What I'm reading Wednesday...

Firebird by Janice Graham.  It's another one of my 2012 Reading Challenge selections.

Avert your eyes, Polly...

I'm a little afraid (mortified actually) that my friend Polly, might pop in and see this.  She is a REAL artist, and is working on something very exciting at the moment.

 What follows, however, is NOT the work of a real artist.  It's done by someone (me) who watched a youtube video and assembled some watercolors, a sponge brush, and a whisk broom to work with.  I exagerate, but not by much.

I needed a large picture on heavy paper for a birthday project for my mother-in-law.  So I whipped out the **cough** masterpiece **cough** above.  Now it needs to be cut apart into post cards...which is proving to be a lot more difficult than I had thought.

But if I am able to get it cut apart cleanly into post cards, I'll be mailing each one, pre-addressed and stamped, to each of my husband's siblings and nieces and nephews with a request that they write a little personal note and drop it in the nearest mailbox.  The hope is that my mother-in-law will receive lots of fun birthday greetings, and then she can assemble them, puzzle like, to see the picture of our Texas bluebonnets that are blooming all over at the moment.

It's a fun idea that I came across here.  I'm doing it a little differently, because I want to make it as easy as possible for everybody to get it mailed on time.

What's your sign...

One of the things about this house that drives me absolutely crazy is that there is no restroom access from a public room. There is one in the master bedroom, a jack-and-jill between the two guest rooms, and one in the office/craft room. It seems that guests are always having to ask where they can... umm... freshen up. For some reason this strikes me as kind of inhospitable...like I only begrudgingly share my home's comforts.

The half bath in the office is the closest to being easily accessible for guests, since the office is right off of the kitchen.  Even people who have been here before forget which door leads to their destination, so I thought it needed some kind of sign.  

I really like this one, but honestly, I don't think that all of my guests would recognize its meaning. 

I considered that this could kind of do double duty...but thought that some of my guests might not appreciate my sense of humor.

I finally decided that I couldn't go far wrong with the international signage symbol.  I pulled a 99 cent framed wooden plaque from my craft stash, and painted the frame white and the background in a color really close to the wall color.  I found the 'international symbol' online, printed it out on cardstock, and cut out the little people with an Exacto and discarded them.  Then I used the cardstock background as a stencil and sponged on white paint. 

There.  Though some may find it tacky, there's not much chance of missing the correct path.

So what do you think...weird or helpful?

PS: Now I just need to make the black hole of a craft zone presentable enough so that I'm not mortified when someone walks in there.

Thursday...

Today I had the day off, and I tried out a new recipe for Sushi Salad that I found on Pinterest.  The original recipe is from Two Peas And Their Pod.  My adaptation is up over at my What's Cooking Four Miles North of Nowhere.  It turned out great!  I will definitely be making it again.  It was vegetarian the way I made it today, and it didn't stick to my ribs for long.  Next time I think I will add some cooked fish or shrimp.

I also caught up on my Sky Scarf.  I write down the sky conditions every day on the calendar...just in case I don't knit that evening.  That has made me a little lazy about doing the knitting daily.

I also played with these adorable puppies.

Oh, that little black and white one reminds me of my late Jack Russell.  I'm thinking that these are maybe a Jack Russell and chihuahua mix.  They showed up in the front yard and hung around all afternoon.  The neighbor across the street finally came looking for them.  They're not actually his either, but he's been caring for them, and will be looking for homes for them.  He thinks somebody dumped them, as he found them on his property a week or so ago.  I just do NOT need a puppy at the moment, but boy if I did...

This morning I thought I was going to make some headway on a project for my mother-in-law's birthday.  Maybe tomorrow.  But I'd better hurry, her birthday is quickly approaching.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Still reading Poison by Sara Poole...sort of.  I've made almost no progress on it so far. 

Crazy time change is knocking me silly again...well that and going to work earlier than normal and staying later.  I stopped at the grocery store after work yesterday.  Then when I got home I had to 'lie down for just a minute' and woke up an hour and a half later.  I probably would have slept straight through till the alarm went off in the morning if it hadn't been for some crazy insect or frog outside the window.  It sounded just like a telephone ringing...and ringing...and ringing...  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  Where's the real poison when you need it?

Planning...



I distinctly remember a question asked one morning in a Sunday School class I attended.  Are you a dreamer of dreams, or a doer of deeds?  I thought about that for awhile before deciding that I was a dreamer of deeds.  I plan to accomplish a lot of things, but action frequently fizzles in the planning stage, or gets pushed behind something of a higher priority.  But like a lot of people, I always do better when I make a list and can scratch through the tasks I actually finish.

I have a real issue with finding just the right calendar/planner too.  I usually end up making my own.  That way I can feel like I'm accomplishing something, even if I am just planning to plan.  The one I just finished will give me a monthly calendar page, and then facing that a weekly task page.  I can keep track of things I want to blog about as well as tasks around the house.  And then at the end of the year, they can go in a 3-ring binder as a sort of work journal.

And if you're wondering why I am just getting this little project done two and a half months into the year...well...you know...

But now I can scratch it off my list!

The Secret World of Arriety...

 

photo credit: Studio Ghibli 

The Borrowers by Mary Norton was one of my favorite series of books as a child.  I've been wanting to see the newest movie adaptation, The Secret World of Arriety, ever since it came out.  Now that Spring Break week has officially begun, we kept the girls Friday night and took them to see the movie on Saturday.

I didn't have great expectations, since I found the previous movie adaptations pretty disappointing.  But this one is wonderful!  The art and animation of it was just beautiful.  The scenes with the fields of wildflowers were some of my favorites...the sun shining through the delicate flower petals...the sparkling dew drops...gorgeous!

You could definitely recognize the Japanese touches, not just in the animation, but in the buildings and some of the characters.  The Studio Ghibli made a beautiful movie.

The girls loved it as well.  I can't wait to start reading the books with them.