LABOR-ING... RELAX-ING...

Solvang ~~~ 9.3.11

"People often complain about lack of TIME

when lack of 

DIRECTION is the real problem."

~ Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker, author 
Doing some LABOR.ing
and 

some RELAX.ing

How 'bout you?

TIME THOUGHTS...

Big Bear Lake ~ June 2011

How very TRUE! 

What plans do you have for the WEEKEND?

SILVER LINING...

clam shell ~ pic taken 8.15.11

Today's "silver lining" --- ACE called for a chat + MB & SLE called --- so of course, I had to call Mom... got to chat with my daughters & Mom --- what a fabulous ending to a busy work-day!

MOVING THE SETTINGS...

taken 9.25.11

Breakfast of a "Champion"

well - I don't know about the 

"champion" title BUT

fruit + cottage cheese + slivered almonds

=

TASTY!

I think I've posted similar pictures

(about my breakfast)

but I was playing with the settings on my camera!

Took 51 pictures & this is the ONLY one I liked!

back to practicing with my settings...

This is a two movie weekend!

saw "The Debt" last night

(starring Helen Mirren)

edge of the seat suspense...

a matinee this afternoon

"Moneyball"

(Brad Pitt plays Billy Beene, the Oakland A's

manager who put together his winning team

using computer analysis)

What movies have you seen?

THE COLOR WHEEL-PART 1...

"floating flowers" ~ a rainbow of warm colors

Color Wheel ~ image found HERE

Kat Sloma's BLOG continues to stimulate my creative eye! peek at my recent post HERE, or CHECK HERE ~ why, I've been attempting to apply Kat's suggestions to my photography since DECEMBER 2010.

In her current EXPLORING WITH A CAMERA series, she asked us to browse our photo library & identify our "COLOR EYE" using the color wheel shown at the top of the post. From my photo file, I've listed samples of each category and provided a simple definition:

MONOCHROMATIC 

:: a single color ::

Natural History Museum ~ Oxford, England

"ornate" detail of column

shades of yellow-orange

ANALOGOUS

:: 2-3 colors with a common color ::

Big Sur ~ Nepenthe

"sparkly" set of stars

yellow + red-orange + orange

CHROMATIC GRADATION

:: a range of colors in a sequence ::

Portobello Market ~ London, England

"cool" hydrangeas

blue + blue-violet + violet + red-violet + red

An observation: my "COLOR EYE" tends to focus on colors that are contrasts... 

Astro-turf Car ~ London, England

umm, I wonder if contrasts will be Part 2 of the Color Wheel? check back or better yet, participate in Kat's EXPLORING WITH A CAMERA exercise!!

What COLORS do you find in your photo files?

TWO TWO-WHEELERS!

Monterosso ~ Cinque Terre, Italy (summer 2005)

JPE was looking at the gorgeous architecture!

I was looking at the PURPLE bike!

A SEAT + TWO PEDALS...

neighborhood park ~ Amsterdam, Holland ~ June 2005

What blogs do you check every day? Kat's blog, KAT EYE VIEW OF THE WORLD is one of my daily indulgences!

In today's post, Kat was talking about riding her bike... her description about learning to appreciate the "physical-ness" involved in riding a bike & riding with the "guys" brought back --- a flood of memories --- MY times spent riding bikes!

our room ~ middle, 4th window from left

One of my favorite bike riding memories happened during our European trip the summer of 2005. 


JPE & I started a month long European vacation with a brief stay at the Amstel Botel - YES, we stayed in a BOAT hotel for two nights! 

view of Amsterdam from our botel window!

As might be expected, our sleep cycles needed to be adjusted to European time, so we decided to spend our first day in Amsterdam ~ doing what the locals do! 

GOING FOR A BIKE RIDE... 

gingerbread-like home

JPE & I packed our day bags with water, snacks & a light weight shirt... walked a block toward the Amsterdam train station & rented bikes for the day.

no traffic to worry about!

Armed with a map of bike trails, we took a ferry across the channel & headed into the countryside!

IMAGINE... 


riding a bike along narrow roads...
catching a glimpse of life in adorable, gingerbread like homes...
admiring colorful flower boxes which decorated each window...

pontoon crossing

GOSH... we wouldn't been able to cover so many miles if we'd been walking!  


at one point in our journey, we took a small, flat pontoon boat to cross this channel...


AND, the bike trail cut through the pontoon owner's property! but he seemed thrilled to share a section of his farmlands with bike riders! what a treat!

check out the height of the hedge!

On this street, everyone had planted a tree hedge - which we later learned were "privacy hedges" ~ The hedges prevented direct views into the home's bedroom windows! CLEVER idea!


Winters in Amsterdam could be described as dark. long. cold... so during mild weather days, everyone ventures outdoors to enjoy the sun, fresh air & spend time socializing in neighborhood parks, restaurants, & public squares.

typical house along the bike route!

WELL, we had a nice, deep sleep that night! BUT... we made sure to put the sunscreen in our day pack! our sunburns turned into a nice, healthy tan... it took only 2-3 days for the sensitive-ness to go away!

Thanks for the memory jog, Kat! 

BLINK OF AN EYE...

leaf on the doorstep ~ 9.16.11

The weekend flew by with the "blink of an eye"...

"GUERILLA ART" COMES TO SLO!

Chorro St across from SLO Mission ~ 9.12.11

"Artists are among the most generous of people.

Perhaps inherent in the appreciation of creativity

comes a deep, underlying love of humanity

and our Earth."

~ Kelly Borheim

:: GUERILLA ART ::

"any art developed in PUBLIC SPACES - that is

'in the streets' --- is generally unsanctioned art ---

meaning it is not sponsored or organized

by a person, organization or governmental agency"

My first foray into the term GUERILLA ART

happened when I ran across

KERI SMITH'S BLOG.

After reading her BIO, I've come to the conclusion

she's a very down-to-earth gal,

who happens to be an artist, 

and is learning to "mommie" her young son! 

She doesn't have 2-heads,

nor a totally "TAT-ed out body"

and she doesn't use a spray can to share her art!

GUERILLA ARTISTS

~~ generally, want to remain anonymous ~~

~~ aren't interested in defacing property ~~

~~ want to share the "quirky" side of life ~~

KERI lists some very simple ideas for creating

your own GUERILLA ART at THIS LINK!!!

found upon googling Guerilla Art ~ curious? 

follow this LINK

I just had to learn more about this picture... 

SiLLy, fUnNy sTuFF

 using miniature people to create art

see more at this site:

LITTLE PEOPLE...

!! Hilarious !!

more GUERILLA ART...

Portland, Oregon ~ image FOUND here

...what fun to tell people you live on the street

decorated with six giant carrots!

leg warmers? 

Back to SLO ~ here's another view of the

GUERILLA ART Mom & I found last Sunday!

hand stand?

Have you run across GUERILLA ART

in your community?

(this post is dedicated to ACE who's planning some GUERILLA ART for her "un-named community")

STREET PAINTING...

Sunday afternoon, we drove to SLO to view the I Madonnari (Italian street painting). Businesses purchase a space & find an artist to create a chalk drawing during this two-day event. 

For the artists, this is a labor of LOVE! Spending two days, sketching, then coloring your drawing with thin pieces of colored chalk is just. plain. hard! Imagine bending over to draw on concrete or asphalt - it's tough on your knees + hands... And, the reflection of the sun bouncing off the ground into your face - talk about sunburned faces! 

Mom, JPE & I spent some time walking the length of the street gallery ~ watching the artists put the finishing touches on their art work.


This is the 13th year of this arts project in SLO & it raises money to bring art & artists into the classrooms in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County schools.


For some historical background: Italian street painters were initially called "I Madonnari" because they recreated images of the Madonna.


These artists were "itinerant" often moving to a city that was completing the construction of a cathedral. 


When the artwork was completed, the artists still needed to make a living, so they resorted to re-creating some art pieces directly on the pavement outside the churches. Perhaps, some of the artists were hired based on their street art? 

The featured artist & her art piece!

Detail work of butterflies

Each year the event organizers hire an artist & showcase their artwork. This year's featured artist was from Santa Barbara, but unfortunately, her piece was finished before our arrival on Sunday afternoon. 

Her artwork starts at the edge of the red brick tiles and was a 3-D piece showing a countryside through a set of open wooden doors... butterflies are fluttering through the windows. 

Monarch butterflies migrate along the coast & spend 3-4 months in the coastal areas of Pismo Beach and Morro Bay each winter. 

 

This was my favorite art piece. San Luis Obispo has a decent population of agricultural farmers... mostly grapes (wineries are a popular tourist attraction), bok choy, lettuces, apples, strawberries and flowers.

I especially love the strong, vivid colors of chalk used in this painting! the neon chalk really created a feeling of energy, gave depth to the picture, and a drew your eye to the simple outlines of the drawing.

My FAVE BEATLE ~ Paul

Although many of the drawings started on the first day of this event had been blurred by an unexpected rainstorm (Saturday evening about 9pm), there were enough drawings to get a sense of the time & effort the artists devoted to their work. 

I'm thrilled SLO County continues to support this event!

& what a pleasant way to end a weekend visit with mom!

THE PERFECT DAY!

AVILA BARN ~ 9.10.11

"Now and then it's good to pause

in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

~ Guillaume Apollinaire

:: crash of thunder & bright flashes of lightning ::

(the weather woke us with its action)

:: yummy breakfast ::

(cornmeal pancakes, fruit salad, coffee)

:: reading, chatting, visiting ::

(Adirondack chairs on the patio)

:: patio plants got some attention ::

(mom trimmed & rearranged)

sign advertising roasted corn @ Avila Barn

:: bought fruit & "goodies" at the barn ::

(long lines of families waiting for a hay ride)

:: coffee & tea at Joe Momma's ::

(the "happening place" in Avila Beach)

:: movie, "Sarah's Key" at Fair Oaks ::

(popcorn has real butter & seniors are $6)

BTW - this is a must-see movie!

eerie sunset off Avila Beach ~ 9.10.11

:: drove to SLO for dinner ::

(car shot ~ no, JPE was driving)

APPLE FARM Restaurant & Gift Shop ~ San Luis Obispo

:: wander the gift shop + get a "bite" to eat ::

(comfort food = chicken & dumplings)

:: feels like AuTUMN ::

entrance to APPLE FARM Gift Shop

:: we LOVE when Mom visits! ::

(more adventures tomorrow)

PUT A STAMP ON IT!

current postage stamps found in my wallet!

Are you outraged?

Laura Lynn at ENJOYING THE SIMPLE THINGS 

was talking about the "dire economic situation" 

the US Postal Office is experiencing!

Just look at the "beautiful" stamps above!

How could you not find a reason to buy some?

KIDS of all AGES

can doodle, write, cartoon or pen

a message to someone!

& the assortment of pens available!

felt tip, gel, colored, scented, roller ball

the selection is endless!

Why, just in the past few days, I've 

sent 5 cards, letters or notes in the mail

(oops! #6 was mailed today)...

Mind you ~~~ these are not bills!! 

although, I do pay several bills 

by slipping a check in an envelope, 

sticking a stamp in the upper right hand corner,

and drop it in the mailbox

on my way to work!

cards that were mailed this week!

~~ some of my cards are ~~

:: selected for "special people" ::

:: homemade ::

or may be

:: purchased from Trader Joe's ::

(just can't beat 99 cents for a card!)

Mother's Day card from Lydia (2010)

and of course, I keep some "memorable" ones

(in a special box) to read & re-read!

When was the last time you send a handwritten

letter, card or note?

So - do your part to support the

US Postal Service!

get back to "basics"

write & mail a letter tomorrow!