Blue Moon Atelier Journal

Over the next several days, I'm going to post a step-by-step of my current work-in-progress. This whole series will subsequently be archived on the website (www.marylayton.net), but I thought it might be fun to do the steps via the journal first. Now, let's just hope I don't wind up bollocksing the whole thing up before I'm finished!

First, is the initial sketch. This is the pencil sketch (with some preliminary inking) for a painting I'm working on for the next EA Art Show at Enchanted Artists. The theme for this show is to be the Arthurian legend, and I've decided to use Marion Zimmer Bradley's interpretation of Morgaine for my piece. In "The Mists of Avalon", Morgaine, half-sister of Arthur, is a Priestess of the Isle of Avalon, having been seperated from her half-brother when they were still children. When Morgaine is of age, she participates in the Great Rite wherein, unbeknownst to the both of them, she is partnered with her half-brother and is impregnated with Mordred. Far from the scheming sorceress of some interpretations, Morgaine in the MZB tale is horrified by what has happened and definitely not happy about being with child.

Click image to see a larger version:

Tomorrow, the first washes!

Well, even though it was a Thursday and both of us had work today, my wonderful husband took me out to Green Valley Grill for tea. We got there around 7pm, and were seated immediately, as Grahams had the forethought to ring for a reservation a couple of days earlier. They seated us and we commenced to ordering. Leave it to me to pick the most expensive thing on the menu, but it just looked too good to pass up, and being as it was our anniversary, Grahams was a good sport. We also decided to have a cocktail for starters; Graham had a glass of Sonoma Hill Cabernet and I decided to be adventurous and try a specialty martini, a little number known as "Sealed with a Kiss". It was a blend of Godiva Dark Chocolate Liqueur (yum!) and vodka, in a glass lined with chocolate and a Hershey's kiss in place of an olive. It was rather delish. Entrees arrived, Graham had the surf (trout) and I had the turf (filet mignon). I'd asked for medium-well, but got it well done instead, but it was still lovely, so I couldn't complain. For afters, Graham had Creme Brulee and I had a "Frozen Nutty Irishman" which is described as "chocolate cake layered with Irish cream mousse and crushed English toffee, finished with crème anglaise and chocolate sauce". It was extremely nice. With dessert we had some of their wonderful "CostaMala" coffee, which is always a treat.

After the lovely supper, we headed back to the house and opened a bottle of our current favourite wine - the Sebastiani Cabernet and watched a few episodes of Bottom before heading off to bed.

A very nice 5th anniversary - we both agreed we'd like to have another 5 years or so, just for the heck of it. :)

Five years ago on this date (which was a Friday, actually), in the evening, I was stood standing in a queue with Grahams, my Mum, my Auntie Pat and one of my best friends from school, Christy. At this time, around 9:00 pm, there weren't as many folks in line as there had been when we'd tried earlier in the evening. Then, there'd been such a line of people and such a long wait ahead that we decided to have some dinner first, and try again later. But, here we were, tummies full, patiently waiting our turn in the little 3' x 5' room. When it came, the five of us stepped in and tried to find some personal space in the small room - luckily, it was quite natural for Grahams and I to stand closer together, so that made it easier for the other three to have some room to breathe.

We passed our paperwork through the small opening in the glass and the man looked it over, asked us a few questions and then retreated to the opposite side of his room - one much larger than the one we were in. He removed a book from the shelf and returned to the glassed-in desk. After opening the book to the appropriate page, he read some items, asked us some more questions, then smiled as he wished us the best of luck and thanked us for making his evening a bit more pleasant.

We five filed out of the tiny room, to find ourselves facing a smiling police officer and a hand-cuffed young man with a torn shirt, blackened eye, blood seeping from a cut on his brow and another on his lip, and a wide grin. "Wow!" he said, "Congratulations! Ya'll just made my night!" The policeman shook his head. "And to think," he told the kid, "if you hadn't got in that fight, you'd have missed the wedding!" We all laughed, and as the young man was led into the tiny room for his meeting with the magistrate, the newly wed Mr and Mrs Layton, friend, and relatives, left the Courthouse.

Mood: :) Happy
Current Music: Mediaeval Baebes "Mirabilis"

So, yesterday we drove the 30 minutes to see my Mum and to oooh and ahhh over her recently acquired power chair. I'd given her the number of a power chair provider because she's not getting round as well as she used to, and every time we go out, I'm terrifed she's going to keel over and do herself an injury (she's fallen at home a few times - luckily, no broken bones - and my nephew, who lives about 5 minutes away has had to go round and pick her up off the floor). I'd got the number from my neighbour over the road who has a power chair and loves it. "Does your mother have Medicare?" he'd asked. I replied in the affirmative. "Won't cost her a penny", he said. And, it didn't. So far, she's not seen any sort of bill for it, and the folks at the place she's got it from say it's more than likely going to be completely covered by Medicare, her supplimental insurance, or a combination of both.

So, we ooohed, we ahhhed, and then we realized that the thing is HEAVY. Really heavy. It can be disassembled into two parts (the seat itself and the battery/wheel unit) which would fit tidily into our trunk. Except...we can't lift the battery/wheel unit (it's nearly 200 lbs). And, Graham's no lightweight when it comes to strength (I am - you know, like most chicks are unless they've been training for the girly version of Mr Universe). We couldn't budge it between the two of us, so there's no way I'd be able to get it into the car on the occasions when I'm on my own taking Mum out on the town. A look at the manufacturer's website revealed a handy tool for lifting the chair into your........wait for it......mini van. We don't have a mini van, and don't plan on acquiring one. So, all those commercials about how independant one can be when one has one's own power chair - not having to rely on one's friends or relatives to get them to their hair appointments and what-not - are a bunch of arse. To be fair, there are other sites online with solutions for the car, so all's not completely pants, but you still have to shell out anywhere from $800 to over $2000 for one of those things. You'd have thought that would be part of the included accessories for those chairs. I mean - they're not cheap...the model my Mum got was over $5000.

So, whilst we try and figure out how to get this mobile chair...well, mobile, Mum's got a really expensive chair with moving parts parked in her living room.

I thought I'd post some photos, because I've just recently acquired a new desk, and I like it very VERY much, and I just have to share (well, I don't HAVE to, but I'm GOING to):

First, though - here's a shot of Mo bird being all snuggly-like:

Now, here's the previous computer desk/hutch I had:

and, another shot, where my tribute to "The Office" is apparent:

We were offering that free to anyone in our area who wanted it - the only condition was you had to come and collect it y'self, but Graham has since decided that he wants it for sommat or other, so it's off the market, so to speak. :)

And now, a look at the new desk being constructed by my able husband:

Putting the pieces together:

Starting to look like something:

and, the finished product:

Here are the shots of my workspace, all put-together-like - including my painting table. You'll notice some work-in-progress on the new desk, as well as a glass of Cotes du Rhone - which I have since finished and am now on the second of said wine (which is really only 1/2 a glass, because I'm sharing it with my beloved, and there's only about 3 of those sized glasses in a bottle). On the left hand side of the pic of my new desk (the one with the booze apparent), you'll notice my statuette of "Faery Bride", which I started painting, but have not finished - also, on top of the hutch of the new desk is Wendy Feldmann's "Epona" faerie art doll, which I adore, and is therefore in a place of honour watching over all my artistic endeavours, as well as the car of my dreams on the other end of the hutch - a Jaguar:

There...that's what my environment looks like!

In other news...Sebastiani has established itself as a reliable wine source, as far as myself and Sir (my hubby) are concerned. We've sampled their Merlot earlier this evening, and I don't think those folks can do any wrong by the grapes!

My friend, Donna, recommended a venture out to Raffaldini Vineyards, a local winery - we've not been, but I think we might start incorporating some winery visits into our weekends. The thing is, we're both fairly anti-post-drink-driving (even the small amounts injested at wine-tastings), so we'd have to take turns on the local wine-sipping trips!

G'night all!

Here is the story of my near-miss on a connection to The Lord of the Rings films - I'll let a letter written at the time (October 1993), to my pal, Dave, set the scene:

Hi Dave!
Am I ever in a quandary!
Lemme 'splain:

I got a phone call this morning from DC* - the head of wardrobe for The War. Her assistant (or one of her assistants) is leaving next week and she asked me if I would be interested in taking her place. (1st reaction? - Hell, yes!) The problem is: it's only going to be for 1 week and possibly a few days into the following week. If I blow off (where I worked at the time); I'll then be out of work after next week and so far, the feelers I've put out for employment after that have turned up nothing. I'm just not sure whether or not I can afford to take the risk, y'know?

The War, was a film starring Kevin Costner and..............a young Elijah Wood, who a few short years later would be selected to portray one "Frodo Baggins" in the LotR films. To think, if I'd taken the chance and not been worried about how I was going to pay my bills after that brief gig was over, I might have met Elijah and would therefore have a connection (however tenuous) to the films! If I'd been REALLY lucky, we might have connected and been friends and when they were in pre-production, getting fitted for costumes and what-not, he might have said "Hey...y'know, if you need some reliable helpers, my friend Mary would be a good person to have around - and I'm sure she'd LOVE to be involved!"

SIGH....ah, well...a girl can dream......

All's not lost, however - I do have some claim to fame! I'm about to have some artwork published in a new collection of Atlantis-inspired art and poetry entitled "Enchanted Artists; Visions of Atlantis". It's to be released on 1 September, but it's available for pre-order now from the publisher, Ellen Million Graphics, or if you simply must have a copy signed by me, you can head over to the Books section of my website! < /shamless self-promotion >

The Big Link!

The Big Link!

Terror bombings in London today. The people who do this are insane...I don't care what your religious or political beliefs are - this sort of 'expression' of them is just not rational.

Most of our family and friends are in the North of England, but there are a few folks in the London area we're worried about. Since Graham's former workplace moved to the Reigate offices, most of those commuters would probably have been on the outbound trains instead of the tube, but we're not 100% sure.

I'm just sending best wishes for the whole of central London today, and sincerest condolances to those who've lost friends or family.

Tonight, Grahams and I tried the Sebastiani 2001 Zinfandel with our tea. I think we can safely assume that Sebastiani is a reliable source for excellent plonk for a reasonable price. We've got a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from another vineyard in Sonoma County - we've a sneaking suspicion that the soil in Sonoma County must be rather good, as both the Sebastianis we've tried were from their Sonoma County line and are very good, therefore, we're hoping other vineyards in the area have equally exquisite wines for us to enjoy.

Thursday was spent with my artsy friend, Wendy and her two boys, Owen and Quinn. She drove up (down? over?) from Efland and we got together for lunch prior to me having to get some "day job" work done and she & boys going to Hobby Lobby for some shopping. I'd have loved to go, but I had too much to do! Next time, Wendy! She worried that the dark side had infected the kids, but they really weren't so bad! I've been around less-well-behaved kids - where promises of consequences for bad behaviour were never followed through and the kid knew it and just kept right on acting badly. This was a kid even older than Wendy's who should have known (or been taught) better long ago! I also got to see some of her wonderful Faerie Art Dolls up close (they're on her website - go take a look!) and "Epona" is now keeping watch over all my artsy endeavours.

The "Interesting Reads" section has gone missing from my Blogroll...some issue from last week at the Blogrolling site is the culprit, but while their latest updates say "everything's back to normal", it obviously isn't. The "Interesting Reads" section doesn't seem to exist in my Blogroll control panel and all of the links I'd stored there are gone, too. I'm not very pleased, I must say. I've bloody paid for the "Gold" service, and have had no response to my service enquiry as of yet, and no sign of my links!

I may sound like a Limey, but I'm still an American! Twice in the past couple of weeks I've been asked what part of England I'm from. Wendy remarked on my verbal transformation on Thursday, as well. With an Englishman in the house, I've been exposed to and have obviously absorbed certain inflections and dialect patterns. Now I've got a bit of that Linda McCartney way of speaking, or a bit of "haff and hahhf" about me. My chiropractor has teased me about it since I first came out with a "me back's been much better recently" - about three years ago. Hey, any time I can be a source of amusement.... :P

Happy 4th to those celebrating. We're planning a quiet day and an equally quiet evening - hoping we can get a good view of the Oak Hollow Lake fireworks display without having to venture past our own driveway!

And this week's Big Link is...emmmmm...ME! ;)

Happy Birthday, Billy! Thanks for all your efforts in bringing Blogsboro to the world!

It's White Band Day, folks! There's still time to go to MakePovertyHistory.org, or One.org to make your voice heard before the G8 meeting next week!