Friday, May 27, 2016

Day 21- Surcee-Definition (n): word used in the South to mean a small, thoughtful gift, unexpected gift, just because.

When I gather with my college girlfriends, AKA Galzinbrad, we make a weekend of it.  We cook, swap book titles, walk, explore, and sometimes, we share surcees.  See definition above.

You don't have to bring a surcee.  Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. No pressure.  But, I like to.  The Friday of Galzinbrad 2016 arrived and I was surcee-less.  That's when I resolved to follow my nose.  In my own home.


 
With help of mason jars, some Martha Stewart paint and a few lettering stamps, I was armed with surcees.


Filled with my new summer thirst quencher, hibiscus lemon tea, they were flat-out purty.


Cheers Galzinbrad!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Day 20- Graffiti dear.




Right before school began last fall I adorned Rob's chorus room with this mural.  I was high as a kite when I was done.  Note to self:  don't do graffiti indoors.  Lesson learned.
Rob Burlington, graffiti model.

The school year passed.  But, during our visit to the ATL this past weekend we drove through this visual feast, the Krog street tunnel.  Oh dear.  It inspires me.  Being back in the city was invigorating. The urban vibe, the art, the free spirits.  I love that city.
       


My inspiration led me to get the contact information of two ATL artists from my godson, the amazing studly photographer, Dustin Chambers.  Yesterday I spent the morning watching graffiti tutorials on YouTube.  Love the music in this one:



And then life happened.  I took my kids to choir rehearsal in Uptown last night.  I got a pizza at 7th Street market.  I drove back to get the kids.  And I drove right past this:


I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.  And then the nose-following impulse stirred within me.  I parked the car and walked back.  Upon my return I found a break-dancing/graffiti party behind the Blumenthal in full swing. Complete with deejay.  So that happened.


It turns out, folks were welcome to try some graffiti of their own.  Cue nose following music now.


Yes, I jumped in, white shirt and yellow pants be damned.   In fact, both clothing items show no evidence of my interaction with spray paint.

Someone who knew what they were doing.

Another person with a clue.

I had to.

this too.

Ignore smug mug.  This shot shows how clean my shirt remained.  A graffiti miracle.

Jams.



Oh yeah- go get the kids!  But you know I brought them back to see the jam.
It took Esther 0.00009 seconds to jump in and fix my painting.

Pre-Esther.
Post-Esther.

I see improvement.  But to really get better at this graffiti thing, I need a little guidance.  That's why I got the name of one of the artists there last night.  Don't change that dial- I plan on getting a graffiti lesson next week.


Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Day 18- Erin Miller guides my nose.

We spent the weekend in the ATL.  In addition to seeing a plethora of friends who are our family, I had the privilege of being guided to some new discoveries.  My host, Erin Miller, introduced the whole family to the farm below.

Does it look like a farm?


It's named Creepy Chain Link Fence Doll Farm.  JK.  It's called Freewheel Farm.  Erin has gotten to know Brent Hall, owner of Freewheel Farm, through the Grant Park Farmers Market.


Mini micro greens.




Re-purposed skylights!


My crew exploring the farm.


And guess what.  They have cornflowers growing in abundance!


Panorama below courtesy of my studly godson, Dustin Chambers.


Storage containers.


Farm eye candy.



The kudzu battlefield.



Not the grouchy ladybug.




Thanks to Erin for broadening my horizons through garden inspiration.  Be it hereby known that I am open to following my nose suggestions, even if your last name isn't Miller.

Great video about urban farming at Freewheel Farm:  


Thursday, May 19, 2016

Day 17- Do you have this sweater in amaranth?

Good morning.  Today my nose is leading me through cyber space.  The weather is rainy and I have some end of the year loose ends to tie up before the kids are home for the summer.  Therefore, I am following my nose in a different way today.  Using the site/app StumbleUpon, I am stimulating this middle-aged brain with new colors.  Color.  One of my true loves.  One can see my love of color clearly in the new bar stools at the kitchen bar.

I love these new sturdy stools with attitude.


Through StumbleUpon I landed at Mental Floss, where I learned about some NEW colors.  Of special note:  #5 is something I would have called periwinkle.  And it is one of my very very favorite hues.  I will be taking a closer look at grapes and plums in the future.  
Enjoy!


11 Colors You've Probably Never Heard Of

1. SARCOLINE

Wearing sarcoline—literally "flesh-colored"—high heels makes your legs look longer. Wearing a sarcoline leather jacket reminds everyone of Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.

2. COQUELICOT

Originally another word for poppy, coquelicot is the flower's orange-tinted red color. (It also sounds like a celebrity baby name.)

3. SMARAGDINE

Smaragdine sounds like a Smurfs villain, but it means emerald green. It was the 2013 Pantone Color of the Year.

4. MIKADO

It's a Japanese emperor, a comic opera, and a bold yellow.

5. GLAUCOUS

Glaucous was first used as a color name in 1671, but it's more than a hue. It describes the powdery—and perfectly harmless—blue-gray or blue-green coating on grapes and plums.

6. WENGE

If you've ever shopped for furniture, you know wenge. It's that dark brown wood color with copper undertones that even classes up particle board. Actual wenge wood comes from the endangered Millettia laurentii legume tree, so you won't find it at West Elm.

7. FULVOUS

What makes an owl or duck fulvous? Brownish-yellow feathers.

8. XANADU

It's a Chinese city, a 1980 musical flop, and the gray-green color of the philodendron leaf.

9. FALU

The deep red shade commonly found on barns is Falu. It's named for the Swedish city of Falun, where it originated in a copper mine.

10. EBURNEAN

Something that's eburnean is as white as ivory. Of course, ivory's not completely white—it has a slightly yellow shade.

11. AMARANTH

Rose-red amaranth isn't just a plant. It's a color, too. The word amaranthine—with definitions including related to the amaranth, eternally beautiful, and everlasting—is also a pigment, but it's darker than amaranth. Not to mention that amaranths are actually short-lived perennials. Confused yet?