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Thursday, April 30, 2009

T is for Tilly

We went to NJ for a long weekend. First we started in Cape May and celebrated the graduation of a young man that joined the United States Coast Guard. It was a beautiful sunny day with cool breezes. Later in the afternoon we went to the beach at Wildwood and it was quite cool. I wore a hat, sweater, sweatshirt and jeans. If I had my way I'd have had a scarf and a blanket, too. The winds were very cool near the water. But, it was beautiful being by the beach and walking along the shore.

On Saturday we spent the day at Asbury Park. Made famous by Bruce Springsteen. Interesting history and it has made a name for itself as a music mecca. It used to be a huge success as an amusement area but has had a great decline. You can read about it here -- Asbury Park History -- and here -- Official Site of Asbury Park .

 
Tilly is the local iconic image used for Asbury Park and is painted on the Wonder Bar building. A place where many bands over the years have played. I had to have this shirt with him on it. My souvenir. I also had to get a Harley Davidson shirt while in Wildwood. A tradition started with a friend years back when we started riding, and now it continues with R. It is a requirement to get a shirt from where we vacation. Typically, Harley Davidson shops have their name and location on the back of the shirt with the HD logo, those are the shirts we buy. It's a way of marking where we've been. If one is not careful, you can end up with more HD shirts than other clothes. I get chided because I don't own an HD, yet I wear the clothes riding, my bike is a Honda. I finally found a Honda shirt last year! OK, not quite as impressive as HD, but overall a Honda is a heck of a lot less expensive, less problems, and lower insurance rates. Hmmmm, I win!! But, if you are caught up in image (and I have to admit I am guilty of this once in awhile) then only a Harley will do. I do like the two-tone Deluxe model. My bike looks GOOOD, though, and many people like it over my Harley riding friend's bikes.  

We went for a ride the other night and it was so nice. It had been 94 during the day so the early evening ride was very comfortable. Being on the highway at 8:30 pm? Not so much. I was getting blown around and my glasses kept getting loose. Oh, besides the fact that cars have a hard time seeing you during the day, never mind at night! Yiyyyy. I got off early and took back roads to the final destination of home.

HAPPINESS IS
I've finally gotten my floors refinished. It has taken me very long to get this task done and they look great! Rick and Josh from B&B Flooring did a fantabulous job. They are a two brother team and very detail oriented. I don't know how they got so close to my baseboards with equal depth of sanding/stripping as the rest of the floor and no dings!! They don't tape the boards either for protection. The first of my few contractors that did exemplary work and didn't leave a mess behind either! And they were very fair and competitive in their pricing. Yeyyyy for me. Aren't they pretty? 


This is the living room, the kitchen and dining room were done also. I had them use a low odor, environmentally friendly water based poly. Hardly any odor and you can walk on each coat a few hours after it's done -- with socks. It takes only a week to fully cure.  

I'll just be a little bit of a freak now when my dogs come back from the sitter's and when I get a new foster dog on Sunday. Watch out!

So now I have no excuses to get the walls finished. I have to patch an area in the living room and will eventually do some art on the walls, but the kitchen has big plans for a stencil and it will be much easier to do with everything out of the way. The unfortunate thing is that my basement, garage and office... 


...have collected my belongings and I've been walking over and around things for a few days. The fridge is in my tiny hallway, but hey, it makes it quicker to get that bowl of ice cream before going to bed!

Speaking of getting things done -- the chores are calling -- the walls, the gardens, the emptying of the car, the washing of the car...oh, the list goes on! 

Hope you are having a wonderful day, it's been beautiful here with sun shining and temps in the 60's. 

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Vintage Sunday

First, I want to show you the great polyester vintage ladies' pant set I talked about. Mind you, the style is not what is great, for me and my body type anyway, but the fabric said "take me home now!"




FLEA MARKET DELIGHTS
You can tell Spring is here when it's warm enough in the a.m. to grab a coffee and head out to the flea market. It will be a regular adventure for the rest of the summer and into the Fall until it gets too cold to have any fun there. 

I was looking for a light fixture for my kitchen but I found great fabric instead. 



They are a mixture of handmade tablecloths and bedspreads. The Green stripey one may end up on my bed and the others will probably be cut up and made into other things. 

Then there is this great graphic floral -- 2 yards of yeyyyyyy!! 



and two panels of this floral in a metallic bronzy-gold on white. I was told they are made out of fiberglass (1940's?) I'd like to test them but what if they really do catch fire?? I didn't have an exact measurement on them so I did a guesstimate. They ended up being the perfect length for my house!! Hey, at $8 for a set of panels in a wonderful print, I'd have made them work, or made them into something else. They will look good against my sky blue on a beautiful sunny day with wispy clouds, walls.




Unfortunately, in the pictures you don't get much of the metallic finish sparkling for you.

CLEAN OUT MADNESS
I started cleaning out the garage today which is holding all my "maybe someone can use, keep it from the landfill, too good to throw out, stuff." A tag sale will be happening in May and I'll have more space so I can actually put the motorcycle in MY garage instead of R's. I brought a truck load of furniture over to my very dear friend's large shed because it will be at his house that the sale will happen. He always asks, "Denise, when will you stop having the need to save/rescue things?" Well, I went into his house and pointed out 5 vintage things that I have given him that rest in his living room (and look great with his clean modern styling) and reminded him that everyone complains that I save things from the landfill, but that they seem to forget the deliciousness they receive. OR, when they call me and say they are looking for a certain something and I happen to have it -- They are certainly loving me then!! 

Well, I think it's time for some library book reading, new magazine reading and a hot fudge sundae....oooooh oooooh....with banana!!

Hope everyone had a beautiful weekend like it was (unexpectedly, those darn weather men) here.

Sleep well.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Where did the week goooooo??

Wow, it's Friday. I have pics to take of a wonderful vintage print. It's actually a polyester pant suit that is in mint condition and too big, but I had to have it for the print. Will share in the next couple days. It's been a crazy week, I haven't been around the computer much which in a way I liked, but in a bigger way...I didn't. Next week I'll be back on track. 

Today is around 70 degrees and beautiful. I was going to take the motorcycle out, but I am not feeling 100%. If I feel off, I don't take it out, I feel safer that way. You really have to have all your wits about you when riding.

I noticed on a friend's laptop IBM computer that my blog's text looks different than on my computer. The headings are very very small, almost not readable, but on both my computers (mac and pc) they are what I want them to be (readable for us over 40's.) Anyone else seeing it differently?

Happy Friday!!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

WOW Time Flies...

I cannot believe it is Thursday evening already. I had wanted to write about the 'Odd Ball' all week and just didn't have the time to edit pictures and sit down and write. 

We had so much fun! The costumes were great and we got many compliments on ours. This event was a fundraiser and there was quite a good turn out. Three costumes were awarded and they each had the element of large boobs....hmmmmm...male judges?? Two of the costumes that won were made by Anne Cubberly. One had a set of boobs that lit up by pulling on cords that hung below each breast.
 

Very fun. Anne also made grasshopper legs for her costume out of paper mache. They are so much more awesome in person and looked like they were made out of wood.


The headpiece that was giving me anxiety -- I was very pleased with. 

I thought it went well with the rest of the costume Anne gave me to wear.


Yup, I waited until the last minute to make it...even more last minute than I thought I was going to wait. I had planned to do it Friday but it took a back seat to everything else, so I did it Saturday afternoon. It took 4 1/2 hours to complete and I ended up running a half hour later than I wanted to because I ran into a sewing machine glitch toward the end. It didn't last very long but it was enough to send the blood pressure soaring. I still had to shower, paint my face, do my hair and paint R's face and wrap his hair! But, it was all accomplished in time and we made it to the party by the time we needed to be there. 

Here's R's mask, also made by Anne.
 
Full costume...

I figured R. might want to eat and drink while there so I suggested painting his face for when he took the mask off. I painted it to look like a skull. It was cool, and a little surprise as people thought there would be a naked face underneath. 

So, a little bit of tequila, a bit of dancing, mingling, sight seeing...a very enjoyable evening. Thanks Anne for inviting us!!

If I don't get a chance to write over the weekend -- I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends.





Friday, April 3, 2009

Lucky Friday

Typical of my nature -- I'm going to the Odd Ball tomorrow night and I still needed to get shoes to work with the costume and I need to make the head piece -- and I wait until the last minute. 

I went to my local favorite thrift store where everything is soooooo inexpensive, to look for a pair of shoes. I was looking for something with a pointyish toe and not too high of a heel. Something in a deep royal blue with a hint of purple in it. Not asking too much, right? Well, I figured I'd have some luck finding a shoe that I could at least paint to match the blue of the costume. That's one of the great things about being an artist...can't find it? make it up. Heck, it's just for a costume, not Cinderella's ball. What do I find? a HUGE pile of shoes, literally, in a pile, but no size 9. Sizes 5 - 8 1/2, and then 10's. No 9's or 9 1/2's. Of course, because this is how it is when you wait until the last minute. 

I still had the blue pointed toes in my head in case the universe was on my side. OK, time to try the Goodwill in town, and if that doesn't work, well I have a pair at home that I could paint, even though they will hurt my toes while I stand on them for 3 hours. I don't have time to be running around to other stores so it's Goodwill (fingers crossed) or figure out something at home. 

If you're anything like me, it took me a few minutes to actually get to the shoe area because I had to check out the home goods section just in case there was something I needed...then the purse/bag section, never know what might be there that I could alter...then over to the shoes. I looked at them all. There was the same problem of not finding my size and black, brown and red were my choices. I finally found a pair that could work but they were more of a casual style. I gazed, I pondered, I went around again...nope, nothing. 

(This happened once before with a similar blue color. I was looking for a pair of corduroys in this same blue to match a child's drawing I was going to make a stuffie from. At the end of the rows after looking for awhile, there it was! A pair of blue wide wale corduroys! 'Benetton' no less, but very 80's so I didn't feel bad cutting them up. I'll pull the pics together and show you at another post.) 

So I checked out the home goods section again and found a couple things there. I have a tendency to have hope so I went back to the shoe section and there they were! 


Blue, somewhat pointed, not to high heel! A little too big at size 9 1/2, but doable, AND I had a feeling they were the exact blue. I bought them (1/2 price I found out at the counter, total cost $2.50) brought them home and you'll never believe it unless you see it...


THE EXACT SAME BLUE!!!! NO WAY!! and HA HA HA Hoo Hoo Hoo. Lucky me. I'm pretty happy about that. 

Now, tomorrow I will be making the head piece. It's in my head how I'm going to do it with a couple glitches I'm figuring out, and like I said, I wait until the last minute. I really do not enjoy stressing myself out, but I seem to work well under pressure...well, if I only focus on one thing at the time. Don't ask me to two or more, I have a hard time with that when I have plenty of time! Actually, the fabric I bought for the piece I decided today that I really didn't want to use after all. The fabric I wanted to use was somewhere, hidden, in the boxes that had still not been unpacked and stacked. So, I, of course had to take on that task. Procrastination at it's best. I didn't find the fabric I was looking for and I'm miffed for two reasons. 1.) I wanted to use it, and 2.) what the heck did I do with it??? Guess I'm going back to fabric Plan A!

Ciao for now!




Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Fun little diddys

Whilst cleaning and organizing I came across some illustrations I did awhile back. Hmmm, I'll have to finish this one.



Wonder what other goodies I'll find.

MOOSE GHOST...
A friend sent me this photo that her daughter took. Apparently, said daughter came into the room to find her mastiff-mix 'Moose' under the blanket. I think it's so sweet and pathetic at the same time. I imagine him being so unsure that he didn't move the entire time he was being held captive. Gotta love it.


ODD BALL...
Saturday night we're going out to the 'Odd Ball' masquerade party at Real Art Ways in Hartford, CT. We're wearing costumes made by Anne Cubberly. She is an amazing artist and is soooooo great at theatrical costuming and huge paper mache puppets. She's very involved in the local community and we're honored to be able to dress in her costumes. Thanks Anne!! I have to make the headpiece for mine, I hope I do her justice. If you are in the area, stop in. Costumes not necessary but so much more fun. Hopefully I'll be able to get pics of us dressed up to show you.

OK, time to get back to fabric stacking. Nighty night.