Productivity

The weaving is 4" tall now. When it gets over 6 inches, I can 'turn back'
that means mirroring the pattern (as much as humanly possible!) so that it is symmetrical from top to bottom. I really like to work on it when a little bit of sunlight comes in across the workspace -- usually in the midmorning. It seems to me that in natural sunlight I can see things down to the tiniest of details, much better than in artificial lighting. I love to draw 'in a sunbeam' as well ;o)

Busy day today -- lots of things got done! The snow is almost all gone here. In other news - I'm getting things ready to reopen the KnitOwl and friends shop. I need to make and mail Alee's aliens!

Sharing some linkys:
Awesome t-shirt designs from Robert Mars. I love to do this kind of work as well in my art -- structural designs, analogies between structures, symbols and systems. Check him out!

Nooka watches - the strangest and most interesting product change I've seen in a while. You could be staring at one of these on someone's arm for a good while before getting up the courage to ask - "Excuse me, what is that thing? A Watch? Really? COOL! Err.. how do you read it?" Comes in several designs, for even more interesting confusion ;o)

Milly Molly Mandy printmaker's shop I saw when visiting Jhoanna's site - I love this one!
AlthaeaSoaps etsy shop - I love her Yuzu olive oil soap, it smells extremely yummy!

Dream Bag Weaving, old and new

The weaving for the dream bag is continuing along. Here it is compared with the old (and well-used) dream bag, that usually resides under my pillow, so as to lie just under my ear as I sleep.



So, what is in a dream bag? It would be different for every person. I put in special items that I feel are important. My items are symbols representing links to certain people, qualities and structures that are either important to who I am, or to what I am seeking to dream about. Some items stay in the bag for years, while others come in and out depending on the topics most important to me at the current time.

I think dreams are important, especially 'strong' dreams. When I have those 'pay attention - you're here IN this dream and things are happening around you in real-time' lucid-type dreams, I do pay attention - and see what they might be telling me. Sometimes I get an idea of what is important, or wrong, or needing attention in my waking life - that I have been forgetting or trying to avoid. I view the whole dream experience as a subconscious experiment - another way of gathering and sorting information with my subconscious. (For those of you who have read a little bit about my ink art - you will see this connection in their purpose, as well.) The dreams are rich in symbolism and often 'wacky' in their structure -- but usually upon waking I have a 'Oh Wow' moment - where I understand what my brain was saying and what I need to do with this information while I am awake.

So, do I really think this bag, or the things inside it, makes a difference? In other words, why do this? I think, at the very least, it helps make a focus point, putting things together in my mind just before I sleep that carry over, psychologically, into the 'dream world' of my subconscious. I have a very visual mind, as well, so making a visual symbol with attached meanings helps me personally, to carry over, better than simply thinking 'I want to dream about X.'

We Geek Out on French Toast (and Bacon)

We had a surprise this afternoon -- the water froze in the cold temperatures, and broke a pipe, so we were off to town to get the necessary parts. (Pictures of clouds from the drive back home)...




After the water was fixed, we geeked out on french toast. Neither of us could remember any exact recipe - or amounts... but we did remember the ingredients ;o) Eggs, milk, bread, butter... make the right mixture and it all fries up nicely into dinner! We only had one pan suitable for the french toast - the one we usually cook bacon in, so the bacon in these pictures is being oddly cooked in a saucepan -- but it worked... that's all that matters, right?


Mark stirs the pans while I snap some photos


The end result isn't particularily pretty to look at, but it was delicious with maple syrup!

Kelba and Puck's Snowy Day

We took Kelba and Puck down to the frog pond on a walk.
It was quite entertaining to watch them jump around together!




I really like the composition on this one.
It's a little fuzzy viewed large,
but I could see it as a painting or watercolour drawing.

Puck gets a 'snow-beard' almost every time
she goes outside lately ;o)

Project Spectrum Begins Again - Yay!

Mouse is Gray ;o)
and cute with a little bit of snow stuck to her head!

Oh Wow, I missed it yesterday, but Project Spectrum is beginning again! I was reminded by Jennifer's post!

There might not be as much knitting going on around here, for a while at least -- but we can definitely participate in the colour adventure of Project Spectrum ;o)

The colours for February are Blue, Gray and White. With our recent snowfall here, that shouldn't be too hard ;o)


Mouse prints in the snow - Mouse cat that is ;o)

Snow on the cedar tree branches


A little less fuzzy - later in the afternoon
The snow came again last night, leaving a new blanket over everything. A few flakes are still falling as I write this. The dogs are having lots of fun making mouthfuls of snowball and jumping around after each other in the wet drifts and banks. Mouse spends a lot of time sitting in the 'dry spot' outside and watching them - then asking to come in. I feel a little like the puppies - wanting to go outside and play in the snow ;o)

Still working on some computer programming -- and having some electronics to put up on Ebay later today. The purple weaving is progressing in the manner of about an inch per day -- which is pretty good, considering I am using embroidery thread as the purple and white! We had a laptop get a questionable error message yesterday and spent some time tracking and containing the problem - then getting it ready again for the user.

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The Geeky Girl Reads:
boundary layer of turbulence and fluid mechanics. Fourier transform, sinusoidal waves, Gaussian function.
Article: Physicists find way to 'see' extra dimensions.

~~The mathematics of string theory suggests that the world we know is not complete. In addition to our four familiar dimensions (three dimensional space and time) - string theory predicts the existence of six extra spatial dimensions, 'hidden dimensions' curled in tiny geometric shapes at every single point in our universe. ... Just as a shadow can give an idea of the shape of an object, the pattern of cosmic energy in the sky can give an indication of the shape of the other six dimensions present ... Starting with two different types of mathematically simple geometries, called warped throats, they calculated the predicted energy map that would be seen in the unvierse described by each shape. When they compared the two maps, they found small but significant differences between them. ... The results show that specific patterns of cosmic energy can hold clues to the geometry of the six-dimensional shape - the first type of observable data to demonstrate such promise.

Article: Localization of fields on a brane in six dimensions.
Article: Henry Tye and brane-worlds: Does our 3-D world hold six other dimensions?

The Snow has Hit

Today's weather warning reads: (Those of you from/in more Northern climates may get a giggle out of the last part) A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT. A SECOND ROUND OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WITH THIS SECOND WAVE OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

We've been listening to some radio traffice as well, and it sounds like people aren't handling the icy conditions well! *eek*

There is ice down at the lake

And bird tracks in the snow

Puck asks DeeDee to clean the snow off her moustache.

Making some progress on the purple weaving...