Monday, September 25, 2006

Weekend wanderings and thoughts of Autumn...

Here it is: Monday Morning already! Wow! I'm not certain that I am understanding how quickly these autumn days seem to go by. It is something that my own mind struggles to figure out and grasp at the concept beyond it all. Making it a bit more difficult is the fact that my spirit is still is that summertime pace and longing for that lingering autumn feeling of winding down that comes in time over the next several months.

In fact, Don and I just received our first annual Autumn Weiner Roast invitation! A family friends hosts this event every year at his home in the country, and a great time is had by all who attend. {I believe last years head count total between 75-100 people.} The host provides all the hotdogs, buns, and the majority of the drinks and asks each invitation recipient to bring two covered dishes. The warmth of the day is a welcomed treat as the evening rushes in with its cooler, crisper air blowing in on gentle breezes, ushering in with it, the chiller night air. As each guest begin to arrive, table after table is lined and filled up with dishes ranging from scalloped potatoes, potatoe salads, to crockpots filled with everything from sloppy joes to chili, to some of the most amazing desserts you ever put in your mouth. The chili and warmer dishes aid in shaking off the chill in the air, while the the evening is spent talking, chatting, visiting, catching up with one anothers lives, being introduced to more people than you'd ever imagine, sitting in front of the bon-fire and singing, laughing, and storytelling. There is nothing like an autumn bonfire, good family and friends, roasting hotdogs and marshmellows! It is an amazingly fun time that Don and I look forward to attending year after sweet year!

Meanwhile back at the ranch and back to the present....
On Saturday, Don and I took a road trip to Polaris where I just made it into Michael's to purchase some Basic Grey papers during the 5 for $1 sale. As we browsed throughout the store, Don started a conversation with the on-duty assistant manager. {We seemed to have made many, many friends within this particular Michael's store and are known to have made some high dollar purchases in our visits there. } Somehow during the course of the conversation, our discussion turned to the 50% off coupon in the ad for the week and how it is hard for us to find their ad sometimes since we do not receive the newspaper the advertisements are in. When the assistant manager informed us that if we'd like to utilize the 50% coupon, arrangements could be made, we quietly talked amongst ourselves regarding purchasing a Speedball silk screenprinting kit. Don used to do screenprinting as a hobby and currently continues to do so within the business. And me, well, I'm certainly all for anything that I can incorporate into my paper arts!!! So needless to say, we purchased the Speedball Starter kit. As we left to enjoy a pleasant dinner out, our conversation was all about screenprinting. I've never tried it, however, am fascinated at all the possibilities it provides to me so you can imagine that had a hundred and one questions all running through my head all at the same time, LOL! What is this for? What does that do? How is that achieved? What makes this work and what else can I do with it? made up the majority of our conversation.

Upon arriving home, I quickly opened the kit, exploring its contents, asking questions still... while reaching for the instructional manual which I spent the next hour and a half pouring my heart and soul into, taking breaks only to ask even more questions and having even more discussions. If you cannot tell, I am excited to try this and eager to learn! A few hours later, we headed to bed to turn in for the night. By now anyone who truly knows me, knows that I'm going to lie/lay awake digesting all this information, and that is exactly what happened until I dosed off to to sleep. A few hours later, I woke up and my mind instantly turns back to this idea filled with all its amazing possibilities, so I am up out of bed and on the computer researching anything and everything I can possibly discover about it, LOL! Next thing, I know I'm feeling sleepy once again and quickly discover that it's 6 a.m.! Definately time for some sleep... so back to bed, I go.

Don woke me up around 11 a.m. on Sunday, saying something to the effect about me being a "sleepyhead" and the next several hours were spent chatting, drinking coffee, and discussing other possibilities, when Don suggested we go down to Columbus to Dick Blick's. Now, I warned him that going there could be dangerous! Having made the decision to do just that, off we went!

Upon arriving and in the store, I'm in heaven. Just turn me loose! So much eye candy everywhere, instructional and how to books abound shelf upon glorious shelf, and supplies for every conceivable art technique and style imaginable!!!! It didn't take me long to grab a cart and begin filling it with items, I can assure you, LOL! Although, I did manage to muster up a bit of self-restraint. I'll capture a photograph to upload some of my pretties at a later time...

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