Daffodils!

I am NOT SO PATIENTLY waiting for spring.

The other day's lesson in Illustrator prompted this idea for the daffodil. Ooh, so fun and I get to have flowers in my studio! Enjoy!

Summer Flowers! Blend and mesh project

I have ALWAYS wanted to do this... Now I now HOW!

This "feels" like WATERCOLOR painting when the colors blend and bleed! I get goosebumps!
THANK YOU Adobe Illustrator for helping me "paint" what I see in my head.

Spring in my studio...

I LOVE hydrangea flowers and always wanted to paint or draw them. Here is the start of something good in that direction. <3 this illustrator fun!

Flower Power!

Another zinnia in yellow... (sigh)... this has more petal variations and a different center.

Designing fun flowers

Pink Zinnia

A few have asked to see some of my designs. This flower is from playing (Ooops! I meant "working") this morning.

I am getting the feel with Illustrator and still learning some tricks, but this was a quick and easy design that I liked when done.

Graphically Speaking... I love Illustrator!

The assignment for our midterm was to create an image using a list of skills and tools we were taught during the first five chapters. Just about every tool gave me ideas for making flowers, so the garden idea began to form the first day.

The signs were needed to use text on paths, text masks and text with stretched points. The flowers almost all used the rotate and scaling tools. The daisies implemented the pathfinder intersect tool. The larger sign utilized the divide tool, and several other tools.

This was such a fun project to develop and organize. I enjoyed seeing the other student's projects at class tonight... all of them creative and inspiring. What a great class and the instructor really enjoys seeing our "lights" come on when we "get it".

What's next? Patterns and BRUSHES... I have some experience there, but it will be fun this week!

Illustration DRAWN: Bailey featured

Yes, I love Illustrator class at college.  Can you tell? 

My granddaughter received a new hat one Wednesday night at church. She was showing off her cuteness in the hat when someone added the mustache to her look. 

I needed to draw a sketch and remembered this cute photo that looked like a cartoon!

FUN!!

Truly a GIFT...

The big news for me in 2011 is that I will return to college after over 35 years!! I have some apprehensions, of course. The main apprehension is that I will not "miss" any critical information in the class.

I have only 20% of my hearing left. Although the hearing aids give me closer to normal hearing, I have lost much of the clarification and sound distinctions that are needed to form "words" that I am hearing. Many words sound too similar, and I cannot always "guess" what is being said.

For Christmas this year, my husband found an amazing gift for me. Truly, it's simply wonderful how helpful it will be in college! The PULSE Smart Pen is a mini-computer that will RECORD my notes in class WHILE recording the lecture in audio! When I return home, I will plug the pen into my laptop and will have a visual AND audio copy of the class session!

Now that extreme apprehension of "missing" vital information due to my severe hearing loss is MINIMIZED. You cannot imagine how much stress is lessened with the knowledge that I can REPEAT the information without asking over and over!

(BIG SIGH)... What a THOUGHTFUL GIFT! He knows me pretty good, huh?

Old Friends...

Yesterday hubby and I did a rare thing... we walked around the local mall. So many things had changed or relocated since we were last there (spring, I think?). New stores, GONE stores, etc were a marvel to us.

As we were leaving, I spotted a familiar face in the next kiosk and I ran to get a good HUG from my OLD FRIEND, Candace Brown. She told me her new married name; we chatted a few minutes and marveled that each of us had been thinking of each other recently. I had no idea how to contact her since her marriage. Now I can at least look her up!

I encouraged her to come see us at the church again. We genuinely love and miss her. Its been a LONG time since we heard from her (over ten years) and longer since we last saw her. It was good just seeing her and getting a hug. I hope we can see her again soon!

Proverbs 17:17  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Having a "MOM" MOMent...

I am so happy I was able to scan some photos of my family when I was home to Michigan recently. This photo of my mom was taken about the time she and dad dated and then married.  Supplies are Scrap Girls products. Here is the online gallery view with comments:  MOM @ 16

Once upon a time...Mom and Dad

Once upon a time my parents were happily married.

I tried to capture that moment in this scrap page. The photos are my favorites of them.

Seen online in my gallery here:  BILL & VI

What to do when the lights go OUT...

We experienced a power outage this morning...while I was installing software on my newly installed operating system.

I began to think of things I can do without power. Mr Edison would be thrilled to know we were so dependent on his miraculous invention of the light bulb! Here is how my list is going so far...

1. Read - by camp lantern
2. Pray for your children, grandchildren, pastor and friends
3. Clean off your desk
4. Drive to the bank instead of banking online
5. SHOP-if the lights are on at the store!
6. DRAW, if you can find your sketch book (see #3... it might be on the desk)
7. Use your laptop until the battery goes...
8. Call someone on your cell phone (house phone is dead, usually)
9. Play Scrabble on my I-touch
10. Snuggle with your hunny... 

Hey... what would YOU add to this short list?

Montana memory: BIG PURPLE SPOON

Montana was such a joyous trip... so many memories to scrap. This page came about because the High Noon Crop at Scrap Girls challenged us to scrap "PURPLE". I remembered this funny memory and went looking for the photo. Scrap Girls Camille's Garden was the kit used. Thanks for looking!  ONLINE VIEW

Page reads:  After our Jammer tour on the EAST side of Glacier National Park, we ate lunch and browsed the shops in the park.A SPOON CARVING shop featured this HUGE SPOON.Because it was SCRAP GIRL PURPLE, Al wanted to stop for a photo with Barb and the spoon!  July 2010

Oh... to be a KID again!

 "BUDDY" doll was our Grandma's "LIVE IN" grandchild.  EVERY grandchild played with Buddy and he was their "BEST FRIEND", even the grandsons. Buddy went everywhere in the house with us. He wore size two clothes and was always "happy" and "Smiling" and "approving" of our games.

When I was in Michigan this past week, I asked Aunt Jean (mom's only sibling) if she knew where Buddy was. They located him in her house and we had such a sweet and memorable visit with him. We estimate he is 55+ years old, at least. The overalls he is wearing were originally my cousin, Gail's. There was a second "Buddy" when he began to wear out, but this is the REAL DEAL Buddy.

Good to see you again, Buddy!

---------------------------------------

Someone collected these observations about the "good old days" we had as children. They were so insightful and I recall most of these feelings at some time in my youth. I miss the "good old days".

Oh, To Be a Kid Again...

Decisions were made by saying "eeny-meeny-miney-mo."

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do over!"

"Race issue," meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly."

Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.

It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.

Being old referred to anyone over 20.

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.

It was magic when Dad would "remove" his thumb.

It was unbelievable that dodge ball wasn't an Olympic event.

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.

Nobody was prettier than Mom.

Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.

It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.

Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.

Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare."

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute ads for action figures.

No shopping trip was complete unless a new toy was brought home.

"Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense.

Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down would cause giggles.

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.

War was a card game.

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.

Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin.

Ice cream was considered a basic food group.

Older siblings were the worst tormentors but also the fiercest protectors.

Home church "reunion"...

 Mrs Mae Noe with Georgia, Raymond, and Wil Bice

in the new building for Galilean Baptist in Plymouth MI

Me with Mrs Noe. She is such a sweet blessing

to me. I have quoted her teachings many times over

the years. It was good to hear she prays for me each week!

Going back to our "home church" to see my "preacher's wife" was a sweet trip. The church is in a newer building in a different city, but many of the same faces greeted me last night. It was wonderful to see God at work and hope for better days among the congregation. I shared with them a little bit about our church's GROW ministry and they peppered me for details after the service.

After the meeting I finally dragged myself away to get a bite with the Bices and Shirley McFadden and spent another hour or two just remembering and enjoying each other. Good times!

Siblings together again! Mixed emotions...

 

The house on Winifred in Wayne where Al lived from 

Kindergarten until his folks passed away.  

Its vacant and in foreclosure.

 

Ernie and Agnes Leasure with their daughter, Carol (aka Kirk),

who babysat Al & I often in her teens. The Leasures

lived across the street from Al's family and Ernie worked 

and carpooled with my dad to Ford Motor Co. They were

the COMMON LINK that brought our families together.

 

 SIBLINGS: Bill, Rose, Barb and Vicki 

Siblings with spouses, minus Al: Dan & Rose, Barb,

Vicki, Cheryl & Bill 

Its been a roller coaster ride of emotions this week. Driving down the street I used to ride my bike on, seeing the aged homes looking so much the same as then, feeling a bit of excitement to be there, but apprehension at what I might find around the next corner... Seeing the lot where I lived with a new home and the same old address was a totally unexpected experience.

Its is SO HARD to see the economic crisis here. So many homes are on the market, with so few persons to buy them. 

Driving out to the country where my sisters live, memories flooded my mind of the country afternoon rides with dad when we drove through fallen leaves at breakneck speeds on dirt roads, hunting down the elusive hickory trees on the roadside. When we found hickory trees, we jumped out of the car and gathered as many nuts as we could before heading out to locate more trees. (Dad LOVED ice box cookies with hickory nutmeats!)

I spent much of the week trying to copy family photos for the siblings. After several days of computer vs scanner conflict, I finally called my other sister, Rose, to see if she had a functioning scanner. We spent the evening scanning over 250 photos before I headed back to Pinckney for bed. 

Today the brothers and the sisters came together again for the first time since I was here last... about ten years ago. It was a wonderful time of remembering and getting to know each other again. If you still have your siblings close enough, get a hug while you can (I can certify that we hugged on each other all afternoon!)

Back "HOME"... not what it used to be!

I don't have a photo to share, but my sister's dining room table is covered from one end to the other with stacks of photos I want to scan or photograph before I leave here. However, the scanner that I brought with me "hiccuped" so often that it finally quit altogether. There seems to be a problem with my 64 bit processor vs the old scanner software.

Next choice is to wait on my sister bringing her scanner back from my nieces tomorrow night, so I will be scanning all afternoon Sunday! It will be an interesting rest of the week here.

I have found some wonderful pictures and cannot wait to share them with my own family.

See you soon, family! (and Al, of course!)

Never FORGET 9-11; 2 pg memory

Our trip to the local fair turned suddenly somber when we discovered the two beams from the World Trade Center. The story is in the captions. NOTICE the somber faces of the children of all ages!

Thanks for looking!  

Online gallery views:  LARGE COMPOSITE

LEFT 

RIGHT

Cousins... a photo to scrap!

During a church dinner, the oldest three granddaughters were goofing off and posed for a cell phone. The companion print of their "goofy" faces might make a nice second page!

Thanks for looking... ONLINE GALLERY VIEW... HERE

Montana 2010 scrap pages

CHOSEN WEEKLY LAYOUT WINNER IN SCRAPGIRLS NEWSLETTER 8/14/10.

Gallery VIEW

The Glacier tour this year was so different from the previous two trips. We visited the EAST side of the Continental Divide, and saw so many differing views and had different kinds of adventures!

Left and right single views

JOURNALING READS:

Touring the EAST side of the Glacier National Park gave us new views and adventures!

The tour included a boat ride on Two Medicine Lake, a small hike to a waterfall and photo opportunities we never expected.  On the hike to the falls we noted the warning for bears... and saw the bear claw mark on a tree just a 100 feet or so later!  We were amazed at the huge flowers in the wild! At the falls we spotted a lone fly fisherman and we discovered he was in our photo when we returned home!

Jimmy, the tour host, allowed Al to sit behind the wheel of the Jammer, and he took a photo of us standing inside it.

After the tour we stopped at a park area cafe to share a buffalo burger... SO yummy!

Although we saw no wildlife except fish, it was a very good tour! We enjoyed the adventure immensely!