in the midst...

hello, all!

I haven't been good about blogging this semester.  Every time I thought about blogging, I thought I probably should be writing or reading the books for school.  I really did read several REALLY good books this semester.  The book on Pierre Bourdieu was really interesting.  I am going to have to re-read it over the summer to make sure I understand it.

Also, I applied for a job in Wichita.  So you will see a new feature on the top bar.  The portfolio page.  I am trying to populate it with my portfolio pieces and artwork, like the watercolor of a miniature eiffel tower above.

Another thing that I am in the midst of is packing.  And throwing out and recycling.  Lots of paper to recycle!  If there is anything you know I have and you want, speak now.  I may just send it to you!  I am using aromatherapy (clove) to help me shed things.  Hopefully, it will work.

Talk to you all soon!

bead soup!

I am playing along with Lori Anderson's Bead Soup.

This necklace turned out really well.  I made some peyote tube beads in patterns.  The color scheme right up my alley.  These are actually the colors of my alma mater, the Shockers of Wichita State.  It will be a great piece to wear to a baseball game.

a little bit of bead soup...

This is what I have been working on lately, in between all my reading and writing and teaching.  I got a great package of black and white with a bit of sunshine yellow.  Just my colors!  Come back for the reveal on Saturday.  I really like what I made.  

See you on Saturday.

sledding and oscar predictions...

This morning I woke up from a very odd dream that I blame on the Weather Channel.  We were out sledding in the streets of Hoboken.  Not a great place to sled, it is pretty flat.  But a great place to be when it snows.  All sorts of people were there, all our dog-park friends, Debbie and Larry Rizzo, Françoise and Steve, and all the dogs (even those now dead).  Also friends I had grown up with and their current families all struggling to sled on a very horizontal street.  We weren't bundled up, we looked like we dress in Arizona. During all of this, I kept saying, "We should go over to College Hill Park. It is a much better place to sled".  Like it wasn't 1,500 miles away.

In the middle of this, Colin Firth whizzes past on a saucer sled in a tux with his oscar.  He does have momentum.

photo from The Wichita Beacon 1976.  l to r - Paula Montgomery, Sharon McGuire, Cindy Cook (on sled), me, unknown boy, Kara Nieto, Janet Means, Sarah Kriewel.  Bicycle Hill is in the background.

everyday favorite things

 an image of Smaug, the dragon in The Hobbit, from a calendar my younger sister had.

Not all time favorite things, but things great enough to make your day.

1.  A hot shower around noon. 
But you have to have natural light in the bathroom.  I abhor taking showers with bad lighting.

2.  A dragon’s hoard that you can sort. 
Even better when you can share something made from your hoard with an interesting person.

3.  Really good hot chocolate, preferably French. 
It would taste even better if you had said hot chocolate in a sidewalk café in France.

4.  “A sky so blue it hurts your eyes to look at it.”
A line from Field of Dreams, but it is one of the best things.

5.  Being told you are loved. 
At least once a day – plus telling someone else you love them.

Post some of your favorite things.