better late than never

I have a piece in the member show at the Berkeley Art Center Show. Come on by and check it out.

Lassen Decompression

cinder cone, originally uploaded by jennifer noland.

The trip to Mt. Lassen was great. That said we encountered so much that caused us to rethink our expectations and chosen path.

It was beautiful when we arrived, but by the time we got into bed it had become cold. The sprinkles began sometime in the night. By the time we woke up the cold had settled and the wet weather decided to stay. We persevered and went on our hikes anyway. Cinder Cone was crazy. A mile and a half of black sand out to the base and then sand and pebbles all the way up. One step forward and two steps back. It's a wonder anyone made it at all. It hailed most of the hike back. We returned to camp to puddles, rain and some sleet. One of the parents took all of the wet sleeping bags to the laundromat.

The next day cleared up and was beautiful, but cold. Hiked to Bumpass Hell, played Capture the Flag, and then dealt with a broken arm. The ranger/paramedic came and splinted her arm, then a parent drove her to the ER in Redding. The rest of the kids had s'mores and we tried to bring back some normalcy to the trip.



The next morning we packed up, had a picnic at a lake and headed home. Forgot to mention it was 28 degrees that morning. All in all, a very successful trip. And as the teacher put it last night in our parent meeting, it is a good start for the coming year, a year that will be filled with the change of puberty. We have an idea of what we're in for, but in the end we need to stay open for all possibilities, because really, who knows what's coming for sure?

Off to Mt. Lassen

My girl saw this while she was away at camp. She wrote about it in one of her letters, and I laughed, but didn't quite believe it until I saw the photo. Guess it gets hot out there.

We saw this the other day. What could they be talking about? Do they hang out regularly? Have deer always done this, or are these new behaviors? Maybe I'll find out on this week's camping trip.

Sketchbook Project: 2011

My sketchbook came a couple of weeks ago. My theme is, Science project gone wrong. I've been contemplating. There are a few ideas forming that I've been trying out. We'll see how it all ends up. I'm sure it will be somewhere completely different than I originally thought.

This is a great project that is put on by the Brooklyn Art Library. I encourage everyone to check it out and participate, if you dare.

the package is in the mail

I just mailed off my package for the Flirty Apron Swap 11. Besides the apron, I added buttons from the 50's, ribbon barrettes for the 80's and re-usable snack bags for the future. I used a tutorial from Amy at angry chicken. Everything is handmade except the buttons.
On a completely different subject, we discovered a beautiful hiking spot in Sonoma County, Foothill Regional Park. This park is the quintessential Northern California landscape. Rolling hills covered with golden grass and dotted with old oaks. The hiking is easy to moderate and average about 3 miles.

week #1

          

August 1, 2009, originally uploaded by jennifer noland.

My daughter went to sewing camp last week and finished two projects. A skirt with gathers, elastic, ribbon embellishments and a zipper. And an owl shirt with three elastic casings. Everything has finished seams. She went to the same camp last year and made pajama pants. 

This bag is for a friend's birthday. It was made from an Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing book. 
Swimming on Tuesday.
Owen got some new toys.

The Berkeley Kite Festival was last weekend. The sky fills with string and color. It's pretty amazing walking through, always looking up. 

Project 365 - the second time round, is off to a good start. This next year shows promise. 

Project 365 - Round Two

It's been a tough week at our house. Suki Enid Monroe passed away on Thursday. That's 2 cats in 6 months. Needless to say, we are sad. I personally wake with a feeling that I need to commit more fully to my goals, which I need to redetermine so it's easier to commit. 

In that vein, I've decided to do Project 365 again. When I finished my first 365 days, I felt a bit empty. The project was fun, irritating, daunting, satisfying, and on and on. It also kept my desire to create somewhat nourished, even when there was little time to do anything.

July 26, 2009 is a good day to start. Give me a few days, and then watch my progress.