The World is Full of Critics…

It seems I am the world’s worst at starting projects and never finishing them. I am the master of “UFO’s” (Unfinished Objects). I have a whole room of my house dedicated to the making and storing of UFOs. I’m a painter, a quilter, a knitter, crocheter, a writer, and crafter. And not necessarily in that order. These things are all stress relievers for me and are an excellent substitution for bad habits when I am feeling at odds. You know, like eating everything in the fridge in the middle of the night. Crafts are kinda healthy for me. For that reason, I have made it a major goal to complete some of these projects. Reasoning is that if I am working with my hands, I’ll have a hard time stuffing my mouth at the same time. Not to mention the sense of accomplishment I get from finally finishing a project.

Recently, I’ve completed several paintings. I’m also finishing up two quilted wall hangings and a ton of blog projects. I haven’t made a dent in my UFO stash, but at least I am making a little headway.

A few months ago, I finished this painting. Near as I can figure it, I believe I started painting it about 18 years ago. I had lost interest in it sometime after finishing the wood on the building and had stored it in my UFO’s. Since then, it had been stored for 18 years, been packed and moved with us to three different houses and seen both kids grow up and move out. I had to wash about a quarter inch of dust off of it to even start working on it. Now, over the course of a few days, it is finally finished!

I take photos of all finished work, so I propped the finished canvas on the floor in the kitchen against the cabinets while I waited for the camera to charge. About twenty minutes later, I hear Faith barking like crazy in the kitchen. When I go to investigate, I find her standing in front of my painting, barking at it. I go to move it and she yipes and dives under the kitchen table.

Apparently she is afraid of my painting. Or she has become a doggy art critic and has issue with my use of colors. Or maybe she just has a thing against water mills. Maybe in the past she had a run-in with a crazed painted canvas. Who knows? I chose not to be insulted, though, and spent a bit of the evening chasing her with it. (Okay, I know that’s mean, but really, what type of crazy dog is afraid of a painting)? I really had better hope that if a burglar ever breaks in, he’s not armed with painted canvas…..

Since Thanksgiving is this week, I put together some little chocolate turkeys for the place settings. I got this wonderful idea from Our Best Bites.

This recipe actually is kinda perfect for me as it doesn’t involve turning on the stove. My family can relax and allow me full reign in the kitchen as I most likely will not set the house on fire. And I was really pretty good about not eating the chocolate as I was making them. Well, mostly good.

Well, I guess I’ll get back to chasing the dog. There is nothing I dislike more than a mouthy critic. It’s exercise, right?