Sourly eating sour cherry in a sour cherry tree, of course. Made with acrylic paint and cut up sweet wrappers on brown paper.
I love my fur babies. They are like my children. I ESPECIALLY love Fatso. We've had this big furball of a cat since he was born and he is just so sweet and loving, he has a very special place in my heart reserved JUST for him.Although he can be very sweet and loving, he also commands a certain amount of respect. Fatso does not tolerate things such as being restrained or even being held or fooled with for too long. He ESPECIALLY doesn't like anyone venturing into areas such as his haunches or his tail when brushing him. I'll openly admit it: I'm afraid of Fatso! Although fat, his reaction time is akin to a Jaguar and I'm NOT kidding! He has hurt me many times over the years so I have learned to be respectful and careful! Fatso is a Maine Coon aka FURBALL! He has long, long hair and it is EVERYWHERE in my house. I try to brush him regularly, but he doesn't tolerate it well and he absolutely will not allow me to brush the areas that REALLY need it! This has resulted in some knots on Fatso's chest and down in his 'neutered but still somewhat manly area'.
Michael is much braver and stronger than me (and tolerates pain much better also)! So I told him last week I couldn't take cleaning up the hair any longer and I was concerned about the knots and I wanted him to buy a shaver and come shave the knots off of Fatso and give him a bath.
Well Michael and Alyssa arrived last night with a brand new trimmer and a whole bunch of good intentions! Alyssa, being the intelectual girl that she is wants to follow the instructions that come with the trimmer and some other techniques that she's heard of from pet groomers. She's even brought him a special treat to give him after the procedure is over so he will 'associate the shaver with a treat'. Yeah right! She doesn't realize that there is no instruction booklet written on how to deal with Fatso! She soon learns this though....
So they spread a blanket out on the couch and Alyssa starts shaving his sides while Michael holds him. So far, so good. Then about 10 seconds later Fatso begins to buck and resist like a Red Bull!
After a couple of minutes Fatso is spitting everywhere, Michael can't even hold him. So they let him go. Fatso is MADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!! After a couple more attempts Michael is about ready to give up as he is bleeding from several nice cuts on his arms. Alyssa has more ideas though: She says we should try putting something over his head to keep him calm and to put socks on his legs so he can't claw Michael. She went out to her car and got the bag from a bottle of Crown Royal and I went and got 2 old pairs of socks. She put the bag over Fatso's head and pulled the drawstring just a bit to keep it on. Then, with Michael holding him, tried to put the little booties on all four of his feet. I was laughing so hard I forgot to take a picture but it was quite hilarious! Fatso must have worked with Houdini in another life because before they could even get 2 of the booties on him he somehow removed that bag from his head, removed the booties from his feet, spit, scratched and clawed and catapulted his entire body out of Michael's grip! He was all bowed up looking at all of us like "WHAT THE HELL ARE Y'ALL TRYING TO DO TO ME?" Bob is freaking out because he doesn't understand what is going on. Heidi doesn't care because she's rekindled her relationship with Hailey.
So, the saga continues....
Although they have removed a sizeable amount of hair with the trimmer, they have still only touched the tip of the iceburg and haven't even ventured to his underbelly (I can already see that that is NOT going to happen, Fatso is just NOT going to have it and all the brute force Michael has cannot even restrain him). Finally they decide to try cutting off some hair with scissors. Fatso is a little bit more agreeable to this but still it's not very long before he rebels.
Finally, Michael is ready to concede defeat and asks me to call a groomer and get a price. He takes Fatso upstairs to give him a much needed bath.
Poor Baby! So now he has a haircut that looks like he did it himself, but at least he's clean.
I'm calling a groomer tomorrow.
Since we live atop Red Mountain we have a pretty good view of the fireworks that are shot from Vulcan Park on the 4th of July right from our own yard. We have stayed home and watched them for the past 2 years. Homewood also has a nice little carnival, street thing in downtown and we've gone down there a couple of years also, but it's really geared more for younger kids. This year we're going to 5 Points South to attend a block party! It's a more grown up atmosphere and I think Hailey and her friends will have a great time! Michael will also be there (working) but at least we'll get to see him.
5 Points South is a club and restaurant district just over the hill from Homewood. Whereas Homewood has a nice view of Vulcan's butt, 5 Points South has a nice view of his frontside LOL. 5 Points South, also known as 'Southside' is an awesome place with many unique clubs and shops. This is where the local music scene in Birmingham thrives. It's a very walkable area and the shops are amazing! Hailey and I went down there last Saturday and went in Cloud Nine and India Shop. Both shops have unique clothing, shoes, jewelry, posters, and tons and tons of incense! Cloud Nine also does tattoes and that is where Hailey will get hers (when she does get it). Southside is also a neighborhood and within walking distance to University of Alabama at Birmingham. There are many old homes that have been refurbished and remodeled into showcases. Quaint, old apartment buildings house singles, couples and many college students.
This is the first ever block party in 5 Points South. It was an attempt by the 5 Points Neighborhood Association to provide a fun 4th of July event for people who are feeling the gas crunch and can't necessarily afford to go out of town for the holiday. I think it's a great idea and I will DEFINITELY be taking my camera along!
So, after the sucess of my russian doll collage I decided to make some more. First I made little stuffed ones with patterned fabric and hand painted faces.
Then I made some more collaged one which I backed with thick watercolour paper, laminated or vanished and turned into miniture art jewerly.I made most of them with sweet wrappers just because I love the bright colours and patterns. Most of these will be in the shop once it's re-stocked.
Just a little anoucement. You may have noticed (but probably haven't) that my etsy shop's been empty for quite a while now. That was of course due to my being very busy with end of year college stuff. For the past few weeks I've been making things and getting ready for a grand reopening. There will be an assortment of prints, originals, stuffed creatures, various bits and pieces, and of course, rabbits. Save your pennies in anticipation. :)
The first I made with vintage buttons on apple green cord, fastened with a twisty metal clasp. The other one I made with one of my doily flowers and a red bakelite button,which I attached to an old necklace.
Here are some bits and pieces from my illustration project on circuses. All my work had been been in my portfolio then was being marked but I've got it back now. I thought I'd share some of the stuff I do at college with you over the next week or so. These were made with coloured paper. foam stamps, paint and white ink.
Yes...THAT'S why I haven't blogged in over 10 days! Amazing! It finally dawned on me about a month ago that if I didn't get it in gear and work some serious overtime we could just kiss this trip to Cali goodbye (myself at least, fund raising has already paid a big chunk of Hailey's costs). I make a pretty good wage on regular time and since I'm still an hourly employee, a VERY NICE wage on overtime. So I withdrew from school (just put that on hold until Hailey graduates) and really buckled down on the overtime. From January through May I maybe worked 3 hours of overtime total! In the last 6 weeks I've worked over 10 so I'm headed in the right direction. I'm in real good shape this week having worked almost 30 hours in 3 days. I should be on overtime all day Friday and will go in Saturday to meet my goal of 50 hours this week. I'm tired but it's just gotta be done.
I've also been exercising. I've been doing Turbo Jam every morning (not today, since I got up late). It's really great and gives me lots of energy. There's no better way to start your day than to get a good, sweaty workout! I've been trying to do 5 days on and 2 days rest BUT since I'm skipping today I'll have to exercise on Sunday and just rest on Monday.
We've been doing this fruit flush diet and it's great too! It's a 3 day detox where you eat nothing but fruit all day, then a salad and some chicken or fish at night. I don't own a scale and the only time I get weighed is when I go to the doctor, but I can definitely feel that I've lost weight and the exercise is really toning me up.
I've also been NOT smoking in the house, which naturally keeps me away from the computer.
So, those are the reasons my blog has been kind of neglected as of late. Plus I just haven't had anything to blog about. Hailey is out of school and there's nothing really going on right now. They've cut her hours back to just weekends at Moe's so she's just basically chillin at home while I work.
There are some upcoming events that look promising though:
Senior band members get fitted for their uniforms on July 8th.
Hailey has her Senior pictures made on July 9th (I'll be there probably snapping some pics of them snapping her pics).
Band camp starts on July 22nd and I will be there spying and listening as much as I can. They don't play when they first start because they always have to teach the Freshmen how to march. Hailey will be one of 4 section leaders for the clarinets. It's going to be a great year for band!
And, my BFF Melonee is having an adoption party on July 26th (she's adopting a foster child that she's had for quite some months). I will be taking my camera so I can blog the event.
We MIGHT be taking a short trip to the beach (we SO need it). This depends upon the above-mentioned overtime.
Hailey's Senior registration is August 4th.
Band pictures are on August 6th.
First day of school is August 11th.
My Birthday is August 16th.
The band will perform for the Tournament of Roses president on August 19th (he will be here all that week).
Homewood Patriot Football starts on August 29th!
Looking at all this I guess it's good we've got this little break where there is nothing going on. But I love the fall, when band and school and football start, it's so exciting and since this is Hailey's last year, I'm not going to miss a minute of any of it!
Here's some more very good news about our school system, of which I am so very, very proud!
Homewood High School was named one of the "top 1,300 U.S. high schools" by NEWSWEEK magazine.
To qualify for the list, public schools are ranked according to the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at the school in 2007 and is divided by the number of graduating seniors. Any school with a ratio of 1.000 or higher is placed on the NEWSWEEK website to indicate that the school had as many tests taken in 2007 as they had graduates.
Homewood High School was ranked 479 out of the 1,300 schools, a ranking that would place it in the top two percent of schools in the nation.
There were very few schools in our state that made this list.
Here's the article and the complete list.