i'm BACK!!

gee i hope this is like riding a bike. been so long - not sure i remember how to do this!
hopefully there won't be such a HUGE gap anymore...

arrived back in town last tuesday night from a wonderful trip up to cleveland to tape a segment for qatv. not sure what was more fun. hanging out with old friends - rayna gillman and judy perez - -or meeting new friends - jane davila, who was there with hubby, carlos, and shelly stokes. and of course it was wonderful to see pokey again as well. then there was the SNOW! which for this southern girl, was a treat! tho frankly, i seem to have been the only one who was thrilled to see that! rayna couldn't believe i didn't know what the snow remover contraption in our rental car was.... hello!! not much call for that way down in south louisisana i'm sure that if i had to clear snow and ice off of car windshields on a daily basis i wouldn't think it was quite as fun....
but it and the snow were highly entertaining, as you can see:

everyone at the studio was just wonderful to work with! someone took my camera and shot these photos without me even knowing!

not sure when these segments will air, but i will post the information as soon as i do know.

and as you can see, since this took me a week to get from beginning to actually posting, perhaps this is not actually like riding a bike! had blogger snafus last week when i started this. guess this falls in the better late than never category!

still kickin

thanks to all of you who have posted. my lack of response in no way mirrors my feelings.just laying low for a while. finishing up the house, working on getting my mother transitioned,working at new job.

still not working directly at making art but ideas are becoming more concrete. and getting intriguing enough to start that itch going.

here are a few relativey new photos:

don't faint

i'm back.

let's see if i remember how to do this!

i've been doing a lot of practical things: paperwork a mile high; cleaning out 33 years of Stuff.

throwing away/giving away. shedding what i don't need for the next phase of my journey. i have to say it is very freeing. kind of a nice feeling to pare down. i've done the fabric half of my studio. haven't even begun to deal with the mixed media side. that will most likely be the last thing to go through.

so, just about the only *artwork* i have done has been painting and redoing rooms.

in the background, the seeds of the next phase of art are germinating.

i'm not sure what it will be, how it will evolve, but i do know that something is brewing.

just to add a little more challenge to the mix, i've been taking care of my mother (86 yr old) as well, who has fallen several times, breaking her elbow. thank god that's the worst that's happened. tests have been run; waiting for results. it looks like a move to assisted living will be coming soon.

and....i've started a new job that i am really excited about.

life seems to be coming together.

so that is the latest.

thanks to those of y'all who have inquired privately. it's nice to know i've been missed.

7 random facts....

linda minton had tagged me....

so here goes...

1. claire is my middle name... causes more trouble than you'd think since legal stuff is all under my first name. (nope. not telling)


2. cooking is not in my vocabulary. the list of things i have burnt grows daily; ditto the stiff that just plain old doesn't taste good. i CAN make a damned good salad, tho.


3. once upon a time i grew 77 rose bushes (before kids...)


4. i have extraordinarily vivid and colorful dreams (when i manage to sleep!)


5. i have a wonderful memory for totally useless information


6. i have never lived out of hearing distance of water.... from the mississippi to the intracoastal..i love listening to boats at night when it's quiet..


7. i am a pack rat, but at the same time, i really love clear space. those 2 extremes just don't work well together!

and since i really don't like to blog unless i have some photos to post here are some of my random favorites...

here they are...

my list of noteworthy moments... as inspired by the current quiltart list conversation.

managed to get through high school without ever stepping foot in a study hall even tho i had 3, yes - Three, hours of study hall imposed upon me one year... and for this they inducted me into the honor society... i spent most of that time in the band room, and no, i was never actually in the band,, but i did learn how to play the guitar, and spent most of those 3 hours each day laughing and having fun,,, which i consider a Major Accomplishent anytime anywhere

i can (and do) burn any number of food products on a frequent basis. my more noteworhy accomplishments in that area were boiled eggs, and pasta, tho rice seems to be my specialty. this is in spite of winning the betty crocker award in high school....;-) and yes i do know what causes it: put the pot on, go upstairs and get lost in Making Art, forget the pot is on till a rather unsavory scent wafts its way up there.... luckily i have a keen sense of smell.

i have managed to weld without inflicting serious bodily harm on myself or others...so far

i can walk in any store anywhere selling anything and tell you in an instant what the Most Expensive Items are without looking at sales tags...they will be the ones i gravitate towards....just a Gift... i have ridiculously expensive tastes.. largely unfulfilled i might add.
perhaps this comes from being born into a family of plantation owners along The River..

i am an excellent caulker...... and i Love to paint (tho numerous drop cloths are a good idea).
it is the ultimate in Instant Gratification

i can lose any and every thing under any and every circumstance. the most memorable was losing my passport in italy, just before being smuggled ...er crossing the border, into france, where i proceeded to obtain a new one ... and forgot to lie, much to my chagrin after dealing with the line of questioning that followed....(and this was way before Heightened Security).

while in france on the same trip, the group i was with bought tickets for a lovely evening voyage on the bateau mouche on the seine, pulled up our chairs and waited to roll. and waited, and waited, and waited while commenting on the lovely boats going by ... all the while not realizing
we had seated ourselvs on the pier, not the actual boat. you'd think for a group of people that grew up along rivers and bayous in south louisisana we'd have known better ...

survived sitting on top of an alligator's den with a group of friends, while playing with the very cute baby gators

and while we're on animal related accomplishments ... also survived 2 close encounters with Very Large water moccasins on the same hot, dry summer day. i had been practically standing on top of one of them while taking a photograph of a rose .... which seques into -

grew and maintained 77 beautiful rose bushes for many years (until kids came along....)

went back to school on 2 separate occasions, after swearing i would Never Go Back, and earned 2 separate degrees. general studies with emphasis on history, and, believe it or not, english...(i do know how to capitalize, and spell .. but i am hopelessly dsylexic (yes i know - not the accurate term but close enuf ) when it comes to typing...)
However, while these were wonderful accomplishemnts in and of themselves, i still feel my greatest accomplishment in both cases was commuting for a grand total of 5 1/2 years without once getting a speeding ticket.

i once had a wonderfully legible and beautiful handwriting, which prompted the french cousin of a friend of mine to comment on how much he liked those exquisite american typewriters.... all printed....i gave up on cursive a year or so after learning it...it just isn't my style

i'm sure there's more... and i'm equally sure i will think of them as soon as i hit publish.....