Flight School

Last week I took a class at the OSU Flight School - what it takes to be a private pilot. Lots of good information plus getting to sit in a couple of Cessnas and a Piper. To top it off, we had the chance to do a flight simulation. I did pretty well for not knowing much of anything about flying or the instruments. Take-off and flying were fairly easy...the landing is a whole other story with many things to keep under control. I did what they call a porpoise landing - wheels hit and bounce up and go back down just like a porpoise jumping out of the water. Then I forgot that on the ground, the pedals control the plane. Oops, my bad! The virtual emergency services were probably called to the scene...the instructor wisely reset the program before I could stop the plane. I hope that wasn't my entrance exam!

I won't be enrolling into flight school any time soon mostly due to the financial cost. But I am not totally eliminating the option. It takes 6-8 months to get a private pilot's license if doing lessons on a weekly basis. I want to do a "test" flight with an instructor who will take me up in a plane for 30-40 minutes so I experience what it is really like. Then I would need to check out possible scholarships/sponsors or private pilot jobs available around town to see if I could recoup my investment compared to it being a "hobby" (too pricey for that). There are 4 or 5 airports in/around the Columbus area besides CMH plus so many more in Ohio than I ever realized.

Paper and Secret Belgian Binding

I have always loved paper and books. I still do and prefer to feel the paper as I turn pages when I read. I was even a librarian for a while. I have tried over the years to take a paper-making class. Unfortunately, either my schedule conflicted or the class was canceled due to lack of participants. A few months back I saw a small paper making kit at an art store and promptly bought it with the coupon I had. A few weeks ago my husband was unpacking his "war room" (what he calls his office) and came upon some very, very old files. He shredded the documents into 2 big boxes - one he took to the recycling center and one he left at home for me. Then I had no excuses for NOT breaking out the paper-making kit.

It turns out shredded documents have a lot of text that turns the slurry gray. I added some solid colored party napkins to change the color. Below is a photo of the more-fun-to-use-recycled-from-bills paper I made. The sheet on the far right is more chunky and you can see some of the shredded text. I added some glittery bling to a couple of the sheets to add sparkle. I barely made a dent in the box of shredded paper! I also found some other fun additives for paper (sparkly stuff, botanicals, etc.) so I have plenty of options for more to do. It's just finding the time and space to make a wet mess in the process. [You can click on the photos to see a larger image.]



When I saw the Cultural Arts Center offered a Book & Paper Arts Class, I wanted to register but had to wait a year since I had another Monday night class. I have been thoroughly enjoying the class. Each session is 6 to 8 weeks long and goes all year long.

Recently we learned the Secret Belgian Binding. The binding wasn't well known and is supposedly Belgian. Hedi Kyle was the one who examined an old book with the binding and figured out how to do the stitching. It can be a bit challenging at the beginning (holding all the parts together and keeping constant tension) but the pattern is basic.

For the cover, I chose a soft flock with paper backing. I have gotten very tactile lately and love the feel of it. I picked a thread that would show against the cover color since the stitch is interesting and decorative.

One of the nice things about this binding is the book lays flat when open - perfect for journals or other blank books for writing.

For my end sheets, I used some textured wallpaper samples.

Another Faux Real Performance

LouAnn, Amy R., Donna

My improv troupe, Faux Real, performed again at the Thirsty Ear. We opened for Parlor Tricks, Shimmy Shake Project, and Fake Bacon. We did a short set of four games, of which three were new games for us.

LouAnn, Amy T., Amy R., Donna playing Panel of Experts

Amy T., a blurry Amy R., LouAnn, Donna during Questions Only

John got pulled onto stage during Fake Bacon's set. They asked him questions about his profession & hobbies. Then they sang a song about him while he was sitting there. Quite funny and John was a good sport about it (he is not fond of being on stage).

Need help with plant & tree identification!

Spring has sprung and we have inherited some landscaping from the previous owners. I know almost nothing about plants or trees and their care. I would like to change that and keep our yard nicely landscaped with trees and plants. I am asking YOUR help in identifying what is already in the yard and its care. I assume things blooming now are perennials instead of annuals (in my mind, the terms should be switched as annual means yearly or once a year....they bloom once a year...instead of ONCE).

Below are 20 photos I took of the yard this week. I believe you can click on the photo to get a larger image. If you know what the plants are and how to care for them, please leave a comment on my blog with the information!!

Also, I discovered planters of rosemary and Greek oregano outside - any chances they will be okay and still be alive/grow after being outside all winter?

I appreciate any help or information you can give me!

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Photo 3 (the tree in front with pinkish blossoms):

Photo 4 (I know it may be hard to identify without leaves):

Photo 5 (are most of these "weeds" growing under the tree?):

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Photo 10 (some sort of natural grass? does it need to be cut back/trimmed?):

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Photo 18 (2 plants - the upper left looks like lamb's ear with fuzzy leaves):

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Photo 20 (these are all over in the front and back yards):

More Egg Decorating

Earlier this month, I shared the Ukrainian decorated egg I did in class. I enjoyed it so much that I bought some supplies online to do more at home. Yep, I got all 17 colors of dye. And I am so visual oriented and organized (some call it something else), that I made labels for my dye jars. That way I can tell how the colors actually appear. I also got the traditional fine and extra fine wax writing instruments called kistka (seen on the plate in the photo below). I took pictures through the process of one of the eggs. I used yellow, red, and black.





Once the egg design and colors are done, the wax is melted to reveal the completed egg. I did 4 designs with the wax resist (Ukrainian) method. It takes a LONG time and I wanted more colored eggs so I used alcohol ink on two of them. My basket of eggs.....

NCAA Basketball

My husband has coordinated an NCAA men's basketball pool every year for who knows how long (way before I ever met him). I do not follow college basketball. Regardless, he tries to get me to fill out a bracket. I don't like making uninformed choices...but this year I decided to submit an entry. I placed the entry under our youngest cat's name and picked teams according to mascots that were "kitty-related". I was surprised to see there are 3 teams that are Wildcats. Anyway, I had no expectations of doing well since many of the cat/animal mascots are lower seed teams. So I am having a good laugh and am quite amused at my lead in the pool currently!! I know it's temporary but it's nice to be first even for a short time. I did pick Villanova to win it all. Go Wildcats!!

Egg Decorating

It has been years and years since I have colored eggs for Easter. You know, the basic dunk and dye with perhaps some crayon resist techniques. This year I saw a class offered on Ukrainian Egg Decorating and decided to register. The pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs) I have seen were beautiful, colorful, and detailed. It looked like a challenging skill to acquire.

Luckily, the process itself is not hard per se - just time consuming and a bit messy. It also helps to have a steady hand, which I do not. The process is a wax-resist so hot wax and fire (candle) are involved. I found it interesting that pysanka (singular of pysanky) is from the verb pysaty which is "to write". The decorating method is considered writing with beeswax on the egg.

Although my first attempt took me a couple hours, I can see myself getting hooked on it [as if I need another hobby]. I have ordered some supplies to make more on my own. It may become my annual Easter tradition to break out the supplies and make one (or more, if time permits).

We were told in class that in the old days only the women decorated the eggs (and no one else was allowed to peek) and did it together in groups, usually at night after the children went to bed. Decorated eggs were given to women who wanted children, put in water troughs to ensure the animals reproduced, given to protect a house from fire or carried around a house after a blaze was started to help stop the spread of flames or egg shells were thrown into a fire to help extinguish it, and hung from fruit tree branches in the spring to bring a good harvest...and many other uses in traditional rites. There is much symbolism in the designs and colors used. Obviously, pysanky were very important and so when Christianity was spreading, the missionaries incorporated them into Christian beliefs.

It is all quite fascinating to me.

Anyway, below are photos of my first pysanka. It's my own free hand design and I went with the earth tone colors.