Beauty queen

Last night, after reaching my TV baseball-watching limit, I decided to get out the clay and have a go at another witch head.

This time I took on the big-nose challenge. I also gave her some bushy eyebrows and a frightening pair of beady eyes, although these particular eyes weren't planned. She's showing a striking resemblance to Silly Milly. In fact, they may be distant cousins. I thought she was done, but then I realized one side of her chin needed some filling out, so I went ahead and gave her some bags under her eyes.
You gotta love an old gal like this who can still smile in spite of it all.

There's nothing better than a witch head for sculpting practice. The uglier they are, the scarier they are, and scaring people is one of the true callings of a witch. I learned some things this time around. Carving a mouth seems to work better than building one up with more clay. As I pressed down around the mouth with my wooden sculpting tool, something resembling teeth appeared as if by magic.

The spiders had been failing miserably at their job of gobbling up the ants. Then I realized maybe they couldn't see them, so I painted on some new and improved eyes.

Maybe now they'll get to work. A veritable banquet awaits.

Nothing-much Thursday

Yesterday I painted my paperclay pumpkin head and I have to admit I'm not overly thrilled. He may not make it to the finished-doll category. I'll check with Silly Milly. Maybe she'd like to adopt him.

He was a good learning project though. If I decide to make another one I'll try a different approach. The pumpkin heads I've made with instant mache are easier to work with and have a much nicer pumpkin-like texture.

I'm a little happier with my witch head.

I painted her celery green....which you can see around the edges and on her ears....and then I toned it down quite a bit. I'll do a little more touch-up painting, but I kind of like the rustic look. I can visualize her with a smaller hat than the other witches wear, and stringy hair with lots of ear stick-outedness.

Dear ol' dad's fig tree is starting to produce, and I enjoyed the first fig of the season today. Here's the second one--just daring the birds to peck it to shreds.

Dear ol' dad was a great fan of figs, and he had the gardeners plant a fig tree just outside the sliding door. That way he could reach out and grab one quickly on those frigid 55-degree days. I remember visiting him in the nursing home and how excited I was to have fresh figs to take along as a special treat. After a week of everyday figs, he smiled and said that maybe he'd had his fill of figs.

Yesterday, I went to see the new movie Julie and Julia and enjoyed it very much. But why must the coming attractions be so loud? I think I've finally decided to invest in some of those ear protectors the guys at the airport wear. Not only will they be handy for movie-going, they will also protect me from the ever-present annoying cell-phone talkers. Not to mention, those boring folks at the condo association meetings.

The newspaper still has not published my article. I'm giving them 3 more days and then I'm going down there and roll a few heads.

The ants are relentless. Did you know that if you leave a little shrimp tail on the counter four battalions of ants will gather in the blink of an eye? How embarrassing to admit that the ants have made me a better housekeeper.

Well, I guess that's enough excitement for a Thursday. Be sure to check back tomorrow. It could turn out to be Finally Something Interesting Friday.

Clay play day

Recently I've been inspired by the work of some very talented clay and paper mache artists whose blogs I've been reading. My first foray into the world of paper mache was about a year ago when I created Petunia from a plastic apple juice jug. She was far from perfect; she had cellulite issues.

Next, I took an online class with grittyjane which resulted in these two beauties. Well, except for the eyes that didn't quite match.

Then I crafted a witch head out of clay and used it on one of my own handmade dolls. After that....well....maybe we shouldn't mention Silly Milly.

Lucky for me there was just enough paperclay left to play with, although I did have to chase a couple of ants out of the bag. Those little devils. My first experiment was a pumpkin head.

....and then I attempted another witch head.

There will be no gossiping in the Treehouse when she's in residence. She'll be all ears.

And speaking of gossiping....not that I am one to gossip... When the neighbor ladies were over for dinner the other evening, Mr. Gadget and I got an earful. And I'm thinking now might be a good time for me to approach the condo board of directors and ask them to consider imposing a few new rules. I would be more than happy to type up a list suitable for posting.

• Please bring your own towel to use after showering at the gym. Using paper towels to dry your entire body is wasteful. We do have a strict budget.
• If you have a grievance, please take it to a board member. It is strictly prohibited to express your displeasure by dumping garbage on the golf course.
• Ladies are forbidden to color their hair in the sauna.

Oh, and that hair lady? When someone spoke to her about it, she said there were no signs saying she couldn't. Mr. Gadget and I just love condo living. It's kinda like being on a cruise where they throw in the entertainment for no extra charge.

Road trip revisited

So back to last week's road trip to yarn heaven with other Marcia. Sorry, somehow I let poems about pick-up trucks and stories about Mr. Gadget's friendships get in the way. In addition to selecting yarn for another Just Enough Ruffles scarf (the first one modeled so stunningly by Silly Milly with help from a treehouse lamp), I purchased this book:I think I might be inclined to wear one of these roses on a jacket or sweater. Or even a hat. Maybe even an apron or my exercising t-shirt. So versatile. I love that in an accessory.

Maybe I could finally have a nice bouquet of sunflowers that the squirrels and birds won't eat.

I love this one, but I'm not sure I have the skills. It requires crocheting, felting, cutting and assembling. But then again, I do need to set challenging goals for myself and look for new adventures in life.

I'm not sure about this. I think I'll skip this page. Unless BCG thinks it's big-city chic, and then maybe I'll teach her how to crochet....

So there's lots going on lately, some of which is causing me worry. I've asked Mr. Gadget when he thinks we'll have a worry-free life and he can't tell me. I suspect, but I can't be certain, that life is just a series of worrying times followed by non-worrying times. Fortunately I have a means of coping. Shall I knit or crochet? Shall I make dolls or shop for doll fabric? Maybe I should start a new embroidery project? Oh, the stress. Will I ever be free of the stress?

Silly Milly

She's a work-in-progress. But then, aren't we all? You may remember, she started out life as an enchilada sauce can.

I intend to keep brushes, pencils, pens and maybe even knitting needles in her. Unless I decide to make her a fashionable hat. Then she'll hold my chocolate stash. I think Milly will be the kind of gal who'll keep it safe.

So Mr. Gadget and I have been spending a lot of time over at the old homestead, trying to get it into decent enough shape to list in a less-than-stellar real estate market. The wallpaper steamer worked great, but now we are left to spruce up walls that look similar to what I remember of my teenage complexion. I don't think Cover Girl will do the trick, and I don't think they sell it in gallon sizes anyway.

Boy, do I remember those days. I thought my face would never clear up. But eventually I got older and my face improved--to the point where a hairdresser once told me he couldn't believe I'd ever had a bad complexion. I'm sure he was figuring on a bigger-than-usual tip. It wasn't too many years later that the age spots began to appear.

Maybe I'll put some age spots on Milly. And some gray hair and reading glasses. Then we can sit here together in the Lighthouse and commiserate about our vanishing youths...while we eat chocolate.....