Willow Grace

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Dinner by Propane

Saturday night, Jimmy and I were enjoying our evening at our hideway in the Sierras.

Then the power went out.

Dinner was in the oven and only partially cooked. But being a resourceful couple, we were not detered. Jimmy broke out the propane stove and we continued cooking.

Points to remember:
-Propane heat is much hotter than you think. This little burner completely cooked the chicken pieces in this casserole w/in 5 minutes. It had been in the oven 40 minutes prior and the chicken was still pinkish when the power went out.
-Power outtages in the middle of a forest are excruciatingly quite.
-You really can't read by candle light.
-The battery in your laptop will inevitably be weak.
-10pm is a reasonable bedtime.
-Before going to bed, remember to turn off all the appliances/lights that were on otherwise you'll be rudely awakened.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Fun with Reflections

When you're on the road for 2.5 hours on a holiday weekend, what else is there to do?

Destination: Our hideaway in the Sierra Nevadas.

CupCAKE

Bday card I made for my SIL last year.
Darcie Country Folk rubber stamps.

submitted to: Illustration Friday: Cake Posted by Picasa

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Vigil Lights

St. Patrick's Cathedral, NYC.

submitted to Tuesday's Photos: Fire Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Brought to you by the letter B

Here’s a fun meme that I found on Ginnie’s blog. She gave me the letter “B” and my task is to come up with ten words that begin with that letter, include an explanation of why I chose it, then pass out letters to those who want to play along.

So...come and play...let me know if you'd like a letter and I'll give you one, too!

Here are mine, alphabetically:

Babies: really, do I have to say much more? I recently spent the evening with 3 of my nephews and had a ball! Truthfully though, the baby, as cute as he was, wasn’t nearly as fun as the pre-schoolers. The baby just wasn’t as interactive as the others. But still, there’s not much more precious than a little giggle or a coo from a baby.


Bags: purses, totes, backpacks. I love ‘em. One of my material weaknesses. Sure, I love the expensive designer bags but gimme a cute one from Target and I will not discriminate.






Baked goods: cookies, pie, cake, bread, muffins, brownies. Yummy, sinfully delicious bad-for-me carbs.





Bay Area: I live in the SF Bay Area. God willing, we will spend the rest of our days here. San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz…these cities are all unique but they share that quintessential Bay Area ideology.

Beaches: symbolize serenity, peace, warmth, relaxation. One of my favorite vacation spots is Hawaii…surrounded by beaches, the warm sand, listening to the waves crashing, watching the sun setting in the horizon.


Bears: I’ve always felt an attachment to bears. I know, I know, Steven Colbert swears they’re the threat of our nation as “godless killing machines without a soul”. :-)
But if I were to have an animal spirit, I believe it would be a black bear.


Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures: the movie. They have an awesome quote to live by: “Be Excellent to each other”. Simple as that. Influenced by this movie, when we got our two kitties in 1991, we named them Bill and Ted. One of them is a girl so we call her Billy. She’s the fluffy one I feature often on this blog. Ted is the kitty in my profile but he tragically died last summer.


Birds: to be able to fly and look down and gaze upon the earth, how awesome would that be? From listening to their twittering song to watching them hover above for prey, birds fascinate me. Birds have been one of the latest trends in the paper craft/mixed media industry. I’ve been drawn to these designs and hoping to add more winged creatures to my artwork.


Books: I’m a really slow reader so I’m lucky if I read 3 novels a year. But some of my favorites are The Alchemist, The Life of Pi, Persepolis, and the Nick Bantock trilogies. But one of my current passions is making mini-books. In the past year or so, I’ve probably made 20 mini-books. I’ll make them for gifts, but I love to horde them, too.

Breath: Something I need to do whenever my patience is thin or I start feeling upset. Additionally, I recently found out that I have asthma. Breathing has actually become a lot easier now that I’ve been diagnosed and am taking preventative measures.

From the Coast Highway

Just got home a couple of hours ago from our wonderful road trip to San Diego.

My list of things to do is huge, before considering any work related stuff I might have to get done.
A few of my top priorities:
-Download the photos off of my camera card and make cd's for all the various family members who we visited.
-read all the various blogs I try to visit regularily and return emails and comments from the past several days.
-log the 4 geocaches we found during our trip (including a travel bug!)
-go thru all the TiVo recordings and find a way to free up some space.
-watch all of the season/series finales.

We drove up the Pacific Coast Highway from Morro Bay on our way back home today. Took this photo a few miles south of Big Sur.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Studio Friday: Contrast

I create my arts and crafts throughout the whole house. But if I had to label a particular room "my studio", it would be this one:
but I really don't create much in this room. Mostly because this room is away from the heartbeat of the household.

But another reason why I don't create many things in this room is because of this:
my husband's hockey gear shares this space.

And there's a huge contrast in my ability to be creative while smelling stinky hockey gear vs. not smelling stinky hockey gear.

So instead, I work herePosted by Picasa

You Could Hear Them Howling


submitted to Tuesdays Photo: Moon Posted by Picasa

Do You Really Wanna Go Up There?


Submitted to Thursday's Challenge: Passageway Posted by Picasa

Less Traveled

Hwy 108

submitted to Photo Friday: The Road Posted by Picasa

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Don't even think about it


Submitted to Lensday: Signs Posted by Picasa

Imagine

Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

California Humor

Now this is just funny!

http://store.muledesign.com/shirts/cali.php

Be sure and read the text, too.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Since we're on the topic of hair color...

Jimmy
Jimmy and our nephew
Jimmy and his brothers...beaching their hair, too

A few years ago...but seems like yesterday. Posted by Picasa

Ya think?

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind.
You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.


I've only dyed my hair once or twice. Sprayed that Sun-In stuff a few times. My hair is REALLY dark. The girl who cuts my hair wants to dye it copper...which isn't too far from orange really. The husband likes the dark hair but I keep seeing those damn grey hairs more and more. So copper it may be sooner than he thinks.

xbox 360

I donno who was more excited about it...
the cat

or Jimmy

who rearranged the furniture so he could have a better view for gaming.

(ok...i admit, i've played a few hours on it, too)

Yawn

She thinks blogging is a snooze-fest.
submitted to: Moody Monday: Boring

Studio Friday: Robot

I'm a little late in my Studio Friday submission...but I love this week's theme: Robot. I've posted these pics quite recently but since this theme came up, decided that I had to re-post them.

Roomba cleans while I create:
and...

I made this fun robot a few weeks ago for Illustration Friday. I love him! He's one of my favorite creations. My programmer husband helped me with the code for the background text/numbers. It actually means something...can you figure it out?
submitted to Studio Friday: Robot Posted by Picasa

Strawberry Soup

Gotta love this time of the year when the strawberries are sweet and plentiful. One of our favorite treats is strawberry soup.
It's deliciously sweet and easy. Makes a wonderful dessert or a nice light lunch.

Strawberry Soup
4 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups plain yogurt, nonfat
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree till smooth.
Chill several hours before serving.
frozen strawberries can be used in a pinch


Sunday, May 14, 2006

Congratulations!

This is one of my nieces. She's graduating next weekend from San Diego State.
She's one of the little girls in this pic.
I'm soooo proud of her!!
I can't believe that she's already graduating from college.
Wheeeee!! Not only do we get to see her, but we're going to San Diego.
Love San Diego! If I couldn't live in the Bay Area, I'd choose San Diego as the next best place. Posted by Picasa

Signs of Summer

The rains finally stopped and we had a whole

4
days
of
spring

and now it's summer.

sigh...

And this is what we have to show for it:

FIRE!! FIRE!! FIRE!!

Yup...all that rain we had...
and this is what happens...
Lots of weeds that grew like crazy and instantly turned brown as soon as the rains stopped. Someone decided to throw a cigarette out the window, and...well...you see the results.

~~~
91 degrees outside. What happened to spring?? Just a couple of weeks ago it was in the 50's and now it's in the 90s.

Friday, May 12, 2006

To All the Mothers...

and Aunties...Grandmothers...Sisters...Nannies...Babysitters...girlfriends...

It's certainly a special day for Mom's but I'd like to honor all the women who help influence children in a positive way.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Colors Galore

It's finally acting like spring around here. In fact, it's suppose to be 80 tomorrow. Certainly enjoying the warmth before it gets too hot. After what seemed like nearly 40 consecutive days of rain, it's nice to know that don't have to worry about the ark we didn't build.

Photo at the RoozenGaarde Tulip Gardens in Skagit County last spring.
submitted to Lensday: Spring  Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Go Sharks!

I'm not really a sports fan, but if I *had* to like a sport, it would be hockey.

My husband is a goalie afterall.

And I can be a pretty good cheerleader when my town is doing great in the semi-finals.

In any sport, I really only like watching the last game of the finals...and just the last 1/2 hour or so at that. Ya know...to watch the emotional part...when the winners are celebrating and the other team is sad.

I almost always root for the underdog. The team who hasn't won in 20 years, or is trying to end a curse, or when a coach or player is retiring after that game. Or I root for the team with the coolest uniform colors (I'm such a girl). Unless it's a Bay Area team. If they made it to the playoffs, I'm gonna root for 'em...even if their uniforms suck.

image from wikipedia Posted by Picasa

Treasure

Collage on Canvas board covered with masking tape and painted with acrylics. Image from a photo I took in Seattle last year. Posted by Picasa

Cinco De Mayo Baby

Drove down to S California last weekend to celebrate my honorary niece's first birthday. Here she is with the footstool I made her. I figure I can get away with making her stuff for a few more years before she reaches the age of 'ew...you mean its...hand-made?' with a look of grimace.

Vancouver

On a moving ship, long shutter speed.
submitted to Tuesdays Photo: Playing with Lights  Posted by Picasa

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Juneau sk8er boi


submitted to Photo Friday: Adolescence Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Mystic River Drawbridge

A few summers ago, Jimmy and I found ourselves in Mystic, Connecticut, a beautiful seaport town oozing with quaintness. Plus we had some really awesome pizza that was like a slice of heaven. :)
This is the Mystic River Drawbridge. The boats que up at 40 minutes past the hour to pass under. This was the first time I've seen a draw bridge in action.
submitted to Tuesday's Photos: Bridge