Tag: challenges (Page 8 of 8)

Bacterial Necrosis

June 30, 2014 / laura bruno lilly

from- Swimming with Swans: vignettes of our three year journey between homes
November 2011 (Fountain Hills, AZ)

During my daily walks along local paths in town and in the surrounding desert area, I’ve noticed Saguaro Cacti with large dark brown “bite” patches along their base up to and including places way high above my head. At first I thought perhaps they were indeed, bites from local fauna that somehow didn’t get hurt eating the spiky spines along with the juicy flesh. Think: deer bites on Aspen tree trunks. But it didn’t seem to fit with the height limit of most animals. So, I got to thinking maybe it was some sort of naturally occurring disease that helps to maintain eco-balance such as the Pine Beetles in the Colorado forests.
I did a bit of Google research and discovered Continue reading

The Rusty Quilter

June 22, 2014 / laura bruno lilly

Detail of rows 1 & 2 of my quilt WIP

“Hello, my name is Laura and I am a rusty quilter who’s picking up the needle again.”
Geesh, that sounds kind of illegal. No matter, quilting is and has been a very important part of my life since well, forever. Put another way, when the country was re-discovering quilt-art in the 1960’s and 70’s, I was among those who tried my hand at it…and kept my hand in it ever afterwards.
Basic to those early projects was a deep desire to stay true to my own set of ‘quilt values.’ Specifically: recycling used clothing and jeans into quilts and wearables, both utilitarian and artistic. One of my first quilt-based projects used old jeans pockets as squares to make a lounge pillow for my younger brother.
Yes, the times they were a-changin’.* Continue reading

Celebrations & Inspirations

May 16, 2014 / laura bruno lilly

Note: In keeping with the theme of this previously written Swimming with Swans vignette (2012), we celebrate in spirit with our daughter Hava as she receives her J.D. degree this weekend (2014).

Celebrations and Inspirations

from-Swimming with Swans: vignettes of our three journey between homes
May 2012 (Westminster, CO)

In honor of this time of year: a time of graduations, weddings and new beginnings. It is a time of celebrations and inspirations.

Bobby is graduating College with a BFA in Studio Art this weekend.
Our daughter Michelle is getting married in September.
Our son Joe is in a few new bands and learning to balance work, play and school as a bachelor guy.
My husband and I are faithfully walking the life-path before us regardless of its many mysteries.
A colleague and friend Bill, has survived two years of intense cancer treatment and is entering into a new cancer-free life.

And there’s more, oh so much more to be thankful for and to celebrate… Continue reading

CD Commentary – Tom Carleno: Perfect Imperfection

March 19, 2014 / laura bruno lilly

Track list:
1-In Search Of
2-Meet Me in Maui
3-On The Border (Al Stewart)
4-Welcome to the Milky Way
5-Working Up An Appetite (Tim Finn)
6-Timberline Tree
7-Child’s Play
8-Rhapsody in Blood
9-Imagine (John Lennon)
10-Brief Encounter
11-What a Difference a Day Makes

Tom’s a guitar bud from the days when back-to-back students, gigs, concerts, workshops and rehearsals left little time for socializing. It’s been over five years since we each rented studio space in the same building with other working musicians and the ‘Chocolate Lady’ in downtown Louisville, CO. Swapping stories and notes between late or ‘no show’ students, we forged a professional and personal camaraderie during our respective day-to-day teaching gigs.
While Tom has been performing, writing, recording and evolving with his group Perpetual Motion for years, Perfect Imperfection is his first solo recording. Several years in the making, the name is taken from his wife and band partner Josie’s view of life: Nothing is perfect, that is what makes life so perfect. Evidently, this wifely philosophy was the kick in the pants Tom needed to actually record a solo album. Continue reading

Story of a Kitty & Remembering Tripod

December 7, 2013 / laura bruno lilly

Once again I find myself in Colorado visiting Dad while in the midst of record breaking weather. The Deep Freeze temps that usually occur during the National Western Stock Show in January have arrived earlier this year. Family and friends are beginning to joke about my visits bringing crazy weather; first the 1000 year flood and now this. If this keeps up, those same friends and family might not be so happy to hear of any further visits I’ll be making!

The unseasonably bitter cold has brought out concerns for the neighborhood stray cat where my brother and sister-in-law live. It seems there is this kitty who was once a beloved house cat, living an indoor life in a home just kitty corner (!) from my brother and sister-in-law. This lovely feline had an adoring owner who passed on about three years ago. Kitty’s inherited owner took no interest in claiming her, causing Kitty to become an unwilling outdoor cat.

As with most strays, she makes her daily rounds; surviving better than most because of her winning personality and because her territory is within a nice neighborhood. According to my brother, she is the perfect stray to take in and call your own. Kitty has tried to adopt various humans, but with little success. Mostly because she is technically someone else’s pet. In the case of my brother and sister-in-law, they accepted Kitty’s offer at one time, trying to incorporate her into the family. Unfortunately, the household’s menagerie of permanent and semi-permanent pets didn’t accept Kitty into their gang.

So adopting Kitty was not an option. Continue reading

Do You NaNo?

October 18, 2013 / laura bruno lilly

It’s NaNoWriMo time again, folks.

Last year, the challenge in doing my first NaNo was to just do it. This year, it’s to just do it in a different genre. Yep, it’s only my second time around for this event, but I feel like a seasoned pro.

What exactly is NaNoWriMo? The clever acronym stands for: National Novel Writing Month. This extravaganza takes place in November each year and is a wild journey of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. That’s 1667 words each day. Every day. Of course, in my case that’s the bare minimum as I try to stockpile words to protect my Thanksgiving Holiday from the ravages of NaNo. Since this year’s Turkey Day lands mercifully on the first of the last three days in November…I can finish by then, no problem! Just in time for the kids to come home for the festivities and enjoy our feast in pure turkeyed-out bliss!

Last year’s approach was purely intuitive. Continue reading