Category: Field Trips

Places I visit or have visited

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So much to do, so little time to blog…

Last weekend, my cousin, Steve, his wife, Erin, and their kids, Benjamin and Sophia, were in town for Erin’s brother’s wedding. I got to visit with them, which was great fun.

Their new cousin, Eliana, Ben, and Sophia are so amazingly energetic. You can’t help but enjoy yourself around them.

I even got ambushed…

I was too large to be carried however.

Sophia tied my legs together when I said I was going to be on my way. After securing me, she decided to let me go.

I also made it to the web design group I hadn’t been to for about two years. The nice WordPress theme developer, who was giving the presentation, gave me lots of tips for our web site migration. I was very happy because he was able to answer some questions I’d been trying to find the answers to for two weeks.

Right now, I think I am mostly trying to get up my nerve to make the change. I know that the navigation will not work just right until I’ve got the whole site moved over, and I’m nervous about that. Plus, I keep debating over whether or not I want to put the blogs on the home pages of our sites, or on their own sub-page. At some point, I will just jump in.

In the meantime, the Ruffing’s blog is not active, although it is still up. So, here is our latest offering, “Matilda the Tuxedo Kitten”, an original, one-of-a-kind art doll figurine by Max Bailey. You can read more about Matilda by clicking here to go to her web page.

We are also debating over computers right now. We need a new one, and we’re trying to decide which Mac to get and when. We also need to learn to use a Mac, which adds a little extra excitement. We need a desktop to edit photos, but I’d also like a laptop, to make myself more mobile. I know you can hook the laptop to a monitor, but I’d like the option to take trips or work elsewhere for some variety. The desktop we are looking at is kind of intimidating. It seems like a TV set to me. So, another plunge to take.

Oh, and “Beatrice and Beulah” the lop rabbit folk art dolls by Max Bailey and myself, are up for adoption on eBay this week. The auction ends tomorrow night. You can check out Beatrice and Beulah’s eBay page by clicking here. Once again, I’m putting announcements on our Ruffing’s Facebook page. Please join us there.

I’m also finishing up a small pile of Hug Me! Slugs and a Hug Me! Toad or three. I’ll be putting them up in my Etsy shop as soon as I can.

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Christmas Parade

I made sure to get back from running errands on time to take my mom to the Christmas parade in town, this past weekend. Seeing as how I feel like one of Santa’s elves lately, with all the toy making, I could hardly miss seeing him.

As always, there were lots of vehicles, starting with these great tractors, all shiny and polished by their owners for the parade.

Then, of course, there were the motorcycles.

This one says “Jesus in Lord” on the side.

Some of these guys look pretty serious.

I’m not sure if this gentleman is pointing to the star on his Christmas tree or if he is just having a conversation with someone in the crowd. Maybe he’s telling his wife where to meet him at the end of the parade.

There are always the men in the little cars. The one over on the left ran out of steam and had to be towed, just after I took this shot.

There are so many cars, all with waving folks inside. A couple of years ago, the cars that had the hydraulic lifts inside, so they went up and down, were popular, but these with the doors that go up and down, sort of like a jack knife, seem to have taken their place.

There were plenty of homemade floats.

This lady was leading a song as she went by.

The Mary and Joseph float went by. Mary waved and smiled at me.

Lots of kids ride on the floats. They wave more enthusiastically at the beginning of the parade.

Then they get tired, by the end of the parade.

This little girl seems to have run out of waving energy, but her companion is still forging on.

There were at least three beauty queens. They seem to hold up better with their waving. I think they must practice.

This one had a beautiful skirt.

Some of the kids get pretty silly by the end of the parade. This little boy in the firetruck was making all kinds of faces out the window. Another little boy went by yawning.

There were even dogs strutting along in the parade, with their festive red coats.

They seem to have more endurance than some of the kids. But then they didn’t have to wave or dance or jump around.

There were even dogs watching the dogs in the parade.

And there was a tiger.

He was helping pass out flyers for the karate school guys.

There were colorful flags,

and kids waving sparkling pom poms. This one was getting tired too, I think.

After just about everyone went by, there was a lull. People started moving into the street, and I thought they might be heading home. When I saw the people in front of us start to dance in the street, I realized they were moving off the curb to get a better look at the Helping Hand Mission Marching Band.

There are lots of dancers and bands in the parade, but the Helping Hand Mission really gets the crowd excited. They stop to perform frequently, which is why there was a lull, I guess. This girl on the left was doing a good job of keeping up with the girls in the group.

I had to step out into the street to get photos at this point. My mom told me there was another guy with a camera squatting down in the middle of the road, and he stayed there until they were almost to him.

They stopped just in front of us to dance and play the drums.

The one guy blows his whistle to signal when they stop or go, I think.

One lady in front of us kept dancing along. When she passed me and realized I had a camera, she looked a little embarrassed. I was enjoying that she was having fun. I felt a little embarrassed that she looked embarrassed.

An army truck went by, driven by a man with such a sweet-faced baby. I tried to get a better photo of her, but they passed by before I knew it.

And for the big finale….Santa, of course! He made sure to wave at everyone. He can’t afford to get tired out. He’s got lots to do these next couple of weeks!

And so do I! I’ll post some of the toys that went out this week. I’ve got plenty to get ready for transit this coming week!

Tonight people will be lighting the first candle of Hanukkah too…Happy Hanukkah!

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Refining my kitten drawing

When I enlarged my kitten drawing, I needed to expand it, add some more details, and refine it. I do this on tracing paper so I can make an image I can use for transferring. That means there is no shading, just a line drawing. If I need to indicate shading, I do that by drawing a dotted line instead of a solid one. Here, since I am working small, only 5 x 7 inches, I didn’t bother including any shading lines. Most likely, I will refine my kitten some more after I transfer my drawing to the Claybord.

I took a trip to Chapel Hill today and stopped for my mom’s current favorite cookies, Trader Joe’s Laceys Cookies, Dark Chocolate Almond. I ate some too, of course. I poked around in A Southern Season and Kitchenworks also, picking up heart-shaped spring form pans and cookie cutters, thinking about things I could make that I probably won’t get to making, sort of a baking daydream. I’m still toying with ideas for Valentine’s Day but not really coming up with anything so far. Still waiting for a heart-shaped burst of inspiration 🙂

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Passings

When I got up this morning, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Andrew Wyeth. My mom read a quote to me from an article about his life, and it was spooky because his was one of the portraits I’d been looking at just last Sunday, when I felt like the paintings were communicating with me:

But his granddaughter, Victoria Wyeth, told The Associated Press in 2008 that he no longer gave interviews. “He says, ‘Vic, everything I have to say is on the walls,'” she said.

We went to look again at his paintings at the NC Museum of Art today, partly because I had the thought that they might be requested some day soon for a retrospective, and partly, to pay our respects. I know we both admired him, not just for his great talent and skill, but for his independence from the trends within the art world. He really did his own thing, which, I think, is one of the biggest and best things anyone can strive for.

This morning also, a Christmas card marked “return to sender” was in with our mail. I had meant to call our friend Dottie to wish her a happy birthday on December 21st, but had a sad and worried feeling about it. I knew she hadn’t been well, but I now know that she was no longer with us at that time. She was a truly good and honest person. I liked her and trusted her completely, from the first time I talked to her. I never had one doubt about her. I often dreamed of walking to her house to visit her, only to wake up to realize I lived many hours away. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to NY to see her again, but she will remain, for me, a barometer by which I measure the goodness and the honesty in other people.