Insightful

There is nothing so annoying as to have two people talking when you're busy interrupting.” Mark Twain

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Have a great day! :)

Those Were the Days

While on a coffee break, I found this image of my sweet, sweet, oldest daughter, taken a millennium ago. Notice the frilly dress under the Ninja turtle costume? This photo speaks volumes about her personality-- in one hand she often carried a Barbie, and in the other, a GI Joe. And then I blinked and now she's in her second year of college -- in one hand she carries a cell phone, and in the other, an engineering textbook. Sigh. Someone should have warned me about blinking.

This and That

School is in full swing for my kids and I've been suffering some major mothering withdrawal these past days. But before I fell too far into a pit of despair, my college son (the one getting a new roommate in January) went out of town for a few days and donated his pup, Jude, to keep me company for the week. You probably remember what a fun-loving, furniture eating little bundle of college-prank fur that Jude is. He's still up to his college antics, and once while he was here he sneaked into my girls' room, snatched one of their "Victoria Secrets" and sprinted through the house like he was competing for an Olympic medal.

And as usual, I'm behind in all of my projects and deadlines are looming. Sometimes it feels like I'm treading water in a whirlpool. I've been swamped with playing catch-up, new projects, kids, laundry, chasing a puppy, blah, blah, blah. . . you know the drill. :) This has been one busy month. Maybe I'll have some sneak peeks soon of the projects I've been doing, but in the meantime here's a photo by my 13 year old daughter. She took this pic when we were in Tennessee last month. Puts her art-school trained mother to shame with a camera.

Breaking News -- Big Foot Update

Stop the presses! This just in:

An astute reader (thank you, Alias Liz Jones) has just informed me that the much-heralded Georgia Bigfoot discovery was, in fact, a not so cleverly devised hoax by two charlatans from my own (sob) state. Upon further investigation at FOXNews.com I also confirmed the sad news. It seems that the 2 Georgia boys at the center of the controversy concocted the entire story, created a frozen faux Sasquatch popsicle, and then sold their "find," (freezer and all) to a guy who no doubt believed the thing was real. As ominous evidence mounted against its authenticity and the frozen piece of folk-lore thawed, so did the purchaser's hopes; and dare I say, so did the hopes of the world. It seemed that, with this anthropological discovery, the world was on the verge of something great: something akin to 8 gold medals in the Olympics, the 8th great wonder, or maybe even world peace. However, it turns out that what was really in the freezer was actually a plastic Halloween costume. And now the home boys have fled with this poor man's money. Oh, the irony. I think this quote about the Georgia boys on the duped man's website pretty much sums up the entire ordeal: "On behalf of myself I can say with certainty Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer [are] not the best Bigfoot trackers in the world!"

Hey, it's not the end of the world. Apparently the freezer works great.

Big Foot?

Is it just me, or is this photo from Yahoo of a freezer containing what is supposedly the 500 pound carcass of "Big Foot" a little creepy? Never mind that the two guys who have it say that they found the corpse in the woods of northern Georgia in an area which is only about an hour from where I live. To me the somewhat grainy photo is a little suspect and looks more like it might have been taken in the prop room on the set of CSI. Anyway, the two Georgia men held a huge press conference yesterday in California to reveal photos of their findings and to produce definitive DNA samples which were to prove the legitimacy of their "discovery." (Did these guys really have to be from Georgia??? Please, don't we Southerners get enough flack as it is? Why is it that all of the alien abductions and Elvis sightings seem to be from people from our state?) Maybe I'm just a little skeptical because one of the dudes just so happens to own a business and run a website which caters to Big Foot mania; so in my mind their motivation for honesty and full disclosure is perhaps questionable at best. Really, what are the chances that these two men would accidentally stumble upon such an elusive and mysterious (and mythical) creature while on an afternoon hike? I've been on a hike a time or two in my life and I usually only come home with things like poison oak, chiggers, whiny kids, and blisters.
What may be even more disturbing is today’s news that the specimens they submitted for testing were shown to be actually DNA from a 'possum. Okay, so at least I can rest a bit easier now that I know that some Chewbaca-like creature isn't lurking in the woods behind my house, but now I have to worry that there may be 500 pound 'possums loose in our area. I may never go hiking again.
And if by some stroke of luck the Georgia boys really did discover the body of Sasquatch, I’ll be the first to admit I had my big foot in my mouth.

Free Stuff

If you like kid's books and free stuff, pop on over to The Burp Cloth Babe's blog, Shake, Rattle, and Read --she's hosting a give-away. (Plus, you'll find that Burp Cloth is really funny and she has great pics of her cute kid. . . but I'm pretty sure he's not included in the giveaway.)

Glitter and Grunge has a new blog! It will feature exciting news, tutorials, upcoming events, and information about the artists represented at G and G. This week's feature is Melissa Valeriote. For more information visit her blog.

Not His Day. Or, A Modern Day Tale of Billy Goat's Gruff

[Another article from our local paper, with my comments in italics.]

Man's beer taken at gunpoint - twice

A 51-year-old Branch Street man said he was robbed at gunpoint twice within an hour Wednesday night outside a store in East Athens, Athens-Clarke police said. The man bought a six-pack of beer at a store in the vicinity of Dublin and Branch streets at about 9:15 p.m., and as he was walking home, someone dressed all in black and wearing a black cap approached, threatening to shoot him in the foot if he didn't surrender his money, police said. [The foot??] When the victim said he didn't have money, the gunman took the beer and ran to a small dark car, possibly a Honda, according to police. About an hour later, the victim returned to the store and bought another six-pack, and at the same location ran into the gunman, who reportedly said, "I thought you said you had no money" and took the beer, firing two shots into the air before getting into his car, police said.

[Either the guy buying the beer is very determined or a very slow learner. And he's probably walking around with a "Hit Me" sign on his back too. ]

Original story is here.

“Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” Jane Austen

"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

Henry David Thoreau

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These are hectic, fun days as summer winds down. I love the "busy nothings" of life and motherhood. And if Thoreau is right, success should be right around my corner, or at the very least, 18 piles of dirty laundry.

The Newbies

Update August 3 : Glitter and Grunge has a new blog! It will feature exciting news, tutorials, upcoming events, and information about the artists represented at G and G.


Just a quick update post. Check out Glitter and Grunge for these new papier mache offerings.

And The Primitive Gathering where I'm showcasing a couple of new watercolor paintings. Here's one to get you in the mood for snow:

[P.S. He's sold. Thank you.]

And be sure to check out all of the other artists represented at these fine websites. Tons and tons of talent and great handmade stuff.