Man-well Lay-bore

I spent the day doing yard work. It was hot and I got all sweatified and allergic, but in spite of that, I felt better and happier than I've felt in a long time. Although it doesn't look like much, I cleaned out some noxious invasive vines from the lilacs and also cleaned vines off the back door and the back steps! They were so deeply covered in vines that I didn't even know there were steps there! Honest! WOW was I surprised when I found them! I was cleaning the door and steps off so BB could scrape, prime and paint them. He spent the day scarping and painting and now has gone off to work and has to work until 1 AM. After I cleared the lilac, door and steps, I yanked out a lot of invasive plants: purple loosestrife (no, I did not plant them), anemones, vinca, etc. Lots more to go, though.

My second husband and his artist friend used to do man-well Lay-bore until they both got real jobs, and they joked about it. But there is something to be said about good clean manual labor!

New Art: From the Memory of Dreams

I made a new digital collage and variations on it for jo(e) who has
nightmares about snakes.

The two posted variations are similar, but different in subtle ways
besides colors.

Imagik Version
Unbearable Darkness Version.

Click image to view it larger.

I won a trophy from Monday Art Day

YAY! I won a trophy for Monday Artday! It's my first monthly trophy and my third trophy altogether. WAHOO! I'm excited. Click here to read about it.

7 and 8 in Johnny Norm's: a bit of silliness

This is from a Wings 4 you challenge called Zen Suitcase. I made a "Zen backpack." It's all the stuff I want to take with me into my new improved life: my husband, love, happiness, paintbrushes, camera and books, my manuscripts, and the paper dolls represent friends and family. LOVE, yeah love. The backpack is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the dubloons represent abundance of all good things, LOL! Ink and colored pencil with gesso and Wite Out for white.

Mushrooms for Nadine, John and BB

I made some new art today: mushrooms. Amanita muscaria, the fly agaic, to be specific. I made them in part because Nadine suggested I make more. And because John (Coffeypot)(Not "Johnny Norms") isn't fond of my nonrepresentational art. And because I made the original one for BB. This is a crop, see the whole picture here. See the original sketch for this drawing here. See the sketch I made for BB that caused Nadine to tell me to make more here.

Mole Sketches

Doodles in Johnny Norm's Moleskine Sketchbook (by me).

1)Rendezvous of the Wild Mountain Sheeraffes.
2)Why the Moonbirds flew to the Sun.

2 new mole sketches (Madonna and Child, Power to the People!)

1)"Madonna and Child," "Paintastics," colored pencil, ink. I wasn't
crazy about those "Paintastics!" They were basically markers with a
brush and didn't seem to work well on the yellow slick Moleskine
paper, guess I'll try them on water color paper and see if they work
better there.

2)"Power to the People." Ink and colored pencil. Used metallic pencils
but they don't scan well. :-( (I seem to be good at discovering
things that do NOT work well.)(Wahn!)

I really enjoy looking over all the wonderful art--each Mole that
comes has more to see. So fun! (But feeling a little inadequte).
Clicking on these makes them a little bigger for viewing details.

Standing Guard

We had the honor of riding along in the GM 100+car parade as part of
the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit last weekend. The way was
well-guarded. If you want to read more about it, visit Detroit Daily
here.

It's coming!

Fall color is showing up here and there everywhere! Already. And the
nights have been cool and the air is fresher. Of course, I'm sure
there are more hot muggy days to come.

Notes to BB: Squirrels

I was out doing some pinched nerve exercises in the backyard. It was
a surprisingly cool morning after all the heat we've had, so I sat
next to the garbage can because and there was spot of sunlight there
and only there. A squirrel came up to the garbage can, probably to
get into that hole they've been chewing. It came within about six
inches if my foot before it realized I was there and then quickly
backed off. I went in and got those peanuts that PB threw away, and
put some on the opposite side of the driveway from the garbage cans to
distract the squirrel from chewing the hole bigger and/or dragging out
the garbage. Within about three minutes, three squirrels were having
a tremendous battle in our driveway. Fur and peanuts were flying
everywhere--too bad I didn't have my camera for that!

inkstone

I ground my own ink for this.

The dance of the penguins

The Dance of the Penguins, by Mary Stebbins Taitt, my latest Moleskine sketchbook sketch for the Moleskine exchange group, in Leah's Mole. An attempt at Chinese Brush painting.

The man I love

Once I said to LL, BB is so cute, and she looked at me oddly and said, I guess I don't think he's as cute as you do. I sure do think he's cute. Here he is, hard at work, and looking his usual adorable self!

Garden Delights

Our vegetable garden is very small--as is our yard, and it is located
behind the garage between our garage and the neighbors where is
doesn't get much sunshine, And I never think to take pictures before
I harvest, so these were taken after I'd already harvested the ripe
tomatoes etc. The grape tomatoes are really tall and rangy, but the
fruit are candy-sweet. We have five varieties of tomatoes and three
of summer squash. We've already eaten lots of zucchinis and more are
ready. (Luckily, we love zucchini!)

New Story and Art in progress

I am working on a new art and story cycle. (Click to read).

2 more mole pictures

These two sketches are in Hennie Mavis's mole for the Moleskine
Exchange Group 2. I will come back later if and when I have time and
add the text.

A Series of Unfortunate Events; Two in Bagelboy's

Unfortunately, the first of these suffered a series of unfortunate events including a wetting that was unplanned. These are: 1) The Temptation of Eve, or Original Sin, or The Fall of Man, by Hugo van der Goes, 1467-8, or Titian, 1570 and 2)The Coronation of the Virgin, Raphael, c. 1503. The first is on Gesso, water color pencil, colored pencil, ink, and gouache and the second in water color pencil, colored pencil, ink. I viewed the pix and then a week and a half later, I did the sketches in the car without referring to the original pix. Mary Taitt.

If you click on these, you can view them much larger, and, unfortunately, see the "staining" where the water-color pencil ran when it got wet. I tried to clean it up. So sorry, Alan!! :-(

I tripped--klutz-like--with my little container for "painting" over the water color pencils. Aiee!

I've been on the road traveling almost the entire month and have been having trouble finding time to sketch. See another from this series here.

along the escarpment trail

Photo by BB

Vintage Cars and away notice

We've been invited, as bloggers, to ride in a Vintage Car in the 100 cars parade at the Woodward Dream Cruise. It won't be this car, but a GM car from the first 100 years of GM. That will be August 16, and we have to be there at 6 AM--WHAT!!??? This is the largest single Day Vintage Car event in the country, I think. Should be FUN!

Meanwhile, we will be away Aug 2-10. I may or may not be able to post while I'm away.

My Detroit Daily post for the day is on the African American Museum and is posted here.

Pinched Nerve

AK!  I have a pinched nerve in my neck caused in part by my fibromyalgia which causes the ligaments to tighten and draw the vertebrae in my neck down tight over the nerve.  This causes pain.  The pain radiates downs my arms to my fingertips and into my chest.  It can be nearly instantly relieved by looking DOWN, but there are many things I cannot do while looking down.  Computing (using the computer), driving, cooking, washing dishes, etc.  Many others.  WALKING hurts.

I had this problem before.

I went to PT and that really helped.  That was in Syracuse.  Before I moved.

They stretched my neck on a machine and taught Keith how to do it manually and gave me a bunch of exercises which I was doing religiously ever day, but while we were on vacation, I didn't do them and it's come back with a vengeance and is worse than ever.  So I am back to doing my exercises.  Keith has stretched my neck a few times, but mostly, he's been lying under the car in panic working on it because we're supposed to be leaving tomorrow but the car is undrivable.  He's at work.  When he gets home, he lies under the car.  :-(  Poor fellow.  :-(

Computering, driving, WALKING and washing dishes and reaching for anything and other daily activities all hurt MY ARMS and CHEST as well as my neck--a lot.  I think it's a LITTLE bit better than it was when I got home from vacation, but not much.  I can't cuddle with BB, either.  WAHN!

I have not been to see the doctor yet.  And unless it's unbearable, will not be going until a return from NY.  I will be away for just over a week from August 2 to August 9 or 10.