tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21909600573024419022024-03-13T22:50:04.032-07:00One Woman, ReinventedLearning to live life fully, through photographyElise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-72659408913821656912017-01-02T08:47:00.000-08:002017-01-02T11:37:23.186-08:00Minnesota RediscoveredI've made it to Minnesota. My son and I drove from California, stopping along the way at Kingman, AZ; Tucumcari, NM; Kansas City, MO; and finally to Prior Lake, where my sister lives. It was a good time to become reacquainted with my adult son -- we had plenty of time to talk and laugh together along the way. Hugo (my dog) was a good traveler, and we had sparkling weather all the way, not a drop of rain or flake of snow. Much gratitude for that!
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hugo relaxing in his car seat</span></div>
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Arriving at this time of year, I'm reminded of how much I've missed winter while living in California for the past 40 years. I love the bracing cold, the drifting snowflakes, all of it -- okay, not the ice on the driveways or anywhere else. At my age, ice is dangerous.</div>
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So far the weather has been mild, in the 20s or 30s, but we're headed for a cold snap for the next week. We'll see how Hugo and I like that -- so far he seems pretty happy with going out and running around in the snow. I've discovered that if he goes out without a sweater, his time outside is fairly self-limiting -- he runs around for a while, then makes a dash for the door.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The view from a window</span></div>
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I'm buying a house! I looked at so many online before I left California, and my sister and brother-in-law had gone and looked at several, pronouncing one "perfect." So the day after we got here, we looked at it, made an offer the next day, and in a few weeks -- I sincerely hope -- it will be mine! It's a townhouse, only a short drive from my sister's house. Cross your fingers that all goes well!</div>
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It's hard to uproot yourself at any point, but in the years of seniority it feels particularly difficult. Getting here was a monumental task, but that part of it is over, and I'm looking forward to each moment of the future.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Me, feeling hopeful in Minnesota</span></div>
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Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-1639432258339736262016-11-21T11:39:00.005-08:002016-11-27T11:27:58.218-08:00It's MagicMagical things can happen if you go beyond the standard "rules" when you take a picture. This is a shot of a fuchsia plant that I captured by moving the camera while taking the picture. Fun!<br />
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<a href="https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/magic/">Magic</a>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">It's Magic!</span></div>
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Submitted to the Weekly Challenge, "Magic" at The Daily Post.<br />
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Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-21877457122767005862016-11-21T10:33:00.000-08:002016-11-21T10:33:15.629-08:00The Misery of Shedding StuffAt the beginning of this year, I signed up for an online course called "<a href="http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=532">A Year to Clear What Is Holding You Back</a>." The idea is to unclutter your life by following the instructions that are sent to you every day. <br />
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As with most things I start, I was gung-ho at the beginning, and I did a bunch of clearing out. But eventually it fell by the wayside, and I lost the energy for doing that hard work.<br />
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Now I need to take it up again! Planning a cross-country move, I need to get my stuff in order and get ready to go. I want to travel as light as possible, so I need to deal with as much of my stuff as I can. <br />
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I have a large cabinet crammed with art supplies. Do you have a fetish for art supplies? I surely do, and it's hard to give them up. What am I taking and what will go into the garage sale?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Just some of the art supplies</span></div>
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My watercolor teacher says you should never throw away anything you've painted, not even your "dogs" -- there might be a day when you can go back and do something with them. So I have a very large stack of artwork. Can I bear to toss any of it, even if it's not very good?</div>
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Books! As a former English professor, I have books galore, despite the fact that I have been ruthlessly shedding them over the past few years; I have to keep them just because I <i>might </i>need them at some point. Some I haven't read, some I might like to read again, and some have such great sentimental value that I could never get rid of them. How are you with books? How do you get yourself to part with them? When I retired, I did a pretty good job of shedding my academic books, but I still have a few, and those are the ones that are hard to part with. My books are in the two left bookcases, and I have another bookcase in the bedroom and cookbooks in the kitchen. My goal is to get down to two boxes of books. Okay, maybe three. Can I do it?</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Just a few of my many books</span></div>
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And art work - all over the house. My own photographs, other paintings or photos I love -- do I take them all? How do I pack them? I want to put as much as I can into the car to go with me, but I'll soon run out of room there. And how to pack? I have one very large photograph, framed with glass, that I don't think will fit in the car, and I would be heartbroken if it's damaged. And I have a very large unframed canvas painted by my mother -- should I try to move it as is, or should I take it off the stretcher bars, roll it up, and reassemble it when I get to where I'm going?</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Just one little corner full of artwork</span></div>
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I'm open to taking any advice you might have about moving cross-country and how you dealt with it! Right now it's pretty chaotic, but I still have almost a month to go, and I intend to make progress every day!</div>
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Do you love George Carlin? I do. Here he is, talking about "stuff."</div>
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Until next time --Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-59866650770041615892016-11-19T19:55:00.003-08:002016-11-19T20:02:12.276-08:00Reinvented Yet Again -- Almost four years ago, I wondered if anyone was still out there reading my blog, because I hadn't written in so long. I was heading off to write a different blog on a passion of mine, genealogy (<a href="http://livinginpast.com/">Living in the Past</a>). But here I am, back again, wondering if anyone else is discovering a new self even later in life than before. <br />
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I started this blog close to six years ago, in 2011. At that point, I was a budding photographer and occasional watercolor painter, an English professor in her early 60's trying to reinvent herself before retiring. Here I am now in my mid-60's, retired, heading toward reinvention once again.<br />
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Life takes many twists and turns and I find myself bidding farewell to California, my home of 40 years, and returning to Minnesota, where I was not born but raised. I'll be leaving sunny California before Christmas and heading back to the world of ice and snow (at least for the next few months). My sister and her husband are there, my dear niece and nephew, grand-nephew (my sister's adorable grandson), my best friend from college years, and I'm looking forward to making new friends and rediscovering a place that has always been special to me.<br />
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What's most exciting but also a little terrifying to me is that I haven't lived alone since 1975 -- quite a while ago, right? -- but I'm planning to buy a little home for just me and my beloved dog, Hugo.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is Hugo. The best dog ever.</span></div>
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Hugo, the sweet Maltese-mix I rescued three years ago, and I will be piling in my car with everything we can cram into it and taking off in mid-December, just about the time that snow will be falling in the Sierra, the Rockies, and the Great Plains. If we have a clear window, we'll make a mad dash over the direct route (San Francisco to Minneapolis, through Nevada, Colorado, etc.). But if the weather gods don't cooperate, we'll take a more leisurely southern route, through Arizona and New Mexico, turning left at Oklahoma and heading north. No rush -- whichever has the least probability of our winding up stranded in a snowbank somewhere.</div>
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I'll stay with my sister until I can find a townhouse to buy, maybe in the winter, maybe in the spring. But I'm excited to share my process as I think through the things that <i>I</i> want, in my house, in my life . . . </div>
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So here I am -- this is me, now. I feel hopeful and worried, excited and scared, all those things and more. My mother was known for saying, "Look on the bright side," and I will. There's plenty of bright side ahead.</div>
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Let me know if you're still here, okay? I'm looking forward to making new friends in the blogosphere, but also to reconnecting with friends of old.</div>
Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-16541490097971987282013-01-25T15:17:00.001-08:002013-10-29T08:54:57.033-07:00Dear Friends . . . <span style="font-size: large;">. . . if any one of you is still out there!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As you can see, I've been on hiatus for quite a while, for reasons I won't bore you with. The thing is, my heart is actually in a different place right at the moment -- since last summer, I have been immersed in the genealogy of my ancestors, a project I've found both exciting and absorbing. I decided that at this point what I would like to do best is start a family genealogy blog; it feels important to me (at my age :) to get the information down somewhere for my relatives to see. I had thought of making a book for everyone, and maybe some day I will do that, but for right now I want to do posts that someday will be gathered up, I hope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So . . . since I can't maintain two blogs, this one will remain on hiatus until further notice. Rest assured that if/when I open again, there will be balloons and fireworks and a huge giveaway and and and . . . </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you're interested in anyone's family history outside your own (and why would you be?) you can pop in at <a href="http://ortburg.blogspot.com/">Living in the Past: The Ortman-Berneburg Blog</a>, where I'll also be talking about the trials and tribulations of getting mired in the sands of time -- it's rewarding, of course, but also extremely frustrating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you stop by, let me know what you think! Thanks for all the beautiful communication that went back and forth on this blog -- </span><br />
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<br />Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-24903213744036591922012-11-13T11:09:00.001-08:002012-11-13T11:09:27.943-08:00Queen for a Day<span style="font-size: large;">Last Friday I had an experience that will be with me until the day I die: I attended a retirement party given in my honor at my university.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">It was an incredible extravaganza (I have some very creative colleagues) that inc<span style="font-size: large;">luded not only speeches but so<span style="font-size: large;">ngs with rewritten lyrics, a video of people talking about me<span style="font-size: large;">, and . . . </span></span></span></span><br />
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The front of the crown</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A crown!!! This amazing piece of art was made by my dear colleague M<span style="font-size: large;">argaret, an artist as well as a <span style="font-size: large;">univ<span style="font-size: large;">ersity employee.<span style="font-size: large;"> Margaret poured all her talent into crafting this beautiful memento. I wore it for a minute, but didn't want it to fall off an<span style="font-size: large;">d break, so it sat on the pillow she also made.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">It includes many things that are so meaningful to me -- the snakes represent my long interest in the Medusa; there's a griffon and a dragon, representing my ov<span style="font-size: large;">erall interest in mythology, words related to my teaching and books<span style="font-size: large;">, books<span style="font-size: large;">, books all over it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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The interior of the crown</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was such a wonderfu<span style="font-size: large;">l event -<span style="font-size: large;">- I fe<span style="font-size: large;">lt that I could hardly deserve all of the attention an<span style="font-size: large;">d affection. Happily, my son and daughter were there, as well as my<span style="font-size: large;"> husband</span> -- I wasn't sure my son would make it, but I browbeat him until he came. His comment: "I didn't know it was going to be <i>this</i> big of a deal!"</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DmiNp0vkP3E/UKKVEQVVfmI/AAAAAAAABXo/Sl9y5IGG5Ko/s1600/crown-side.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DmiNp0vkP3E/UKKVEQVVfmI/AAAAAAAABXo/Sl9y5IGG5Ko/s640/crown-side.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">The si<span style="font-size: small;">de of the crown</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was a big deal, seriously. I was sure I would cry, but in fact I laugh<span style="font-size: large;">ed all the way through it, it was so delightful. The only time I choked up was when I had to give thanks for everything they'd done.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SdHThwmlzBs/UKKanwb9x3I/AAAAAAAABYg/csN7Isd39-s/s1600/Me+and+crown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SdHThwmlzBs/UKKanwb9x3I/AAAAAAAABYg/csN7Isd39-s/s400/Me+and+crown.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Me, looking silly/happy in my crown</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here<span style="font-size: large;">'s a fuzzy cell phone pic<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>of me wearing the crown.</span> It was a very, very happy day of my life. </span></span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-122443019042514332012-11-05T17:01:00.000-08:002012-11-05T17:01:14.197-08:00Yikes! It's been too long -- <span style="font-size: large;">I've been away far too long! Ana Eugenio was kind enough to post</span> <span style="font-size: large;">a co<span style="font-size: large;">mment <span style="font-size: large;">wondering if everything was fine with me. It is! Here's what I've been up to:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. I was sad for a while after my sister left -- it's so hard to <span style="font-size: large;">say goodbye. We live so far apart and get together so seldom, and the wonderful time we have tog<span style="font-size: large;">ether is always tinged by the knowin<span style="font-size: large;">g that it has to end.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. I've started on So<span style="font-size: large;">uth Be<span style="font-size: large;">ach diet and have been enjoying myself so far. No problems, and the scale is starting to <span style="font-size: large;">go down.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. Still dealing with the aftermath of Open Studios<span style="font-size: large;">, though my house is looking more normal than it did. I <span style="font-size: large;">have to take all the (many) pictures I didn't sell to the storage sp<span style="font-size: large;">ace, and that necessitates rearrangi<span style="font-size: large;">ng everything, but a friend and I are going to <span style="font-size: large;">get that done on Thursday (I hope).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. Been working on my collage class, not sure I'm <span style="font-size: large;">happy with anything yet. I d<span style="font-size: large;">id a nice picture in watercolor class, though (!) and I'll post it soon.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uCaXpQJKPNo/UJhdnwOlCsI/AAAAAAAABWg/Z1Gzh9eQK5c/s1600/Music-Math.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uCaXpQJKPNo/UJhdnwOlCsI/AAAAAAAABWg/Z1Gzh9eQK5c/s640/Music-Math.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">A collage -- does it make any sen<span style="font-size: small;">se to anyone?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">5. I got the results of my DNA analysis from Ancestry.com today -- more about that in another post! It's soooo interesting. And a gigantic sinkhole of time, as I'm sure some of you know --</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">6. On Wednesday I have an appointment with someone from the Small Business center to talk about m<span style="font-size: large;">y<span style="font-size: large;"> small business! I'm hoping to get<span style="font-size: large;"> some advice and guidance.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">7. It was 92<span style="font-size: large;"> degrees today! It's November! And s<span style="font-size: large;">upposed to be in the 50's by Thursday -- I'm just confused .<span style="font-size: large;"> . . </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">8. To<span style="font-size: large;"> my American friends -- tomorrow is the big day. <span style="font-size: large;">You're <span style="font-size: large;">probably already planning to, but please: vote, vote<span style="font-size: large;">, vote!! It doesn't matter whom you're voting for -- but the process is so important<span style="font-size: large;"> for us to participate in as citizens.*</span></span></span></span></span> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">So that's a little bit of what <span style="font-size: large;">I've been up to. I'll write more de<span style="font-size: large;">tails <span style="font-size: large;">tomorrow, and visit to catch up! Hope your week has started well.</span></span></span> </span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*and good luck, BHO <span style="font-size: x-small;">-- :)</span></span> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span> </span></span></span> </span></span></span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-68965943020839999242012-10-23T21:55:00.000-07:002012-10-23T21:55:10.372-07:00Hey everyone -- <span style="font-size: large;">I've <span style="font-size: large;">had a great week with my sister<span style="font-size: large;">. The first time she came h<span style="font-size: large;">ere, a couple of <span style="font-size: large;">years ago, </span>we did "big<span style="font-size: large;">" things -- whale <span style="font-size: large;">watching, Big Sur, t<span style="font-size: large;">he Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. But this time, we kind of hung out and <span style="font-size: large;">did things<span style="font-size: large;"> close to home. Of course, Saturday and Su<span style="font-size: large;">nday were given over to Open Studios, but Sunday night we had friends and family ove<span style="font-size: large;">r for a steak barbeque and that was a lot of fun. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9lRp6cJ8BvI/UIdyDe8xV5I/AAAAAAAABVU/Lw2J7DJ6jIA/s1600/sea+lions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9lRp6cJ8BvI/UIdyDe8xV5I/AAAAAAAABVU/Lw2J7DJ6jIA/s640/sea+lions.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sea lions at the wharf</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We went to my water<span style="font-size: large;">color class on Thursday, and <span style="font-size: large;">yesterday we went to <a href="http://www.aworkofheart.com/" target="_blank">A Work of Heart</a> to do a class called "Juicy Collage.<span style="font-size: large;">" We all (including daughter<span style="font-size: large;">) cam<span style="font-size: large;">e out with collages we were happy with -- pics tomorrow, I hope. It was big <span style="font-size: large;">fun. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FH59v-89m-o/UIdyH7OlCsI/AAAAAAAABVc/nCwZD-G-E8E/s1600/pelican.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FH59v-89m-o/UIdyH7OlCsI/AAAAAAAABVc/nCwZD-G-E8E/s640/pelican.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
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Pelican outside Stagnaro's </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today we went down to the wharf, bought the requisite t-shirts, had lunch at <a href="http://www.stagnarobros.com/restaurant.html" target="_blank">Stagnaro<span style="font-size: large;"> Bros. </span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> on the wharf<span style="font-size: large;">, and stopped by <a href="http://www.mariniscandies.com/" target="_blank">Marini</a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mariniscandies.com/" target="_blank">'s</a>, where they have every can<span style="font-size: large;">dy<span style="font-size: large;"> you've ever dreamed of, including <a href="http://www.mariniscandies.com/product/BACON-01/ChocolateCoveredBacon.aspx" target="_blank"><span id="goog_538704528"></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mariniscandies.com/product/BAC-Dark01/DarkChocolateCoveredBacon.aspx" target="_blank">chocolate cov</a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mariniscandies.com/product/BAC-Dark01/DarkChocolateCoveredBacon.aspx" target="_blank">ere</a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mariniscandies.com/product/BAC-Dark01/DarkChocolateCoveredBacon.aspx" target="_blank">d baco</a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20width=%22640%22%20height=%22360%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/M_i6YvIKhNk?feature=player_embedded%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.mariniscandies.com/product/BAC-Dark01/DarkChocolateCoveredBacon.aspx" target="_blank">n</a><span id="goog_538704529"></span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then we took a drive down <span style="font-size: large;">West Cliff, sto<span style="font-size: large;">p<span style="font-size: large;">ping to watch the sur<span style="font-size: large;">fers at Steamer Lane. It was a nic<span style="font-size: large;">e rela<span style="font-size: large;">xed day to end our time together.</span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L61s2FlpnvQ/UIdyWOWDIXI/AAAAAAAABVk/4NrmInF8bLI/s1600/Steamer+lane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L61s2FlpnvQ/UIdyWOWDIXI/AAAAAAAABVk/4NrmInF8bLI/s640/Steamer+lane.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Steamer Lane surfer</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We had a pizza dinner <span style="font-size: large;">and then played cards, just us girls (my Loved <span style="font-size: large;">One <span style="font-size: large;">was playing in his darts league). </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">We had a good time together. I'm sad she's leaving to<span style="font-size: large;">morrow and <span style="font-size: large;">even sadder that we l<span style="font-size: large;">ive so far apart (<span style="font-size: large;">me: Cali<span style="font-size: large;">fornia; she: Minnesota). <span style="font-size: large;">But at least <span style="font-size: large;">we</span> got to spend this week together. There's something about people who have known you your whole life -- you never feel qu<span style="font-size: large;">ite as comfortable with anyone else . . . </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-79665233288148756452012-10-18T20:30:00.001-07:002012-10-18T20:30:30.930-07:00A brief hiatus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hi everyone -- I'm probably not goi<span style="font-size: large;">ng to be able to post again until the middle of next week. M<span style="font-size: large;">y sis is here, Open Studios starts S<span style="font-size: large;">aturday<span style="font-size: large;">, so I have a <span style="font-size: large;">full schedule for the next few days<span style="font-size: large;">. Hope you all are having a great time, and don't forget me! :) I'll see you so<span style="font-size: large;">on.</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span> </span><br />
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<br />Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-57217121039239742252012-10-16T12:46:00.001-07:002012-10-16T12:46:42.210-07:00Oh boo hoo - and other things.<span style="font-size: large;">My sist<span style="font-size: large;">er arrives tomorrow and I hav<span style="font-size: large;">e so much to do and I hardly slept a wink last night. Woke up about 2:30 and that was pretty much it for the night. Must get m<span style="font-size: large;">yself going so everything is nice for her arrival!</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's <span style="font-size: large;">B<span style="font-size: large;">uttercup, minding the <span style="font-size: large;">Open Stu<span style="font-size: large;">dios greeting table. She's sitting on the bookmarks to make sure they all lie flat :)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GQvt0mOlJy0/UH201Giwe0I/AAAAAAAABQk/-abgslg0-Xw/s1600/BC3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GQvt0mOlJy0/UH201Giwe0I/AAAAAAAABQk/-abgslg0-Xw/s640/BC3.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Isn't</span> <span style="font-size: large;">she big now? But she still looks sweet. On the first day of Open Studios, we kept her in the bedroom with my Loved One, watching <span style="font-size: large;">a football game. But the second day, I allowed her to wander around and join in the fun -- and she was a big hit. She is so darned <span style="font-size: large;">sociable -- she'll go right over to greet people coming in, allow herself to be scrat<span style="font-size: large;">ched, and so on.</span></span></span> And she only bit one person :<span style="font-size: large;">p That person started to scratch Buttercup's tummy and you know how cats are when you do that -- they can get kind of aggressive and scratch you with their hind feet and bite you. It was just a little bite, and it was all in fun (I hope the lady thought so!). In my <span style="font-size: large;">experience, cats aren't that fond of strangers -- ou<span style="font-size: large;">r other cat heads for the hills <span style="font-size: large;">and hides whenever someone comes into the house. But Miss B is as friendly as she can be.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span> </span> </span> A planter in my garden with mission bells -- </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have to wrap it up and get busy, but I did spen<span style="font-size: large;">d a nice time with a friend this morning, catching up -- she is an artist who does wonderful things with journals, makes purses, and so <span style="font-size: large;">on -- you might visit her at <a href="http://redwoodmountainmusings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Redwood Mountain Musings</a></span></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;">to see what she's up to. And check out <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyIrishGypsy" target="_blank">her Etsy store</a> -- she has <span style="font-size: large;">nice digital downloads <span style="font-size: large;">but really, look at the purses. They're gorgeous. Great to see you, Chris!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">A great Tuesday to you all -- </span> </span></span></span></div>
Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-60161772305902216752012-10-12T17:13:00.002-07:002012-10-14T19:11:29.599-07:00Raindrops and 5 Fact Friday<span style="font-size: large;">It's been sprinkling here, so I went out in the garden to take a couple of pictures. It's also 5 Fact Friday, and that's fun, so . . . </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. My favorite movie is <i>Cinema Paradiso</i>. No matter how many times I watch it, I always wind up in a puddle of tears. There's something that really speaks to me about the man's life, and then it's so sad at the end when the . . . well, maybe I shouldn't post a spoiler. If you've seen it, you know what comes at the end.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6IIRt1lc_-Q/UHipQJ3WAqI/AAAAAAAABNw/lVzqYzbu19s/s1600/sunrise.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6IIRt1lc_-Q/UHipQJ3WAqI/AAAAAAAABNw/lVzqYzbu19s/s640/sunrise.gif" width="425" /> </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.reflectionofyou.org/royblog/2012/10/12/5-fact-friday.html" target="_blank">Linkup to 5 Facts Friday </a>and <a href="http://www.lorikart.com/2012/10/mandarin-orange-monday-no-14.html" target="_blank">Mandarin Orange Monday</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. I love roses. This is my little teeny tiny Tequila Sunrise rose -- it's about two years old and it's finally a little more than a foot tall. It has two beautiful blooms. I also have Hot Cocoa, Westerland, Blaze of Glory, and Joseph's Coat. I have to give credit to the woman who tends my garden -- thanks, Jana.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. I love Shakespeare, ever since I was about 13. I like so many of the plays -- but my favorites are the plays in the Henriad -- <i>Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, </i>and <i>Henry V.</i> </span> <span style="font-size: large;">What I like even better, though, is to teach Shakespeare to students who think they won't like it. They most usually do.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iTvOA6zhD7Q/UHiuEp1xzBI/AAAAAAAABOs/_RJKklUSZ4s/s1600/sunrise2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iTvOA6zhD7Q/UHiuEp1xzBI/AAAAAAAABOs/_RJKklUSZ4s/s640/sunrise2.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span> Here's the other bloom on the Tequila Sunrise.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. When we were little, my German grandma would make us spaghetti noodles sauteed with butter, sugar and cinnamon. I've never know anybody else who's eaten this. Anyone ever had it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. The first dog I ever had was a Shetland Sheepdog named Bonnie Lassie. She was a wonderful dog. She was easily trained and very well behaved. When my parents had parties, my brother would dress her up in pajamas (with her tail coming out the fly) and send her down to the living room.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xw34JOXj6oM/UHiws-nLtyI/AAAAAAAABPo/TMs8zdaPvKk/s1600/pink-rose.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xw34JOXj6oM/UHiws-nLtyI/AAAAAAAABPo/TMs8zdaPvKk/s640/pink-rose.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">A single Westerland rose -- </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So those are my five facts for today -- what are your five facts? :)</span></div>
Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-20063412627316835432012-10-10T14:11:00.000-07:002012-10-16T16:14:40.059-07:00A Rare Occurrence -- <span style="font-size: large;">We had thunder today! If you've never lived in California, you don't know how rare that is -- once, maybe twice a year, here on the coast. We had a sudden downpour and one beautiful clap of thunder, right overhead it seemed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We always laugh when watching programs or movies that take place in San Francisco and they show thunder and lightening -- it's such a very rare occurrence, and we never have the kinds of storms you all have in the Midwest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I finished another collage yesterday. It was supposed to use the golden section/mean/ratio, whatever you want to call it. Here it is:</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-liLSABnTfqE/UHXie60YIWI/AAAAAAAABM0/ANMnOB1Gnoc/s1600/golden+mean.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-liLSABnTfqE/UHXie60YIWI/AAAAAAAABM0/ANMnOB1Gnoc/s400/golden+mean.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are some things I kind of don't get about this -- our teacher gave us some examples, and it's kind of hard sometimes to see how the composition follows the ratio. But I dove in anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the components I used. While I was searching around the web, I found the picture on the top left of the golden ratio, and it sure looked like an elephant's trunk to me. So I gathered up a bunch of stuff<span style="font-size: large;"> a</span>nd got to work.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Here's the end result, one I'm pretty happy with -- </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-srXfnRZUiwk/UHXjfJg7pLI/AAAAAAAABNE/TDFIlMbmF_k/s1600/Elephant+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-srXfnRZUiwk/UHXjfJg7pLI/AAAAAAAABNE/TDFIlMbmF_k/s640/Elephant+collage.jpg" width="518" /></a></div>
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Linkup with <a href="http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/2012/10/alphabe-thursday-letter-u.html" target="_blank">AlphabeThursday</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The text spiraling around the frame is from a description of elephants' behavior. What do you think? I like it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So my next challenge is to replicate it in real life -- I love doing digital collages, but I'd also like to see them off the computer and be able to touch them. So I went and got some silk fabric today that I'm going to try to print an image on, and see how that comes out. Any ideas for me on how I might do this?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope you're having a great "hump day" -- </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-41984933655293915292012-10-08T19:38:00.000-07:002012-10-08T19:38:12.811-07:00Okay, I'm back -- <span style="font-size: large;">As you can imagine, the last couple of weeks have been very hectic! Now I have a breather until the 20th, when I do Open Studios again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The people who came were lovely -- all very nice and interested in art. I talked about my work for hours and hours, which is a very nice thing, I can tell you. I sold some pieces, which is great, but they told us that the money isn't really an important thing -- it's nice, but there are other benefits, such as making contacts with people who can help you get to the next step.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So today was pretty much a day of rest, though I had to get going on the work for my new collage class. I'm in the second quarter, so we're supposed to choose a theme; mine is "illuminated manuscripts." The teacher told me to do three quick collages as a warm-up, and I decided to do them digitally.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faZCmX5wzI0/UHOI9AyiHbI/AAAAAAAABL4/dMVxh-0k0Ko/s1600/1collage-1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faZCmX5wzI0/UHOI9AyiHbI/AAAAAAAABL4/dMVxh-0k0Ko/s640/1collage-1.gif" width="512" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the first one I did -- my idea is to combine my photography (the dahlia in the center) with other elements. I want to include text and border elements that will give a nod to the decorations of illuminated manuscripts. Other than that, I'm wingin' it.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73k6lCmHO7s/UHOKmYygmxI/AAAAAAAABMA/lN5mv7xHoj4/s1600/2Bovine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73k6lCmHO7s/UHOKmYygmxI/AAAAAAAABMA/lN5mv7xHoj4/s640/2Bovine.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the second one I did -- it combines a picture I took of cows, text, barbed wire looking like grasses, I think, a border of names of cattle breeds, a sunflower and cowbirds in the corners. I'm happy with this one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The third one is full of flowers -- for some odd reason, the very favorite post of all time on this blog is about Flora, the Goddess of Flowers. Every week, people search for that term and wind up at my blog. So here's my thanks to all those folks who have stopped by:</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrbYzLRU04Y/UHOLoHaSISI/AAAAAAAABMI/gDHz9fUKa-E/s1600/Flora-goddess.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrbYzLRU04Y/UHOLoHaSISI/AAAAAAAABMI/gDHz9fUKa-E/s640/Flora-goddess.gif" width="462" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure that this one has a real focal point, but I'm pretty happy with the energy in it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's my question -- I did these digitally, which is great as far as it goes, but I'd like to do them non-digitally. The thing is, what's cool about making it in Photoshop and you can vary the opacity and use the various blend modes. How would I do that with paper? I guess I could try using transparencies, and tissue paper and so on, but I'd have to do a lot of experimenting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anybody have ideas for me? Who's done collage? </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-15827625604175062432012-10-06T18:14:00.000-07:002012-10-07T10:39:24.570-07:00Day One -- Over!<span style="font-size: large;">Well, it was a pretty good day, Open-Studios-wise. I had about 50 lovely people come through the exhibit, I got to have very nice conversations about my work (with folks who were very complimentary), and I sold a few things besides. What could be bad?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had the intention of taking pictures of all the activity but somehow forgot about that today -- I'll try to get a picture of the admiring crowds tomorrow :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's what the dining room looked like this morning:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KbmeMjs231g/UHDWEzOty8I/AAAAAAAABLE/VL8niEiRa0Y/s1600/set+up+day+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KbmeMjs231g/UHDWEzOty8I/AAAAAAAABLE/VL8niEiRa0Y/s640/set+up+day+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pictures on all the walls, of course - and here is the decoration I made -- a pink pumpkin (!) with Peeps -- </span> <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y0HI_UvsHSE/UHDWJ_H-XAI/AAAAAAAABLM/88FkXM3UUO0/s1600/peeps.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y0HI_UvsHSE/UHDWJ_H-XAI/AAAAAAAABLM/88FkXM3UUO0/s640/peeps.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So now I can relax and enjoy tomorrow. It's actually kind of quiet most of the time, and then people show up. My favorites: the six ladies who showed up together and exclaimed over my new floor as soon as they were in the door! They liked the pictures, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope everyone's doing well -- </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-65245163078793818142012-10-05T11:29:00.000-07:002012-10-05T11:29:59.495-07:00T minus 24 to Open Studios!<span style="font-size: large;">I'm about as frazzled as a human being can be, what with Open Studios starting tomorrow. I have soooo much yet to do, but it will all get done. I'm hoping that tomorrow all I have to do is take a shower and do my nails, but we'll see about that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I finished my demo board last night -- we're supposed to show how we produce our art somehow, but when you do photography on a computer, let's just say . . . it's not too enthralling. So I made a board with screen captures and photos:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not a great pic, but you get the idea. Also my front entryway is almost ready, with a new outdoor rug that was just delivered from Amazon:</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gzekE6hN2as/UG8mayG_AOI/AAAAAAAABKY/8CNyivoKSA4/s1600/porch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gzekE6hN2as/UG8mayG_AOI/AAAAAAAABKY/8CNyivoKSA4/s400/porch.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pay no attention to the Amazon box in the corner. It won't be there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So now all I have to do is make signs, buy crepe paper, go back to the storage place and get the A-frame stands I have there, get change from the bank, hit Trader Joe's to get some snacks . . . and then maybe I'm done for today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">More pictures tomorrow! Sorry I haven't been posting! It's been a little crazy around here! </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-82673911940595653302012-09-30T18:47:00.000-07:002012-09-30T18:50:58.244-07:00Big Day for Open Studios<span style="font-size: large;">Today was the reception for artists in Open Studios, at the Art League gallery. I learned a couple of things:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1) Next year, I want to volunteer more, so when I go I know more people. It's kind of no fun to be there alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">See all the people? I didn't know any of them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2) Next year, I will submit a larger piece. Here's what mine looks like:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The red arrow indicates the sad little piece I submitted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3) Next time, I will not leave the house, ever, without a stack of postcards (that have my dates, address, etc.). I looked and looked and couldn't see my cards on any of the three big racks they had for artists to put their cards on -- either all of mine have been picked up (unlikely) or somehow my cards didn't make the transition from inside the building to the display tables outside (in which case I'm bummed). I meant to go over there yesterday to see if restocking was in order but never made it. Next time, I'll know.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was a nice event, nevertheless. The artworks are fabulous -- mine looked pretty puny in comparison. I was really struck by a gorgeous photograph of a cobblestone street -- it kind of took my breath away. (It's the first one on <a href="http://tomjacobsphotography.com/blog/galleries/europe/" target="_blank">this page</a> of his website.) When I got close enough to read the tag, it was Tom Jacobs' picture -- my photography teacher. Of course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">They had tents with food and drink outside and a marimba band, which was nice. Lots of people!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the home front, my friend Jana and I got most of the canvases hung yesterday -- and they look much better in my "studio"! The preview show is kind of overwhelming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hope you have a great week!</span><br />
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<br />Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-82042045821021155092012-09-28T10:47:00.001-07:002012-09-28T10:47:29.148-07:00Hooray!<span style="font-size: large;">I'm delighted to report that Viv</span> <span style="font-size: large;">in the UK has signed up as my 100th follower! </span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">~~<span style="font-size: x-large;">Thanks, Viv!~~</span> </span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stop by her blog, <a href="http://modifica58.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Desktop Dreams, </a>to say hello!</span></div>
Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-80440159239518654842012-09-28T08:55:00.002-07:002012-09-28T09:43:50.450-07:00Five Fact Friday<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.reflectionofyou.org/royblog/2012/9/27/5-fact-friday-sept-28th-edition.html" target="_blank">Five Fact Friday</a> comes around again -- I love to play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. It is a fact that I have 99 followers. 99, people! Won't someone step up and make it 100?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. I once was a vocalist in a supper club show, when I was young (and slim); I've always appreciated great vocalists. I came across this video of Luther VanDross singing at the NAACP Image Awards some years back, and it is stunning.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gu2JBMNBbKo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. I love macro photography, but I'm not very good at it (yet). One problem: my hands shake a bit, and I'm not one to have my tripod at hand in those situations. Bugs or butterflies confound me. You have to have a lot of light. But sometimes I get something that's okay. These are quite small berries on a tree:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TGiMARp9MIA/UGXGdVdiXEI/AAAAAAAABIY/JezL4AQomXk/s1600/little-berries.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TGiMARp9MIA/UGXGdVdiXEI/AAAAAAAABIY/JezL4AQomXk/s640/little-berries.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. I wish my name were Melisande or Maeve or Melanie -- anything but Elise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Our daughter wants a gecko. Actually, she wants anything, a mouse, a lizard, a frog, <i>something</i>. We keep reminding her that we have cats, one of whom is a mighty hunter (Buttercup) who would not rest until the mouse/lizard/frog/gecko was hers, for lunch. Here's a gecko who posed for a picture at a Canon macro workshop I went to once:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cute, right? The only lens I will ever in my life want any more (seriously, Ed), is the Canon 180mm macro I used to take this picture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Friday! Hope you have a great weekend planned. Me, I'm putting books back on shelves. </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-3924120911652876102012-09-27T18:05:00.002-07:002012-09-27T18:05:38.065-07:00Look what I made today!<span style="font-size: large;">Today was an absolute artsy day for me. In the morning I went to my watercolor class, abandoned the paintings I had been working on and started working out of the "realistic abstracts" book. My work wasn't great, but it was a) transparent and layered, instead of being worked over until it looks horrible, and b) not detailed, which is a big thing to me. I have a long way to go to be able to paint in that way, but I'll plug away at it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Then</i>, I left class early to go to my favorite place to play in San Jose, <a href="http://www.aworkofheart.com/" target="_blank">A Work of Heart</a>. I've done a lot of workshops there, but this one was a lot of fun. It's a "mixed media shadowbox," or "Spooky Shadowbox," as I would like to call it. Here it is:</span><br />
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Linkup to <a href="http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/2012/09/alphabe-thursday-letter-s.html" target="_blank">AlphabeThursday</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's a small canvas turned backwards and painted black. Then we made a boatload of polymer clay tiles, which we stamped and embossed and baked and painted black and then highlighted with white and silver. We also did two kinds of image transfer, on the right, and in the middle something really cool -- you paint the area with elmer's-type glue, and then when it has a skin on it, you put white paint over it and it all cracks to a nice effect. Finally, I chose a "scaredy cat," a little metal thing, and glued it into the shadowbox area so it protrudes from the hole. I think it came out great! We stamped cobwebs on the edges, too. A very fun project.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My sister's coming to visit in October, and I've arranged for her, me and my daughter to all go down for a "Juicy Collage" workshop. I'm hoping she'll like it, but shhhh . . . don't tell her. (I don't think she reads my blog.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have a great day tomorrow! It's Friday! </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-34864431137635719642012-09-26T21:00:00.001-07:002012-09-26T21:03:41.791-07:00Getting back to normal -- <span style="font-size: large;">Today was a day of peace and quiet for me -- home all alone, no banging, no sawing -- just enjoying the stillness. One more picture of my floor and I'll stop, I promise. This is in the daylight, and I tried to get the color right -- </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCE00AKGw_I/UGPLRCH24II/AAAAAAAABG4/jGq91naxYms/s1600/floor4.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCE00AKGw_I/UGPLRCH24II/AAAAAAAABG4/jGq91naxYms/s640/floor4.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It really has a lot of redness to it, which I love. I just can't get over how beautiful it is, and I'm so happy that it's <i><b>done</b></i>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So now that you're totally sick of my floor, let's move on to something else. For Open Studios, if we can, we are to demonstrate our work. I thought about making a video of screen shots and a voiceover and showing it on the tv, but the screen capture program I got is not all that easy to figure out, so I decided to abandon that as a means of reducing my overall stress. Now I'm doing something like a science fair display -- I'm putting together three pieces of mat board and telling the story through prints made of screen captures and captions to explain what's going on in each part of it.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tVMpMQy6Xd4/UGPLUlHWXSI/AAAAAAAABHA/eLeU3IcgkSo/s1600/poster.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tVMpMQy6Xd4/UGPLUlHWXSI/AAAAAAAABHA/eLeU3IcgkSo/s640/poster.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mat board is a lovely shade of dusky purple, but you can't see that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am hoping to get around very soon to see all of you -- I've been remiss in that this week. Oh and Buttercup initiated the new rugs today -- she had a visit to the vet for her annual vaccinations, deworming stuff, her anti-flea pill, and got her nails clipped, so of course she came home and up-chucked on <i>both </i>new rugs. I guess it had to happen at some point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hoping your week is going great! </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-15448098935784856712012-09-25T20:52:00.000-07:002012-09-25T20:54:17.701-07:00Yay!!!<span style="font-size: large;">It's late, so this will be quick. Here's where I've been living for the past two days:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Only one small area of the room I've been closed up in. Tripping over everything, climbing over stuff to where I sat with my laptop on the bed. But outside that door . . . magic was happening!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a very bad view of the living room. No books back on the shelves, yet, the furniture's not in the right place and my walls are definitely <i>not that yellow</i>! They're much lighter and warm, not garish. But look at the floor!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Buttercup and October are having a ball -- well, Buttercup is, anyway; October's zonked out on the rug. But Buttercup has discovered that her toys, especially the little mousies she loves, work *so* much better on the floor! They roll and skitter all over the place! Here she is taking a little breather before she starts running back and forth again.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wHBz9vVNbWA/UGJ5Hl9gfwI/AAAAAAAABGE/yzOu0rssNY4/s1600/dr2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wHBz9vVNbWA/UGJ5Hl9gfwI/AAAAAAAABGE/yzOu0rssNY4/s640/dr2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm just thrilled. I lived with that yucky, awful carpeting for so long and I was desperate to get it out of there before Open Studios. So now it's done, and I have a whole gallery wall where I can put my pictures! Yay!!! </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-61535463245623986242012-09-24T21:37:00.000-07:002012-09-24T21:38:49.261-07:00Over halfway laid -- <span style="font-size: large;">Day 1 of the floor installation -- they got over half the floor down. Yay! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was a long day, from 9AM to after 6 PM. I was supervising from behind the bedroom door, me and Buttercup. They were very efficient, very focused, very skilled at what they did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So I took a few pictures:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-er3tJCTXMTc/UGExkW77MLI/AAAAAAAABFM/C0_yBmChGTw/s1600/floor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-er3tJCTXMTc/UGExkW77MLI/AAAAAAAABFM/C0_yBmChGTw/s640/floor2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They were really fast about pulling up the carpeting -- it was gone in no time, at least in the part that wasn't underneath furniture that had to be moved from here to there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Early on, they had some of the floor laid, and I was so excited!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And by the end of the day, they had more than half of it laid:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Terrible cell phone picture, but the dining room (from which I'm taking the picture) is done, as is most of the living room -- yippee!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They said it will be a whole day tomorrow, but once they're finished cutting and placing the floor boards, it will be more quiet! The job will require a lot of finishing, so that will be the rest of it, but I'm sure that part will be less stressful on the ears! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think it's turning out beautifully, and I'll be so happy when it's done! </span></div>
Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-78772770440031627712012-09-23T20:05:00.002-07:002012-09-23T20:11:04.322-07:00Chaos at the Homestead, Part Deux<span style="font-size: large;">It's day two of Chaos at Wormuth Manor -- our friends came over today and helped, and having a younger woman and her energetic 24-year-old-or-so son made everything go very quickly. Within an hour, they had dealt with all of the big stuff (books, a cabinet of glassware that had to be boxed up and then the cabinet moved, all electronics unhooked and moved into the bedroom, the dining room furniture moved, on and on). We were left with various piles of detritus to chip away at the rest of the day. Here's where we are now:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yZUw1CFmJus/UF_PJkoHkkI/AAAAAAAABEU/S2r5uzOuFuE/s1600/bookcases.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yZUw1CFmJus/UF_PJkoHkkI/AAAAAAAABEU/S2r5uzOuFuE/s640/bookcases.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And have a look at the yucky horrible carpet we're getting rid of! We wanted laminate put in when we got the house, but had to cut back on expenses, so out that idea went. If you have kids and animals, you know that a rug will not hold up under that assault for long, and particularly a lighter color. But here's where some of the stuff went:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A corner of the kitchen. And if you look hard, you can see how I recovered the dining room chairs, although I'm pretty sure I posted a picture of that when I did it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, they are coming at 8 or 9 AM -- it wasn't clear to me which, but I'll be up at 6, moving the rest of the stuff. My fellow residents are escaping to school and work, while I get to supervise the installation, I guess. I'll take pics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hoping you have a great week to come! </span> Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-19503534008971405832012-09-22T16:47:00.000-07:002012-09-22T16:55:52.186-07:00Crunch time at the old homestead --<span style="font-size: large;">Well, it's a busy weekend! We have to clean everything out of the living room by 8 AM Monday morning. I am blown away at just how much a living room can hold. We are at the uproar stage at the moment, and I fear that it's going to go on all day tomorrow too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My living room doesn't usually look like this. Okay, maybe once in a while it looks <i>kind of </i> like this, but not often. You'll notice that my Loved One already has the shelves emptied of his books. Obviously, I have not. On the other hand, I have filled two bags full of recycling and emptied out two huge sliding baskets that are in the very big coffee table -- what everything is piled on, right in front. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">A word to the wise: don't get a big coffee table that has storage built into it -- you won't believe what you can fit in there.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">This is the coffee table you <i>don't</i> want to get. There's space in the middle, too, where we keep games and stuff.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course, the only person who's having a ball is Buttercup, who is busy "helping" by hopping into any box you're trying to fill, getting tangled up in your feet, etc.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WNopbGhb_T4/UF5Lv4PsRqI/AAAAAAAABCE/OXYjX12Otz0/s1600/2012-09-22+15.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WNopbGhb_T4/UF5Lv4PsRqI/AAAAAAAABCE/OXYjX12Otz0/s400/2012-09-22+15.29.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This table is among the many things that have to be moved. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">It exhausts me just to look at it. </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand, my friend Jana (who is much younger and more energetic) is coming tomorrow morning at 11AM to help us. She can get the stuff off the top of the bookcases, she's bringing more boxes, and everything will go much faster once she's here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On a happier note, I stopped by the art store where I'd put my postcards on the rack they have for Open Studios artists, and unless somebody stole them or threw them away, they've all been picked up by people. I have to go tomorrow and put more in the rack.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, my little break is over and I need to press on. Hope you're having a better weekend than we are . . . </span>Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190960057302441902.post-25928350259640565742012-09-21T21:44:00.001-07:002012-09-22T08:32:00.588-07:005 Fact Friday<span style="font-size: large;">I'm going to pop into <a href="http://www.reflectionofyou.org/royblog/2012/9/21/5-fact-friday.html" target="_blank">5 Fact Friday</a> today -- here are my five facts:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. I've been missing my mother a lot this week. I don't know why; I just have. She's been gone for 23 years and I still think about her every day, especially now that I'm doing art, as she did. Here's a picture -- even though it's a crummy picture (not taken by me!), I love it. This says "mom" to me:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6-R-p7Vc96s/UF0-f9MLVYI/AAAAAAAABAs/8Q3U8xesTaE/s1600/Mom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"> </span><img border="0" height="315" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6-R-p7Vc96s/UF0-f9MLVYI/AAAAAAAABAs/8Q3U8xesTaE/s400/Mom2.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We laughed a lot at my house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. After all this time, I finally learned how to copy a mask from one layer to another in Photoshop. This is huge as far as I'm concerned, because before this I never would have taken on this picture:</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cjulA688WfU/UF0-XElXKNI/AAAAAAAABAk/H7G6oqwgFOo/s1600/coneflowers2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cjulA688WfU/UF0-XElXKNI/AAAAAAAABAk/H7G6oqwgFOo/s640/coneflowers2.gif" width="512" /></a></div>
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Linkup to <a href="http://www.reflectionofyou.org/royblog/2012/9/21/5-fact-friday.html" target="_blank">5 Fact Friday</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I spent way over an hour doing one layer mask of this complicated pic -- I never would have done it, if I'd had to do it over and over (which is what I've been doing). Duh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3) I decided to give up the tiles I've been trying to make for Open Studios -- I just can't get them done to my satisfaction, and since I'm already waking up at 2AM, worrying, I decided to take that one bit of stress off me. Maybe next year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4) I'm really excited to take on my next project, as soon as Open Studios is over -- I'm developing an e-course called "The 'G' Word," and I'm really looking forward to doing it. More news to come! I hope it will be offerable in January. Okay, maybe February.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5) A big surprise for me: I'm looking forward to teaching at the end of January. When I left, I thought I'd never want to go back to work again, and I really have been trying to avoid being there, but I'm getting busy on my two classes for Spring, when Open Studios is over. (Can you tell that my life is totally focused on that at this moment? :P )</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So there you have it. I enjoy this meme -- it means I have to stop and think for a second about what's up with me this week. I like it. </span></div>
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Elise Ann Wormuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11079210360987768732noreply@blogger.com11