Invitations close to done

Well, I've been busy lately. Instead of sketching my creative time has been spent on wedding invitations for our daughter. My calligraphy originals went to the printers for the invitation, RSVP card, Reception card and Map card, and we like the results. Now it's time to address the envelopes. The finished product is shown at the left. I used some watercolor pencil to add a splash of color on the owls. At a bit over 100 invitations, that is 200 owls! That took me a while. The folder is creased (got to buy more gear!) and folded. The map card is creased and folded. Then I used transfer tape to glue the invitation to the backing to the folder. And, because of all the paper being cut (the invitation backing sheet plus misc.), I bought a nice table top rotary paper cutter.

As for addressing the envelopes, my corner of the basement is shown below. It's nothing fancy or expensive, but I like it. I have my hot tea and nice music and my quaint little domain. It's a slow process but it's worth it.



I'll be getting back to sketching after we get these in the mail. We had a quick trip for Spring Break to Seattle where our son just got a job. No time to sketch live, but I took pictures so I could work up the sketches later. That's in the work. Just not enough time.

More later.

Pictures for Winna

At my friend, Winna's, request, here are pictures of our house, with a fresh coat of paint. The pictures don't show the left and right parts of this crooked ranch style house. Didn't paint them and I wanted to show the paint. The siding is Masonite with imitation wood grain. The siding came alive with the new paint. Didn't realize how dull the old paint was.

In the first picture, note the intersection of the porch roof and the house roof. That's where the wasps came out of to sting me.

In the second picture, the eave is 16' above ground where the walkout basement is. That was one tall ladder I had to climb. Glad I don't freak out with height.

I just took these pictures tonight because we have major rain moving in from the Gulf Coast tropical storm. Won't see the sun for a while, and it's the sun that makes the color pop out. Next I'll recondition and refinish the deck and porch woodwork. Never-ending.

BAK 2010: Day 2

June 5, Saturday

Bright and early, we load our gear in the moving truck labeled for campers. The schedule states a mass start this morning, but, unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Don't know why. Would have been neat. Today is a nice flat ride to Colby. Met another Dad about my age with a T-shirt that said Odd Bird. I had to ask, so he explained his daughter is in California and is the singer in a band with that name. He is spreading the word. That's neat.

39.7 miles
Vavg 13.5 mph
2 hr 56 min
Night: Colby


We got to Colby and our stay was at Colby Community College. Nice campus. We set up camp and see that Twister Bar and Grill is close and we're hungry. As it turns out, BAK bikers fill the bar, with only two tables of 'locals'. Hot sandwiches and cold drinks. Just fine.

Then we rode to their historical museum. The large white barn was moved in, and is a wonder of woodworking. The tent was set up for Chautauqua, but it was for tonight not the afternoon. Wish we could have seen the historic re-enactors.

Real mileage will start tomorrow, with about 65 miles. I'm a bit anxious because I didn't get the training mileage in that I had hoped for. However, I did maintain regular workouts on our cheap home gym stuff. Hopefully that's enough.

Just Some Photos: Kaw (Kansas) River

Here's some of the results from my darkroom work I journaled about. This is the Kansas River by Lawrence. We have a real hydro plant on the far side. I liked the icy flow over the dam, the sound of rushing water, the mist hanging in the air and the solitude in an urban setting (strange how cold temperatures keep people inside).

Photo: Old Farmstead

I found this old home remains only this summer while on my 2-night bicycle tour. I grew up around here. Driven by this home many many times and never knew it. It's only 25 feet off the road, but it dense cover on a steep gravel road hill that you're too worried about hitting an oncoming car over the blind hill. Had to come back later and photograph it.

Photo: Wakarusa River

I loved the transitions of texture and detail of this shot of the Wakarusa River. My son put in here with his kayak a few summers ago and paddled over 10 miles into Clinton Lake to visit some friends camping there. Crazy kid. I was jealous.

Photo: Downtown Alley

I've got a thing for old alleys. This is one in Topeka. It was a cold day. Left the car running as I hopped over to take some shots. I send kuddos to the City of Topeka Street Department. All the alleys I shot that day were very clean. Same can't be said for other cities I've shot.

Photo: Near Wakarusa River

This one is a feeder creek to the Wakarusa River, close to my home. Had to crawl down a steep bank and crouch down low to get this shot. That would have been easier in my younger years.

Photo: Shunganunga Creek

This one is from an urban creek in Topeka. I had to work for it, since there's usually always something in the creek to tip you off that it's urban (like a shopping cart or tire or other debris). I just smiled when the camera viewfinder showed me this.

Photography, Part 3

Well, this is the last of the photography journal trilogy. This is my little haven to make contact sheets and enlargements. Nothing fancy, yet it seems like magic what you can do. I only recently learned how to do all this, so maybe that's why I take nothing for granted and it all seems so wild. And I feel a kinship with all those that practiced this trade for decades before me. I know it sounds hokey. But I know Ansel Adams dealt with the same process, and legions of photojournalists and other artists. I'll never be in their league but I'll appreciate their work more. And the medical community better not find that these chemicals are carcinogenic.

Photography, Part 2

I made it out a few times to shoot some B&W film, and it's time to develop the negatives. This is the set-up I have. Since working with film is quickly disappearing with the advent of the digital age, this is a dying hobby. Should stay here for die-hards, though. I'm not really a die-hard, but I do like to dabble in it. I want to document the process in my journal so that in later years, when such things are long gone, I can look these pages over and have a flashback. Wish I could also capture the smells of the chemicals. It's an enjoyable process. I'm also working with my niece, who just finished a semester of photography in high school. She loves it all, both behind the camera and in the darkroom. I'm looking forward to sharing the hobby with her.

Old School Photography (Part 1)

We've had our digital camera for a year now, and I love it. But I'm reading the Owner's Manual for the third time now (it's an SLR) to understand it. In the pre-digital days I loved B&W film in my old SLR. Still needed color using the automatic modes for family duties, but for fun I'd play with B&W. I recently realized I missed it, so I dusted off my gear (literally), mixed up new chemicals and am back in the saddle for a little ride. I realize I love BOTH cameras. Yesterday I went to a neighboring town to walk around and shoot. Set the SLR on manual and used it's light metering only. Felt odd setting aperature and shutter speed for each shot after considering what results I wanted for each photo. Clumsy but it comes back. I'm the one in charge, not the camera's computer that's trying to second guess me. I think I'll give up my digital camera . . . . naa.

New Bar

Ran into a new type of bar. A Cereal Bar. Never heard of it. I was out shooting some B&W film in my SLR camera (becoming a lost art) in cold weather and needed to warm up. I had already planned to stop at Java Break for a latta because it's my hippi coffee shop. It's in Lawrence (15 miles away), home of KU, in one of the few Democratic counties in Kansas. There are plenty of liberal types. I'm about as traditional as it gets, being a utility engineer and Republican. This joint is a 24-hour dive in the basement of an old building in the downtown area. Their patrons are of all walks of life and I like it. They just put in this Cereal Bar. My early-20s DD can live on cereal, and the barista said she thought cereal should be its own food group. I need to come back another day to try it.