Glass works by Dale Chihuly.

Isabelle’s onion rings and chili dog.

She was thnking life was good.

More to come… depending on how bored I am. Ang                                           

 I’m really excited about all of the mail art I get to do. Can’t wait to get all of them out so I can get some back! Thanks to all of you who are fostering my weirdness!

It’s good to live by the Rent’s. Took the kids over to their house and Mom and Pop entertained them while Ben and I used the hot tub.

Yes, I’m spoiled. All in all a very good day.

 If you missed yesterdays post about the mail art, the offer still stands, send me your addy and I will add you to the list. Everything will be sent in the month of April.

What was the BEST thing that happened to you today?

One of the things I do that makes me feel good is MAIL ART…

I’m sure you all know the feeling of anticipation you get waiting for something to come in the mail. I love that feeling. I feel like a kid at Christmas when the mail comes whenever I’m expecting something from an exchange.

I wish I could post some of my works here but I haven’t taken any pictures of the things that I have done.

 I know, so unlike me.

I love floating objects in resin filled tuna cans and sardine cans. I have coated a piece of toast twenty times with polyurethane so that I could send it through the mail. That was especially fun because when the mail man said he didn’t think it would make it through the mail I thumped it on the counter several times and said ‘Sure it will.’ So he mailed it. He still gave me the disgusted look. I also like to make kaleidoscopes out of unusual things, soup cans and pringles tubes… their great fun to mail.

So…

I have no pictures of my work, but I do have pictures of some of the things I’ve received to show, so here they are.

Series of hands…

#1 Cookies

#2 Fist

#3

This was hands…

I was sending him brains.

 I like them what can I say.

 I also like eyeballs… don’t know why.

Most of the things I have received have been objects. I do like to send collages and prints.

The only requirement for mail art is that you mail it as is. The stamp and the post mark become a part of the art.

I once sent a piece to Hell, Michigan where a store was kind enough to post it from there with the post mark.

It was a clear plastic globe containing a floating domino with a painted skeleton on it and the saying :

Optimism is a mania for saying things are well when one is in Hell.

One of my favorite sayings.

The post mark just made it that much cooler.

There are things you have to be careful of: The post office will not mail anything that is smaller then 3″x3″… although recently I mailed something to a fellow Xangan that was smaller… you just have to smile really nicely at the postmaster and bat your lashes…

No glass items or items with liquid in them.

Pretty simple rules.

Lego’s… ick.  they did make for easy mailing though.

The SOUND O SCOPE

This is one of my favorites, the soundoscope. It came with directions on how to use the objects in it to hear different sounds. Very creative. It was sent to me after I had sent a soup can kaleidoscope.

Almost anything can be mailed, I have mailed a shoe, plastic lobster and plastic gumball machine bubbles.

Now to the point.

 I have a piece in progress sitting on my work bench. It’s a very cool one and when its done I’ll take pictures before I post it. I don’t have a home to send it to yet though.

If your interested in exchanging mail art with me, message me your address and I will send out a piece to you with my address on it, you HAVE TO send a piece back though.

For those of you who think it sounds fun but don’t think your ‘artistic’ Come on. You’ve seen some of these, you can mail whatever you want although, I do prefer things that have some effort to them. Even a drawing on an envelope.

SO the first person to send me their address with a promise to send something back will get the piece that is on my bench.

If I get more then one address I will make a list and start sending them out as quickly as I can.

Hope you guys are interested. This should be great fun. ANG

One of my favorite things to do is make things. When I’m feeling down, all I have to do is go into the deep dark bowels of our house, where my work shop is located for the moment, sit at my bench and work on any of the numerous projects I have started. Sometimes I just sit there and dream.

I always come away with a great sense of accomplishment. Something has sprung from my brain into reality. I created something.

 I do stained glass and mosaic work, painting, mail art, artist trading cards and quilting, and lots and lots of other things too.  

It occurs to me that this feeling to create isn’t exclusive to me. That the joy of making something can help even people in some of the worst situations.

I’m thinking now of the Quiltmakers of Gees Bend. In desperate poverty they took what they could find and used it to make blankets to fill a need for their homes, but they also made beauty. 

I wonder if these quilts made them proud, If they spread them out and looked at them occasionally and admired what they had done, or did they not realize their worth until the outside world told them?

In writing up this post I was searching for images and I came across the gallery that represents these interesting and colorful women. The quilts ranged in price from 20,000.00 to 25,000.00 dollars. Now I think that is the world showing these women their work is worth something, wouldn’t you say?

Another way the world is tipping it’s hat to the quilters is by releasing these:

The ladies now have the high honer of  their work commemorated on stamps. I can’t wait to run to my post office and buy some.

Just looking at their quilts makes me feel good. If that isn’t the true sign of a successful creation or creator I don’t know what is.When the thing you make inspires other people or instills feelings in them, that’s success.

When the feelings and joy that you get creating a thing conveys itself to other people. I hope that someday I can accomplish that.

I have no doubt that these women had no idea at the time they were making these quilt that they would ever mean anything to anyone other then themselves, and yet they took the time and made the effort to make themselves beauty.

What do you do that makes you feel good?

Is there something that you do that you take pride in?

Well, It’s early in the morning and I can’t sleep. This sucks.

*sigh*  Don’t I wish.

Okay all… Can you name the artist? His images are very distinct.

Ben and I had a date again last night. I think that’s two in a month. WOW we’re doing good.

We went to one of the last bastions for smokers in the free world. The Cocktail Lounge.  WE aren’t smokers but This restaurant has one of my favorite things: roast duck. So I was willing to live with the smoke and Ben went along just to be with me.   

The Bum Steer. I hadn’t been there in years but I had a craving. When one has a craving it must NOT be ignored. 

We dumped the monsters at Mom and Pop’s and off we went.

The thing I found amusing is that we were the youngest people there. Maybe they were having a senior citizen night? It was odd to be the puppy in the crowd again. I haven’t experienced that in awhile.

Oh… Water, since that is almost all I drink, in a cocktail lounge…                                  >

ON THE MENU:

First I should say that I think food pictures are just cruel and unusual.

Now, That being said I have nothing else to post so here they are.

Snails aka escargot

I LIKE EM… so live with it.

although these were not the best I’ve had by a long shot. Not enough garlic in the butter and the toast was too big… I prefer points.

Ben’s prime rib. He was pleased with it, His ordering method goes something like this.

“Find me the piece that’s mooing and slap it on a plate.”

He was cutting it with his fork, it was that tender. Just the way it should be with a side of horseradish.

 My duck… Mmmm… yummy.

Duck roasted in grande marnier with a cherry sauce. Very tasty. I’m a lazy girl though I just prefer the breast. I don’t like to play with bones… at least not that kind. Ahem…

Because we had to roll ourselves away from the table there are no desert pictures to share.

So we rolled into my parents and collected the monsters. It was a very early evening but a moment of freedom is worth so much sometimes.

All right once again I am coming up short on blog material. 

Without wings makes for no good material so I’m going back to old faithful for the day.

Yes, the Why Do Men Have Nipples book. I decided to keep it clean… this time.

Why are yawns contagious?

Here are several things we can be thankful are not  contagious: drooling, nose bleeds, itching, seizures, farting.

That said, there are several theories for what causes yawns and why they are contagious. It was originally thought that people yawned to get more oxygen, but this appears not to be true.

The most common theory is behavioral. In an article examining contagious yawns, Dr. Steven M. Platek and others state, “Contagious yawning may be associated with empathic aspects of mental state attribution and are negatively affected by increases in schizotypal personality traits much like other self-processing related tasks.”

Huh? I find myself yawning right now.

What they mean is that people are unconsciously imitating others when they yawn. humans are not the only species that yawn. Yawning is seen in many animals, including cats, fish, and birds, although we don’t know what a yawning fish looks like either.

So what I took this to mean is that if I’m standing next to you and I yawn and you don’t yawn back it means you just don’t CARE!  Hmmmm… It’s a theory worth testing.

*************************EDIT**************************************

Looking at this picture, I think this is a much better crop of it. What do you guys think?

I was so focused on the swans I didn’t see these little guys. their really very pretty don’t you think?

They will also jump all over you if you bring them bread. They aren’t shy at all, but it takes a food bribe.

The swans are still there but there is less snow.

Just a few foot prints.

I think this guy has to be cracked. It can’t be warm standing in that water. There was still ice floating in the water and it was only 17 degrees out. That’s what I call being dedicated to your hobby.

So that’s my update on the bay.

I’m just glad I got out of the house for a while.

Because Auntlada said too… man, she can be bossy. My answers are here if anyone wants to read them.

Feel free to leave your answers in my comment section, or wherever you want to.

1. Can you cook?
2. What was your dream growing up?
3. What talent do you wish you had?
4. Favorite place?
5. Favorite vegetable?
6. What was the last book you read?
7. What zodiac sign are you?
8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
9. Worst Habit?
10. Do we know each other outside of Xanga?
11. What is your favorite sport?
12. Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15. Tell me one weird fact about you.
16. Do you have any pets?
17. Do you know how to do the Macarena?
18. What time is it where you are now?
19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21. Would you be my partner in crime or my conscience?
22. What color eyes do you have?
23. Ever been arrested?
24. Bottle or Draft?
25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?
26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?
27. What’s your favorite bar to hang at?
28. Do you believe in ghosts?
29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30. Do you swear a lot?
31. Biggest pet peeve?
32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33. In one word, how would you describe me?
34. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?