better her than mccain....

props to paris...

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our house, is a very very very fine house....

so sorry to be away so long but i've been very distracted by this:



oh, and this:

couldn't get my mind off of this, either:



we are in the throws of purchasing this great 1700 sq. foot home in Ault, CO, 14 miles east of fort collins... it was built in 1904 BUT it's not our until 29 august when we sign on the dotted line...

what a stressful and exciting time...every notice that they both feel the same? back soon...

vacay...

mr. pop pirate and i went on a much needed vacation for our 8/12 anniversary...it has been over a year and a half since the last holiday off on our own, without kid, dogs, cat, birds, plants, work...we made our way down on our big adventure to pagosa springs...it's a cute little village just this side of the new mexico border...here's mr. looking awefully handsome with the vista of the collegiate ranges...we were only a few hours outside of denver here...

we got on our way...going just a few miles an hour too fast...ahem...the trooper was facing the opposite way...i looked behind us and the line of cars and he had certainly turned around and, wow, had his lights going....hmmm...so mr. pop pirate, in his true form (read: many cops ditched in his younger years),we flew off on a blm land road and skirted around the bend... on rd 49xx apparently...


we found ourselves out here...not bad...(we were not followed...)

we made the final climb up the continental divide and stood in awe of wolf creek pass...this is mr. making me nervous...

another view....
we soaked in the mineral hot springs ( a lot like yellowstone park)...climbed to a waterfall...looked at the prices of property ...



and had a restful time of four days (read: we napped a lot)...

in the end we said good bye to our fab bed and breakfast...and made the long roadtrip home...


good bye...

my goal is to vacation a lot sooner than in another year...

p.s. the rush concert at redrocks on wednesday evening was so fun, and it didn't get rained out this time...

p.p.s more art soon i promise myself...

stolen booty...

went over to northern light this a.m. and so enjoyed this clip that i stole it...that's what pirates do, no? aarrrr...

art mimics life mimic art

facinating...
http://www.yeondoojung.com/artworks_view_wonderland.php?no=88

something...

i've done "something" with myself...this piece is done on a scrap piece of wood brought home from mr. pop pirate's job site, combined with tissue paper, acrylic paint, stencil, rusty nail, yard stick, silver spoon, alcohol inks cloth ribbon and (as kieth lobue always lists) soil...

here is "something"...





mr. and i were going to see a concert at red rocks tonight for our anniversary but, just as the rain clouds were parting, they canceled it! we've been looking forward to seeing rush for months...arrrr!

and the winner is.... (a little late on my part)

do i know how to pick a winner...david cook was my choice since day one...american idol is inspiring in that people think they might have talent, they try and try again and some even become artists...







here is my mess on my studio table...some art has actually come from this mess...

bread and water can so easily be made into toast and tea

...or banana bread...

this recipe came from the ol' work horse, the joy of cooking...simply the best banana bread on the planet...


went to nunn, colorado yesterday for some grrlfriend time...kelly and i went out junking, finding this sale of repossessed storage unit junk...found pastel-colored yard sticks for decorating my studio, a small rack of antlers that will be painted chartreuse...

then we sauntered over to "oak n' tokens in ault, colorado where these two gems run their store that never changes...


happy spring (finally)...



off to my very first mammogram....aaarrrr...

saturday

went junking after my yearly exam...(don't all women do that?) my friend jette's son, forrest, is graduating high school and we'll party next month to celebrate...hmmm, what would an 18 year old want from an antique mall...whoop! i found an old cardboard suitcase, great shape, with a leather handle and the original key...i thought he might use it for storage...i love it...it looks masculine and cool...


then i came upon these beauties... in great shape and just the right color for my red/blue kitchen...they now sit in a corner on the counter which is historically cluttered...no before pix as that would be evidence of disorganization...just take my word for it...baaaad...now--gooood! all vitamin,pill bottles, herbs, and doggy treats are neatly tucked away...

speaking of doggies...she's a treat...had her first day of doggy school on tuesday...she is an A+ student....

mr. pop pirate loving on this doggy, lacy...(sorry, hun...showing off your hairline)...
the cat was busy this weekend getting his summer "lion cut"...from big white fur ball and resident shedder to ferocious suburban menace...



don't you just love his tail? it's very dr. suess...

went to a charity bowling night...it was 80's themed ....haven't seen that many shoulder pads and leg warmers and big hair and neon colors in a long time...mr. had a skinny tie and i went for the punk look complete with safety pins in my ears, a Mohawk and my old motley crue tee...it's authentic! i'm no poser...

here's the neighbors...hard to look preppy, nick, you hippy, you...

Evenflow

every morning in my art studio...art ideas flowing, spring has sprung...here's a brand new piece i'm working on...it's for the art challenge the artist's nook is sponsoring in june...take an everyday item and go...i've got a dustpan, light bulb and a pair of scissors....i'll work on the background using linoleum self-made stamps...layering along the way...


as promised, here are pix of my artfest finished projects i did in my three classes...linoleum prints on deli paper...
copper necklace in susan kasmer's class....i absolutely am pleased with the results....



i stamped a couple of my "word salad" phrases on both the tube shape and the open box...

here's my drawing done with a large feather dipped in water then ground charcoal... others raved in class about it but i was less pleased...

work for two days coming up...i know i sound like i whine a bit about work...i only work three days a week...nice...but twelve hour shifts are tough for me...age? attitude? a certain difficult workmate? i don't know but NEED. ATTITUDE. CHANGE.
arrrr....

seattle redux--three days of art bliss

a.m. on the beach at fort worden...






first day class: drawing with tiphoni, daughter of the fest organizers...


second day with ann bagby, (see this post) ...she never, ever stops moving...thus the blurry pix...


here's christine, owner of the fab artist's nook here in town....(she does internet sales too...)...we had fun sharing tools and laughing at ourselves...



third day...jewelry making, metalsmithing, cold joining...all with susan kazmer ... what fun! my fave class...
here's my table mates hard at work, making treasures...


the fun didn't stop at night...here is a gang we joined...

tomorrow, pix of the finished products....

seattle--day one of artfest

I was thrilled to be on the jet plane on my way to seattle for artfest...you see, i registered for this event waaay back in september of last year...talk about lack of instant gratification...not to complain (but i will just a little) i haven't been on a vacation in waaaay too long...

my flight was, thank fsm, uneventful...all have to say is i'm also grateful for ipods...keeps me from going postal on public transportation situation....

i met up with lisabeth who flew in from Anchorage AK to meet up with me...sun was shining and we had the top down on the convertible sebring....here are some pix from the bremerton ferry...

lb in all her beauty with hair flying in the cold breeze on the sundeck...

we arrived for check-in at fort worden and the first thing i saw was this automobile assemblage...i knew i was in the right place...

the car belongs to a woman of a certain age (in her 70s?) who wore a different crazy beany hat every day...it has happy meal toys, mosaics...even (my favorite toy) devil duckies (see left side of the pix)

we checked in, received a bag of cool artfest swag and i took some time to look at the gallery of art...the theme was woodland creatures...here's a look...





what talented people...all woodsy and delightful...

some didn't quite stick to the topic...

great nontheless...

as fate would have it, lb had friends from Anchorage sailing on the puget sound at the very time we arrived...they invited us to see their water craft... at the marina...



here's the cutest darn houseboat ever...complete with container garden and scrolled porch decoration...
we all ended dining in town at a great local restaurant instead of artfesting it that night....great choice...

more to come on thursday as i must (gulp) go back to work for a couple of days ...arrrr...