Last Post for 2007

Here is probably my last post for this year... I figured I'd make it a good pic of the family from Christmas at my sister in law's house. We all have to line up in families and get our pictures taken so she can have them for her albums... no doubt for future blackmail things...*L*

John and I, have for the last 30 years it seems, gone out on New Year's Eve with a group of 5 - 7 couples to a Chinese Restaurant near here... but last year they had a major fire that they never rebuilt from yet. Soooo, this year we are invited to one of the couples new home to have dinner, drinks, snacks and ring in 2008. We each bring a dish to share... since we can't miss our normal chinese fare, I'm making eggrolls and have bought some fortune cookies... so, I'm off to make the eggrolls so we can head out for the party in a couple of hours.


Here's a New Year's toast ....Happy New Year to all... with love and all the best for 2008 to you and your families! God bless us everyone!

Best EVER Family Christmas Picture...*L*

Merry Christmas to all. Been a busy week or more here... and while it was a good Christmas, I'm glad that it is pretty much over... although we ARE still in the 12 days of the Christmas Season until Epiphany (Jan. 6th)...the hustle and bustle of it is over for me. YAY!! Now I just need to finish year end bookkeeping by next Monday night... ughh!!

So, here is our best ever family Christmas picture...heh heh... a goofy one of us all.

Saint Brett & The Holy Cheeseheads

I am passing this on to our church building committee for consideration for a new stainglass window.... hee hee...*G*

Ahhh YESSSS...tis a good year for Packer Fans in Wisconsin!!

GO PACK GO!!

Fork in the Road - IMAGINE

Here is another one of the series of "Fork in the Road" assemblages. I will call this one "Imagine". The wooden carved crow and the imagine letters are some I found at a crafters mall a year or so ago. The inside picture of a boy chasing after a bunny (maybe the bunny represents his dreams?), was found at GoodWill, and is a work by some grade school youth I imagine. I liked it for it's simplicity. The fork is on an actual piece of road pavement. There are typewriter letters that spell out F-O-R-K on the outside of the frame and the whole thing sits on a pair of black shoe inserts.

We all like to imagine the roads our journey of life may take us on... and when we come to those "forks in the road", we often imagine what would have happened had we taken the other fork. Pablo Picasso once said "Everything you can imagine is real." Sometimes it's never too late to go back and take that other fork, especially if it's one you knew in your heart, mind and soul that you should have taken in the first place.


I would encourage you, whatever it is you are imagining, to pray about it, listen for what God is saying or encouraging you to do & then just do it...make what what you imagine REAL.

Fork in the Road Series continues....

While I was down visiting my daughter a few months ago, I picked up some of these nifty little boxes at Ikea, the first ones I had found at a GoodWill store, and they still had the Ikea tag on them... they worked out so well for the Fork in the Road series I had done previously, I decided to use more for others down the road..*pun intended*... so, FINALLY, I decided to use them, and so here, for your viewing pleasure is the latest Fork In The Road ...

We often face obstacles and bridges we have to cross in this journey called LIFE, and sometimes it seems like a game, trying to piece together the right way we should go when we come to a crossroads, or a FORK in the road ... this assemblage piece is meant to show that.

This piece includes a wire bridge on top, inside a bridge scene with a brass bird flying overhead, a fork on actual road pieces, the outside sits on two wood square bases and is covered with a path of dominoes.

See more of my Fork in the Road assemblages in the archives of July 22, 2007.

Seek Magnified Assemblage

Here is my latest project... I may add an old handle or something at the top of it, but I'm still deciding on that. This is an old wooden box of some sort, it must have had a lid or top at sometime? It's turned on it's side, it had a hole in the side already that I stuck the brass magnifying glass into. On the inside are silver metal letters that spell out SEEK. The eye chart on the back has letters that start out like a regular eye chart would, but farther down spell out:
E
FP
TOZ
SEEK
YEFIRST
THEKINGDOMOFGOD
ANDHISRIGHTEOUSNESS

A silver metal heart shaped box with an embedded glass heart on the top of it is something that can be used to hold jewelry, prayer beads, or notes with prayer names & requests. A brass bust of Jesus with a brass key and brass napkin rings as the base complete this assemblage.

No room at the Inn caused Mary & Joseph to seek other shelter...*G*

John and I went into the surgeon in Milwaukee today for a scheduled series of x-rays and a check-up to see how his back is healing. It is doing VERY well, and the doctor was pleased at how well the bone is forming around the rods and screws.

BUT... we were shocked to see something else when we viewed the x-rays too..*G*
Guess it 'tis the season', eh? heh heh...a bit of photoshop fun...*L*

John is still restricted to lifting no more than 20 lbs, and the doctor gave him a prescription thing to go to 6 weeks of therapy to start soon too. He doesn't have to go back to see the surgeon until 6 months from now when he'll get another set of x-rays and a check-up.

We're very thankful for the good report and for the continued prayers for John's healing.

School Daze - I thought I was finished..*L* NOW I am!

Thanks to a chat friend, Maggie, who gave me the idea to add bullet shell casings to this assemblage, I am NOW finished with "School Daze".... I think? *L* I also added some barbed wire and other things around the "No War" saying above the bus.

So, here is the finished project. I really like it a lot better with the additions.. .Thanks Maggie!

Our newest grandbaby's pics.. in the womb.

*Proud Gramma* Our son Kaine and his girlfriend Erin are having a baby. They went for an ultrasound today and we finally have grandbaby pics to show off! Here is our 4th grandbaby... we don't know yet if it's a girl or a boy, but it's exciting to finally see this cherished grandchild that will be coming out into the world around May 7th, 2008. *S*

School Daze Assemblage

Here is my finished project, (well almost). It too has changed some since I posted the ideas of it a while ago. The old school bus frame has photos in it of boys and girls in war torn countries in ages from approx. kindergarten up through 12th grade. Also on the piece are pictures that children have drawn of their lives where they are ...they depict war scenes, something our own kids don't have to experience in the ways these kids do. There is an army tank with a child's hand with a stone, often kids are caught up in the war as well, using weapons they have at hand. There is a picture of a school zone showing barbed wire surrounding the bricked school yard and there is a NO WAR sign drawn by one child.

The pictures of the children are meant to show the effects of war on youth, school days that are definitely much different than here in the States.

To quote an old song lyric..."WAR...ugghh, What is it good for? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

9/11 - As we forgive those who trespass against us...

I'm up late, the best time for creativeness lately. Must have been because of the several naps I had on Friday, eh? *L*

Anyway... I finished my assemblage, I was thinking of calling it "9/11 Forgiveness"...but then thought maybe "As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us", I'll sleep on those titles and then see. I had posted some of the elements for this one last month, I've changed it a bit since then, adding different things (like the Empire State Building and Statute of Liberty, and the Lord's Prayer, with a magnifying lens over "..forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"), changing out some of the letters, and put it all into a shadow box, adding some metal drawer pulls on the top for something different too.

So, now I'm done for the night... well, maybe I'll work on another one I have half finished before sleeping.... *yaaawn*.. or maybe not. *L*

School Daze Assemblage - a work in progress

This is the start of what I am thinking of calling "School Daze". In a political chat room I visit, someone had posted a picture of a school child who was hurt in the war going on in Iraq. It made me sad to think of how different life and school days are for kids in war-torn countries.

A few days later, as I was making my rounds in the GoodWill store, I came across a frame in the shape of a school bus, one that you put your child's school pictures each year into.

So, this idea was born... to put in pictures that I found off the Internet, of kids of various ages - Kindergarten thru 12th grade ages - in their environment,... the innocent victims of war.

I beat up the school bus a lot, and also found pictures on the Internet that school age kids had drawn of what their everyday life was like... war pictures from a child's perspective.

I'm still playing around with how and on what I'll mount these things, and looking thru my stash of treasures and junk to see what else I can add.

Anyway... here it is so far... more to come...

I Spy With My Little EYE...

Okay... this is just goofy stuff... the daughter was home tonite and we were playing around with her camera and a magnifying glass prop..*L*

Soooo... I see how it is... *G*

Here are some eye opening photos...heh heh

Sunday Saints ...or are we Sinners? *G*

" I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green; they were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too."

check out the tune & more verses http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh712.sht

So yesterday was All Saint's Sunday, a celebration of those people who we consider saints. We were asked to come dressed as a saint of our own choosing...either a modern day one or one from long ago. We are part of the processional coming into church as the above song is song, and then at the sermon time we each have to tell a little about the saint we were representing.

As of Saturday morning, I still didn't know what Saint I'd come as, but then I received a necklace I had ordered in the mail from a wonderful artist.. Jane Wynn http://idolatrieartist.typepad.com/

It's called the Eye of Protection... and I LOVE IT!!

I wanted to wear it and show it off immediately, so I decided to try to use it in my costume of a saint for Sunday. At first I was thinking I'd come as Saint Michael the Archangel...who is said to be an angel of protection against the malice and snare of the evil one and evil forces. That was my plan and I was happy with it....BUT, then I decided to just google "saints and eyes" and lo and behold I came up with St. Lucy .... she is often used as the patron saint for the blind. There is a legend claiming that in response to a suitor who admired her beautiful eyes, "she cut them out and sent them to him, asking to be left in peace thereafter." Lucy was represented in Gothic art holding a dish with two eyes on it. The legend concludes with God restoring Lucy's eyes. Kinda gruesome eh? But, I decided to use that and my eye necklace would fit right in... I also had a bowl of eyeballs (chocolate ones) to pass out to the kids... heh heh.

Anyway... I had fun with it and had rave reviews on my new necklace...Thanks to Jane for the wonderful jewelry and the inspiration for the Saint. *S*

Tin Foil Hats - Anti Ghostification Devices

Today is Friday....Grandson Day!! And this Friday I have all three grandsons because the schools have teacher's convention on Thurs. and Friday. Uncle Kaine is also home today, at least this morning he is... and he loves to tell the nephews stories and tales to "haunt" them...esp. this time of year...*L*

Soooo, as Kaine was busy taunting the grandsons, I was checking some things online... one of the online words for today seemed to fit right in...

ghostification noun : to become a ghost.

To help fight off the chance that Kaine's antics and stories would ghostify the grandkids, he made them tin foil hats to wear...*L*...and they gladly donned them for the morning . Although eventually, they became tin foil snowballs that the older two grandsons used to try to get a pesky fly that was buzzing about.... *L*

And Kaine...having done his uncle duty for the morning, decided to head upstairs for a short nap.... and it's only 9:30!! sheeeeeeeeesh

Time to head out for a bit of work, errands, Good Will-ing and exploring the homes nearby that are decked out for Halloween... some BIG time & scary decorations too...

Maybe I need a tin foil hat before we leave, eh?? *L*

The start of a new assemblage...911-Forgive.. and some really cool stuff I found!

So, I've not been blogging much here lately... partly because I was gone, and then catching up, and partly because I've gotten into myspace and facebook stuff lately too.... I am addi......err, dedicated once I find something fun like that..*G*

Anyway... here are a few things I've been up to lately... some recent Good Will finds...and one thing from Uncle Hunk's Junk ... I love 'em... not sure yet what I'll do with the giant speaker thing...but it was too cool to pass up, and it was 25% off, so HOW, oh HOW could I pass THAT up??

And then I have these really cool clocks too that I found... The bigger one has clock faces on all four sides, and the other smaller one, which is leather covered, just has a clock on the front side. It's been good deal days for me in my shopping excursions lately!!

And here is a start to an idea for the "9/11 Forgive" assemblage. Here it is laid out, not yet permanent, so things may change, and I already know I am adding some words from The Lord's Prayer to one part... "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us..."

More to come in the next few days......

Retreat... a step forward.

Heading out today, SOON, to a Province V Diocesan Youth Ministry retreat in Saugatuck, MI. Been a busy few weeks here, no new assemblages to show, although I have accumulated some cool stuff to use in some... I have a few laid out, but still in the beginning stages... hope to get to more creative endeavors next week. Soooo, I'm off for 3 days of sharing with other adult Youth Ministry leaders... time for reflection, prayer, fun, food, wine, board games and more...*S*

Pray for my safe travel, esp. no bad traffic or delays in and thru the Chicago/Gary area...uggghhh....

It is finished.... The Hollywood Glamour Torso

Hurrah!! I finished the latest torso assemblage...

Here are pictures of it... I'm excited to see about getting these into a gallery soon to sell...but it's kind of funny, I feel like I NEED to keep them..although I have NO space for them, and they are kind of taking over the house just now too..*L*

They are kind of like a part of me... it will be bittersweet letting them go. But hopefully someone will really, really love them too.

Soooo... what shall be my next one.....????

More to come soon....

Hollywood Glamour Torso

I have just about finished (I think?) decoupaging the pictures of Hollywood starlets on the torso... I still need to polycrylic it with about 10 - 15 coats, then set the insert in it and epoxy it.

I also need to paint the stand and the cap that will go on the top of the neck (I think I have something cool that will look good on the top of the cap too).

I am going to get a hammered silver spray paint for the stand and cap that will look nice with the silver star box insert in the torso.

Sooo, for now, here it is about halfway finished. I'm happy so far with the results. *S*

More to come in the days ahead....

I (We) May Never Pass This Way Again... (song by Seals and Crofts)

Life, so they say, is but a game and we let it slip away.
Love, like the Autumn sun, should be dyin' but it's only just begun.
Like the twilight in the road up ahead, they don't see just where we're goin'.
And all the secrets in the Universe, whisper in our ears
And all the years will come and go, take us up, always up.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.

Dreams, so they say, are for the fools and they let 'em drift away.
Peace, like the silent dove, should be flyin' but it's only just begun.
Like Columbus in the olden days, we must gather all our courage.
Sail our ships out on the open sea. Cast away our fears
And all the years will come and go, and take us up, always up.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.

So, I wanna laugh while the laughin' is easy.
I wanna cry if it makes it worthwhile.
We may never pass this way again, that's why I want it with you.
'Cause, you make me feel like I'm more than a friend.
Like I'm the journey and you're the journey's end.
We may never pass this way again, that's why I want it with you, baby.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.

As I was driving home from Milwaukee tonite, after picking up the newsletter that I had transmitted early this morning, I decided to take some back country roads home and enjoy the drive and the evening sunset. It was so pretty, I was also listening to some "golden oldies" on the radio and this song by Seals & Crofts came on.... it got me thinking that I would NEVER, EVER pass this way again, I'd never have this moment again in my life.... sure, I might drive this road again, and I might enjoy other sunsets, but this particular moment would never come again.

I started feeling melancholy, and sad in a way... and thinking about my life.. I just turned 54 years old a few weeks ago... I figure I have about 20 good years left... and heck, if those 20 years zip by as fast as the last 20 years did, I'll be dead as a doornail in the blink of an eye.

I don't wanna be dead (how is a doornail dead anyway?..*L*, was a doornail ever alive?? *ha*)

I am already feeling like I am missing what will come after my 20 years or so I have left... I already miss my kids, my family, my grandkids, those already here, and those yet to come.. I'll miss this life.

I have a good life...even though at times I complain a lot... I am VERY thankful for what God has blessed me with. Anyway... I will never come this way again either... and ya know, that's sad, to think about in a way... *sigh*

I just hope to make a difference in some way, with the years I'll have left.

Currently listening : Seals & Crofts - Greatest Hits By Seals & Crofts Release date: 25 October, 1990

It's Friday so it MUST be grandson day!!

I have a feeling it's gonna be a looooong day... started out getting up at 5:30 and heading to work to use a program I needed to change my newsletter, that I finished last nite at 1 a.m., to a pdf file, then headed over to the parking lot at Panera Bread to use their high speed connection to transmit it... hoping all the while I wouldn't see anyone cuz I had just rolled out of bed, without combing my hair or washing my face in order to get that done before the grandsons came at 7. Mission accomplished...

....and the grandson day begins.... *S*

Josh tried out the horse outfit I found for him to play with, and is a regular cowpoke.. *L*

Jeff was more interested in just watching him, and didn't care to try on the horse at all!

So now Jeff is taking a nap, and gramma is wishing she could too! *L*

Josh (the 3 yr. old) and I have been having a funny, and somewhat heated discussion (on his part), he is telling me that from now on when he goes to the store with me he is NOT sitting in a cart... his mom says NO, I don't have to and when she says NO, she means it. ..*L* He says he is NOT a baby so therefore (he actually used that word - therefore), he is NOT sitting in a cart! L*... too funny.... I told him the rule here is he DOES sit in a cart with gramma, but when he's with his mom he does what she says he can do. He just looked at me as if to say, "Yeah? We'll just wait and see!" *L*

ahhh, the life and worries of a 3 year old, and a gramma, eh?

A Looooong Day & A Pain in the ___________

________ Fill in the blank...*L*

Today was a killer day, but it actually ended pretty well... just a very long one, that I'm glad is coming to an end.

Today I had a Christian Formation meeting at Nashotah in the AM, had to rush from there to the Spine Care Clinic in Milwaukee to meet John (who my dad had taken to his appointment to find out what was going on with his severe pain in the back problems that have been going on for 6 days since he slipped).

John saw the surgeon, who immediately ordered x-rays, and then sent us off to another clinic nearby for a CT scan. Then back to the surgeon to wait on the results, which they told us would probably take about 30 minutes after the scan was finished.... WRONGO, finally 2 1/2 hours later, we were able to find out that all John's bones and the fusion (screws and rods in his back) are doing well, and healing well.

His back pain was from twisting when he slipped causing a severe muscle sprain. He will probably have another week of pain before it gets better, the doctor said. At least it's not something that requires more surgery, for that we are thankful, and John isn't as scared now either that he'll mess his back up for life if he moves wrong.

So, finally at 4:45 we were back on the highway heading home... got the patient back in the house and had to turn around and head back to Milwaukee for my Youth Commission meeting at 6:30... made it there with a minute to spare too!! Just call me Speed-Demon! *L*

The two meetings today went pretty well, and I was home in time to pick up John's prescription before Walgreen's closed for the night... guess the good-timing angels were looking out for me today.. *S*

So, for now, it's back to taking it easy, taking the meds, using the walker and praying that his pain gets less, and his back gets stronger.

And, guess I continue to try to fatten him up with banana splits, which he loves, and good cookin' too!

Thanks to all for the well wishes and prayers... we love you!

XOXOXOXOXO

Update... 1/2 step forward....

The doctor told us he thinks it's a pulled muscle and / or a bad muscle spasm that John is dealing with... soooo, for now, it's valium, extra strength Tylenol, and hot and cold compresses, rest in either the bed or recliner and lots of prayers.
John hasn't left the recliner, upstairs, since this morning, and he is comfortable as long as he doesn't move around a lot. He is wearing his brace again, and we have the walker back incase he needs to walk to the bathroom. The surgeon will be checking back later today or tomorrow morning to see how the patient is doing.
Prayers are very much appreciated... thanks in advance for them, we are very thankful.
Love, Roberta
XOXOXO

Two steps forward....ONE STEP BACK...

Whelp, looks like today is starting out as a "step back" day.... This morning at about 2:00 a.m. John tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, and his hand slipped, he caught himself, but evidently twisted his back, or did something to mess it up. He was in a lot of pain, and went back to bed, but then had to get up again around 4 a.m. and he could barely get out of bed...when he did, he felt like something was stabbing him in the back, he called for me to come (I can't sleep all night with him because my tossing and turning causes him pain when the bed moves)... I found him in a great deal of pain, so much so he was about ready to pass out... I felt sick myself...and after he laid down, I had to stop myself from getting sick from worry..... Not knowing what to do, I decided to call the hospital number in Milwaukee to ask about what we should do. The on call doctor called back after the nurse had taken a bunch of info from me, and he talked to John, told him to take a Valium, lay down, and rest... then call the clinic this morning for an appointment... sooo, we are now waiting for the clinic to open to call them... and looks like we'll be taking a trip into Milwaukee.
Please pray that this is just something minor...we are scared it's something bad - John said if felt like something "ripped" in his back, inside... hopefully it's something that with rest will get better?

So, here are some encouraging quotes... hope they help you like they help me... even if it's just to give a smile.

~ "When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. " ~
Franklin D. Roosevelt

~ "I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.Some come from ahead and some come from behind.But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!" ~
Dr. Seuss

~ "Fall seven times, stand up eight." ~
Japanese Proverb

~ "If you're going through hell, keep going. " ~
Winston Churchill

~ "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." ~
Deuteronomy 31:6

~ "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ~
Isaiah 41:10

A Collage Gift from my Daughter...

Kasey came home this weekend, to celebrate my birthday and her brother's birthday, as well as attend the BBQ & Hoe Down at church. She brought me this cool collage she made as a gift. I LOVE IT!! She has done another that is framed hanging on the wall here at home, I think I'll move it over and add this one along side it too. Another treasure from my treasured daughter!

Thanks Kasey, I LOVE YOU!!

Hey, here's an idea...maybe someday, when we're both older and RICHER, we can go into business together, you selling your great collages and photos, and me with my assemblages....ha!

Vintage Star Torso continued...

My latest project will be decoupaged with vintage (mostly black and white) photos of Hollywood starlets. Right now it has been decoupaged with silver tissue paper, and has a hole cut to hold the silver frame with a star on the outside, it opens to reveal a place for another photo, but I think I will be putting a mirror inside instead.

Inside the door it says, "What is love? It is the morning and the evening star." This phrase is said by the character Elmer Gantry in the movie: Elmer Gantry, 1960 (Richard Brooks, director and screenwriter, from the 1927 novel by Sinclair Lewis). Burt Lancaster plays Elmer as a salesman/con man/evangelist. This phrase is his all-purpose seduction line, for both individuals and groups. It’s not till the end of the movie, though, that he understands what it really means.

Some say you can use this phrase to acknowledge your own hopeless romanticism.

I think this piece WILL be sort of a romantic piece.. kind of like the morning and evening star, I think I'll love it if it turns out the way I am hoping. *S*

Another Year Older & Deeper in Debt... and Gesso...

Another candle to add to the mass quantities of them already on the birthday cake! *L* Here's how I started my birthday morning... putting a coat of Gesso on my next torso project. I've been blessed already with family and friends, and many know JUST what to gift me with...although, their friendship and love alone is the greatest gift... but GoodWill gift certificates are indeed a GREAT gift too! *L* That and a couple of winning scratch off lottery tickets!

Okay, I want to get a layer of gray and silver tissue paper on this torso before I head into work.... *poofs to Mod Podge*

Guitar Assemblage Finished!

Here is the finished product... all sides. This was a fun assemblage to do. I ended up putting 13 coats of polycrylic on the guitar body, then adding the wooden hands and feet, and a weather forecaster gage thingy in the center hole, just for something different. It IS a bit different, but I like how it turned out.

Sooo... on to my next project ....more to come...

Planters - some easy assemblages, of sorts.

Here are some planters I made to donate to a church raffle next weekend.

I picked up the chairs for $2 each (4 of them), took off the seats and the back insert and turned it into a planter. I liked the design of the metal chairs, it reminds me of a church window frame. I added an old tin shingle, from our church roof that was replaced several years ago, (see my blog entries from around April 16th for more items I made using the old tin shingles), I cut it to fit and epoxied it to the metal back. I added a planter and a fern and taaahh dahhh... an easy planter! It's already a bit rusty, so it goes well with the shingle which is weathered too, and if it rusts more over the years, the better it will be!

The other planter is a super easy one... I had this old replica of a pedal car that the grandsons played with for a couple of years, it never really pedaled well, and the steering wheel broke off awhile ago... so, I added a planter and another fern and now it's a planter, ready to be won at the drawing next weekend!

Very simple...very easy...*S*