{Studio Friday} Time

This week's topic for Friday June 30th suggested by Jo: TIME/TIMING.

"When we are in our studios. I find that I can't be in there
everyday. Particularly when I have just finished something I feel drained
and need a good break. I also find that there are only certain
times of the day where the juices get flowing. I'd be interested to
read/see what others think."
-Jo

When I am in my studio it seems as if time stands still. I need to be in there every day and most days I do spend atleast some time in there. I find that my days feel incomplete if I have not spent atleast a few moments creating something or adding to a project or atleast organizing in the studio.
Jo stated that she feels drained after she finishes a project and needs a good break. For me, I feel refreshed and a sort of peace when I finish a project. I would think that feeling drained would mean that the project was particularly stressful. I try to keep my studio stress-free because that's my haven from all life's other chaos.

I think we all have a 'creative time of day'. I know I do. I find that my creativity is at it's height between 9pm and 1am. I have always been a night owl and it's the time of day that my head and hands are really in cooperation with each other. Creating things at that time of the day for me is virtually effortless.
When is your creative time of day? How do you feel after completing a project? I'd love to know who else is a night owl and up creating when I am!

Opening a WW2 Museum

For the past 3 years or so, much of my free time has been spent researching, collecting information and organizing things to prepare to open a museum which focuses on the soldiers of World War Two. Our collection is huge. We visited the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and spent the day there. We have more WW2 stuff than they do, which surprised me greatly. We have been collecting, seriously, for years with the hopes of opening a museum and it's getting closer and closer. What I am working on now is researching grants to see what's available. I have found quite a few that I am going to apply for and that will be the next big leg of this project. I am not at all fond of paperwork. I don't mind researcing, digging, finding things but I HATE FILLING IN FORMS, DIGGING UP DOCUMENTATION TO PROVE WHO I AM, MONOTONOUS.... OVER and OVER again signing of my name, typing the same thing TIME AND TIME AGAIN! I am not looking forward to this leg of the project but I know that once it's OVER, I will get a nice grant with which to start the museum.

Doin' the crazy dance!!

I am going crazy. I am never home, but I NEED to be here to pack this friggin' place. We've been at our rental property upgrading and dealing with workmen for the past month, having to be there while they work, letting them in, signing for appliances, new floor, new sinks new everything. The place looked like the frat house from 'Animal House' when we reclaimed it from the tennant. He was a slob. I dunno WHY my Dad put up with him. The guy put holes in the walls and doors, he WROTE on the doors, everything was FILTHY, the cabinets were destroyed, thankfully it's hardwood throughout ( except the kitchen) because atleast all we had to do there was refinish it. We were there ALL day yesterday as they installed the new linoleum kitchen floor ( looks like pretty, fancy tile) and today as they delivered and installed the dishwasher, stove, range hood and refridgerator. Of course not all on the same truck so we were there from 11:30AM - 5PM... a whole day of sitting and waiting while all I wanted was to be HOME PACKING. I have a lot left still to do. yeah I've been packing for 2 months now but ya just don't understand. We have an ENTIRE museum to pack. By hand, just us 2. Piece by piece to catalog, wrap, pack.. etc.... what a friggin' time consuming pain in my ass.
I JUST got home tonight at 7:45 pm after a loooooooooong day. My girls are so good though, they really behaved well and are doing well with this chaos.
It feels weird that I actually have 5 minutes to sit here and check my email and write an entry to this blog. I haven't been able to for a few days. I need to go on my blog stroll and see how my buddies are doing. It's my way of checking in when I can't always check email ( I have over 1000 in my inbox from the past 5 days! *UGH*)
Off I go on my blog stroll. I'll try to blog again tomorrow with something a tad more interesting.

{Studio Friday} -

This week's topic for Friday June 23rd suggested by Ellen: FAMILY.
"....What family treasures might be found in others' studios?"
~ Ellen

Good Morning Studio Friday participants!!!!
What a great topic! Unfortunately I can't show you anything right now since it's all PACKED because we're moving!
I have a lot of sentimental things in my studio that my grandmother(paternal)gave to me. She gave me her collection of Laura Ingalls Wilder books, she has given me photographs of HER Great-Grandfather and lots of other things that to most, may hold no value, but to me are absolutely priceless.
I have a stained glass piece with 3 daffodils that my mother made for me (she is a stained glass artist) and that hangs proudly in my studio window throwing splashes of yellows and greens around when the sun hits it just right. It's lovely!
Also, decorating a spot on the walls in my studio, are 2 pieces of antique Bedouin jewelry that I got while shopping with my mother in law when we were on holiday in Israel in 1997. These arent heirlooms but they mean a lot to me since that was time shared with my inlaws.
I hope that a similar topic is brought up again after we're moved and unpacked and settled! I wish I could show you my lovely treasures instead of just talking about them!!
Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!!

Still packing....

I've come to the conclusion that even though you maybe looking forward to something, the process of getting there can still be stressful (even if it's subconsciously). I am, VERY MUCH, looking forward to moving. I am actually enjoying the packing and organizing and house preparations. It's nice to see things starting to LOOK like we're moving and it's encouraging to know that we'll have our house on the market soon. Here comes the stressful part. I think I'm stressed. I don't know exactly what's stressing me out, but something is. I find that my patience is shorter than usual, (a 2cm fuse instead of my normal 3 cm fuse! HAHAH!!) my sleep isn't restful and that's weird because usually I'm a good sleeper. I've been up at 4AM almost every morning lately with a racing mind. I don't even know what my mind is racing about. It's all subconscious and when I wake up at 4AM all that racing stops so I can't even remember what it was that I was dreaming or thinking about. I do, however, think it's moving related. While all the preparations and stuff doesn't seem stressful I think the fact that we don't know where we're going IS stressful. We have a general area in mind but not one pinpoint spot. We know what type of home and property we want but in all reality, we have to wait until we gett his house on the market and SELL it before we can actually BUY something else. My hubby starts his new job IN PA on July 10th and I don't know what point we'll be at with all this moving stuff by then. It's less than a month away and we have some major things to accomplish here before we can even put this house on the market. I am rambling, yes.... I know. On top of all of that, we're actually selling 2 properties at the same time so our time is spread out between the 2 places setting up appointments for workmen to come do their thing and then having to be 2 places at once, which is pretty impossible, I've found. All I can say is that I will be VERY glad once it's all done and we're settled wherever the heck it is we're going!!! I know I have a LOT of neat thoughts and photos and stuff to scrapbook about this so-called journey and I look forward to sitting down with my friends at a scrapbooking crop and scrapping it all!

For the love of technology

I sat, typing out a blog entry. It didn't take long, it was just that I was in the zone. Every word precise as I typed, hardly any backspacing for typos. It was great. Have you ever just known that what you typed was exactly what you wanted express and it was written exactly as you had thought it out? Well I had one such blogging session.
I've learned my less on in the past, I always save as I go along. But I was writing so quickly and the entry took less than 3 minutes to type so I don't think I even paused once. Needless to say, I didn't save. I got screwed by blogger. I clicked to post entry and the page said "temporary error". I hit the back button on the top of the browser window and it was the same... "temporary error". My blog entry masterpiece is gone forever. I am pissed at myself, pissed at blogger and just pissed at technology. I think, even though I've LEARNED my lesson with this before, that I just let it slip my mind and good old technology smacked my hand, once again.
People....... save your stuff as you go along. Technology is just sitting there waiting to smack your hands too. *sigh*

Hangin' out with YaYa

We spent the day of June 11th hanging out with my mom. We took a nice road trip to "Trailside Nature Museum". When I was little I used to go there quite often. When we walked into the Nature Musueum I was pretty surprised to see the same displays as when I was a kid. My mom commented that they were the same displays from when SHE was a kid too! This display of a stuffed Bobcat has been here since my mom was little.
The girls weren't too interested in the taxidermy animals. I think the place needs a bit of updating (and they seem to be doing a little...very little) Anyway.... it's a very nice, small place and perfect for kids with short attention spans. My girls were especially interested in the rock and mineral displays. They glowed under black light!
They have a nice area in the lobby area of the museum. It has a small aquatic display of local (and not so local) aquatic animals. All are living. Here are some Turtles that look very familiar to us! (We have 2 of these Red Eared Sliders!)
There's a fun computer program for the kids to play with. You can make your own bird! She made this bird. It has a Woodpecker's head, a duck's body and Eagle's Talons. Very odd bird, indeed!

We spent the rest of the day playing out on the playground with Yaya and walking arond Surprise Lake! We had GORGEOUS weather and the girls had a blast exploring the trails and the water's edge!

{Studio Friday}

This week's topic for Friday June 16th suggested by Pamela: "A-HA MOMENT"


An "A-HA!" moment for me was when I realized that I had learned to print rub-ons (SUCCESSFULLY) on a transparency.

YOU can make YOUR own rub-ons too!
By Gabi Rosen (me!) of Time To Scrap

Rub-ons have become so popular! They are an easy way to give a scrapbooking page or handmade card a custom appearance. I love using them across layers of cardstock. You can't use your printer for multiple matted layers but you can get a good, crisp look with the rub-ons! The alphabets, words and phrases arethe most popular but they don't always have that perfect font, word or sayingthat fits your needs. I am going to show you how to make your own rub ons, andat the same time maybe save you a dollar or two by using supplies you mayalready have!

What you need:

8 1/2 X 11 transparency sheet (glossy page protectors work too) popsicle stick computer & printer

1. Create your word, phrase or image in a word processing program.

2. When you put the transparency or page protector into your printer, be sure that the ink will be printed on the shiny side (If you're using a glossy page protector, either side will work).

3 .Set the print properties on your printer so your document prints as a "mirror image" of itself. You may have to flip your image in your word processing program or photo editing to achieve this result.

4. Print out on "best" quality. This will ensure that a thicker amount of ink will be printed onto the shiny surface so that you can transfer it to your paper.

5. Let it dry. DO NOT TOUCH IT! Let the ink dry for at least 15 minutes. (I highly recommend waiting 20-30 minutes)

6. Once you are sure the ink is dry, lay your rub-on over the intended areawith the printed side facing the paper. Hold firmly onto the transparency and use the end of the popsicle stick to rub over the entire rub-on text. YourRub-on will be transferred to the paper! That's it! You're finished!

16th Annual WW2 Weekend at Mid Atlantic Air Museum

The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum has honored the veterans of WW2 for the past 16 years by hosting an annual display of vintage WW2 memorbelia, reenactors, vintage vehicles, aircraft and lots of entertainment. We have been attending the event for 3 years. It's the most anticipated event for WW2 reenactors. It's HUGE. The set up is amazing. There's a Pacific area and also an European area. Almost all countries that were part of WW2 are represented here.
This was our 'home base' this weekend. This display was set up by Larry, Wendy & Fred. It's a blood donation center with a field aid station attached. Wendy contributed her WW2 Messenger Pigeon display.

My husband portrays a 101st Airborne Field Surgeon.

While out in French Village, he came upon a soldier wounded in the recent battle. The Germans have just taken over this quaint French Village, they'd better bandage up and get the heck out of there!!!

While back at our the aid station, we were visited by General Douglas MacArthur!

We had such a great time speaking with actual WW2 Veterans. It's such a rewarding feeling when they walk by and stop and comment on our display or our set up or our uniforms. These 2 guys were a RIOT!!! They were so much fun! Clarence and John; Best friends for more than 60 years, pictured below, stopped by to tell us of their War-Time experiences. Clarence (dark blue jacket) is SUCH a comedian!! We thoroughly enjoyed their visit and hope to see them again soon!

There are lots of guest speakers and appearances at these events. Most of them are by WW2 vets who served in the war and have a story to tell. The hangar is filled with booths where the vets are giving autographs, selling books or photos, posters or prints. We met the Tuskeegee Airmen, Shifty Powers from the 101st Airborne Easy Company. We were also fortunate enough to meet WW2 photographer, Frank Errigo, who was one of the very 1st to photograph WW2 in COLOUR. For eleven months in 1943 and 1944, Errigo led a color photographic team in combat from Algiers to Rome. Here's Frank with my hubby:

This year I was excited to see, on the guest list, The GUNNY! R. Lee. Ermey! I absolutely LOVE this guy! He is probably most famous for his drill sergeant portrayal in the film, "Full Metal Jacket" but also is the star of a show on the History Channel called, "Mail Call" I can't say enough good stuff about him. He was scheduled for Saturday to do meet and greets with the public and sign autographs. He not only stayed for ALL of Saturday but he realized that there were SO MANY people at the event who wanted to meet him that he stayed SUNDAY as well. He stayed well after the event was over to sign autographs and also meet us, the event reenactors. He is such a genuine, down to earth guy. He stayed and hung out for a while with the Civil Air Patrol kids (who worked their BUTTS OFF at the event doing security & parking detail. Of course, I couldn't let an opportunity to meet the "GUNNY" pass me by!

That's me above, with "The Gunny" himself. I am dressed as a field nurse. I am all dissheveled and a mess but I didn't care. Thanks, Gunny! You sure made a LOT of reenactors happy this past weekend!

Today is the 62nd Anniversary of D-Day

Go the extra mile today and thank a WW2 Vet.

"The Allied invasion of the European continent through Normandy began about 12:15 on June 6, 1944 (D-day). The plan, known as Operation Overlord, had been prepared since 1943; supreme command over its execution was entrusted to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. In May, 1944, tactical bombing was begun in order to destroy German communications in N France. Just after midnight on June 6, British and American airborne forces landed behind the German coastal fortifications known as the Atlantic Wall. They were followed after daybreak by the seaborne troops of the U.S. 1st Army and British 2d Army. Field Marshal B. L. Montgomery was in command of the Allied land forces. Some 4,000 transports, 800 warships, and innumerable small craft, under Admiral Sir B. H. Ramsay, supported the invasion, and more than 11,000 aircraft, under Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, formed a protective umbrella. While naval guns and Allied bombers assaulted the beach fortifications, the men swarmed ashore. At the base of the Cotentin peninsula the U.S. forces established two beachheads–Utah Beach, W of the Vire River, and Omaha Beach, E of the Vire, the scene of the fiercest fighting. British troops, who had landed near Bayeux on three beaches called Gold, Juno, and Sword, advanced quickly but were stopped before Caen. On June 12 the fusion of the Allied beachheads was complete. The German commander, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, found that Allied air strength prevented use of his reserves. U.S. forces under Gen. Omar N. Bradley cut off the Cotentin peninsula (June 18), and Cherbourg surrendered on June 27. The Americans then swung south. After difficult fighting in easily defendable "hedgerow" country they captured (July 18) the vital communications center of Saint-Lô, cutting off the German force under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The U.S. 3d Army under Gen. George S. Patton was thrown into the battle and broke through the German left flank at Avranches. Patton raced into Brittany and S to the Loire, swinging east to outflank Paris. A German attempt to cut the U.S. forces in two at Avranches was foiled (Aug. 7—11). The British had taken Caen on July 9, but they were again halted by a massive German tank concentration. They resumed their offensive in August and captured Falaise on Aug. 16. Between them and the U.S. forces driving north from Argentan the major part of the German 7th Army was caught in the "Falaise pocket" and was wiped out by Aug. 23, opening the way for the Allies to overrun N France."
(Columbia University Press)

Remembering D-Day

I am not home this weekend. My husband and I are at a World War 2 Weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania. This weekend is a HUGE, HUGE event and people attend from all over the world. Here's the link. It is worth looking at if you are even the slightest bit interested in WW2 History or the 1940's.
I brought my laptop and to my surprise, this hotel has FREE HIGH SPEED WIRELESS INTERNET!! We're still on dial-up 56K modem at home ( yeah... we're behind the times, I know!)This is amazing!!!! I'll have photos to upload tomorrow. It's absolutely POURING here with MAJOR flooding. This weekend's events will happen, rain or shine so yes, even though tomorrow will be the same torrential rain and thunderstorms, we're die-hard reenactors and we'll be there amidst the other muddy reenactors and spectators. I'll update with photos on Saturday night!