186,000

That's how many visitors have been to my blog since I started writing it. Well, not 186,000 UNIQUE visitors, but my goodness, that's a lot of reading! Speaking of reading - my umpteenth pair of $15 reading glasses just broke. I was so happy that I didn't have to have prescription readers after my cataract surgery but truthfully, I could have had a pair of really good ones with the amount of money I have spent on these crappola frames with magnifiers in them. Fortunately, I had a spare pair in the car or I would not be writing this post tonight...or doing anything else. Two packages arrived today. One is the new upgrade of Parallels, which allows me to run windows on my mac so I can update my website. Grrr...I hope it is more user friendly than the version I have. The second package is much more fun -- stencils from The Crafters Workshop. I discovered them at Spring Market 2008 and although their original market was scrapbooking, I realized immediately that their stencils were terrific for surface design. I especially love the ones that are geometric and abstract. I've used them for screen printing(with both paint and deconstructed screen printing), stenciling with oil pastels or Oilstiks, and even discharge. Très cool. Check 'em out. Tonight I played with the one on the lower right on the back of a piece of yucky fabric I had printed. I like the transparency I got with the oil pastels. Tomorrow morning, it's back to the V.A. for another doctor's appointment and then I need to get down to business in the afternoon and pack my suitcase.

only in New York

I am not in NY that often - it just seems that way to some people. Today, I went to Brooklyn to pack up books and kitchen stuff because my kids are renovating, starting next week, and Jessica can't do anything. Tommy works till all hours, so I gave him a head start on emptying the shelves and cabinets.

I took the PATH from Newark to 14th St in Manhattan and then walked to the subway at Union Square. En route, I spotted this bargain for somebody. Two new seat pillows and that's it! Never fear - it won't be here by tomorrow.

Happily, I got to Union Square while the world famous Union Square Greenmarket was setting up and since I wasn't on a real schedule, I spent lots of time wandering before I caught the Q train. Grass for pets?? Cows?

After buying some spinach and green tomatoes (don't be alarmed, I am not planning to make them together) and parsley and tomatoes for Jess, I headed for the subway. Took out my trusty iPhone and snapped a few pictures. This is Manhattan as we are leaving it. There are 3 bridges from Manhattan to Brooklyn. This is the Brooklyn Bridge from the window of the Q train, which travels on the Manhattan Bridge to get to Brooklyn. This passes through Park Slope and stops on Jessica's corner. The third is the Williamsburgh Bridge which goes, natch, through the Williamsburg Section of Brooklyn. This man was sitting across from me as I shot pictures through the window.

Once across the bridge, we were underground and here is the same man, same window - but with a reflection of the person sitting across, on my side of the car. I love what happens in the dark. A graffiti treasure trove right outside Jessica's building! Two-sided art. I took the Q back to Manhattan a little after 4:00. The train was practically empty, but three guys got on and played Mexican music, starting at the other end of the train. By the time they worked their way down to my end, they were done. Here is one of them.

This woman slept through the whole thing.

Another day in the city - too short, but always a treat.

Open Studio now Closed

Our open studios were mobbed this year! There was another building with open studios not far away, so we all benefited from it. I was so busy that I didn't have time to even go across the hall to visit the other artists in our building. Among the crowd, lots of friends and lots of interesting people who were quite fascinated with the fiber art and asked lots of questions. I think it was a eye opener for a lot of people and only one person used the "Q" word (and she was a q'-er). Rachel, Karen, and Aleeda insisted on posing in front of my work. Ditto, Susan Brauner who is in my crit group and came with her friend. And here I am with Sujatha, who is wearing the batik scarf she had just bought. Scarves flew out the door -I don't have many left to take to Michigan with me, but I will take what I have. Not likely that in the next 3 days I will have time to make more. Books sold, too.And here is Lauren, a musician and storyteller, showing off her new apron, which makes a great outfit with her sweater! The day flew and tomorrow, I am Brooklyn-bound, where I will play mommy and empty Jessica's kitchen cabinets while she lies on the couch and supervises. Kitchen and bathroom will be renovated, so there is preliminary work to be done. I plan to take public transportation rather than fight the lower Manhattan tunnel & bridge traffic coming home at rush hour. Anyway, I always find it more interesting to observe life in NY when I am walking and taking the subway. So with a big yawn, I bid you bonne nuit.

I was at the studio again today, hanging and re-hanging work. There is still one empty space on the wall, so I have to hang a transition piece.This will be a last-minute decision, as I sew one more piece of canvas to stretched canvas and take along some quilts. Here is another canvas piece that is already on the wall.

I swore I was finished making scarves but last night I want back into three and improved them, and this morning, did the same with a 4th. While I was arranging them this afternoon, one of the other artists came in and bought one, which she plans to wear tomorrow.

Each scarf is so individual and so different that I can never replicate any of them -- and sometimes it breaks my heart to sell a particular one. This one is a favorite: old wall, deconstructed and screen printed.

Then, I decided that I loved this one too much to sell it, so I took it home with me and may wear it myself, tomorrow. We'll see.

Some of the artists are putting prices on their work, but two of the artists are not. They both said that people are not coming to buy, they are coming to look.There are, in fact, several curators coming tomorrow: one from a museum and two from galleries.

I may have a sheet with the prices of each piece but I had better get busy and do that tonight. When you have open studios, do you put a price on each work?

Before I wrap up, I need to pass along this call for entries I received the other day, just in case you are interested.

Juried Art Services is pleased to anounce that the application for Rochester Erotic Arts Festival is now available on JuriedArtServices.com.

Application Deadline: February 1st, 2010

Event Location: Rochester, NY

Event Dates: March 26th, 2010 - March 28th, 2010

Application Fee: $35.00

"Celebrating sensuality, sexuality and eroticism in artistic expression" The Rochester (NY) Erotic Arts Festival is a tasteful yet enthralling event featuring an international erotic art exhibition, intriguing workshops, poetry contests, spicy entertainment, and living erotic art. This show is an international juried exhibition. We are in search of high quality original works that are creative, erotic and thought-provoking. Accepted media include drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, collage, digital art, photography, film, and sculpture, for exhibition and possible sale. I think I'll skip that one. I am sewing sleeves onto a piece that was accepted into a national juried show after having been passed over by another one. That other one sent me one rejection notice and then, wanting to make sure I understood English, sent me a "reconfirmation notice" of rejection a week later. Perhaps they meant to discourage me from ever submitting another piece. Time to finish sewing sleeves.

as promised

A post tonight - but a quickie one. Stayed home today, printed 3 more scarves (that still need more layers) and stitched this canvas to stretchers and will hang it on the studio wall. I took this one, plus another that I did at the same time several years ago when I treated myself to a workshop with Fran Skiles. I revisited the canvases, which had been rolled up in the corner forever, and liked what I saw. My art crit group liked it too, and I think I will revisit working on canvas with more mixed media to see what happens. My camera was not taking good pictures tonight, but I wanted to share this piece that Rachel Leibman brought with her. It is collage. Sorry for the flash, but the non-flash one came out fuzzy. Susan Lisbin brought her latest sculpture -- a mixed media piece that is very interesting and lyrical. Here, she is explaining how she made the piece, which contains the back of a chair - repurposed. Susan is great at doing that and she is a wonderful painter.

Everybody brought something to show and/or ask advice on but my camera was annoying me, so I don't have pix of the other work. Told you this would be a quickie!

today's spam list

I am ostensibly working at home, but just procrastinating. I may have a 'real' post tonight - LOL. I leave my mail on the Verizon server so I can download it to whichever computer I happen to be using at the moment. Otherwise, once it has downloaded to my home laptop, I can't get it on my studio laptop if I need to. And when I'm away, I sometimes need to go out to the server to read it. Every couple of days, after I've read everything and there are no new messages, I delete everything on the server. This is where I find the spam (although once in a while one will sneak through and more often, Verizon thinks one of your messages is spam and I have to retrieve it before I delete everything). Before I delete this morning's catch, I just want to share a few of the more interesting names and subject lines with you. Drgrriba Usmon CHEQUE FOR YOUR PAST EFFORT WHEELER Attn: PLEASE YOU ARE HIGHLY NEEDED AS {NEXT OF KIN} Hajj Sankoh GOOD NEWS Alexandra de-Keyser Treasury Of The British Government. Obillo Uche URGENT RESPONSE NEEDED Rita Linus I need your assistant (ha, wish I had one) Karen's Profile Karen is looking to date new people - sexually explicit (I couldn't resist this one) Rob And Kalen Poulos This is why you're fat Hi, Our names are Rob And Kalen Poulos, and we would like to show you why you may be "fat" and why you're unable to lose weight no matter how hard you try. First off, please always know that it's not your fault... Press here to see why you're fat: (I didn't follow the link) See you later!

Armistice Day

That's what they called it when I was a kid and as I was growing up. Don't we wish there was still a reason to call it that? Having spent 2 days at the Veteran's Hospital with my husband, who is a Korean War Veteran, I am more anti-war than ever. But I have also gained respect for those who are putting their lives on the line every day. When we entered the hospital on Monday, the vets offering to point us to the elevators asked why we were there and I said "medical." They laughed and said "everyone who comes in here is for medical." Oops. Yes, we sat around for hours. And while we sat, I observed the others who were waiting: all ages, sizes, races, and physical conditions. People in wheelchairs, those with two canes and with other disabilities,many of whom were there because of war injuries. Mostly men, but there was one young woman - probably early 20's -who was either a vet or is in the service. Two marines who didn't know each other till they spotted the other's USMC caps, formed an instant rappport and hugged. I never really understood till now. So here is my virtual toast to the courageous men and women in the service and my hope that we will bring them all home, now!

an easier day

By today we knew how to find our way around the V.A. hospital and our first appointment was only an hour late so we considered it was on time. We had lunch in the hospital cafeteria, which, considering that this is a medical facility, was a large version of a fast food restaurant. The only things that were not fried were the paninis, which two staff people ahead of us in line advised us to get if we valued our lives. Tasty, but hardly low-calorie. The coffee was surprisingly good. This afternoon, off to the studio to rearrange the walls and set up the tables. I'm bringing in more work tomorrow, so this will change again. Anyway, the small pieces are too close together. I have to move the nails and it would be good if I could find some white toothpaste to fill the holes in the wall. I am finally finishing a couple of canvas pieces that have been rolled up in the corner for about 3 or 4 years. This one is going in tomorrow and will hang on that wall above. This photo is washed out looking; the color is really deeper and more vibrant. It's about 23 x 23.I printed a few aprons and will put them out just for fun, along with the scarves. Still have to do price labels and buy snacks and goodies for the people who come. Sunday is supposed to be nice weather, so hopefully we will be lucky. Tomorrow, no appointments till 12:30(lunch with a friend) so I may sleep a bit later.

Ta Da!

Yes, Eva, you were right about my not wanting to be deprived of the pleasure of writing little numbers down on little pieces of cut-up paper, folding them, and throwing them into a brown paper lunch bag - LOL. Twice the work and half the fun! Marty drew out the winning number and it is Regina Dwarkasing who will wear the scarf. I wish you could all have won - honestly, but I'll have another drawing on my 5 year Blogiversary at the end of January. One box of supplies went out to Michigan today and another one will go out tomorrow; I did not have time to pack both of them. Here's why. Marty was scheduled at the V.A. hospital for an 8:00 and a 9:00 appointment. They told us to be there at 7:30, which meant leaving the house at 7, which meant getting up at 6. Marty was up at 5. Since we are punctual people, we arrive on the dot of 7:30, only to discover that the office doesn't open till 8:00. So we sit around for 1/2 hour. Then, the doctor he is supposed to see at 8 is MIA: not there and doesn't answer his beeper. So they tell us to go to our 9:am appointment and come back afterwards to see Dr. 8:00 MIA. The 9:00 appointment is for his eyes, so it takes 2 hours. We see Dr. 8:00 at about 11:15 and then have to go to room #522 to check out. "Where," you might ask, "is room 522??" After wandering the hallways of above-pictured institution for what seemed like days we discovered it was the "travel" counter in an alcove.(yes, we asked and no, nobody who worked there knew). Apparently, they are going to reimburse us for mileage, to the tune of $2.46. I can't wait till the check comes. We go back tomorrow for another round of appointments and another $2.46. It will cover the chips and crackers from the vending machine we had to eat so we wouldn't faint while waiting for Dr.8:00. Thankfully, I had the book that Jessica had given me some time ago and I hadn't gotten around to reading. "Heat," a book about working in Mario Batali's kitchen at Babbo. There is something perverse in reading about food while you are starving, but I couldn't put it down. I will save it for tomorrow again at the V.A. While we were hanging around between appointments, I got a call that my mother was in the E.R. because she claimed she couldn't breathe. Been there/done that a couple of months ago and there was nothing wrong so they sent her back. Ditto today. We got home before 2:pm, and I went to the studio for a few hours. Brought work home and am too tired to do it. I am considering signing myself into a sanitarium (do they still have those?) for a few weeks so somebody can take care of ME! Make that a spa - they have better food. Sorry not a lot of pictures tonight -- when I start putting photos of paper bags up, you know I am in trouble.Now, to bed early because tomorrow is another one of those days.

how to get the numbers up

Ha - now I know that if I want a lot of comments, I have to give something away. Plain old bribery! I'll give the left coast a chance to post and then tomorrow, after I get back from the doctors' appointments with Marty, I'll pick a number out of a basket and let you know who has won the scarf. I loved reading all of your comments ; they warmed my heart and made me laugh. Glad I make you laugh once in a while (you're the only ones - my family doesn't think I'm funny and compared to them, I'm not). I find that laughter is all too rare in my life these days; I mean the kind of laughter that makes you fall over in hysterical giggles. A few special friends, my kids, and a couple of cousins make me feel like that -- and then there is my brother Jon. Ever since we were kids (he's 9 years younger than I) all we had to do was look at each other and we'd get hysterical (usually at the dinner table, to my mother's consternation). To this day, it hasn't changed. He lives about 7 hours away, so we rarely see each other -- but when we do, we laugh. It is a happy sound. This afternoon I was in the studio moving tables and hanging artwork and generally trying to clean up. The effort will continue for the rest of the week after the morning appointments Mon-Tues and after a Wed. annual b.d. lunch with an old friend. I do not expect to get a job offer as a food stylist, based on these pictures, which were taken mid-meal. Dinner was delicious (although not as good as lunch the other day). But pretty damn good! Sambar with vada, which are lentil donuts. Usha taught me that you put them in the sambar to eat them, but you can put idly or rice in also, if you prefer. I like either the vada or the idly with it. Coconut chutney, tamarind chutney, raita, papadams, and vegetable samosas, which came out of the oven after I took the picture. I ate too much and Marty loved the sambar, which I didn't expect. That's the breaking news and with that, I shall say ta ta till tomorrow.

my one-thousandth post

Goodness, how did that happen? It's in the same category as old age - creeps up without your even noticing and ambushes you. My first blog post was January 31, 2005, which means I'm coming up on a 5 year blogiversary in a couple of months. It hardly seems possible. More on this, later. As a result of my delicious lunch at Sujatha's on Thursday, I asked her to send me her recipes, which she did. This morning, depressed by the boring idea of going food shopping, I decided to look for an Indian supermarket and found Patel Brothers,several miles away. I had the MOST fun shopping there and came home laden with ingredients I had either run out of or didn't have in the first place. Fresh chilis, cilantro, curry leaves, beautiful ginger, and a host of dals. On weekends they have fresh samosas, 2 for a dollar, so I bought half a dozen. They smelled divine. Tomorrow night we will have a good dinner. Today, I cooked for Jessica and will send several meals in tomorrow with her father. He, in turn, will bring me back the sewing machine I bought for Jessica that she does not want. I was supposed to go in to the city tomorrow but now I will go to the studio instead, to get ready for Open Studios next week. I have a few more scarves to finish and have to figure out what work I am putting on the wall. In the meantime, here is the scarf I put the umpteenth layer on tonight and I think I am done. Or not. We'll see. I will give it away by random drawing in honor of my 1000th post to one of you who leaves a comment tomorrow. Make sure your e-mail link is there or I won't be able to contact you. Each comment has a number, so if yours is picked you're the (lucky?) winner. One last note, before I go to bed: Ever vigilant, Verizon.net seems to be going overboard with its spam filter. Tonight, I was quite annoyed to see that they intercepted some exciting and hard-to-resist offers that I really need to take advantage of. HELLO DEAR, My name is Frank Smith, I am the regional manager of the International Commercial Bank Kumasi branch Ghana. I got your information during my search through the Internet. I am 42years of age and married with 3 lovely kids. It may interest you to hear that I am a man of PEACE and don't want problem,but i don't know how you will feel about this because you might feel that its scam yes there are many scammers. but am telling you that this is real and you are not going to regret after doing this transaction with me.I only hope we can assist each other.But If you don't want this business offer kindly forget it as I will not contact you again. ------------------------ We are pleased to notify you as the "Winner"of the ATM Mega Jackpot Online Sweepstakes result. You have been approved an international platinum ATM card valued (1.4 Million Euro) One Million,Four Hundred Thousand Euro.Attcahed to ATM CASH NUMBER:NT75K To claim your prize you must email and call the assigend agent below for more details. 1.Fully name as in your passport or identification, 2.Mobile,telephone and fax number,Address,occupation and country. 3.You must obtain an approved notarization release order document in your names,which will be used to process/issue and deliver your ATM card.Call the assigned agent for guidelines. CONGRATULATIONS!!! in advance. -------------------------------------- Dear Customer, You are welcome to FEDEX COURIER COMPANY LTD with world wide delivery at its best. We are pleased to be at your service. FEDEX COURIER COMPANY LTD is Regulated and Stipulated by the Delivery Service Authority(D.S.A), The delivery institutions that REGULATES all delivery activities in the Benin Republic. This is to inform you that the consignment was insured by Allied Insurance Company Benin Republic and they discovered that the consignment contains the sum of 2.5 million united states, I was officially surmount by the director of the insurance company who told me that it is necessary that we must obtained Anti terrorist and Drug Clearance Certificate in order to avoid any interruption by the custom during the shipment. Therefor, I personally contacted Ministry Of Import and Export and succeeded in obtaining the both Certificates which cost me the sum of $240. For security reason, I do not want to delay the shipment any further so I decided to enlist your consignment among the items that will be dispatch today. So the shipment of your consignment commenced this morning at exactly 7:30 am,your consignment is expected to arrive your home 10:35am Friday 13th Of November 2009. Therefore you are advised to make sure you wait at home at the above stated time in order to welcome the arrival of our diplomatic agent, You are required to pay he sum of $265 including the security keeping as soon as the diplomatic agent arrived with your consignment. So you are advised to ensure that the above stated amount is made available in cash before the arrival of our diplomatic agent in the above mentioned date and time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Attn: Beneficiary,

Be informed that your part-payment of (US$950.000.00) from International Monetary Fund Unit (IMF) has been approved to transfer via our department of Western Union, Meanwhile your urgent respond is highly needed with the re-confirmation of your details where and how to receive your funds our office such as: Your Name: Country: State and City.

Also the payment of US$10.000.00 has already been made through Western Union for you to pick it up, But Due to there are so many scams on the Internet, You are required to pay sum of (US$195.00)to Activate your payment files and also to ensure you are the right person to receive the fund. Upon receiption of the Activation fee, we shall forward the payment details of the first transfer of US$10.000.00 to you and you can pick it up any Western Union in your country.

------------------------------ My name is Sarah Jane Park. If you're interested in Making Money and Improving Your Life, then please pay careful attention to this letter. Would you like to earn an extra $200 every day? for just 15 minutes work? You could quit your job and make double the money at home working for yourself. ------------------------------------ It is already tomorrow!