Ode to Ely....

This is a short video I took with my digital camera of the lakeshore. Just peaceful remembrance.

Frank goes back to teach part time music starting Monday at the school. He will be giving instruction to beginning 5th graders. He will be aligning their nurons into musical patterns. I have one more week until I start inservice. Many miscellaneous odds and ends need to be completed before my time is no longer my own. And, now as in every August, the garden's bounty has arrived. Corn, cucumbers, carrots, green pepper, tomatoes, the inevitable zucchini, eggplant and more, more ,more.. I did learn today after church that you can microwave an ear of corn wrapped in waxed paper for three minutes and it comes out pretty good without boiling a ton of water. Tip for the day.

Time for School

Where did the month go? I just returned from the Iowa State Educational Association/s three day summer workshop in Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa. A couple days before that I was spending a week in Ely, Minnesota with my sisters while the men in our lives were in the Quetico, Canada on a canoe trip.
Yesterday I went to school to sort through a few boxes to put art supplies together that come in the mail over the summer. Four hours later, I emerged. I needed to sort through a coop purchasing order that was combined with the other art teacher and the school secretaries. We ended up opening each box and sorting through because there was no names on anything. It took a long period of time. Now, I need to get it to my artroom and put it away. That is another day.

Ely Adventure

Back up north to Ely, MN tomorrow. The husbands and male cousins are going to Quetico Boundary Waters canoeing for a week, nine of them. My sisters and I are going to camp in a more civilized manner (pop-up-camper at a resort on a lake) Luckily, the Blueberry Festival will be in progress when we arrive and we will be able to participate in that. Therefore, I am collecting things to do (knitting, drawing supplies, writing equipment, books to read, yarn to spindle, layettes to sew for church,) and also food to pack. I have my clothes ready to go. This will be my respite ofr the summer, my total immersion into waves lapping onto a beach, wind rustling in the tree tops and the scent of pine in the air. I will lose myself completely........... and when I return it will be time to refocus on the upcoming 2008-2009 school year.

Field Trip

I had visitors on Wednesday through Friday this week, my niece, her friend and my little sister,Beth. The first picture is the two girls doing mosaic on my picnic table with the outdoor cat, Celia. Beth bought a large box of souvenir plates from the Twice is Nice store in Lake Mills. The girls broke them up with a hammer in the garage and then were glueing the pieces together. Each of the girls painted a lion on a rock with acrylic paint. They did that two years ago when Olivia had visited Iowa before. St. Paul has got to be aqut a different culture than my little town.
We went on a fieldtrip to Mason City and I showed them around. The next photos are from the various places I took them, the MacNider Art Museum and Music Man Square where you see the sculpture of Meridith Wilson (who I found out wrote the Iowa Fight Song...We are going to fight, fight fight for Iowa....). Inside Music Man Square there is an ice cream fountain so we had some ice cream. It is fun to see your community through the eyes of a visitor.

Sigs Band

I am a member of three bands as hard as it seems. My musical career has really taken off as of late. I have been a member of the North Iowa Band of NIACC. This is probably my greatest clarinet achievement. Also, I participate in the Forest City Community Band on Sunday nights in the park. But my most interesting participation is with Sigs Band. The band is named after Sig who conducted the band for the Forest City centennial. It has remained a small band that performs for community activities.

Here is a picture of the band setting up at the Thompson Fair. This is Sunday. The day before we participated at Lake Mills for the parade, in the park after the parade and at the ice cream social at the Victorian House for July Jubalee. The day before that we performed in the park for Dusey Days in Gardner,IA. This weekend it is Puckerbrush parade and concert in the park at Forest City, Iowa. In the evening, I will perform with the Forest City Community band for pre- fireworks. In the photo, you can see Frank in the back row, my husband.
Oh, the tractor was just very nice. It caused much attention and I thought it was well done. Love the color. Wish it was mine.

So, where is your creative space?

I read somewhere to photograph your creative space. Which I did. But, I had the discussion within my mind
1) should I alter the area, clean it up a bit, make it look so presentable?
2) should I leave it unaltered which goes to show how the creative mind works?
3) will I be embarassed to put out over the world what my private creative world looks like?
4) should I care?
Anyway, here is the unaltered result. I may neat it up a bit and repost at a later time.

Colored Wool Naturally

Here is a photo at Ironworld, MN that includes a hank (?) on wool that has been dyed with turmeric. That is a type of spice. I have a shank or hank of wool in the basement and a drop spindle (I will put that picture in next) and I plan to take them to Ely, MN at the end of the month for the sister, neices, friends of one sister with her children, (and Mom and Dad) R and R. It sounds like a knitting, sewing, drop spindling, quilting, writing, reading extravaganza sitting by a lake, enjoying the fresh air and digging my toes in the sand.