Farm Pictures

Pictures, pictures, and still more pictures!
Sunday I went to The Farm to see Dad, my uncle Tom and CP who pretty much counts for an uncle too. My sister brought her kids out there too.
Whiskey is our lone horse now, and without his charge Sugar to look after he has a different temperament.
Doesn't he look innocent here?
While shooting his big beautiful brown eyes I noticed how clearly you can see the world reflected in them.
Horses love to lick and try to bite your hands. It must be salty. I think he would eat my flesh if I let him.
Cassie busied herself netting in the pond and catching some gorgeous sun fish.
Bran & I sat on the porch swing and I couldn't help but to notice how beautiful the chains are. I had to get a shot of my favorite new cuff against this patina.
Dad has little vignettes everywhere of cool things, kind of like at my house...(wonder where I get that from?)
Porch Swing
Wheel for turning a water valve? That's what it looks like to me.
Ellie's friend Emily found this treasure, a Box Turtle shell.
The grass does not grow under Miss Cassie's feet!
D0-Da is raisin' up these grandkids right. Firearms for everybody!
What a pair...
It is beyond my describing, how it feels to play with my sister's kids and my Dad at the Farm where we played when we were their age.
My family is truly the most important thing in my life. The Farm itself is a member of the family.
As a wise West Virginian woman says:
"Do you remember your family over here at 4422 Philadelphia Church Rd, the onliest ones that give a damn about'cha?"
Isn't that the damn truth!

Busy As A Beaver

Last Saturday was a most fruitful and prosperous day! It was supposed to be thunder-storming all day, in reality it blew through and left, but the weather was windy, dark & moody; my favorite kind.
I finished a dozen cuffs that I've had in various stages of production, just having the fruits of my labor all piled up like this makes me feel rich!
In between jewelry making I made a pound cake and two loaves of banana bread for my Dad & uncles the next day.
An old friend came by for a visit that night and remarked how funny she found it that I "just whipped out home made cake & banana bread in between making jewelry all day.
Shoot, "It won't nothin'" as I say!
I like to use my anvil on the concrete of the front porch in nice weather, but on this blustery rainy day I brought it indoors. I am not fancy enough to have one mounted on the perfect tree stump (yet) but where there's a will there's a way.
One of my strengths is an ability to work in conditions that are not ideal; I don't need everything to be perfect in order to do amazing things.
I just think of what I'll be able to get done once I get my compound and I do have perfectly ideal surroundings and conditions....
....it boggles the mind....!

Tysabri #28

Wow, I think today makes infusion #28! I am very happy with my Tysabri infusions to treat my ms. I've been on it for 28 months now and I've had no new relapses in that time.
The side effects for me were exhaustion, for as long as 5 days after. Also, in the beginning I experienced some mild depression following infusions, but after the first year that stopped. The information out there doesn't claim depression or moodiness as a side effect, but talk to other recipients of the drug and you will learn different.
So I go to Presbyterian Hospital once a month and spend the afternoon in outpatient oncology and all is well.
The months are running together and my experience of time differs from reality, so it feel like I'm going twice as often as I am.
Today I had packed up and headed to my sister's with dog in tow, ready for an outpouring of art work hustling when my phone's calendar alerted me of my appointment.
OOPS!
I rushed back to Charlotte, dropped the dog off and got here as fast as I could.
Like I always say, they can't start without me!
I am doing well, and keeping the deadly PML (primary multifocal leukoencephalopathy) at bay.
I am a fan of Tysabri and hope to stay on it as long as I can.
Good luck to me!

Resting Railroad Appreciation Day

Some days I wake up exhausted. On those days I'm really grateful that I don't work a nine to five, I just let the dog out and crawl right back in to bed.
This morning was like that.
After four extra hours of sleep, I decided to treat myself to an indulgent rail road walk.
I love getting off the sidewalks and onto the tracks. It makes for a wonderful respite from the city for this country girl.
You can always find the coolest things on the tracks. How long has it been since Charlotte had phone numbers with letters in them? I wanted to take this home but...it's not going anywhere.
I've been passing this pile of spikes and other steel for weeks. It looks like somebody left their treasure here to me...
Beauty is all around us. Even power lines are a sight to behold when you see them for what they are instead of the eye sores you thought they were.
After weeks of missing it, I caught a train in action today!
The coolest thing happens about a mile before it catches up to you; the rails start to zing, twing, buzz and sing. It's a very cool experience.
The wind and noise created by the passing train is exhilarating to me. I think I must have been a hobo in a past life...
A girl can dream, can't she?
Take the time to stop and experience the passing train now & then; it's more exciting than smelling the roses. But if you pass some roses, go ahead and stop to smell them too.

Halloween is a mere six and a half months away y'all.
I have been making ready the wares for the National Halloween Convention in PA next month, I will be attending!
I am this month's Guest Artist on Spooky Time Jingles', the Halloween art group my sister has been with for quite some time now. Their artists do an update on the 13th of every month, submitting new pieces for their fans to buy.
Here is Brandi's piece for April:

Here is my bat necklace, at a very affordable price of $75 you too could have this one of a kind, handmade piece of Halloween artwork to wear. It is made from heavily oxidized cable chain, satiny smooth luminescent red beads and a 2 inch wide bat silhouette cute from antique engraved silverplate.
Keeping to my redneck roots, I photographed it against my trusty, rusty fire barrel by its magnetic clasp.
I am all aflutter keeping several balls up in the air what with an upcoming trip abroad to Istanbul, a Halloween convention in PA and helping my sister with still more Halloween art all within the next 5 or 6 weeks.
Sometimes you just have to make time for social engagements, even when you're swamped. Last night was just such an occasion, I stopped by my friend Dee's house to catch up and act a fool on her front porch as we are wont to do during these lovely Spring months.
Just look at her Crypt Keeper who stands guard all year on the front of the house, Dee is truly a kindred spirit.
I am filled to overflowing with work, pursuits, plots & schemes, projects, plans and preparations. No shortage of things to take care of, that is for sure.
I sent off the application for my passport today. It's official!
All this hoopla is surely going to drive me batty; there's a necklace for that.



I will keep you abreast of all the developments, faithful readers.
In the mean time, remember I accept PayPal!

In like a lion, out like a lamb...

...and then back to the lion, no wait-lamb again!
Here in North Carolina we get all four seasons and I love each one. March is a temperamental thing, wildly fluctuating from day to day.
Today was supposed to be the only sunny warm day until Saturday, so I set about enjoying it.
This is a puddle by the railroad tracks where tree frogs were chirping nearby, a sure sign of Spring!
The day before was cold & rainy, so I decided to build one more fire.
The day before that was also cold & rainy so I did a little Spring cleaning on the back porch in the cold. I have to get everything at the ready for the next wave of art storm which will last about 5 weeks. Here some of my supplies & projects await my divided attention.
I had to get a picture of the Year's First Sunburn I was so proud of last week. You never know if you're going to be traipsing around in a tank top & flip flops or curled up by the fire with your Roxi dog this time of year.
I'm prepared for both!

Time Traveling

I have been getting my rail road trackin' on this week and it has got my train of thought going wild!
My friend and fellow (way better) blogger Dana commented that she enjoys it because you can imagine yourself in a different time. There are long stretches where you can't see anything that would give away the year you are in. I really enjoyed playing that game today while walking the rails. Roxi loves it too, and we stay in sync with each other as I try to get a stride that matches the ties (nearly impossible) and she wanders back and forth the tracks, just ahead of me.

Is it 1931 or 2011?
I find myself astounded by everything around me. Little treasures here and there...
The sound is even amazing! Today was very windy and a dry 80 degrees; tornado watch weather. It was delightful and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees was music to my ears. The sound those high winds make blowing through the power lines was wicked, like an instrument. To be more accurate, it reminded me of the rising vocal chorus at the start of Motley Crue's "Shout At The Devil". I wish I could have recorded it, you wouldn't believe it otherwise!
The afternoon sun made theatrical lighting; all the new spring growth glowed that fresh, young green.
Here is a Pitt Bull carcass lying in the middle of the tracks. Did he get run over or dumped off here? Roxi was only slightly interested and seemed nonplussed by the mummified corpse of one of her own.
I have quite a bit going on this year and I find the more I do, the more I have to do more. It's necessary for me to have a nature escape from this city I live in. I'm really appreciating my ability to move through this physical plane in this handy body I've been given. It's an easy thing to take for granted, especially after winter hibernation.
I can get to this place in a 9 minute walk from my front door! I was brought up to find nature anywhere I live. I need an escape where I can recharge, get grounded, loose myself in thought, loosen up, sweat, commune with the world around me.
As I write this I'm sitting on my front porch in the dark, listening to the owls socialize.
I have lived this day to the fullest! What more can I ask?