And it begins....

With a photo. This picture is from my visit to Dauphin Island last winter. It was such a relaxing weekend with my friend, Frederique. We were completely enamored of the environment and the solitude. Everyday we walked, a total of 21 plus miles over three days, according to Fitbit.
  We went from one end of the island to the other, even though it was breezy and cold most of the time. The foggiest morning was the best, like walking in a bubble. We both took many photos. Frederique had her very nice camera and has so many lovely shots of birds, dead things, trees, the gulf waters, etc.
 I forgot my little point and shoot, and had to rely on the Iphone camera, Since I wasn't sure of storage issues, I had to be a bit more judicious in my decisions of what to photograph, not just snapping pics of any old thing, like I usually do.
  I'm very happy with what I captured and have started on several pieces of artwork based on the photos. In future posts, I hope to show the progress I'm making and maybe inspire someone else to record your adventure in another way than vacation photos.

Struggling

It seems the frustration will never end! The recent political situation has only added to derail my search for a quiet mind. I don't think I'm the only one feeling this way theses days.
  I did find the energy to complete my healthcare application, because I HAD to finish it, so I will have some coverage till it all goes to hell. Still a few more steps to make sure I'm registered properly.
 Past experience of doing all the right things to make something work, then being met with gut wrenching disappointment, haunts every step I take these days. But, I will put one foot in front of the other and meet each day with the hope for a better tomorrow. There's really not an acceptable alternative.

Onward into the new year--so far

It's only the 4th of January, so I can't make any claims to have turned my life around in 2013 yet, but I did sign up for Bikram Yoga at the urging of a friend. She had a rough year (last couple of years actually) and wants to improve her general well being as well as get in better physical shape. I have been battling tendonitis in my shoulders for years and am always looking for some way to regain good posture and mobility, plus get some relief from the achiness in my upper back that does not include shots or pills. So off to the yoga studio!!
  We signed up for the new student deal for unlimited visits for one month at a reduced fee. The instructor said we should attend daily for at least ten days to get the best benefit of the exercise. My friend is three days ahead of me and already notices a different in her back problems. So I am heading back this afternoon and hope I do better than yesterday. I had never done this kind of yoga before, but knew it was done in  HOT environment. All the walking I've been doing the last few years has been good for stamina, and I tolerated the heat pretty well, but my balance and breathing need LOTS of work. LOTS!!! My biggest fear is that I will throw up.
   Having someone to go with will surely be helpful and we hope we can synch our schedules so we will be attended classes together as many visits as possible.
   On the fiber art front for this year, I am getting the ball rolling on the quilt show for the gallery in the local cancer treatment hospital. It's a little more than 10 weeks away--YIKES! I really let myself get lazy during these past holidays and need to focus on priorities.
   Namaste.....

St. Louis Art Fair

What a great trip to the midwest!! The Noodlemans and I took the Mega Bus to St. Louis on Friday morning as planned and arrived there around noon. From Union Station, we rode the Metro Link train out to Clayton. The art fair is actually held in Clayton, MO, a suburb just to the west of St. Louis.
  The hotel had my room ready early so we dumped the luggage and rode the train over to Brentwood shopping center and found the Trader Joe's after walking the Bataan death march it seemed. It was pretty warm on Friday and the humidity was awful. But being the bunch of big kids we are, we survived and bought snacks and wine for our stay.
  On the way back to the Metro Link station we found the short cut so the walk wasn't as far. There was a little Asian restaurant near the station where we had a late lunch. And it was very YUMMY!!
  Back on the train, we looked at the sky and saw the predicted thunderstorms rolling in. We got back to the hotel just in time, too. Thunder, lightening, buckets of rain, the works! The weather people on tv were reporting tornadoes in the outlying counties, kind of scary. The art fair was scheduled to open at 5 pm, but was canceled for Friday evening. Once the rain let up around 9 pm, we ventured out to a sushi place half a block away from the hotel and Mr. Noodleman ordered a roll that was served on FIRE!! Too cool...it is called the "Oh My God" roll. For good reason, I might add.
   Saturday we awoke to a perfect day to be outside. High temps in the mid 70's, sunny and breezy. Lots of beautiful things to look at and purchase. Great music.Yummy food from local eateries and the most amazing people watching two judgmental women (Mrs. Noodleman and I) could ask for.
  We took a break in the late afternoon, then went back for more art and music. Earlier we made reservations at the primo Italian joint near the hotel, so at 8 pm we were shoveling more good food into our gobs. Even though we had walked all day and a half, I think we took in way more calories than we burned off.
   Sunday we headed out to catch the Mega Bus back at Union Station. We had a little time to kill there so we got to see some of the scenery there. Back on the bus and back to the real world--boohoo....now I have to starve myself to regain my svelte figure.

Union Station interior

Jazz band on the Main Stage

Union Station exterior

Mega Bus pit stop at Boomland

   I have had one hell of a birthday celebration so far and it is not over.

It happens every year

Summer has arrived in the Mid South, with a vengeance. Triple digit highs for the day are the rule, it seems. Anything to do outdoors needs to be done before 8 am. Lots of things are not getting done. I have walked only a couple of times this week and really need to reverse that trend.
There is a very slim chance for rain today. It has been windy this evening and cooled off a bit. I hope it rains, the plants need some water that is not from a hose.
 The upside to all the hot weather is that I have been finishing some art quilts and getting other sewing projects done. I am working on a series that uses some of my deconstructed screen prints. Maybe I will be brave and take photos of those quilts to post here. And I will soon start on the pieces I want to use for next spring's quilt show at the West Clinic gallery. Plus I got inspired to put together some "puzzle"pieces from a swap with sewing pals we did a while ago.
Last week I taught a class on making a straight skirt with five women. That was FUN!! I hope I get asked back for another class.

21st Century calling

So last week I went to breakfast with my son and we also had a little retail therapy at the bookstore and electronics store. We both wound up with ipods, I got the Touch and he got the Classic. I'd been thinking about having one since before Xmas and decided to treat myself since I didn't get myself anything "big" for that pesky winter holiday in December, or the one from last week. It is really a wonderful thing and has enhanced my walking experience greatly.
   Or course, there were some issues with the earbuds and my tiny delicate ears, so today, after perusing the sale ads in the newspaper, I bought some nifty Skullcandy ear thingies. They were a smokin' hot deal, so if they don't live up to my expectations, I won't feel too cheated. They have three sizes of little rubber bumpers (?) and seemed okay when I stuck them in my head for a minute. But the real test will be on the road.
  It is so nice to have my favorite music come along with me for my 4 miles of exercise. My mood is elevated when I'm back home and I think I loosen up too, because my upper back isn't stiff after walking anymore. And I'm very careful not to be singing along when I approach other walkers/runners. That would be embarrassing.
  The other thing I like about it is I can check to see if I have any new email (when I'm in a wifi zone, anyway) before I go to the trouble of logging onto my laptop and I can check the weather report in a jiffy. Another part I like is that I was able to set up the ipod almost by myself, the email part, and only had to get help for the music downloading. It is good to have patient children.

Walking

I haven't mentioned all the walking I've been doing lately. Hmmmm...why's that? I don't know.
    November was not a good month for walking because I was so busy working on this house. But right before the holidays, I did a LOT of walking and have made a concerted effort since then to get in my 4 miles at least three times a week, especially when the weather cooperates. I haven't been wearing my pedometer, so I don't have any mileage to report.
We have had a wonderfully mild winter so far, so it's been good to get out in the sun and on chilly days, layering is the way to go. Of course February is coming up and that month here can go whichever way it wants. As long as there isn't any heavy precipitation, I expect I'll bundle up and get out to clear my head and stretch my legs.

St. Louis

The trip to the art fair near St. Louis was so much fun. The Noodlemans are kinda crazy and it must run in the family.
  While at the Arch in downtown (and I cannot say enough good things about the commuter train we took to get there) I saw at least six couples, with complete wedding entourage, get hitched. And I was there for only about an hour and a half! Guess it's the thing to do up there. A limo would pull up, the entire wedding party would pile out, like clowns out of a VW, go up the stairs to the park at the bottom of the Arch, brief ceremony, photo op, then off to the reception.(I took photos too.) Brides in big fluffy white dresses, guys in tuxedos, groomsmen, bridesmaids--the works!

wearing my new earrings, waiting for the train

it is HUGE!!!

something on the tracks @ the downtown station

And the Arch is HUGE!!! The last time I was up that way was nearly 20 years ago and I never actually went to the park where the thing is, just drove by it. Last weekend we went to see it and I was amazed at how accessible it is. It just sticks up right out of the ground and it is HUGE!!! It reminded me of the machine in that scifi movie with Jodie Foster--"Contact"--did I mention how f***ing BIG it is???

Balance

The screen printed fabrics came out pretty good and I will post photos as soon as I take them. Last week was a bizzy one, full of activity playing nanny for my friend's children, making progress on a new set of graduation dresses and making the aforementioned fabric. On Friday morning, I went with the Noodlemans to attend the art fair in Clayton, MO. WOW!!! It was very nice and I had a lot of fun. We walked our feet off for two and a half days, stayed at a hotel a block away from the fair, ate everything we wanted (except the cheesecake-what was wrong with us?) saw more art than I have seen in one place in a long, long time and went downtown to see The Arch.
 St. Louis has a commuter train, the MetroLink, that is very easy to ride and stops at all the convenient places, plus isn't too expensive. We were able to park at the hotel and never get back in the car until it was time to come home. That is my idea of a vacation. (Sleeping is also a good thing to do on vacation.)

what I want to be when I grow up

So now I'm back home and my punishment for having fun--this is where the balance comes in--is that my bike was stolen from the shed in the backyard Friday morning. boohoo--I loved my bike and had I been here to monitor the perimeter, it wouldn't be gone with someone who might not love at much as I did. I actually cried a little last night, because in addition to riding my bike, I will miss the bell and the nifty side basket on it, too.

Summer has arrived

Last week I was wearing a hoodie to ward off the chill and now the AC is cranked up. I really miss having the windows open, but the humidity here is down right cruel. Walking has to be done in the early am or it is just too hot for outdoor exercise later in the day.
  My mileage for May has been very good--89.57 miles logged on the pedometer. That does not include walking back and forth in the house (where did I put my glasses? what did I do with my purse?) and errands that are close by that I was able to walk to instead of driving, plus I rode bikes with my granddaughter a couple of times while she's been here. We went to the Holiday Inn Express this past weekend and swam in the heated pool, but I'm sure the gyro plate I had at the restaurant totally wiped out those gains! Of course the eatery was in walking distance so we opted for that mode of travel.

  I did find the photos of my deconstructed screen print fabric and downloaded them this morning. It's okay but looks a little unfinished to me. Really needs something added. I'm sure I will find the time soon, although I do need to beat the dollar bushes this summer. Waiting tables sounds good right now, but I have zero experience with that and I am pushing 60. With all the weird stuff going on around here, I may have to conquer those fears and jump into unknown territories soon.

Whazzup

Just now realized how long it has been since my last post. Sewing has been reduced to a very slow crawl, in comparison to all the last few months of constant garment construction. I do have many photos to share, but haven't been inspired to organize and post. ???  Guess I need a little distance from the memory of all that labor before I can look at those white dresses again. They really turned out beautifully and I got lots of positive feedback from their people. Soon I'll post new sewing stuff with lots of construction photos.
  Last week I was inspired to do some screen printing. The dyed screens had been laying in the basement for months and I was a bit worried if they would work very well. Especially since we have had so much wet weather here and the basement floor stays wet during rainy periods. Anyway, I pulled some prints onto cotton fabric which had been treated with soda ash solution. Turned out very nice. I may go back and put some other surface treatment on it but for right now it's fine. I did take photos but can't remember if they are downloaded into my files.
  Also there's a few new art quilts in progress. And I have updated my walking sketchbook a little. Taking off a little time to air out my brain, but I will very soon need to beat the bushes for income. Put that freshly aired brain to good use! 

photo used for a trading card

  My grand daughter is here for a few more days. She just graduated from high school and we are chillin' for a bit. The walking continues and my mileage for May is GREAT, plus we had a little bike ride last evening, since the weather was very nice, and we needed to work off some of the massive amount of food consumed earlier in the day.

Mileage

Okay no photos today but my walking mileage for April was very good and I need a little bragging right now. The total for the past month is 89.64 miles and I'm sure I have actually walked more than that with errands where I did not wear my pedometer. Plus today I feel all pure and holy because I walked to the diagnostic center to get a follow up mammogram and that was 3.36 miles round trip. And I'm fine. The new technologies of imaging found a weird spot last fall and it turned out to be nothing unusual. WHEW!! I am probably in better shape than I have been in my entire life and no doubt will be run over by a delivery truck one day while walking for my health.
  Now back to the grindstone..................

March comes in like a lamb

The weather cooperated today for a full route of walking. The sun was shining and there was only a slight chill in the air. The best part of today is that February is OVER! It has been a rather dismal month (bad weather, disease, work) and the total mileage on my pedometer was very sad. Less than 20 miles. Yikes! I walked that in a week last fall. 
But now it's March and one can only hope the promise of spring will bring better days. I'm trying not to use the word hope this year, to give myself a more forceful outlook on life. Get what I need and want. To get up and DO. As nice a concept as hope is, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a brighter future,  I need action right now.
Oh dear, I certainly didn't intend to stand on a soap box.