FEB from Amy - Patience

 

From time to time I get into conversations with people about drawing and what it takes to learn to draw. I think I've talked to Amy about drawing and I can't remember what she said about the thing that I had never heard of before - something about drawing something that you aren't looking at. But, clearly, if Amy is looking at something - she can do her own version. If you are re-drawing a drawing - that is still drawing. It is not *drawing from life* as in drawing a scene or a person or a still life. 

If I hear from anyone who is interested in more jabbering about how to draw, I will spend more time jabbering in that direction. Or if I run out of other things to jabber about, I might just jabber for my own amusement.

  This is so cute, it makes me want to draw it..... maybe I'll do a variation on Amy's March envelope.

***

This it the third part of my suggestions for enduring ordeals. Let's recap. Number one was to pray for the best and expect the worst. Number two was Zofran. Number three is patience. While the Zofran was an instant solution to the stomach virus, I was not out of the woods. These new viruses are very sneaky. The day before my stomach went berserk, my sinuses were attacked (without warning) by a space age version of the common cold. Normally, the worst cold in the world can feel like your sinuses have been filled with concrete. This was a whole other level of pain. What is the most dense material in the world?

The densest material found on earth is the metal osmium.

My sinuses were filled with osmium. I took Musinex and voila - I thought I was going to be fine - but then the space age virus switched to my stomach. After the Zofran, I was just a flimsy sack of flesh and bones and most of my brain had dissolved. 

I retired to my sleep chamber and started talking to the invaders. I explained that they could have three days, but after that I needed to return to Des Moines. The progress was slow - and I felt OK to fly - but I was too weak to manage the backpack - so I booked the wheelchair service - which had the added benefit of avoiding all the new problems with TSA - because wheel chairs have their own lane.

I've been home for a full week - and just barely feeling *normal* - I'm still talking to the space-invader-viruses - they do not respond with words - but, clearly they are not interested in letting me have my life back. I keep reassuring them that it is OK for them to hang out for a while - and that I am flattered that they are so fond of me. It never hurts to give MrWilson a little refresher course on being a caregiver. 

FEB from Juliana - Zofran

 

Juliana's FEB mailing is a-dor-a-ble.

Calling me jubilant is amusing. If that's what I project, I'm not going to argue with you - 

but, I assure you the people who know me in person wouldn't come up with that word.

***

Zofran. It's a drug to settle your stomach if you have one of those severe stomach situations. I do not know if it works on those situations where you are exploding at both ends. A couple years my daughter learned about Zofran from a friend who recommended getting it at one of those IV shops. All I remember her saying was that it was a miracle cure - considering how sick she had been.

If you live in a remote area you might not have an IV shop. We have them in Des Moines. To me, the claims seem overstated - other than assisting with hydration for a hangover. It seems harmless - and it's probably just the placebo effect making people feel better.

So, at 2 am, I was so sick, unable to keep even one sip of water down - and I didn't think I could handle a ride to an IV shop - so I Googled - and found home delivery IV. In Chicago - there are places that will come to your house....and guarantee they'll be there in one hour. My daughter had gotten home very late. I texted her around 6:30 am with my request and she texted back at 7 am that someone would be at the house by 8 am. 

A nurse (who mentioned that she'd been an EMT for 10 years showed up with a portable IV shop and started the IV. When she injected the Zofran, I literally felt a calmness wash over me. The nurse confirmed that it was not my imagination and that it really does work that fast.

So, I don't want to be dishing up medical advice -- but, since that experience, I have talked to a few people who knew about Zofran who have confirmed that it's a good drug to know about. Again, it is not for an upset stomach when a meal didn't agree with you - it is for one of those extreme bugs where you can't even tolerate water.

I'm still doing the research on whether or not it available over the counter. I read that it can be taken orally or as an injection - rather than an IV. 

OK - here's what I found: No, Zofran (ondansetron) is not available over-the-counter (OTC) and requires a prescription from a healthcare provider in the U.S.. It is a potent anti-nausea medication often used for chemotherapy, radiation, or post-surgery, and requires medical evaluation to avoid potential complications like heart rhythm issues. 

***

NOTE to my local penpals: If you want to drive over to Omaha - you can see some Dambo Trolls. They are at the Lauritzen Gardens. If you do a search on the blog, I've posted other photos of them. 

FEB from Janet -Ordeals pt 1

 

Nice one from Janet. Charming card - to my teacher. Technically, we met through my teaching adult classes in lettering. Janet arrived as a fully developed artist and I'm not sure I can detect a single thing in her work that was influenced by me. Since she lives 17 miles away, we sometimes get together - so next time I see you Janet, I'll ask her if she ever does something and thinks, "Oh, that's that thing I picked up from Jean." Or she might answer me in an April envelope. March sure flew by.

Janet's designs often wrap around - such a nice touch.

 

***

Three topics to cover - (1) getting ahead of the curve as soon as an ordeal starts (2) settling the stomach and (3) patience.

My daughter has been learning on all of her trips that the new normal for travel is that you might get one leg of the trip to go smoothly - but never both legs. An ordeal on both legs of a trip is not out of the ordinary - so just take each new ordeal as it comes - as if you were expecting it. Or as Mel Brooks suggests: Pray for the best, expect the worst.

Staying ahead of my illness ordeal that started while I was the adult on duty for 4 days - was calmly telling the grandkids that as 4th and 6th graders - they really didn't need me to do anything - they just needed to know that I was quarantined on the lower level and they could call for help if there was an actual emergency.

They were amazing. They didn't take advantage of the situation - unless a smoothie every day is against the house rules.

Getting ahead of the illness ordeal was only possible because my poor daughter who had told me about a miracle cure that followed her battle with a stomach *bug* a couple years ago. Maybe I'm the only person who has never heard of Zofran. Details tomorrow.

Feb from Christi - stamp-y fabric

Christi and I share a love of white space, black/red/white color schemes and whimsical designs. This is the first of the February envelopes. I had loaded a couple add ons and the following one seemed like a good pairing with this design. I would have done my version of this envelope in March - to Christi - but she did not sign up. Maybe I'll add this style to my chart and use it on some other envelopes.

***

Here's something for the quilters who read the blog - a link to some fun fabric with postage stamps. If you scroll down at the link there are lots more stamp themed fabrics.

LINK to stamp-y fabric

I'm on my seventh day of the mysterious virus and while I can eat and sleep, I am still way off with my  balance and clarity of thought. Delirium is probably an overstatement, but, I have lapsed into funeral planning. Seven days of illness is about 3 too many. When I look at fabric and start thinking what a fun death shroud it would make - it feels like I'm a bit off my rocker. 

***

Real time up-date - I'm back on my rocker - as long as I don't need to rock fast.

JAN from Nanski

This one took a while to arrive - probably because of the weather. See that stamp - The Snowy Day - I saw a blurb that the most frequently borrowed book from the NYC Library is The Snowy Day. Those were beautiful stamps. Now I'm curious about how many other books have been featured on stamps. The only one I can think of is Harry Potter. There must be some others....

Nanski did a card inside - observing the weather - all 20.2 inches of it.

 

***

I'm writing this on March 2nd. I've been home for 2 days from the trip to Chicago which turned into a bit of an ordeal. Lucky for me, I've had enough ordeals that the minute they start, I know how to adjust my perspective and be grateful that there are no floods, fires, plane crashes, lost limbs or even a trip to the hospital. February was a wild month for a lot of people. Weather - and all that other stuff. Shout out to anyone who had to put up with their own ordeal. 

My ordeal is mostly having some kind of sneaky bug that is lingering. Tomorrow I will start posting all the fun February mail that was waiting for me when I got home. There will also be a couple public service announcements on how to survive ordeals. 

FEB stained glass to Janet and Mary

 

I wasn't sure how I felt about this font. I found it in my stack of random fonts and have no idea where it came from. I think it will only work in a big wide band that goes edge-to-edge. It's nice with the two color stamp. and fun with the more colorful FUN stamp. It might work with those gray 250th anniversary of the USPS that I have been sitting on for a while. I think I might go with printed labels for the addresses and put all my time into the names.

I googled *stained glass font* because these remind me of stained glass and there are some very pretty fonts - if you have time to kill.

***

Here is a sweet account on InstaGram - where people can find a *lost* book. Not literally - but figure out the name of a book they remember from childhood where they only remember the plot - and can't remember the title or author. People post their memory of the plot - and other book lovers who follow the account will often be able to figure out what the book is. You can tell from the thank yous that are posted how happy people are to find an old favorite book.

This is an example of one of the descriptions. Here is a LINK to the IG account

I think there is a typo - and the word *price* should be *prince*

FEB to MacKenzie - droodles & zippers

 

I'm pretty sure I prefer bouncy Celtic/runes. These colors are pretty good. As much as I've been saying I like the runes and it will be hard to move on, now I'm thinking I'm tired of them. There are still some round stamps to use up - and those are nice with the suns - so - that's probably the direction I'll go with my MAR envelopes.

There are two more outgoing FEB envelopes and then I'll start on the incoming FEBs - as well as the late JANs. 

***

Happy Birthday to the BigHelpfulBrother

Here's something fun. Droodles.

LINK to website

I found this on Feb 5th. I'm going to try to design my own Droodle. Wish me luck.

The BigHelpfulBrother has provided those of us who are fascinated by how things work with a *gateway video* not unlike a *gateway drug.* First - there is the history of the zipper followed by a link to the channel with a plethora of deep dives into how things work.

LINK to just one history of the zipper video

LINK to list of 490 more videos

And then - just to remind all of us that there are So.Many.People.Making.Videos - if you Google *YouTube history of the zipper* there are another 30 zipper videos - if you need to crosscheck information and see how consistent the stories are.

March to Jeannette - dinner at noon

 

Here is the last of three posts that were missing that have early bird March envelopes. This one was not part of a series even though I had hoped to figure out a gorgeous J for all 8 J-people. I don't want to spoil the upcoming stories about why the March envelopes were so hit or miss. Sometimes I think we are all in survival mode. And don't start getting all optimistic about how nice it's going to be when the weather is gorgeous. That's a trick. It just means that the weeds are going to launch their attack.....grrrrr.

***

Did anyone think of a good reason to eat your big meal at noon? This is probably the main reason that I do it. 

Health-Conscious Individuals: Those following advice that aligns with the body's circadian rhythm may choose to have their heaviest meal earlier in the day to improve digestion and metabolism, as the body is better equipped to process food for energy during daylight hours.

*

For what it's worth - I figured out that having a big noon meal and then one light snack later in the day felt so much better. So that's what I do. The only hard part is that I need to stick with that routine - and if I am invited to a dinner - I have to decline - because I do not want to put up with the consequences. This doesn't go over very well with people. I come across as selfish. But, it's all part of leaning in to the process of aging.

A lot of us have spent our whole lives being polite - and being quiet about some kind of consequence that we had to handle whilst being polite. When you get old - there is an easing of obligations. Sometimes you can convince people that you have an age related situation and you're not just being selfish.

March to Renee - Dinner at noon.

 

Here is another out-going March envelope. I only did one like this. It needed some darker shades of the pink and blue.

***

I did some research on what. kind of people eat their big meal at noon.

People who have their biggest meal at noon often belong to specific cultural, occupational, or regional groups that retain traditional eating patterns where the main, heavy meal—historically called "dinner"—is eaten during the day to fuel manual labor, or in cultures where a leisurely midday break is prioritized.

Also - I found this:

• Mediterranean Cultures: People in countries such as Spain, Italy, and Greece frequently eat a large, multi-course lunch, often between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., followed by a very light evening meal (supper).
• Rural and Agrarian Populations: Traditionally, farmers and manual laborers ate their largest meal at midday to fuel heavy labor throughout the day and to utilize natural daylight before the widespread use of electricity. This practice persists in many rural areas.

One more thing to say about this - tomorrow. Can anyone guess what it's going to be?

March to Kerry

 

I was doing my last minute check on the blog posts that were going to pop up over the next few days and the next three days were missing. So, I am inserting one that went out in the March exchange and I am writing this on March 18th and it is concerning that I had a three day lapse in my system. On the other hand, there are so many other things to be concerned about and I caught this error in the nick of time. Maybe this is the new normal. 

I'd love to share a fun story about something silly going on in my life. I'm tempted to show the photos of my kitchen after MrWilson had to make his own supper. We eat breakfast, dinner and supper. The big meal of the day is the noon meal the way it was in certain segments of the population in the olden days. The only meal I provide is dinner. People have to do their own breakfast and supper because my day ends at 4pm.

MrWilson is one of those people who is a fanatic about tidiness. No nicknacks. Just a lot of empty space. Everywhere. Most of our house looks like it was staged by a realtor. But he leaves cabinet doors and drawers open in the kitchen ....which seems super *messy* to me. It's typical to have two or three things open - at least once a day. If we hit four or five - I take a photo and send it to my daughter. She responds with a laughing emoji. 

Yesterday, we hit an all-time record. Six. Instead of an emoji, she asked if there had been a tornado.

FEB to Jeannette and Jessica - Tuberculosis

 

I wanted this one to be better. Maybe I can remember to send a bonus something in the March envelope if Jeannette signs up again. I need to think of a brilliant J-themed envelope for the eight J-people that have been signing up to exchange. And that includes Jessica. This is not one of my better envelopes. She had not gotten a Celtic/rune yet. I should have done Celtic/rune on Jeannette's - or maybe she's already received Celtic/rune. <pause> Yes, she had itty-bitty runes in JAN - I should have done the brushy-bouncy runes in FEB.

***

Nerd alert. I've been hearing that it is now cool to be a nerd - here's what the ultimate nerd has to say about it: Yes, being a nerd is considered cool because it signifies passion, intelligence, and a dedication to specialized interests, transforming it from a social stigma into a badge of honor. Modern nerd culture celebrates individuality, deep knowledge in fields like tech or science, and genuine enthusiasm, making it a desirable trait in today's society. 

Here's a book recommendation for the nerds. 

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. I'm only half way into it and it is so interesting. 

I didn't think anything could be more interesting than the Black Death / Plague...but I was wrong. 

FEB to Irene, Kerry and Renee - paper flowers

 

These two are variations on the edge-to-edge script idea. They're fun with nice color coordination.

Sadly, there was one done prior to the top two that wasn't very good - but as I've said previously, I don't have enough time or enough envelopes to keep reworking my ideas until I get things nudged into the pretty good range.

***

It's hard to pass up anything made with paper. These are 1,000 years old. Lots more images and the full story are here: LINK to the whole story

There is a video floating around that I can't find - showing a flower shop at MOMA where kids can choose flowers and color them in. It looks soooo cool. The video was way better than this still shot.

And how about this... at MOMA's website... 

I miss doing programs at my museum - but I don't miss the part where kids would sneeze on me and I'd end up with a week-long illness.

FEB to Nanski - art quilts

Here is the one version inspired by Morgan's second envelope that had a script that went edge to edge. It's fine - but the colors in that stamp are tricky. They have some very dark tones as well as softer tones - but the overall effect is consistent. Maybe I'll buy more of them and keep trying. As much as I love doing a script from edge to edge, I might have to make myself move on. Or do I? What if I got stuck in a rut? Would any of you say anything? One person has noted that my style is very different these days - compared to ten years ago when the exchange was born. More on this later.

 

***

I know some of the readers are also quilters. Here's a look at some quilts that are on the contemporary end of the spectrum. There's a fair amount of talking at the beginning where they explain the origin of this exhibit after the more contemporary quilters were not being included in mainstream quilt exhibits.

I'll make a bold statement here. I loved a couple of the quilts - and really did not care for quite a few. It parallels contemporary art. I love a few select pieces - but there's a lot that just doesn't resonate with me.

I can see why they had to start their own venue to show contemporary work.

Quilt National 25 exhibit  a video

Also - a link to the organization - which includes info on where the exhibit will be in the coming months.

LINK to more info

FEB to Julie and Starla - The Candy Factory

 

This one is very similar to the two I ran yesterday. I hope it didn't seem boring to Julie. She's a new exchanger who signed up as Julie Ann - and I forgot the Ann part - so tucked it in. She kindly emailed me that just-Julie was fine. We are now up to eight J-people in the exchange.

Starla is another new exchanger. I like this - although it's bleedy. I might be doing more of these if I actually do that thing where I fill in the chart and everyone gets one of every idea.

***

I wish I could poll my readers and find out what percent of y'all are artists. Although, it wouldn't matter to me if I only have 1% artist-readers. This is the type of story I like so if artist-stories annoy you just move along.

LINK to a story about an artists' enclave

FEB to Riley and Patty

 

I did Patty's first and I love that stamp. The little details are so perfect. This idea is a variation of those big scripts that were inspired by Morgan, but I wanted to see what I could do with a different tool. Patty's wasn't quite what I had in mind and I wish I had done more practice writing. When I got to Riley's I like the style of the lettering better although I wish there was a loop with an opening on the r. I like that new love stamp and look forward to using them.

Today's add-on is just a link because I am trying to finish up the envelopes that I sent in FEB all at once so that I don't get confused. It's some fun lettering for the people who are drawn to lettering and vintage fonts.

LINK to Practical Lettering

FEB to Kate, Christi and Juliana -- The Sneaky Artist

 

Kate mentioned that she liked the sun envelopes - so I did a couple more - sent this photo for her to choose which one. The first batch were all green with the green HELLO stamp and I did not have any more of those stamps. While the round stamp with the sun was clearly what made the envelope idea successful, I wasn't liking these two as much as the green ones. Kate chose the CHEERS and I sent the FUN to Christy. 

Then I did one more - and it's OK. The name is definitely better. 

***

For some reason, I stuck this link in a post - and left it in the queue - waiting for some envelopes and when I got back and clicked on it, I have no idea why I put it here - but I am not going to delete it because then I would have to go find something else. Skip it - unless you have too much time on your hands and the weather is not welcoming you to the out-of-doors.

https://www.instagram.com/thesneakyartist/

FEB to Lynne --- Mike Tallman

 

I found this style of lettering on Pinterest and I'm going to start a folder called *Probably Not* as in - I probably won't try it again. I'm drawn to letters where they all start as a square or rectangle and then something is carved away to make the shape into a letter. I wish I had time to flip through my 6.000 posts to see if any of them have ever been really good - worth doing again.

***

My older son has a friend from high school, Mike Tallman, who studied graphic design. He is also a musician. Over the years, he has cultivated a very nice business in designing album covers as well as silk screen prints to commemorate concerts and music festivals. I had an idea for a poster and emailed him.

We emailed back and forth - and then it dawned on me that he would be a perfect designer for the USPS because they often feature musicians on stamps. I looked into the requirements to be a designer and found this:

LINK to info about stamp designing. Basically - you send them a portfolio (hard copies) and if they like your stuff, they'll keep it on file. They pay a flat rate for designs but did not specify what that rate was. I Googled and found this info - which may or may not be true:

Artists commissioned to design a USPS postage stamp typically receive a total of $3,000, which includes an initial payment of $1,000 upon signing the agreement and an additional $2,000 upon approval of the final artwork. The original artwork then becomes the property of the Postal Museum.

Mike designed this poster for a gig here in Des Moines - when his band was in town. I love it - obviously.

LINK to Mike's website

FEB to AmyG and JeanR - 8pg + 16pg books

 

I like the idea of showing the two ways to approach the round stamps. The top one coordinates with the colors. The quality of the lettering is cringe-worthy. As I've mentioned, when I have more than 25 envelopes in a month, I tend to choke. 

The bottom one attempted to spin and idea off the lettering on the stamp. I had done all that gold scallop pattern with nothing in mind - and then I had no idea what to do with it. I liked it - but it was a good reminder to stop doodling on envelopes unless I have a plan. There's probably some way to resolve it - but - JeanR and I go way back - and she knows that not all of the envelopes get resolved. The name is pitifully weak.

***

Many of us have made the little 8-page booklets out of a sheet of copy paper. I saw a version with 16-pages and had so much fun making one. I do not have a link to the very brief video because it was a reel and I do not know how to copy/paste reel addresses. I did a search for *16 page folded book out of a. single sheet of paper* and this video popped up. I did not watch it so I can't recommend it - but she looks like someone who enjoys teaching.

LINK to directions for 16-pg book

First, we will look at the 8-page book. There are a gazillion YouTube videos with instructions. I do not have time to find the *best* one. 

LINK to a gazillion directions

The only tricky part is knowing which way the folds go. There are 3 folds - but some of them will be reversed.

***

Here are the steps for the 16-page book. If you already know how to make the 8-page book you can probably figure it out just by seeing the photos.

First fold the paper in half - both ways. Then divide each half, in half - again. 

After you have made the folds, you make 5 cuts. They are marked A-B, C-D, and so on.

The photo below shows the folds and cuts in more dimension.

At this point it does not matter which direction the folds go.

Then you need to put the page numbers on each panel so that you can make the sequential folds to get the pages in the right order. The numbers can be small and in pencil. I made mine big just for the photo.

Start with the paper in portrait orientation and do 10-11-4-5 across the second row

and 14-15-16-1 across the bottom row.

Then flip the paper around so that the first 8 pages are upside down.

and fill in 2-3-12-13 on the second row

and 6-7-8-9 on the bottom row.

Assemble the book by putting page 1 face down on the table and then folding each page so that the number is in sequence and right side up.

Voila.

Adorable little. books.

Here is another version of the 16-page book

You might find other folded book ideas at this link to Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3799980931187770/