Saturday, July 23, 2011

WEEK 5 - SUMMER OF LORI

It's hard to believe that I quit my job almost one month ago. It's even harder to believe that I've actually be somewhat productive during that time. Somehow I've managed to keep a nice blend of relaxation & rest with productivity.

Have you ever felt like there way too many obstacles for a project to ever be completed?  Like the "project gods" were against you?  That's how I feel about this first painting project.

After an appauling degree of difficulty (5 trips to the paint store) I finally finished painting the hallway. I liked the color so much that I decided to paint one of the walls in the kitchen. The yellow color is a shade or two darker than expected and I'm glad. It's cheery and welcoming, and will be especially nice in winter time. This picture doesn't really do the color justice.



The inspiration for this project came from some paintings I purchased at an art fair a year ago.

Once and "if" they ever get framed they would look great on this yellow wall. But of course I ran into another obstacle.  Although the artist assured me that they were a standard size for pre-made frames; they aren't at all. In fact, the measurements are really strange in inches (but make sense in cenimeters). So, there aren't any pre-made frames in these sizes. I won't bore you with the details about what I'm going to do about frames.

Onto happier news.  My beading class was a blast and much easier that I expected. We made 2 practice bracelets and 1 necklace using "mixed cheap beads". They turned out pretty good for practice pieces.
It was so much fun that I signed up for another class.

If you're wondering how I'm spending my time, and I know that you are on pins and needles every day just wondering about my schedule (NOT), I spend most of my time watching Rick Steves' DVDs and reading his books. 

Thursday, July 14, 2011

NEWS FLASH: I just found out that 7-11 gave away free SLURPEES on July 11 this year. Mark this on your calendar for 2012.

BLUE ANGELS COUNT DOWN-21 DAYS UNTIL 1ST PRACTICE

Look out Seattle, the Blue Angels come to town on Wednesday, August 3. And on Thursday, August 4 they will have their first practice over Lake Washington and surrounding areas. For more information regarding the blue angels see the official website.

Schedule
http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/show/

FAQ
http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/show/faq.aspx

On Friday, August 4 in addition to the practice they will do the waterfront fly by. It's a great day to be up in the Space Needle for a great view or on the 20th floor deck at CRAB as well.

Snack on some cake while watching the air show.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

BALLARD SEAFOOD FEST

Unkown to most people SEAFAIR is the name of an entire 6 weeks of summer events around the Seattle area. The culmination is the big "Seafair Day" of Hydroplane races and Blue Angel air show. One of my favorite events is the Ballard Seafood Fest. Not becuase I'm a fan of Vikings or anything but because I'm a fan of Seafood and handmade goods by local artisans.



This is the Halibut Taco with chiptole mayonnaise, mango lemonade and garlic fries I had. Not as good as the Bacon Wrapped Scallops I had last year but very good.


The weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot, ice cream cones - double scoop - only cost $3.00 and plenty of hot & fresh Kettle Korn in the vacinity. I hope some of you made it out to summer events this past weekend.

Friday, July 8, 2011

WEEK 3 - THE SUMMER OF LORI

My Independence Day holiday was very traditional: grilling/cookouts, a day on the water with fishing, family all around, kids playing, secret popsicles, strawberry picking, warm sunny weather (I was in Deer Park, WA near Spokane so it was warm with blue skies), fireworks right there in town and of course, no summer holiday would be complete without mosquito bites.  Huge, red, ugly mosquito bites.

My niece and I painted our toenails and used those cool nail stickers I got at Sephora. 
Tess' Toenails