HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

May the beasties

And ghoulies

That walk

In the night,

Tap on your

Windows,

And fill you

With fright!

And may you

Jump close

To your love

As you swoon,

And giggle

And gasp
'Neath this

Vampire Moon!

Happy Hauntings Kiddies!!!

Muh-Hahahahahaha!

Autumn Embrace

Will you always hold me?

Wrap about me as the winds blow cold?
When I am no longer lovely and bright,
Will you still be there?
As my glorious colors fade
Will you, too?
Oh no, for life is more than a just season,
But rather the joy of one passing to another.
And as they do,
I shall hold you close
And finally, we will melt into the twilight~~
Dimming slowly,
But forever as
One.

Pax….

Happy Birthday To My Dear Hubby!!!

Today is hubby's birthday.....

I thought about a poem, but my brain would not co-operate.

So here he is doing what he does best.......

Spreading the word......

Driving the hot car!

Expounding his humorous view of a certain organization....

(making me laugh and shake the camera!)

The Professor.......

The man with a smart comeback.......

My favorite fiend.....!!!

Happy Birthday Sweetie~~~♥♥♥♥♥

(Had to add this one! He was a cutie, even little!!!)

Love....

The Blog-Mistress Is Semi-Sane Again……

Okay Kiddies; I am still up to my yaya in work here, but I recovered from my fit of *Pique* the other day, and I actually did some tinkering with one of the new templates, discovering I can strip it to nothing and reinsert all my gawdies and goodies.

So! When I go to do this (and it will not be this week, or maybe even next) I will temporarily take the blog off-line so I can do it slowly, with ease, (or freaking out, running in circles and screaming…..much more likely!) and I do anticipate it taking me a couple of days. I want to get it how I want it all at once before I put it back live. You know I have control issues….LOL!!!!

Being less than a Mental Ninja in this area, SOME of you may get pleas of desperation for HELP!!! Just be prepared, and have your nerve tonic handy~~whatever form you prefer. ;-)

I really do not handle change well. Obviously. OMG.

This should be interesting……..

Perhaps The Last Flit......UPDATE

For those of you having issues similar to mine: here is the link to Bloggers form to report them!!! PLEASE DO THIS! This is our blog home too!

https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGJwd0ZsTlJVVnFRWUdPVW1hSDgyOUE6MQ#gid=0

There currently are no other direct links or forms to get to Blogger; forums are useless as one can spend days trying to find anything and when I have posted questions before they largely go unanswered.

Copy and paste onto your blog if you are sharing the issues I am---let's get this stuff fixed before we lose our blogs.

Overall--this appears to be an East of the Mississippi issue, though I have had one occurance  reported West.

BE VOCAL!  This should have all been fixed in Blogger In Draft before being shoved out to the blogging populace at large!!!

As much as the thought of this pains me, it has become apparent that due to the constant Blogger changes, issues, problems, not being able to even sign into my own blog---and these are just naming a few of the headaches that I have had to contend with---a point is coming where I will no longer be blogging.
And it's thanks to Blogger and all their *improvements*.
I also have a friend who was in the process of moving her works to Word Press, which evidently that is what Blogger wants to be.....and she is stuck with HOURS of time invested and nothing working right.
I do not know if there has been something built into the code to not allow certain migrating--both sides would deny that I'm sure, both say everything is sooooo easy. But she knows code, and it's not easy.
I do NOT know code and don't have the time to learn.
I am disgusted for being pushed into a corner that I did not ask for, I am angry that a very good, simple platform has turned into the *System From Hell*, I am just plain PISSED that I have no idea from one day to the next if my blog as I built it will be here or if it will be one of the butt-ugly new templates that are W.P. ripoffs.
So maybe it is just time to quit.
Maybe it is time to send virtual hugs and kisses to my dear friends I have made through this piece of cyberspace. And special thanks to Susie Jefferson of 1st Floor Flat for making my wonderful header and helping freely to tweak things to improve the overall finnesse of something as simple as my signature. She is a saint and a gem. Please follow her blog, whether here or on Word Press or where ever she finds a good home for all her generous tutorials.
And in case I decide this is my final flit with Blogger, thanks go out to all who felt I was worthy of awards. I've enjoyed giving you fun or serious or utterly rambling posts. I feel honored that you thought they were something more.
At any rate, I am still undecided to a certain point, but each day pushes me closer to being out the Blogger door. There are no real people to contact about problems and I am sure Google is making enough money that this little piece of our bloggosphere means nothing.
The blog will stay up, one way or the other, with perhaps an occasional update--I'll make sure the Jazz is here for all to enjoy (including the blog mistress). But........maybe it is just time to fly........
You all are worthy of a *Faithfulness Award*, and I wish I had one to give. So until I decide how much headache I need on a daily basis, and where this little sanctuary is going...... I give you my heart instead...♥♥♥♥

Pax.....and much much love,

Three Photos For Those Of The Quercus Persuasion.....

Yes, I said I was on a blog break and I still am, with my head up in the clouds but I found these lovely leaves yesterday and could not wait to put them out there into blogland! 

This is my pin oak, in the north part of the yard, and even in bad years it  puts on a color show all it’s own. Words can’t describe the colors that this tree produces, and frequently all on one leaf. With the sun bright, it glows in ways other trees don’t.

Greens, yellows , rusts and reds all combine into an amazing and slightly surrealistic combination. It generally is a tough choice on what to post……

But sometimes, you get something almost perfect, and it is obvious it needs to be seen by more than my eyes.

Enjoy this taste of Quercus Autumn!

 

Pax….

Off With My Head In The Clouds Again....

As my studio work piles up, I hope you will excuse me while I take a little *head-in-the-clouds* moment and try and get caught up. (the house is always piled up, so that is no surprise...)

I will be off blog for a few days unless there are some utterly fantastical, exceptional, can't-pass-them-up shots to be taken with the trusty Fuji. It will attach itself to my hand and drag me out the door kicking.  ;-)

In the meantime, just look up and enjoy that big beautiful sky.

My thoughts are there---soaring to you!!! ♥♥♥

Pax....

The Glorious Glow of "After-Storm"

We had a surprise thundershower late in the afternoon the other day; when the storm had left and the sun began to shine again while setting through the moisture rich atmosphere, Mother Nature put on a color show.

There has been no retouching of color in these photos.....this is what it was really like as the shades and hues undulated, changed, glowed, sparkled and left me running trying to capture everything at once.

Enjoy!

The ultimate paintbrush, don't you think?

Pax....

End Of Day…..

(click to enlarge)

Above

The sky is warming.

I see the mists from jets

So far away.

I wonder where their

Contrails lead my musings

And wander in this

Golden time of day.

The ether

Catching magic glow,

And I,

A lone observer

Here below.

I capture only

Hints of what I see

And wish, perhaps,

Those contrails

Carried me…..

Pax....

The *REAL* Studio~~or~~What It Looks Like With Fiber Art In Process

I have hesitated posting any photos of what my studio currently looks like while working on this commission for the church because, well, (oh say it ANNE!)…….it is an utter disaster!

It has been a long time since I worked with Fiber Art—which is what this is—as opposed to liturgical hangings, which are a different type of sewing all together. They basically consist of a small amount of fabric choices, but in large pieces.

This is painting with fabric, and I have bits and pieces absolutely everywhere! Because for every shade, nuance, tone, or shadow, you need a separate fabric. And you have to pull a copious amount of fabric, some that are never used, to have everything out in visual range to make it easier to work.

So I am coming clean and posting some photos…..just so you can appreciate the bedlam I create in every day. I’m not trying to make you feel the need to come help clean up….hee hee! But if you should be so inclined…….  ;-D  So here we go!

This is just part of the greens pulled for the leaves……some have migrated elsewhere…..they seem to migrate all over…..

  My little corner of the world, for some time now…..

Wall miscellaneous….used patterns, sketch, pearls, etc. Patterns are kept until every piece is finished. If anything does not work, the pattern is still there to replace with another piece of fabric.

A close up of some of the *goodies*…….ahem……

Important STUFF. Everything handy, even if it makes sense to no one other than me!

Felt leaves and *nuts* that I cannot wait to start working with!And the fringe? That is what the little balls came from, and it has a good chance of becoming tufts of grass….

The last part of the leaves, sectioned down into workable pattern pieces, in progress. Constant checking for contrast, etc. This was the hardest piece to put together.

And the final pattern sections pinned up. Ladies and Gentlemen, for the most part---We have A TREE!!!

Fiber Art, as I now recall, when done properly, is slow. But I cannot imagine doing this in any other way. It has to live and breathe. It has to have a life of it’s own. To sway in the breeze—to reflect the sun—to be real.

I think I’m getting there.

Pax….

Racing Before The Rain…..A Farmer’s Life

Yesterday was a beautiful Indian Summer day; blue skies, very warm, and the sound of farm machinery all throughout the countryside.
No different here; usually I miss the acreage being cut, but had the opportunity to get a few shots. Those big JD’s move fast!

A glimpse of the trees beyond the corn, in their festive colors. They will be bare fast, I fear---the color seems to change before my eyes. Leaves crunched beneath my feet and gently swirled down in the warm breezes.

And the behemoth comes chugging around the corner, filled with the crop from the field. Swift passes, stalks cut, seed separated…..

Hissing and spewing chaff all about…….oh yes….I would LOVE to drive one of these! (think Milo and the small John Deere….uh huh….not good!)

And finally, this green giant depositing beautiful, golden corn into the waiting semis.
I romanticize---this is a hard life that requires relentless faith and constant upkeep of what it takes to put the crop in, keep the land healthy, feed and nourish the plants and pray for rain….and then dry for harvest.
My grandfather farmed, and I am sure, if he were alive, it would amaze him as it does me, how the process has become so LARGE. But I thank the families who still do this, one acre at a time, in the proper manner. They are our food source, our health, and our ability to step away from corporate farming and the illness and scars it brings to the land.

To all the family farmers; THANK YOU. A THOUSAND TIMES.

Pax….

Who Might THIS be???

Okay, I am such a *sucker*. Not in a bad way~~I just get things in the skull and cannot remove them.

Like Milo. I had a ball with that ornery little bug. So I foolishly did an internet search and naturally did not find the small, yellow guy.

But, I did find someone who must be his first cousin, is a little more colorful and quite a bit LARGER. (does this mean more mischief? I don’t know….)

Allow me to introduce, Melvin. I think he will fit in just fine here. JUST FINE…….

And  he’s photogenic too……but they both sure liked the computer area. Hmmmmmm……you think it’s cause for alarm???

Pax….

To *Press* or Not To *Press* (Yes, This Is A RANT!)

(photo w/o text from Tack-O-Rama)

Things are getting screwy here on the old Blogspot. Every day I miss, it seems Blogger has pushed down another improvement--and I use that term very loosely--that makes this blog less mine, less easy to navigate, and less easy to read.

Not to mention actually putting a post in the can. Or leaving a comment. Or being able to read the snippets in my dashboard. I have come to the conclusion that there are a bunch of people hired who reeeeally would rather be working at the *other* blog platform, WordPress.

Because after looking through 40 pages of W.P. templates, guess what? It looks very similar to the New and Improved Blogger. And it is getting as difficult to navigate. Remember Blogger--we are not all geeks!

Yes, that is dripping sarcasm.

I hope it drips a lot.

Far and wide.

Here's the thing, Blogger; most of us that chose this platform did it because of the following~~

1. Ease of use from set up to live blog. Bingo-bango, you have your blog going!

2. Easy to customize. I'm sorry, I don't WANT my blog to be this blank space that looks like tens of thousands of others. I want my art, my clutter, my voice.

3. Simplicity in using custom backgrounds. So what's your beef? Yeah, the ones you have are okay for people who don't want to do anything but write.....however, there are a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of people who want something more.

4. Lack of problems in blog hopping. (well, that one has gone down the tubes fast, now that I am having to sign in to some of the newer templates, even though I am already signed in to Blogger; way to GO guys!)

So what is it you want to be? WordPress? Because that is where you are pushing loyal users of this service. To the bland, non colorful world of another competitor.

Hmmmmmm.......and, who gave you this advice? Just askin'.

Are you having to justify your existence by changing everything and making it worse?

Or is it just control issues, like the old saying, "Why does a dog lick his....."

Oh, never mind. You know where that one is going.

So now my question for myself is simply this:

Do I leave a blog that I have invested an incredible amount of time and energy in because of a service that is making me not want to blog AT ALL? Do I make the switch to the bland world of W.P. simply because Blogger has decided they no longer want to keep their users happy? That we must be force-fed nominal templates and even worse no options to change them? Do I continue until there is a total meltdown, both in the ability to blog here and my state mentally, or do I cut bait and run now.

I went so far as to reserve a W.P. blog name.

Don't make me go further.

Yours Truly,

A disgusted and extremely unhappy Blogger,

Early Morning Quiet

I am here in the dark of morning pecking away at the keyboard,  a cup of coffee at hand and thoroughly enjoying the complete quiet of this time of day. Rare moments with no noise, no pressure, no hurry to do something.
The birds are still sleeping, both inside and out.
Perfect calm.
Time to think....or not, as you wish.
I don't believe any of us have enough moments like this anymore.
We are stuck in fast-forward; go, go, go. Noise always. No escaping to a place for meditation, thought, and the peace to empty the soul of all stressors and refill with the inspiration to feel comfortable in our skins. To withdraw and relax, then re-emerge and go about our daily tasks.
I have been reading about religious contemplatives; those who turn from the world and look IN. And those who have done this and found that in doing so, the voice told them to re-engage in the world.
I wonder, when the day is still slumbering, and I am void of worry or thought, if it is close to what they experience.
Does it ready an artist for their work.
Can anything purchased compete with these moments available for free if we take the time.
So simple....so restful.....so necessary to recharge.
May you find a moment.

Pax....

New Morning.....Light Through The Fog

(click to enlarge)

Only a small offering today friends.

I am better, and naturally, since I *had* to go out to haul garbage, the camera was in hand! It has been very cold in the morning with daytime temps rising almost to 80, so we are having beautiful fog that floats just above the land~~enough that is it beautiful to see and still safe to drive.

The camera I was using had a hard time trying to figure out what the fog was, as there was nothing to focus on. (hmmmm, I know that feeling!) Thus, this was about the best of the shots taken.

I love this time of year! Sick or well--and preferably the latter--every morning seems to present the opportunity for more beautiful color and skies that don't appear any other time of year.

Hoping you all are doing well.....

Pax....

Just Peeking In.......And Thanks!

I'm keeping my distance and my germs to myself. Seems the Fall Bug has landed at Chateau Lockard and you can guess which one of us is the cat in the bag.......(and it's not DH)
I'll return when I can breathe, think, and be acerbic and amusing.
Or at least when I can breathe.....

Oh Pfffft!!!

Oct 4th: I am now beginning to sound like Darth Vader with asthma, trying to make an obscene phone call.....rather amusing. The aches are subsiding some.
Thank you for all the *medical* suggestions; any one of them sounds fairly appealing at this point! hee hee! Naturally, I am sans the proper *spirits* to whip up the cure........
Miss you all!!!

Afternoon Glow

Yesterday was the perfect Fall day all around; modest temps, bright sun, light breeze.

I was busy working in the studio all day with the shades down to now get distracted, but around 6 p.m. allowed myself a few moments to wander through the far end of the lot.

The sun was at a perfect level for capturing a few great shots~~I was under the large maple shooting back toward the unharvested corn.

These are from one of my few Paper Birches to survive our wicked winters. (I started with 10.......I think there are two healthy ones left)

The play of shadow and light, color and neutrals, is what drew me to the corner; a little doorway to this intensely bright field. As if someone had left a little passageway for the sun and colors to pour in through......

Today I awoke to rain.....alas, my fear....we will lose the leaves before they have a chance to put on one last show.

Pax....