Celebrating International Monkey Day (A Break From WIWO Wednesday)

It's true. Today is Monkey Day. And in order to celebrate Monkey Day, I'd like to share the following from the Monkey Day Official Website.

How do I celebrate Monkey Day?

 

In whatever monkey themed manner you deem appropriate. Dress in your favorite simian attire, talk like a monkey all day long, throw a monkey themed party, send some monkey greeting cards, draw a monkey comic, or perhaps give a monkey themed gift, or maybe even give to your favorite simian charity. (Do)whatever you find most appropriate without being arrested.

In honour of Monkey Day, I'd like to recognize monkeys around the world for their cuteness, their thumbs and for their unfortunate involuntary contributions to science.

Did you know that many monkey species are endangered? Have a look at this website to find out more about how man's closest living relative is on its way to extinction.

Did you know...

- a group of monkeys is referred to as a mission or a tribe?

- monkeys are sometimes used as service animals for the disabled (similar to seeing eye dogs)?

- the first monkey in space was Albert II who flew in the US-launched V-2 rocket on June 14, 1949?

- monkey brains are eaten as a delicacy in South East Asia, China, and Africa?

- the three monkeys in the proverbial "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" are named Mizaru, covering his eyes, Kikazaru, covering his ears, and Iwazaru, covering his mouth?

What's at the End of YOUR Rainbow?

Rainbows.    *sigh*     I loooooooove rainbows!

To me, rainbows have always been a mystical discovery. A rainbow is just like a sale at my favourite local art supply store: I never know when I'll see one, and when I do, it takes my breath away.




Watercolours in my art journal.

 

For all you science-types: A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun.

And about that. I STILL remember Mr. Devereaux's grade eight science class and memorizing ROY G. BIV for a test...

In honour of hosting Rainbow Day on Daisy Yellow's "Building a Rainbow" project, I've decided to not only explore rainbows, but also the "just out of reach-ed-ness" theory of the pot of gold.

Have you ever tried chasing a rainbow to find the pot of gold?

I have found that by the time I find what appears to be the end of the rainbow, it has relocated to a few more blocks away. Or the magical moment has gone and rainbow has disappeared altogether. No matter how fast I drive and how carefully I track a rainbow, I have NEVER found the end of the rainbow.



Determined to find my own "pot of gold," I've been pondering what a pot of gold really is:

joy, excitement, wealth, surprise, magic

The most exciting realisation of all is that I have all of these things. I live in a lovely house with an completely adorable man and a cute-as-can-be kitten. I have a secure job that pays me a moderate wage. I keep myself excited by creating art every day with my sewing machine, in my art journal, or by designing new jewelry creations. And as for surprise, my romantic love keeps me on my toes with flowers for no reason, special messages and notes throughout the day, and new adventures for us to embark upon. I live the pot of gold.

This rainbow was fun; I cut squares of colour out of magazines and then arranged them into a cascading rainbow. The background was made using pencil crayons with a mossy green wash over top. Nice!



A new rainbow mandala in my art journal. I started with yellows in the centre graduating to the darker remaining colours of the swpectrum. Materials: finetip Sharpie and pencil crayons.



Coming Soon - Mixed Media Postcard Swap.

Contact me with your email and mailing address to be included or for more information.

Details will be posted this Friday!!!!!



My Monkey

If you've been following my blog, I often refer to a Monkey that I spend a lot of time with. I'll let you in on a little secret. My Monkey is actually my husband, but he's such a big monkey that I can't help identifying him by his true form. He has asked, in his monkey-est voice, that all references to my Monkey contain a link to show him in a different pose. Always up for a challenge, I am now going to do my best to include photos of him linked to every mention. I may be linking to businesses or websites that I have absolutely no relation to or affinity for, but I'll be doing so with only love on my mind. :D

Psst: today's my Monkey's birthday, so if you're sitting next to him on the bus, poke him in the arm.

Musings on Oregon

This past weekend the Monkey and I went on a road trip down to Oregon.

We stayed at the Village Green Resort in Cottage Grove = R&R at its finest.

The trip was just plain great, really. Lots of great things to see and do.

The Main Street "downtown" had some really amazing old signs like this one.

  

We spent a bit of time exploring Cottage Grove - the covered bridge capital of Oregon (heh!). Some of the bridges we saw were actually pretty neat. Some of them were blocked off to traffic,

but we did get to drive on one of them.

This is the first one that we stopped at. Photo-worthy.



This bridge was built in 1925. Still stronger than ever, according to our feet!

 

This is the view from inside the bridge looking out.



We drove up to Eugene on the Saturday and came across a huge outdoor market. There were so many great smells and sights. The Monkey bought some roasted hazelnuts and I indulged in a new hat. 

Apparently this is my "Oh, I *love* it!" expression.

One cannot have too many hats.