What a Week

I can't believe that it has been almost 2 weeks since I have written here. I am keeping pretty busy.

I am trying to average at least 3-4 walks a week right now. I do not enjoying being hot and sweaty. I would love to have summer highs in the low 80's and no higher. Unfortunately summer in southern Maryland is not that cool. Looks like more of the low 90's for a bit again.

Wayne didn't get his stitches out when he had hoped but they did remove them the other day so he is happy about that.

Last week went pretty smoothly and I spent most of my time working on my BJP project for 2008-9, my BJP blog, my website and web gallery.

This week started out pretty good. I met Colleen for lunch on Monday so that was fun. On Tuesday I went to Bead Boutique and visited with Tricia and Kim. I picked up beads and other supplies to participate in an in-house beading contest they are having for employees and teachers. No prize for it but for the voting there will be no names on the pieces so it will be less of a popularity contest than the others have been. I got 2 sets of the contest beads because I had more than one idea. The contest beads are 20 African glass beads that are around 10mm. They are not something I would normally choose so that is a challenge for me. I have been working on the 2 ideas. The first one I did I am not sure I like it and may take it apart and try something else with it. I like how the other one looks although I think I may need to tweak it a bit.

Wednesday I just didn't feel very good, not really sick just kind of icky. It became a very trying day. Wayne had noticed a couple of charges on the Discover when he was looking at our account online. Neither of us had done them so it was time to call Discover. In the process of getting that figured out and phone calls made I checked our other credit card and found fraudulent charges on it as well. Hard to believe they both happened within a week of each other. I am guessing by different people or ways since one was 2 large purchases and the other was quite a few smaller purchases and at least 2 things were shipped to the house with the correct name and address. It was not a pleasant day, lots of phone calls. Everyone was pretty helpful and Discover got a new card to us in 24 hours. Things are settling down with that although I need to make a couple of more calls I think. (oh Joy!)

Creatively this week I have mainly been working on my contest pieces although yesterday I spent some time on my BJP project. It looks like I will have enough to continue posts every 3 days for that blog at least into the first week into August. As the stitching on the collage goes I will have less to blog about.

Marti called and told me she got into a show in Missouri. 265 or so entries and like 45 accepted. Pretty great. She has pieces in 3 shows all opening on the same weekend. I also got good news. My Flower Trellis Necklace (see photos) was chosen to travel with the Bead International exhibit.

For those who want to know what I have been up to I am including links below to my BJP posts in the order they were written and my web gallery and website.

July 1- A Seed Germinates
July 4- Goals For A New Year
July 7- A Sapling Takes Root In Purple Dirt
July 10- Trying New Techniques/Collaging my World
July 13- How Do I Do It/ It's A Secret
July 16- Like Leaves On A Tree: Plenty Of Ideas
July 19-Painting My World/A Tree Takes Form

My Web Gallery- Includes photos of both of my BJP pages and Susan Plager's Graduation.
Artistic Kreations and Passions- my website

Keeping Busy

I have done pretty good so far with Wayne gone. I have spent lots of time working on my 2008-9 Bead journal project and having a blast on it. I have tried all kinds of new techniques and I have gone through lots of ideas and some have been set aside for future projects and others are making their way onto the piece. I have 3 posts so far and will have one coming out every 3rd day for the next month or so. If you want to read more about it go to my AKP Bead Journal Project Blog. The photo above is a full sized sketch of the piece in progress. I still need to work more on the sketch but I can do plenty of work before I need to finalize the ideas for the monthly blocks. I have photos of the project on My Web Gallery and my Artistic Kreations and Passions website.

Besides working on my BJP project I have been writing posts for my BJP blog, updating my website and web gallery, and taking photos of everything. I have not been bored.

Last week I only walked 2 times but this week I have already walked 3 times. I am trying to watch what I eat as well. I am trying to get better about exercising and eating healthfully. I think I am starting to get back into the grove of being on my own again.

I have gotten a couple of calls from Wayne, he is doing well and hopes to get his stitches out near the end of the week. He has started exercising again being careful not to overdue it, no rowing machine or weight lifting that is for sure. Although it is plenty warm in this location he says the nights are cooler.

I am going to go to Bead Fest in Philly in August again and have signed up for 2 classes. One is wire work (viking knit) and the other is chain maille. Should be fun and I will get to see Roma and her husband Tony again. I will also be looking for beads for my BJP so that will be great.

That is about it, as busy as I am keeping it still only takes a few paragraphs to write about it.

An Overdue Update

I am so sorry that this has been so long in coming. I must admit the last couple of months and all of the coming and going has gotten the better of me, I feel like I have lost track of something, quite possibly my mind.

What was supposed to be a 10 day trip for Wayne ended up being 2 weeks due to a broken plane. He ended up home only 5 days before he was off to Iraq again. We don't know if it will be 2 or 3 months or as screwed up as everything had been who knows maybe longer. It will only be 2 months unless they approve an extension he has requested. His official retirement date is Jan 1, 2009 and with all of his terminal leave (vacation etc.) that means he could be done as early as Sept 10th. Since they may need him to run things there or to run support back here they will probably approve it.

During the 5 days home he had surgery to remove skin cancer on his arm. It was more involved than he expected and the first time I saw it, it looked like a small shark had attacked him. Loads of stitches that he will have for 2 more weeks (surgery was a week ago). The rest of the time was spent on post and pre-deployment doctors appointments, getting gun qualifications, paperwork, and packing. We had the weekend for just us but that was about it. He left for Iraq yesterday, it was a bit anti-climatic for me since they left here on Thursday for some training and to pick up gear.

Now it is time to figure out my life for this summer. The one area that hasn't suffered is my creativity. I swear without it sometimes I would go nuts. I have been putting in lots of time working on my Sacred Tree for my BJP project for 2008-2009. Officially it doesn't start until September but since mine is going to include so much more than the monthly blocks I need a head start. The whole thing is going to be a quilt/mixed media collage with painted and beaded blocks. The entire piece is going to be a sort of self-portrait or things that are sacred, important, or symbolic of who I am. If you are interested I am going to start blogging about it today. I will include a lot of information on my creative process, different techniques I am trying, my goals, and all of the symbology of the piece. I already have put enough time into the project that I have enough info for several posts so I will try to write about 2 times a week on it until I catch up at least. It will be on my BJP Blog. I have also started a new album in My Web Gallery for the piece and if you don't want to wait for my blog to catch up you can see my photos of the progress of the piece there, I will update it as I get new photos.

Although I have felt very self-indulgent since Wayne left I have gotten an amazing amount of creating done in that time. I didn't walk the first 4 days he was gone but have gone out the last couple of mornings so am trying to get back on track there.

Changes in my World

It has been a long time since I have written and a lot has happened since then. Wayne and I drove to Athens, Ohio and met Wayne's folks to go to the opening night of Bead International at the Dairy Barn. It was a lot of fun and I got to wear my Pond necklace for the first time. I got lots of complements for both my piece in the show and my pond necklace. We all had a really good time and seeing all of the wonderful pieces of bead work and basketry was very inspiring. I really enjoyed seeing some of the pieces that were not jewelry since I am planning to explore more bead work that is not jewelry. Saturday morning we went back to the gallery to take some photos and chat with people more.

At this point we split up and Wayne and his Dad headed to Dayton to view the Air Museum and then on to the track event at Mid-Ohio. Marti and I headed to Louisville for some creative play time. The guys had a lot of fun and us girls got a lot of creative work done. I spent most of my time either helping to figure out where Marti should go on her art quilts and how to improve them and getting her help working on the ideas for my next years Bead Journal project. We even dyed some silk fabric that she had to be the overall background for my piece, she also gave me some other treasures to use on my piece and to play with for other projects.

During the time we were in Louisville I went twice to her Wednesday Stitchery group which is always a good time and they got to see my purses and my Bead Journal pages for 2007-8. I also got to see and help with creative input on a couple of her Art Quilt friends, it was so great to be involved with all of the creative process both with my pieces and others.

The bad news during this time was that my Uncle Earnst Throne died. He has been fighting cancer for a while. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of his family and friends.

All four of us headed up to Palatine (Chicago area) to visit with Wayne's brother Doug's family for our niece's graduation. We got their on time on Friday so that we could see Susie all dressed up for her Prom. If you would like to see more pics of Susie all dressed up for prom and those from her graduation go to my Web Gallery. The weekend was full of good food and time with family which was a lot of fun.

From there we headed back to Louisville for a couple more days and then it was time to head home. I brought quite a few small projects along to work on and got 5 necklaces made another one started and some small pieces that will go into some future piece worked on. Combining that with the work I got done on the idea stage of my BJP project and it was a pretty productive trip.

We got back on Thursday and Wayne went to work on Friday and then on Saturday he was off for a short trip to Iraq. We also found out that he will be going back to Iraq this summer for 2-3 months. Looks like I get to spend most of this summer alone as well. At least I have a long list of projects to work on and won't get bored. I think being creative has been my saving grace during all of my time as a Navy wife. I have no trouble keeping myself busy and I usually get tons done while he is gone.

Since being home I have shipped Wayne off, unpacked and gotten things picked up and put away, did some cleaning up, worked on class instructions for 2 classes, and worked on a couple of smaller beading projects. I have also spent some time reading just for me. I have gone walking a couple of times and hope to get back into the habit and back on track with watching what I eat.

The Good News and The Not So Good News

Starting with the good news I got first and second place ribbons at the Southern Maryland Quilt and Needlework exhibit at Sotterley Plantation. My Dragonfly purse got first and my Iris purse got 2nd. I didn't have any competition in the bead work category. It still was great and I got good critiques from the judges and the people in charge said I got lots of good comments so it was a positive experience.

We leave in a couple of days for our trip to Bead International, Mid Ohio Track for Wayne, and time spent with Wayne's folks and his niece's graduation. I have gotten most of my stuff ready to go including the important stuff like jewelry and purses and projects to work on. The back of the car will also be full of track tires and tools for Wayne's 2 days on the track. I am sure we will have a good time. I still have some things to do before we leave but things are coming together pretty well.

The not so good news is that shortly after we get back Wayne will be heading back to Iraq. It is not really bad news since he won't be gone too long, actually he will be going twice in just a couple of months. I should be able to get a fair amount done while he is gone each time and since I have to get my journals and cards done for my BJP pages it won't be all bad.

I am looking forward to our trip, it should be a good time.

12 Pages Finished

As hard to believe as I find it I have finished all 12 of my BJP pages and have them hanging on the wall. It has been an amazing journey and I have learned an amazing amount in the last year. I have played with techniques and supplies that were new to me. I have found out how much I enjoy combining my bead work and photography. The pages have turned out to be far more of a journal of my personal growth in the last year than I ever expected them to be. If you want to read more about my journey in the last year visit my AKP Bead Journal Project Blog for more pictures visit my Artistic Kreations and Passions website, my web gallery, or the BJP section of my website all which have been updated. I have named all of the pieces individually and I still have work to do. I still need to put all of the information on the backs of the pieces, make the cards that go into the backs for November-May and make the journals for the November -May pieces.

I have other things I need to do in the week and a half or so before we leave to go to Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois. I have class supply lists and instructions to write up for the classes I will be teaching at Bead Boutique in June. I need to get photos to them as well to go with the list of classes for their website. I need to get photos of my BJP pages to a few different places as well.

It has been kind of strange weather around here and we had pretty stormy weather this weekend. We lost the top of a tree but Wayne got it all cut up and it didn't do any damage. We last power for a few hours Sunday night but it came back. Today the Sun finally came out again and I went for a walk which I am still not being very good about.

This weekend I will be going to the Sotterley Plantation to see the Quilt and Needlework exhibit that will have 2 of my purses in it. Wayne is probably going to go with me since we have never toured the plantation. I have only been there once and it was just to drop off my pieces. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of work is in the show.

I also need to think about what all I want to pack for the trip. I need to pick out what of my beaded jewelry I want to take along and then pick outfits to go with. I will also be taking my BJP pages so that Marti can see all of them finished. I also need to pack up some projects to take along to work on. I am also thinking my sketchbook to work on ideas for next years BJP. I need to take the time to flesh out the ideas some.

I would also like to send out congrats to my friend Susan who won a contest for one of her lamp work beads. You can see her website and some of her wonderful beads at her website Insanity Beads. You can also see some my necklaces using some of her beads here.

I am still in kind of a strange place mentally but I think part of that is the drawing in before a change. I know that the change is coming and part of me is resisting and another part is focusing inward. It means that I haven't gotten somethings worked on that I should have and I spent four days in a row spending most of my time reading and not getting much else done.

Wayne left last Sunday and will be back this Friday. He is currently in San Antonio doing some kind of exercise with the army. It means we will be apart for our anniversary (May 5th) but the week after he gets back we are going to go up to Baltimore for a couple of days and go to two Red Sox games and see a map exhibit. Maybe not to romantic but it should be a blast.

I have not been very good about watching what I eat or going for my walks. I don't think I am going to lose my 5 lbs for April and May but I am sure once Wayne gets home he will help give me a kick in the pants and help me get motivated again. I went for my first walk in over a week today. It looks like tomorrow is supposed to be slightly cooler and nice so I may try to be good and go again.

The photo is of the start of my Crystal Iris. I was considering using it in an entry for Swarovski's contest this year but couldn't decide exactly where I wanted to go with it. I decided not to do an entry this year. I have been undecided for a while and finally decided that I just wasn't in the right place at this time. It is kind of a relief to not have to worry about it any more. Maybe next year I will consider it but for this year no.

I went out to lunch with my friend Colleen on Tuesday, we hadn't seen each other for a while so it was good to see her. I also went to Bead Boutique and gave them some samples for some new classes so I should be back on the schedule for June. On Friday I made a couple of new pieces to send with my entry for Bead International. I was allowed to send up to 5 extra smaller pieces to offer for sell in their Gallery shop. They are now all on their way to Ohio. Besides mailing those off on Saturday I also went to the Sotterley Plantation, they have a yearly Quilt and Needlework exhibit and they accept bead work in the Needlework. I decided to enter two of my purses (my Iris purse and my Dragonfly purse) I considered trying to enter my BJP pages but wasn't sure how it would work. I have never been to the show yet. maybe if we are still here next year I will consider entering them.

Today I have been trying to do a bit of catch up writing in my blogs, updating my web gallery and if I have time make a few updates to my website as well. It all takes time. I also need to catch up on e-mails. I have been reading them but am overdue for replying to a number of people, eek!

My idea for my 2008 BJP is starting to gel and I am kind of excited about that. It will be different than this years but I am sure will provide many new challenges. I think that I am very glad that I have the summer between the two years. I need to finish all of my cards and journals for the 2007 BJP and will need to work on figuring out more about my 2008 project. Once I have the idea further along I will put a post up for it (probably in my BJP blog)

Thanks for all of the support and comments, it helps that you are all out there and so wonderfully supportive.