MAKING MUD PIES: THE UNVEILING

We went back to Fiber Woman's place yesterday afternoon, to check on our masterpieces. They turned out better than expected, even though we forgot to add the coloring agent into our concrete mix as planned. Never fear.

Though they look pretty good as is, Cheryl says if I just gotta have color (duh!), I can always paint it on once the piece is completely cured in a couple of weeks.

Her hubby Rick then gave us a quick demonstration on how to shape a chicken wire armature and wrap it with strips of burlap that have been dipped in slurpy concrete. Once it is dry, you can come back and add on layer after layer of concrete that has a bonding agent added to it, until you end up with whatever shape you desire. Think I will probably stick to the play-do stuff we did yesterday. This armature building looks mighty messy to me, and we're talking about a girl who wouldn't eat donuts as a kid because they made her hands sticky. Besides, that concrete hurts when it splashes on your skin!

After that we decided we needed some cool water to dip into, and you'll never guess where we went. No, not the Blue Hole. That's already closed for the year. Give up? Outdoor Woman took us to Jacob's Well! I've been hearing about it for years, but never saw it up close and personal. In fact, I assumed it was closed to the public, but as it turns out, all you need is a friend who is a Master Naturalist and knows the ropes. Doesn't hurt that she also volunteers there and teaches classes about it to school kids. Such a gorgeous place, but kinda eerie when you think about all the people who have died trying to explore its underwater caves.

One of OW's new neighbors - a modern-day bird- and insect-loving, chicken-raising, beer-brewing, world-traveling, renaissance-kinda-guy (mile wide, inch deep - his words, not ours) who is well on his way to becoming a Hill Country Character in his own right - met us there for her mini-tour, then joined us (dripping though we might be) for dinner at Linda's Fine Foods. The picnic tables out under the big oak tree seemed just right for this occasion, and interesting conversation was enjoyed by all. Perfect ending to a perfect day!

P.S. Many thanks to sleephappened.blogspot.com for the image of Jacob's Well.

MAKING MUD PIES WITH THE MUSES: DAY ONE

Many times over the years I have stumbled across magazine articles about two amazing landscapers on Bainbridge Island, in Washington. George Little and David Lewis accent their landscaping

with unique organic-looking pieces they have fashioned out of concrete. I was over the moon when I discovered they had finally published a book about their work - A Garden Gallery: The Plants, Art, and Hardscape of Little and Lewis, by George Little and David Lewis.

One day I took that book to coffee with me, to share it with the Muses. That's when Cheryl said "We can do that. Rick and I have worked with concrete before. We can teach you!" A year later, after struggling to find a two-day block of time when we could all get together, then getting rained out not once, but twice, we finally did it!

A MOTHER'S LOVE

This is how much I love my kids: I let my son talk me into going to see the movie Machete as part of his birthday celebration in Houston. Surprisingly, it wasn't quite the torture-fest I was expecting.

You see, I just can't abide violence, blood, guts and terror (all the things

DH loves most) in a movie. When we were first married, I was so smitten that I would tag along to see anything his heart desired, but round about the 2nd or 3rd Alien sequel, I finally had to put my foot down. "Forget it Buster," I said. "Find someone else to go with you. I just can't take this anymore!" Soooo, now my kids love this shit just as much as he does.

Anyhoo, back to Machete, the latest of local wunderkind (and Hill Country Character) Robert Rodriguez's grindhouse-style movies. The thing that made it tolerable for me was that the blood and gore were so far over the top that it was almost...well...funny! If you don't know what I mean, picture Dan Akroyd's SNL rendition of Julia Child carving a chicken, with fake blood squirting all over the place. Yes, that far over the top! If you're curious, I should probably warn you of one other potentially offensive characteristic of these movies: all of the women in them look like nekkid Barbie dolls. All of them! If, in spite of all this, you still decide to go see it, be sure and take note of the skinny white dude with curly auburn hair who thinks he is a tough hispanic gang member. Remember Spy Kids? (also by Robert Rodriguez) Yep, that's the little chubby dude all grown up!

Now, in case you've been wondering about the photos here, I should explain that my husband and kids are not huge cake fans, which is why Austin decided, after our lovely sushi dinner at a very elegant place called Soma, that he needed a piece of pie to cap off his 25th birthday celebration. He said he knew just the place to take us, too - a place he had stumbled across recently, called Late Night Pies.

Unfortunately for Austin, once we arrived and stood looking around for a moment at the bar-like atmosphere, his sister turned to him and said "I hate to break this to you Sport, but I'm pretty sure they are referring to pizza-pies, not apple pie!" Snort! Good thing he had a back-up plan.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

And the winner of our super-duper, happy 3rd anniversary to Seasonality give-away is: Susan Ideus! Congratulations Susan! If you would be so kind as to send your mailing address to me via private facebook message, or email me at becky.lane(at)vownet(dot)net, I will get your goodie bag in the mail to you as soon as possible.

ANY OLD EXCUSE TO SHOP FOR ART SUPPLIES!

Just got back from Houston (more about that later) and whilst there, I went shopping! Have I ever mentioned how much I love art supplies? When I was a kid I thought I wanted to be an artist, but finally realized it wasn't because I felt compelled to draw or paint, it was because I felt compelled to hang out wherever art supplies are sold. I just love 'em!

Soooo, now I've got all the basics needed for tomorrow night's prize give-away. Only thing left is to find a good tote bag or case to store this nifty little To-Do-List-Kit in. Don't forget to leave a comment any time before Tuesday night at 10:00 PM if you would like to be entered for a chance to win a lovely sketch book, a set of 24 Prismacolor pencils, fine point permanent markers, 3 different kinds of erasers, and loose leaf binder and sheet protectors in order to preserve those unique doodlings for posterity. DON'T DELAY! Time is running out!

P.S. If anyone is having trouble leaving a comment, just email me at becky.lane(at)vownet(dot)net and I will drop your name in the hat.

SUNDAY INSPIRATION: QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Embrace giddiness!" ~ Hill Country Hippie

P.S. Don't forget to leave a comment if you wish to be entered into Tuesday night's drawing for a fabulous Good-Life-To-Do-List Crafting Kit!