The Pink Pearl 

aka the Geenies Lamp Studio on the road

For a while now some of our kids have been asking, almost daily, if we can go camping.  Honestly We're not very good at camping, unless we're with a group, like our Boy Scout Troop, a group of friends, etc.  This is because we are not planners.  I tend to do things as they come, without much forethought.  This has led to problems in the past while camping.  We love tent camping, being in the great outdoors, we don't mind sleeping on the ground.  We're always up for an adventure.  Always have been.  

Unfortunately adventures can be very stressful at times without some planning.  This we have learned the hard way on more than one camping trip.  This is why The Pearl is such a good thing for us.  We can keep her stocked with the essentials and at least wont have to worry about those things every time.  Plus eventually we'll have a fridge, and be able to use our stove and oven, possibly even a shower and loo.  

So we have booked a maiden voyage for her, and for us.  We spent the weekend working to get the last few things that absolutely needed to be done before she was seaworthy for a test run.  You can see all the help we had.  

 The goal here was to get the paneling around the bed changed so I wont have to be near any water damage.  Things like that trigger my OCD and who needs that on a camping trip??  My hubby also replaced the top of the nightstand there on the right.

He also replaced the roof paneling he removed and put some new insulation in to make it nice and comfy.

 here all of our helpers are getting involved with the unpacking of the new mattress.  It's Pink!

It is slightly too large for the space but we have plans for this in the end.  Involving a rebuild of the whole bed frame.  Here it is unmade.  I have plans of course to gussy the whole interior up when we're done.  We have not gotten to the floor yet, but I plan on giving it a good scrubbing before we go. In the end the floor will be black and white tiles.

On the opposite end where the dinette is missing he built a temporary platform for a twin sized bed.  To sleep a couple more little people.






The Maiden Voyage

Her maiden voyage will be at beautiful, scenic Crystal Cove Beach in Newport. Here is a little blurb about it from their website.


Crystal Cove State Park has 3.2 miles of beach and 2,400 acres of undeveloped woodland, which is popular for hiking and horseback riding. The offshore waters are designated as an underwater park. Crystal Cove is used by mountain bikers inland and scuba and skin divers underwater. The beach is popular with swimmers and surfers. Visitors can explore tidepools and sandy coves.

Image from EveryTrail.com

Sounds like lots to do!  And we love the beach!  It has since started raining, so hopefully it will have stopped and will be a beautiful sunny day for the beach.  Wish us luck!  

Derby Days

Happy weekend friends, loved ones and fellow travelers.  It's been a very productive day.

The Team- photo from the SCRD gallery

Started our day off with Roller Derby practice.  It's really hard work.  I think I agree with them, that this is one of the most challenging sports out there.  Both physically and mentally.  It takes a lot to join a team and actually be good at it.  We are fortunate to live near the new home of the South Coast Roller Derby league who have taken us in and are showing up the ropes.

The Juniors.  Coach Toxic is on the far right. 

Then it was out for pizza and beer to cheer up one of the girls on the team.  Relationship issues.  This team really supports each other.  Last week the juniors had an ice cream party at Farrells to bond.  Courtesy of their coach Toxic Rox.  She's been helping Jewella Deville and I learn the ins and outs of the game.  She's a great coach!

After that it was home to work on The Pink Pearl.  She's so close to being seaworthy.  We're about ready to schedule a maiden voyage to test the waters with her.   Today hubby finished the new vent install and re-installed the rest of the cabinet doors.  I finished lining the shelves and cleaning a couple of cupboards I had skipped the last time.

   

 We're leaving the water damaged front of the cupboards alone for now.  We just wanted to get her good and cleaned up and get out on the road then take it slowly after that.

the old vent which couldn't close all the way

And the beautiful working new one

Look I found pink!

I also had him remove the original metal paper towel holder so I could give it a good clean.  Check out the stamping on the inside.  So cool!  I love things like this!

After this it was a trip to the local hardware store for some supplies and then I was done.  I can't wait to go camping and get some art done in the great outdoors.  It was a lovely, fun, very productive day.  I hope you had the same!

Art Journaling my life

This is the cover of my new journal.

I know I've been quiet lately.  Had a lot going on.  And a lot of changes taking place, both within and without.  Trying to deal with it all.  A few posts ago I showed you pics of my first Art Journal.  Here are some pics from my current one.  They pretty much say it all.

Inspired by the lovely Suzi Blu

Inspired by an article in Cloth Paper Scissors

A teeny little book I found lying around

Here is the book out of the pocket

Inspired by an article in Cloth Paper Scissors

A collage of papers I altered

Inspired by an article in Cloth Paper Scissors

 That about covers it.   Well half of it anyway.  I'll post some more another time. 

 Anyone know about ducks and their deal with 'hiding'their eggs?  They used to lay just wherever, even in the pool a few times.  Then I stopped finding eggs......  I knew there had to be some somewhere....  finally I found them.....

 tucked away in the bushes and stuff in the far reaches of our yard.  It took some looking to find it.

Honestly I was surprised that they didn't lay like this before.  This was what I kept expecting to find.   There were 10 eggs in this nest.  And we had to sneakily move them because the ducks kept staring at us.  Now we can't find any eggs from them again.  I have looked daily, my family has looked, they must have a nest somewhere.  Do they not want us to take them?  They are both female, so they are not fertilized.  It's a mystery I must find an answer to-- prefferably before a bunch of rotten duck eggs pile up.  

Updates aplenty.

These are all duck eggs.  The very large one had two yolks.
Those are my 9 year olds hands holding them for scale.

Seems like a long time since I've updated you all on a few things.  I'll give it a shot here and try to keep this not too long.  So the ducks and the chickens are all laying now.  We have fresh eggs everyday.  More than we can use, so we've been giving some away.  They are delicious and different from store bought because their shells are much thicker and they don't easily crack.  We even had a double yoked duck egg once.

The ducks hate the dog.  I took this video for you to show you how they act when she's around.  It's loud and annoying.  They yell at her the whole time she's out there. Of course they wouldn't cooperate so this video does not accurately depict their relationship.  You can however see the way she stares menacingly at the dog in the beginning.

he installed new tail lights

The Pearl is coming along nicely.   My dear husband has fixed the lights, put a new power cord connector thing in, ripped out some of the paneling and bought new insulation.  We also removed all of the drawers and cabinet doors for some good cleaning and re-structuring in some cases.  If you know me I like clean.  So they were cleaned with bleach first (I know, it's a no-no but I'm a germophobe), then cleaned again with a green cleaner I make with tea tree oil, lemon and some other good stuff.  Then finally de-greaser.  Now they are nice and clean and probably need some more oiling or shellac or something.  We'll eventually get to that.

new shelf paper in the cleaned and reconstructed drawers

removing all cabinet doors and
drawers for cleaning

disgustingly dirty before

Then there is the Princess Stove.  We took it out and have been cleaning it ever since.  This past weekend I talked him into taking the whole thing apart so I could soak all the parts in degreaser.  It worked like a charm and she's nice and clean now.  The only thing left there is new insulation for under her, he already put new wood to hold her up, and a thorough cleaning of the oven.  We had a 70 year birthday party to attend that day, so I didn't get to the oven yet.

completely taken apart

parts of the Princess

 I'm sure there's more we've done.  Oh he re did the bed frame.  I forgot to take a pic.  Check out his posts on repairing yesterdays trailers today.  There is even more exciting news to tell, but it'll have to wait til next time.

The bitties art

On the Art Journal front.  I have been keeping up with my art journal daily, but have not taken any pics yet.  I'll get to it.  I know at least two of you are Art Journaling along with me and I think that's great I am proud to be a part of that!  Remember when you were a kid and art was just fun?  You just drew and colored and painted for the love of it.  Here's a few pics to remind  you of that...

working in her art journal

Art journaling

the other bittie art journaling

And remember.....

A Great Sadness....

I know, here I go again....

This video speaks for itself.   It brought tears to my eyes....

Is cheap chicken really worth it?   Negative energy, bad Karma, whatever you believe, I hope this speaks to you.

Something touched me...

I am hoping this does not come off as preachy.  I often wonder if I sound that way.   I hope not.  I think I am a genuinely caring person, who wants to see the good for everyone in this world.  We are all stuck here, together, wouldn't it be nice if we could all get along?  If we could help one another.  Make things just a little brighter for everyone?

These are the things I think about regularly.  The earth, and all it's concerns: pollution, greedy people scarring her, being taken for granted.  Animals:  they cannot speak for themselves, and deserve love and respect just like the rest of us hope for.  People:  All the hurting people, suffering people, grieving people, the homeless, the list goes on and on.  (not necessarily in that order)

A friend of mine posted this video on facebook and I took the time to look at it.  She said it was a very short video that will have a big impact.  I think this is an important message, and would love for everyone to see it, and remember it.  Here it is...

I realize that this is a commercial.  But I think the message here is very real.  It's a message I have hoped to spread for years.  I am one of those who has a story that people generally can't see on the outside. There have been times I've felt that no one noticed, and I wondered if anyone even cared.  

As TWLOHA says though, Love can change a life.  I know.  It has changed mine. 

 

I am seriously blessed to be surrounded by loving, caring people now, who know me and still want to be there.  But it wasn't always that way.  I have felt very alone even in a crowd of people.  I have grieved and no one noticed.  I have cried in the shower, or in my car, or in my bed because I couldn't share what was going on inside with anyone.  This post is not to cause anyone to feel bad.  But to think.  And then to act.  

It can be such a simple thing really.  Like looking someone in the eye and answering them when they ask how you're doing today, as they man the counter wherever you are.  Or not getting upset with the clerk who is screwing everything up, and seems she shouldn't be working there.  Maybe she's having a bad day, maybe her dog died, maybe.... who knows.  It could be any number of things.  Or how about patiently waiting while someone on the phone helps you with your problem, and they don't seem to be getting it...  Opening the door for the elderly lady walking behind you.  Smiling at a passerby and saying hello.  Listening when someone is trying to talk to you.  Hearing what they are saying.  

One of the things that has changed my life is finding help in recovery groups.  Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, Adult Children of Alcoholics, Codependents Anonymous, Ala Teen, Overeaters Anonymous, there are even more.   The other major thing is self-love.  I know, it's not always easy.  I have been there.  Life is hard.  Sometimes we feel we have no one who understands.  It is at those times that we most need the friendly gestures of strangers.  To give us just a little bit of hope.  Consider this:  that simple kind act you just did for someone could be the lifeline they needed thrown to them as they were drowning...  

Art Journaling 101 part 2

Since I wasn't feeling too well last night, and since I didn't want the post to be too long I didn't get to a few notes yesterday.  These things stick with me, and I wake up all night long thinking about all the things I forgot to mention and how disappointed you'll be if something doesn't work out because I didn't warn you- so forgive me- this is the rest, plus some pics stage by stage for an example.

So, as I said first get something, anything on the blank page.  Here I used some blue paint and white gesso  mixed together on the page.  Notice that I did not pre-mix the paint, nor did I overwork it as I liked the streaky mottled effect.  This could also have been achieved with blue and white paint.  I had gesso so I used it.

 Then I took some scraps of paper, a wrapper, whatever I had around and laid them out on the page so I could plan what it would look like.  Although honestly I only did this step for you.  My usual approach is to let things just happen as they will.  Normally I would have just started gluing everything  down randomly and let come what may.  Sometimes it works out- and sometimes it doesn't and that's ok with me.

Next I stuck it all down.  For this step you can use whatever you have on hand.  Mod Podge, tape, masking tape, glue, even duct tape- try not to get hung up on the materials unless you are going for a certain look.  Here I used Gel Medium to stick it all down.  With the exception of the wrapper which I had to use double stick tape to get to stick.  Although honestly I considered masking or duct tape for ease of use.  I had double stick tape on hand though.

As you can see in the end I changed the arrangement of the papers anyway.  It just felt better to me this way.

The final step, and I think the most important is the journaling.  (please excuse the blob at the top of the page, I thought it best to remove any names to protect the innocent.  And as you can see I am no digital artist...)  Here I write whatever sort of sums up my day. Or more specific things if I'm in that kind of mood.  It's really entirely up to you, and how you're feeling.  Speaking of feeling I forgot to mention that I always listen to music while I work.  I think it helps stop all the obsessive, perfectionistic thinking.  Give it a try.

 And finally here are a few close-ups so you can see some detail.  I did end up using a dream stamp you'll notice after I glued it all down, before I journaled.  As I said don't get hung up here on supplies.  The Art Heals was also done with stamps, but I would have used my computer and printer if I hadn't had these...




And that is all there is to it.  You can do it!  I know you can!!

A note about papers:  I like the mixed media sketchbooks because they are made to hold up to watercolors, and paints.  If you are using regular paper, or thinner paper like regular book pages please glue a few pages together beforehand to give it some stability.  Or you can also use gesso to help add strength to the page.  Also this can be translated to all art forms.  I have seen pages with stuff stitched on them (with a machine, or by hand).   Poets and writers can make a base and print out their work if they'd like.  I've even seen a picture of some cute little knit or crocheted things stuck to the page. Crayolas are always available and perfectly suited for this.  I use them  sometimes myself, especially if my inner child wants to color.  It is entirely up to you, that is what I love about it.  And forget being perfect.  I am consistently guilty of 'crimes of imperfection' as one Etsy seller aptly put it.  I like imperfection.  It serves as a visual reminder to me to relax.  Nothing in this world is perfect.  I even kept a mimatched set of rocker and footstool once because it reminded me to relax my perfectionistic ways.

Remember this is not meant to be another exercise in beating up on yourself!  It is meant for your eyes only.  Your deepest, darkest thoughts and longings can be freely recorded in here.  And I hope they will.  We all need a place to just be whoever we are without apology.  So have fun!  Make something beautiful.  Make something ugly.  Just make something from your heart.  Let that child within you play and color.  Let me know how it goes for you!