AJC 2011- Itinerary 39 – COUNT

* Sonnet 43 – by Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love with a passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. From Sonnets from the Portuguese * Why did I choose 3560 as the photo frame? These numbers have a very special meaning for us, as this coming year, 2012, will see us not only commemorate 35 years of marriage, but we will also be turning that very Magical Age, 60! (We have already started to receive the Senior’s discount at a local restaurant, much to my husband’s disgust..lol) As for the sonnet: it was read at our 25th Anniversary and will be read again at our 35th. * Credits and Kits: Background paper: Tangie’s FieldNotes: Fall Paper 12 Number groupings: Tangie’s AJC11 Parcel 39: Count Font: mine Photo of LadyNorth and Mr Bear being mushy: taken by our good friend Felicity

· Date: 9/26/2011

AJC 2011- Itinerary 38 – HANDwrite

I love ancient handwriting! – especially Da Vinci’s mysterious ‘mirror writing’. There are a few theories out there as to why he wrote that way, but I like the simple one the best: he was left handed and if he wrote in the regular way (left to right) the ink would smear! Leave it to a south paw to find a neat solution. * As to the parchment found on the page: a few coffee fueled excitable scholars have concluded that it appears to be a missing page from Da Vinci’s Diary, though currently they are still not sure who ‘Sophie and Kevin’ are nor where this supposed second portrait of the ‘Mona Lisa with Camel and Kiwi’ currently hangs. * Translated Excerpt from Da Vinci’s Diary - .."Sophie and Kevin dined with me last Saturday night and truly what a delightful pair! Kevin entertained me with his favourite song, “Catch a Falling Star’ in Italian while Sophie practiced her Latin phrasing, (not too bad for a camel, as the hard ‘c’ is difficult for her to pronounce!) She had brought along a signed copy of her Book of Wisdom as gift to me and I in turn, had shown them what I was currently working on in my studio. I was just finishing up a second copy of the Mona Lisa that a Duke had ordered for his palazzo, and just as I was about to take it off the easel, Sophie in her short sighted eagerness, ventured too close to view it and not knowing the oils were still wet, left a splotchy nose-print on the right side of Mona’s shoulder! Poor Sophie! She was absolutely mortified thinking that she had ruined a masterpiece and poor Kevin, agitatedly flew around the studio, trying to find turpentine and a rag. Laughing heartedly and assuring them that it was NOT ruined and could be easily fixed, I quickly took my brushes and oils and began to restore it to its original condition. Mama mia! La Musa Struck! What better way to thank them for making an old man smile, than to immortalize this time traveling pair? I can only wonder what future art historians will make of my ‘Mona Lisa with Camel and Kiwi’? " Leonardo * Credit and Kits: Background: Vitruvian Man by L. Da Vinci – common licence Mona Lisa with Camel and Kiwi by L Da Vinci: Private collection used with Sophie and Kevin’s permission Diary page,and feather: Tangie and McMeen’s AJC11 Parcel 38: Handwrite Font: P22 – Da Vinci : MyFont P.S. as a nod to the famous southpaw, note which hand holds the quill (g)

· Date: 9/26/2011

AJC 2011 September Adventure Quest: ZENTANGLE MANDALA

or Squash*Tang*Ala!
Our Canadian Thanksgiving (October 10) is fast approaching and with it comes my favourite Season, Autumn.
Bountiful and beautiful squashes of all types and colours (including BLUE pumpkins!) are popping up in the stores, tumbling out of bins, enticing me to buy whole armloads for the table setting.
I had taken this photo of a group of Squashes in my local Safeway and put it away in my picture folio thinking it might make a nice Autumn card.
Then the Muse tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘why don’t you ‘tangle’ them? One squash is already a perfect mandala shape.’
So I printed it out on matte photo paper, sat in front of the tv and went through at least half a dozen sharpie fine point pens.
In my Squash*Tang*Ala, you may notice one section that is different: I call that the Path Outwards.
It may not be a perfect mandala because of that, but I have learned this year to ‘embrace my imperfections!’ (g)
Harvest Blessings to you all!
Kits and Credits:
Tangie’s FieldNotes: Fall - Paper background and Leaf Elements.
Font: Tangie’s MockTurtle
Photo: mine

AJC 2011 Itinerary 37 - CHALLENGE

As I belatedly realized it was teeny tiny print on that darn label: here is the lowdown on the week that was... ( apologies for my absence on here, but between wasp bite and The Event, wasn't able to get to puter..sigh ) 1. Agree to perform a Hand-Fasting for Kathy and Ali who are flying in All The Way from the UK for This Event. (no pressure, right?) 2. Get bit by yellow jacket Wasp on right hand baby finger, four days Before The Event, watch it swell to twice its size and scratch one precious day of prep from the proceedings. (Spend some ‘quality’ time at a walk in clinic.) 3. Deal with 2 to 3 daily phone calls from worried hostess over Broom, Ribbons for Broom, and Altar table setup. 4. Do some ‘horse trading’ with the Weather Gods so it would be Sunny: ie. You can rain all you want the Night Before, but please please please shine in the afternoon On The Day! (ps. It worked - see photo for proof) 5. Knot Broom and whip Hand-fasting cords the night before. (why does this phrase sound so darn familiar? - Good thing I remembered my knots from Girl Guides) 6. Perform Ceremony without too many glitches: ((Vows: check, Hand-fast the Couple: check, The Kiss: check, Jump Broom: check, Pose for photos: check.) 7. Find quiet corner and collapse for an hour before The Dinner. And So Dear Readers..just How the Heck Was Your Week? Kits Used: SBG’s VJS Transcend for Elements and Papers. Photo of Hand-Fasting Broom and Altar: mine Order of Ceremony background: mine Label Font: Antique Type Order of Ceremony Font: Briosa

· Date: 9/22/2011

AJC 2011: Itinerary 36 – IF 42 is THE ANSWER, then what was...

THE QUESTION?? Over the Summer, Sophie and Kevin had been rummaging through our library of aging paperbacks and spent a few good nights, reading every Douglas Adams science fiction novel that had been tucked away. I could hear squeaks of merriment and chortles as they would take turns reading bits and pieces. I have no idea how they managed to get tickets to Jeopardy to appear on the show. I think Mr Trebeck may have pulled a few strings and was probably amused that a Camel and a Kiwi wanted to compete. So there they were, Sophie wearing her Lucky Rebecca Sneakers and Kevin looking dapper as usual in a McMeen Lucky Hat. With all that Luck surrounding them, how could they lose? The Last Category (after sweeping the board) was Science Fiction, and Douglas Adams! Naturally they KNEW the QUESTION to that ANSWER! (For those of you who would like to know, the solution is: ! gnihtyrevE dna esrevinU eht, efiL ) *** Credits and Kits: Background: DSA2 Vintage Sideshow Jeopardy sign: c/o Wesley Fryer Common licence Kevin’s McMeen Lucky Hat: AJC11 Parcel 36 – Question Sophie’s Lucky Rebecca Sneakers: AJC11 Parcel 36 –Question Question Mark: AJC11 Parcel 36 - Question

· Date: 9/7/2011 ·

AJC 2011 Itinerary 35 -NOTICE

Do Butterflies ever Notice the colours of the winds?

I am trying for a simpler page as there is so much colour going on, but I did want to get the question asked (g) on behalf of Sophie so she could write it down in her Book of Wisdom.

Photo-Notes: This particular Swallowtail was the size of my husband’s palm and so intent on feasting on my lobelias that I could get quite close to take the picture. I was actually afraid that my camera lens would touch it’s wings!

Credits and Kits:
Background papers: Tangie’s AJC11 Parcel 35
Photo – Swallowtail and Lobelia – © LadyNorth 2011
Font: Tangie’s Tigerlily

AJC 2011 Itinerary 34 - SOUND

or The Great Cricket Hunt.
The sound I am hearing most often in these late summer evenings, through the open bedroom window, are the crickets chirping in the long golden summer grasses.
I had never thought of them as Calendar Keepers until my cousin Ms. B told me that, “ As soon as you hear crickets, Summer’s over.” Darn and Drats! Since this is the year of the ‘Summer that t’wasn’t’ – I can only hope their chirping heralds a Long Indian Summer that lasts until November 1st!
While doing a bit of research on crickets, Sophie learned that in Brazil, their sound either heralds rainfall or a financial windfall! Thinking we could use a bit of cash around here, off Sophie and Kevin went, with Sophie carrying an old birdcage in her mouth and Kevin perched high on her head for a good ‘cricket’ view. Unfortunately the bars of the birdcage were too wide to keep the crickets from jumping out and Kevin discovered once he caught a few, they made a delightful snack (after scolding Sophie about not eating flowers, he was very ‘embarrased’ about his cricket crunchies!)
Truth be told, I am very grateful that no crickets have made it into our house. They are delightful to hear outdoors, but not so delightful when you are trying to sleep and they have decided to nest in your bedroom walls!
Credits and Kits:
Background Paper: AJC11 Parcel 33- LIGHT – Tangie’s Deconstruct Papers
Sound Waves: AJC11 Parcel 34 – SOUND
Font: Tangie’s Tweedledee
Photo: Holly Grape and Summer Grasses (LN photo)
Birdcage: DSA2
Crickets: Wikipedia