A Theory - Now with updates!

So!  In the last post, we explored some of the more ... esoteric of the quilt squares.  James P. thinks that some of the images may be nursery rhyme characters.  And The Queen thought that the running man looked like a monopoly character.

Quilt running man:

Monopoly running man:

Well, I can definitely see a resemblance there!    Googling "nursery rhyme running man" leads to Wee Willie Winkie:

Yeah, not so much.  That google search also leads to The Gingerbread Man, which I think we can safely rule out here.

Googling "children's book running man" leads to about a million entries for Stephen King's novel The Running Man, which ... would make for an entirely DIFFERENT type of quilt, yikes.

So!  I'm not sure if we're making a lot of progress, here, but it sure is interesting!

UPDATE:  James P. brought up "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" in the comments, so a quick google search led to this:

Also a possibility! 

Every year, I try to take great photos of the Christmas tree ...

... and every year, I fail.

 Wait wait wait, let me dim the lights a little.  And go in for some close-ups.

Okay, these look a LITTLE better.

 I know - I'll go outside and get some pics of the laser lights!  When snow is falling, it looks like a rave in my front yard!

*sigh*  I'm not any better at getting pics of the lights than I am at getting pics of the tree.  How about the house?

You're just gonna have to trust me, guys.  In real life?  It looks AWESOME.

How about if I take a photo of the tree through the front door?  THAT should be arty:

Welllll ... I guess I should have moved the hibiscus tree on the left, there, outta the way first.

One more time.  I'm going to try ONE MORE TIME to get a great photo of the Christmas tree.

Ahhhhhh.  That's it!

Stayed tuned for tomorrow's post, in which I explain WHY my tree is still up, and how I ended up hearing a delightful rendition of My Melody of Love, sung in Polish.  hahaha this stuff only happens to ME, doesn't it ...

I'm baaaaack!

And hoo boy, was that a good week.

Vacation, Day One:  It started with filling up the DEE-luxe swimming pool:

and then I had a little home improvement project to tackle.  I had an old bookcase in front of the living room window that the cats like to hang out on:

(Yes, my house is THAT MESSY.  Deal with it.)  The bookcase was falling apart and needed to be replaced.  I'd been looking forEVER for something to go in that window, but nothing was the right size. I didn't want just another Sauder piece-of-crap bookcase; I wanted something different.  And then! I found a vintage fainting couch/chaise/window seat/whatever-you-wanna-call-it at an estate-sale store.  Unfortunately, it was a little too short for the cats to sit on it and still look out the window, but I figured I could remedy that by picking up some concrete blocks at Home Depot.

Dear Home Depot:  Maybe "stacked in a wobbly wall on an uneven pallet" is not the best way to stock concrete blocks.  I'm just sayin'.

Yep, it was the first day of vaca and I'd narrowly averted death.

But!  A mere flesh wound was not going to deter me.  I got the blocks, got the couch set up, covered the seat with some fabric (because cats), and we were good to go.

The cats have not sat on it yet.  SIGH.

But!  Day One also included the purchase of a pirate costume:

Because when you see a pirate costume for sale for a dollar, you buy it, obviously.

And good things were still to come:

Back soon with more.  I'LL BET YOU CAN'T WAIT.  Ha.

Recent Pics

That moment when you get up to clean your brushes, and return to discover that SOMEONE has walked across your painting:

"Not ME, lady!  My paws are CLEAN!":

The ice is starting to leave the creeks:

and when the sky is blue it seems warmer out, somehow:

"I may not have many TEETH left, SodaPUNK, but I can still kick your butt!":

Speaking of Soda, he makes an excellent bookrest:

And Tinks has utilized the winter months to perfect his side-eye.

"Pardon me, would you have any Gray Poupon?"

How To Make a Painting

Step One: Take an old, laughingly bad painting that you can't quite bear to toss:

Cover it up:

Turn the canvas sideways and paint some sky:

Add a sunrise, and some land, and some reflections:

Throw in some more clouds, and blend stuff together:

Voila!  It's a painting.  Now go clean the brushes.

Things I learned this weekend.

Okay, first off, did you know that Jewel the singer is related to the Kilcher family featured on the TV show "Alaska:  The Last Frontier"?  I did not know this until this past weekend, and it kind of  blows my mind a little.  Mainly because the TV show Kilchers seem so ... earthy, and Jewel does not.  Evidently, there is one family in Alaska, and their last name is Kilcher.

Now.  Other stuff I learned.

Cattails are soft.  Like, really, REALLY soft.  Holding a puffed-out cattail is like holding a big wad of cotton.

Ice stays on the beaver swamp even after the temps have been in the fifties for a couple of days:

X marks the spot!  The spot where ... something happens, or happened, or will happen, at some point.

When the opportunity arises to swing on swings, you've got to take it.  Okay, I already KNEW that one, but still.:

When left to themselves, picnic tables will do an interpretive dance:

Patience is a virtue.  Waaaay back in August, when I was at the State Fair, I bought an awesome wooden frog table.  I tucked it away, to be a birthday gift to myself, and since yesterday was the big day - TA-DA!

I love that frog.  Look at the side-eye on that dude!  He's giving us all a giant EFF YOU.

And finally, the last thing I learned this weekend:  When you find a giant metal mermaid at an insanely great price, you must buy it.  It's the law.  I just learned that this weekend.  And that is why I'll be spending NEXT weekend trying to find a place in the house for this beauty.

My weekend.  I learned so much!

I went to Hobby Lobby and lost my damn mind

And I know, I KNOW, I am not even supposed to be SHOPPING in Hobby Lobby, because REASONS, but I was looking for some giant letters for a project at work, and neither Michael's nor A.C. Moore had what I needed, but Hobby Lobby did.

And normally I don't shop at Hobby Lobby ANYway, because we don't even HAVE a Hobby Lobby here in town so I have never even BEEN to a Hobby Lobby, but on Saturday I went to Ithaca and Ithaca DOES have a Hobby Lobby and so ... I went there.

And discovered the clearance aisles, i.e., NIRVANA.  Guys, the stuff was on sale for EIGHTY PERCENT OFF!

I bought this mirror:

Please excuse my looming face, there.  A lot of Hobby Lobby stuff seems to be distressed, and I am not a big fan of the distressed look, per se, but I plan on glamming all this stuff up anyway, so the base veneer wasn't really a factor.  That all of this stuff is AWESOME?  That was a BIG factor in my losing my mind in the clearance aisle.


 Here is a metal wall shelf:

Another metal wall shelf, which was reminiscent of antlers to me, so, SOLD!:

It's hard to tell from these pics, but those shelves are BIG.  I'm going to need some drywall anchors to hang those babies.

This cute sign, which is going to go in the laundry room, i.e., garage:

This lovely ceramic mermaid (I LOVE mermaids):

This pretty little bird statue (with Ponyboy lounging in the background):

And this shadowbox, for which I have BIG plans:

I bought all of this, PLUS some pipe cleaners and other crafty crap, for fifty-two bucks.

SCORE!


Most of this stuff went right into the foster room closet, where I store the birthday and Christmas gifts that I buy for myself.  I can't wait to see it all again!

So, yeah, I shopped at Hobby Lobby.  I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I did it anyway. 

and I'll do it again.  That store is AWESOME.

 

It worrrkkkkkkks! It worrrkkkkkkkks!

I've been trying to teach myself to paint for a long time.  A VERY long time.  The one place around here that offered lessons was largely self-directed, which didn't help me very much, and is no longer around.  So I've been slogging along on my own, trying (and failing) to figure out things like perspective and shadows and, you know, ART stuff.

I am big on blue.  Skies and water, man, they're my favs.

Work in progress: 

I just didn't seem to be getting any better.  I've seen ninth-graders crank out better art.  Like, way better.

So I bought a DVD.  A Bob Ross DVD.

I guess Bob Ross used to be big on PBS?  He had, like, a series?  Either my local station didn't carry it or I didn't watch it, because I was not familiar with Bob Ross.  But when I put "learn to paint" into the search bar on ebay, up popped a LOT of Bob Ross. 

Sunday was the big day.  I plopped down in the middle of the living room with my canvas, my brushes, my paints, and some accomplices:

popped in the DVD, and went to work.  With Bob Ross, you go step-by-step.  Look at how awesome those mountains in the background look!  I PAINTED THAT!:

Here is the finished product:

I need to work on my clouds, and the bottom right is a little ... busy ... but I think this painting is AWESOME!

On the wall:

Dear Bob Ross:  Your method WORKS.  I love you.  Ha.