FIVE THINGS I'M GRATEFUL FOR TODAY

1. Gene called me this morning and told me about a chemical spill on the interstate. As a result, I got to sleep in a little late, go to Michaels, eat breakfast at the Waffle House and drive in to work two hours late, no guilt attached, and in a leisurely manner. Most relaxing!
2. Got the header in place on my blog.
3. I was able to find all the information on the internet that I needed to get my header placed on my blog. It's amazing the amount of information that's out there.
4. I found the items at Michael's that I was looking for. Sometimes they don't have the more "artsy" stuff
5. Today is payday

Busy, busy, busy

It's been a busy week!

Monday was my birthday and Gene and I went out for a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I don't really like to make a big deal over my birthday so a nice dinner was what I really wanted. Thursday night I drove to Buford to the studio of Barbara McGuire to meet Barbara Verni-Lau and some other friends from the Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild. They were taking a class and when they finished we all went to dinner at the Red Lobster. Had a great time visiting with them! They are such a friendly group and make me feel quite welcome. We're all excited about the upcoming August Clay Play Day. Barbara V. is going to demo the "shaving cream" bead technique and that should be great fun!!

Saturday we drove to High Falls and met my mother, brother and sister-in-law for a dinner of all-you-can eat catfish. It was a joint birthday dinner for me and my mother. She turned 83 today. She is so frail looking. It's true, old age is not for wimps. This is a scrapbook page I did in her honor:

Today I drove AGAIN to Buford (65 miles one way) for an open house/play day at Barbara McGuire's studio. This was set up for the members of the Greater Atlanta Polymer Clay Guild. I helped Barbara move extra tables into the studio and she ended up having to have her boyfriend bring card tables and chairs from her house. The final tally was approximately 22 people in a studio that usually seats 6. I showed the women at my table how to do a toner copy transfer using water but didn't really play too much with my clay. No one else at my table brought a pasta machine (!) so I spent way too much time running their clay through my machine. I did make a black, red and white mokume gane stack that I think will be fun to play with tomorrow night. Should make a cool pendant and some earrings. Afterwards we all went over to Barbara's house for a barbecue! Now that's hospitality! Give us free working space, loan us any tools we might want to use and then feed us free of charge. She is a really nice gal. Not sure what Gene did all day but I'll bet it involved learning some new magic tricks.

HOTLANTA

We've finally gotten a little rain here in aptly nicknamed "Hotlanta". Not ENOUGH rain, but still, every little bit helps. My hydrangeas are looking like live plants now, not skeletons.

It's hard to believe that July is almost gone. I had my 63rd birthday yesterday. That sounds so old. Heck, I guess it IS old. But fortunately, I don't feel old most of the time. I think I've finally convinced most of my friends at the office that I really, honestly, don't want a birthday cake and party. I like having my birthday remembered, but I like it remembered in quiet little ways like a nice card and a sweet hug or a cute email.

I went to our local polymer clay guild meeting on Sunday. First time I've attended a meeting since it moved to the current location. They have a nice big meeting room but the tables are awful (my pasta machine would not stay clamped to the table) and the location is a long, long way from where I live. I'm going to try to attend more meetings since one of my goals is to become a more social person and, after all, it only meets once a month. But that drive is a killer!



I've completed several digital scrapbook pages about my family that I'm quite proud of. They are all done in the same technique since I wanted a consistency that would indicate that this a series.

Digital v. Polymer

Digital Scrapbooking! I may have discovered another very satisfying outlet for my creative urges. I love working with computers and graphics programs. And I enjoy creating 'artsy" items. With digital scrapbooking I can do them both at the same time. If you want to visit my "gallery" of digital scrapbook pages you can go HERE and see them. I can see real progress in the artistic look of the pages I've created. I want to get better with the graphics programs so I can create my own backgrounds, brushes, etc. But for right now I'm content using background "papers" and elements that other people have created.

I attended a wonderful polymer clay workshop with Donna Kato in Asheville, NC on June 3-4. I had more fun than I've had in a long time. Donna Kato is a fantastic instructor, artist and person and I learned so much from her. I'll have to scan my Butterfly Maiden and post a picture of it here. You couldn't ask for a nicer group of people than the members of the Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild. And Asheville was fun! Gene and I plan to go for a weekend in late August and see the stores, etc.

My mother, brother and sister-in-law came to visit us on June 10. Had a great visit. And in their honor I repainted my poor, neglected bathroom. I also replaced the light fixture and had shelves placed on the wall. It looks so much better now!!! Now to get busy on the rest of the house!

Had a polymer clay "playday" with Jo on July 1. We made pendants "a la Kato" and had a ball. I was the instructor for a change and really enjoyed it. Jo is always so generous with her experience and her supplies and it was nice to be able to do the same for her. We worked primarily with Kato clay and I love it, but Jo still prefers Premo. The Kato was kinda sticky but, for the most part, that didn't bother me.

Well, time to get back to work. Talk to you later.