Monday, August 6, 2012

A beautiful blue sky for our Monday....

Ken is already preparing for his upcoming classes for 2012/2013.  The kids drove to South Carolina last night and we received a phone call that they were tired but I could hear the three girls squealing and begging to go down to the beach!  I worked in my studio and had a wonderful visit with Ted Handel and then Sandy Gartner came in for a quick visit.  I should have remembered to share some of the "Where Women Create" Somerset magazines.  She is working on her studio and organization of her materials.  I made preparations for a morning stenciling experience down at Dawes Arboretum with my dear Community Connections group.  I have cut black foam core so the iridescent blended paints will add a special reflective design element.  I am supplying the stencils and paints so I am hopeful everyone will experience a feeling of success.

I picked up some wonderful multiple colors of DMC floss to add the three dimensional cotton flosses to add to my quilt from the Merinda theme series.  Little by little I am beginning to feel the rhythm of this work.  The marks are made and captured by my slow but hand quilted stitches and selection of mother of pearl bead embellishments.  When I came home Ken had grilled some great hamburgers and hot dogs for our dinner and sweet delicious Branstool peaches for dessert.

  the blooms on the vine..... sweet glorious colors invite the visitors into the visitor's center....
 The ancestral tree with bare branches is protected by the shadows from the beech tree in the morning sun....
 Yes this whisper is completely wrapped around the beech tree's limbs...it is still up but will take TLC to reposition this last few weeks....70 mph winds are powerful....
 This whispers is high in the limbs and appears to be hanging in there...the shadow play is almost poetic....
 The moth whisper is still fluttering after two months of incredible summer storms...
 Shadow play once again in this whisper in the Kentucky Coffee Bean tree...colors seem to be holding true...
 Butterflies dance in the morning sunlight in the All Seasons Garden...
 Flutterbies ...a small child's description of the flitting butterflies in the garden....
 The sunlight plays beautifully on this small whisper in the All Seasons Garden....
 The blues in this graceful whisper seem to be a bit lighter but I will not really know until I make a comparison to my test strip from the beginning of this journey....
 Sister Tress are standing tall in their places....
 I love how we installed this yellow whisper in this tree...at times it appears to grow out of the body of the tree.....
 Simple lovely Black Eyed Susan flowers...they seem to be so prolific this summer....drought resistant and beautiful....









The second Beech tree suffered a major break high in the tree...I understand why the leather straps failed in this particular location....
I am sharing some of my whisper works after two months of crazy weather and high winds.  Laura told me we lost two more panels in the last episode of 75 mph winds last week.  The leather bindings have broken and I will pick these two panels up tomorrow and throw them into my handy dandy washer....they should be as good as new after the laundry experience.  Have a great week in your studio!  Peace,  Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Friday and Saturday have been very busy....

We celebrated the hot summer day with free root beer floats and "Sticks and Stones" in the courtyard at The Works.  The crowd was enjoying watching the children make air guitars and spin the wheel for a multitude of prizes for the children.  The lunch menu was brats and hamburgers with all the fixings from the Grill Deli and Marco's dynamic kitchen crew.  I had renewed visits some old friends and helped Marco make 300 chicken kabobs for a wedding on Saturday.  I enjoyed working with him and helping out ...he would have had a long evening.  Cindy stayed also so cut the time in half I am sure. 

 The sun was beginning to peek out from the gray skies.... the air was moist ... the rain may come.
 The 5K run is about to begin!
 Who will be the winners?  The lady in black/white running clothes is in her 40's and won the women's overall competition!
 This is the place ...  it is hot and humid but there are many smiling faces to encourage us on.  Thank you Phelps family for allowing me to tag along!
 Preparations for the awards and a tent filled with delicious treats that are healthy and cooling for everyone's accomplishments.  I may not have run a race...but walking this mile in a quick pace...well I feel like a Winner!!!


 The youngest participant...in a stroller of course.
 Two amazing winners in their age groups.  The man in the red hat was very encouraging to just keep moving...outside weather permitting.   The young man came in second this year,
 Veroncia and Marcia make last minute inspections for accuracy.
The beautiful Taylor with her handsome Dad Jon after the 5K run!  Don't they look great!  This was a family affair for the Downes family!
 Grandson Jack loves apples!  He will be running with grandpa next year!
 The pride in a grandparent's eye and in his heart...never stronger than when holding the little man!
 I need to see what GiGi is up to Grandpa....hey those medals look pretty nicce.
 Jack loves his GiGi with all his heart and soul!
 The beautiful young at heart ....they are both precious and committed to being and staying fit!!!

 Final last words before the presentation. 
 Chris Lang's grand daughter won in her age category....Brittany is an accomplished young woman!  I am so proud of her.













This gentleman is 86 years old and did not begin running until he was in his 60's!  Look at that smile!  May we all be this vital at our 86th!
 Mike Gray enjoying Sticks and Stones with their music in the courtyard!
 The volunteers are here to serve delicious grilled burgers and brats for a $5.00 lunch!  Free root beer floats for dessert!
 A family reunion ...it is great when grandpa works downtown!
 Justin and Ruth try their luck with the spinning wheel!  Everyone wins something!  The rulers were fantastic!!
 Ari was stylish as usual ...pink glasses and zebra sun dress.  happy 5 Miss Ari!
 The mothers Ruth and Abby catch up on the latest activities!  Ari won a blue frisbee.
 The shade of the trees offered a cool place to listen to the concert and enjoy the children.
 Justin now has an orange balloon in his collected loot!
 The solar power ball launcher was a huge hit for everyone!
 Science at work...Justin prepares to make his first launch!

 Root beer floats for everyone!!!  Velvet Ice Cream and Dad's root beer!  Thank you!!!
 Amber taking a break from the float station.  She is a hard worker and has been with Velvet for a couple years now!  Thank you Velvet Ice Cream!!!
 Jenna looks like a real pro while she measures just the right amount of Dad's root beer! 
 Myers and Pugh donated a huge barrel of cold cold water for all to cool down!
 Michelle Chanel brought her two angels down for the concert!
 Owen has a new haircut and is waiting to launch the solar powered cannon!

 Reday


Set

GO!!!!!!!!  Way to go Owen!

Raina shares her newest book...free for the summer readers!
 Justin enjoying the concert and well being silly!  He is my miracle boy!
 Lyn Logan Grimes creating great air guitars with soft foam and rubber bands and bottle caps!  Oh what FUN!
 Craig is supervising and helping these young musicians!
 Ta Dah!!!!!
 String band musicians ...perform with Sticks and Stones!







I am back to sorting my work table...looks at this iridescent medium I just discovered..I can not wait to try this out!

Today I walked a mile in our hospital's 5k run 1 mile walk with over 600 participants.  A good time was had by all but it was very hot and the humidity was what made it feel worse.  Thank you Phelps family for walking and inspiring me to keep going.  I met some wonderful people and we all cheered the young and the young at heart runners as they received their medals.  One man was 86 years old and had not started running until he was in his sixties.  Now that is an inspirational moment for us all.  I am tired but I hope you enjoy the photos ...celebrate the Olympics tonight.  I plan on quilting while we count the USA medals...life is great.  Peace,  Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart