Abe Update

Having Abram with us for this interim period--2nd Thanksgiving in a row!-- while Abram awaited word on his new job in Maryland has been a pleasure and an unexpected bonus. Abram bought a one-way ticket from Hawaii, joined his friends to go on a 'follow the band tour' through three cities and then had Phil and Chris drop him by our new place in Tulsa on their way from Oklahoma City back to Kansas City. It was truly great to share the new homestead with Abram and offer his friends a hot shower before they went on their merry way.

The only down side to Abe's great visit has been the virulent strain of cold germs Abram came down with in Tulsa (probably began in Hawaii or during his road trip)...and then exposed us all to it. I started feeling it in my throat, the day before Thanksgiving and the same day Jeff & Abram departed to return to Alabama. I had laryngitis most of Thanksgiving while driving and then it really hit me hard the following few days. Ten days later and I am still blowing my nose. But I know that the cold is almost finished and this nose stuff I can deal with easily. Now Jeff is in the throws of it; body aches and chills...and the coughing, the coughing. I have had a cold this bad in many years. Just a good reminder that being sick is the pits and I'll do what I need to in order to stay healthy.

Abram got word, shortly after Thanksgiving weekend, that his security paperwork did get approved and the new job at Fort Meade, MD, is his and he starts on December 9th. Congratulations, Abram!

Back n' Forth

I can't believe how quickly this past ten days has flown by. I left Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day and made the 800-mile trek all in one fell swoop, pulling into Ozark very late...but safe & sound. It was good to be back with Jeff and Abram. But this time it feels different.

We closed on the house in Tulsa and it is beautiful. I think it is a perfect match for Jeff and I. There will be a lot of upkeep and maintenance on this new glory of a home and we're up for the challenge. Unexpectedly, we are going to have to do quite a bit more painting than originally planned. I had thought I would whip in, rip out the old wall paper in the upstairs bathrooms, do a bit of painting...then just do some lovely glaze painting on the ceiling in our bedroom...and call it done! Not so. The previous owners took excellent care of this house and freshly painted several of the rooms. But the entryway, hallway, living room, master bedroom, stairway and bedrooms upstairs are in dire need of new paint.

And about the carpets. I had no idea how poor a shape the carpets were in until I saw the house without furniture. Jeff was seeing the house for the first time, the night before we closed, and I could tell he wasn't expecting this either. So, we'll bite the bullet, be grateful that we can do it...and have new carpet installed when we've finished painting our new home.

Ahhh, but I digress (a surprise, right?) The main thought when sitting down to write this morning, is more about the feeling of disjointedness and living in and between both places. The photo at the top says it all. When I leave Oklahoma, I leave these lovely people behind. This time is only for a little while but I was just getting use to being near them when I needed to leave again.

Tomorrow I begin the journey back to Oklahoma and this time for a longer stretch of time. I anticipate only a couple more trips back and forth before it's all said and done. Next time will not be until after the holidays and after Gavin and I get a Grandma and Grandson week while Tarajean and Paul take a much needed and deserved little vacation. Jeff and I will weather through this Christmas in separate states and be grateful for all our many blessings; most importantly that Tarajean and Abram are doing good and Jeff and I are heading toward our next chapter and latest new adventure together ... soon!

Way back when, while sharing about the possibility of a move to live in Tulsa to be near Tarajean and Gavin, Laurie Jo -- such a wise, trusted and dear soul-- said, "Connections are what it's all about." I agree, dear friend. I wholeheartedly agree.

Notes from the desk of Toad

Always fun to start my day with drawing. Have a stack of ideas I have been wanting to render into KimArt and just haven't been in the right creative head space to pick up the pen and draw. With the closing of our house in Tulsa only a couple of weeks away, I have anxiety. It is a good feeling to turn my anxiety into something productive. Okay, NOW I can head to the commissary and shop for a turkey to take to Sarasota. Looking forward to the visit with family.

Art for Fun

This is a bit of clip art that was drawn for a font and is now a symbol in my "Snerry Jake" font.

This little fellow was drawn for a custom magnet design for the folks on Fort Rucker who live in the neighborhood called 'skunk hollow.'

This BabyChick was drawn and used in a baby shower design for my BFF Jorey Loey.
Congrats to the new Nana!

Never enough coffee cup graphics in the world so I've added to the bijillon already in existence.

Flutterby

the Gray One

We do not need another pet. This little lady started gracing our front porch several weeks ago. She's still skittish and I have no clue what her fate will be. For now, she's got a place to call home; if I can catch her I may have to take her to the humane society. Hells Bells. Stubby and Girlfriend are accepting of this little one...but just barely. Isn't she lovely? We do not need another pet.

On the road again . . .

Margaret & Kimberly, June 2010

Road trips are one of my favorite things. They're even better when I'm accompanied by my Mom. She's the best driving companion a girl could ever ask for.

We recently made the 1,700-mile journey from Ozark, Alabama, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and back again (to visit the lovely Tarajean, Paul and Gavin-the-adorable). I traditionally break this trek to Oklahoma into two days; this time wasn't any different. Day 1 is from Ozark to Conway, Arkansas, 500+ miles. Like I told my partner-in-gardening-crime, Jan, Conway boasts a Ruby Tuesday, a Hobby Lobby, a WalMart and a Super 8 Motel. Need I say more? Reaching Conway by the end of the first day makes Day 2 an easy drive. And traveling 75-mph on the Muskogee Turnpike for the home stretch into Tulsa makes it even breezier.

Our trip to the Warren Home was terrific. Decent weather prevailed --a bit of downpour while driving through the Jasper, Alabama area -- started listening to an audio book by Anne Perry...but the reader's voice was wimpy and too difficult to hear over the sound of rain and of truck traffic. So we settled for listening to GLEE soundtracks until we could get to a Cracker Barrel to rent another book-on-CD. (Diane Mott Davidson's SWEET REVENGE wasn't a whole lot better, story wise, but Barbara Rosenblatt's narration was easy to hear above the road din).

The return trip was just as good. We stopped at this beautiful rest stop in Arkansas and I was so happy to find it again (since it's on the westbound side of I-40 and I missed it on the trip to Tulsa). Jeff and I stopped at this same rest stop last fall. I knew that late spring/early summer would be better for a stunning floral display. I was not disappointed; it was gorgeous.

Mom and I spent a restful evening at the Super 8 in Olive Branch, Mississippi (I just love the name of this town); only a short distance down the road from Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis. We made a stop to eat and another to browse the Dollar General store. We purchased fresh peaches and tomatoes at a road stand somewhere in northern Alabama and several hours later pulled into Ozark. Jeff, Stubby and Girlfriend were all present to greet us and welcome us home. It's always wonderful to pull in the driveway after such a good road trip. This journey was made more special because Mom and I got to travel the distance together!

Altered Book Art

I'm so excited to have a group of young women to share this altered book project with! The Misses Club of Ozark (ages 14-17) will meet this Monday night and have invited me to be their guest speaker. The program topic is Conservation. Altered books will demonstrate how we can conserve on paper and give our 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of used paper, old calendars and recycled cereal boxes a second life.

I think this calendar art by Karen H. Goode and recycled here to be the front and back covers and the tabs of the book, make the project. The use of various yarns and ribbons heighten all the fun calendar colors. The tin can lid attached with the ball chain gives the piece heart and an additional bit of eye candy. The back cover shows off my carved eraser rubber stamp of the 3-R's and my heart-shaped arrows drawing and signature.

v. con·served, con·serv·ing, con·serves

v.tr.

1.

a. To protect from loss or harm; preserve: calls to conserve our national heritage in the face of bewildering change.

b. To use carefully or sparingly, avoiding waste: kept the thermostat lower to conserve energy.

2. To keep (a quantity) constant through physical or chemical reactions or evolutionary changes.

3. To preserve (fruits) with sugar.

v.intr.

To economize: tried to conserve on fuel during the long winter.

Hawaii

Photo by wedding photographer

Tarajean and Paul were married on February 6, 2010, Kona, Hawaii. It was an amazing ceremony and couldn't have been more beautiful. The bride, the groom, the setting . . . it really was perfect. Nicely done, you guys. Blessings to the new Warren family!

The Finest ThingAmong the finest things in life,
a good marriage
is the most satisfying and rewarding,
the deepest and best of pleasures.
That blessed relationship
uplifts, enriches, encourages
and strengthens both husband and wife.
A loving marriage
overcomes any obstacles
the world may put in its way,
strengthening the special marital bond
with every challenge conquered.
Your wedding
is the start of something better
than you can imagine.
May your marriage
be all that you dream of and more.By Joanna Fuchs

It's really a yellow jacket hover fly

A bit disappointing...but love the new BUG link I discovered in the process of trying to find out what my "bee" really was. The bugman answered my question very quickly and I now know that my bee....isn't a bee at all. Here is what the bugman told me about my bee:

Dear Kimberly,

This is a Yellow Jacket Hover Fly, Milesia virginiensis. It is one of the Syrphid Flies in the family Syrphidae, commonly called Flower Flies or Hover Flies. Many species in the family mimic bees and wasps, hence your original confusion. The adult Yellow Jacket Hover Fly feeds on nectar and pollen from plants like Queen Anne’s Lace, and it will also be attracted to the blooms of related plants in your garden like parsley, dill and carrots. BugGuide.com has a wealth of information on the Yellow Jacket Hover Fly, including this tidbit gleaned from AllExperts.com: “Flies aggressively and buzzes like a hornet. In the southern United States, sometimes called the news bee or good news bee for its habit of hovering in front of a person and “giving them the news”. It is also said to be good luck if one can get the insect to perch on a finger, no doubt because this is difficult to do.“

Sincerely,

the Bugman