Long Days

Yes, I'll repeat myself:  moving is hard work.  And on top of all the lifting and carrying, there's the emotional part.  My father lived in this house since about 1982 or so and since I'm trying to clear out and deal with all sorts of nooks and crannies, I stumble upon things that can hit me hard.  Today, I found a packet of notes written TO him by his kids, and saved.  Hooo boy....I sort of put it aside because I have to take some of these encounters when I'm ready.  Right now, the schedule is very tight to prepare for the actual "mover" who will pick up and take the larger stuff for me.  So lollygagging over little things is not a good idea, not now.  Later, later I'll open that envelope and see....

I've mentioned before--several times I'm sure--how much I love my little art studio camper by the pond.  And right now, it's truly a refuge from the chaos, the mess, the work of the day.  Nice to be greeted by all the critters living in this gilded cage (I think of the camper this way for them, and am very anxious for the cats to try out the big new place!)  I'll spend tomorrow, Friday, here because my amazing campground helper needs a day off to take care of her things, and with the glorious weather of late, I expect we could be pretty busy with campers for the weekend. 

Between duties, I have a simple, but important, to-do list for Friday:
dust and vacuum camper (4 furry critters live here, for goodness sake!)
make the curried lentil and rice recipe that's been rolling around in my brain (an experiment)
try to finish orders that are in progress or have come in recently
take a break from packing!!!!

Then, Saturday, I'll hopefully be refreshed to get back to the packing job....hopefully!

Meanwhile, here's a very pretty insect I found but could not identify--so I don't even know:
Are you a good bug or a bad bug?? (If anyone should know what this is, please leave a note!  Even if you don't, please leave a note.....)

Have a great TGIF!!

Dear Mother Nature

I love you very much BUT do you think you could cut me a break?

(my camper, awning and deck after yesterday's little rainstorm)

Maybe these wind gusts up to 70 mph are just a bit impulsive and a bit too excessive?

Maybe you prefer your floral babies rooted in the earth....


.....but did you have to knock over my planter and break all my terra cotta flower pots, just to free the babies?
Maybe 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches of water in one downpour......
....is a wee bit too much of a good thing?
Yes, yes, I am beginning to feel like you're picking on me because I have so little time to try to pretty up the outside around here, and then you just sort of sashay through....again and again....and basically set things back to zero for me....or worse??!!

OK, OK I get it...you are very bold and beautiful. I get that!! So could you please cut me a break for awhile....pretty please?

That Darn Cat - Movie Version

This is it, really!! Where the Purrmeister takes on his mortal enemy: His Tail!

And then proceeds to act like a stark, raving mad lunatic. A Mad Catter. You'll just have to see it to believe it! And the ambient music in the background?? "A Prairie Home Companion" was on and apparently, one of the musical selections was in progress. I didn't really notice until I replayed it. I was so hypnotized by this crazy cat's antics to the exclusion of anything else.

So it's Thursday night here and Dakota, Purrmeister and I are settled into the camper again. Got here quite late and so supper was very late. Only a few early arrivals today....tomorrow will be a major day for checking people in and I imagine the peace and quiet out here now, during an amazing full moon, will be "slightly" more active as folks get into "the holiday spirit."

I'm finally caught up on "regular orders" and hope, over the weekend, to get a handle on a pile of special orders and new ideas....we'll see. Progress can be painfully slow when there are dozens of interruptions. And so it goes. If you're off camping this weekend think of me and be extra nice to your campground host or hostess ;->

And even if you're not camping (poor you) have a lovely holiday where ever you are!

That Darn Cat

Purrmeister was such a funny guy the past weekend I have a treasure trove of new images and one more absolutely hysterical video clip that I'm saving for the weekend.

I'm not sure he is aware of his size...and high, higher, highest has been his mantra. Running up trees is the lastest heart stopper--but I haven't had the camera handy for that move yet.

Long, incredibly busy days for his mom (that would be me, of course.) I'm still sort of overwhelmed with studio orders (it's a blessing!) and with the campground moving into high gear here. After all, Memorial Day is the unofficial "beginning of summer." Hope you all have really nice plans for the weekend!!

A Week in the Life....

....of the WillOaks Farm manager, WillOaks Campground Hostess and, lest we forget, WillOaks Studio artist.

Heavy weather moving in...again and again...

Studio window view, deck view

Moving in includes getting the deck ready for action

New studio corner in the camper

New silk thread order

Outdoors comes indoors through interesting natural artifacts, a growing collection

Purrmeister rules the roost as the newest resident at WillOaks Campground, Site #1

A pair of Mallard ducks are the newest residents on the pond at WillOaks Campground

And what a season this is shaping up to be! Lovely balance of the familiar and many surprises and if I can find new balance, I'll resume my regular blog posts here soon, rather than try to jam everything in at once. But obviously, that balance is missing at the moment....

Weather is a big deal this time of year and we've seen it all in the past few days. The nip of late frosts, pounding rain that caused quite a bit of local flooding, and occasional bursts of sunshine. As I write, we're in the busiest weekend we've had to date, tenters everywhere, but wooo, it's really chilly outdoors. Great for firewood sales, tricky in a tent if you're not well prepared. I'm snug as can be here in the old camper.

Slowly, things are getting more and more organized. I hunted for and found the makings of my new "studio corner," got the parts installed and so have just begun to bring some supplies from the main studio. My camera gear and my laptop are now in service here. I need propane and hot water yet, but repaired the electricity the past week and thankfully, the repairs done last year to many bad leaks are holding fine, despite the intense storms.

And what is really fun is, of course, the animal side of the equation. Dakota is an old hand out here in camper mode, but Purrmeister is new to this and seems to be adapting very well. Granted, he's not especially calm and can cause quite a ruckus when he finds new and creative ways to "blow steam." Shredded toilet paper roll? Every little thing left on a counter knocked to the floor? Crawling into the tiniest nooks and crannies just to check it out? He can be quite a handful. Last night, he decided to knock over both a glass of water AND of tea such that they soaked my bed so I guess a bedside drink isn't a good idea out here....I must learn to think more like a cat....

I'm delighted to mention my new residents here at WillOaks Campground: a pair of Mallard ducks have chosen to stay on the pond and I'm so happy they are here. When I first spotted them, I thought they were passing through, but they are still here and now, I'm so curious where they will build their nest. I must learn more about the habits of ducks because these haven't stayed on the campground pond before. I don't want to get my hopes up about baby ducks...too many bad things can happen...but the thought has crossed my mind.

And I'm amazed to mention that I have filled numerous studio orders all around this seasonal chaos and have made a lot of progress on a whole new series of neck pieces. I have not had the time, together with the right light, in order to photograph them yet, however. There were amazing bright cloudy days here late last week, but I was struggling with car repairs, shopping, and my parental duties....am hoping to get a dose of the good light during the coming week and then, can photograph and post my new work!

Sorry I've been so negligent about posting, visiting other blogs and dropping for EC, etc. the past week and a half but as I've mentioned, I'm seeking new balance with all these things soon--thanks for not giving up on me!! Happy Sunday everyone.

Moving into Summer Mode

So I cannot remember when I took such a long break from writing a new post, tending to be that ultra responsible once a day blogger for many months now....but hey, life got in the way!! So I can't be wordless this Wednesday, I want to share tales of the move and transition now in progress, from "winter studio" to "summer studio."

Normally this time of year, I would just be packing some things up and moving to the campground...but part of the reason for my absence from my blog here is I was just overwhelmed by Mother's Day orders the past several days....29 pieces made to fill about 16 orders in just two weeks...which might seem pretty doable in "winter mode" but starting May 1, the WillOaks Campground reopened for 2010--it was a lot all at once!

Last summer, I made a lot of progress in turning one end of my camper into an "art studio." The whole floor had been damaged by winter water and in the process of removing and replacing it, I discovered all this new space...by leaving out this sort of couchy-folding bed thingy, which was basically very uncomfortable anyway. I haven't quite figured out the right work table or bench for this end of the camper, but I'm looking!! And I'm hoping that as weather permits, I'll figure out some kind of system to sit on my new deck, in the shade, to work on some things, too.


Mind you, this is all only possible during the slow days...often, the place is hopping and when my last couple of packages are posted tomorrow, I plan to turn my attention to setting up all our different paper systems out there: registration, reservations, cash box, car tags, etc. and getting myself, Dakota and probably the Purrmeister all settled in.


This weekend, I was delighted to see some of the full time campers move in for summer...some brand new, some regulars.....and to greet a number of our 'fans' who showed up opening day because our fishing pond really rocks, if you're into sport fishing....but I've been feeling pretty scattered and so this week, before the weekend crowd gets here, I hope to be more into the summer mode.....

I realized when talking to some folks the other day that this year is the 30th anniversary of our campground!! Back in 1980, while I was starting grad school, my dad was building this little corner of paradise as a retirement project. It has matured into a lovely little park with a lively tent and camper population for almost 6 months of the year. And it's sort of fallen to me to keep things going as my dad began to fail about 7 years ago....and now, excuse me while I go finish some packing here....and I'll check back within a few days!! Thanks so much for stopping by and happy Wednesday!!

Finally, the New Floor

Busy as a bee, oh yes!

Click this photo and the one below for a look at the "before" photos.

All that's left to finish are a few missing screws and a couple of thresh holds where different flooring materials meet.

The "wood" is actually this amazing product called "Konecto"--and although not as difficult to install as either true wood or a sheet vinyl--it is a thick, heavy product and I was very challenged to cut it with a utility knife. The "planks" are actually individual pieces with adhesive cleverly put on tabs around all four edges so that the end result is a floating floor, but all "tabbed" together to become one large, fitted piece. The "trim" was simply plain pine quarter round, sealed with a couple of coats of Varethane to make it more water resistance.

I laid an underlayment, also made by Konecto, because out of view in the earlier photos, some pretty large pieces of the sub floor were removed and replaced. Besides adding insulation, the underlayment is there to "smooth" the rough surfaces below the flooring.

For the final customization, the whole area on the right, also illustrated as the open area below the window, will NOT have the original "couch/bed" replaced. Rather, I'm putting together a special folding table and chair in order to use this end of the camper as a "seasonal art studio." I've decided this needs to be kept flexible, though, because at other times, I put in two or three comfortable folding chairs in the space when guests visit (in case the weather is bad.) If visitors "take turns" moving, I can have up to 8 guests at one time...just barely! Frankly, if I do have guests coming, I'd prefer to use the large deck area!

Step by Step by Step

Even as I'm practicing my photography, coming up with new designs and pieces for my wearable art and managing our campground and farm here....maintenance and improvements on the property are ALWAYS in progress. In fact some weeks it feels like I drive a lot of miles...back and forth to our local Menard's. There's always a "missing link" for some project or another, a tool that's broken, hardware that's run out, some crazy widget we need to improvise...you get the picture.

Since I'm mentioned my new floor now in progress, I thought for fun I'd post before and after photos of some earlier work done on my little space in our campground this past Spring. When I decided to put a little travel trailer on a site back there, I chose the "crummiest" spot, which happened to be nearest the "office," and the least likely to be selected for use by our transient campers or full time guests in the condition it began in. A year ago last Spring, with a front loader and the help of a friend, we put fresh gravel down to raise the parking pad for the trailer. This put me above the grade, but unfortunately, left me with a really rough slope at my front door, as is sort of visible in these early spring photos. And when rains are heavy, temporary rivers flow around both sides of this pad heading down hill towards the pond.


So this spring, another friend was willing and able to design and construct this wonderful deck that I could park the trailer next to, effectively giving me a generous, level, dry "front stoop" with a lovely view. Right now, this deck has become a kind of woodworking "shop" as I put the finishing touches on the floor I keep talking about (mainly because working on it has sort of consumed several days of late.)


These photos show the damage that was discovered, due to leaks suffered over our long hard winter, after the old flooring all ripped up. Freezing and thawing of the wet subfloor had fractured the old covering, making it useless. And unfortunately, as the old vinyl was ripped out, we realized several sections of subfloor had to be replaced, too. This has been a pretty big job, and had so many steps to it, that the fact that I was finally able to put a top, finish layer on it this past week is a huge relief. Keep in mind, I had to stay here and work many long weekends and more the past few months...anyone who has ever had to LIVE within a REMODEL knows exactly what I'm talking about here! Ugh, it gets old....

I'll pick up this thread again when photos OF this new floor project, now almost finished, are ready for prime time.....Thanks for dropping by, friends, and hope your weekend is lovely!

These Days....

'Tis the season...for camping here at WillOaks. I don't think I've discussed this on the blog here yet, but from May 1 through mid October, our family owned and operated campground, called the WillOaks Campground, is open for business. And running it is mostly my job. I have put a little travel trailer back there to use while we're open and the Memorial Day weekend, a semi-official start of summer in this area, promises to be full and very busy. In fact, although the campground is rather small, it will be completely full over this long holiday weekend and we've been working hard to prepare things.

It's a beautiful property, abundant in nature and wildlife, and tends towards the best of "old fashioned" camping in either tents or RV's and travel trailers. A one acre swimming and fishing pond features catch and release fishing and a swimming beach and raft. Some of the sights and sounds can be amazing and no doubt, as I capture new images this season, some will appear on these pages.

Last year, I was delighted by regular visits by this great blue heron (this bird was an amazing fisherman!) and finding many different frogs, toads and snakes who all call the park "home." The bird life includes cardinals, finches, redtail hawks, many different woodpeckers, bluebirds and sandhill cranes, among many others, and I've identified numerous wildflowers, shrubs and trees.

My little trailer is undergoing a renovation right now as I had some pretty bad damage inside of it over the winter. This has been a perfect excuse to remove some of the furniture that's built in and after the new floor is installed, I hope to create a kind of workbench in one end of the main room instead of standard camper fare. This way, as I switch hats back and forth, from artist to campground manager...maybe I can squeeze just a bit more time for the creative side of my life into the "regular summer job."