One WIP, Two Finished

Make Eggs Not War

I had today off of work due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.  I worked on the spare room and then put on some Kid Rock and went to work on my paintings.  After I finished the two below except for hangers I did the upper one. 

It came to me out of the blue.  I had clipped two pictures of chickens off my chicken feed sack last fall in anticipation of using it in my art journaling.  This was the smaller of the two and aside of having a problem with attaching the picture due to it being reinforced with a string grid and being that Tyvek type material I think I got it figured out.  I love how it is turning out :).  I need to paint the sides and then varnish it and wire it.

The two bottom ones are going to my antique booth for awhile.  If they don't sell within a reasonable amount of time I'll post them to my Etsy shop.

Who knew Kid Rock was so inspiring?  Of course his music brings back bittersweet memories of my first love.  "All Summer Long", setting northern Wisconsin and Lake Superior...and the airport with Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Rain" on the radio...memories...

Chickens Live Inspired

This is what I worked on today.  I hope to get the Live Inspired and white chicken done and put them in my booth.  They both need work yet.  Well all three do.  I just started the Barred Rock hen.  I'm just fooling around with simple ideas and see where they take me.

It took me longer to get to the clinic than I was there.  I drove my Prius and it ran as it should.  I already got my results via the internet although I don't know what they exactly mean.  It seems for the most part I am normal.  I'm sure a few people I know will question that.

Tomorrow I return to work but then have Sunday and Monday off.  I totally forgot about Martin Luther King day.  Then back to the grind.  I do think I'll be taking more time off though.  This was a good break.

Make Art Not War

By Shepherd Fairey

I didn't get a lot done today aside exercising.  I had my car appointment at 11am and didn't get out of there until 3pm!  What a waste of a perfectly good afternoon. Well, it wasn't a total waste, I got quite a bit of reading done in "The Tsar of Love and Techno".  And chatted with a couple other people who were there and then gone.  I also walked to the thrift store and got some giant shells, a bulletin board and a cool hand built bowl.

I have no idea what this day is going to cost me...well, ok, I do sorta' if I add things in my head.  I'm taking the car back on Wednesday to have the brakes done and then my mechanic said I can pay the whole bill.  I'm guessing about $800 or more altogether.  BUT that is how it goes when I buy a used car.  I need to work all the bugs out and get it to where I want it.  And that usually isn't free.

By the time I got home it was almost 5pm.  Mail was fun, I got a note and some coloring book pages from a book I sent my friend while she was in the hospital.  She discovered she had leukemia after another procedure and so it has been a real whirlwind for her, hospital to hospital, home and back to the hospital.  She lives over 2 hours away so it is hard to know where she is at any given time.  Anyway, we've become penpals of a sort.

I also got my Northern Sun catalog that I requested last year.  I delivered one to a mail customer and emailed the company to send me a catalog and they did.  Immediately my eyes fell to this poster above and I knew I had to have it!  So I ordered it, a pack of matching notecards and a recycled glass Earth marble.  I have a pair of ceramic hands and always wished I could have them holding the Earth.  Now I can!!

It is "early" yet.  Maybe I can get some painting in and then relaxation yoga.  Tomorrow is the lab work in the morning and then the rest of the day is mine.

Progress

I took off four days this week.  I haven't had a day off of work (aside Sundays and holidays) since early October and I now realize how badly I need it.  People think just because I am usually done with work by 2:30pm including running to refuel the car, that I have all this time to do what I want.  It isn't that way at all.   My job is a very physical and mental job and by the time I get home if I sit down I am done.

So yesterday started my staycation.  I had no energy at all.  I did get some much overdue housework done, mostly decluttering and pitching.  I finished my chicken soup.  I got 4000 steps in on my fitbit (hard to do when you are sitting at least 4 hours a day), wrote an overdue letter and just sat and stared at a wall.

Today I feel better.  I got my 4K steps in before 2pm, primed several canvases, worked on the above, sorted through tons of clothes to donate or send to the resale shop.  I am pretty pleased with what I got done so far.  I never had such problems when I worked part time!  Yes now I have a routine but I have a hard time using every second of every day to do what needs to get done.

Tomorrow I have a car appointment at 11am.  Snow tires, new battery, oil change on my new to me Prius.  It was suppose to get done before Christmas but the battery was dead.  So hopefully despite it being -20 F I can get it started and done.

My lab appointment got changed to Friday morning so 8am I will be on the road to get to the clinic by 8:30.  First step on taking my life back.

I got my "official" marriage certificate today so now to find out where I get my passport photo taken!  One more step towards my scary dream!

Wish on a Star

Years ago my son and I shared a hobby that involved My Little Ponies.  It started as a lark.  I wanted the McDonalds MLP yet don't go to McDonalds.  He was working there at the time and so bought his mama a bunch.  He thought they were so ridiculous and I said here do what you want with one.  He cut it up into pieces, used Sculpty to make it into a Godzilla complete with Empire State Building that went on to win first prize at the Pony Con.

In the meantime my project was to use up my beads and this is one of many I had made.  It was a lot of work as the tail was molded plastic that required careful removal as so not to damage the legs.  I sold quite a few of these at Pony Con but have some favorite leftovers I am now selling in my Etsy Shop.

Love Banner #2

Well here it is.  Both will go to my booth at the store.   The few banners I've made have had buyers so it is just fun to see what people like.

My son and I got the news today we have secured seats to Krakow.  I cannot believe we are actually doing this.  For some reason it seems like such a pipe dream.  Totally unreal.  I need to get a passport but first I need a "real" marriage certificate.  Funny how no one told us we were to file this "fake" one.  So I contacted the county we were married in.  Of course that is hours away so a simple stop isn't in order.

I stopped in at the Clinic and made an appointment to get lab work done and a Wellness check.  It is time I start taking care of myself in that regard.  30 years of no insurance...it is really hard to feel I should do it.  But since I had vertigo I haven't felt "right".  I guess it could also be menopause.  Menopause is a "condition" no one talks about beyond the usual niceties.  Meanwhile women such as myself are left out there thinking we are losing our minds.

New Princess Phone

Meet my new phone.  I went on eBay and looked for the cheapest working rotary phone I could find and this was the winner.  Since my electric cordless phones keep getting zapped by our ancient phone lines and the phone company won't admit it beyond "there is a problem" 10 miles away I'll go back in time.

She's homely.  I'm naming her Beatrice.  Remember Princess Beatrice?  Kinda' reminds me of this...