Project 52 Week 16 Our Own Pandemic Outbreak

Everyone is sick at my house.

And I do mean everyone.

Jack and Cat Curio Makes Me Crazy

Every work day at lunch, I visit my favorite blogs while I eat. I catch up with my family. Then I go and drive myself totally crazy and visit Jack and Cat Curio. Today, I was delighted to see Mr. Jack has added me to his blog roll. So now I must confess how I really feel about this....

See Mr. Jack, you drive me crazy... here I am stranded in the middle of artistic nowhere farmland, with no craft stores within hundreds of miles, no access to that group vibe that happens on "art day" with a group of friends and inspires you all to greater creativity, and worst of all..... my sister is your neighbor (so to speak) and actually gets to go to your classes!

You tweak my artistic nerves and make me restless. You stir up such a sense of longing to make something for the sheer joy of the process, that I can barely stand it. Just the thought of warm pots of beeswax ( or whatever it is you'd melt it in) almost makes me want to weep. And I keep coming back for more.

Thank you for letting me not forget that art is the journey.....no matter how your journey twists and turns, art exists as a state of mind. Art is.

Creepy or Cute: Your Call

I work for an animal supply company. I spend my days writing and thinking about pets and their well being. It's not completely unheard of to be engrosed in my work and suddenly be brought back to life by something furry brushing against my leg or a slobbery face poking at my knee. It's a great way to spend the day.

That was at least, until these guys showed up. 

I don't know if they are going to be window props or actually for sale or just lined up along the entry way to see who'll be the first to actually throw a ball toward them. It could happen.  Actually, they're meant to be topiary forms and are densly packed sphagnum moss and wire. I can kind of envision them covered in ivy or trailing petunias. Almost. Sort of.

 Truthfully, they make me think of the Shining. 

And then there's the rabbit...whom one of my coworkers suspects of steroid abuse.  So, I leave it to you; cute or creepy? 

Digital Hybrid Scrapbook Project - Big Brother

My boss welcomed a new son to her family Friday. She and her husband already have one unbelievably cute little boy, who is about to turn 5. I got the idea as I was picking up a baby card for them, that the new big brother needed something too. Surely,  I thought , Hallmark has thought of new siblings. 

Apparently they haven't. 

So I created my own card.  Searching for a theme, I came across this really cute digital scrapbook kit, Blastoff. If you like it, you'd better hurry and get it, right now until 04/07 its a blog train freebie. 

The inside of the card, has the cutest little space dude and pals. It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but the banner he's holding says "Out of this World." 

I really wasn't thinking space when I started this, but one look at the astronaut  and I was hooked. The new big brother is also a red head. A match made in heaven, right? 

Hear the Train A Comin

There was a little delay in getting home this evening. Seems like the Union Pacific had their own adgenda and it didn't include my plans at all. I cross this piece of track twice a day, rarely am I stopped by the train. A couple of the cars behind me seem to be impatient, edging closer, trying to get a glimpse of the caboose. They didn't have much luck. This was one of the hundred long coal trains that are an every day occurance here. I don't mind at all. Waiting on the train reminds me to remember, to slow down and savor the stories of the past.



All the small towns in this area grew to prosperity and dwindled into shadows of themselves at the dictate of the railroad. Populations grew to provide the workers and services needed by major railroad round houses in Wymore and Fairbury. Even little Odell (above, pop 300 give or take) owes its location to the train. Years ago, Odell use to be located nearby but because of a change in the tracks demanded by the railroad, the entire town just picked up, buildings, kids, dogs, the works and moved to their current location.

When the glamour of railroads began to fade away, so too did the small towns. They didn't totally dissappear but they changed. The older folks have memories of busier days, prosperous downtowns and honky tonk nights. Somehow I doubt my own stories of past days will provide nearly the texture of these small towns. Suburbia, automobiles, fast food, television and life before the world wide web just doesn't seem to have the same texture.