grinder

implements of destruction

fun at work

This is hilarious. Apparently, some bookstores know how to have fun. Don't get me wrong, we did have some fun way back then. It did not involve Stormtroopers, however. At least not while I was on the premises. How hard would it have been to arrange for some costumed folk to show up and start swingin' light sabers? Really.

These fellas showed up at some location to promote the DK Lego Star Wars visual dictionary. Aside from a private jet, this book is the only thing I want for christmas. Have a nice weekend! Wish you were here.

happy halloween

Half my halloween day was spent on my bike riding around lucky town in this weird semi-summerish weather. It's not totally summery, just warmish for what you'd expect. Anyhoo, I've been meaning to make my way to Mount Olivet Cemetery because local cyclist types have been encouraging me to do so. I fully expected to have to ride on Market and then down sorta towards the mall thus having to deal with car traffic but, that was not the case. Mount Olivet cemetery has an entrance at the end of Court Street. How freaking easy is that?

The cemetery is sort of on the large side and it's situated such that you can see the Costco and Harry Grove Stadium as well as other urban sprawl. Interred there are both Francis Scott Key and Barbara Fritchie as well as Francis' parents and other notable local dignitaries. It's got a visitor's center and chapel but I didn't make a study of those things. Alls I did was ride around and look for decent shots in this lousy light. Found a few but nothin' much. I'll be back though. Have a spooky holiday! Wish you were here.

twinkly lights

Hi. Okay, clearly this is a place holder. It's not even a picture taken by me. This picture was taken by Miss March when she made off with my camera at a party. I'm a fool for twinkly lights so finding this picture on my camera was nothing short of delightful. Plus, it was taken inside Ande's house which makes it even more delightfuller. A person could do an entire blog on the interior of Ande's house. It's located no where near Frederick but she would love it here so it's allowed. Have a grand and glorious day. Wish you were here.

even more metal

Anyhoo, here's another thingy I made on Wednesday, October 21. It's an example of what's called a hot twist. That first silvery thingy (in a previous post) was done by way of the controlled twist. The hot twist is all blacksmithy and such. You take a torch and make metal red hot in one spot only, then you can twist the hell out of it because it's so darn soft. The rest of the metal does not twist as it is cold, relatively speaking. So, you see how part of it's twisty and part of it is less twisty? Well done. Teacher's pet.

The ends are curved slightly and flat. Much like the junior high version of myself. The flatness is achieved by means of hammer and anvil that sits atop a tree stump. This is true. There are several tree stumps in the classsroom. They're set upon carpet squares. An anvil on a tree stump on a carpet square makes for quieter hammering and less annoyed administrators on the floor below. Have a jolly day. Wish you were here.

more metal

Here's more show and tell from jewelry class. This is the stuff I made today (not the little leaf ~ I made that last week.) Techniques pictured include: taking a straight piece of brass wire and turning it into a spiral; making serpentine-type curves without the use of a jig; making a pin and clasp on a spring; flattening the crap out of wire; pounding texture into flattened wire; twisting two wires together to make one long strand from which you create other things; flattening said twisted wire; fashioning one bracelet from the aforementioned twisted/flattened wire ~ and wearing it home.


The cool thing about that bracelet up there is that a person could make one of those from stuff you can easily get at a hardware store. In about 10 minutes (not including the shopping.) All you need is the wire, a sturdy door knob, one pencil, a hammer, and wire cutters. I guess when I look at the picture again, it kind of looks like something somebody made from stuff from a hardware store. But hey! Whoohoo for metal!

metal

One of the benefits of working where I work is that I get to take classes for free (provided the class isn't full.) Intermediate Jewelry had one available spot so, guess who took it. Not that I am, by any means, intermediate ~ the instructor figured I was pretty okay at cutting things so she let me in. So far, I have learned to cut metal with a saw. Behold my tiny oak leaf half liberated from a slab of copper.


And here are my feet, safely encased in proper footwear lest an anvil or pot of acid drops on them. The wooden contraption gets clamped to a work bench and allows you to support your chunk of metal with one hand while you saw up and down with the other. Kind of like a sewing machine except things come apart in the end rather than get put together.


Anyhoo, in addition to the metal cutting, I've also learned how to melt metal into a puddle using a propane torch, poke tiny holes through metal using a drill press, and buff the crap out of metal using a flexible-shaft dremel-esque drill. Yay metal!

street party

Saturday was one big street party and this is what the end of 4th street looked like all day. Market was closed to traffic from the creek all the way up to 7th. Thank the gods for off-street parking. Anyhoo, I spent the entire day taking pictures, some of which you can view---> here!


The weather was stupendous as were the food smells wafting about. I ate my lunch at home, however, and saved my cash for another day. Next year, my plan is to not run around so much but to sit around and enjoy the music. Oh, and to not work in the evening.

open

It's been just about a month since I stopped posting to my little blog to myself. Thank you for not stopping by! I do believe that I'll post some pictures and just quit taking breaks.

closed

It's been just about 3 months since I started my little blog to myself. Thank you for stopping by. I do believe that I'll take a break and just go out and take some pictures.

going home

Strolling home at night is one of the best parts of my day...so, yay me.

blue skies

It's starting to feel fallish in lucky town. Not that the weather is cooling off all that much but kids are back in school and the words "end of summer" keep popping up in storefronts and other random signage. Sitting around watching movies is more on my mind. And sweaters. Some one sent me a "save the date" art show postcard recently that had a pumpkin on it. Anyhoo, have a happy Wednesday. I hope the skies are blue over where you are.

food again

This is (was) my salad. I've decided there's no such thing as too much spinach. Or shrimp. Or garlic. Today, I'm on a quest for free dirt. The plant that Deana gave me as a housewarming gift is in serious need of dividing and the clipping that I stole from upstairs neighbor guy has roots as long as my arm. The gardens at the old mill are a work in progress and I doubt they'd miss two or three yogurt containers worth of top soil. There, it's been decided: more stealing. Happy Monday! Wish you were here!

ten dollars

There's a tiny farmers' market on East Street every Thursday from 3 to 6 pm that I've managed to miss on a regular basis. The farmers themselves are normal size, it's just that there's only four of them. I took ten dollars there to see what I could get and this is what came home with me.


I skipped the piles of zucchini because, quite frankly, I'm not a fan of zucchini. Tomatoes are missing from this collection also as a coworker recently sent me home with several from her garden. Anyhoo, all of the above was sliced, diced, and frozen and will be eaten by me during the winter when said market is long gone. I've sworn off convenience eating.

That little loaf of whole wheat brioche was baked by Cakes for Cause. Pictured below is Elin, executive director of Cakes for Cause and her helper friend whose name I forgot to ask. Clearly he has moxie.

art exchange!

First of all, I love getting mail (that isn't bills.) Maybe that's one reason for my free art giveaway promotion currently underway in lucky town. The first person to take me up on this fabulous offer was one charming young lady from Minneapolis who happens to have the same name as me. Never in a million years did I expect the self-addressed stamped envelope to contain artwork! It did, however, and now I am the proud owner of the delightful little pencil drawing pictured below. Recently, I joined Kelsey's Australian mail art adventure. My name and address are going on a list emanating from Brisbane and I'll be painting envelopes and mailing them to creative persons unknown to me who will, in turn, send me painted or otherwise decorated envelopes, too. I think. Then the task is to throw them up on flickr at some point for the world to peruse and marvel at. Hello Kizzle.

lucky winners

So anyway, I was digging through art supply boxes recently and found a bunch of small collages from days gone by. They're nothing to write home about but, hey, some persons might get a kick out of getting one or two in the mail. So, I instituted my free art giveaway. Send me an sase and I'll drop one in the mail to you. So far, I've got no takers. I'm sure I'll be inundated with envelopes any day now and be sorrier than heck. Or not. In which case, I just may mail stuff off randomly.

cleaning day

My apartment is now the cleanest apartment on the planet. Wednesday witnessed a frenzy of vacuuming blitzing and spider web eradication as well as some throwing out of some extraneous cardboard. Anyhoo, in the midst of all this, I found a file folder that contained random papers that I assumed had been thrown out by me in some former frenzy as it had been missing till now. Flipping through said folder I found page 1 of an exhibitor's contract for a group show that I vaguely recall agreeing to participate in. By the way, I really have no problem ending sentences with prepositions. Just so you know.

Be that as it may, it wasn't until the next day (yesterday) that I decided to check my emails from group show organizer figuring I had missed the boat completely. Holy Shit! Said group show starts on Friday, August 7 and final drop off is Thursday, August 6 which is yesterday, the day I was currently in. This meant spontaneous driving to Baltimore was about to occur. Not what I was planning but, hey! Below are pictures from the Irvine Nature Center.


Art was delivered on time and under budget and, rather than jump right back in the car, I decided to mosey the trails a bit as I had never been at this place before in my life. There was a convergence of moseying and I found myself walkin' along with a gaggle of kids who were super excited about nature. It's nice to know that the world is still producing kids who will squeal with delight when they see nothing but a big bunch of grass.



This place offers 116 acres of walking and moseying opportunities that include benches and gazebos and vistas and views of all sorts. I'll have to go back when I have time because it's now one of my new favorite places. And my art is hanging somewhere in this building until September.

Lucky I found that folder.

i like food

To anyone who knows me, it should come as no surprise that I like food. Food is good and eating is fun. Handmade food is preferred. I lived this entire past winter on frozen pizzas and soup so, I'm not opposed to processed food. But hey, if you got a bakery within walking distance, walk to it and buy their stuff and eat it.

This is some of what the inside of Stone Hearth Bakery looks like. They're situated at 138 N. East Street in Frederick at the corner of 2nd. Fine fellows one and all. I went in the other day to perform my own personal cookie taste test. Mostly, I just needed a cookie because I was bummed ~ so I turned that into my quest for the perfect cookie. Plus, I needed a loaf of bread.

The bread was picked out and sliced for me. Then I proceeded to point to delicious things while the kind fellow dropped them in a bag. Three cookies and one coconut scone in addition to the bread came to $9.50. It was at this point that the baker guy realized that his credit card machine was on the fritz. I had no cash. Presently, another baker guy emerged from the back room and said, "It's okay, she's a regular. Just jot down her name and she can pay tomorrow." I've been there a total of four times. By the way, I did not buy the cake below. I merely fell in love with it. I'll be back for it on my birthday.

squiggly line

Went for a walk in the woods but I took no pictures of me so I can't prove I was there actually.

big foot

Time for another shadow picture of me on play equipment. I found two things: a bakery and a small farmer's market. Both are on East street and 2nd or thereabouts. The market materializes like Brigadoon on Thursdays at 3 pm and then fades back into the mist a short while later. The bakery bakes stuff but I have not been in there yet to see what exactly. The guy who owns it (the baker, I'm guessing) is said to be a heroic holdout to the forces of evil that endeavor to gentrify Shab Row. I guess it used to be quirky and welcoming and is now all hoity toity with it's high rents and kicking out of the common people. Then again, some folks say it used to be dirty and dangerous but, that was before my time. Said baker certainly benefits from the increased foot traffic so, who the hell knows. I'll go for a loaf of bread later and report back with my findings. Have a sunny Sunday!