Sunny and Healthy: cashew snack

Sunny and Healthy: cashew snack: Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live in.   -unknown I made a snack for my granddaughter Violet's baby s...

Military Space-A Flights

Check this out for Space-A flights from North Carolina

Salsa, Salsa, Salsa

Since July one of my favorite pastimes has been learning the Salsa Dance. What a trip this has been. From walking into Artistika Nightclub cold for free lessons to today its been a fun filled journey. Good music and new friends make the dance fun and great exercise, too. When I walked into Artistika that Saturday night I had no idea what it would be all about, but was determined to go through with a lesson to see. Raul was teaching that night and put us all to ease very quickly with just six steps. Piece of cake. What? We turn too? Ok well a little harder. What? Turn the other direction and keep the same six counts so it got a little more complicated but I hung in there because a gorgeous girl named Wendy was doing the lessons and if I stayed eventually I would "dance" with her. Wendy dances Salsa like it isn't even a dance, its a statement. And when it came around my turn to dance with her I could hardly remember the steps, much less the turns. She was very gracious and kind though and this went a long way to making the first Salsa lesson fun. At the end of the lesson Wendy gave me a revelation that would change my quest for learning Salsa. More later....

To the Soldiers of the Confederacy

My favorite Civil War monument of them all. Geographic coordinates, Wilmington, NC,


  34.234350 , -77.945910."Erected to honor the courage and self-sacrifice of New Hanover County's Confederate soldiers, this monument presents two bronze sculptural figures framed by a tall granite stele. The figures represent two Confederate soldiers as the figures of courage and sacrifice. The figure of courage stands tall and determined, as he protects the body of his fallen comrade, the figure of sacrifice. The standing soldier is dressed in military attire and wearing a caped coat that floats in the air behind him as he holds his rifle in his right hand with the bayonet pointing upward. Unlike many Confederate soldier statues where the figure stands silently and obediently at parade rest, the standing soldier in this rendering wears no hat and is portrayed as if in motion, elegant and gallant. One soldier’s face is modeled after that of granite salesman John Ernest Ramsay of Salisbury, who provided the stone for the stele. The monument was apparently vandalized around 1950 with John Ramsay replacing the stone at that time. "

"The pedestal is inscribed with a commemoration in verse. It includes the Latin phrase Pro Aris et Focis. This phrase, literally translated as "for our altars and hearths", is also translated into the patriotic motto, "for God and country." "

http://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/116/

Laura Bracken Designs Blog: More Patina Experiments... This Time: Sealants

Laura Bracken Designs Blog: More Patina Experiments... This Time: Sealants

Lillian Jones in Art Jewelry Mag

A big congratulations are in order to my friend, fellow North Carolina Society of Goldsmith member and artist extraordinaire, Lillian Jones for making the January issue of Art Jewelry Magazine. I attended a workshop which Lillian taught about using the texturing technique she demos in the article. Afterward, I made a collection of beautiful copper earrings using this and customers loved them.

Time to Get Caught Up

Well, we've finished the house and moved back in already. I'll upload some finished pics later. Just wanted to let me "fans" know I haven't forgotten this blog and will be working to get it up to date over the next few weeks. After finishing the house , moving was a chore. We wanted to use as much of our existing furniture as possible but in some cases it wasn't and we had to get something different. Decorating was a little painful. Sarah and I have "Ying and Yang" ideas in that area. I'm for decoration as little as possible so the openness in a room is part of it's expression where Sarah is of the opinion if there's a table or wall, it needs something to decorate itself with. There was much compromising between us both. Next came the mother-in-law with failing health so now instead of openness in design we are looking at whatever makes an invalid comfortable. Life throws us curves but we swing and sometimes still get hits. So that's where the house is now. The basement is still evolving from a storage facility/metalsmith shop to a knifemaking/metalsmith/laundry room. I'll devote another posting to that soon.

More Renovation

The projects are moving right along now. Framing done, sheet rock up, floor down, cabinets in, with lots of finishing left to do. This is a pic looking toward the back of the house during the sheetrock phase. These guys were masters at the trade. Fast and professional. The darker shot is looking to the front before the cabs are in. Then, presto, here's the cabs and the peninsula separating the dining area form the kitchen. Also, the virginia red oak flooring is visible. Then last, here's the soapstone counter tops and sink.

Home Renovation

Here's the results of almost six weeks of work here at the house. After searching for a nw home we decided to do some major renovations here instead. We didn't need extra square footage but to carry us through our retirement years (thinking positively) we need to so some updating of things here. We've moved out completely as you can see. The sub flooring particle board was removed and replaced with 5/8 plywood to give a more substantial base to the Virginia White oak flooring. This will extend through both levels except in the two upstairs bathrooms where tile floors will be installed. The kitchen was removed and will be beyond the left arch in the first photo. The second shot looking from the back to the front shows the two windows where the kitchebn was and where the new dining room will be. This is taken from in front of the stairs looking accross the living room area, through the kitchen, and into the dining.
The third shot shows the new mater bath arrangement with closet doors seperating it from the bedroom. The last shot shows the trailer and necessart porta john. Yippee.
So there is is at the present. When the heating is installed we'll be sheetrocking and it will start looking more like a house.

New Inside

Hi Blogosphere! Notice the outside of our town home. Well it will look like this in the spring, but the inside will look like new. After months of looking for a new or different home we have decided that we do like the neighborhood and can't seem too find what we want elsewhere so let's just give the inside a little face lift. We'll be redoing the floors which means we're moving out for a short period of time. It is also meaning my shop will me minimally active, too. I'll keep you posted. In the mean time hope all is well with you and you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I love Facebook and Twitter...

If you follow me on Facebook you'll know where I've been. Where are you? Make a comment and tell me. For those anxiously awaiting the Bahamas 09 pics, just check out the slide show on the right side. If you click on it you'll be miraculously transported to my Picasa webpage. If you don't want to go there, just enjoy them right here. We had a great time on Tilloo Cay just off Marsh Harbour, Abaco Island.

The pic below is the view from the front porch of where we stayed. Lance Armstrong was there for some R and R after the TDF. He must have heard what a great place it was. After all, I was there!

The Brandywine Community Garden

Here's what's keeping me busy lately. Our plot in the Brandywine Community Garden. With an unbelievably small amount of work we have reaped some big rewards. Early this year one of the residents, Claudette Krell, informed us of a community grant program through the city of Greensboro for community gardens. She polled our residents and found there was enough interest and applied for the grant which we received. With some classes about raised bed gardens at the Guilford County NCSU Cooperative Extension Service we were ready to proceed. The money bought us the service of tilling the area and the lumber for the raised beds. Several of us pre-assembled the lumber and with the help of volunteer Master Gardeners from the Ag Center we laid them all out. After securing the beds we shovelled the surrounding dirt into the beds and added some more organic matter, put some wood chips around the outside, and were ready to plant. The grant money also purchased a Mantis rototiller and a little house for the area to keep tools in. The gardens have been a real hit with the community and we've been eating tomato sandwiches and garden veggies all summer.

Leannes New Work

Some new work from my friend Leanne. I love her subjects. They have a way of transporting you to a story hidden within the subject. You can follow her work on artandlife.

Auto Makers Bailout

BTW. Even though I work for an auto supplier, this ad sums up what I really feel about using our money to bail out the big three. Just in case you can't read the fine print in the ad,

"You probably thought it was smart to buy a foreign import of superior quality, with better mileage and resale value. Maybe you even thought that years of market share loss might prod us into rethinking our process and redesigning our products with better quality in mind. But your forgot one thing. We spend a shit load of money on lobbyists. So now you're out $25 billion, plus the cost of your Subaru. Maybe next time you'll buy American like a real man. Either way, we're cool."

I'm Back!

What a great trip! Will write more and post some pics later.

Off to Abaco Island .....

Off to Abaco Island, Bahamas for some fishing. This time we're renting a boat and hoping to go deep on the Atlantic side along with the usual bonefishing in the Marls. We'll be staying on Tilloo Cay in the above picture. Hopefully the wind will die down! Probably a headwind the whole way. I'll have some more pics when I return.

Arts & Crafts at the Market

This will be the biggest showing I have this spring. This year I'm concentrating on getting my work out through galleries and some craft sites like Etsy. One such gallery is the Marshall Art Gallery in Greensboro. An exceptional place with super friendly people and exquisite items for sale. I consider my self very lucky to have shown and sold some of my Beggars Bowls there. Here's the write up for the Crafts at the Market. Hope to see you there. BTY, mention my blog for a 10% discount on any one item of mine you purchase

Spring Arts and Crafts at the Market
Sunday, March 22, 2009
11 am-5 pm
More than 80 local craft artisans exhibit and sell handmade crafts, including pottery, home decor, hand-crafted pottery, jewelry, florals, fiber arts and wearables, soaps, sculpture, wood, folk art, and more. Find unique gifts for birthdays, Easter, Mother's Day, graduations and weddings. Admission and parking are free.

Mokume Cuffs

I've had these for a while but only recently taken photos. These are copper and german silver with a sterling liner. Customers have been interested. The earrings have sold well but the price on the cuffs have been a little high for the Saturday morning market customers. I'm sure they will move at the shows.

Atlas Shrugged: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years

As it became more and more evident that Obama was going to be our new president, I kept hearing commentators, and reading journalists referring to Aynn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged". It made me put a copy on hold at the public library. That was more than a month ago. I don't know if the delay is because they had so few copies or there were so many folks waiting to read the book. Here's an other take by economist and editorial board member Stephen Moore of the WSJ:

"Many of us who know Rand's work have noticed that with each passing
week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus
scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the
very acts of economic lunacy that "Atlas Shrugged" parodied in 1957,
when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant
hit."

"One-Man Movement"

Facebook | One-Man Movement - washingtonpost.com

A One-Man Movement
Cary Grant Set a Pace for On-Screen Grace That's Left His Followers Mostly in the Dust
This article is so right on about Cary Grant in particularly but older movies in general. It speaks to a time when special effects didn't dominate the stories but rather the characters themselves. I saw a little bit of this when Sarah and I saw "Gran Torino" this weekend. Of course, even in his "spaghetti westerns", Clint Eastwood relied on his movements and especially his facial expressions to convey emotion in the story. Check out the scene where he's sitting on his front porch and spits his chew while looking at the grandmother and she then tops him by spitting a bigger chew. that said, as the article which my daughter talked about on her Facebook, says, Cary Grant was the master in this. And, I think Alfred Hitchcock as director helped.