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Big Things are Happening

7/5/2024

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I missed writing in June, sorry about that. 
Here's a recap of the month - 
  • The grief hit me really hard last month and so I spent a lot of time just sitting, missing Erich and crying.
  • Other times I spent on the cleaning/purging/reorganization of Erich workshop which is now done. 
  • I went to the Tobin Center to see a lecture by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, my second time, and treated myself to a nice dinner beforehand. I paid extra to attend the after Q&A session; there were some very good questions and of course answers too.
  • I took the quilt I made in May to the quilter and got it back; it's now on the couch to snuggle under while watching TV. Then I made another quilt which is now at the quilter. I have been collecting Asian themed fabric for 20 years and I thought that since I need a new quilt for my bed why not use ALL the fabrics. I went with a scrappy pattern called Turning 20 which uses 20 fat quarters but I had not only fat quarters but YARDS so I used fabric from all of it and ended up with a King sized quilt.  See the pictures below 

Now I cleaning my studio which has been sitting idle since the start of the pandemic. It's important this get done NOW - see the news below.  Before and after pictures will be posted when it's done. 

Now for the big news. 
I am now in the Class of 2028 at Texas State University - San Marcos.
I am going back to school to get a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Art with an emphasis in Metals.

I investigated this when we moved here, for when I retired, but of course some much has happened over the past year it just got delayed. I started to pursue it at the beginning of the year -I I filled out the application, I wrote 2 of the 3 optional essays, and then had my H.S., B.S., and M.S. transcripts sent in. Then there was a delay because the M.S. transcript never arrived and I had to have it sent again with verification of receipt.  Three weeks later I received the email that I had been accepted (now you can understand why I am getting the studio in order).

I will be a 3/4 part-time student with 3 classes in the Fall/Spring semesters and 2 classes in the Summer so I can still finish in 4 years but have more free time to take care of me, my hobbies, and the house.  

​I start classes at the end of August. 
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There Goes another Month

10/31/2022

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AWhere did October go?
I completed another enhancement to the Tooling Tracker and then took a long break. The shop elf and I started to binge watch some spy/mystery/action movies and series on Amazon:
  • ​Jack Ryan - movie and Amazon series
  • The Terminal List - Amazon series
  • Jason Bourne - all movies
  • Reacher - Amazon series (not the movies)

I rested and read 4 books in less than 4 weeks.

​AND I to played in the studio again. I have been slowly acquiring tools to use with the hydraulic press (thus the diversion with making the Tooling Tracker) and I spend some of each day making sample pressings of the various impression dies and texture samples using the rolling mill, of the texture plates and practiced making some small dishes with texture and impressions to learn how best to do that. Along the way I also semi-disassembled the rolling mill to clean and recalibrate it.

​ I am not done as I have to make some boxes, cups and dishes with texture and impressions.
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Trip to Mesa Arizon

3/14/2020

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Last weekend I went to Mesa for a workshop on Patinas. I spent most of it in the studio working but here are some photos of what else I saw; the metal vessels are by David, who taught the workshop. 

Bunny Bravehart came along, of course, but spent most of the time in his pocket so he would not get burned.

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Weekend in Arroyo Grande, California

9/6/2016

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I spent the 3 days of the Labor Day weekend, in Arroyo Grande, California which is part way up the central coast.  I went to teach a private workshop but I returned with wonderful memories and a new friend.   To see what I taught in the workshop, go over to the Adventurous Silversmith blog and read about it.

And no, Bunny Braveheart did not come along as he decided to stay home and keep Boots and Erich company while I was gone

For your enjoyment, here are pictures of Jan's metal art and some of the surrounding area. 
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Tired

3/20/2015

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I am a bit tired these days. 

Between the day job and the silversmithing (FB group, teaching, making, writing blogs...), it is like having TWO jobs. NO - it IS two jobs

It does not help that the day job has become hectic again. Not only am I fixing bugs but I am rewriting 5 modules that I have taken over; I am the Git lead so I am answering questions from other developers on other projects; and all of us are discussing and figuring out how to add some new functionality to the app - some of which has to be integrated back into the already released modules.  

Today I am having lunch with a friend and we will both do a bit of griping about work and I plan on resting this weekend.  

Hopefully next week will be less stressful and I can get back into my groove.
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Bunny Braveharts New York City Adventure

11/19/2013

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The bunny has been in NYC and making lots of friends. He has been to the MET, the Natural History Museum, and has ridden the subway and the ferry to DUMBO.
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Post Text Road Trip Overload

8/4/2013

 
Since returning from THE TEXAS ROAD TRIP I been very busy both at work and at home.

In the arena of software development technologies I have been a bit behind the curve in keeping up and that is partly due the projects I was on at work - the were so big and so complex that as technology moved forward the project did not adopt is because it would have taken too much money and too much time to go back and re-architect and re-write the whole thing. I am also to blame as I could have also been learning it on my own but with all the other hobbies I do something had to give and that was it.  Now that I am on a new project at work, I am getting back up to speed on the tech track. I am now learning MVC (Model-View-Controller) and before my trip I was able to spend a good solid month learning the basics and work on the new project at the same time.  This past week we had an on-site training class in MVC for developers on base who are now using it or WILL BE using it. Out of 15 students one has been into MVC for about 6 months, then there is me and my one month and two other developers who have just started; everyone else was a newbie.  After 4 days of MVC training my head felt like it would burst and I this week, will probably redo a good portion of my code so far; and I am guessing the other students were just overloaded.  

At home I have been beating on business accounting and inventory software. You can read about it over at The Adventurous Silversmith. Let's just say it has been a slog!

HOPEFULLY next week I will be back at weaving and Sunday it is Repousse and Repartee with Diane from the Palomar Gem & Mineral Club.

Yes, I said I would but I did not

6/16/2013

 
Last week I said I was going to weave at the barn this Saturday but I did not. 
There were several factors: 
  1. I had to get my car smogged and that was at 8 am which meant I would not leave for the barn until 9:30 or so. 
  2. The Spring tractor show was happening at the Museum which means lots of interruptions and not much weaving. Mind you, I don't have an issue explaining what I am doing but considering the next item, my weaving time was important to me.
  3. I was getting my quarterly hair cut (yup, I only cut it about every 3 months) and with that at 4pm, I had to be out of the barn at 3pm.

So get there some time after 1o am, spend some time catching up with friends, start weaving at 11, then leave at 3pm results in less than 4 hours of weaving, and so I decided to stay home and work on another metals project. 

At work, I started my new project this week. This project is even in a new department so I spent most of the week moving my office stuff to a new cubical in a different building. Then I had to do all sorts of paper work to move my developer account to the new computer; fill out more paperwork to get another computer for testing which I don't know when I will get; do some training for access to certain data; and then load gobs of software onto my regular development computer; and write a small requirements document for the first task.  Hopefully next week I can actually write some code cause this week the total was a fat ZERO.

For your delight, here is a picture of my new do.

Picture

Back to the Barn

4/20/2013

 
I have been neglecting my weaving at the barn lately because I am working on my entry for the San Diego County Fair. The entry will, again, be in the Hall of Gems and Minerals. This time my entry will not be in the Jewelry category, I am doing an entry in the educational division with is a full display case.

So today I can start actual weaving of the new placemats. Again they will be rep weave. 

Tomorrow, I will be back in my studio, hammering on metal.

Miscellaneous Musing

9/5/2011

 
The Heart:
I have been on the BP medications for almost a month now.  I have been recording my BP almost every day and yes I am feeling somewhat better but then there are days I feel horrible.  

I am going see my endocrinologist on Friday the 9th and then back to the cardiologist the following week. I am seeing the endo to ensure that my thyroid meds and the hormone replacements I am taking are not too hight as they can cause heart palpitations.  

Depending on those results, the cardiologist will either increase/decrease/change my blood pressure meds and/or add a channel blocker and possibly schedule an angiogram to determine if the doctors can actually see some problem - as we still don't know why this is happening.   

Some days I feel like I am handling it all well and other days I just want it to be over. 

The Weaving:
And yes, the weaving is calmer and more relaxing that hammering away on metal. That has to do with keeping my BP down and how tired I get. The added benefit is that when I am down at the weaving barn I am socializing (and not with friends from work) and making new friends. Some of the ladies at the barn have been weaving for almost 40 years and I am the "kid" of the group!!!

I just finished the scarf for Myra - I put pictures on my FB feed last night. It is 80" long, I think that she will be able to wrap that around her neck several times! 

I am also doing some chain maille (weaving of a different sort). I made a dragon scale bracelet for me - which I ended up selling to a friend. I am now making another dragon scale for another woman at work and another one for me. PLUS I am working on a Byzantine bracelet today which is yet another sale!
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    About Laurie

    Laurie lives in central Texas with the memory of Erich, a.k.a. "the shop elf", who was her hubby of 35+ years and Cowboy Boots, the cat; her metals studio including 100+ hammers and 300+ chasing tools; her sewing studio which has a sewing machine, a closet filled with fabric, hundreds of skeins of embroidery floss and perle cotton, silk and other materials, and Mrs. King the dress dummy; one weaving loom, assorted knitting needles, tubs of yarn; assorted art supplies of pencils, colored pencils, water color pencils, water color paints, acrylic paints, markers, and pads of paper; lots of books; plus a plethora of geeky tech gadgets, computers, and more.

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