And Who Might This Be?

Well, this might be my first real attempt at a complete head-to-toe Creature of the Night -- the night in question being October 17th to put a point on it – when I hop over to A Fanciful Twist’s Halloween Celebration here. When I say hop over, I don't mean I am going to ... erm, unless of course, some one puts a spell on me.

I already have the little Creature's duds picked out and yes, those will be made by hand. Nothing too good for My Baby here -- and I have for My Own Self a lovely pair of black lace gloves to join right in with everyone else.

And topping it off, maybe a new hairdo ... ! Oh brother, you don't need a hat with something like this, do you?

Between that and my own Mad Hatter Tea Party, which you can read about here, October is already shaping up to be "a fun time was had by all." And it’s still September, for cryin’ out loud.

Am I rushing things? Seeing as how before LABOR DAY there were already Christmas decorations in Hobby Lobby and certain small sections of Michael’s, au contraire, mon frère…or should that be soeur?

I leave you now with some photo experiments taken in the first sunny days after the rains hit.

Allow me to share my new journal's first page. I sometimes make collages for the inside covers of my journals. (Say, isn't that the Baby??)

And a quick reminder that Nature is the best set dresser of all.

Take care.
Candace in Athens.

(Medusa, AP Photo.)

The 2nd Annual Mad Hatter's Tea Party

TA-DA!

Hello everyone!

Yes, the 2nd Annual Mad Hatter's Tea Party is on for Saturday, October 24th, right here in the Classic City, and on this here blog. Only a month away so I need to get hopping --

Last year, I had a Mad Hatter's Tea with live-action friends and shared it through a photo or two on this here blog. Several folks liked the idea and occasionally I'd get notes asking if I was going to do it again and share it again and -- well, YES!

If you do want to join in on the 24th, go ahead and leave a comment here stating you do want to join in the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. I will add you to the roll call, which means folks can enjoy each other’s hats and more that day and throughout the year.

Here Are “The Rules”. Uh, there aren't any.

All you have to concern yourself with is – you know it! – a HAT. You can draw it, photograph it, colour it with pencils, crayons, sculpt it, paint it, woodburn it. YouTube it. And then post it to your blog on Saturday, October 24th. If you want to throw in some art or a white rabbit, great!

And before I sign off, I want to share something fun for those of you out there who love teas and in particular, Alice in Wonderland and her Mad Hatter’s Tea. Yes, it's the trailer for "Alice" by Tim Burton. Enjoy.

And THIS little treat is from the SyFy (Sci Fi) Channel. It looks fun and STRANGE (two of my prerequisites) and these folks did a fairly decent job with "The Tin Man". So I thought I would just Check. It. Out. It debuts in December, just in time for another holiday.

No problem, Pals, no muss, no fuss. Just a hat… and whatever else your heart desires, if the hat isn’t enough.

Take care!
Candace in Wonderland.

Forecast

Sunny!

Finally -- after two weeks of near 24/7 rains of Biblical proportions -- Hail His Majesty, the Sun!



Does this tee tiny in my hand not look like Jack Skellington from "The Nightmare Before Christmas"? Do you want to know what it -- gulp -- really is? **

The Faerie Condominiums have now given rise to the Next Generation of Faerie Starter Homes. Looks like a real neighborhood of the Fey is starting up in the backyard, doesn't it? I must remember to leave a little dish of beer out for them. Or does this generation have more refined tastes? No doubt they will let me know as my own Halloween Shindig gets closer and closer...

I find now that Autumn is here, I yearn for cool weather, I want to bring out all my dark clothes and tights and sturdy shoes, scarves and caps or hats. I want candles, old lanterns and sparkling bits... atmospheric music, fog and warm golden porch lights.

Yes, yes, it's hard to be patient when you're a big kid like me.

That's why I joined A Fanciful Twist's Halloween Blog Party -- October 17th will see this little blog transform for some trick AND treat funsterism well before the 31st.

Say Kids, enough messin' around now. Art Shenanigans this weekend!

Take care and I hope to see you.

Candace in Athens.

PEACE FOR FALL

I actually like Mondays even when busy working as it represents a fresh beginning to me. If you've had a good weekend in particular, which I did, it can help make the new day and week even better.

This Monday is/was International Peace Day. Wow, talk about fresh beginnings. And do click here to visit other participants in Rhonda Roo's Peace Party. And if you think you are too late… it’s never too late. You know that, right?




It's not just the Woodstock Generation that "rides on the Peace Train" now. I think we all understand what's goin' on at this point, don't you? A friend once said, "You can't change the world." We aren't being asked to change the world. We are being tasked with changing ourselves on an individual basis. And if that miracle happens for everyone, guess what? Okay, okay, I know I am preaching to the choir...

Plus Tuesday is/was the Autumnal Equinox on this side of the big blue marble. Some of you are having the Spring Equinox, of course. That’s how Mother Earth rolls, baby. (We’ll all catch up with each other one day -- don’t worry!)

And so, on that decidedly perky tone –-
Take Care and Go Make Some Art!
Candace in Athens.

Two Hundred and Fifty and Counting!

Hello Everyone!

My "staycation" was over last week and I returned to the ol' salt mines this past Monday. All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others.... remember that?

Sorry to be so quiet but much has been going on...

So on this, my 250th post (who'd'a thunk it?), I leave you with not so much as a flashback as a flash forward.

A little bird told me to get to work. My busiest time of year, personally and professionally, is on its way!

I took time out to read some magazines.

And enjoy Nature.... oh yes, about THAT...

Yep, that is a sweet potato sprouting of its own free will in there with the (nogoodnik) tomatoes. It's playing a game called "Let's Aggravate Candace." With another sweet potato. Sprouting. With no coaching whatsoever. I hear both of them snicker when I walk past...

I spent time with My Best Peeps (you KNOW those are Kitten's [real] feet, right?)

over good food (we went to RuSan's, our fave place!) in person, well as by post.

AND post cards! Thanks, Chris! Chris lives in Hong Kong with the Heroine of his story and Pommes the Wonder Cat and I highly recommend regular visits.

Say, speaking of Wonder Cats,

Kitty Boy continues to work on his table manners. A losing battle, trust me.

And finished up some blog friend goodies. Whew... !

I'll be back next weekend for more fun and hijinks -- but for now, hi ho hi ho, it's off to work we go, as well as waiting for My Moleskine Journal so that I can truly join in on The Sketchbook Project.

Take care.

Candace in Athens

Animal Farm

Hello there!

I don't consider Saturday mornings at the Farmers Market a success unless I spill something on myself. Fortunately the coffee that found its way onto my shirt was hidden by the stripes on said shirt.

But nothing in the world should hide this little piggy who went to market on her first visit!

Named Babe, she will not be used for anything other than being a big pig with her own litters one day, raised with obvious love and humour by the Farm who keeps her and her mom in feed -- isn't she tiny? Yeah... now she is, but just wait. And she was incredibly soft, her little red whiskers like fine paintbrush bristles.

Here she is getting a bottle from one of the kids who takes care of her. She has a rather ugly booboo on her right side near the back leg. Mom stepped on her when she was born... only two weeks ago!

Carrie with one of the chicks being raised by these same farmers, one of them a British transplant, now outside Athens... so Sarah, if you are interested in moving your own household, we evidently are quite the place to be now.

My Good Girls outside on their private porch -- Molly obviously still peeved over her earlier vet visit as it takes away from her early morning Sun Worship. Bess, who obviously loves everything and everyone, has no grievances whatsoever.

When I see these morning glories on the Girls' fence, I know Autumn is really just down the road... and it can't get here fast enough for me.

A report on my "staycation" will be filed on this here blog later this week.

Till then, take Care of yourselves from

Candace in Athens

Pax Vobiscum

Candace

The Shrine and 10 Things About Me

First, what we have been waiting for. What I have gathered you all here for...

Last year, I told you about my friend Melody who died (unbeknownst to all her friends) some months earlier, a day after her birthday, two days after Christmas. I labeled that post “Pavane For A Dead Princess” as it seemed very apt at the time. She loved that piece of music, which you can hear at this url. There is a lovely painting that accompanies it.

I vowed last summer to make Melody a shrine one day… and while I do not think Kitten knew she was steering me towards this memorial, I don’t believe in mere coincidence. This was something that was meant to be.

And now, this shrine is growing into something much bigger than an aspirin-sized tin. Already, I have shown you other bits and pieces of items which will go on this shrine… the heart of which is in this last photo here. While not innately sentimental, I think Melody would be really pleased at the intent and attempted artistry.

Melody liked knowing and discussing the cultural differences and commonalities regarding the most basic of things shared on this old blue marble we all call Home. Death was one of them... as was love.

Hopefully by el Dia de los Muertos, the shrine will have been completed and will be shown to you all at that time.

And NOW, for The 10!

Tagged by the fabu Janet of “Are We There Yet?”, I agreed to participate in this “confessional”. But I thought I would spice it up just a touch… like it needs it.

Just like everyone else’s, my life is filled with wonderful, magical things completed by sparkling elements, while over there in other corners, not so fun things have wreaked havoc on me and others.

Interactive (there are more urls, more fun). Rated Mature. Here We Go-Go!

10 Things About Me, Myself, and I

1. I used to sing and dance in front of the tube whenever A., Mickey Mouse Club or B., Liberace were on the little black and white television.

2. I read a book a week, sometimes two, and I make a little art every day.

3. I’m a published author.

4. I could read really, really, really well -- like the newspaper and the Bible, etc. -- when I was four years old. Oh yeah, and my uncle Dewey’s Argosy magazines.

5. I started drinking coffee when I was four years old, too. Coincidence between items 4 and 5? You be the judge!

6. I was Amahl in a college production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” two years in a row. (Stop laughing! I was small, I had a good voice, I was a ham -- i.e., I was great!) Seriously, there is no way I can tell you how thrilled I was as I had seen the original presentations as a child, sitting by my mom, both of us mesmerized by the story of the little crippled shepherd boy, his poor but proud mother and Three Wise Men, who just happen to be looking for a special child … 7. I was ostracized in high school when folks found out my sister’s husband was African-American. Yes, it was rough. I had two friends -- Leon and Janice. Even now, I would come home with my shield or on it for them. Yes, just like the 300...

8. I play the piano and sing and dance – but not at the same time.
9. I talk to my animals. Yes, out LOUD. I don’t care who hears me. Sometimes I indulge them with baby talk, sometimes aggravated adult talk. (Hey, you’ve seen them and know what I have to deal with.)
10. I drove my best friend to a certain kind of clinic three states away when I was 20 years old -- and I had no license at the time. She was threatening to either “commit suicide” or “just do it myself with a coat hanger”. So another friend and I took turns driving and crying… there and back. Please note that this was while we were all attending private and very conservative religious schools. We were scared there and back again, and upset and confused in so many ways for a long, long time. We all ended up no longer friends within the year. No fights, just – drifting ap-ar -t. Staying a-wa ...y from each other.

So there you have it. Fun and not so, eh? Well, that’s how it goes. In the words of Sam Lamott, “I think I already understand about life: pretty good, some problems.” Of course, Sam was seven when he let loose with this pithy pronouncement. I’m past that by some years now.

Get More of What and Who You Love.

Candace

Tee Tiny -- Another Look

Hello Everyone!

FIRST: Here is the art giveaway I wrote about last week. If this link doesn't do it for you, just go to the incomparable Cart Before The Horse and check out Jo’s giveaway.

While my shrine is not 100% completed, for boring mundane reasons I won’t go into now, here are First Looks of only some of the things in that Tee Tiny Challenge of a Shrine.

I used my hand for scale before putting the heart in the second photo.

And I have to admit, I did set up these “dates” given. That’s right, Kitten never set those dates for me. I did it to myself. (Talk about shooting yourself in the foot – lol!)

I know, I know... you are all wondering HOW I am going to fit all those items into that shrine!? Trust me.

We have an Art Shenanigans Day Friday and I can hardly wait. It’s been too long.

On another happy note, Anne of Gaal Creative has given me the MEME Award (seen below). Thanks, Anne! I have to tell seven things about myself. Uh oh. Janet over here has tagged me as well and I have to tell 10 other things about myself. Whew. I might have to start making stuff up!

Let me start with The Seven and work my way up – tomorrow – to The 10.

1. I have been in two very bad car accidents.

2. I read a book a week, sometimes more, even during earnings season when I am my busiest.

3. I read what are still unfortunately referred to as “comic books”. Little do some folks know!

4. I watch and read and write SF&F (and horror).

5. I am a member of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

6. I am a member of the Atlanta Food Bank.

7. I am allergic to shellfish, particularly shrimp, which I used to eat TONS of until I hit 40. And then, one day – bam!

And let me leave you now with these shots of the Faerie Folks’ latest work in our back yard. They aren’t just building Faerie Rings this year. Some of these are one step away from Faerie Condominiums. (That’s T’s hand in one shot for a semblance of scale.)

It looks like someone took a bite out of that one, doesn't it?

Mmmm.... look me in the eye.

Tune in tomorrow for more Shenanigans.

Get More of What You Love.
Candace in Athens

Tee Tiny Challenges -- Part One

These flowers are all but gone now, just days after blooming their hearts out for me in the woods beside my house. And they certainly are not tee tiny, believe you me.

Hello Everyone!

"Odalisque" (below) is my first showing of what is going on to the 2 inch by 2 inch (aka Tee Tiny) canvas. Sorry it's a little blurry. It goes onto the canvas Friday. And you'll see it then when it is totally finished. So there you go!
Here is a link to "A Fanciful Twist" which was linked to -- sort of -- on my last post. This Halloween Party in Blogovia looks like SO much fun I cannot resist and hope you won't resist it, either.

So on to Tee Tiny -- Part Two next. I mean, seriously. Posting it in a few, Peeps.

Get More of What You Love,

Candace

Almost Here!

And I don't mean just the SHRINE DAY FOR LABOR DAY gimmick.

Well, okay, okay -- that too. But let’s be honest. If you’re like me, sometimes you get a little “Sick of Pink”

and bright perky rooms and décor, perfect hairdos on perfect people wearing perfect “too-cute” clothing. After a while, you need something totally different to keep you going, hold your attention and make you smile --.

Well then, might I suggest you actually consider embracing that change? How about mysterious soft music and crisp cool air with apple cider and fun games like bobbing for apples? Might I suggest orange, and golden tones, deep green and garnet and – HALLOWEEN?

I would really like to do more than simply suggest and instead highly recommend going HERE and then, checking out THIS and finally on Labor Day proper, along with the Shrine Day For Labor Day Holiday On Ice gimmick, I will pop in a fun giveaway from a rather well known and respected artisan to boot. Fun stuff you’re sure to love as we count down to My National Holiday!

Look at my compost pile which did not overall accomplish much gardenwise, but today, of course…

That's Nature for you, isn't it? That Gal does what she wants, when she wants. And like it or not, that's (usually) a good thing.

Take care and check back Monday -- oh yes, and

Get More of What You Love.

Candace in Athens.

All The Birds Are Leaving

Welcome to September!
The name of this little piece is “Miss Collins”. As you can see, all the birds are leaving. Ah how can they know it’s time for them to go?

This is one of her own favourites as well as one of mine, particularly today. Is the summer done up and gone? What happened? It was here just a second ago! Yes, there is a definite chill in the air today... however, yes, it is Sandy Denny and not Judy. It's the song, not the singer.

Was I green in 1972 when I first heard this? You have no idea. Not even I have an idea and I was there.

Then, just as quickly as this summer of ‘09 has up and gone, it was Christmas ‘72, on the precipice of ’73 when things really did change for me. And a record player and “Colors of the Day” happened (thanks, Janice, wherever you done up and gone to!) … and I sat down and freehanded one of my first sketches while this song played in my folks' big ass living room. Jeez Louise, even for today, it is a big living room. I’ve lived in entire houses that were smaller than that one room.

Back then, my folks’ house seemed enormous. Even the last day I was in it, my mother truly up and gone forever, and then my dad taken to his new home – gosh, when was that? Really? -- there was a vastness to that living room. With furniture from what seemed like a retro minimalist's dream, blond hardwood floors and a magnificently expansive “picture window”, I swear you could have flown a 747 through that place, landing it safely on the old upright.

Speaking of sketches – and I was at some point - I am indeed in "The Sketchbook Project", thanks to nudges from Sarah Wallis and Anne Gaal. Anne already has her sketchbook, that lucky girl! And I think I will start up another blog to deal with this opportunity, again thanks to a good idea on a certain Circle of Rain post! This will truly be fun.

Have you forgotten the SHRINE DAY FOR LABOR DAY gimmick? Next Monday, rain or shine, I have to have that work up or You Know Who (Kitten!) will take away my crayons! Mmmm… what is in my shrine? What have I chosen? How small can I get? How large? How ridiculously fun will it be? How somber?

Well, darlings, do show up and find out. And join in -- it’s not too late. Yours can be large as large can be. I am the one with those tee tiny challenges, remember -- not you.

Take care! Yes, yes, I am shutting down -- AND up -- now.
Get More of Everything.
Candace in Athens.