wall

When I was little, my neighbors had an entire wall in their living room filled nearly floor to ceiling with photos. The frames were mismatched, the photos were black and white and color and the sizes of both varied. I would stare at that wall nearly every time I went to their house. While I subconsciously enjoyed the visual appeal of the photographs, I really enjoyed the wall because each picture told something about the family. I am constantly drawn to pictures of families and friends, and I cannot have enough pictures of my favorite people in my own room. Here is the wall collage I finished today. Naturally, it is composed of images of my family, friends and a few pieces of artwork. The only thing missing is a picture of my wonderful dogs.



to do the same:
1. Lay everything on the floor prior to putting nail to wall
2. Measure everything—it looks messy only because (most) everything has been carefully measured
3. Pick a distance between frames and maintain it throughout—this ensures some degree of uniformity
4. Remember to measure for the lag between the top of the frame and where the nail will be placed



Most of the frames are simple $1 frames from Dollar General (my favorite shopping destination) with a few others mixed in. I also like to use actual artwork . The watercolor is a print by a local artist while the painting was a quick do-it-yourself project by me. Finally, the bison (buffalo?) is an Hermes (a friend pronounces it "herms) advertisement that I have lovingly moved from each of my college dorm rooms until I finally purchased a frame for it yesterday.
please excuse the terrible image quality.

bee stings

I spent much of yesterday pulling weeds from the flower beds surrounding my family's home. I had completed the entire backyard and walked, drenched in sweat, to the front yard. As I bent over to resume my task, I felt a sting. I tried to slap the dubious insect, but as I did I realized that I was surrounded by yellow jackets. I sprinted towards my house, ripping off my shirt along the way to free the yellow jackets that had found themselves trapped. I eventually realized that I had stepped on a nest of the nasty little bugs and had been stung eight or ten times. Fortunately, I have had wilderness medical training, and I am not allergic to bee stings, so treatment was a no-brainer.

here are five easy steps for treating bee-stings drama-free
1. stay calm
2. take benedryl (diphenhydramine) immediately
3. drink TONS (3-4 glasses) of water with the benedryl, and continue to be extremely hydrated for the next 24 hours
4. do not leave someone who has been stung alone for the first hour--watch them to insure that they do not go into anaphylactic shock
5. go to a hospital if your throat begins to swell or close

refer to the outward bound wilderness medical handbook for more in depth directions.

people respond differently to insect bites, so, as always, consult a doctor with more specific directions for bee stings.

image credit: http://www.gabeeremoval.com/bee_biology.html via google images

things i like

the best things in life are most definitely not things. however, there are certain moments and materials that make the sun shine a little brighter.
1. being outside.
2. exercise.
3. red. and turquoise.
4. red wine.
5. my boyfriend’s shirts.
6. early morning.
7. french press coffee.
8. gingham shirts.
9. cocoa butter. and therapy systems.
10. my boykin spaniels.
11. silver-framed pictures.
12. hearts.
13. hershey kisses.
14. writing about art.
15. biographies.

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