Challenge #32-"Zentangle for Everyone"

"Challenge 32-Zentangle for Everyone"

My Companion Haiku

"Everyone Tangles!

Baton, Pais, Keenes, Zedbra...

Thanks to Carol Ohl!!

This week, a very talented Zentangle artist, Carol Ohl, gave the challenge to use four different "tangles" which are listed in my Haike!  I love the names given to the differnts tangles...I have no idea what many of them mean but I am sure the creators know!  The interesting names sure play havoc with my spell check!!!

Carol lives in Ohio and posted that a restaurant near her likes to display local art.  She was asked to display Zentangles, and rather than do just her own, she has asked challenge participants to send her this week's tiles to put on display.  So I guess I will mail mine off...very generous of her to want to share the fame!!!!

Be sure to check out her blog by clicking on her name!

A Very "Exciting" Day!!!!

We are doggie sitting this week...Sadie is a very skittish dog.  Rain and thunder turn her into a quivering mass...not that rain is a problem with this trip!  She sticks very close to us..this morning we were on the back porch, having our morning coffee and doing our crossword puzzles...a retirement tradition!!  Sadie was lying close by when suddenly  she took off across the yard to the back of the garage....most she has moved in five days!  We assumed she saw a rabbit.  She returned, empty-handed thank goodness!!!!

She sat there on the porch, nose twitching, at the alert!  Then she took off again towards our huge live oak tree...one of those with the branches dragging the ground.  We saw an animal, definitely not a rabbit!  As we looked, we suddenly realized it was a skunk!!!!!  We quickly called Sadie...good dog...came right to us!  We got her inside and watched as this big ol' skunk moseyed across the yard and into the lot next to us....out of sight!  What kept that critter from spraying Sadie, I do not know...except she did not bark at all...just ran at it!!!

Our second "thrill" for the day occurred as I was fixing dinner....I try to use my little toaster oven on these hot summer days rather than heat up the house with the large oven.  I was baking a couple of potatoes...15 minutes at a time.  I had taken the pan out to poke them and had put them back in for their third timing.  While sitting at the table watching the news, I began to smell something burning....sure enough...the whole inside of the oven was ablaze!!!  I grabbed the potatoes out and closed the little door  so the flames would smother....which they did.   What was burning and smelled OH SO awful, was a hot pad which must have stuck to the bottom of the pan when I had been checking on them.  So much for trying to keep the house cool!!!  Not only did that not happen but we ended up with a very stinky house! (Our day for smells!!!) The potatoes were OK...we set the oven outside to cool (something to look forward to in the morning to clean) and microwaved the other stuff I was going to bake!!!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a lot more boring...I really like boring!!!!!!

Hot! Hot! HOT!

Did I mention it is hot???  7:30 PM Texas time and it is still nearly 103 by our thermometer!  We are so dry; everything is really burning up...my big fear is some smoking fool will toss a cigarette out a vehicle window and poof!  There we go!!!!

We are up at 6:30AM...take our morning walk...come home and I am in the house for the remainder of the day with the air conditioning on for the rest of the day!  I would not have made a very good pioneer!!  Although I am pretty sure I lived in Texas long ago in another life...so maybe I was tougher then!

While staying in and trying to keep cool, I have gotten quite a bit of reading and sewing done.   One book I just finished and really enjoyed was Walter Mosley's "The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey".  I have read some of Mosley's  light mysteries with Easy Rawlins and they are entertaining, but this book is much deeper...has wonderful, memorable characters,  and what a descriptive and yet comfortable style he has in his writing.

Another book I have just finished is "Deep South" by Nevada Barr.  She has written many books about her character Anna (I am drawing a blank on the last name) who is a Park Ranger.  Anna is always stationed at a different park and has a mystery/murder to solve!!  I enjoy Barr's style...again just good, wholesome light reading but hard to put down!

My Quilt "Aurora Borealis" for the guild challenge...not quite finished!

My studioQ group met Monday...as always, had a great time...mucho laughing.  We are getting ready to have our own display at the guild quilt show in September.  Last meeting I had shown how to do a few zentangles, and now most are as addicted as I am so we are each making one for a collage to display as well as many of our artistic endeavors!!!  Here are a few of our "show and tell" items.

Sue's Batik Challenge

Bethany's scarf made from scrap yarn, thread etc

Kay's fabric Zentangle heart

Our first Zentangle collage attempt

Tragedy in Norway

The number at the top of the Memorial represents the time of the tragedy.  

Oklahoma City Memorial

I follow a blog by "Quiltefia" who is from Oslo, Norway and today after reading about the tragedy in Norway, I wanted to send a message of condolences.  But I was unable to post in her "comments" section, so I am hoping she will see this blog and know I am thinking of her and all those who suffered such a horrible event!  The newspaper suggested this would be like our tragedy at Oklahoma City, rather than the World Trade Center so that is why I am posting a few pictures of the Memorial there.

Zentangle Challenge #31-"Fairyland"

This week's challenge was given to us by Carol Bailey Floyd who is a CZT artist you can see in many of the Zentangle instruction books.  Her current blog tells of her most recent ventures.  Her challenge is entitled "Fairyland".

                           

Zentangle Challenge # 31.."Fairyland"

One of my "followers" (my SNL) has challenged me to take my postings up a notch  and suggested I write a haiku to go with each Zentangle Challenge...Never one to back away from a challenge...here is my first...

"Fairies, fantasies
Never too old to dream.  Come!
Play in my garden."

Besides accepting a new challenge...we attended our grandson's swimmeet at which he was wonderful!!!  He and his sister have been swimming since they were about a year old and are both terrific!  Their dad, my SNL, was and still is a competitive swimmer...such a great life long sport for them.

My favorite grandson at a meet.

And in between events, we read!

Other "exciting" events this week have been, getting a new pump in our well...not much fun!  And getting  a new area rug delivered.  We had a couch reupholstered a few months ago, and wouldn't you know, the old rug just didn't look very good any more...so had to get a new one.  Now I am thinking the walls could stand a new coat of paint...and thus it begins...voila...eventually a "new" house!!!

Zentangle Challenge #30-String Theory V:Initialize

 This week our challenge came from a very talented lady...Christina Vandervlist.  She is a CZT who is the host artist for this week.  When I first saw the challenge...I thought "cool, I can get this done in no time and not be last!"   Then I got busy and kind of didn't get it finished until this morning!!

Challenge #30-Initialize

And this challenge was to take your first and last initials and create a ZTA with tangles of your choice.

A couple things that got in my way this week were guild meetings...This month our guest speaker was Carol Morrissey.  She does beautiful art quilts with wonderful color and stitching...very enjoyable meeting.


Another thing that has been keeping me busy is working on my entries for our quilt show which will be the end of September, but we were to get our entry applications in by the end of this month.  Fortunately, we don't have to have them finished until showtime, but have to have enough done to include an identifiable picture with our applications!


And then we did have our monthly poker meet with our "Poker Pals"!  Last month my hub and I both won!  This month...not to be...but still had a hilarious time.  They say laughter is the best medicine so we six must be very healthy!!!

Zentangle Challenge #29-String Theory #29: "Creative Genesis"

     Once again, I will probably be the last entry for the week...I purposely don't look at any of the other entries until I have mine to post so I won't be overly influenced!!!  This week the diva challenged us with an idea from a CZT-Sue Jacobs.  If you look at the diva's blog you can see process behind this challenge.

Picture of my string before adding the zentangles.

Challenge #29: String Theory IV: Creative Genesis

The "string" was created by using a Chinese button and a rather thick piece of dark blue yarn.  After I took a picture of it and downloaded it to my computer, I printed it out on card stock.  I was taken by the play of shadow on the paper...so I actually  used the string itself as part of my design. 

 

Happy Birthday, America!

The Orchestra getting set up.

Fireworks at the Botanical Gardens for 4th of July

Last night we attended the concert and fireworks show at the Botanical Gardens with family and friends...13 of us in all.  We had our traditional picnic: fried chicken, potato and pasta salads, chips, veggies, fruit salad, three kinds of cookies, etc!!!!  So much food, so little time!! Although yesterday was another  scorcher...over 100 again...we had a great time!  By the time we got settled, the temp was mid 90's and very pleasant by sundown.  Ah, the joys of living in Texas!!

We celebrated on the 3rd because many family members have to work tomorrow..Tuesday.  And the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has concerts on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with fireworks each night.  It is a great family event...a particular moving moment is when they play each military theme song and ask current and veteran members to stand....always brings a thrill to my heart and a tear to my eye!!

So this evening we will spend a quiet night at home and watch the National Concert on PBS!!!  And there is a burn ban on here because of the drought so by staying home, we can keep an eye on our house in case some fool out there decides to ignore the ban and sets off some fireworks!!  The organized fireworks are well manned by firefighters but out here in the boondocks, we never know how crazy the celebration might get!!!

Zentangle Challenge #28-Tripoli

My second one: Tripoli...Incognito

My first one: Tripoli Tendrils

This week I did two of the challenges...my first one (Tripoli Tendrils) got a little busy and too heavy to be a favorite of mine.  So last night while watching a rather interesting movie "The Burning Plain", I did a second one (Tripoli Incognito) and I think I like it much better, but I will post both.

The movie was very intriguing...after getting into it..The first twenty or so minutes we thought..."This is way too confusing".  But after sticking with it and paying attention to some subtle hints, it developed an interesting plot. Good cast with Charlene Therzon and Kim Basinger!  Thumbs up!