Testing in Progress!

Noam is hard at work testing new Gnomish Travel Baskets. His friend who now lives far away (and is having great adventures with his new human, I'm told) requested one. Noam and I have been working hard to make sure it is gnice and comfy and Gnomes will feel safe and secure riding in one. It's also roomy so Noam and all his friends can carry all the little gnick-gnacks they may find on their travels!

Coming soon!

Also, I expect the Garden Gnome's nearest neighbor, Sylphs, will be arriving soon. Stay tuned!

Noam's Family Weekend Part 2

Before heading off to my brother's place, we hung out at the hotel to give people a chance to get home from work. And, take a much needed nap!

I get my own bed. And it's huge!

My brother's awesome home is actually a little farm. He's still working on getting it going, but he had a nice little vegetable garden.

Maybe I can help!

My brother couldn't do much as he was recovering from surgery, but my sister-in-law took us to an awesome book fair. It's two big warehouses full of cheap books! Heaven!

I like the cookbooks best!

After we bought our hearts out with books, we hung out and watched a couple movies. Noam played with the cats.

Ichus wasn't all that scary.

Winston kinda scared me.

Then it was one more night in the hotel and a long drive home. Thankfully, my parents took Noam and I straight home and we didn't have to ride the Metro back.

It was a fun little weekend!

Noam's Family Weekend Part 1

A couple weeks ago, Noam came with my parents and I to visit my brother.

First, we had to take a Metro train to my parents' home. I'm pretty sure this was the first time I rode the Metro without another person. I'm glad I had my Gnome with me!

Moving right along, HEY!

After our evening train ride, we hung out with my mother then got a good night's sleep for the three hour drive ahead of us.

A good road trip starts with a good breakfast. Today, it was coffee and muffins.

And Noam-sized china!

Sometime through our ride, we had to stop for lunch, too. Noam had more of my milkshake than anything else.

It was yummy!

We started in Maryland and were headed all the way to the Shenandoah valley. Soon to be a thing of the past, we had to make use of the little break area.

That's a lot of miles!

Just up the road from my brother's place is a nice little hotel. We've stayed there before. This time, Noam and I had our own room.

I like it better than camping!

Next, a day of visiting!

The Dreamer FanArtPolooza 2009

I'm not usually one for entering contests. I often feel that my effort goes unappreciated, and I often put forth a ton of effort. Costume contests are my biggest example of this. For example, I once spent 19 hours gluing sequins to a pair of shoes because I wanted Ruby Slippers. Every time I've entered something with those shoes (sometimes Dorothy, sometimes the Wicked Witch of the East) I did not win to someone who bought a costume and put little or no thought into it. One time, I painted my skin blue and my hair white to be a Dark Elf from EverQuest. I lost in the scariest category to a man who bought a nun get-up. Once, I even painted a friend up to look like Darth Maul (and she looked good, if I do say so myself) but she didn't win to some guy who bought an Obi-Wan costume. I could go on, but the point is I'm very picky about putting my art out there to be judged. It hurts to feel effort go unnoticed, especially when next to no effort at all.

I read webcomics. There are several in my list of things I hit every few days. One of them is called The Dreamer, and if you like historical fiction and the American Revolution, you need to be reading this comic.

Last year, she had a fan art contest. I submitted a Barbie Doll done up like her main character. It was great fun, I had never worked so long on a doll before. I didn't win the contest, but I didn't feel that my effort went unappreciated either. See, there is no bitterness if something is deservingly better (it's a shame the cake was not eligible to win. That would have been more of a worthy defeat than the entries that did win, but I digress).

The artist is nearing the end of another fan art contest, in celebration of the release of the graphic novel (my friend who manages a Borders says it won't be available for order until the 29th. You should get one!). In honor of my amigurumi doll making passion, I made a couple for this time around and recreated one of my favorite scenes from her comic. As far as effort, if anyone wants to know, you're looking at about 15 hours of work, to include the making of the dolls and accessories, and the photo shoot and editing. Can you find the page?

This is the second time I've put my art under this kind of scrutiny. But, this is the kind of contest that I love. It's the kind that encourages; actually, demands, effort and time, thought, and talent shine through in every entry. That's what I like. I don't feel like I'm the only one trying and I'm happy to be among so many creative people who put their passion for this story into their art so beautifully. This kind of contest isn't about winning, it's about creating. That's the best kind, I think. Check out all the other awesome entries when you're done checking out the comic (I say read first, so you know what people are talking about!).

By the way, for those of you who want to know, Noam still has some pictures from the end of my vacation and another kayaking trip that he wants me to put up. I just haven't yet had the time! I'll try to get them up for him before the week is out!

More Piggies

More Three-Legged Good Luck Piggies have been listed. Go have a look!

Noam's Paddling Expedition Part 3

The second to last day of our trip had us stopping at a park I knew well for lunch. Before we ate, we toured the rural life museum, which was a collection of buildings from the just post-Civil War era and many objects that one might find in an old, off the beaten path, kind of town like those in Southern Prince George's County at the time.

The first building was a chestnut log cabin built buy a former slave, Charles Duckett. Many of the beams were the original chestnut that Duckett hewed himself.

Stew is ready!

Just outside the Duckett Cabin was a quaint little garden. A lovely museum actor told us a lot about what it must have been like to live in such a cabin, sustained by such a garden.

The potatoes look good.

One of the highlights of this town-like museum is the Sears Modern Home, a home-building kit sold in the catalog of Sears Roebuck and Company in the early 1900's. It seems I was quite lax in getting pictures of the outside of this house, but Noam had some fun inside.

The bed is soft.

Re-cord. Neat!

The Duvall Tool Museum was really neat too. It had many items in common use in the early 1900's. There was a dentist's chair, an apple cider machine, and even an old cash register. Noam was very interested in the cobbler's and cordwainer's tools.

If it's not mushrooms, it's shoes!

There was also a child's school desk and related items.

And musty old books!

An area was set aside to look like a general store. I liked the old cash register. Noam stopped to have a chat with an old rag doll.

You would not believe the stories she had to tell.

After this stop, we camped along my favorite creek. I paddle ths creek often, and even had the chance to go at night. The night paddle along my favorite part of this river was beyond amazing. The look of things usually familiar in the starlight, the sound of night creatures in the wetlands. And we even encountered a family of six Barred Owls. Just unbelievably beautiful.

The next and final day of our paddle had another mishap. We managed to miss the creek where we were supposed to land and have lunch. We realized where it was later: at a part of the river where the water was very shallow and there were ten or more Great Blue Herons wading in it. We paddled silently by them. By the time we realized we had gone up the wrong creek, it was closer to just keep going to the end than it was to go back up the river to the planned stop.

It's hot out here and I want lunch!

We finally made it to the final landing, and so did lunch. So, all's well that ends well! We have one more adventure planned for the end of my two week long vacation: a quick weekend visit more than two hundred miles away from this river to see my brother. More to come, stay tuned!


Note: Garden Gnomes are not waterproof and should be protected from excess moisture. This Gnome is being carefully guarded by a trained Gnome-handler and experienced kayaker. Please be sure you and your Gnomes know the risk before attempting this or any stunt. Gnome doctors may not be able to save your Gnomes in the event of a mishap. No Gnomes were harmed in the photographing of this adventure.

Noam's Paddling Expedition Part 2

Our first day of kayaking ended up being more adventure than anyone wanted. To make a long story short, recent rains and the opening of a dam made the river too swift for many of the paddlers to handle. I was instructed to secure my boat to an old gazebo on the side of the river, in the rising water, and walk through private land to get to a road where someone could pick me up and take me back to camp. Noam was terrified, even though we were never in any danger, so he stayed snug in my dry bag.

The incident of fifty kayakers abandoning their plans for an eight-mile paddle caused an unbelievable media frenzy. They're like vultures! The media ended up being the real problem, we were in more danger in being covered in that filthy water than we were for any other reason, but they kept trying to make a story out of it. (Many of them ended up reporting wrong information, but that's irrelevant to Noam's adventure.)

I think the cameras scared Noam quite a bit. The EMTs had taped off a section for us so we could get some peace as we regrouped, had lunch, and made a plan to recover boats and make it to the next camp site. I found Noam hiding in a tree!

Keep them back!

They're scary!

I didn't like talking to them much either, Noam.

I sent Noam to the campsite with one of the other paddlers. He was done with the water for the day, but I had to go back for my boat. After many hours, I arrived at the campsite. We were to have a fun party with music and contra dancing into the wee hours of the night. Noam may not have liked the cameras, but I think he likes being on stage.

I need to learn an instrument.

He had some fun with the second group of players, the ones leading the dancing, as well.

And, turn to the left, turn to the right, bow to your partner!

I didn't have much energy to be dancing all night, after that very eventful day. I went to bed early. I didn't even hear Noam crawl into his sleeping bag.

The next day, we actually got to hit the water! There was a big black cloud that caused some worry, though. The group I was with beached the boats while it passed. It didn't send more than a few raindrops on us, but it is still better to be safe. I sure don't want to be on the water with nothing around, holding a big metal pole in my hand when lightening has potential!

It was a little boring waiting for the cloud to pass. Noam was busy chatting with some of the other paddlers.

And then he said....

We also worked on some river restoration and education projects. I chose to work on the nature play area, and Noam and I spent two hours making a sign for it. I burnt my hand on the hot bit when it flew out of the drill, so the wetlands sanctuary had better appreciate what I went through!

I worked hard, too!

This day ended with a fantastic sing along. Noam didn't know these songs that I learned some twenty five years ago. It was really fun to teach him.

The fox is on the town-o!

The gent who normally plays the fiddle in this group had a fiddle mishap (it was in two pieces!) so he played the mandolyn instead. I play fiddle as well, but always struggled with the mandolyn. Here he is, showing Noam a chord.

Was that C or G?

And so ended our third night. We've got two more days on the water and one more night camping to go.