Nature Week

We've been enjoying an incredibly mild summer, even in August! Last Monday, we took a short ride to one of the state parks, just to get out of town for a couple hours and bask in the pleasant weather.

 

I did not know dragonflys were different colors and sizes. Several varieties were flying along the swampy edge of the lake. The blues were gorgeous!

There were some large ones with dark blue & white wings, but they wouldn't stay still long enough to be photographed. I was able to sneak up on this soft blue guy above.

This little guy was infatuated with our car antenna. He hung on for about a quarter mile, then broke off the affair.

 

Last summer, I was chasing sunsets. This summer it's moonrises. Last week's "Blue Moon" caught me by surprise. It was amazing the first night. So the second night, I went out to the ridge again hoping to see the same thing.

Alas, it was not as big and the sky was cloudy. But I do think the clouds made for an interesting picture.

I don't have a big enough lens to get a proper shot and I confess, I was too lazy to mess with the tripod & correct exposure settings.

Friday night, I made up my mind to get up early Saturday and try for a sunrise shot at the ridge.

The fog hanging over the valley was ethereally beautiful.

The sun came up between these trees from the spot where it was clear enough for me to stand. (I have an aversion to chiggers, having experienced them once out here on the prairie, so I don't venture too far into untamed lawnage).

I found this cool app that lets you pinpoint an area on a map, then shows you from which direction the sun & moon will rise and set. I've already checked ahead and mid-October the sun will rise over the part of the valley unobstructed by trees (as in the fog shot above).

This last shot is from a different part of the area as we were leaving. It looks more like a sunset.

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

Life's Road Trip

Who loves road trips?!?!?

I do!

My husband likes to just get on his motorcycle and hit the open road. I like to have somewhat of a destination in mind but be flexible enough to stop on the way if something interesting catches my eye. When we travel together we have a nice blend of planning with room for flexibility.

(Yes, he took this picture while driving! Bad hubby!)

A couple years ago I posted pictures of the cotton fields we saw in Tennessee. That was one of my most favorite road-trip moments ever. Getting off the highway and traveling down this country road was a delight to my soul and spirit. Just around the bend of this road you see in the picture was a charming farmhouse. I had to fight a feeling of envy of the people who get to live in such a tranquil setting. I'm sure they work very hard to earn a living from these fields, though!

(Those old cotton fields back home...I wish Tenn was my home!)

While I love serendipity, I'm also the person who reads the end of the book first. Recent example, I did a Wiki search to find out what created the Dome in the new tv series..but I won't be a spoiler.

All that to illustrate - a journey completely full of unknowns is not for me!

Several  friends are currently experiencing some very major life changes. One said she just wish she knew how it was going to turn out. She knew it would all work out, but just wants to know NOW, how. I tried to encourage her with that pithy saying, "you know it's going to turn out alright, but life is about the journey."

It's so much easier to say that to someone than to live it.

Some missionary friends have experienced a really tough journey this past year. He wrote in a one of their newsletters that a friend had sent him a word of comfort from Psalm 23.
 

Eerie forest in the Smoky Mts.

Personally, when I think of  the 23rd Psalm, old western movies come to mind. There's usually a scene where the town preacherman, in that twangy, cowboy tone, presides over a funeral with these words "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ...."

So many pines killed by a parasite in the Smoky Mts.

So, yeah, Psalm 23 is not the first scripture to come to mind when my friends are hurting. 

But check it out in the Amplified version:

                                                                                                                                                A Psalm of David.

¹ The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

² He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.

³ He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.

⁴ Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.

⁶ Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

                                                                                                                                               

His friend went on to say - don't get so caught up in the battle that you miss the green pastures that God has placed along the way.

Whatever kind of journey you may be walking right now, remember three things from this psalm:

1. You will go through the valley. But God is walking through it with you, protecting (with the Shepherd's rod) and guiding your steps (with the Shepherd's staff).

(A field of dead trees along Rt 66)

 2. Not only is He walking beside you, but He's waiting for you at the end with a bounty of wonderful gifts. 

 (Beautiful park in Little Rock, AR)

3. I think this is one of the best lessons from Psalm 23 for this (sometimes scary) journey that is Life: God has put a variety of rest stops along the way; moments for you to enjoy. Don't miss out on the green pastures.

 

Work in Progress

I thought I'd give you an update on the angel I'm making for my sister!

 

 

She's almost finished. Just the wings left to do. That will be a fun project as they are embellished very heavily.

 

This doll was made from a compilation of patterns and inspirations.

The body is made from a pattern in one of Patti Culea's books. The arms & hands are from the recent Arley Berryhill "Siren" mermaid class I took. Her coiffure is also inspired from the mermaid doll. Her outfit is a free-form design from fabric scraps I had on hand. Sherry Goshon encouraged us to let go of our strict seamstress upbringings in the workshop I took last year. Her panties are from one of Barbara Schoenoff's patterns. The wings will be constructed from the online tutorial by Jean Bernard that I used on my Blue Fairy doll.

Now on to the uber-embellished wings!

Angels & Steampunks

What have I been working on lately? Quite an assortment of projects. I always have multiple folders open. Some photography jaunts, helping a friend with an art-journal, and dolls, of course!

 

My sister asked me long ago to make an angel for her. She has been so very patient. I'm happy to say, we're about half-way there! Here's a preview of the work in progress.

 

And remember waaaay back in 2011 when I took a workshop with the Dolling Dames where Barbara Schoenoff taught us her "Anneal" pattern? You know, the beautiful Steampunk Siren?

Well, my "siren" came out with feet that looked like they belonged to the Wicked Witch of the West. Poor Anneal has been shoeless since then as I got distracted by other projects and forgot about her poor tootsies. Actually, I just didn't know what to do with them. The pattern boots were kinda tricky & I didn't really care for them. I had even found a broken pair of Christmas ornament boots on clearance, but put them aside til I figured out how to repurpose them into something fashionable.

Finally,  unable to bear looking at that poor doll's sock-covered boats any longer, I got out the broken ornament boots and just started doing something. First I painted them black. While the boots were drying, I did an amputation on the boats & got the much tinier feet stuffed into the boots.

I covered the broken tops with a bit of zipper and pieces of an old leather glove that had also been used to make gloves for Anneal and other dolls. A pair of gloves goes a long way!

I added some Steampunk-style accessories and our girl is now standing proud!

 

Yeah, baby, these boots were made for walkin'.....! And you know how the rest of that song goes!

"Where Bloggers Create" Blog Party!

Welcome to Mystical Gypsy! What fun to participate in the blog party. I've been so inspired by pictures from other artsy bloggers and want to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your world with me.

Please click here to go to Karen Valentine's blog for the complete list of party-goers! (scroll down & the list is alphabetized on the right-side column)

I'm going to be transparent & let you see the before picture of my sewing/craft room, my "studio" if you will. I don't know how it happens, but this room ever so subtly goes from organized & tidy to tornado after-effects décor in such a short amount of time.

One day, I decided to pile everything in the middle of the room and re-organize.

This was after I began to empty out the closet where I had been carelessly stashing things. You know - open the door, toss in & slam shut before anything could escape. The picture quality is pretty bad because I was rather uncomfortable documenting this disarray for anyone to see.

But enough of that...on with the show!


This is a re-purposed metal bakers rack. I painted it white & washed it with tinges of pink. Cute containers hold a variety of tools, brads, punches & doo-dads. The wood bucket was on clearance in the garden section at the hobby store. I painted it & added the polka dot ribbon for trim.

As you can see, I like polka dots. I made the skirt to go around my L-shaped work table. I'm so thankful for my hubby who gladly made the table for me, set up my computer & keeps it in good working order.


The skirt hides the computer, wastebasket, and the sewing machine tote. There are shelves which hold white baskets of patterns, embroidery hoops, etc.


The bakers rack holds all my scrapbook supplies. Next to it is a plastic shelving container with wide drawers for holding paper. I have two 4' folding tables, convenient to move around as needed.

I have tons of scrapbooking supplies. I don't scrapbook - but I do like to make cards. There used to be a scrapbook store in town that had a quarterly garage sale where my friends & I would pick up all kinds of loot for next to nothing. I think we enjoyed the pillaging more than the actual crafting. However, when the card making inspiration hits me, I've got all I need right at my fingertips!

For example - all my glitters & embossing powders are stored in this former-spicerack, painted white to match the bakers rack. Notice the crown? It's a large jewelry pendant, on sale at MFCS* (my favorite craft store). I love crowns!


At another junk store, I recently got one of those old boxes that used to hold print blocks. I've always thought they were so neat with all their little cubbies. It's holding about 1/8 of my stamps.
 
The closet is outfitted with wire racks and this is where you'll find the Mother Lode. The Fabric Stash. Oh my goodness, you wouldn't believe the visions & dreams just waiting to be realized behind those bi-fold doors!! Clothes, banners, embroidery projects, art dolls, curtains, table runners, pillows.... You see, I used to work at a fabric store. Who can resist using their employee 20% discount, especially on things that are already on sale?! Should some dreary global catastrophe happen, I will at least have fabric to make throw pillows and dolls!!!


Clean & organized! (I wonder how long this will last!?)  I found these aluminum cups at a wonderful junk shop. Memories from childhood. I always liked the pastel shininess of them.

The dresser was my son's when he was growing up. I painted it some fun colors & put colorful knobs on it. It's a sentimental piece that I can also use to store ... more stuff! The top drawer stores stabelizers and thread cones for the serger. The middle drawer holds silk painting supplies (yes, another hobby whim). The bottom is hiding a bunch of mementos and little knick-knacks that will probably be seeing a garage sale this fall.

A little wicker corner piece to display dolls, stuffed bears from hubby's Valentine's Day presents, silk scarves, mementos.

And finally, a shabby-chic chair for Blu2 to curl up in and keep me company.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my hideout!

Day Trippin' on the Prairie

Last night, hubby said, let's do a day trip tomorrow! I'm always up for a road trip, so with camera locked & loaded and Starbucks in hand, off we went this morning.

He had heard about a neat little place on Route 66. In all our years here, we've never really explored the famous road. It's a very pretty country ride. Our first stop: Pop's!

This is Pop's. Part gas station, part restaurant, and a lot of...well, you'll see.

A Rt 66 roadside attraction must have an iconic landmark.

Does this give you a clue what Pop's is all about?

 You ain't seen nothin' yet....

 The wall slants in.

Rows and rows of pretty bottles and strange flavors.

Look close at these labels. They really are soda pop flavors.

Pop's was a fun stop. It's clean, bright & colorful. They have a little restaurant with great burgers. They also have fun cardboard beverage containers that you can fill with any of a 100 different flavors of ...pop! In old fashioned bottles with metal caps. (I hope we have an old fashioned bottle opener at home..)

Right up the road is another roadside attraction: the Round Barn.

The inside is indeed round. The walls are covered with pictures and articles of it's history. I thought this must be an oddity, but round barns are not unheard of, at least according to the documents displayed inside. You can read about the Round Barn's history at this link.

This was not part of the day's plans, but serendipity is what road trips are about! We were so close to Guthrie, that we went up the road just a fair piece to check it out.

 

Guthrie, OK, was the first capital of the Territory before statehood. It boasts of a Victorian architecture, but it looks 1890s western to me. I thought this building was the original capital, but it was a major newspaper publisher. I would love to have toured it, but as with most museums, it's closed on Mondays. The picture below is of old typewriters I could see through the window.

 

This is where the Land Run of 1889 was launched from. In a matter of six hours, 10,000 people staked a claim for their new homes and a city was born.

Oklahoma City won the bid to become the capital after OK became a state. According to one article, OKC lost much of its original architecture due to growth & modernization, but Guthrie was able to retain her Victorian style and is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

This statue stands outside the Oklahoma Territorial Museum (closed on Monday). It's called "The Wedding" and symbolizes the uniting of  Mr. Oklahoma Territory and Miss Indian Territory into one state.

The last picture was taken in Bristow on our way home. Just a little proof that we did indeed get our kicks on Rt 66.