Possums and a new project

Morning All!

Hope everyone is well.....

It seems another week has passed. That was fast.

Its been a busy week in my lil' corner of the woods....

My daughter got home from California on Tuesday Morning and she's been running ever since...she's in Florida now. Getting ready for their cruise that leaves on Monday. Their going to the Bahamas. I hope she has a great time.

I've decided to try my hand at ACEO's. These are artist trading cards. They are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches (the size of a baseball card). There are a good bit of them out there....different style and techniques. I've come across them before but just decided I wanted to do some. I've been working on three of them that are almost complete. My first ones have a theme...Halloween (of course). I am really pleased with the way they have turned out. They should be completed some time this coming week. I think they will be posted on Etsy or Ebay. Not sure yet....got to get some more information on those two sites.

ACEO's came from ATR's (artistit trading cards). ATR's are for artists to trade with other artists. Apparently ATR's have been around for a long time...centuries. It was a way for artists to get to know one another and get familiar with each others styles and techniques. ACEO's came along when non-artist wanted to share in the fun of collecting mini pieces of art. ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. There are many sites out there now that have some amazing work. I encourage you to go and look some of these up. Who knows, maybe you'll become a collector (you can start with mine - HA).

sneek peek - ACEO's

Last night (Saturday) we went out with some friends...we went to the VFW in Carrollton, Ga to see a band that is made up of some guys that my neighbor works with. I had never been to this VFW hall. I was surprised at how well it was kept. The hall that the band played in was actually quite large. It didn't look that big from the outside.

The band is called "Georgia Possum Band". They were damn good. The first set was songs from their new CD. I was impressed with how good they sounded. The rest of the show was covers. They did really well with these too. They have a down home, country-rock sound that comes through regardless of what they are playing but it sounds great. I was glad my neighbor suggested going to see them. I was a little disappointed at the turn out of people. There weren't a lot of people that showed up...which is really a shame. These guys deserve to be heard. They will be playing at the McIntosh Festival next month. Hopefully they will get some more exposure then.

They have videos on YouTube and they are on Facebook if you want to see more about them. Here's the link for the song 'Boys From The Woods'

The Georgia Possum Band

Sally and I

Connie, Sally and Amy - having a good time

I also spoke with a woman with the band (business card exchange) who told me about booth information for the McIntosh festival in september and the Humming Bird festival in October. Who knows....maybe you'll see me there selling my art!

I have to figure out how to put my 'Etsy' or 'Ebay' into my blog. So I can show what I have for sale. I think there is a way to show them on Facebook too. I just have to find out how......any suggestions? That's an ongoing endevour.

My blood pressure has been staying level...so it looks like no more pills for me! YAY! It has been a chore trying to keep my sodium down, though. It's in everything. It's a conspiricy I tell ya!! :)  I have gotten some good advice from friends who are in the same boat. So hopefully it will get easier as time goes on.

I guess thats all that I'll bore you with this time around. Have a great day and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

TTFN

p.s. only 70 more days til Halloween!

Elvis has left the building...

Good Morning Everyone!

Hope all is well in you little corner of the world.

Getting ready for my baby to come back home from California! She should be here sometime on Tuesday! I can hardly wait. I miss her. I thought I was gonna have to put up all the Halloween decorations by myself. But not now...Jenifer will be here to help me. YAY! Even though I won't have any of my own pumpkins :(

Last night we went to The Mill to see 'Elvis'......

I was unaware that it was going to be kareoke night. HA! It started at 7, so we got there at 7 only to find people singing kareoke. Some of them weren't bad. They had a local guy that sang country and played guitar. He was pretty good. Then there was the guy that played guitar and sounded really good. When I came around the stage to see who was playing....well, it looked like he was having a severe spasm. Wow.

Then came the sirens....the police car pulled up with a black suv and out stepped Elvis. The crowd went nuts. He worked his way through everyone and down to the stage. I thought 'gee, not too bad'......then he opened his mouth. The whole crowd was shocked into silence. This guy was really bad. Couldn't sing, couldn't dance. The looks on everyone's faces was priceless. My phone was acting up so I didn't get a shot of the crowd. This went on for an hour. There were dancers from a local dance group there as well, they did a good job. Even though they were 'country' dancing to 'rock and roll' (line dance and everything).This was not the same group of people who have been putting on the shows at The Mill. And it showed. This group was so unorganized. Not from lack of trying. Then about 3/4 of the way through the (bad) Elvis show, he says 'Dmac will be on after I'm done performing'. Dmac? Who? What? Elvis got done and everyone hollered and clapped (I think they were glad it was over) and then they started setting up for the next show.....after 15-20 minutes of them tripping over wires and each other out comes this skinny white kid with a green mowhawk. ????  It was a 'christian rap group'. I made it through one song before I had to leave. If they had come out first I may have been able to handle it, but after the Elvis show, I just couldn't take any more. Oh well, at the very least we all had a good laugh! I'll think twice about going to see another impersonator again.

 I was waiting for the real Elvis to come back from the dead. This guys singing could wake the dead.

These are some of the dancers that 'saved' the show.

My mother-in-law with the man himself. Sally got him to pose with her for her birthday...she's going to be 80

my neighbor Barry with Elvis.

And it was a full moon on top of everything else.

Here's a couple of photos of Barry and Amy, my neighbors. I don't even want to know what they had been eating....

Just two of the crazy people in my life that I'm glad to call friends! It's things like this that make me realize I have some pretty amazing people in my life....I have two wonderful kids, three grandchildren and of course my wonderful wife. My friends are all great and I'm glad that I know them all!

Well, after last weekend, when everything got really, really bright and whitewashed, I am not taking my blood pressure medicine. YAY! I have changed my diet, cut the sodium way back and my blood pressure has leveled out and it appears that I don't need the pills. I've been averaging 110-120 over 65-70 without pills. Hurray!! I've lost 5 pounds to boot!! got another 25 to go (according to my doctor). Now that I've gotten my blood pressure leveled I can get back to doing my P90 workout. After last Sunday I was kinda scared to try P90. But now I should be able to go full steam! Hopefully I won't fall down and crack my head! HA!

The Halloween clocks are coming along nicely. I hope to have things ready to post sometime this coming week. Keep an eye out for them.

Have a great day! I gotta get back to moving things so my daughter's room is ready!

TTFN

New Banner & Some Rock N Roll

Good Sunday Morning to Everyone!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Where to start...Where to start........

Well, I have created a new banner for my website, you can find it at the bottom of the page. I think it looks really good. How 'bout you? If you would like to schedule a portrait just leave me an email (at the website) and say that you came to my site by way of my blog. And for that little trip, I will give you 10% off the price of a portrait. Just put in the code in the subject line of the email. The code is BLOGSEPT3011. The discount is good until September 30, 2011. Go and Look now...you won't be disappointed.

**The discount is good for portraits only. It does not apply to the printed work through Imagekind**

We went to The Mill last night to see Reason Why play. They were pretty good. Entirely too loud for the space they were in, but still a good show. It was from 8pm to 10pm. It was overcast and looked like rain the whole time but it didn't. I'm glad it was overcast....it was a comfortable 77 degrees, instead of totally miserable like it has been. About half way through the night I had to get up and move...where I was sitting the speaker was aimed at my left ear. The singer managed to hit a note, with his voice and guitar, that made my ear hurt. I don't mean a 'ringing' but an actual physical pain in the center of my ear. It throbed for 20 minutes or so and then stopped. Some of the older people there had the strangest looks on their faces when the band started playing....it was a total "What The Hell Is This" look! My mother-in-law was one of them. I think I knew every song they played, which was nice. We had a good time at the concert but we missed the market that was going on...it only went until 2pm. You would think that they would have it up until the concert starts. Oh well, they are having another one on the 3rd of September...maybe I'll go to that one. Here's a couple of pics from last night...

Reason Why @ The Mill 8062011

another shot of the band

And here we are...Sally, me, Connie and Shirley (thanks for the pic Amy)

I have also been working on some designs for clocks for Halloween. As soon as they are ready I will post them here for everyone to see (and order - HA). I have six new designs that I think everyone will like. Stay tuned for the finished product!!

I have been trying really hard to follow my doctor's orders with all this blood pressure gobbly-goop. Do you know how hard it is to cut your sodium down? Holy Cow!! I am soooo over having to flip over everything I buy. I guess next year I will have to dedicate an area for a larger garden so I can grow my own veggies. They put salt in everything. I have managed to cut it back to just under 'normal' consumption...I'm afraid to know what it was before I had to start inspecting every can, box and package. I still have to cut it back some more......anyone got an suggestions? Any recipes?? I think I will post some low or no-salt recipes when I find some good ones. If you have any send them to me...who knows, maybe your's will get posted too! On the plus side (maybe?) the calorie levels have fallen...I've been averaging between 1200 and 1600. Maybe that will help with the weight that I'm supposed to lose. I have, as of yet, failed to start my exercise back up again...trying to squeeze one more thing into my day seems to be proving difficult. And I'm trying to stop smoking and cut back (quit?) my caffine habit too. Which are two vices that don't seem to want to let go easily. Anyway, wish me luck as I try not to become a raving lunatic in the process.  :)

GOOD NEWS!! My baby will be home in about 10 days. Yes, the countdown has started. I can't wait to see her. It's been since February since I last laid eyes on her. She may be moving back to Georgia as well. She will get to help me set up all the decorations for Halloween! YAY!! She's a Halloween nut like me! I can't wait for her to come home!! Miss you Jenifer!! I am waiting patiently! I'm sure that both of children are laughing hysterically now.....If you know me, you know about how much patients I have. :)

Come Home Chic - We All Miss You A Lot!!!

I guess that's all for now. Have a great day and be good to each other.

TTFN