A Bright Day

Woke up this morning to the sun - finally.  Seems like it has been grey for too many days in a row.  I broke out the camera to try to capture something other than grey skies.

From there I went to the Michigan Weavers Guild meeting.  It was one of the better meetings we have had in a long time.  One of our members,  Lois Bryant, gave a talk on inspiration.  It was interesting to see some of the early art work she did in grade school and college and how she has come back to themes or a look she had 30 years before.

After her presentation she did an exercise with us where she had us cut blocks out of magazines then mount them.  She uses them as a starting point to spark an idea - whether it is a shape or a color palette.   It was interesting how each of our "cut-outs" were so different.  An interesting exercise would be to do it in another color pallet that you normally are not attracted in.

Disappointing Olympics

I am an Olympic junky - but it is hard this year.

I was shocked when I turned on the TV for the opening ceremonies and it was not on my faithful channel 9.  I am used to the Canadian station covering the Olympics.  How can they not cover the Olympics in their own country????  Turns out it is on a Canadian station we don't get.

So instead of my fix of cross country skiing, biathlon and other sports you don't usually get to see (yes - even curling!), we get too much snow-boarding, too much short track skating and not enough long track skating.  And also - all the interviews instead of just covering the sports.  

Did get to see one cross-country race (probably only because a US guy was supposed to get a medal which he did).    So I sit here with my computer, with the TV on - as I troll the web trying to find what I want to watch.

May just have to try to go to London for the next Olympics if I can't get Canadian coverage.

Grey with Warmth

The day was grey but kept to my plans to break out the camera on my day off and go to Belle Isle.   I was hoping that the Belle Isle Conservatory would not be closed for the holiday and it was not.    Very damp and cold day but I soon had to take the coat off as I took my pictures.  You can also check my web page to see some of todays pictures.

Snow is Back

Winter snow came back earlier this week.  Before work I went out to take some pictures.  Not particularly happy with them ---- trying to hurry too much.  Here are a few.

Not What You Expect to Find at the Optical Store

Tonight I was on my way to the Roots store to buy my traditional Winter Olympic hat and I saw a loom in the window of Optiks on Maple in downtown Birmingham.  I go in and they have two different fund raisers for different weaving project.
The Namtegna Project is sponsored by Cranbrook Kingswood Weaving Studio. They assisted in building a weaving studio in Namtenga Africa.  Their weaving for sale their is in cotton and of simple patterns.  They can be worn as scarfs but I may go back and get one as a table runner.  They also have some beautifal wool scarfs and shawls made with vegetable dyes and woven in India in a village in the Himalayans.  You can tell they have been weaving longer than the African group but they are both interesting.  I will try to bring a sample of the scarf I purchased to the next guild meeting.  If you are in the neighborhood - stop by and take a look and perhaps support one of the groups.
The window design is quite clever so I thought I would share some pictures I took of the display

Great Book Title

Just finished reading "Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages" buy Manuel Puig.  My only previous exposure to his was that he wrote the book "Kiss of the Spider Women" that they adapted a movie of.  Frank read the book for his Argentine Exile Literature book that he took last semester.  This was is by a Spanish speaking author but it was originally written in English then the author translated into Spanish.  I found the book difficult to read since it is all written as a conversation between two people and all the quotes are unattributed - sometimes you are not sure who is really speaking and if it is real or an imaginary conversation.  I ended up reading it a chapter at a time but it may have been easier to read it all at once.  Haven't decided if I liked it yet - but I loved the title.

First Book of 2010

So it was published in 2004, but I just finished reading "The Amateur Marriage" by Anne Tyler.  I know she has published many books but I have not really been interested in any of them.  I picked up this copy at the thrift shop and added it to the tall pile of books for my pending reads.  I picked this one up since I loved the title.  I thing most of us can be called amateurs no matter how long we have been married.

I liked the book.  She did surprise me at the end with where she went.  At one point it seemed it was going to be one of those overly simple endings where they try to tidy up all the loose ends but then it kept going to a conclusion that was not my expected tidy finish.

After I read it I checked out the review in the New York Times .....http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/11/books/unhappily-ever-after.html?pagewanted=1