waking up

quick quick

oooooohhh I'm so very excited!!!  I've just finished a complete re-design of my website.  I have to say it is really nice and a dramatic improvement.  The new banner for the blog is the same image I've used - altered - as my border "motif" throughout the site.  It's sheets of mica with these great edges that I've staggered and photographed and doctored up a bit.  I've finally got the images so that they pop up full size and the whole thing seems to flow pretty well.  Comments are appreciated.

Life's been pretty good here in PT.  The weather's finally stayed nice for more than a couple of days - more like a couple of weeks - lovely!  The garden's blooming like crazy  and the deer are everywhere ... This is a mom and two fawns across the street - well, first there's the fawns and next is the three of them.......

There's lots that I want to share and now that the website is done I'll have some time to catch up.
I'll be back soon ........
many blessings - kvk

p.s.  don't forget Project Runway tonight!!!

WOOHOO!!!

by jove I think we've got it!!!!!!!!
lovely lovely lovely.
Okay, so now I'll be back in a more regular fashion. 
oh I'm very excited, very excited indeed.
love, gratitude and many blessings - kvk

one more pic ... earlier was K & D on the wedding day.  Here's K & D 28 years later.....

testing ... again

so I've uninstalled firefox and re-installed it and now have flash and all those bells and whistles functioning.  Now I'm curious if that fixes my posting problem.........  My troubles have been with inserting images ......   here's a poppy in decline - pink's not my favorite color, but the interior is exquisite.
Okay, one more from the Florida trip.  St. George Island, glorious day, beautiful beaches and hardly anyone there on a weekday.
ttfn

test #3

okay - same problem with explorer.....
now trying something else with firefox

one of my favorite Gee's Bend quilts
...and I forgot - that's Arrow with Oblio

well that's it for tests tonight.
sweet dreams.

testing

testing
seeing if the laptop has the same issues as our desktop..........

interesting......works with firefox

now on to explorer
btw - that's Oblio from The Point

lately

apparently, Typepad is still buggered - really not happy about this.  This is my third try at posting something in the last hour.  I should just about have the thing memorized -  what I want to say is ......

'tis show season in my studio, which means

designing new work

making new work

photographing and formatting

naming numbering pricing

updating my catalog

printing said catalog - that includes regular print form and CD's which have a lovely cover shot printed directly onto the CD - I really like the look of these.  They're so much cheaper to produce, but most galleries still want the paper versions.

bundling everything up and shipping off to the reps

Right now I'm in the printing stage - CD's are done, print versions tomorrow - they take a LONG time.

I'm hoping to sneak in a couple of days to work on some pieces for Etsy - I've got several ideas I want to try out and am itching to bring them into reality.  My emailing and this blog and Etsy have been on hold since we got back from Florida - had to get a couple of orders out and get the new work done along with all that entails.

Next comes getting excited about the shows - San Francisco and Seattle International Gift Shows and a new one - Accessories the Show in NY.  I've got high hopes for that one.  I'll drop in on Seattle, but that's it for travel for now.

Oh and how could I forget ........ PROJECT RUNWAY starts back up on Wednesday!!!!!!!!! Yippee - we, yep, that's the actual "we" and not the "royal we", really really really love that show.

So, for now I'll close with a couple of pics - one is the cover shot for the new catalog and the other is in honor of our 28th anniversary in one week.  Sorry, but this format is the only way I can get this silly blog to work.

many blessings - kvk

further

well, that's not the most desirable layout, but at least I got some images to load without the whole thing crashing.  If I want to do any combination of text and images I have to get creative.

Other things I've been mulling over...

Had a bit of time to talk with my brothers about their science and religion project - well that's sort of what it is.  My assignment was to come up with some questions - here's a couple of things I've been mulling over ...

What constitutes a "perfect life"? 

What would an average day look like when you are an enlightened being? 

What about anger and other "negative" emotions - where do they fit in?  How does this new paradigm fit into existing traditions? 

I'm wondering about "models" for once you start to wake up.  Tools for maintaining your focus ... maybe some kind of "touchstone" ... a "spiritual powerstrip" - something I can look to and see if I'm "plugged in" or not.  That one's probably kind of silly, and has the ring of logic and over-analyzing that I tend towards.

Something else I've been thinking about - a new model for success that supports my path towards "waking up" ... I've achieved a wonderful level of success, but am ready to go further.  How does that fit in?  How does that work?  I'm pretty sure the motivation that got me where I am right now had high degree of vanity and ego behind it.  What does a successful AND enlightened life look like?  Yvon Chouinard comes to mind (Patagonia and the old Great Pacific Ironworks).  I guess Oprah is the queen, but I'm not sure that's a model for me. 

How do I maintain my drive and motivation - free of ego?  What is behind my desire to have my work in high-profile venues - is it ego driven?  Can I maintain that drive without ego, from an awakened perspective?

I'm stumped.

Suggestions are welcome......

in love and gratitude - kvk

plan "r"

so the photo insert thing is still buggered. 

trying a different approach...Images from our trip south ...

Amazing flora from sister-in-law Kims' amazing garden in Boynton Beach

Mom-in-law and her boys - her big-time fun condo in Lake Worth

Dave starting a cairn so Kim can get the idea

Tallahassee and my family ...

Wakulla Springs and 4 of the 5 siblings

some of our diverse bunch in front of the Bobby Bowden statue - very silly, but fun

family stunt - anybody know how this works????  four sets of index fingers can pick up ANYONE!

lots of laughs and singing

hmmmmm

Interesting ...
Compare the text and tone of the May 31st post to the last two.  I'm thinking there's a lesson in there.  Okay, so I can be a bit slow.

Really trying to regain my footing.  I feel like I'm in quicksand and the more I try to get out the worse it gets.  There's that NOC "swimmer's position" metaphor again.  Problem is, I'm not sure what I'm struggling against or with or for.  The trip to Florida gave us a major load of information.  Now I just have to leave it be and let it settle.  There's another water metaphor - after a storm or heavy rains (information), the water's (my brain) all churned up and cloudy.  It takes time for everything to settle back down and regain clarity.  Rightio - there's my answer.  I'm liking that - work through a couple of sentences and there it is.

Okay, I'm better now.

ttfn
kvk

yet again

So apparently Typepad is having difficulties with their new "compose" format.  I didn't get quite as far as yesterday with my intended post, but it's an insanely annoying thing to lose everything with one click.  It's a "known" issue, but until it becomes a "resolved" issue, I'm not going to spend valuable time attempting the impossible.

So, in short and with no photos ...

The first part of the month was getting out orders, getting new work to AOT and on Etsy and getting ready to head south.  We've just returned from an eleven day family reunion vacation in Florida and I have lots of photos and stories as well as many new thoughts to add to the "waking up" theme.  I'm just kind of disheartened right now after losing yet another post (I'm up to at least five) and need to stop and go pull some weeds or something to re-focus and decompress.

wishing you well

many blessings, kvk

aaarrrrgggghhhhh

well for the third time this month, I've spent about 45 minutes composing and inserting images and being thoughtful and happy and the bloody thing has disappeared!

I am about to scream so my lovely post with shiny pics and heartfelt words will have to wait.

bloody computers