I know, I know... I haven't been here much :) This always means that I have been actually doing the making of stuff.

Though on Friday, I was in Denver to see my family and go to the Mexican Painting exhibit at the Denver Art Museum! I love religious art and religious art history so it was interesting in that respect. I also made some interesting discoveries about technique and materials that I may have to employ-like painting in copper!

We also went to the Planetarium, Micheal's, Home Depot and (yeah!) Meininger's! I found great sales on acrylics and oil painting mediums. At Micheal's, I bought glycerin for soapmaking and a loaf mold. I am, of course, gearing up for the Sidewalks sale/street fest on July 10 in Monte Vista.

I found out recently that I did get a graduate assistantship from ASC! While I am thrilled that they keep throwing money and opportunity at me, I am getting very nervous about how I will do it all if the shop doesn't sell this Summer. More will be revealed...


I had to giggle when I saw this. I get one everyday and this one was priceless because it is one of my grammatical pet peaves....

From YourDictionary.com:

Today's Word:
Utilize(Verb)

Pronunciation: ['yu-dê-LIz]

Definition 1: To put to appropriate use or uses; to apply effectively; to take full advantage of.

Usage 1: Today's word is woefully overused (NOT 'overutilized') as a substitute for "use." "Use" means simply "employ as a means of doing something," e.g. to use a pen to write a note or use a person for one's own ends. Today's word has a slightly different meaning (see Definition). If Montague didn't use his screwdriver to open the can, it was because he couldn't find it or found a better tool. If he couldn't utilize his screwdriver, it was because he could not find any appropriate application for it. The action noun for today's word is "utilization" and the rarely utilized agent noun is "utilizer."

Suggested usage: Today's verb is comfortable with a plural direct object; that is, it often implies more than one use: "Prescott fully utilizes all the advantages of his wealth to avoid useful work." It can also imply putting something to an appropriate use; you would never utilize a screwdriver to open a door but someone might utilize their ability to attract flying insects to feed a pet lizard or frog.

Etymology: Today's word comes from French "utiliser" and Italian "utilizzare" from utile "useful," the Italian descendant of Latin utilis "useful," the adjective from uti "to use." Virtually all Western Indo-European languages have some version of the ancient Greek verbal suffix –iz: English –ize, French –is, Russian combines it with one of its own suffixes –iz-ova, and German combines it with Friench –ier to produce –is-ier, as in "angl-is-ier-en "to Anglicize." The British once spelled this suffix –ise ("amortise," "Anglicise," "merchandise") but now the US spelling with -ize is the generally accepted form. (We would like to thank Monica Hackett for bringing the loss of the subtle distinction between "use" and "utilize" to our attention.)

Feeling: quiet
Listening To: fishtank bubbles