Tag Archive for '2009'

See you in 2010!

Published
by
robayre
on December 26, 2009
in General Update, life and lists
. 2 Comments

The end of the year is less than a week away. I still have a few things on my 2009 list that I would like to accomplish, but one that I MUST. That item is to shut off my computer for one week. The timing is perfect as I’m on vacation from work next week and won’t have the temptation while I’m there. I have so many things that I’d like to do while I’m on vacation and although it will be hard to avoid my addiction (email, twitter, flickr, facebook, etc.) it will give me much added time to do these things. At midnight tonight I will shut off my computers (desktop and laptop) and they will remain off for one week.

um, as for the picture above. I got my haircut and when trying to think of how to design my away message, well, let’s just say you never know where inspiration will strike.

Have a wonderful last week of 2009! and I’ll be back soon :D


the last NaBloPoMo Hurrah!

Published
by
robayre
on November 30, 2009
in General Update, goals and life
. 0 Comments

It is the last day of November and the last day of National Blog Posting Month. I got an email from NaBloPoMo today announcing that next month’s theme is Mitzvah and the challenge is to give something to someone everyday of the month and post about it. I LOVE that idea! BUT, I am so burnt out from this month and of all the things that fill my daily life. If only I had known that theme before I decided to take on this month’s challenge I might have held out for December.

That being said, my sister was so kind to point out to me that SewMamaSew’s Give-Away day is coming up. If I can’t give away things all month long the least I can do is one day and since I had so much fun participating in this in the past there is no chance I’d miss it.

Please check back and see what I will be giving away. I haven’t decided yet. If you have any suggestions I’d be glad to hear them.  Anything from my shop would be cool.

Polaroid Week 2009

Published
by
robayre
on November 2, 2009
in General Update
. 2 Comments

It’s is Polaroid Week 2009! I’ll be posting a new Polaroid picture each day this week, Monday through Friday. I posted about it over at HelloCraft.

This morning I started browsing through my collection of Polaroid cameras looking for one that might have film left in it. None of them did and this triggered panic. Reality hit for the first time. I might never be able to buy Polaroid instant film ever again. I knew I had at least one film pack left in the basement, but I immediately started kicking myself thinking “WHY DIDN’T YOU STOCK UP WHEN THEY ANNOUNCED PRODUCTION STOPPED!”

When they originally announced that Polaroid halting production of their instant films I wasn’t worried, I had tons of boxes of film still. I continued to take pictures frivolously as if each film pack was like water and would never run out. Deep down inside I thought it was just a threat and Polaroid would never dare to stop making a product that everyone loves, a product that has become so deep rooted in our culture/society and such a huge medium in the art world.

I drove around today thinking, thinking, thinking. This last film pack I have has to last the week and plus some. I’m allotting only one picture a day. No take backs, no re-dos, no multiple shots. Each and every picture might be one of the very last Polaroid pictures ever taken. Ever. That carries a lot of weight and pressure.

It’s beautiful outside today. A gorgeous fall day with blue skies and growing bare trees with the goldest of gold leaves remaining. But is a snapshot of that worthy of one of the last pieces of film? Hasn’t that been done again and again?

I hoped that when the time came for today’s picture, the one that was meant to be, that I would realize it and be able to capture it fully. I kept my camera by my side as went through my day.

I took the rest of the day off work and decided to utilize my day fully. I got things done that I just can’t seem to force myself to do on the weekends. I cleaned out my dead car and went to the post office. I grabbed a box of tulip bulbs that I had purchased as part of my “To-Do list for 2009″. I went outside and put my hands in the earth. As I dug through the cold dirt I realized that this would be the picture. I’ll document this as I cross off an item off my list. A perfect item to document, as planting fall bulbs also carries connotations of death and rebirth. As everything dies and goes into hibernation for the winter, I’m investing in and hoping for beauty in the future/upcoming spring.

Of course, the picture didn’t turn out as I had hoped, and where I normally would have retaken it, this year, I get what I get. So here it is. My first contribution to Polaroid Week 2009. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Polaroid too has a rebirth and that we can keep it going. If you read the quick Hello Craft article I wrote (linked above) you will find several links to help support the movement. Please take a moment to check those out.

And I’d love to hear if you are also participating in “Roid Week”. Leave me a comment. Polaroidgirl on twitter has created a list (here) of all the people participating, and of course there is the flickr group devoted to it as well.

Been Busy!

Published
by
robayre
on September 16, 2009
in General Update, My Artwork, etsy, fiber, life and shop update
. 3 Comments

I’m on a roll, checking things off my lists.

Dinner is on, changed the cat’s litterbox, changed the burned out lights in the garage, photographed and listed new items in my etsy shop. Now it’s time to knock out this one last item for tonight. Blog.

I can’t believe it is already Wednesday. I wanted to post about my whirlwind weekend and it’s seems the week is slipping by just as quickly.

Thursday evening my best friend and I went to the Sandwich Fair. It’s actually the county fair and pretty small-town. Imagine tractor pulls and lots of 4H kids running around. I got to visit the rabbit house, the chicken house and ate corn on the cob, onion blossom, ribs and fried cheese, what more can you ask for? Erica and I took a picture together in a BIG chair, which goes along with our eternal search for BIG things, like here and here.

   

Friday, is my errands day and I went to get reproductions made of 3 original pieces of mine. I’m very excited to offer these as I’ve been wanting to do it for so long, they are such great quality and they are extremely affordable. They are listed in the shop right now :D

Saturday was my cousin’s wedding at the Drake in Chicago. We dressed up and a great time. Really, I couldn’t have been more happy after I found out that they had a photo booth at their reception. That definitely made my night. Congratulations to David and Sarah, they seemed to be on a new plane of happiness that day, and congratulations to my Aunt, who reads here regularly :D

These are the pictures from the photo booth. It’s my sister, matt and I. 1st picture is just smiles, second picture is the paparazzi shot, 3rd picture is sad face, fourth picture is roller coaster.  Funny enough, afterward my brother and sister in law were showing their pictures to us and they did something similar, ending in a picture called “tyrannosaurus!”

Sunday my sister and I went to the Renegade craft fair in chicago. I didn’t buy one thing  and that wasn’t for lack of desire. I found many things I liked but it would be way too expensive, they didn’t have my size, or the variety was gone and I wasn’t crazy about the remaining color selections. Lesson learned, it’s better to go on Saturday before all the good stuff is gone.

And then Sunday evening on the ride home I finally finished my cowl, and of course, it’s been in the 80s all week long. I’m excited to make more of these. In fact, now that I’ve completed posting and crossing off the final item on today’s to-do list I think I will begin a new one.

Thanks for stopping by and reading :D

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Published
by
robayre
on August 2, 2009
in General Update, My Artwork and life
. 7 Comments

I finally did it! After reading 20 pages here and 20 pages there I finally finished reading The Time Traveler’s Wife. Check another one off the list!

Years ago my sister lent me her copy of the book, telling me I’ll love it. It sat on the book shelf forever. I don’t know, it just sounded 1. like a sci-fi book and I can’t stand reading sci-fi and fantasy books, and 2. It sounded like a romance novel and I don’t really do that really either. She added, it mentions things that you will enjoy like the Violent Femmes and Joseph Cornell.

At the beginning of the year, for some reason, I finally picked it up and read the first 20 pages.  I thought, ‘yeah, I might enjoy reading this’, so I added it to my 2009 list of things to complete.

I think what made me start reading it was the fact that I picked up the book and read on the back that the author Audrey Niffenegger is a professor at Columbia Book and Paper in Chicago, a place I’ve visited several times. A place I’ve dreamed of attending, a place I’m already on the mailing list for, and a place that has/had halls lined with letterpress type.

Almost immediately, I realized my preconceived notions of this book were incorrect. It was not what it seemed. It’s not really sci-fi, no time machines, I promise.

As I got into the novel, more and more references that hit close to home were revealed and I started thinking that this book might be “my perfect book”.  I’ve always said, if there was a perfect movie made just for me, it would have to be Amelie, and now I wonder if a perfect book was made just for me, it might be the Time Traveler’s Wife.

I loved reading about characters I could relate to and who’s interests are so close to my own. Clare, the time traveler’s wife, was a fiber artist and I’ve taken quite a few fiber arts classes in my day. I probably squealed while reading a section where the main character Henry is in the alleyway behind the Metro and can hear the Smoking Popes playing from inside. The Metro is the first concert venue I went to in Chicago as a 15 or 16 year old, and the Smoking Popes are a band I’ve followed far and wide to see around Northern Illinois. Clare has an art show at the Cultural Center, a building close to my own heart and that I almost always stop in while visiting Chicago. The Cultural Center has an Art-o-mat and they always have several art galleries with excellent shows going on absolutely free.  On the last day that I was reading there was a tie-in to my city, DeKalb. Clare visits a record store in the city and sees a guy wearing a Seven Dead Arson shirt. Seven Dead Arson was a record store/label downtown DeKalb while I was in high school, and bands would play often in their basement. My brother reminded me yesterday that the owner was Ethan Hastert.

This month a movie of The Time Traveler’s Wife will be appearing in movie theaters across the country. If I had not read the book and only saw the commercials I would probably NEVER see this movie. It looks like your typical Message in a Bottle and The Notebook romance schlock. All of this romance movie comparison started making me wonder, “Is the book just a sappy romance novel, and I just got hoodwinked by the disguise of all the local references to the Field Museum, Brookfield Zoo and Chicago Street names?” When I first started reading the book I would have said emphatically NO. It was a smart novel, with plenty of educated and cultural references as well as an advanced time line. Although I had no problem, I could see that it might be hard to follow with the way the storyline skipped around, following one character and then another at different points in time. Is it just a romance novel, or no? I have to admit the closer I got to the end of the book, the more the idea crept into my head. Perhaps it was seeing too many of the commercials tainting my perspective. I also blame Kelly now too. I was telling some friends that they should read it, and my friend Kelly, who’s opinion I think highly of, said she had already read it and she just seemed so unimpressed with the book. I guess to really decide I’ll have to think more about it. Will this book leave any significance on history and our culture? Does it challenge and make its readers think in ways they might not have thought before? I guess you’ll have to read it to decide for youself. Have you already read it? Let me know what you think. Haha, I feel like I need to join a book club just devoted to this book, lol. I do have to admit, I am excited to see the movie now, just in hopes that the Violent Femmes make an appearance and well, Eric Bana isn’t too hard on the eyes either.

On a completely different note: Tomorrow I will begin my August Challenge of creating a new piece everday (Monday - Friday) and listing it to my shop. Come back to check it out, and if you feel so inspired, please join in and create something new each day as well.

This American Life Live Event 2009

Published
by
robayre
on April 24, 2009
in Cool Links, General Update, Projects and life
. 0 Comments

Last night I was able to redeem myself after last weeks failed attempt to see Grey Gardens in the theater. I was able to get tickets to see the This American Life live event which was broadcast via satellite to theaters across the nation.

It was a great show, of course, and there were many things I wanted to note and remember from it. I laughed, and cried, just as I do when I listen to the radio show (often at work, and need to hide my tears in case a coworker were to see me).

Starlee Kine looked almost nothing like I imagined her. She is definitely one of my favorite contributors to the radio show, I love each and every one of her segments. I pictured her being tiny, as she was, but I also always pictured her with dark, very curly, huge hair. Instead she is a blonde with straight hair. I love her voice of course. It is very distinctive, and SO NOT a standard radio voice, that it actually makes for a really GREAT radio voice. She has this great talent for telling stories and I would totally want to be friends with her in real life. I love story tellers, but have no gift for that myself. My stories are always the kind that I need to end with “and then I found five dollars”.

I was in awe of last nights contributors and not only their ability to compose and present such great stories, but to also be part of this amazing thing that This American Life has become.  As we left the theater I thought of something my mom said years and years ago that has always stuck with me. She told me that when she was a student herself, kids of her generation had big dreams. They all really wanted to leave their mark on the world and create something much bigger than themselves. They wanted to write the next great american novel, invent cures and save lives, or compose music of their generation.  It wasn’t about fame, wealth or notoriety, (which seems to be the focus of today) they wanted to touch other people’s lives.

I know a great thing when it inspires me to want to be better and shoot for the sky. This American Life is one of those things that makes me want to leave something behind that is greater than I am.

If you missed the live event and are interested in still seeing it (the radio version will air in a couple weeks) you still have an opportunity to see the entire 90 minute show in select theaters on May 3rd, check here for details.