Moon

I've been crazy busy lately, but one of the highlights of my downtime has been looking through Elijah's new telescope. We got the crescent moon in focus the other night and it was incredible how clear it was. We could see each crater perfectly. What a cool experience for all of us! Can't wait to do it again (preferably when it's a bit warmer out. ;)

P.S. I found this photo at the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Cheekwood

Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Art Museum was free this past weekend, so we took the kids. It's one of my favorite places - even if we have to pay. The mansion had free entrance also, so we got to see the visiting Fabrege collection (for a jewelry artist - this was awesome!) and art from William Christenberry. (And of course, we saw the other art that always finds it's home at Cheekwood, among which is one of my favorites, William Edmonson, who, incidentally, is related to the Edmonsons who sold us our house.)


These photos are from Joanne's flickr photostream, and she got more good ones, so check them out.

Countdown to the Derby

Elijah's Cubscout Pinewood Derby is this weekend, so he has been working on his car (with his father's help, of course.) Needless to say, all the boys are excited by the upcoming race. And I'm excited that they're excited.

I'm Flipped!

˙ǝɹǝɥ ɟlǝsɹnoʎ ʇı ʎɹʇ ¿ɥnɥ looɔ ˙uʍop ǝpısdn spɹoʍ ɹnoʎ sdılɟ ʇɐɥʇ ǝʇısqǝʍ looɔ sıɥʇ punoɟ ʇsnɾ ı
˙pɐǝɥ ɹnoʎ uo puɐʇs uǝɥʇ 'ʇou ɟı
¿sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ noʎ uɐɔ <<< Start here.

˙ǝɹǝɥ oʇoɥd ɹʞɔılɟ sıɥʇ puıɟ

Beep, beep - Beep, beep

If you're not watching 24 this season, you should be. Catch up here.

Eco Font

There is a new print friendly typeface in town.


Here’s the backstory: Most printer cartridges end up in landfills. The more ink we use, the more garbage we create. So Spranq designed a font that uses 20 percent less ink by simply removing as much of each letter as possible, while still leaving it readable. Basically, the whizzes got rid of the line that connects the dots to create the characters.
As if it weren't cool already, it's free to download. So, my font loving friends, enjoy and be green.
(Originally seen in Daily Candy)

Mark your Calanders!

This will be fabulous event coming up before Thanksgiving (and hopefully before it gets shivering cold.) I'll be a vendor, along with other fabulous artisans and musicians! I'll go into detail more later about who will be playing and selling. It will be held right across the street from Rosepepper Cantina. Make plans now!

Let's Play Dress Up

We like to dress up for Halloween, but I'm not the kind of person who normally buys costumes for the kids. Generally we make our outfits from whatever toys and gear we have lying around the house...and we use a lot of imagination. This year, Emet was Spiderman (easy, because we started collecting Spiderman stuff with Kaleb, then Elijah...) Elijah became Obi-Wan Kenobi by turning Kaleb's old Harry Potter Quidditch Robe inside out and donning a lightsaber, and Kaleb...well Kaleb was scary. Seth painted him up with face paint. Not my favorite look - but he was pleased.
I found a vintage skirt that I re-worked quite a bit to make the waist fit me (women must have had waists as thick as spines in the 50's - or else wore corsets...) and I became Donna Reed.

Painting toast

My kids have been sick all week. The past couple of days, my middle child has been too sick to go to school, but not sick enough to forgo playing and getting a bit hyper. My patience is on it's last reserves, so I'm coming up with a project. I saw this toast painting craft on Make and Takes, a real cute, crafty blog.
Click here to find out how to do it. I think the kids will like it...and I hope it keeps them busy for a few quiet moments...

Opening Reception

Get ready to get out and about on Saturday night! I hope to see you all there!!




SETH CONLEY | SCARLETT LIT | OIL ON PANEL | 24" X 36"

JULIA MARTIN | DOING BEAUTIFULLY | OIL ON PANEL | 24" X 22"




L O C A L

SETH CONLEY | GEORGE DOWNING | JULIA MARTIN

at

T H E R Y M E R G A L L E R Y

on the avenue of the arts

August 23 - September 20, 2008

Opening Reception
Saturday, August, 23 2008, 6 - 9 p.m.

233 Fifth Avenue North | Nashville, TN 37219
615.752.6030
info@therymergallery.com

Abracadabra

The kids practiced all day, set up a stage, and even made fliers that they put on all the doors to announce their magic show that started precisely at 4pm. They performed some good tricks from their magic kit, and also some crazy ones ("for this trick, I'm going to ask you to close your eyes for a second...") Seth and I both got to be volunteers from the audience.
Too bad the pictures didn't turn out great. The little hams kept moving...Ahhh, good times, good times.

The Circular Life

If you enjoy time lapse, check out this site.

Throw Some Paint

I'm mesmerized by Jackson Pollock. Go make your own here. It's super cool!

Image from here.

A Quick Click, Save a Life

There are tons of organizations set up to send donations of food and water to hungry children as long as we are participating!
Click on these once a day:

http://www.worldofgood.com/sn/f

http://www.bhook.com

http://www.pajacyk.pl

http://www.porloschicos.com/PorLosChicos.NET/index_english.htm

http://www.clickbokin.ekokoro.jp/50.html

http://children.care2.com

http://www.feedsa.com

http://www.hungerfighters.com

http://www.hungrychildren.com
http://www.clickbokin.ekokoro.jp/floq.html

http://www.OneClickOneMeal.com

http://www.definition-of.com

http://www.thehungersite.com

http://www.youthnoise.com/page.php?
page_id=2335

http://www.okruszek.org.pl

http://www.chintai.net/contribution/index.html

http://www.worldhunger.org/contributefood.htm

http://www.spendu.org/beta/index.php

Free Donation Search : http://www.helpuu.com/

Or play these fun games to donate:

http://www.freerice.com - Free Rice
http://www.freeflour.com - Free Flour
http://www.freepoverty.com - Free Water
http://www.helpthirst.com/ - Free Water
http://www.savetheworldwithmusic.com Play a day!

World Hunger: Interactive Map - Want to know more?
Click Here
World Food Inequality: Want to know more?
Click Here

Grand Mastermind

Seth and I decided not to turn the TV on last night and opted for games instead. We played Grand Mastermind which is one of my all time favorites. If you're not in a thinking mood, this game's not for you, but if you want to stave off Alzheimer's or you like playing sudoku then try it! Ours is a vintage version, which you can get here. If you want a more modern board you'll have to try plain Mastermind. To learn more about the game, click here. To play an online version, click here or here.

OFF 12TH

Don't forget about the OFF 12TH event tomorrow! It's located right near "The Mirror!" Vendors and music...Free entrance! I'll be there!

The OFF 12TH Event

I'm sorry I've been kind of lazy on posts lately. And I'm afraid this week won't be much better. I'm gearing up for a show this weekend. If you live in the Nashville area, you should think about coming to this event. There will be lots of great music and some vendors (including me.) Check out the OFF 12TH Myspace page to see a schedule of musicians and the vendors who will be there (i.e. top friends.)

The Art Festival

I'll have a booth set up (at 1210 Franklin Road • Brentwood, TN 37027) Friday night for the dance performances, Saturday and all day Sunday. Seth will be painting live (16 x 8' paintings) during each of the four church services on Saturday and Sunday and he will be doing a live demonstration at 2:30. There will be various music and dance performances, a lot of artists, kids crafts and food (Off the Grill) all day Sunday. Come down for this event. It will be so much fun. For more information on the schedule of the day see here.

Pen pals are fun

I was going through old pictures looking for something to post when I ran across this photo of a package that my kids got in the mail from a pen pal (someone we hooked up with via the blogging world.) I fully meant to post about it when they were doing it, but it got lost in the mix.
Anyway, they were so excited to get a letter from a boy around their age with a little package of stuff from where he lives (salt water taffy, sea salt, Utah brochures - oh, and I can't forget the ever special Pokemon cards.) It also gave my kids good practice to write a letter telling about themselves to someone else (although our package paled in comparison to this one.) Yay for pen pals!

Quiz Mania

(photo from here.)
Whenever I get on one of those "quiz" sites I end up spending a lot of time finding out useless things about myself because it's so addictive! (Thanks Kristen!;) So far this morning I have found out that I am 80% burned out (I do feel like I need a vacation); I should vote for either Barck Obama or Mike Huckabee; I am definitely a woman (not a girl anymore); If I were a fruit I'd be an apple (wha??? That's my least favorite fruit!); I had a fantastic year last year (like I needed a quiz to tell me that); my name means that I strive for perfection, am confident, intuitive, wise, with an active imagination, prone to paranoia, creative, loyal and with a free spitit. And here are the keys to my heart:

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to obedience and warmth. In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was arrogant, acting like the dictator of your life. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Now you can follow the link and waste a lot of time finding out all about yourself!