I Want To Do This!

In the course of a day the studio receives a lot of information about art stuff.  There are art fairs, art festivals, art classes, art exhibits, art shows, art opening and artistic endeavors of all kinds, shapes and sizes.

Some are interesting (some are not) but today I found THE MOST interesting art project. Creatively, it ranks right up there with Project Runway and Destination Imagination.

It is called Mystery Build, and it does cost money, but there are prizes to be had.  More importantly, it is just the just the thing to have fun and get the creative juices flowing.  There is a theme and rules and most important, a deadline.

AND
There is a project just for kids.

Their website also has a page of art information that is worth a visit.

I especially like this piece by Paul Hill. 






Now I just have to figure out how to get my paws to create some art.

Love,
Buddy

Listen to the "Bark Side"

 A teaser from Volkswagen for the Super Bowl.  

 My two cents....why suffer through all that football when you have the internet.

Love,
Buddy

Can We Talk?

I guess I am going to have to go back to school.

I thought I was a well educated dog.  Even when Spencer came along (taller, stronger, better behaved Spencer) and knew more words than I did, I still thought I was pretty darn intelligent.  I learned all Spencer's words and then pretended I didn't understand....now that is smart in my book.

Then I found this dog who knows a lot more than I do.  She knows over 1000 words!

Obviously I can't let another dog know more than I do and since online learning is my educational method of choice, my first line of attack begins with Dictionary dot com.  One of their links, Word Dynamo, is full of word games; all different grade levels, subjects, and languages.  I did pretty good on the Latin prefix words, fairly well on the Twelve Absolutely Ridiculous Words, and not at all well on French.

Check it out and see how well you can do, then we'll compare notes. (I'm not competitive, really!)

Love,
Buddy

Recycle your Christmas Cards

Now that the food has been consumed, the dishes are done, the decorations have been packed and the tree put away, it is time to go through all the lovely Christmas cards you received this year (or maybe the ones you never dealt with last year).  First, update your address list, because that is important and you don't want to lose track of your family, friends or passing acquaintances.  Then decide what you are going to do with the cards 'cause it would be a shame to throw them out.

If you want to make something for next Christmas...

 Or help a charity...




Whatever you decide, have fun!

Love,
Buddy

Got Milk?

Photo of a milk splash by Denis-Carl Robidoux on Flickr -
noncommercial use permitted with attribution

Milk Day is today.

Milk is the state beverage of New York.

Real milk comes from cows.

A sports drink?

The best thing about milk? Ice Cream!



Love,
Buddy

Did you know....

...that January is National Thank You month along with National Volunteer Blood Donor month?

Its official.
Now go give blood
and
Thank you.

Love,
Buddy

Happy New Year?

Is this the last time we inhabitants of Earth will get to celebrate a New Year's Day?  If so, then today is very special indeed. However, if it isn't the "last" New Year's Day is it any less enjoyable or important?

  I suppose by now almost everyone has heard of the famous (of infamous) Mayan long count calendar whose cycle ends on the winter solstice in our year 2012.  A lot of people have different theories on exactly what this means.






When you read all this stuff, please keep in mind that the measurement of time is man made.  Time passes, seasons change, the Moon orbits the Earth, the Earth orbits the Sun, the Sun has its place in the Orion Belt of the Milky Way, the Milky Way has its place in our Universe.  We Earthlings have no control over the occurrences of solstices and equinoxes or when they happen.  We only mark time showing when they happen.

So, let me tell you that I don't give a rat's patootie that the Mayan calendar has come to the end of its cycle, I don't care what dire (or other) predictions are being made, I don't even care is something really does happen or if nothing at all happens.

You see, whatever happens at whatever time, I have no control over it.  I can't make it start, I can't make it stop, I can't make it happen or not happen.  However, I do have control over what I do and how I react. 
So, I intend to;
savor life and all its offerings
wag my tail with enthusiasm
bark to the best of my ability
live my life with purpose. 
love as much as I can
hug as often as I can
laugh as hard as I can, 
take chances
give chances
be

You should too.  Happy New Year.

Love,
Buddy

The week of limbo...

Well...
That was fun....food, music, food, pretty lights, food, gifts and did I mention food?  I have been in a food coma for three days and have only now recovered enough to sit at the computer.

Christmas was certainly enjoyable,  I can hardly wait until the next one rolls around.


Now we begin the week of limbo, the week between Christmas and New Year, the week between gatherings, the week when everyone is still relishing the glow of Christmas and looking forward to the revelry of New Year, the week when no one really wants to do any work.

It is a week to ponder.
Ponder the year past, ponder the year to come, ponder all those resolutions.

It is also a week to plan.
Oh sure, there is New Year's Eve to consider.  There will be a party, drinks, food, music and how to get home.  However, I am more concerned about the food for New Year's Day.  The traditional food that is consumed to insure a happy and prosperous year.  I am making a list (and checking it twice) because I take my food seriously, especially if it is going to bring me good luck.

More later....


Love,
Buddy

A week?

 

 

Really!  Christmas happens in a week?  When?What?How?

 

How did we go from "oh, Christmas is later this month" to "Christmas is a week away"?

 

Oh the stress........................

Well, I guess I need to take a deep breath, take a step back and let's see what needs to be done.

 

Tell friends and family how much I love them? Check.

Christmas tree up? Check.

 

Christmas tree decorated? Check.

 

Christmas letter typed? Check.

 

Christmas cards addressed? Check.

 

Christmas cards mailed? Check.

 

Christmas tree acquired? Check.

 

Christmas tree decorated? Check.

 

Presents bought? Check.

 

Presents wrapped? Check.

 

Presents mailed? Check.

 

Tell my friends and family how much they mean to me? Check.

 

Hmmmmmm....maybe there is no need to be stressed....maybe I'm gonna be okay.....maybe everything is gonna work out, no sweat, no problem.  

Maybe I can look forward to...oh yes, Christmas dinner!!  

 

Love,

Buddy 

To Tree or Not to Tree...That is the Question

Or is the question in your family "real" vs "artificial"?
I'm willing to give artificial a chance, especially if they have a bit of character.

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/12/03/worlds-most-unusual-christmas-trees/

http://www.oddee.com/item_96916.aspx

http://shop.treetopia.com/topnav/Category-Tree--Style-Funky

http://curiousphotos.blogspot.com/2009/12/100-unusual-christmas-trees.html

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-offbeat-traveler-christmas-trees-20111205,0,3341210.photogallery

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-most-unusual-christmas-trees.php

http://www.squidoo.com

Once upon a Christmas, a long time ago, a young married couple were expecting their first child.  Money was tight and a tree was a luxury they could not afford.  They went out, picked up a tumbleweed a fence had captured, and carried it home.  It was placed on the dining table, the only place in the apartment large enough to hold the dried plant (it turned out to be a lot bigger inside the house than it looked outside the house).  First they sprayed it with a fifty cent can of artificial snow.  Then they decorated it with red licorice and small red balls that cost $1.00 at the Five and Dime.  It didn't matter that there were no gifts under the "tree", it made them happy to have their own and unusual Christmas decoration.  Christmas was lean that year but the tumbleweed Christmas tree gave a feeling of cheer and hope.  It sort of represented the toughness of their life and the resilience of their spirit.  The couple had many years of Christmas trees, some real trees, some artificial, but never one as special as their first.

So you see, a Christmas tree doesn't have to be a real tree, it doesn't have to be a tree at all.  It just has to be what fits your life.

Love,
Buddy

Season of Giving

Giving gifts may not be the main reason to celebrate Christmas, but it certainly has become a big part of the season, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Gifts are something to look forward to, something that makes everyone feel better; the recipient and the giver.  Gifts are something that get you through the winter.

It is my opinion that gifts don't have to cost a lot to be meaningful.  In fact there are times when homemade gifts, one's that have really been thought out and personal, can be the best gifts of all.

However, homemade gifts take time, so if you are going to do it, now is the time to start.

So, whom do you need to gift?  Make a list, check it twice.

Now, what do you want to gift?

A personalize gift basket?

Soap or lotion?

Light up my life?

Gifts in a jar?

Feel like spending some time in the kitchen?

Sew much?

Sew and no sew?

No cost?








Now, go make Christmas happen!

Love,
Buddy

Drying your hands....

What's up with taking paper towels from restrooms and installing electric, hot-air-blowing, pretend hand drying, machines?  They don't work you know.  Have you ever noticed how many people are walking out of restrooms with semi-damp hands?  I only hope they are damp from water.

Not that it bothers me all that much, I lick my paws (and other body parts) to get them clean , but I have noticed some discontent among the humans.

I know, I know..... environmentally responsible, living green, easier to clean, less vandalism, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Have you ever tried to wipe a child's face with an electric hand dryer?

Or better yet, think about how many surfaces get touched between doing the deed and washing the hands?  Don't you wish now that you had a paper towel in your hands rather than an electric, hot-air-blowing, pretend hand drying, machine?

Love,
Buddy

The Twelve Days of Christmas!

Now don't go gettin' your knickers in a twist....
I know that it isn't the start of the 12 Days of Christmas....
In fact, I know that the 12 Days of Christmas don't even start UNTIL Christmas.

However, I was browsing studying and found all this really good great stuff and felt the need to share.

Click and play.

www.cleanjoke.com

 www.ahajokes.com

 www.ahajokes.com

 www.dezert-rose.com/

www.youtube.com/

Now wasn't that fun?

Love, 

Buddy

 

 

Okay, NOW you can start thinking about Christmas.

Today is December 1st.  Well, at least it is December 1st where I live and I think that today should be the first day Christmas decorations should be allowed in stores.

I don't mind retailers having sales before Thanksgiving, or putting out merchandise that I would consider buying as a Christmas present for someone.  In fact, I rather like getting stuff all year and putting it in the back of the closet in anticipation of the holiday season.

However, I would very much like to enjoy the time between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving without having decorated trees, colored balls, and tinsel stuffed down my throat whenever I enter a store.  Can't you just WAIT?

Please let me enjoy one holiday at a time. You don't want me getting confused and putting sparklers in the turkey do you?

Love,
Buddy

Way cool photographs...

Now I am on a mission.

Having started this conversation about interesting photographs, I needed to go out (and spent wa-a-a-a-a-y too much time surfing the internet) and find more, more more. You can thank me later.

First I Googled the term "unique photographs" and the first page was full of professional photography studios touting themselves as unique.  So my question is... how unique can you be if everyone else is unique as well?

Then I looked for "way cool photographs" and found some amazing images, (and spent wa-a-a-a-a-y too much time surfing the internet). You can thank me later.

Anyway, I did track down some sites that I found interesting for your amusement.  Enjoy.

Denis Darzacq

Prepare to spend a lot of time here.  Lots and lots of way cool pictures.

 Cool pictures and tutorials on how to do them.

This one caught my eye, it seems to have the work of several artists.

This is a fun site despite it being a site for "fashion trends and glamorous models".  Check out the "funny" gallery.

Most are a  little over the top for me, but I think I am in love.






Take a look around, try not to get sucked into the blackhole of internet exploring.  You can thank me later.

Love,
Buddy

Ready for Something New?

I think this just might be the last post about food for Thanksgiving (only because I now have to turn my attention to Christmas) but I couldn't let the weekend pass with out giving some pointers in what to do with all the leftovers.

One of the best things about having such a large amount of food cooked for one day isn't just having a full (or in my case, overfull) stomach.  It is all the wonderful leftovers to be consumed over the weekend.  That's why Thanksgiving is on Thursday you know (not really).

Again I am sending you to;

All Recipes

A new one, Ready Set Eat

Another new one, About dot com Southern Food









And please be careful with the care and feeding of your leftover turkey.

Love,
Buddy

Happy Birthday Georgia O'Keeffe!

I believe I would rather have Stieglitz like something - anything I had done - than anyone else I know.

 I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.

 I'm frightened all the time. But I never let it stop me. Never

I hate flowers - I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move.

  I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for

 I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.

I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.

  I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.

 Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression.

It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. 

Since I cannot sing, I paint.

 The days you work are the best days.

My favorite photo of Georgia by Ansel Adams

One day a hummingbird flew in--
It fluttered against the window til I got it down where I could reach it with an open umbrella--
--When I had it in my hand it was so small I couldn't believe I had it--but I could feel the intense life--so intense and so tiny--
...You were like the humming bird to me...
And I am rather inclined to feel that you and I know the best part of one another without spending much time together--
--It is not that I fear the knowing--
It is that I am at this moment willing to let you be what you are to me--it is beautiful and pure and very intensely alive.

~Georgia O'Keeffe~

Visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.

Find out more about Georgia.

More Georgia quotes.

and just for kicks....

I love Georgia and her work, a true American original and rugged individual.

Love, 

Buddy