Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! Can you believe 2008 only has two months left in it? Wow! Update on Cross Country - the team finished 8th! Only the top 6 teams advanced to State. I took it pretty hard, but Cookie was okay. She is already looking forward to next year.

So soccer and cross are over for this year. Whit broke her own single-season scoring record of 11 goals last year with 13 this year. Basketball started right away. Whit is JV and Varsity; Court is on the freshman team and will probably play some JV, too.

This week has been extremely quiet for us. I think I've cooked dinner five nights this week. I've had time to make stuff -to craft, I guess. I made these 4 little dolls Sunday. The one with the orange skirt is my favorite. I started these in August with the order for the stamps I used for the faces from Invoke Arts. The stamps were Lost In The Mail, so it took a long time to get them. Then I couldn't find an ink pad I liked to stamp with and then I was at the soccer field or cross country course. But I finally made them. After I finished these I decided to make more. Fifity more to be exact. I love doing mindless production type work. Stamp 50 faces. Colored pencil 50 faces. Cut out 50 bodies. Glue stick 50 faces. Sew 10 faces. Sew 10 bodies. Turn 10 bodies. Stuff 10 bodies. Close 10 bodies. Stitch 10 sets of legs. Make 10 skirts. Do 10 hairdos. Decorate 10 bodices. Make 10 sets of wire arms. Glue feet and dip in glitter for shoes. Repeat. What am I going to do with them? I don't know yet. I have a thirst to make A LOT of things...like makeup work for all the weeks this fall when I didn't so much as run the vacuum, much less make stuff.

The face stamp is from www.invokearts.com

Is it proper?

To give you a link to a favorable review of a Certain Book?

http://www.craftypod.com/?p=593

Would two links be pushing it?

http://craftlit.blogspot.com/2008/10/episode-one-hundred-eleven-jo-jo.html

Great Big Thanks to Diane and Heather!

A bad photo of a cute witchy paper doll. My scanner is not working and I cannot figure out why, being a nontechnology person. It's not that I don't understand machines or that I fear they are taking over or that I worry about my carbon footprint - I just don't like the darn things. I much prefer Real Human People...and dolls.

I'm going to need your help.

Normally, I do not ask for help in the task of Worry; that's part of my thing -all worry, all the time, all by myself - but THIS is different.
Courtney's cross country team has advanced to the semi-state meet this Saturday, October 25 at 10:30 am. Only the top 6 teams from each semi will advance to the State Finals. Cookie is the first member of our families to advance to a semi-state in any sport. She is only a freshman and full of self-doubt. Her foot is bothering her, too. It gets numb during races. Sometimes after a mile, sometimes after two or three. It's a problem, running with a concrete block for a foot.
All the girls are nervous, but the coach - who is AWESOME - is optimistic. So, dear readers, I would be more than appreciative of any prayer or positive thought you could send our way:
- for courage and confidence
- for speed
- for Mr. Foot to stay awake
- for a safe, pain free race for all the girls
- no regrets, leaving it all on the course
- for STATE
I know some of you are moms and can relate to worrying about our kids and wanting SO BADLY for them to do well, so I thank you in advance.

The thing about the Companion is on the ME website. The publisher has fallen on hard times and is discontinuing the magazine. There goes one of my life goals. Oh well, there's still MARTHA.

just found out...

The Companion is going away! The Nov/Dec ish will be the last MEHC.

Lose Give Bitter Sweet

Daily art seems a silly thing to me this week. Who cares? Not me. Not really.

Last Saturday we lost a very dear friend, Henry Wong. He was only 46. Henry was born in Hong Kong, came here when he was eleven and became American. Henry was a patriot; more so than many who are born here. He and his family embraced the freedoms and opportunities of this country. Henry was a chemical engineer for the Navy.

Kam Hung "Henry" Wong and Sai Hui "Sarah" Wong would have celebrated their 20th anniversary in February. Sarah spoke beautifully at the service. She told us how Henry had taught her English, taught her the restaurant business, bought her first car, brought her entire family here from China... she said they had spent nineteen years learning each other.

Henry and Sarah have two kids - Ashley who is Courtney's age and Alexander who is 11. That's how we met Henry - through our kids playing soccer. Years back, JR and Henry coached against each other, but lately, Henry has been JR's assistant. JR is the offensive specialist; Henry was the mastermind of the defense. We also know them from their restaurant - Empress Court.

It doesn't make any sense to me. Making little things seems futile.

At Henry's funeral, his brother Howard got up at the end and explained a couple of things to us about a Chinese funeral. As we passed by the casket, we were to each bow three times to show respect. On the way out, we were to take an envelope from a basket. Inside the envelope was a dime and a piece of candy. The family had suffered a terrible loss; to balance it, they had to give away money. The bitterness of the loss would be balanced by the sweet candy.

Lose Give Bitter Sweet

The RZ Book

I had to go to the optometrist Wedesday so I had a bit of time to myself. Nevermind that my eyes were dilated for most of it. That's no excuse not to make art. I watched the Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo Tuesday night and I could not get all those outrageous things that girl says out of my head, so I gave myself a one-day challenge to make a Rachel Zoe book. One day. Not all 24 hours, of course. I started by making a white accordion book form watercolor paper - cheap watercolor paper. The content began with the numbers - she said at one point in the show that she had purchased 3 leopard coats in one day - WHO does that? She talked about her love for the 60s and 70s. She wears those giant sunglasses. Why the pink and purple color theme? In about 1973, my favorite colors were pink and purple. I remember coloring whole sheets of paper in pink and purple stripes.

This is not an important piece of art. It was only a little exercise. Harmless, but did I get anything out of it? I don't know. I think the tiny clothes in it are kinda cool.