Leanne Wildermuth : Artist by Nature » Life, Love, and Critters

Life, Love, and Critters – of course!

What Else Can I Do?

September

2006

A while back I got to working on my new gallery layout. Well, it’s done.

I launched the all new & improved (makeover #6? #7? Anyone?) Intricateart.com -slash- ArtistbyNature.com this evening. Phew. It’s a doozie of a website – and I’m quite pleased with how it all came together. (with WordPress, of course!) I’m especially tickled about the search feature and results, I’ve spent a lot of time in each of my paintings detailing out the notes to pick up any possible search terms so searchers wouldn’t miss anything.

I’ve added the primary menu to the top of my blog, too. See it? Right up there? No, down a bit. Over. Yep, that’s the one. If you ever want to head over to my gallery to have a peek and (ahem) leave me some very nice comments on my work, you can do that. Or you could even (nudge) check out my prints and (ahem) start thinking about the holidays! Alright, alright. Knocking it off.

What else can I do to make your stay in my gallery more enjoyable? Lemme know, wouldjya?

P.S. I’ll be adding the last 5 projects I completed to my gallery tomorrow. Must. Go. Sleep. Now. zzzZZzzzZZZZ

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Filed under: Chit Chat

Waitin’

September

2006

me and all my friends
we’re all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and
there’s no way we ever could
now we see everything that’s going wrong
with the world and those who lead it
we just feel like we don’t have the means
to rise above and beat it

so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

it’s hard to beat the system
when we’re standing at a distance
so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
now if we had the power
to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door
and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information, oh
they can bend it all they want

that’s why we’re waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

it’s not that we don’t care,
we just know that the fight ain’t fair
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

and we’re still waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
one day our generation
is gonna rule the population
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

I’ve had a huge crush on John since before he was “popular”, this new album, though – Continuum, is perfect, especially today. If you love his guitar, his soft deep voice and his lyrics – it’s just another great CD to add to the collection.

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Filed under: Chit Chat

Chickeymonkey’s Five

September

2006

Even the gibbons know she’s a monkey. She’s my little Chickeymonkey, and she’s five today. Happy Birthday to my little big girl!

Me: “So, you’re gonna be five, huh?”

Chick: “Yup!”

Me: “Does that mean you’re going to turn into a gorilla, or an ape? Now that you’re getting bigger?”

Chick: (Making a sad face) No. I don’t wanna be a gorilla or a ape. I wanna stay a Chickeymonkey.

Me: “Yeah, you like being my little Chickeymonkey, don’t you?”

Chick: “Yeeaaahhhh” (grins)

*****************

Me: “You can have french toast sticks,”

Me: “Or you can have some cereal,”

Me: “And you can have some milk.”

Me: “You can have some grapes in your lunch, if you want,”

Me: “But you can only be four for ONE MORE DAY.”

Me: “Then you have to be five.”

Chick: “Awww Maaaaan!”

*****************

Me: “So, how old ya gonna be again?”

Chick: “Five.” (holds up this many)

Me: “Wow. That’s a LOT of fingers.”

Chick: (giggles)

Me: “So then what are you gonna do?”

Chick: “Then I’m gonna be SIX. And then I’m gonna be SEVEN, eight nine TEN and then I’ll be the same as Catybug!”

Me: “Yes, well, by then, Catybug will be 15. I don’t think you’ll ever catch up.”

Chick: “Awww Maaaannnn” (rolls eyes)

*****************

A day in the life. What I wouldn’t give to have my biggest complaint be that mom is yanking my hair out when she is trying to brush the knots out. To be five again. To have such a wonderful, helpful big sister to play Littlest Pet Shop with, who only tortures you on occasion. To be a snugglebug, cuddly little kissyface brown eyed munchkin whose smile lights up the room, whose giggle is contagious, whose dry snarky sense of humor is too much like her mother’s. Who eats every ten minutes and chooses peanut butter on a spoon more often than not because “that’s protein, mom!”

And to think, five years ago today I was in tears, not knowing whether or not she was going to make it. Wondering how I could possibly help her fight for her little life, lungs under-developed, broken collarbone, tubes winding in and out of her little body in her little incubator oxygen tank. Crying that I couldn’t nurse her, couldn’t hold her. All I could do was feel her little fingers wrap around me for short periods of time a few times a day. Bringing her home finally, after a week in the NICU, and I swear I never put her down.

Now I can’t even pick her up.

Happy Birthday, Chickeymonkey!

Love, Mom

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Filed under: Birthday Wishes, Home n' Hearth

Soft & Pretty

September

2006

My gerbera daisies are still blooming – I even have clematis this year (go me and my 5 year failed vining attempts!), and there are 5 freshly clipped roses on my dining room table.

I am going to miss my flowers.

I turned the heat on lastnight, for the first time, and I mourned the loss of summer. We’re expecting our first frost in the next few days.

I woke up this morning and put on a cozy warm fleece shirt. My nose is cold. My fingers are cold. My toes are cold, and I’ve had socks on for three days in a row. In another month, I’ll be buying bundles of stargazers to keep me from dropping off into a snowy cold depression from what appears to be a long winter coming.

I go through these transitions every season, a few weeks of “icks” and then it passes, after I’ve gotten all the summer clothes packed away, all the winter sweaters, jackets, coats and gloves washed and ready to go. I’ll get over it.

I’m just a spring and summer girl, that’s all. If I lived in a warmer climate, I’m certain I’d be happy all year.

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Filed under: Chit Chat, The Great Outdoors, The Photog in Me

“Wow” Sunset

September

2006

My neighbor saw this sunset the other night and had her camera handy – she e-mailed this photo to me and said she thought of me when she saw it.

A girl couldn’t ask for a better compliment than that.

Beautiful, wonderful photograph. Gorgeous radiating sunset. I’m glad she took the time to stop and appreciate it, and photograph it. And then she took the time to send it over to me so I could appreciate it, too!

Thanks, neighbor!

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Filed under: Chit Chat

Promising Sunrise

September

2006

This is what I’m waking up today. Great colors, huh? This is a beautiful sky to see at 6:30 in the morning! It almost makes me want to enjoy fall – a little!

I put together three design mockups over the last day and a half. My eyes were burning lastnight, but I’m up bright and early (thanks, Tucker) and ready to code. One of my girlfriends (ahem.) is one of those theme flip-floppers, you know, the ones that change their design every day? Yes. She’s one of those. She sent me a .psd file to put a stylesheet together for her, so count that as my fourth design to put together. At least things are starting to get checked off my list!

The stuff that triggered my sensitive side on Thursday? Well, I think I’m going to clue in all of the people I attempted to defend on Thursday, I’ll make that announcement at the Hub. I know a lot of people just don’t think anything could happen “behind the scenes” of a meme. It is, after all, just a meme, but really – it’s not. There’s a lot of stuff that happens, a lot of it is piddly little stuff – a lot of it makes me want to throw in the towel. I’m relieved to have co-hostesses to help with some of the little things that, when combined, grow into a nice supersized headache, but I still feel very much responsible for every. little. thing. So with that in mind, I have some spilling of the guts to do to all of the participants.

I am still contemplating the blogging thing. My entries have become more sparse because I’m starting to not feel like I have something important to contribute to society every day. Personal stuff is much more personal, and business is something I can share because it’s not about my family. It’s just me and my creative stuff. I see a lot of business bloggers who try to have a personal blog attached to their business, but blog specific things that are content rich just to get traffic. Well, good for them. This is an honest blog and an honest blogger – I’m not in it to gain every freaking keyword on the web. That’s what my gallery is for. I can’t believe someone would pretend to be emotionally attached to a blog when they’re in it for the keywords. Whatever. I don’t want this blog to become that kind of blog – but I also don’t want to step over those boundaries I set for myself when I decided to remove the family chatter I was so used to – that had to go away to protect our privacy. I should use the dang features I installed here. That’s what I should do.

I’m rambling again. Woops.

Oh and for anyone who felt like you were being served up on that platter, or rather asking for it to be served up on a platter, that’s not what that was about. It was about folks who want it all their way all the time, regardless of guidelines and procedures. And then when they don’t or can’t have it their way, they openly gripe about it, like the guidelines and procedures are all wrong, and the hundreds of people who don’t have a problem with them are wrong – and they’re right. Urgh.

Back to work I go – where things are more colorful than the sunrise – and more peaceful than 6:30 in the morning!

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Filed under: Chit Chat, The Photog in Me

Thursday Thirteen #39

September

2006

Thirteen Things about Leanne, Thursday, September 14, 2006
My other Thirteens1. Been busy. Very busy. I’m still trying to get into a “get it all done in 6 hours” schedule. Sorry.

2. Why do I do this? Why do I do this? What’s in it for me? Nothing – I do this for other people. To help other people. I don’t make a dime – in fact I spend my own money to host and design and maintain it all. Why don’t people get that? Why do I do this again?

3. Contemplating the whole blogging thing again.

4. Contemplating the purposefullness of physical therapy. I don’t do at home what I do twice a week at therapy. I try, but honestly. I don’t do it enough to make a difference.

5. Still contemplating.

6. I have designs to build, this is how many I’ll be working on. (6)

7. I love that working takes up so much time. I would rather be working, my head immersed in creative juice and code.

8. Again, with the whole “why do I do this?”

9. More of the contemplating.

10. A little bit of “why do people expect everything to be handed to them on a platter”.

11. Mixed in with a healthy dose of “why do I take things so personally.” and “why do I stress out at the drop of a dime?”

12. A smidge of a memory of a dream, where someone I called a year ago after not hearing from them for several months and haven’t heard from since wondered why we weren’t in touch anymore.

13. More contemplating, and I’ll continue to do that over a great big monitor full of creative juice.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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TECHNORATI TAG: Thursday Thirteen
I put the technorati tag in here so that my post is included in the entries under Technorati’s hot tag. I want to be hot, don’t you?

I want you to get linked. On my blog. I use CA-Credits, a wordpress plugin, because it puts your link is right here out in the open and in my source code, and will be followed right from my blog to your blog. You get all the credit.

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Filed under: Thursday Thirteen

Portrait of Tucker

September

2006

wheaten terrier tucker copyright leanne wildermuth

I took this photo of our sweet little Wheaten Terrier pup, Tucker, a week or two ago. As soon as I opened the image on my computer I wanted to paint it – but on the other hand, it makes a great photograph, too. I always have a tendency to turn a great photo into a great oil painting, so I expect you’ll be seeing our sweet little boy on canvas at some point over the next couple of months. (I do have a spring exhibition to prepare for!)

Our Tuckerhead is doing well. He’s 5 months old now, needs a fur cut and sometimes a muzzle (we haven’t actually bought one, he could just use it sometimes!) – but otherwise he’s a good boy. I try to spend as much time with him as I can, especially now that the girls are in school and he seems to behave well when he’s just hanging out with me here in the office or out in the studio.

He gets a lot of attention out on walks, too – not many people are familiar with Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, and everyone just loves him to pieces. (Including me, when he’s not yipping and yapping, that is!)

I just had to share this pretty portrait of my boy while it was fresh in my mind – I must get back to work now and finish up an illustration I’ve been working on!

Have a good one!

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Filed under: Chit Chat, Our Little Wheatie

In Memory Of Brett O. Frieman

September

2006

Brett Frieman was the kind of guy you just don’t forget. His contagious laugh, his bright smile. There was a sparkle in his eyes, and everyone around him was drawn to him and smiled because of him.

He had a sense of humor. Since high school, it seemed his mission was to make people around him laugh and enjoy life.

He was a kind, loving guy who watched his sister get married just a few years earlier, and adored hanging out with his two nephews, Jacob and Bryan.

Brett’s father had been retired for several years when he lost Brett. He worked at the World Trade Center, too.

There’s not much information to be found about Brett, but what I did find was touching. Former classmates honored his personality and verve. Fraternity brothers with nothing but fond memories of him. He seemed like the kind of guy you don’t forget, whose laughter and smile lingers in your memory.

I’m glad that he brought that kind of happiness to people. I can only imagine the grief his family still feels every year, thinking back to five years ago – and it seems like just yesterday that he smiled and said “see you later” to people he loved.

Brett was a shining example of how to live life. Laughing, smiling, and being good to the people around you. May the memories he left his loved ones with continue to warm their hearts through the hard days, when I know he’s missed like crazy.

Rest in Peace.