Full Metal Panic... Fumoffu Check it out!

Happy Cyber Monday everyone! Cheryl and I have been kind of busy this weekend with a number of things that are too boring to list here. However, To help us unwind each night we have been adding a little to our Anime collection. Our latest addition is Full Metal Panic Fomoffu. It is basically the third addition to the series of the full metal panic story...but focuses exclusively on the comedy side. Its a nice change of pace from the second raid. ( second part) that is pretty much all action. We still have to get Full Metal Panic Second Raid. But then our collection of that series will be complete. Oh We finally finished the last episode of Claymore and it was Awesome! Of Coarse! Gotta Love that Claymore! Anyway. If you are out purchasing stuff off the Internet this day, be sure to check out the stockings and purses on the right....and then if you lack entertainment. Check out Funimation for the latest Anime! They will let you sample most of their offerings for free online ( you have to endure a few commercials) But at least you can see if you like the Anime before you purchase the entire series. Check them out at Funimation.com.

Backyard mystery: Squirrel with the broken arm.

The other day I was watching the many squirrels in our yard with the cats. I noticed that there was one that was running around funny. He seemed to be favoring one of his front legs. Don't get me wrong, he was fast and seemed to be able to climb the trees with little or no hesitation. So why favor his arm like that. I remember reading somewhere that squirrels often break bones from falling out of trees. And they live to tell the tale and seem to heal up just fine. What an amazing little creature. Not only is he able to heal a broken arm all by himself, ( tell that to a horse with a broken leg!) but he is able to continue to climb up and down trees with little or no problem. Anyway, I thought it was unusual and I did not release the cats to chase him. I doubt they would have caught him anyway. I'm not sure what happened, but I doubt he got electrocuted like the last squirrel mystery. In other news, the bald eagle that hangs out in highway one between Kalona and Iowa City is still there! This might not be a big deal to most people, But I always get a rush whenever I see a Bald Eagle. They are majestic in flight and form. Even in Alaska, I would stop and watch them as they would soar over the bay looking for fish. Who would have ever thought that there would be a resident in Iowa.

Ah! Thanksgiving....

What a time of year....where you can eat till you bust guilt free....well sort of. It is true that I probably indulged a little more than I should have yesterday. But now is the time to start back on track. I have clothes that I still have to fit into. As for the time spent with family and friends. Well, Cheryl and I worked yesterday...longer than we had planned actually. But that is a good thing because, Essentially, Cheryl IS my family and what better way to spend it than working together to get money. ( It's all about money right?) Anyway, we have been too busy for me to even post an update on my blog so I thought I would just check in and ramble a bit. Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving. We personally had much to be thankful about. Namely the move to Iowa, and all the blessings we have had since we moved here. Every day we see more and more blessings come in and hope they continue. God Bless you all.

Origami Rose, Fox and Dragon!

So, this weekend I have been working on a few other creations. Or at least working on making ones that I created before a little better. I must say that the tracing paper, although it still has it's limits, is proving to be pretty cool at handling the larger sculptures. This is perhaps my best rose ever. And the fox looks more like a kit fox rather than a traditional red fox, but I went with it to make the ears nice and big. In addition I worked on this dragon. I may have posted a similar one previously, however, I have been working this one over in my mind for some time and finally made it with the larger tracing paper. Unfortunately the picture does not do it Justice. I was able to give the head 7 horns! ( with no cuts!) and the wings I could fan out in the traditional dragon style. It's too bad I cant seem to capture his head very well with the camera because he has a great expression with his eyes, nose and mouth. Hopefully these pictures will give you an idea. Now it is off to my next creation.

The Totally Awesome Claymore! ( anime and manga)

I have blogged about this before, but tonight we are planning on getting Claymore the Anime. It is an awesome Anime and even better Manga to those of you who are nerdy enough to buy collect and read these things. Anyway, there are the latest manga chapters that have been translated on Animefreak.tv. But be careful because some of the earlier chapters have got some virus attached that will mess up your computer unless you have your firewall up. Otherwise, I have been working on a couple of new origami that are not finished yet. I have a couple that I would love to make, but it could take a while before I figure them out. And just to wow the readers. Check out Robert Lang's Origami IRISH ELK! (remember..I LOVE the irish elk!)

Origami Elephant

My own design( that is to say. I did not get it from a book or magazine) It's based off of the Blinzt bird base and it required a lot of "finger manipulation" to get it to look as rounded as it is. I still think it needs some work since most of the folds are "on the fly" instead of iron clad. In other words: I don't think I could write it down so someone else could reproduce it. But it does look ok for now. At least it motivates me to work on it further.

IT's unfortunate that the white paper does not show off very well against the blue background. ( or anywhere else for that matter.) Also we have been watching a lot of Sgt Frog. and quoting the zingers and one liners. It's great if you are over the age of 10 because many of the pop culture referances are from the '80's and 90's. Enjoy it on Funimation.com

Pegasus finished.

Ok a quick post on the finished Pegasus. The picture does not do it justice. I snapped it in haste as we were walking out the door. Perhaps I'll have a better pic with good lighting and background to show off later. Other than Origami, I have been raking leaves for the past three days. Not as much fun as I remember and the wind, rain, and broken rakes have been a bather as well. But...the yard for the most part is clean. I'm not sure what my next project should be, but the new book should help me make a decision

Latest origami Pegasus

A quick post on my latest origami. It's taking longer than I thought....I never had a project take over a day! It's basically the same origami pattern that I have used before, but with the larger paper, I wanted to see what little 'extras' I can add to it. A little trick I learned from one of the Masters is the paperclip and glue. I know that there might be this "unwritten rule" that the design should not b e glued up so it can be unfolded at any time....but why? Why put 4-8 hours into a design only to unwrap it! So the glue adds a little permanence to it. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks I'm breaking the rules here, but I'm tired of my designs looking good for only a few hours and then slowly coming undone as the paper begins to expand. Anyway this is a work in progress photo so here it is.

Week in Review....Origami, eagles, and Anime

The stupid battery keep blanking out whenever it is my turn to use it at panera. So I have had only a few times this week to blog. Oh! Sure! I could go to the library, but they keep odd hours and buy the time we get back it is usually closed. I could sit outside...in the cold, but as the temp keeps dropping, it is is becoming a less viable option. Anyway....enough of a rant and on to what has happened this week. First: A bald eagle has set us residence between Kalona and Iowa City. It's pretty cool seeing him in the morning circle highway one. At first i thought it was one of the MANY hawks or turkey vultures, but there was no mistaking the white head and tail. He might be migrating, or he might have staked out the local pond where they treat the water. As long as he is able to get food, I imagine he will stay. In other news, I have worked on some more Origami...Nothing special really, just a little larger sculptures. I must say that larger paper is almost as difficult to work with as small stuff. I'm pretty happy with the results. Cheryl likes them but we have no way to display them at the moment. And lastly we have been watching Full Metal Panic. It's a great anime that I have blogged about before. we finally purchased the CD. Have fun watching the intro.

Good eats!

With the closest food place about 45 minutes away, Cheryl and I have been forced to come up with new ways to fill a late night eating niche. That is....supper. So this forces us to once again cook up something that does not take a long time and is not a frozen pizza. If you remember back in July....we moved, and all of our cooking supplies were lost in the process. Why take them when we never use them...was the thought. However, now even a basic mixing bowl is a luxury. Well, Cheryl has been snapping pictures of our little creations...so I wanted to post a quick blog about some of the things we come up with cooking with next to no real cookware. Of coarse there is the pizza and jiffy pop popcorn. But Cheryl has been bugging me to post these. The ham on cream cheese was pretty good! Hope everyone is having a good week so far.

An origami Weekend

As the title suggests, I worked an a few origami projects this weekend. I'm pleased that the results look pretty good! I found that good old tracing paper seems to work the best when ti comes to the bugs. the thin strong paper is pretty easy to work with. The only complaint is that it is white and not a cool color. Also it takes a while for glue to grip it. but other than that, it does not tear easily and it seems to hold it's shape fairly well. Cheryl suggest I grab this latest book. I had an extensive library before the big move, but now I only have a few books. Out of each book there is usually only a handful of designs I usually do...over and over again. Until I no longer need a book to show me the "right" way of doing it. ( I often deviate from the original pattern ) Perhaps I'll have a few more to show off in the future. I have also been working on the larger wall hangings. I'm not sure how many more Cheryl will want on the wall, but I can't wait!

Dressing up the cats

For their big night out of course! Just kidding. In reality, they just needed a bath to remove the autumn fleas that tend to hitch a ride for the winter. I must say that they did not behave to badly. Red ( the shop cat) actually looked like he wanted to dive in while I was washing Rashi. And when he did get in, he did not struggle or claw his way around. Hiro, on the other hand was pretty much how you would expect a cat to behave when being doused with luke warm water. So after applying generous amounts of flea shampoo, rubbing it into a lather, then rinsing and repeating, It was time to dry them off. Red was the last to dry off. (I think he liked being wet for the most part) Cheryl bought these cute little coats for the changing seasons( $2.50 at Target!) and the cats actually liked them! This is perhaps the best picture we have of Rashi. The brothers are twins in their brown corduroy and they do tend to keep the cats nice and warm.