Fabulous Friday!!

Judah Noahs 4X4 Freakwerx Phoenix Swap, a photo by northwoodsluna on Flickr.

YAY!!! It's Friday! Lunch consult with Dr. D. and the girls, and then home to go to Betti's shop for wax, cut 'n color. I'm feeling so shabby and gray, looking forward to the lift!


Spring in MN...Wednesday we had weather near 50 degrees, sunny and bright. Yesterday it was 20 with 20-35 MPH winds and snow. I got chilled to the bone filling by the wind up the car on my way home from a meeting at Social Services yesterday morning, it drained me and I had to take a nap before going back to Baudette for a meeting at the school with several staff, social services, parent and child. I had to pick up/transport to and from the meeting, the mom and her children, Mom is on crutches after breaking her leg when she fell on ice a couple of weeks ago. All the snow that melted into slush this week had refrozen and so that was a challenge for her. Fortunately I was able to get her close to doors at the school so that she didn't have to walk very far, and they had a wheelchair at the school so that helped too.


I was to have met with this family after the meeting at school at their home, and with another family last night but cancelled because of the weather. On the way to Baudette yesterday afternoon I nearly drove off the road 2 or three times in a white out. I wasn't going very fast at the time so that's all that saved me. After dropping the mom and kids off at their home I drove home, the roads had become so icy from the drifting snow and new snow but as soon as I'd gotten home and cancelled evening meetings the sun came out and the winds died down. Go figure! LOL But I was worn out by the cold and wind so probably wasn't a bad thing to not have to go back out last night. I find I'm still a bit worn out by the cold/bug I had last weekend. I actually think it was the flu that's going around but sleep and airborne helped me kick it a little bit sooner.


I got my Circle Jerks journal ( small group of 7 women interesting, funny, irreverent people) in a round robin, doing darker art) l mailed yesterday!

Great mail this week!
Monday I got a 4X4 from Judah Noah, from the Freakwerx 4X4 swap. So glad that group has risen from the dust! The theme was Phoenix. I love Judah and his art! Forgive the poor scan, I didn't have time to mess with the camera this morning. I just love this one!
Wed. a box from Dick Blick.
Just this morning I got in the mail:
Denise Hunter's journal for Circle Jerks
A fantastic art doll by Rene Stockfleth, from Freakwerx group swap. Absolutely great!! I'll have to take a photo and share later. Love it!


The next Freakwerx swap is due March 24; it's hand carved stamps. I ordered lino carvers and rubber blocks from Dick Blick on Monday. They arrived Wed. I can't wait to start the stamps! I've always wanted to carve stamps and this was a great opportunity to make myself do this. I also ordered a set of 12 Derwent Inktense color blocks as I've enjoyed using the Inktense pencils so much. The blocks will be great for laying down larger areas of color for backgrounds. So happy to have the weekend to work on this!


Projects for the weekend:
Do art for Karenleigh and Amy McDonald who sent me pieces for my 60th year journal.
Carve stamps
Work in my own art journal
If Denise's journal arrives, do some work in that one.
I feel like making some ATCs
Clean the downstairs
Clean the upstairs bathroom and my office
Make a vegetarian shepherd's pie to use up rutabaga, turnips, parsnips I've got in the fridge. Yum!
Make yogurt.


I've been limiting what art supplies I buy to X amount of dollars a month and trying to use up all kinds of stuff in my stash before buying much new, but I"m so tempted to buy the new gel printing plates that are offered on Interweave. But I still have an untouched Photo Shop Elements program I haven't even installed, maybe I should play with that for backgrounds first and then buy the gel plates. It just looks like so much fun and I've tons of cheap acrylic paints to use up before I buy new ones too.


Let me just say that Canson Mixed Media Journals are not worth the price! The paper is flimsy but Strathmore Mixed Media journals were sold out/backordered in the larger size everywhere I looked. So I settled for Canson because I didn't have the time to make a journal myself in the time that I had to do it. Strathmore pages are much better quality, heavier and will hold up to paints and mixed media better than Canson. I hope the journal holds up through the next 6 people to work on it. The one plus the heavy front and back covers, and the size. The paper would be okay for marker, pencils, and some acrylic paint. I gessoed the pages front and back first because they are pretty flimsy. I work rough and dirty so need heavier paper, like 140 lb watercolor paper.


A young family friend is turning 30, we're invited for cupcakes at 8:00 tonight at The Nighthawk, about 7 miles down the road. The Nighthawk has a colorful history. In the earlier 1900s the next county over, Roseau County was a dry county. The Nighthawk was built on the edge of LOW County and was a wild place frequented by lots from both counties. It's tamed down quite a bit from when we first moved up here in 95 but still has "the rep". I think I'll go for a little while tonight, but I am so anxious to stay home and get started on all the projects that I want to do.


Well, I'd better get busy and get a couple of things done before I leave for my meeting in Roseau.


LIFE IS GOOD!!!