Don't Worry Bee Happy

This morning I took the opportunity to bottle the bit of honey (only a little over 8 - 1/2 lbs) I collected from my hive. It has been strained from the comb and carefully poured into the jars. I wish I had more of the little jars because it is fun to give little gifts here and there. I still have to design my label, but that will come with some thought and time.

In the meantime, the hubster has put in his order for the number of jars he wants to give his colleagues for Christmas.

Guess I'd better get started early in the season next year to get these girls in gear so they can do what they do best...make honey and bee happy!

Good Girls

As some of you may know, I have bees. I really haven't worked them to harvest honey for one reason or another. This year I put a pinch of effort into it and am rewarded with the nectar of the gods! Not really much, but it is an offering. In January 09, I need to get myself in gear and start working with the girls to help them produce the best they can.

In the photo, I am using a crush and strain method of collecting the honey. It is a cheap way to process your honey that anyone can do. Right now, my kitchen is smelling of honey and I can't wait to bottle my golden pure sweetness.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

You know, I have lived in this old house now for 6 years with the hubster. Gotta love the man, but P-L-E-A-S-E, doing something over and over again is too much. For him, doing something over and over (usually 3 times) is what works. Doesn't seem to bother him, and I guess it is because he is doing it. Sometimes it really puts my will to love life to the test.

This old house was built in the mid 1800's and was/is in desperate need of work. We remodeled the bathroom when we first moved in.It was our first project.

It was a Thanksgiving weekend when the hubster decided to begin the work. Didn't seem to be a problem, at least not at the time (now I wish I had known blogging and had been blogging each day). It was going to be a small project, just fixing a few things to make it more livable.

To spare you a long story...3 layers of flooring was removed to reveal a subfloor that needed replacing...so, all was removed, new joists were put in, new pluming was done, new electrical wiring, walls were ripped out, tub/shower stall removed replaced by a 4' clawfoot tub that we restored, outside wall was ripped out, repaired...so on and so forth. During that time we had to bathe in the kitchen (uninsulated) and to potty? Well, let's just say it wasn't fun walking across the floor joists with the potty to put it where it needed to go to use it.

Oh, and did I mention that this house has only one bathroom?

Ok, I lived through all of the above and more. Everything was finished and was quite lovely. We HAD a nice bathroom!

The hubster began working on the outside wall recently. He has decided that the outside wall doesn't match the rest of the back of the house and that it would be better to tear out the wall and replace it along with the window. Ok, I knew the window would be replaced, but the ENTIRE OUTSIDE WALL???? Yep, you read right! Now the outside wall is gone and my dear sweet hubster has torn out the ceiling as well. Seems as though he isn't happy with that either. It is October now and was 45 degrees at 10:30am. Do you know how it feels to take a bath in that temperature?

When will this times remodeling be done? Who knows. One thing leads to another here and nothing is for sure. We'll see and I'll just pray for warmer weather.

I keep trying to remember that what doesn't kill us will make us stronger. I just hope that I can find that strength sooner rather than later!

Oh, and the pics? They are looking at the inside view and outside view of my bathroom this morning.

New ACT's

Well, I got myself in gear and finished up two new ACT's for a swap at MAW. It is called 'The Painted Page.' These cards are made of distressed book pages, watercolors, acrylics and thread painting. They were quite fun to do!

Tracking

Well, for a bit now I have been working two of my dogs for tracking. Tracking is when a dog follows a particular scent. Any dog can track. The challenge is to get the dog to follow one scent that they are told to follow. Tracking is not something that is taught to the dog, they already know how to do that. If you have ever had a dog that follows a cat's trail, a squirrel's trail or something else, you know that the dog has the ability to track. All do. When you train for tracking, you train the dog to follow the scent that the handler points out to the dog. I train my dogs to follow a particular human scent and to indicate something that the person has dropped along the way. At the moment mine are trained to indicate something leather or cloth.

This past week, both my Shorthair and Shepherd did a very good job. I am proud of the both of them. Hannah (Shepherd) didn't miss a beat and stayed on each turn exactly where it was. Darla (Shorthair) did a delightful job and was fun to watch checking out what she thought was "dropped" by the tracklayer. She'd go over to what she thought was an article/drop, realized it wasn't and kept going until she found what she should.

On Monday, I'm going to be a track layer for an AKC test. My job will be to walk with the judges and draw out the "track" that will be laid on Tuesday for the test. We will put out flags to indicate turns and drops on Monday. Tuesday morning I will re-walk the track, picking up the flags. For the exhibitors who are entered in the test, they don't know where the track goes. Only where the start is. I know they will be nervous, as will I. It is a pass or fail test. Not many do pass. This is one AKC event where everyone pulls for the person and dog doing the work. I so hope/pray that the dog that get's the track that I laid passes.

I am also hoping to get my Hannah (Shepherd) ready for her test in December. She is so soft tempered and doesn't have the confidence that she should. We are working hard at the moment. She is very sweet and deserving, but she must do her best job and prove that she can do what she has been taught to do...track and follow the human scent that I tell her to, and to indicate anything that the person has touched and left behind.

The pictures here are of Hannah and Darla. Such great companions!

Oh, Hannah has her C.D and R.N. Darla has her R.N. and is a registered therapy dog with Therapy Dogs International. Darla is currently working on her C.D. and doing some of her C.D.X. work.

Got it done!

Well, I finally finished it. I've completed an article and submitted it for an online art Zine. It is the first of two parts. My article is about thread painting and will be in the October issue. In this photo, you can see the ACT that I give step-by-step instructions for making.

I actually had it done, mostly, but had to put the pictures in order and make them small enough to send and large enough to look decent. This I am not good at. The editors were very kind to work with me. First, I didn't finish editing my own writing quickly and then I got busy with things and forgot to email all of the pictures for the article!

For the sequel...I will be doing it shortly. I don't want to be "last minute Annie" again!

Oh, and when October arrives you can visit: http://www.arttradermag.com/ to see what I did. Or you can click on the link to the right side of my blog. Art Trader Magazine, check it out.

Her 50th Visit

Today Pia made her 50th therapy dog visit. It is a great thrill, for me and just fun for her. It is a milestone. I can now send in paperwork to show that she has made 50 visits. She will receive her own pin (which I will put on her identification card holder, not on her) to show her accomplishment. I know she doesn't know it is a special accomplishment, but I do.

The Completed Guest Book

Finally home from the wedding and trying to get caught up on sleep and housework. The picture is the front of the finished guest book. It has a page for photo's and a page for both the bride and groom to journal in. I was pleased with how it turned out. The guest book is layers of lace and beads. It is closed by a pen that is run through ribbon. You can click on the picture to see it up close and personal.

The wedding was filled with beauty and art, dancing and delight. Such a joyous day that was shared by friends and family that will live on in memories, pictures and video's. Now the couple will start life anew as one. There is something special in being married. Something sacred. Something that goes beyond being a couple.

When you wed, you promise eternity on this earth with that special person you love. You promise it in front of God and everyone. It is not a promise that is taken lightly.

Marriage isn't always easy. You endure hard times, bad times and hurt that you sometimes throw each others way, whether you mean to or not. Yet, you get through it and still love that person next to you, and your love grows into a depth that is unexplainable. A love that is ever enduring, faithful, and trusting.

For the newly wed couple, I wish you a lifetime of happiness together. Hold onto each other in the good times and in the bad. In the end, your love will grow stronger, deeper, and enrich your lives.

Understand that feelings can sometimes be hurt easily, and that harsh words can never be taken back.

Never sleep on the couch at night, no matter how mad you are. It only creates a distance between you two.

Never own any thing bigger than a full sized bed. Sleep closely and always snuggle at night. Let your bodies become one by always touching each other…let your legs tangle together. In this, you know when you sleep that your love is beyond boundaries and that you are always together and that you comfort one another.

Always remember to say thank you, even for the smallest gestures. Everyone wants to be appreciated.

Compromise at every crossroad. You don’t always need to be right, even if you think you are. A compromise is working out a situation that you disagree on, but know that in 5 years it didn’t really matter in the first place.

Love is a two way street, it is give and take. Always try to give more than you take.

Never hold a grudge or bring up past mistakes, it isn't healthy for your relationship.

Wake each morning with a smile upon your face and a happy heart, for the one you love is laying right beside you. It just doesn't get any better than that.

One more thing done

Yesterday I got the eyelets that I wanted and started printing and gluing things together to finish my sign in pages for the wedding. I think that they are very unique and special. All I have to do now is to bind them with fibers in the book and yes, I do need to complete the book...talk about stress! The good thing is that I know where I am headed with it. The bad thing is that I am behind on things here at home to get ready. Right now it is the middle of the night and I just had to get some work done.

The photo is the page I have written about. I have also included a page where the couple can put photos of their special day and a page where each of them can write about the experience.

Today's work

I've been working today on the wedding guest book. I have the silk paper I made bonded to the spine of the handmade abaca papers and all of the lines on the pages stitched in gold metallic thread. I've even added some lace to the edge. I really want to find some smaller gold eyelets to complete them so will be off tomorrow to see what I can find.

In the meantime, I am working on the cover. What I have in the photo is silk fabric with the word love, machine embroidered on it. I've embellished it with silk ribbon embroidery, fresh water pearls and a couple of hearts that someone gave me. This is just a portion of the front.

Back to the sewing room for now...