Hello, My Name Is Mike

Hello, My name is Mike

 This is Mike. He is a rescue cat from my parents front porch.  At the time Mother fed the dropped off and feral cats on the back porch and this sweet one was bullied and not allowed to eat. After much discussion (we already had 3 cats) we brought him home and have shared our love ever since.  On Sunday he was doing his level best to help me with taxes and I must say he did an excellent job.  We have them completed and ready to turn in, on time, which is tomorrow.  I am quite sure they would not have been finished without his sweet purring to keep us going.

 Icicles have been known to kill people,

you know!

We are in the throws of an ice storm, well, the backside of it, anyway.  We got our first round on Monday and a little more weather thrown in on Wednesday.   Added to that is waking up to 4 degrees this morning and going even lower tonight.  Whew!  The forecast is not so pleasant for Friday night as well.

 We are hoping our Japanese Maple, which we planted as a sapling, will pull through with minimal damage. But, I can say that we are a lot better off than many in the Northeast.  I do not know how they are able to survive getting food, going to work, etc. No area can be prepared for such a blast of winter.  My heart goes out to all who are dealing with such extremes.

With taxes and trying to stay ahead of the weather, I have not been able to get my hands into any artwork this week but if we get more winter Friday night I hope to be in and playing Saturday!

Stay warm!
Hilari

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day

I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day.  It was never one of my highlighted moments during my dating days.  It always seemed to hit during the dry spells or around a big breakup.  But being married for almost 24 years, it is probably about time to let it go.  The good thing is there will be half price chocolate tomorrow!!

This young lady is happily posing for her picture, showing off her Valentine's roses she received from her sweetheart.  She doesn't care that they are made of metal or that her book is covered with black and white roses.  She can see only love through her eyes.  Oh, new idea...something about rose colored glasses...hum...

On Saturday, I will be leading the project for our book making club.  I have my project picked out and somewhat put together, so my evenings this week will center around the details.  That and taxes.  As I write this, I am putting off gathering my tax info and delving in.  Since we own our own business it is somewhat daunting, but after 20 years of doing them, like Valentine's Day, I should just let it go and get to them.  Neither taxes nor Valentine's has killed me yet.

Here's to jumping in!

Hilari

Be Your True Self

For Christmas 2013 husband gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card and Saturday was the perfect day to use it.  I found a new book on book binding and one by the street artist Banksy.  While standing in line I found this book gift card holder and thought the sentiment lent itself to one of my girls. She must have felt the same because she worked up quickly.

My book creating club, KBAG, has been asked to show our work at the Fountain City Art Center in March.   It is always great to see a collection of our work presented because not only does it showcase the talent in our group but also the differences in our creative style.  The new girl is going to be shown along with Comic book reader and another new one, the Swinger.

When I get stressed I clean and yesterday was a full blown day of throwith away mode.  This time the studio got the much needed overhaul.  Today I'm in recovery mode which consists of chocolate and hot mint tea.  All will be better tomorrow.

Enjoy the sunshine today,
Hilari

Blooming in the Winter

I am very happy to say that I have been asked to put some of my artwork in James Freeman Interiors, a gallery in our downtown district.  It opened in October and they want to feature local artists along with their market purchases.   After the long spell of happenings, both good and not so, it is nice to have a real reason to make time for my sculptures. I so love to be immersed in a project and watch it come to life.

In connection with that last statement,  I had to take a break from the last project.  I cannot get the stupid wire to spin around the stupid dowel properly.  And after a considerable amount of time spent trying to accomplish this, it came to mind that a small Superman will be attached to top of said wire, which will throw off the weight and render all previous work concerning said wire spinning useless.  So back to the drawing board...at some future point.

News on BFF...After staying in local hospital for 29 days and a visit to Cleveland Clinic, they have ruled out some things and have done genetic testing to look deeper.  It will be 4-6 weeks until those results come back.  So for now, blood thinners and rest seem to be helping with the immediate problem.

We a have had a very dreary winter so far and it has weighed on my soul.  I used to love winter and the cold weather but the older I get the more need the sun.  These little beauties are happily blooming in the cold wintery weather and I will use them as a reminder to keep blooming myself!

Happy January,
Hilari

A Work in Progress

I always enjoy the holiday season...from feeding 14 at Thanksgiving all the way to making sure I get the Peeps for my father-in-law for Christmas.  I really really love the twinkley lights and the Christmas music playing everywhere. With that said, I am equally relieved when the holidays have come to an end. I make many of our gifts and am responsible for the hunting and gathering of the rest, so after all the festivities have been enjoyed, I am glad for a reprieve.

Before putting up all the decorations and outside lights, I have had a few moments to spend in the workshop.  Unfortunately, this is how I roll while trying to figure out a new idea.  This here...that there...and as always, the thing I am looking for is hiding under something else.  I have a new automata idea where a larger wheel (pictured left) will spin outside of a wooden box (center) which will move a circle of wire around a wooden 6- 8 inch tall dowel glued to the top of the box.  The wire will carry a small Superman which will circle around a person reading a comic book standing on the top of the dowel.  Clear as mud, right?  Now, you can see how my focus can create a work table that looks like this.  This time, though, I made a mock-up out of cardboard which will save a lot of wood from being unnecessarily sacrificed due to:  I think this is the right size...nope...how about a little bigger??...maybe smaller??

 A more completed idea

Yesterday I spent the day with BFF, who is back in the hospital.  Actually, that was day #22 for her second go around.  She is hanging in there but has moments of angst because all the test, doctors, pokes and prods have not been able to give the answers.  Watching someone go through this sure puts things in perspective. It is hard to complain about a bad day while others are so ill they are separated from their family and home, for days on end, especially during this time of year.  Yuck!

On a lighter note: You know when you are with the right person when he sees past the hair up in a bandana, Godzilla t shirt, and Christmas fleece pants and says that he thinks you are sexy while you are working with the scroll saw.  I think I'll keep him!

I hope everyone had a joyful holiday and safe new year!

Peace,
Hilari
 

An Automata Experience

Whoo Whoo

This is my first piece of automata completed without instructions or a teacher's help.  The copper cone was shaped and cut during art class.  The shaping did come with a lot of help from others who had more finesse than I.  I found it difficult to get a nice small shape with a large rubber mallet.  It looked so perfect I almost hated to cut it into its parts but I jumped on in and hacked away.  Before class was over I tried and tried to solder the piece to a copper base so it would be completed.  The teacher even offered to connect it for me but I was not going to let it get the better of me.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it, having no way to solder it at home, but I knew I would get it mounted somehow.  I wanted the cone to be flexible as intended so with this I can use the crank or pull it up by hand.  I could not be happier with it.

Many failed attempts... or a learning experience

I have new ideas zinging around my head and I cannot wait to grab a few moments in the shop to work on them.  I have 6 books from the library waiting on me to learn all their secrets.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving sharing our home with family and friends.  We were all fed and tucked into our respective homes by 4:00 and I do not know about the rest but we had our pj's on early that evening.

This weekend is devoted to finishing up and decorating for Christmas. I feel that I have a pretty good handle on things...at least I hope so!  We'll see...

Good night to all,
Hilari

Happy Thanksgiving!

I saw this little guy while eating dinner beach side while on vacation.  I could not resist snapping his picture.  I looked at BFF and said "Here I go" to give her a heads up.  Well, actually a bottom's up would have been more appropriate because I had to slip under the bench to capture his expression.  I must have startled him by the look on his face.  I didn't startle BFF though, she didn't even bat an eye.  Hence the reason she is my BFF.

Speaking of BFF, please say a little prayer for her.   She was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday, released today, treated for mini strokes.  She thought it was just stress and at 49 most people would.  The Dr. feels she should have a full recovery, as long as the blood thinners do their job, but it will take some time.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner it reminds me that I am thankful for so many things: our health, family, friends, our business and so much more. Our turkey is thawing, invites sent out, house attended to so we are ready to celebrate!

Oh, Hahaha...just noticed I have been showing my age...using BBF instead of BFF in my older posts.  I was just letting everyone know that she is my Best Best Friend.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Hilari