4/22/09

Books, Books, Books and Books



I love to read. I have always loved to read.

I remember some of my favorite Golden Books from before I could read them myself. There was "The Very Best Home for Me" about the woodland animals that lived together in cozy disharmony, mostly over food and who went in search of homes where they could have food that better suited their particular appetites. Another was about the Campbell Soup Kids and the main thing I remember about that book was a recipe that consisted of a leaf of lettuce on a salad plate, topped with a pineapple ring into which half a banana was placed (pointed end up), a dab a mayonnaise on the banana tip and a maraschino cherry on top. I remember making and eating that salad. Now that I think about it, it was a weird salad, to say the least.

I went to the library as soon as I was old enough to go and got piles of books to read. I don't remember what they were, but there were piles of them. I still do that. Once a week, I take my library bag to our local library and fill it with books. I don't read all of them, but I figure if I get enough of them, I'll find one or two that I'll enjoy. Sometimes, I don't particularly enjoy any of them, so I have to go back and give it another try.

I favor mysteries, particularly short mystery stories. I think I've read all of the Mystery Writers of America best picks for every year since the beginning of time. Other times, I love true adventure stories about mountain climbers, shipwrecks, being stranded somewhere and other exciting stuff. I think I've listed some in my Favorite Books list here on the blog.

I'm reading a book right now called "A Girl Named Zippy" by Haven Kimmel. I just picked it off of the shelf and it's good - sort of. I've been pretty absorbed in it for two days and I have to say that it is kind of starting to wear on me. It was the author's first book and so it is somewhat too clever and I would say, a little unpolished. However, it has kept my attention for long periods of time, so it must be pretty OK. It started out as a small town memoir and then somewhere along the line I feel the author began a subtle and sometimes not so subtle campaign to really put down her religious upbringing. Once that started, it sort of lost it's charm for me. I just wanted to laugh and be entertained, not assaulted by her need to purge. I don't imagine I'll read another of her novels.

Occasionally, I like a good western. However, I really only like one writer - Elmer Kelton. He is just wonderful. His stories are simple, good hearted, well written and keep your interest. My husband is also a fan. I got him started and both of us have read most of the Elmer Kelton in the library. My favorite Elmer Kelton character is Huey Calloway - a tough old cowboy who works hard, loves his horse, requires little maintenance and doesn't want to be tied down. Elmer Kelton has written a few novels starring Huey - they are super.




There was a time when I wanted to marry Sherlock Holmes. This was a long time ago before I realized that he was a little to anal for my tastes. Plus, he strikes me as probably not capable of any type of romantic feeling, although I think there was one story where there was a woman of interest......... Whatever the case, my love interest in Sherlock Holmes has long been dead.

Think I'll go peruse my bag of books and read.

4/5/09

Bathroom Cabinet Transformation

I wish that I had taken a picture of this little cabinet when I first picked it up at a flea market for $20. It was dull brown and had a glass mirror in the door. You can't appreciate how much different it is without that to compare it with, but whatever the case, I neglected to get the "before" pictures. This is what it looked like after I painted it, including the back wall piece. I removed the mirror and got a piece of glass cut to the same size for the door so that after it is completed you will be able to see inside of it, including the cool painted back wall, originally brown also.

It's circus/carnival themed and I've still got a long way to go before it becomes the work of art that I intend it finally become.
I painted the top piece with a blood red velvety looking curtain in front of blue sky and white clouds. I then started looking on Google images for circus or carnival related pictures that I could use for a collage. Over the past few weeks, I've been revisiting the project on and off as I also completed another abstract painting (shown at the end of this post. I found several images that I printed out on the computer and then painstakingly cut out with little scissors. Today I arranged them on the top piece and glued them down. Here's what it looks like now including a couple of pictures showing some of the image detail.




The original aqua color of the cabinet was too bright and I wanted a more aged look, so I brushed/wiped the cabinet using a watered down mix of acrylic Yellow Oxide and Raw Umber. In addition, on the door frame, I added dots and then brushed/wiped it with the same Oxide/Umber mix, but also a bit of Cadmium Orange.

I'll keep you posted as I make progress. I've got some little people I ordered on Ebay that I may paint and put somewhere. I'll look to find a very ornate circus knob for the door and will decorate the cabinet sides. There's a little towel bar along the bottom that I am thinking about in terms of something or things hanging down - we'll have to see what evolves.

Here's the painting I completed - well, almost completed, I think I may do something more over in the left hand corner area in lime green.