Thursday, February 8, 2018

My Muse is on Vacation so I Might as Well Read a Good Book

Happy Thursday everyone.  Yesterday there was snow and then freezing rain. The skies were grey and gloomy. My afternoon meetings were cancelled (luckily) as it was a bit of a dicey drive home at that hour and I assume it would have been worse later on. But it was nice to get home early in the afternoon and not have another day to make up at school in June.
I was excited to have some extra me time with plans to make some art, but boy a nap sure sounded good.  This week has been busy  and I think my muse is taking a little vacation. I've got the February blahs I think. 
But I do have this page I made last week in my calendar journal. It's a coloring calendar, so I colored my page, but didn't want a page quite so bold, so I rubbed some brown ink over the page, Then I added the paper ephemera and stamped  a quote, using the coloring page as my background.

But I have been reading and listening to some audiobooks. Not just mysteries, but quite a few mysteries. Trying out some new authors.
Here's 3  I thought worth mentioning. You might be familiar with these titles. None of them are new publications.
 Did Marie Antoinette and the King of France's son die while being held prisoner in the Black Tower? Since no one knows exactly what happened to him-did he die from tuberculosis, was he murdered or was he switched with another child and taken out of the prison. This book is a fictional story about this mystery, and also an interesting look at that time. I will say I listened to this book and after 2 hours I almost gave up because nothing much seemed to be going on. Then I read the reviews on Amazon that said to keep at it, and I am glad I did because at that point I suddenly  had a hard time putting the book down
 And what is the creature killing people in the Museum of Natural History in New York City? It's a little sci fi and a little science and a little police story. A little different for me, but it is good to shake it up a bit. I enjoyed this book and  plan on reading the next one by these 2 authors.
And finally my latest read. This is a cool story (part 1 of 3 books) because it goes from modern times back to the Anasazi people (Ancient Ones). If you aren't familiar with the Anasazi, these were ancient Pueblo People who lived in the southwestern US . They lived in homes built into the sides of canyon walls that were reached by climbing ladders down into their  villages from the canyon tops. 
Like this. I got this photo from Wikipedia and it is a view from Mesa Verde National Park, which is a very cool place.
Anyhow in this book there is murder in the ancient Pueblo and there are modern archaeologists finding the bones and artifacts from these people. I haven't yet finished it but I'm curious who's the ancient murderer and how that connects up to modern times.
And I'm on my 14th book so far this year. Man, maybe I need more of an exciting life.

Thanks for visiting.


13 comments:

craftytrog said...

I love your calendar page Erika, cute image, and great background patterns. Glad you had a little rest, if not creative time. At least the days here are getting a bit longer, if not warmer. Like you, I've been feeling a bit 'blah' lately.
Perhaps I need to get into a good book, your mysteries look interesting. And I love the cave dwellings, they remind me of the ones we saw in Turkey a couple of years ago. They fascinate me!
Hope you enjoy the rest of your week,
Alison xx

CJ Kennedy said...

i like the stained glass effect of your page. And a great quote to pair with it.

Sometimes a muse needs a rest. So glad you got to go home early. It was a nasty day, yesterday. On the bright side, one less day for you to make up in June. And reading on a blah day such a nice way to stay cozy.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

For someone whose muse is on vacation, you are packing a lot into your artistic life. You are reading a lot more and your calendar journal is wonderful. Keep thinking your muse is on vacation and you are going to truly outdo yourself (grin).

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Just read your comment and question. You asked, "Do you just let the shaving cream dry on your paper or do you wipe it off?" Here's what I wrote in my tutorial after I showed the mirror image bonus page: "Only NOW should you remove any excess shaving cream from your two pages. I used a dry cloth to remove the excess shaving cream. You may need more than one cloth in the event the cloth begins to smear and no longer takes the excess shaving cream." Hope that helps.

Divers and Sundry said...

I've never heard of a coloring calendar. Sounds interesting, and the page is nice. The Preston & Child book and The Visitant sound like books I might like. I'll check into them. Thx!

Books are exciting! I love reading and reading about reading, and I think they expose us to other ways of seeing things. -Or that's my story anyway lol

Meggymay said...

Your colours on the journal page look fantastic and I really like the sentiment you added, quite thought provoking.
I've not read those books , but they do sound interesting reads.
Glad you got home safely it must be worrying when the weather situation changes while you are at work.
Yvonne xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Pleased to see you didn't have to travel home later! Your journal page looks good - your muse deserves a bit of a vacation I'd say, so using a colouring page was a good idea that works so well!Your books all look interesting but The Black Tower has the most appeal for me! I am still reading The Sunne in Splendour, the Sharon Pennman I struggled with to start with, now I am really enjoying it!Have a great weekend! Chrisx

Astrid Maclean said...

Absolutely LOVE your journal page today, that background with the brown over it looks amazing and I really like how you finished it!!!
Thanks for the book reviews also, always makes for interesting reading, - the reviews I mean, not sure the boks would be quite up my street.
Have a good weekend and hopefully Mr Mojo will come back soon, he has a way of coming and going with most of us I think....

Let's Art Journal said...

Wonderful calendar journal page! I love the background, the brown ink worked really well to mute the colours - beautiful 😁. Wow, it seems you are posting a lot of places I've been to this week, Mesa Verde National Park being one of them! It's the most amazing place to visit isn't it, we enjoyed taking the tour around the dwellings 😉. Thanks for the memories and wishing you a Happy Friday and Weekend! J 😊

Jeanie said...

You know how to max out your time! Love your piece today. Beautiful colors. And your reading sounds extensive, diverse and fun. Glad you got out early. Look out for more. We're due for 10" (but I'm guessing it will be less -- it always is) by the end of the day. It needs to really come down to make that but it just started snowing again. Since it always goes east, beware!

froebelsternchen said...

I am happy to hear you had not to stay long at school, so that the trip home wasn't so nasty! I am going to remember the push back vibrant colors trick with using an inkpad in brown or another dark colour - that looks so cool! A fabulous page and the quote is wonderful - I am just in Ebooks of E.Tolle now ( they run for days I guess - all found on YT) and that's one point he strikes often- not to think much about the past -
just to live in the moment.
Your book reviews are always a hit and I really would be interested in this last one ... I saw an absolutely interesting BBC documentary about ancient cultures and how we can find out why they disappeared with modern techniques nowadays - simply stunning.
Happy weekend and I hope really that we can welcome spring soon on our line of latitude ! Have a great weekend- let your muse enjoy her vacation and have fun with all the other fabulous things in life!

oxo Susi

Katie Jeanne said...

Wow!! 14 books already this year?? That's so great, Erika!! I'm struggling to get through 2, and thinking it's just not going to happen.

Rike said...

Fantastic how you changed your coloring calendar page into a beautiful art journal page! This is a great idea! I too have a coloring calendar and I find my coloring a little bit flat - in this way as you did I could change the pages too.
Your muse is on vacation, so you are reading good books - yes, eventually you find inspiration there?
Wish you a nice weekend! Rike x