Wednesday, March 30, 2016

60 is just a number



Celebrating with Guinness
It's approaching fast.  Age 60 is closing in on me. And it sounds SO OLD!

Fortunately Mike is about 5 weeks older than me, and he is my inspiration on staying young after 60!


Mom giving Mike a noogie?  It's a long story!

Antique shopping with Mike is always crazy!

As is grocery shopping with him at Easter...

Another day...another antique mall!

And his new Irish look...


And so my new aspiration for age 60?  
hellraiser.  And I plan to be the best one around! (Thanks to sister Angie for the inspiration).

























So I decided to start getting in the groove BEFORE my 60th...

Girls just gotta have fun.

This kiss!

Enjoying St. Patrick's Day with a few hundred close friends.


Storm Troopers.  Protectors of the aged!

Of course there can be the down side to turning 60.  I may be the new poster child for the commercial "Help.  I've fallen and I can't get up."  Last week I got out of the car with my hands full of stuff.  My shoe lodged in a crack between the driveway and sidewalk, and down I went.  Really!  I couldn't make this stuff up.  Mike was still in the car, and he said I just disappeared from view.  

I lay there for awhile trying to assess everything that hurt.  Shoulder, hip, knee and hand were all vying for my attention.  Fortunately I don't have any broken bones, but I do have some nice bruises to commemorate this little spill.  So the moral of the story?  Take your time and make multiple trips between the car and the house. Don't be a Diane!  OK, maybe I should take this hellraiser thing slowly!!!

Etched copper that will be forged into a cuff bracelet.


And in addition to contemplating turning 60, I've been keeping busy with jewelry class.  I am taking classes two days a week, and it's a blast. Oops, maybe that's not the right choice of words given that we are working with torches...  

Here is what I'm working on:

Hollow silver ring with flower petals.

Mike, Diane, Angie & Eric at Bru Burger on Mass Ave.

And there's been some great family time this past week.  My sister Angie and her family stayed with us a couple of days while they made several college visits.  We enjoyed hanging out with them and taking in the city...

Nephews Dane and Adam grooving with the Dancing Lady 

Dane biked 8 miles with me like it was nothing.  Holy cow!

As usual, I'll end with the sights and sounds around me.  Make no mistake.  It's definitely an interesting life!
Layers of clouds.


Foreboding sunset.

Red trail.

Pretty in pink.

Farmer with a sense of humor.

 And don't worry.  I'm being VERY CAREFUL as 60 races at me.  Keep your feet out of cracks I say!

Take care and have a great week!
Diane

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Catch up time

Power lines at sunset
And you thought I forgot how to write a blog, right?  It's been a long time, and I'm starting to wonder about that myself.  So bear with me as I play catch up...














Mike and I started a second jewelry class at the Indianapolis Art Center.  Since the class started about a month ago, I've finished several pairs of earrings and a necklace.
Silver sawed earrings

Brass lentil beads(textured and hollow inside) made into a necklace and earrings.  

Brass textured earrings with beads 

Our instructor encouraged us to enter the Annual Student Art Show.  I was shocked to find out that I won a $100 award for the spinner ring I made last semester!

Spinner ring
Spinner ring in display case and Rio Grande Award.

We received the Art Center Spring Catalog in the mail last week.  Since we were already taking a class, I almost tossed the catalog.  For some reason I decided to see what jewelry classes were offered, and I was quite surprised to find a picture of Mike in the catalog!
Mike sawing silver earrings.

And as you might expect, I've worked on a few craft projects.  I visited mom recently, and I came up with a project we could work on together: making wreaths out of fabric. So with a supply of Styrofoam wreaths, fabric, felt and pins in hand, we set out to make wreaths.  In a typical fashion, we got a bit carried away, and by the end of the weekend we were sick of wreaths!

Mom working on a wreath
Mom with finished wreath

Green version

Orange version

Gold and white version
Recently I got to babysit for my great nieces Alice and Violet while their mom went to a doctor appointment. They started the afternoon with naps, but of course that didn't last long.  We spent most of the time reading books and more books and...well, you get the idea.  It was a blast!
Me and Alice

Violet and Alice
After a long winter of being a slug, I started my walking routine again.  The first thing I noticed was that my feet hurt.  I researched how long you should keep a pair of walking shoes.  Using statistics from my Fitbit, I was able to determine I had walked about 500 miles on these shoes, and it was definitely time to replace them.  The recent warmer weather and new shoes that feel like I'm walking on clouds add up to steps, steps and more steps.  And it feels great!

Yesterday I found a crocus in bloom in my flower bed.  Today it's 70 degrees , and I was able to head out for a walk without a jacket.  It's amazing how much this nice weather just lifts your spirits...


Stormy sunset

Fluffy spring clouds

And last but not least, here are a few signs to ponder...
Not being familiar with men's haircuts, I was puzzled by this one...

Wish I was in this place!  Picture by Elena.

Joe Schmo.  Gotta love this humor!

 Take care and have a great week!
Diane