Life In Color

Miss Soco

While the beginnings of my art training started young with my mom cooking up projects, and awesome grade school teachers, the real fun began in high school. Ms. Socolofsky (or Miss Soco as we all called her) was my new mixed media teacher. My friend Erin and I were in a bunch of her classes and we totally had a blast. We learned tie die, shibori, batik, and lots of other things from our multi talented teacher. I knew my teacher was a weaver, but it wasn't until after high school that I got to see one of her pieces up close and personal where it hung at the Oregon State's library. I was blown away, I have no idea how you do this, or how long this takes, but her work was amazing. A couple weeks ago I got a card in the mail for a show of hers at the capital building. The reception was Thursday, but the art will still be hanging in the governor's office through October 6th. It's open Monday through Friday 9-5. Check these out:

I really should have gotten closer to get some of the detail, they almost look like paintings or drawings from this angle, but they are intricately woven tapestries!

so cool. I didn't get a chance to talk to her much, because it was a bit crowded, but I'm hoping to run into her again when my neighbor and I go to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.

Rummage

So I've been working like crazy on the house, yes I know, shocking but true. My dad told me the other day that I need to "hurry and get done" so I could get it appraised. I totally flipped out on him and started crying over the phone and finally replied with a, "I'm spending my life savings on the basement right now so I can't really deal with this at the moment." and hung up. I am so mature, that's for sure. But he did take pity on my and came over this weekend to help put up trim in the basement, which is mostly painted now. Brent also came over, and not only helped with the trim, but also chiseled something for me. It has to do with the bathroom and that is top secret remember? One thing I can tell you about the bathroom is that I almost lost my cool in there yesterday. I spent FIVE hours picking old caulking off from around the tub and shower, then I get already to put new in only to have the tube explode on me. Nice. I almost chucked it out the window then decided against it and basically caulked my whole body trying to smear it into all those freaking tiny cracks. Ahhhh.

No, but seriously things are going good.

Matt came over this weekend in a little pickup and I now have my most prized piece of furniture at my house.

This freaking awesome steamer trunk my mom got me for my 22nd birthday. I loved it when I got it, but I haven't gotten to use it so my mom has been for the past four years. I was taking it out of the house and my mom looked very forlorn, "are you sure you want that." Ha ha, nice try mom. Matt and Brent also fixed the screen door that was suffering from a broken wheel thing. Bj replaced all the ivory/almond colored switched and plugs in the whole house. This makes a HUGE difference. I decided I need one other piece of furniture. I have nothing to hold all my little crafty things (no the huge dresser, bookcases and drafting table are not enough). How sick would this be? Drool, Mulder and Scully had one like that in their office, and there is one in the Mars Investigations office too. Must. Find. One.

Things I did find today:

My grandma let me shop her church rummage sale early. The two quilts were five dollars each, that's an enameled pail for two bucks. The table cloth was also two, and the sifter was one. She has also been saving some things for me that I brought home today: Bakelite silverware, a pottery piece my mom did in high school, some yummy wild blackberry syrup ("honey, I don't even let the blackberries sit. Grandma picks them then in an hour it's jam."), and the green glass container.

This lot of stuff was nine dollars. A bunch of enamelware containers and the cool glass one. Well it's back to work!

The Backyard

I don't really focus much on my yard because, well, I've kinda let it go... a lot. As in not watered it once since signing the papers for the place. I'm not lying when I say I didn't want to waste the water. I knew it wouldn't be lush and green, and dumping water on it seemed pointless to me. But the weeds were getting a bit out of control. So my lovely little brother came over Saturday to chop down the dandelions. Thanks Taylor, and Happy Birthday (he's 16 today!).

I managed to find a drying rack for the metal post that was sticking out of my yard, and I love it! Everything comes off the line so nice and fresh. My fence is also totally done:

That poor holly tree is so ugly. I think I have to have a couple of trees pruned, like the big walnut on the other side of the yard. And when they do that they'll have to give Holly a little haircut.

When I look at my yard I actually see it as one of those encyclopedia pictures where there is the overlay. You know the ones, one page has a skeleton, then the next has muscles. Well my yard looks like that to me. I see the big amount of grass, and slope, but over the top I can see the rock wall I want to do, with the patio, and big flower garden boxes mixed with my veggies. I picture that skinny side yard done up all nice with gravel, then pea gravel on top, maybe someday stone. And on that lots of planters growing up all sorts of pretty things that I can see and smell from the basement office. It's a little depressing to think that with all the money I'll be spending on water proofing the basement I could totally landscape my yard. But oh well, I'll have all winter to pull pages from magazines and dream up even more brilliant ideas.

Own It

Okay so it was a long day working today on the house. And after we were all done we went to my mom's house to chow down on some Thai food and watch some travel channel. Bill flipped it to a program about the Colorado river (to which I constantly yelled at the TV, lies, all LIES!). In between these outbursts Bj and I were reminiscing about our 10,548 mile trip around the United States, in which we crossed the Colorado no less than five times. They mentioned Glen Canyon Dam and Bj was all, "Oh hey, that's right where we swam." I was like, "Ya, well, but actually behind the dam." "No," Bj said, "In front of the dam." "I'm sorry sweetie, but I think you're going mental, it was behind the dam." "Do you want to bet?" "Yes I do, I'll bet you a hundred bucks." Bj: "wait, let me think about this, yes, I'm right, okay I'll bed you $100." {we shake on it} Bj: "Honey I can't take your money." "That's okay babe," I said, "I can take yours." Then I got to thinking, hey, I took a million pictures on that trip, and wasn't one of me in front of the dam, (where I got Cadillac Desert, incidentally and the water rights management interest began)? Yes there was.

Game over. Memory keepers please note, there are never enough pictures, just think if I had skipped out on this photo opportunity!

For better or worse

That's the way it is. See things around here haven't been that spectacular (and by around here, I mean around the cottage), but I've not really mentioned that my brother bought a place a mere four blocks away. That's right, four blocks. And it currently looks like this:

I was complaining about not having hot water? This guy is going to be with out power for a week. Oh, and he had to have his whole domestic water replaced. Plus he just found out that little back part of the house, the part with the red door? Ya that has to be demo-ed and rebuilt. So I'm going to refocus my energy on the good things, and not the $7,400 bid I just got to waterproof my basement.

My super cute bedroom. Bj actually spent one night here last week since I was with the little monkeys. I'm a little too freaked out, I need some more window coverings (I have some ghetto blankets over some of the windows), and maybe a bathroom sink.

Yes, I am writing to you from the cottage, Comcast came and installed internet here, as well as cable. This would be sitting on my drafting table but I still can't find the bolts, oh but wait, POSITIVES!

Whoa does this paint look different in different light or what? I've decided to put one of my book cases in the closet, I love it! Once I get the doors all done everything will be tucked away nicely. I still need more storage though, still waiting for that card catalog to show up on my doorstep. Speaking of doorsteps, the UPS man left this today:

Nice hidden package, huh? It cracked me up so bad. Another view of my front yard:

Hopefully this will be resolved tomorrow. Right now there is a huge garbage truck sitting in my driveway full of yard debris, which is going to the dump tomorrow, then I can load up all this crap. Hope to see even more progress after this weekend.