Fall Pix, Another Hand Carved Stamp, and A Watercolor

You know I fully intended to clean house yesterday. Well, when I did up the dishes midmorning, I washed down the cupboards and the front of the dishwasher; and then I got distracted by something in my art room. Maybe I will do a bit today.


Yesterday around noon the hubster and I decided to go spanortin' around the Waterloo Recreation Area. It was a beautiful afternoon and the ride was lovely. I took a few photos that I thought I'd share with you. As you can see, the color is not at its peak, but there is some beauty to behold.

I made another batch of soup yesterday, this time it was a cabbage soup, into which I put carrots, onions, garlic, and broccoli. It was flavored with beef broth, a bit of tomato paste, basil and oregano. I also added a little pack of Knorr's Beef Soup Concentrate. It was delicious, but I forgot to take a pic.

After dinner, as there was no baseball to watch, I headed to my art room where I carved a long car stamp. I guess I like it. I really have to remember to draw things in the reverse so they face the way I want them to.

And I played a bit in my Face It journal and began a two page spread which I am not at all happy with, but I will wait to see what evolves before deciding it is done.

While I was trying to decide what else to add to this spread, I wet a 9 x 12 piece of watercolor paper and tried to begin a wet into wet, painterly, loose landscape. After putting a bit of color on as a first layer, I took a bottle of water out and sat in the swings in the backyard with the hubster as we know we are not going to get many days like this any more this season. When I returned it was to find all kinds of hard edges and not anything like I'd imagined. I tried to add a bit of green here and there and some rocks into the stream, but I am very disappointed with myself. I decided to share it anyway in case you have any constructive criticism for me. 

Today is a new day and it is grey and wet outside. It is supposed to be quite a bit cooler this weekend and pretty much cloudy with periods of rain the entire time. Miss Z is coming this afternoon to spend the weekend with us, so I am hoping that tomorrow has enough dry time for us to get out and about. As for the time between now and her arrival, I hope to get a bit of cleaning done (where is that self-cleaning house when you really need it?), perhaps begin another watercolor, work in my art journals, and maybe carve another stamp. I am pretty sure I am not making any soup today, but may buy a rotisserie chicken some time in the next few days so that I have a carcass with which to make some lighter soup than all the beef based ones I've been making lately.

What about you? What are you up to today? I so enjoy reading your comments and your blogs to see all the wonderful things you get yourselves into! Do share...

xoxo

Iron River

We arrived yesterday around 3 PM (CST) and immediately hooked up with my sister, Anne, and her husband, Tom. They are the parents of the groom. We visited for awhile and then headed out to the rehearsal, while the hubster took a nap and shower.

Mom arrived just before we got back from rehearsal and was tucked in for a nap and then planned to watch the Tiger game.

After rehearsal we headed for Bewabic State Park for a cookout and get together. The young men in the party were playing corn hole. Apparently this is a big favorite up here. They had four or five sets going at once. The hubster makes these boards and has sold a set at home. I think he should bring them up here and sell them all. Had a lovely meal and visit with my family who had made the trip and Lindsay's family who are new to us.

I took lots of pix on the way up mostly through the windshield. Surprisingly, they turned out pretty well. Here are a couple of the color somewhere between Iron Mountain and Iron River.

 

I got up early this morning and went down to the breakfast area to find Mom, Mike and Jane deciding to go out for breakfast because they wanted eggs. I was invited along. We found a small restaurant, Main Street Cafe, with a great breakfast. I had a two egg omelet with mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. It was delicious! Jane treated which made it all the better.

Came back here to the motel and pressed the hubster's shirt and my pants and decided to post here before heading out for a walk.

Mike and Lindsay are being married at 1:00 pm today and then will have a reception around 4. I have to be at the church at 12:15 because besides giving a reading, Lindsay's aunt Dolly and I are handing out the programs.

This is a mini family reunion besides a family wedding. My Mom, my sister Pat, Pat's daughter Cindy and her three boys, Anne & Tom (parents of the groom), their daughter Lisa, my brother Mike, my sister Jane, my sister Molly and her husband Bud are expected to arrive sometime this morning and are staying the night. Last night we were all up in Mom's room and it was pretty noisy, but lots of fun.

We are planning to head back tomorrow morning and stop somewhere along the way to spend the night. Neither of us wants to make the 9 - 10 hours trip in one day.

I will have a Photoshop tutorial to share some time later in the week once I am home on my desktop. For now, hope you are having a great weekend.

Bye!

Where Did August Go?

Is it my imagination or is this the last full week of August? And just where exactly did this month go?

I guess part of the reason I've lost track of time is that I have been on the road and away from home a bit this month. I left last Wednesday to stay with a sister who was told she wouldn't be released from the hospital until she had someone to stay with her. Another sister who lives a couple of hours away and I (I am about an hour away) met there and nursed/entertained her until her daughter and family returned late Saturday night. While it was scary that she was so sick, we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of improvement in her condition. I feel so fortunate that I have family and that we really make an effort to be there for each other.

Before I left I was working on a 3 for 3 "found poetry" ATC swap and am quite pleased with how they turned out. I will seal them today and mail them later in the week. I am also prepping some cardboard that used to be tops of pizza boxes for their new lives as post cards. Have I told you about Postcrossing? It is very fun so far and I am looking forward to getting postcards from all over the world.



May have the middle grandgirl today while my son is at school - today is the first day of the Fall semester. I am hoping to get some work done on the postcards so I can get them in the mail. I'll share them with you before they are posted.

Meanwhile, the coffee is ready and I need to go get my first mugful before I officially start my day. See you tomorrow........