Friday, July 30

Link love.



Absolutely love this photo...Mermaid by caballosblancos. It was taken with test PX70 film, the new color film from The Impossible Project. (I ordered some yesterday and can't wait to try it!)

And this dreamy beach photo by jefferywithtwof's.

Cherry Patch Ranch by Nick Leonard is so hilarious and an awesome Polaroid capture.

Lots and lots of awesomeness on Etsy...

like this sweetFloating Lily Hanging Mobile.

and these Bronze Tiny Twig Hair Pins. I've been looking for interesting hair pins and these are perfect for a girl who loves trees! And birds too!

I've been looking for a covered butter dish since last fall when Rocky knocked my Fiestaware one off the counter and broke it. (He was trying to get at the butter.) They are not easy to come by. At the kitchen shops, all we could find was plastic or an uninteresting glass one. It finally dawned on me that I should check on Etsy and sure enough, I found this ceramic butter dish. I think it might end up being the one.

Fun stationery at Paper in Style.

And this Modern Baby Clock is just too cute.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! And don't forget to enter the giveaway before midnight tomorrow!

Thursday, July 29

Echinacea on PX 600.



I fell in love with the PX 600 film from The Impossible Project the first time that I used it. And I had splendid luck with that first pack. The second pack, not so much. Too much heat caused most of the photos to come with with that heavy rust tone which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I have really been wanting to get that silvery tone that some folks manage to get. And, due to the killer crystal problem, most of my early photos look nothing like that did in the beginning. Most developed the killer crystal and turned very orange. (Now I know how to try to prevent these problems.)

I wasn't angry so much as frustrated. The film I purchased was the first release, the first flush, so I knew it was still in development and that there would be some quirks. But it's still kind of sad to pull out recent photos and find that all the original and beautiful tones are gone. Thank goodness for scanning!

Anyway, since the weather cooled down some, I decided to pull out a third pack. The first shot was a disaster especially after I tried to peel it to preserve it. I peeled too early and it turned into a gooey mess. Ugh.

So yesterday I stuck my camera in the fridge for a few hours and then took some pictures. My camera was full of condensation (duh) and so I had trouble focusing, but I like the way this shot turned out. Still not silvery, but not rusty orange either. Definitely an improvement and enough so that I'm excited about using this film again.

Not so sure that chilling my camera is such a good idea, at least not my SLR 680 which would be hard for me to replace, but I'll be chilling the film again for sure.

I can't wait for the release of the new color film which is happening TODAY!!

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the felted bowl set giveaway!

Wednesday, July 28

Daisies.

Daisies.

I finally scanned the polas that I took in my mom's garden a few weeks ago. The shasta daisies are thriving, along with everything else, and it is just so beautiful. Bees everywhere too! It's nice to see so many bees buzzing around this summer.

Today I am looking forward to having lunch with two of my nieces, Caroline and Cassidy. We invited them up for sushi before Caroline heads back to school in August. We're going to live it up and take them to Shohko Cafe. Some would disagree, but Will and I have found it to be the best sushi restaurant in Santa Fe. Anyway, hanging out with the girls is always a blast. I can't wait.

Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway!

Tuesday, July 27

Mad orange fools and a new giveaway.

This is a bit embarrassing, but I have to say that I set my little contest up poorly and it imploded rather quickly. What I should have done was just have a random drawing of all the participants because I guess in this day and age, it's far too easy to find answers on the internet!

So now I am going to close that contest and declare a winner and start over with a giveaway! All you have to do is leave a comment by midnight on Saturday, July 31st and you will be entered to win the same set of 3 tiny felted bowls. (Well not the same exact set, but the same size and colors!) I hope that you will play along and not be too annoyed with my inexperience at this whole giveaway thing!



As for the little contest, all three answers I got are on the right track, but Garret got the two main details which are Jack Kerouac and Desolation Angels.

When I was in my teens and twenties, I was pretty heavily into all things Beat Generation. I read a good bit of Kerouac but especially loved reading biographies of the beats. There are also so many great photographs of that time and scene, one of the best being Allen Ginsberg Photographs. (It's still one of my favorite photography books.)

Anyway, I first read Desolation Angels in 1989 when I was attending NYU. It became one of my favorites of his books and I re-read it a few times over the years. So in 2000 when I was searching for a fitting domain name, I picked up the book and started flipping through it. And I found:

Meanwhile the sunsets are mad orange fools raging in the gloom, whilst far in the south in the direction of my intended loving arms of senoritas, snowpink piles wait at the foot of the world, in general silver ray cities--the lake is a hard pan, gray, blue, waiting at the mist bottoms for while I ride her in Phil's boat--Jack Mountain as always receives his meed of little cloud at highbrow base, his thousand football fields of snow all raveled and pink, that one unimaginable abominable snowman still squatted petrified on the ridge--Golden Horn far off is yet golden in a gray southeast--Sourdough's monster hump overlooks the lake-- Surly clouds blacken to make fire rims at that forge where the night's being hammered, crazed mountains march to the sunset like drunken cavaliers in Messina when Ursula was fair...

The paragraph continues, but you get the idea. He was a firelook out on Desolation Peak and in complete solitude in the first part of the book. I read that paragraph and "mad orange fools" jumped out at me for some reason and I decided that was as good as domain name as any. At the time I was in Pittsburgh and I think the whole description just made me think of my roots in New Mexico as well.

So that's the story. Again, I am sorry that my contest sort of went haywire, but hey, now we get to start all over. Leave a comment on this post and you could be a winner!

Monday, July 26

10 years and a little contest.

It's hard to believe that I have been doing this blog thing for 10 years. That's a long time. I don't think I've ever really celebrated the blog anniversary before, but I thought this year I would have a little contest, just for kicks.

I actually started blogging in April of 2000, not July. I had a Pita called Shiny. But it was sometime in July that I moved over to Blogger and purchased the domain madorangefools.com. That space has been dormant for quite awhile now, but nonetheless, the madorangefools has stuck and most of what I do on the internet is either madorangefools or just madorange.

I'm not great at coming up with names and I remember struggling over what domain name to purchase. My choice was pretty random and so it's funny that it has stuck with me for an entire decade. I was hoping to find one of the first designs that I used, but alas, I couldn't find it in any of my website folders. I remember it being a really bright orange with red text or something along those lines. Pretty hideous, I think. After that, I pretty much stuck with white as a background and simple headers. I'm all about simplicity.



So here's the deal with the contest. The first person who can tell me where I got the phrase "mad orange fools" wins this lovely set of 3 tiny felted bowls.

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The answer that wins will be the one with the most detailed information. There is an easy answer which I am guessing some of you know. If no one gets the whole answer, then the names of everyone who leaves a response will be put into a hat and a random winner will be selected. The contest will run through Saturday, July 31st and I'll announce the winner on Monday, August 2nd.

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The bowls were hand crocheted with a 85/15 blend of wool and mohair, then wet felted in the washing machine. Each bowl is approximately 3" wide by 1.75" high.

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They're great for organizing craft notions, paper clips, jewelry, hair pins and any tiny collections you might have. (You can check out more of my felted work in my Etsy shop.)

So I am hoping this will be fun and that you will play along by putting in your answer. I have to admit that the last time I posted a giveaway here, I didn't get any response and it was a little disheartening. But that was then and this is now. Here's hoping that it works this time!

I have the comments open to anyone so you don't have to sign up for anything to leave a response. Just remember that if you comment anonymously, you need to leave some clue in the comment as to who you are and/or how I can contact you if you win.

Cheers!

Friday, July 23

A day off.



What a lovely rainstorm we had last night! It cooled the house down, filled it with the heavenly scent of rain and gave the garden a good soaking. Both cats got caught out in it as always seems to be the case. Rocky made a mad dash for home in the middle of the storm and arrived home rather wet. Simon waited for the thunder and rain to stop completely before he showed up. He hates thunder and typically hides under the bed when he is inside.

Today I am actually taking the day off! Will and I are taking my mom to see Inception. I haven't been to the movies in a long time. I think the last movie I saw at the theater was Alice in Wonderland. It'll be nice to get out of the house for awhile.

It feels good to have had such a productive week. I got everything done that I wanted to get done and thus do not feel in the least bit guilty about not working today. (Granted I probably will end up knitting this evening!)

Hope you all have a happy Friday and a fantastic weekend!

Thursday, July 22

Link love.



Good morning! While I am feeling better this week, I am still not sleeping through the night due to a rather large grey tabby cat named Simon. Every night I am deep into dreamland when suddenly I feel myself being pulled out of it. Sometimes it is rather confusing as I go from dream to consciousness, not quite sure what is going on. Last night I was awake at 2:00, 3:00, 3:35 and 4:45. As a result, I slept late (until 7:30) and screwed up my morning schedule. I am going to skip my run and go directly to pulling weeds so I can get it done before it gets too hot.

When I bought my star necklace awhile back, it made me want to wear my little star post earrings that I've had forever. But when I went through my box of earrings, I couldn't find them. Alas. So the other day I searched Etsy for star earrings and found these little beauties. A little more than I can afford right now but they are definitely going on my wish list.

I am in love with just about everything at the Ellaina Boutique. Beautiful, simple designs. I may have to splurge soon and get myself this super sweet ruffle tank.

This viking hat is just the coolest thing ever.

Just stumbled across this t-shirt shop yesterday. I especially love the llama t-shirt. So cute.

Love the sunflower Pola that Nick Leonard took at the Bellagio conservatory.

Somewhere along Route 66, CA.

Awash by roostercoupon.

And one more of my new favorite blogs, persisting stars. I stumbled across madelyn's work via the words to shoot by blog as she is a fellow contributor. Her photos are beautiful and dreamy and she is full of poetry and inspiration. I always look forward to finding a new post on her blog.

Now I really have to go pull weeds!

Wednesday, July 21

Rocky fades to black, revisited.

Well hello there! My apologies for disappearing, but time seems to just keep slipping away from me. Last week I was feeling more sleep deprived than usual and so I didn't feel up to sharing here. Not to mention that I've been super busy. I got a rush special order last week and did some serious speed knitting for two days. It got my stress level up a bit, but it all worked out beautifully. And this week I have been making zinnias like crazy because they keep selling out at the local shop. I want to get ahead of the game so I always have an order ready to go. Plus it's summer! Not that we are doing a lot of fun summery things, but still, I don't always feel like getting settled in front of the computer for too long.

That said, I have a bunch of things I want to share with you so I will try to get on it.

Back in April, I took a photo of Rocky with Fade to Black film and scanned it throughout the day to capture the different stages of fading. Then I stuck in a sunny window and waited.



This is the result of about 3 months in the window. Solarized Rocky.

That Fade to Black film is fun stuff.

Thursday, July 15

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[The last of the peony shots...until next year.]

Tuesday, July 6

Link love. (And raise your hand if you are tired.)

I am raising my hand.

I know, I know, you're rolling your eyes and thinking, "So what else is new? And we all know that you can't sleep most of the time."

But it is getting better, slowly, so when it gets worse again, I think I notice it more. Or maybe I am just crazy.

This week it is Simon's fault. He woke me up at 1:30am this past Saturday and I lay awake until 4:00am when both cats went outside. Then on Sunday, the 4th of July, I hardly got any sleep because of all the goddamn noise. Until two in the morning. Last night I conked out but awoke at 2:00am when Simon put his paws up on the bed and said, "MEOW!" very loudly in my face.

So today has been a day of exhaustion and not getting enough done. I know I am really sleep deprived when I can't even focus on knitting and crocheting.

But I guess I don't really have insomnia. I have cats. If only I were a heavy sleeper! That might just solve all the lack of sleep issues!

And now, if you've stuck with me, on to some link love.

As I've mentioned before, I love letterpress. I also love Pittsburgh. I lived there for almost ten years and it is one of my favorite cities. So of course I think this brand new Etsy shop, Cardomom Press, is pretty awesome. All her cards (at the moment) are Pittsburgh landmarks and look absolutely beautiful.

Another great love of mine is t-shirts. Really I love all t-shirts, but I especially love silk screened t-shirts. One of my all time favorite shops for t-shirts is Supermaggie. I'm not sure how I stumbled across their work, but I fell in love immediately and have bought many t-shirts over the past few years. Will gets a new one every birthday and Christmas. Love the designs and the t-shirt quality is excellent. They make some for tiny ones too.

The Shop at boygirlparty.com is another long time favorite. Susie's drawings are so wonderful and whimsical. She has everything from notepads and magnets to t-shirts and necklace.

Awhile back I discovered brandon's blog via a photo of an old friend that was posted on Facebook. Since then I've been checking in fairly regularly as I really love his photography. I especially love his portraits, but really all his work is interesting. I am just not good at writing about it. (Sorry.)

And through that blog, I discovered amanda marsalis who takes the most wonderful Polaroids. Full of light and life. I am never disappointed.

One more favorite new blog is Eyeblog. I think I discovered Tara via habit. Another wonderfully visual and poetic blog that has rapidly turned into a daily read for me.

It's so nice to be discovering so many new fabulous and inspiring places to visit online!

Happy sleeping to you! (And me!)

Saturday, July 3

Another busy week.

And oh look! It's not a cat! Or a flower! It's a meadow!

La Vega

A very green meadow. I love all the different shades of green.

A quick recap...I was dead tired on Tuesday evening, but when I went to bed, I couldn't fall asleep. I lay awake for hours and it was torture especially since I knew I had to get up and work at the gallery the next day. I think I finally fell asleep for two hours or so. Wednesday morning I felt rough. Sometimes no sleep is tolerable and I get kind of slap happy, but this time, not so slap happy. More on the crabby side. The day at the gallery was long, but I made it through and thankfully managed to sleep that night.

We had been planning to hike on Thursday but with lack of sleep for both of us, we just weren't sure how we would feel. Woke up and decided that yes, we should hike. Get out of the house. Get some fresh air. Take a break.

We hiked to La Vega which is about a 7 mile hike round trip. It's also one of my favorite spots in the Santa Fe mountains. I felt tough going in although Windsor Trail seemed extra rocky and that got tiresome after awhile. It was hard to look around and take in the wilderness because I had to focus on my feet and not tripping and falling flat on my face.

I took my SX-70 Alpha loaded with TZ Edge Cut film, a Holga and my point and shoot digital, but it was so overcast, it really wasn't a good day for taking pictures. That was a disappointment since I had been looking forward to shooting outside our house and yard, shooting something other than cats and flowers. But oh well, perhaps another day.



Once at the meadow, we walked around a bit then ate our lunch. Then Will relaxed on a rock while I walked around and took pictures. Usually we see cows and chipmunks at the meadow, and I look forward to seeing them, but alas, no cows or chipmunks! Hardly any wildlife to be seen. Finally on our way out we spotted a woodpecker in a tree. Where oh where were all the cows and chipmunks?!



Vertebra

I found another cow vertebra which made me happy. This one is HUGE. Much bigger than the other pieces that I have found. I have no idea why I like bringing cow bones home, but I do. I think it has something to do with my love of Georgia O'Keeffe.





Not too keen on self-portraits, but here I am, looking happy. And old. Or not so young anymore. Sometimes I feel like I don't quite recognize myself in photos.



All in all, it was a perfect way to spend the beginning of our day. We really need to get back into the habit of hiking a couple of times of month. It is so peaceful and invigorating to get out into the wild. Of course since we haven't hiked in ages, on the way out, I really started feeling fatigued. Sevens miles is a relatively easy hike, but it got me. Glad we didn't start with ten miles!

We both did some work when we got home and then went out to dinner at Maria's where we had delicious margaritas and New Mexican food. Carne avodada for Will and chile rellenos for me. It was a particularly good meal.

And now it's the weekend and aside from a trip to the Farmers Market this morning, I plan to work through it.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a happy 4th!