Hail Storm Last Night

Nothing like a storm and power outage to realize how much we take for granted. I automatically turn on the lights when I walk in a room and think to myself what a nut I am - no power, no lights no matter how many times I flip the switch. I tried stitching on my crazy quilt with what little day light I had but figured I would have to tear it out when I could actually see what I had done, so I gave up on that. So we just sat in the dark on the couch and talked.

And, after it was all over we had a sea of leaves and holes in the siding of our house. What a storm!

Today is such a beautiful day though. I think I will take advantage of it. Enjoy your day.

Flooding and Rising Waters Along The Missouri River

We have a lot of worried, upset and even angry people in our little section of the country. We are moving some of my MIL's belongings into our home and another family member's home until the threat of flooding is past. My brother and SIL are moving everything out of their homes temporarily as well. Those with mobile homes are moving into them and the campgrounds are loaded to capacity. Storage units are unavailable. A lot of uncertainty and anxiety is in the air. It sounds like this will be going on all summer. My MIL's sump pump has been running steady since last Sunday due to the saturation of water in the ground.


Excessive snow in the mountains may be great for skiing, but the melting snow, rains and other occurrences have been wreaking havoc downstream. Damns are releasing water north of us causing high water levels and flooding along the Missouri River.


Following are some photos. Some towns are expected to be entirely flooded, including Modale, Iowa where my mother was born and raised. The home my great grandfather built and that my mom grew up in is about a mile from the river, so I am sure it is flooded by now. An image of the home is on the blue and white CQ heart pillow I created for mom (shown on my header).

The photo above is on the north edge of Council Bluffs, Iowa with the jail in the background. Officials have been busy moving prisoners out of the building. Just below is Sioux City, Iowa, which is north of us.

Below is in Council Bluffs, just off the bicycle trail along the levy. The water section you see used to be a parking lot. The threat is whether to levy can hold the record level waters for the extended period of time. Hamburg, just south of us has three areas now where the levee has breached. The Corps of Engineers is working frantically to repair the damage. The entire downtown area will be flooded if not controlled.

The photo below is looking across the river from Omaha toward CB. Beyond the tree line is the casino parking lot - all submerged. The levy is on the edge of the parking lot.

Below is the casino in Sioux City I believe.

Interstate 29 is closed both north and south of Council Bluffs.

This is a view of the river from the Lewis and Clark Monument. Eppley Airport is just on the other side of the river. Interstate 29 is to the left in the photo. I don't believe this section has closed yet.

Omaha is in the background of the photo below. In front is an area called Big Lake. It is 3 small areas more like ponds generally with a road running between them. The road seems to be missing.

Another view of Big Lake.

This is a map of the projected flooding. I am far enough from the river that we shouldn't have any problems. Lots of family and friends aren't so fortunate. Please say a prayer that the levy holds and they will all be safe. With all the disasters in other areas of the country and world, ours may seem minor, but not to those living there. It is going to be a long summer for a lot of people.

A New ArtSpace, Tribute to Veterans, and Sculptures and Public Art

My home town has been going through a lot of changes in the last few years. Most of them for the better. A number of our older historic buildings have been or are in the process of being restored. New hotels, restaurants and shops have moved into the area. There is a lot of good things going on. This area has become very progressive. The residents are for the most part middle Americans with a strong sense of tradition. A few pieces of public art have been installed around the city and for the most part have been accepted. The most recent installation, however, has become hugely controversial. Four sculptures have been (are being) placed on four corners of a new 24th Street bridge that was recently built. The illustration doesn't look so bad, but when driving toward this area the sculptures tower over you. They look rusty and jagged and out of place hovering over the more horizontal, curvy bridge (in my opinion and that of many others).

http://www.publicartandpractice.com/projects_24thstbridge.html

Below is a link to the other public art...

http://www.publicartandpractice.com/projects.html

If you browse through the newsletters you will see other artwork installed in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Omaha is just across the Missouri river from Council Bluffs. The sculptures in the downtown area shown on the newsletter link below are amazing to see.

http://www.boodyfinearts.com/newsletters/summer-2006/newsletter.html

Less controversial and very patriotic...

Friends of mine, Russ and Penny Christensen of Neola, Iowa, have taken on a huge (and honorable) project of creating bronze sculptures as a tribute to our Veterans. Click on the link below to read more about this project. Russ is a sculptor and Penny does paintings in acrylic. They are two of the most wonderful people I have ever met and have both touched so many lives in a positive way.

http://www.eaglesofhonorproject.com/

Finally, below is a link to information on Council Bluffs. As you will see in the article, one of the warehouses is being converted into a new 'Artspace' with artists' lofts which will be opening soon. I am excited to see what will evolve from that development.

http://www.heartlandrebusiness.com/articles/MAY08/mm%20highlight1.html

That is probably enough linking for now. Hope you all have a wonderful upcoming weekend.

I would love to hear your feedback on this post as well. I love comments! Connie

Past Artwork and a Fun Girls Only Tree House.

Even though I didn't sign up for Pink Saturday this week, this was just too fun not to share. A neighbor down the road from us put up this pink 'Girls Only' tree house. It makes me smile every time I drive by. They keep adding to it. There is a swing hanging below, a black purse hanging under the flower box, and of course the flower box. Having three granddaughters, I can just imagine how they would love something like this. Kids have such wonderful imaginations! I will ask if I can take some better photos when I get a chance some time.

I wanted to get a quick post up before we leave on vacation, so I pulled some images of items I have made previously. Below is some jean jewelry. This has a nice size lobster closure that you can easily clip to your belt loop or even to a purse or bag. I love turquoise and had a few spare beads to use up. I like just the little splash of red with it too.

This is a necklace I made a couple of years ago. It is made of Cinnabar hearts, black crystals and silver pieces. As I said previously, I learn as I go. I love the way it fits, the way it hangs and how nicely it lays. I do not like the stiff wire I used to make it though. It has a small clasp that is difficult to manipulate to open and close, especially with the inflexible wire. This one is in line for a redo. The bracelet is just created using spare beads and a stretch thread.

I used to do a lot of embroidery. I had hung on to this pattern for such a long time and finally decided to make the piece. It doesn't show in this photo, but there are beads in the flower centers that give it that extra pizazz. Every once in awhile I get the itch to embroider or do some sort of needlework again.

Below is a composition piece from one of my favorite college classes - paper making. I could easily get carried away with this craft. For those of you familiar with the craft you will see a variety of techniques here. I love the lace look of the paper on the top right side. The mask is made of paper also and then painted. The feathers and beads were added last.

If there were more hours in the day (and more room) I would have so many various crafts going on at once it would make your head spin. The only medium I haven't fully enjoyed is sculpting with some of the packaged clays. For some reason I can't get it soft enough to create anything. I have a friend that makes amazing dolls out of clay. I don't mind the paper clay and love the ceramics clay that you fire in a kiln, but can't get the detail my friend gets no matter how hard I try.

Finally, I want to thank all those new to my site for signing up as followers. I hope I won't disappoint. I also want to wish you all a great week. I will be off on vacation, so I won't be posting for a few days. Hope you all stay well!