Tag Archives: daily post

Sep10

Time Out For Art

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Baby gecko - no name

Baby gecko – no name

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As we get off and on heat waves, so does my creative energy.  Today happens to be one of those days.  We live ten miles off the ocean, and it has hit 102 degrees at our house.  We didn’t sign up for this heat and humidity, and we haven’t paid for it.  There isn’t anyone who lives on the coast that expects this kind of humidity and heat.

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The art for today is all about the Little Gecko without a Tail.  Not too long ago Crunch, the little gecko without a tail, and Megan had two eggs, then before we knew it, Megan laid two more eggs.  Four eggs were marked and put in the incubator, and before we knew it all four eggs hatched.  While we were all excited about four eggs Megan laid six more eggs.

Whoa little Megan…

Slow down girl!  Megan isn’t too fond of being held, or even very sociable.  I think it’s probably because she’s exhausted from running from Crunch,  probably ready to lay more eggs, and wants to do something fun for herself.  Crunch on the other hand, is very sociable.  The minute you open the terrarium door, he jumps on your shoulder, and is more than happy to stay there and visit with whomever it is that wants to play.

 

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One of Megan’s eggs didn’t make it, so right off it was eliminated.  Now there are five eggs left, two of which should be hatching any day now.  This is such a fun thing to have happen while the kids are 4th, & 6th graders.  Kids learn so much from these little creatures.  I can highly recommend geckos as a starter pet.  Care is minimal, they are sociable, and fun to watch.  My grandkids have learned so much from their little creatures.  I hope you have learned a little something by them taking over my blog now and then.

The babies haven’t been given names—-that’s for the new parents to do.  However, while I was writing this post another baby hatched.  Leaving only four eggs.   Now they have five babies, and looking for new homes.

Sep8

Fun With Bits & Pieces

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Sometimes we just have to pull back, and find another way to create and have fun!

When I get bottled up and can’t find a way out,  creating on a small-scale is just the thing!

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Greeting cards in a store feel so impersonal, & never say the right thing, so my own cards seem perfect.  Now I realize many people don’t send cards any longer,  heck they don’t even know how to R.S.V.P.  Sadly, that means to Reply, even if you’re not going to whatever you’ve been invited to.  After a while we just simply won’t invite you any more.   But this post isn’t about bad manners!

On Wednesdays, I get together  with a group of ladies who sit  and create, but my creations are usually on a larger scale, and lugging them around is a drag.  So I take things I can do on the run.  Things that don’t take a lot to carry or use paint on.  Simpler things…..

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These little things would be greeting cards.  Some would say to themselves,  “what are greeting cards?”  This in part is because of text messaging, and electronic devices of all kinds.  I don’t tweet,  just can’t seem to figure out why I’d need to!  That makes me a dinosaur.

Sometimes one or two of the girls have fun pitching in and putting left over pieces together, and sometimes they all have their own things to work on, but whatever happens, we always have fun.

There is nothing like sharing creative energy!

Sep4

Laborday Weekend

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Work in progress

Work in progress

I offer you my apologies for slipping the last couple of weeks. Les and I had a four-legged house guest a few weeks ago, and I didn’t realize it at the time, but having a puppy around the house really was tiring. We haven’t had a puppy in maybe twenty years…….I had forgotten how demanding they are.

Patch

Patch

The puppy and our dog Daisy had a fantastic time together, and are now quite lost by themselves.  But you know how it is with a couple of young kids, they have to be watched all the time.  Two dogs is exactly the same!

Daisy & Patch

Daisy & Patch

The couple of weeks that have followed have thrown me, and admittedly, I have neglected my blogging obligations!  I really love to blog, and sometimes my blogs are more interesting to write, sometimes I struggle.  I’m sure it is probably the same for everyone.  Then there are the times a few days pass, I’ve been extremely busy, and before I know it, someone asks me about my blog, and I realize I’ve forgotten to write.

This post was supposed to be a quick…

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This weekend my husband has concerts, and rehearsals for the concerts, so I’m going to take this time and paint.  Alone and quiet in my studio, I’ll turn on my iPod full of Artsie Fartsie Painting Music, and get out the paints and brushes, scrapers, and drippers…  I’ll be rockin’ to the music, and totally in my right brain.  My phone will be turned off, I’ll forget to eat anything, I won’t answer the door, and won’t stop to have coffee……and I won’t starve either.   

This is my happy time, and I’m loving it.  Life is good!

Have a fun weekend everyone…

Sep1

Not For The Faint of Heart!

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To be named

To be named

 

This is not for the faint of heart! Not even for the masses, so if you are at all squemish….do not read this post!

Not long ago, I mentioned that I had a new -Grand-snake.  I know, I know…..who has Grand-snakes?   Well, I do!  My kids have all grown up with little creatures of all kinds.  We’ve had spiders, snakes, tarantulas, skunks, all kinds of dogs, cats, frogs, you name it, and I’ll bet we’ve had at least one.

Now that everyone is grown up, and some of my kids have kids of their own, the fun continues.   Even my son Chris, who isn’t married, and doesn’t have any kids…..has creatures.  Mostly snakes, no more spiders, but usually snakes.  Chris recently bought a Blood Python at the Reptile Show the first of  August.  As soon as he got it home he thought something was wrong. One day went into the next,  he tried calling the breeder’s,  but to no avail.  Three weeks later, Chris again  mentioned the snake was acting strangely, and he was certain something was wrong, and a few days later it took its last breath!

Immediately the snake went  into the freezer while Chris researched what could be wrong.  Without any luck,  he resigned himself to the fact that he had a snake die on his watch.  Something that has never happened.  Many people have found snakes over the years, and brought them to Chris.  He has always been able to care for them, and get them healthy again.  But this time was different, and he felt terrible.

As we talked about the possible causes, and what he might have done differently, he mentioned that he’d love to save the snake-skin.  After  calling all around, he wasn’t able to find anyone that wanted to skin a baby snake.

This made me turn to YouTube for the information.  

After watching a YouTube video on skinning and tanning snakes, I volunteered his sister, and myself for the job!  I just couldn’t wait to get into the operating room!

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These pictures are of the skinning, and tanning.

We started by cutting down the underbelly of the snake.

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After trying to save the head and tail we decided that it wasn’t going to be possible.

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Once we were able to separate the body of the snake from the skin it was smooth sailing...so to speak.

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We then scraped the edges of both sides to remove any fatty tissue.  This will rot and ruin the skin if not removed before the  tanning process.

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After everything had been removed from the skin, we stretched and rolled very carefully.  It’s so amazing how tough the skin is and at the same time how delicate it is.

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One might say this is a two-man job because of the care that has to be taken.

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After it is rolled onto a stick, we put it into a 50/50 solution of Alcohol and Glycerin.  It will stay in a sealed jar  from one to two weeks while it cures or tans.  Shaking it gently so the solution  doesn’t separate.

I’ll be back to let you know how it turned out, but so far everything looks great and it all went as planned!

Thanks for putting up with my strange sense of humor, dark at it might be. I told you artists were a little crazy!