Philadelphia again

Well, we're on the road again. This time for wholesale to our gallery friends. We've got quite a few new things, and we are among friends..... old craft friends, old and new gallery friends, Walter and Christine, and others! We got our first cell phone message from Maya ---- I suspect Dad helped???? And, we took the train to and from the show today. A simple everyday thing for many, but a very different view of the city than our usual! Life is good!

Below - picture of the booth this week.

Picture of a new friend at the Chinese restaurant in Consohocken tonight below.
Another friend - from the backyard at home as we were leaving.

Life is good!

A little nature observed on our walk over to see Maya tonight.

Dad and daughter - 12 days!We're off to Philly for a wholesale show this weekend, so life kind of returns to normal? - Pretty sure life will ever be like it was before Maya!

Too much life going on to blog?

Visiting Maya Louise, my neice and nephew visiting us, getting ready for the upcoming show, etc..... lots of pics, lots of stuff going on - Harry Potter, books and movies, etc. WOW. A couple of pics below. Maya of course, and the spirals my neice made on the laser, painted herself, and took home! Life is good! Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, and Great Grandpa with Maya. 4 generations in that room yesterday!

Maya pic taken by Wyatt

Wyatt took this shot yesterday in black and white. He is pleased to no longer be the youngest in the family!

Maya and Harry Potter

Maya at about 27 hours out in our world - above, and below, one of those cool moments in life. This book cover spotted at just before 2am toward the end of the line snaking along most every aisle of the book store as we awaited our copies of Harry Potter - the final chapter. Also note the slogan on the T-shirt! Weary as I was, without the young to keep me out late, I would have been home wasting my life asleep!

Maya is here!

More will follow, but here is the first picture of Maya.


Below are some more!
Maya eagerly awaited.

Proud Dad

Happy Mom

Delighted Grandmother

Weeds to some - Thistles to others

I always learned that weeds are simply plants that someone doesn't want in that particular spot. About 5o years ago, my grandfather paid me 50 cents a day to cut the "bull thistles" out of the sheep pasture. Some of them were bigger than me, and I treasured the pocket watch I bought at the local "five and dime".

Last summer, much to my Mom's dismay, I insisted that Dad not cut down the glorious thistle growing in their front yard, and this summer we have carefully mowed around two somewhat less glorious thistles in my yard. The bee in the above picture was grateful I'm sure, and I have enjoyed the wonderful flowers, the dark green foliage, and the very busy ants farming a bumper crop of aphids.
The thistle above grows in my sister-in-law's back yard. Like me, she sometimes has odd notions, a thing I love dearly about her. She has been known to save milkweed in the back yard. I still have some seeds from that New Hampshire denison. A Scottish friend has enlightened her about the thistle's role in Scottish folklore, and thus part of the interest, but I suspect she might have let them grow anyway. Notice the intricate webbing between the parts of the budding flower, and also at around 1 o'clock - upper part of the picture, you can see a stink bug. I think nature is glad when we just let her do her thing! Another view below.

So you thought you were going grocery shopping today?

Below are a few pictures of our house and Mom and Dad's house as the gas and electric crew works to insure the continued availability of gas to heat our homes. A few weeks ago they ran a small 2" dia. line down the side street, burrowing under driveways, etc, but today they went by our homes with an 8" main line that requires removal of the sidewalk, and lots of other things in the path. As old farmers, my Dad and I marveled at the quality of the soil beneath our feet!

While this process is momentarily disrupting, noisy, and dusty, we are grateful to this crew for keeping our city running smoothly. We are also looking forward to the level smooth sidewalk that will be a lot easier to shovel this winter!

Plastic Rose of Sharon

If you can't wait for those buds to open just toss in a a little plastic!

Kaleidoscope older than Wyatt

Before Wyatt was born, The Toycrafter (my old toy company) built this 6 foot long motorized kaleidoscope. The kaleidoscope is still around - on exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science center, and Wyatt got to see it yesterday!


Along the canal, we also got to see 10 ducks - Mom and 9 babies - very unconcerned about us, but very concerned about finding some lunch!

Things that make you go "mmmmmmm"

Just one of those things I love- sign next door to a used car lot. Click on picture to read the sign more clearly. Oddly enough just off to the right behind the R&R Sales building, is a church!

Lazy days of summer

Wyatt is joining me on my bike rides this week - Uncle time again!

On the nature in the back yard front, below is a good sized poke weed growing along the sidewalk on South Ave. It should get a lot taller unless someone decides it is just a weed. Dad and I have a big poke weed growing every summer behind our garage. I think Dad would cut it down ---- I know Mom would ---- but it is such a cool looking and huge plant that I intervene on behalf of the poke weed. That one will end up taller that the garage!

And on the sidewalk theme - major construction is underway on Caroline St. , with spray painted directions, warnings, pipe locations, etc. pretty much everywhere. The one below is my personal favorite!

Nature will prevail

There is always hope that whatever we manage to pave over, nature will prevail eventually and return the earth to itself. Above is a patch of flowers growing right in the middle of the paved parking lot outside our studio. Below - thought a bit hard to see - some small trees grow from the top of a 200 foot tall smokestack of an old power plant here in Rochester!

Back on the path

After too long with trips, shows, etc. I got back on the canal path last nite and tonight.

Not sure what the fruits above are, but I didn't eat them.

The cherries below however, were delicious and plentiful!

Father's Day

I've talked a lot about being an Uncle, but being a Dad is really cool too. The day to day Dad stuff ended years ago when my son grew up and started his own life, but Father's day is a good reminder of all those wonderful days, and of the great moments that continue in adulthood! I'll soon be adding Grandfather to Uncle, Dad, and Son in my titles list, but in the meantime, I'm very glad to be related to a bunch of really great folks!

Our latest work - so cool to create new pieces!

Another new dancer from Louise's Daughter (and son-in-law) We particularly love this group of three, but she is spectacular in any quantity!

Detroit Festival of the Arts

Wow - nice people, good music - again - and lots of cool stuff going on in addition to the art show..... but unlike some shows like this, the crowd does not ignore the artists, and they seem to like taking some home!

My video of these guys at http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2036516028

Pictures above are of one of the most amazing "puppet" events I've ever seen. All I can find about them is the entry in the festival program - Close-Act Visual Theatre from The Netherlands, brings "Sau'rs" featuring gigantic pre-historic creatures that combine sound, rhythm, and humor as they move through the festival site. Can't find any web site related to their work. Only entries seem to be about their appearance at this festival.

Three "Sau'rs" and their handler look and sound really cool, and attract a huge crowd of folks who follow them like the Pied Piper! Somebody inside works very hard on stilts, manipulating the jaws, the head, neck, eyes, tail, tiny arms, etc., alternately accepting a hug from a little kid, and turning on an unsuspecting photographer with a mighty roar!

Casey at 33

Our son turned 33 today, but due to good training, he hasn't grown up yet. Here he is "bowling" with his new Wii game system!

A nice reflection on things

In our art at home series, here is one of our spirals reflected in a bathroom mirror, while a dancer graces the wall..... how much fun to prepare for the day here!

Not many booths with live music right outside the window! This is one of the shows that is easy on the back, easy on the eye, and easy on the ears! Just to give credit where due, this is the 100 American Craftsmen show in Lockport, NY last weekend.

and not many booths with a hard working nephew ready to help!

Pat and Vanna show off my first poppies of the season!

Uncle

I've told you before how much I love being an Uncle, and this weekend - Wednesday through Monday, I'm getting to do that full time. Doesn't get much better than that! Another school event - this time for my niece getting an academic achievement award. Young people at her school can actually earn an academic letter....... in my day "letters" were only for the jocks! How cool to pat kids on the back for being smart as well as for having great hoop shots!

Bike rides around town with the nephew ---- trips to the not quite local roadside ice cream stand...... side trips to places that figure in my family history while they are in school!

Pictures below........ my niece all dressed up for her award ceremony, nephew outside a mysterious underground structure he showed me --- a cistern? a root cellar, ????? ...... and the Atlanta, NY train depot from which my mother left for college, and that my great great grandfather took the traveling preachers to after services at the Ingleside, NY church.