
we are hoping this is it for trouble with the van...
we are still kicking around the VW turbo diesel ....do we get a certified preowned...or a new one.
and which one? i HATE cars, i love vans.... suv's are ok....but really a car to me is worthless, i can't get hay into it easily... or plywood... so i want something i can haul with... even as a second car

ok.... now (which is several hours after i originally started this blog post), i have laid out and started washing in a teacup
i think i should be doing it in either colored pencil or pen/ink with colored inks washed over but i am working with watercolor ATM.....
i did the bottom defining shadow and thought to myself 'oops, i'm in trouble already'

oye

ok off i go now (sorry i forgot to actually post this post before)

rhinebeck 2013

this year rhinebeck for me was a bit ........discombobulated
first off we went on sunday
it was iffy up until we actually got into the car sunday morning whether or not we were going
there was half the venders that were there last year ( at least it seemed to me)

maybe it was cause it was sunday but even the andean band sounded somber---
on the upside
i got to see almost everyone
amy ripton was not there (a few other folks weren't either- and their absence was sorely missed)
but i finally met vicki klein in person- as well as jane's friend judy

clara remembered me which i doubted that she would ... her comment 'of course i remember you vi'
wow... that woman has some memory!- i got her new book and she signed it
and yes clara it has been an amazing journey over the years ( we do go back about 10 years now)

i got martha's address finally... i need to send her that package i have had sitting here for her for like 3 years and i've forgotten to bring to rhinebeck

i got a LOT of wonderful skeins ..... i got a tweed for bernie for a hat for him
i saw some amazing laceweights
i saw some phenomenal lacey shawls too ...one that captivated me was a old shale stole with a collar knitting on one side....which is something i'd been thinking about so i am considering as my next project....
in a silk blend... i got a nice lilac for that if i decide..... and i think 600 yards should be enough no?
maybe on size 4? although lately i am wanting to knit lace again on size 1 needles .............and knit it in silk

i am exhausted, with sinus headache to boot
rhinebeck always knocks me out and this year was no execption
we went up early- and i passed out
i'm still dead today
bless bernie for putting the ducks out for me
and making some rolls for us this morning
i was to make him roast beef last night but was too exhausted so today he'll get that

even though this year didn't have the incredible magic that normally rhinebeck hold for me
i still am very glad i went
seeing everyone was worth the trip
i'm growing old with some amazing amazing people... even though we only see each other once a year

oh my oh my

first off..... yeah, finally those idiots in washington finally did their job.
the rest of the world is laughing at us
i figured that they would....too much BIG money is riding on this....
but they better stop this shit-- this playing chicken shit......sooner not later the people that we owe money to are going to just tell us to take a freeken hike....(like china........we owe tons of money to them) and they are going to take over our country.... as they sort of own it anyway especially if we don't pay them the $$$$$$$ we owe them
and who's bright idea was it anyway to borrow from china in the first place?for what reason?

if we don't vote those idiots out next election we deserve what we get.

 this is the color of our door now-it still needs another coat-- it's the exact color of a beauty berry! i love this color purple... we are talking about the hardware color too.....and probably will go with either antiqued copper or oiled bronze... bernie sanded and prepped, and i'm painting it...it needs another coat but today threatened rain so i'll wait

i have been wanting a purple door since we moved in this house, i think it's making bernie happy too, he seems so much happier since the door became purple! the old color was a wonderful complex english plummy burgundy... but the mildew from the oil paint/moisture really did that paint in so this is wonderfully fresh for us.- i'll get another picture of it when the blue tape is off it and the hardware is oiled bronze.(remind me if i forget)

next......it's still freeken (or freekish) warm out

i lit a fire tonight but really just to take the chill off....i was pretty surprised that it's still in the 50s outside

and then there was tonight's supper....roast chicken, my mom's potato salad...and a huge mixed green and veg salad......HUGE....... OMG i scarfed that salad down so damn fast!
in another week or so i am also going to be doing a few marathon cook ahead sessions......
probably meatloaf, breaded chicken and breaded pork
possibly baked ziti, and probably more enchiladas (i like the way i make them with the veggies in them)
as i need time to paint and it would be much easier on me if the meals were just reheats
which brings me to .......

painting news,....... i finished the polish spring goddess
i have to decide now if i should keep at it for another 6 or start a different series
i think that if i had actual time to do a series without having to break for days on end, it would be a lot easier on me

i think also for the next series, i am going to actually do all the layouts prior to the paintings... which is going to be hard on me cause the first painting usually opens up the layout ideas and color ideas for the rest of the series

and on the subject of art, paintings etc....
i want to share with you all something that is deeply disturbing to me as an artist and should be to anyone that is got any ethics...
http://lisacongdon.com/blog/2013/10/my-art-was-stolen-for-profit-and-how-you-can-help/

http://jezebel.com/is-giant-folk-art-company-cody-foster-stealing-from-sma-1446015759

ok please read these blogs..... and if you can...share the links with your friends.. share on facebook ....tweet them....  whatever works to get this out.......

as self employed artists we all work even harder then normal folks.... we are our own marketing departments, supply department, shipping, accounts payable/receivable ....you name it- all while trying to keep our family lives going....now don't get me wrong, i love what i do or i wouldn't do it
(not that i am really fit for any sort of office job.... art departments were the only office jobs i thrived in)
but imagine you working 80 hours a week and your neighbor gets your pay check!
basically that's what this is
it's theft

ok, it's way past my bed time and i have to go to town tomorrow for sugar (of all things right? but it's 1.37 for a 4# bag and a daily limit of two bags-- holiday baking is right around the very warm corner)

take good care folks and i hope we all sleep better now that this stupidity in washington appears for the moment to be over

just a fast post before i go to sleep

really fast....
ok i went to town to meet little vicky for 'lunch' actually coffee and....
i should have eaten
i had taken out meatloaf that i made a few weeks ago for the freezer so i had just to make a fast cheese sauce and some mac (shells this time)
i threw everything in the oven and nuked some fresh broccoli for bernie's dinner

tomorrow is saturday (this week for me flew by) i don't know what bernie has planned for the weekend yet but i know he's got stuff to do

i really need to spray a bit...i gave the cats capstar as we saw some fleas but they seem ok today
ok
i don't know why but i am exhausted all the time lately
so i'm going up
when i wake up in the morning my bernie will be home
that's a good thing
he told me he is taking off for the holidays...the night before every holiday
so that he HAS the day with me.... i know he feels bad about how little time we've had together the past year.... as when he's home he's sleeping usually

ok i'm yawning like crazy so i have to go up

take good care

do i know how to make a mess or what?

6 gallons of turkey stock/bones/fat just exploded in my kitchen
it is my own damn fault too
i know better then to stay up to 2am and then try to function the next day
now i am trying to clean it up -without a mop
(another don't ask thing)
meanwhile the cats are upset- the kitchen is a nightmare
and i have to figure out how to finish cleaning this up without a mop
but with a full bottle of 'dawn'

oh man.....
when i do it.....i sure do it

so i am taking a break trying to figure out how to deal with this....(and wishing the cleaning fairy would come and  majic it all away) ....
i have to get it finished fast as it's going to smell pretty bad if i don't
and be dangerous with the grease

wish me luck....i'm going in

i am worried about a lot of things---

but not the government shutting down
why?
well cause it's happened before, (thanks donna for reminding me)
and also mainly because the powers that be (ie: really rich companies) won't allow it to go on long as too much money will be lost
never underestimate the power of big big money

so am i worried.....not about that

ok back to our little corner of the universe here
i got that second turkey roasted and deboned, with the meat going to the freezer tomorrow
and the bones simmering again in a stock pot on the stove
we picked up three more breasts on sale so they are in the freezer
bernie told me that the both freezers are full up to the tops and there is NO MORE ROOM
ha
i'm going to get into the upright and defrost it maybe this weekend.... when i do there will be some more room
i also made apple pie sauce
then i made pork with saurkraut and applepie sauce
bern ate a ton of it-
i froze what was left......there really wasn't enough to can even though i had started out with something like 15 pounds of apples
macs, gala and ginger golds
ok if someone wants to make this
i used about 2 tablespoons butter
peeled and cored all them apples....
sugar...which i didn't measure, just keep tasting it
a splash of lemon juice
then about 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon (vietnamese....it's the best) and about half that of ginger
a tablespoon of blackstrop molasses.........
and simmer stirring every few minutes for like.....forever!
(maybe 8 hours)
i used one of my round staub cocottes and it was wonderful.....
i had to keep adding apples though, as there wasn't room for all of them until the apples cooked down a bit
it got a rich golden brown color.....translucent mostly
with chunks of apples here and there
tasted like either apple pie filling or applesauce
and i am going to make it that way from now on.. as i can use it with dough for pies etc or with meats

we also got some pie pumpkins which i was supposed to bake the other day but time got away from me
so this week sometimes i will bake at least one

in painting updates: the latest is a polish spring goddess, who is coming along well but i am really looking forward to finishing her as i don't like taking too long with any painting if i can help it
now while i paint i like to listen to classical music ..... and today i tried to burn a cd of a whole bunch of new music
i am now the proud owner of three coasters...... that used to be cd's
dont' ask...seriously don't cause i don't know what i did wrong!
and trying to rewrite or reformat the cd-r just lost me access to the music!

oye

bernie and i have been talking about a new computer for me, to put over by the painting table
or a new desktop here and to take my laptop over there
i've been looking
i may get an all in one.....although i really would like two monitors ......
i am considering going to school in january at our local college (online classes) for photoshop ....if so i want a new computer with a much larger screen before then

what else?
the weather is very warm...we brought in wood just in case but really it's been so warm again---however it's in if we need it

oh and we paid off the van today, which is a year late in being paid off.... but due to bernie  getting hurt at work then being laid off  THE DAY  he returned- we just paid the payments and not too much extra
it's still about 6 months ahead of the actual last payment date but it should have been last year at this time

we're still talking and looking for a diesel vw for bernie....
meanwhile we're still sharing the van
but we do need something as a back up that's better on gas
i told him...'we get you that gazzillion mpg diesel car, and you'll end up with a job around the corner'
AND gas prices will fall through the floor...
cause that's what happens to us

anyway out of all the things i worry about.... the shut down of the government is not one of them
it's not permanent

and yet another turkey breast-tis the season

i roasted one last weekend, we feasted royally...now the bones are in the stock pot
i found another one ....which is defrosting and it will be roasted, cubed and refrozen cooked.
it's bones too will end up in the stock pot
i feel very secure with a lot of stock in the freezer or in jars on the shelf
the leaves are falling ...no real change of color lately, just brown and down

we had a fire one night, i should bring in wood and start small ones for the chill of the morning.
i'm painting a polish spring goddess right now

finishing up a test knit for pinkhairgirl (on rav)

mostly i am thinking of cooking ahead for fall so i can then concentrate on painting and getting the paintings registered and sent to manufactures
i would dearly love to see my crows on garden flags
and some of my other work on tableware
among other products

today bernie is at a managers meeting so he won't be home until early tomorrow morning, it was better time wise with the traffic to stay down there.
i'll miss him

but i am as always...busy so it won't be too bad

ok i have to run -- i plan on eating breakfast before 1pm today

flattened by a steam roller?

tell me that it's so?
cause there is NO other excuse to feel like this today

ok so i didn't sleep (thank you sudafed)
and i hurt from top to bottom (thank you fibro)
no wonder yesterday bernie just put the ducks out without waking me up
i never heard him come in, or go in and out with the ducks...i never heard the water run
i guess i was the dead yesterday and today...i am the walking dead

yesterday we got to town, we got the sale on shredded cheeses.. less then 2.00 a pound so we got like 15 pounds. it's all tucked up in the freezers now. between that and how late bernie slept, i didn't roast our little turkey so that is today

now it rained overnight, which we knew cause we put laundry on the line to dry....
as our putting laundry on the line seems to be the equivalent of cloud seeding or something
we hang laundry and boom! rain........... never seems to fail lately!

i told him that maybe he needed to rethink the cleaning of the chimney which means going up on the roof
but he thinks it's going to be ok
he just told me that we need to use the stove shortly so it needs to be cleaned
i think we also need to get the front chimney and the furnace done too
as back up
plus i am thinking of the eco blocks for the woodstove for deep winter

now watch, bernie is going to be home this winter, so it's going to be super mild, and barely break 30 degrees
with no snow

so anyway, today is sort of muted, through a haze of yawns and painful muscles......
i hope for a real nights sleep tonight (i'll take allergy meds and sleep until tuesday)
not much after making a turkey dinner is going to get done by me
maybe some painting if my hands are shakey

and thanks to vicki ...... the comments are working again
(they still are moderated though)

and winter preparations continued

first off thank you so much vicki for emailing me about what you make for supper and also about having trouble posting on the blog.
i'm going to look into the problem

today i am going to roast a turkey for freezer meals.......
i am specifically trying hard to put cooked 'tv dinner' meals away so i get more painting time during good light
right now i am using the best light cooking
so i am trying to tweek my day a bit
and part of what i am trying to tweek it with is meals ready to go out of the freezer

and also some different stuff then what we've been eating lately
so anyway to that end.... i got a good deal on pork steak at giants,
i am going to go back for more and make some meals with them for the freezer-
i am thinking pork stew, breaded, and maybe saurkraut apple?
cubed for sweet/sour (although that isn't strictly made ahead and freeze)

i am also hoping for that chicken breast to go on the big stock up sale so i can get the 120# and then i am pretty much done for winter food (potatoes are not ready yet, i called the farm)

i also just switched bernie's calling plan on his cell, as he uses it less then 4 minutes a day 6 days a week....
he doesn't need unlimited...... he barely needs 100 minutes
so he's switched to 500
and i am still resisting getting a cell as what do i need it for?
who calls me?
who do i call?
if i go anywhere i am either with bernie or ........... i can take his cell if i need it (but again who am i going to call?)
besides i like the idea of not having a 'leash' and i think of cells as sort of leashes.......from what i saw of them
who wants to be reachable at all times?

in flea news, i am going to reluctantly put the advantage on the cats.....
i'll be getting it next week
these last few fleas are stubbornly persistent and i really am not happy about it
the girls are both under 9 pounds and of course the boy is over 9 pounds
i just hope they are ok with it

in painting, i just started first washes on the newest painting..
i can't get away from blue pigments it seems lately
when this series is finished i want to do a series on the warmer end of the color wheel

in knitting i am test knitting for pinkie....i've had to tink back 374 stitches a row for 5 rows.....
now i think i am back to knitting forward again instead of backwards....
i hope so ....i am at the end of this shawlette ....just doing the lace work and since i couldn't finish the last one for her, i would love to finish this one ..as it is for her book....
i can't wait to see her book ..which is knitting patterns and stories from her neck of the woods (south africa)

today, bernie got home, put the ducks out and then woke me up.....i'm so grateful, as i've been so tired lately- i guess it's the change of seasons.
i got a shower and got up
i had to take sinus meds again though
my head was killing me.....bernie said that it's supposed to rain so that could be why
i really miss him now that he's working graveyard but it's sure better then when he was working OTR
i hated that........
at least with this there is a schedule and we are adapting to it....slowly but surely

ok i have to go start chores for the day
take good care everyone and i'll try and fix the comment thingie

fall weather in earnest....(we ain't kidding around now)

so this week i've made beef stew (sunday)
minestrone soup (i think tuesday or maybe it was monday?)
enchilada casserole (whatever day i didn't make minestrone)
and sausage and potatoes yesterday (which i believe was wen)

today is porkchops but i don't have apples or sauerkraut for it-
so i guess breaded maybe?

and i will say.. i am at a loss for suppers right now

i get like that sometimes, especially when i am a bit low on boneless skinless chicken breasts as i am at the moment.... (waiting for the big sale at the provisioners for the winter stock up)
if we had chicken breasts in the freezer life gets hugely easier....

chicken and dumplings
cordon bleu
breaded with sauce
breaded with cheese
salad
stir fry
casserole
stew
pot pie
chicken with creamy leek sauce (love that too)

we do eat a LOT of chicken, i suppose because over the years it's been so inexpensive and easy
we used to get chicken legs (thigh and drumstick-the whole leg) for .29 cents a pound, so i would get two hundred pounds....... we may grow pin feathers and cluck but i learned how to make my way with chicken
now the same chicken leg is normally about .79 a pound.....wow that's expensive to me

anyway, while waiting for the provisioner in allentown to get the boneless breasts in for under 1.70 a pound, i am trying to figure meals that bernie will eat
he hates beans (which i adore-being raised on them and all)
he hates chili.....for the bean reason
he isn't too fond of a lot of my favorite soups...... wanting mostly cream type soups
he does make an exception for minestrone though with the meatballs and raviolis in it
he won't eat barley (i also love barley) or chickpeas.... oye or lentils........or split peas (i've tried for years to get him to eat this stuff)

so a whole wonderful world of food is out of the question
lovely wonderful meals that are great for fall and winter, stuff i grew up on and adore to this day

so that leaves me with a dilemma as i wish to feed him healthy, seasonally and also with an eye to some frugality.

beef is not cheap.....no where near cheap......
anyway this is my search now...meals he'll eat that also satisfy me for the fall/winter thing

and i can put by so i can continue to work on getting these paintings done

any ideas? (from all 9 people who actually read me?)