hmmmm....

Monday

Hi: 59 Lo: 36

AM rain; Some afternoon sun; Turning colder tonight (maybe a snow flurry late); Wind NW 5-15 mph becoming 15-25 mph after midnight with gusts to 40 mph

Tuesday

Hi: 48 Lo: 33

Partly cloudy; Noticeably colder; Frost possible at night; NW wind 10-20 mph becoming light at night

Wednesday

Hi: 59 Lo: 41

Lots of sun; Not as cold; West wind 5-10 mph

Thursday

Hi: 69 Lo: 49

Mostly sunny; Warmer

Friday

Hi: 72 Lo: 52

Partly cloudy day; Increasing clouds at night; Seasonably warm

you will find me singing april showers brings may flowers.... it helps me keep my sanity... hard to believe the other day i was planting seeds and taking photos...

today i will....

today i will -

plant my seeds in my garden

plant my bushes in the front

go to baseball game

cut molding for boards

call woodworkers

sit in the sun for 30 minutes

read book

cook out on grill

call sister

watch a good movie

clean house

when did it happen? when did the above list get accomplished and i still had time left to decorate, walk in the woods, bake cookies...

something happened after 40. i remember when i was 35 my printer, kevin, had turned 40. he said, he was tired, lost his energy, couldn't do what he could at 35.

i understand.... when did i slow down to a snails pace? it was gradual, i do remember that. i stopped writing my list, depressed that one or two items were crossed off by the next morning. i decided to slow down (trying to trick myself into believing it was by choice), breath in life and not only move slower but sit and think (or was that doze).

what i once achieved in one day, i now can achieve in a couple of weeks. i've passed the torch on to the 30 somethings... the ones that are now smart enough, full of energy and endless possibilities. they still have their looks that come natural, are not fighting with the weight gains, do not have the lines on their face that make them look mean (between the eyes and downward lips).

so today, i think i'll go for the baseball game, nap and some hair color....

a month already?

i always seem to be saying....time sure does fly on by. i cannot believe it's been a month since i've been blogging... so much to say and good therapy too.

i'm going to have to do some catching up with you this week from studio to home... i guess the distraction of spring has caused all of this, i've been longing to see my garden erupt to greet the sun ...

planting day here is May 15th, and only 4 months for those plants to grow and flower and then once again, go dormant. i wonder if a law should be passed here, gardening for 4 months and then back to work. after all, isn't it france that takes a long vacation at the same time? i do believe.

the above pictures are from my garden yesterday....nature is an amazing anecdote to a creative dry spell, or as a color guide for the eye... take a walk yourself and notice the amazing number of colors and shades in a flower or a leaf....

spring cleaning...

this morning i'm up and early....starting the laundry, working on some photography and making a plan for the day...

i'm cleaning out my computer files too.... and i'm seeing things that you might be interested to see or read; past publicity and photos of antique game boards... as i'm cleaning, i'll be adding some to the blog...



Monday, February 06, 2006
12/7/2005 2:45:00 PM

Games People PlayLinda BachmannSpecial Sections Editor

Set aside those iPods and Xboxes for a while. As cooler weather and longer nights beckon us indoors, board games and puzzles can offer some old-fashioned fun with friends and family. And as an added bonus, these artistic creations are worthy of display long beyond playtime.

Right: Artist Diane Allison of Boone, N.C., has been handcrafting game boards for the past 12 years. Her greatest inspiration? Memories of hours spent playing marbles and Chinese checkers on the floor with her grandfather.

Using quiltmaking applications, today Diane merges the past and the present using traditional designs and skilled craftsmanship. Over a three-week span, she creates each piece with a nine-step process, using Russian Baltic birchwood and handpainted designs, which are left to dry to a hardened finish in the mountain sun.

Backgammon anyone? This 28-inch by 19-inch Baltic birch gameboard can be hung on the wall between games. Diane suggests using old-fashioned checkers disks, which she discovers on eBay, as the perfect game pieces.

This wood-crafted dreidel, designed and hand-assembled by seven craftsmen at The Toycrafter, based in Rochester, N.Y., will add a crafty flair to any Chanukah collection. Each is four and one-half inches tall and comes with an engraved instruction board and instructions. $22.99. At Gifts from the Heart, Judaica and More, 1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 135, Marietta. (770) 579-6684.

“Yes you may!” is the surely the answer when your family asks to play upon the graphic “Mother May I” Parcheesi game board, also handcrafted by Diane Allison.

The classic checkerboard design receives an updated treatment in this handcrafted Diane Allison piece. Measuring 19-inches square, its comfy wood tones add warmth to any game setting or family room.

Conundrums puzzles , created by The Toycrafter, look like compact disks made of wood and are individually packaged in a CD jewel case. Shown here are Star of David and menorah puzzles. How long will it take you to assemble the pieces? $10.99. At Gifts from the Heart.

This 19-inch “Crossroads,” square board, designed by Diane Allison, is the classic High Q game of jumping pegs for playing solo or with a partner. Golf tees or nails make for perfect pegs.$215.

The childhood game “Kick the Can” became the appropriate namesake for this Parcheesi gameboard also designed by Diane Allison. Like her other pieces, each is signed on the back with her trademark black handprint and handwritten initials.
Tell us what you think

Copyright 2006, Atlanta Jewish Times, A member of Jewish Renaissance Media® Software © 1998-2006 1up! Software, All Rights Reserved

spirit of the entrepreneurs....

my mom just emailed me....commenting on her competition with diane sawyer and christiana amapour to be my best friend... you are so funny mom! they haven't called yet!

i had mentioned the heifer organization in the blog below and mom said that i should look into kiva... and that she had just lent money to Rose Nakato in Uganda. my mom and i are supporters of heifer so early this morning i am looking up kiva and reading the amazing stories that surround the organization (started by a husband and wife), and the entrepreneurs and the dreams that the people have.

after looking at kivas site i see that they have had great support in getting the name of their organization out there through the media, and one can never thank the media enough when they give you this helping hand. so i am sure many of you have already been introduced to them, but if not i am adding them to my "give" column that you can find on the left of my blog.

the dreams of an entrepreneur are the same, resulting in the same ending hopefully. success at their ideas, self sufficient and able to help others along the way. another trait of an entrepreneur is their belief in their idea, their energy and hard work to make it happen. you've head the words "american dream" a million times i'm sure.... but if you break it down, the dream is the same as all entrepreneurs... making something out of nothing...

and yes, i have the heart of the entrepreneur....starting my first home business when i was 20. and to this day a "no" will never stop me, i will just keep putting one foot in front of the other marching on. but we are looking at our $'s in other countries with kiva... where an opportunity can make the difference between poverty and self sufficiency... no esteem to wonderful esteem... and of course, the success of one will benefit many... instead of a donation, they are asking for small amounts to be made as loans...

last month, sara, my assistant, gave up flour for 40 days for her religious beliefs... if you new sara her entire diet consists of flour, so it was a huge struggle for her. i figure if i give up my ice cream i will be able to help fund someones dreams.... i give up something negative in my life and create a positive in somebody else's life.... that's a win win....

i've added a video if you are not familiar with kiva org., it's an amazing story....here is a direct link to their site too... today, i feel good, i'm helping Chhoeun Smaunh in cambodia buy a horse and silk...and i know the feeling of his heart... thanks mom!

this is a link to the video.... it is 13 minutes long, and so inspiring...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=604752752

here is a direct link to the kiva site...

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=home

don't forget, heifer and kiva are great gift ideas for those people who have everything... i have given my dad bees and my mom eggs to help people in south america...just to name a couple...

i've been tagged...

well i don't know if i should actually thank jennifer lanne for tagging me... but you know how the world is always new and ever changing... this is a game of blog tag... would you have ever thought of something like this years ago as you were playing tag in your neighborhood? be sure to check out jennifer lanne's blog, art on the farm...you will certainly get lots of feel good smiles and laughs. her site is listed under the artist section to the left...also, earth angels has a large selection of her work available...

i am to tell you 5 unknown and maybe interesting facts about myself...

well as i sit and think about this for days, no kidding, i find myself going back in time to my high school days... that says to me, i'm old now and grasping at my youth of accomplishment... as silly as they were at the time... and they've grown in size too; walking 10 miles through the snow to school....etc.

so i've decided to tell a little from the past, a little of the current, and a little of my dreams...

i has a highland dancer in high school....what is that you ask?

Sword DanceThe "Gillie Callum," or Sword Dance is an ancient dance of victory and war, dating back to the days of King Malcolm Canmore. The story is that the King danced over his bloody claymore after vanquishing his enemy, one of Mac Beth's generals. It was considered a bad omen for the following battle if the blades were touched during the dance.
Today's Sword dancer "addresses" two swords, performing the first steps outside their crossed blades. Subsequent steps are danced over the blades, but once inside their field, the dancer never dances with his back turned to the swords - only a fool would turn his back on a weapon. It requires tremendous skill not to displace the swords. Toward the end of the dance, to prove their skill and endurance, the dancer will clap hands together to tell the piper to increase the tempo.

i was born in iowa and lived in des moines until i was 9, sarasota florida until i was 23, houston texas until i was 24, birmingham alabama until i was 25, san diego california until i was 29, new lenox illinois until i was 31, dallas texas until i was 37 and have lived in boone north carolina for 11 years now... yep, that makes me 48... and i am all of those places combined...from the people to the places.

outside des moines there were buffalo, introducing me to the magnificent beast that i still love.

sarasota spoiled me with the white baby powder beaches...the pelicans, and ringling brothers.

birmingham was wonderful, hills and green, enough snow to enjoy...

san diego...blue waters, cliffs and seals...best subs in national city and old town were my haunts.

new lenox, outside of chicago...the natural history museum and farmland, small town and big city, antiques galore.

dallas. there isn't enough space, still has my heart. good people, good everything.

boone, north carolina - good people, mountains, music.... home...

ok, that is 2 things.....

if i could be anything in the world (already have what is necessary to do it with) and of course, would be extremely successful at these...

district attorney or fbi agent

novelist

documentary photographer

united nations - humanitarian affairs

heifer - train people around the world to grow and raise food

work with the gorillas and elephants....

well, i'm running out of time for the above so if any of you are from the above maybe i could shadow you?

i would like diane sawyer and christiane amanpour to be my best friends... (but mom is still #1)...if any of you know them, maybe you could let them know and they will come over!

ok....i'm really really reaching back .... and some of you will know what i'm talking about, and some will have no idea at all....

i was able to take 110 words a minute in shorthand... i told my youngest about this and he looked at it as a secret code and that it was really cool that i new this.... maybe i should write some letters in this "new" secret code to all of you that can remember your shorthand.

and that is it.... and i'm thankful to say...

use your mouse to click on a picture...

Make a postcard - it's easy!

ohhhh, color!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

a week....

as you can see, there is a system.... it may all look like craziness to you, but it all means something else to me... with a 9 step process for each piece, each mark on the board means something special... is the piece drawn, painted, sanded, stained, shipped? I have marks for stores, special gifts that have been ordered, notes for calls that i need to make for supplies.... and when your name is all the way off the board....you've received your piece and you loved it...

i love to have everyones name next to the piece that they ordered.... that way when i'm painting the board they are in my thoughts... i can also appreciate the grouping of boards that they have created in their own minds... and see what it will look like together as i'm going along.

it's been a hectic week, so many different ideas going on in the studio... i'll be painting a piece and think, well here is a new design, i like it this way too.... so off for the camera to snap the design, and then on to finishing the painting on the original piece...

a wonderful group of artists are getting together for a "gathering" where we will be sending you a postcard of our work... but time it takes and 4th of july theme, it's sometimes hard to think so many months in advance.... but i'm thinking red, white and blue right now... and using a glue stick to see what layout will be needed...lots of emails and calls back and forth....

i've updated my site.... a section called... groupings to display, has been added http://www.dallisongameboards.com/ to help everyone visualize what boards look like together in a grouping. I also joined the american-folk-art site....(which you must visit...so here is the link...) http://www.american-folk-art.com/ and spoke to a magazine about their interest in an article about me for this summer...got mail from jen from earth angels...if you haven't checked out her site lately you just MUST, she has so many new things to show you... and of course, sell to you! here is her link... http://www.earthangelstoys.com/

also, much laundry, dishes, errands, wiping runny noses to remember, carpools, bills, bird business, coffees, runs for coke and icecream.... food to feed, rides here and there, phone calls... phew.... i'm glad it's saturday and all i have to do today is work in the studio and alittle laundry! Thanks hubby!!!

american idol....i'm hooked

i started watching american idol years and years ago... as you know i'm a fan of music, especially singer/songwriters...
this year, the guys are amazingly great, i don't think i'll be able to narrow it down... my 8 year old son and i are glued to the set.... of course, it's not cool for my other son who's now nearly 25.... and being forgetful as i am, my eli reminds me their names....

here is one of my favorites.... jason castro...

new to site - game board groupings....

i've added a new feature to my web page... "groupings". so many of you collect my work and call and ask what goes together, so i thought this would be helpful for you to browse through.

it took some time to figure out what i was doing, but it's up and working now and hopefully not to confusing to use. just click on a game board that you like in the groupings area and you will be shown an example of pieces that work well together... i hope you find it useful and easy to use...

i've added the link below so that you can go straight to the new area....

http://dallison.squarespace.com/groupings/

how can it be?

i cannot believe that march is already here... my mom is right, the older you get, the faster the months go by! i was talking to my dad the other day to decide whether march came in as a lion or a lamb.... the eve of march was a lion.... and then on to the lamb... so that means just one thing, the end of march we will indeed be getting some more snow...

it's been wonderful to get up to the sound of birds back from their florida vacations... i'm keeping my eyes intently on the little guys to keep a step ahead of their nest building though.... i would hope it won't be in the air conditioner again this year and my hanging pot... so i'm diligently shooing them away from those areas....

yesterday i went to the 'bird' store and discussed with great detail of my past escapades with these little creatures... and was assured, there was nothing that i could do, and that they will win...those little wrens... so i left with insect infested suet instead.... not a lovely welcoming for my friends....what is the matter with me? i just find the small creatures irresistible!

the studio is jammed pack with boards in various stages... i'm happy to jump into spring with the new editions of loretta and gloria... such fun inviting colors to work with while my garden is making mystery below the ground....

no shadow here.... phew

i wonder how much time each year i'm hopeing for winter....the snow that is. i've finally realized that it is only the snow that i long for...

the bright white across my view.... the discovery that each snow fall is different and holds it's own special place... does it cover every tree branch which is a picture of heaven on earth... is the snow packable so that i can make a snowball or is it perfect to roll for the snowman.... or is it a dry snow, which exsists like dust, just blows...or is it to hard that you cannot sled on.... in the early morning of a snow you can follow the footprints of the night animals that have passed through and see where their burrow is...

i find that i like to watch the roads change too... from the covering to the clean plowed... to even the driven through and the sides of the plowed snow have turned black from the traffic.... there are so many things to find of interest on a snowy day...

but it is the snow that i love.... not the cold.... cold without snow, why? it makes me long for spring and to the budding of my garden...

a short winter for us.... our groundhog didn't see his shadow...

the quilters of gee's bend....

click on the different photos to see and hear different stories....

it's here!

my interpretation of gee's bend quilts...

the introduction of game board designs based on "gee bend" quilts.... "The Quilts of Gee's Bend ", tinwood books, atlanta

I’ve received so many emails about creating these game boards … so many of you are familiar with gee’s bend quilts and the quilters from Alabama …
But for those of you who are not….it is fascinating and I encourage everyone to read about the history and people of gee’s bend…their quilts are highly collectible and have been exhibited around the country.

The women of gee’s bend – a small, remote, black community in Alabama – have created hundreds of quilt masterpieces dating from the early twentieth century to the present. The book – “Quilts of Gee’s Bend ” tells the story of this town and its art.

As we know when we quilt we are stitching pieces of ourselves into each quilt…it reminds us of what we were doing at that time, perhaps how old our children were, were we stitching with our friends… the same is when I create a new game board, it contains not only my artistry but my future memories as well…

I’ve created 2 new pieces in my limited edition series … gee’s bend quilts are full of color and history… I’ve combined the color with the history of the game board design…

I hope you love them…. I truly feel they are so special…
If you would like to order…. Please do so right away…. They won’t last very long … this is truly a collectible, a combination of so many artists, their lives and their work made into one…

valentines.....

it seems that the original story of st. valentine, is a little bit murky... the 'st.' denotes the catholic religion, but apparently there were several st. valentines...

my general understanding is that whichever st. valentine that this tradition was named after was willing to die for his belief... whether it was the belief in the tradition of marriage for the young men, which at one time was being denied so that the young men would go to war, or for the safe treatment of christians... whichever was the original meaning, both were founded by love and courage...

love does take courage... and courage is driven by love...

instead of the commercialism of this holiday think beyond that... the ones in your life that you treasure, from family to friends, neighboring children and their family, extend your hand out a little further and do the unexpected... there is a great surprise in that...

goodbye january...

i just love january.... it starts off with so many hopes and plans.... and one never knows in january whether they will be fruitful or not...

the weather goes from a snow storm to the 50's days later... the snow gear has hardly had time to dry when we are pulling out short sleeves again...

today i spent cleaning up the studio and doing finishing touches on some game boards for you... off to idaho, massachusettes and texas by the end of the week...

january i am pushed to decorate. the tree is down and the house is somewhat organized. the perfect time to change what is on the walls... move a large mirror from here to there... placing my collection of kitty babendreier's work so that i always see them....enjoying the scent of my forced bulbs in every room and looking at paint chips (again) for the family room... it follows naturally, moving towards new plans and finishing things. a time to redo for that in between time of spring and birds....

winter has been cold. lots of snow and school days at home. the snow has been to hard to sled some of the time, so we wish for a warmer temp. so soften up... this is the perfect snow for sledding, soft and held together, but not a slush... and the sled flies!

i thrive on music... and i just love it when i fall upon an artist that i just love from the first words that are sung....

i found this video on youtube... autumn lozano, sings, plays and writes her music... i can imagine that there are millions of beautiful voices out there, many waiting to be discovered, and who chooses those artists for us? i sincerely appreciate a singer that is a songwriter, there is a link from the soul to the listener... a form of exposure of their deepest thoughts. if you like her music as i do, she has a site... perhaps we can push her up to the top to be heard http://www.autumnlozano.com

hope....dream....create

one more year has passed... it gets harder and harder to believe each year... and the older i get, the quicker the years go by and the less i seem to get done...

i am not one to make resolutions on new year's eve... i learned that in my youth. it's a disappointment to have such high hopes at the beginning of the year and to be horrified weeks later that, yes, once again, i gave in to my 'old self'...

i prefer to spend time thinking of what i hope to do this year, where i would like to visit, hoping for new friends to enter my life, hoping for health and for the energy of a 20 something... hope that my family doesn't run away and will still eat my burnt food.... hope that i will do well at creating and living... and that i will teach somebody something that is vital to their future... yes, it is a lot of hopes...

i dream of an organized life (i know, that's sad), but it means so much to me... if my nest is in order than i can create, if my home is in order i can sit at the table and play board games, order opens my life to new ideas, friendships and things that i enjoy to do.... and if awards were given for chaos and confusion, time spent looking for something, that i would win.

i hope to create more, whether it's wonderful dinner for my family and friends, new art, new ideas for my nest...to work on my poetry and photography that takes me away into a whole other area of design...start needle pointing a pillow and collage...

those are the things that i think about....that i will move towards.... my whisper to myself is family comes first..... when i'm off into one of my little worlds i breathe that message to myself, they are what is most important to me... and in the end of the journey, that is what i will look back on....

i hope that your dreams come true and that you create a wonderful year for you and yours.... and that you have peace...