This week has gone by too quick! It's been filled with preparation for our trip to Colorado Springs to work in the Andrew Womack Ministry TV studio, and things are coming along.
I spent most of my time in front of the computer, massaging photos into giant backdrops.
Test prints of the Pike's Peak scene.
Some of the set background set images will be freestanding. These supports are in our breezeway for now, and will be loaded into a big truck for transport in a few days.
I am doing two art pieces in copper, so I've had fun experimenting with chemical patinas to get the color I want.
This blue patina is made using ammonia and salt in a sealed container. I've felt like a mad scientist....
We ended up with two of these 3'x4' copper logos (below) when the laser cutting company didn't get the first one centered. Four two-hour round trips to their location, and a new sheet of copper later....I guess now I have a back up in case something goes wrong.
The copper surface is being given a blue/green patina and will be mounted on a black panel so it will look like it is floating off the background. It is turning out really cool!
In the middle of it all, we found Flash outside his gate, happily eating the only small patch of green grass around. It took awhile for him to decide to get back inside the pasture, but eventually a bucket of breakfast cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats) did the trick.
Here's a short video of part of the fun.... you can see how sweet Flash is, huh?
Be sure and link up for a virtual round of "coffee time" with your online friends! Let's catch up!!
I'm posting today from Texas A&M, where I'm at a New Student Conference with our son, Gray. Yesterday we sat through information-packed orientations until our heads exploded, and today hope to get him into the right classes he needs to start his Aerospace studies. My husband, Tom, was to have been here with us, but got sick at the last minute and wasn't able to come.... so we've been on our own down here. I actually felt ok about Tom missing the orientations, but the course selection process has me uptight without his help....ack! Wish us luck this afternoon. I'm nervous!!
Cutest New Aggie, Grayson Ridge
But listen. Being on an amazing college campus is so inspiring! My own academic career (unfortunately) got put on a really long hold when the babies started coming, but just being around an institution of higher learning makes me want to go back and finish that degree. Hmmmm.....I'll have to look into that! There is still so much I want to learn. I want to never stop learning and growing - and it's good to get out and re-experience academia as a reminder that there is a whole world out there, still waiting to be discovered.
I hope ya'll have had a great week. I'm still officially away from blogging this month, but I think of you each day and look forward to getting back to "regular" life! I hope you'll link up for a virtual cup of coffee with online friends today. Simply enter your blog post URL into the linky tool below and then join a round robin of bloggers by visiting the other blogs who linked as well. Even if you don't participate by linking up, please stop in and say hello to the incredible women listed below!
My weekly virtual coffee klatch feature here at Home Sanctuary is the way a lot of you keep up with one another, so I'm going to continue to post them on Fridays during my Small Things break. YAY!!
I'll take a frappe, please....thank you!
This week, I'd like to introduce one of our Company Girls to you: a fun young woman who goes by Captain Conundrum online. A fellow artist and crafter, she is opening an Etsy shop soon and would love to have your help in picking a name for her shop.
She will be offering handmade jewelry, polymer clay creations and even knitted items...like these:
I only wear dangly earrings...that's the truth. These would go with anything.
My personal favorite jewelry piece of C.C's:
Polymer Clay creations like this: Leia Organic: All Natural Alderaan-Grown Pork
(I love the sense of humor with this figure - too cute)
When you have lots of different types of creations, it is a challenge to come up with just the right name for your business. You can see what a dilemma this is. In exchange for your help, Captain Conundrum will enter you in a giveaway for a pair of earrings! I hope you'll stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win AND to help her find the perfect moniker. Go, Company Girls!
So while you're dreaming about having some cute new dangly earrings, feel free to join us for that virtual cup of coffee. The bloggers who link up are smart, funny, creative and wise....just like YOU!! So join in for a great round of visits, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
This spring, we were surprised to find new residents at our pond: a beaver family decided to build a lodge on our dam! It has been exciting to see the industrious papa and mama (only every now and then) as they settled in.
We have marvelled at the architectural genius of Mr. Beaver, whom we've named "Chip." He started on his family lodge when the water level was high from the Spring rains, and only as the water level dropped were we able to see the entrance to his home. Normally under water, the entrance is heavily fortified with a large beam over the top and anchored by smaller timbers on each side, like an entrance to a mine shaft. We've watched him drag branches and trunks across the water with indefatiguable determination, and wondered what would happen as summer temperatures and sparse rains would expose more of his home to the elements and predators, as the water would inevitably recede.
Yesterday, as Tom and I were out walking by the pond, we suddenly noticed how the beavers have modified their home to accommodate the changing season. The pile of sticks and branches now extends down the side of the dam and out into the water, providing them with a new passage into their home without ever having to leave the pond! Master builders, they have met the challenge of the Texas heat by adding on, changing their floor plan and thinking ahead. Their little family never has to walk on land - they can swim in and out in cool safety. Amazing!
This month, I'm going to take a cue from my cute beaver family and make some home-life modifications of my own. We are facing some "seasonal challenges" ourselves, in the form of an out-of-state project that we are doing. Tom and I (and Grayson) will be part of the renovation/design team for Andrew Womack Ministries (a somewhat new ministry to us) in Colorado Springs. We are providing the backdrops, wall finishes, and art work for their new TV studio, and will be installing it all at the end of July. Until then, we are doing as much as we can here in Texas in our own art and print studio....meaning that it is "all hands on deck" to get the work done. It's a lot of work to chew our way through.
All of this is to say that I will be taking a break from posting my daily Small Things for the month of July, and probably into the first week of August. I WILL, however, post occasional updates here as I can, so you can see what I'm up to during my Small Thing break.
You KNOW I love, love, love my blog and meeting up with you sweet Company Girls every day, so I truly hate to step away for even a short time, let alone several weeks! But, like my beaver family, I feel like I've got to make a few changes when necessary to beat the heat and meet the needs of this busy season. I'm passionate about maintaining "sanctuary" for my family during this time, and that means I need to be willing to make a few personal sacrifices to make that happen. I know you all understand and support the idea that a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do, right?? I appreciate each of you so much and already can't wait to get back to "normal!"
Please note that I will still be available through comments here, as well as via email. You can also find me on Twitter, and that might be an easy way to keep up with me over the next few weeks!
How about you? Are you making some modifications to your home life and schedule too? Remember, it's a GOOD thing to be flexible and give yourself margin to meet a new season.
What simple changes can you make so that you can be the kind of woman/mom/individual you want to be?
PS Enjoy this incredible video that shows how beavers make their lodges! Hopefully ours never gets this big!!
