Walrus, Dragon, And Carnations....Oh My!

I forgot about the Walrus!  One of my better ones, the paper was larger and it turned out a little more realistic.

 I still think there are better designs out there, but for now, I will have to continue to tweek tis one to make it better....or at least where I want it to go.  I guess it must have been a big hit at the ACT because it did not last long.  Hopefully, someone gave it a good home instead of the Janitor throwing it away.

   I'm actually a little curious what the maintainence men think about those things randomly placed around the building.   Do they like them?   Hate them?  Or simply throw the away without a second thought.   I'm not sure, but I'm fairly certain that most of them are not left around long enough for the maintainence staff to even consider the various options.  Ah well,  If it became a problem, I'm sure someone would tell me. 

As mentioned before,  I started the Ancient Dragon this weekend and had to stop around step 80.  I did not get a chance to work on it today, But I know I'll keep plucking along at it just like I did with the last one.  I always think I can complete it all in one setting, and so far,

 I have not been able to stay focused enough to finish it in less than 4 days!  No worries.  I've got plenty of time and no one is waiting for it.  As you can see,  the folds are rather complex as you have to collapse them over and over again.  So there are very few simple folds once you get the precreasing done. 

So what do you do when you are at your limit for the super complex models?   Why,  Fold flowers of coarse!  I had a few pieces of paper left over that did not have a mate,  so I thought this was the perfect time to fold some carnations.  I think they turned out pretty well.  After that,  A simpler version of a dragon.

 This one is made of cardstock and is not as elaborate as the ancient dragon.  It has no horns or claws.   The cool thing was that I was able to sculpt it  quite a bit with the wet folding.







  I'm not sure how this week is going to pan out.  We had overtime hours on Saturday and the Project may be winding down at the ACT.  I'm not sure if there will be another project coming up in the near future either,  But I may actually welcome the time off if we get it.  There are always stockings to sew up and books to write, and, of coarse, Origami!  Hope everyone has a great week since this weekend was WAY too short!

Running, Baking, Flooding, And Cats...

Hiro is #1

Ready to run.

 What else is there to blog about?   The day to day routine of our daily runs...  A few of the projects that we take on...  and our cat Hiro.

7 miles finished. 

First,  Running!   Last couple of days have been pleasant enough.  We travel to Iowa City to run the trail and nothing else.  No HyVee!  No visits to anywhere we do not have to.  Just running.

A little rain. 

Water is getting higher. 

Today,  it rained in the early parts of the morning and the river has been slowly rising over time.   Any more and it will soon be over the sidewalk under the bridge.   Thus..  Bone Park will be cut off from our normal route.

Starting to crest over the trail.

Another 7 miles complete

I was impressed that there were quite a few people out and about along the trail.   Biking, running, walking with Dogs or just alone;  I'm guessing they will risk a few things just to get a little fresh air.

Hiro Helps Bake the Cookies

A little bit of a taste.

Back home,  Cheryl has been Baking.   Trouble of all of us!  Because the last thing our immune systems need is more sugar.   ( Or our waist line!)  You would never know it, but apparently, even the cat likes her cookies.  He helps her bake just so he gets a shot at the bowl/beaters!

What the Ancient Dragon is
Supposed to look like. 

My attempt... more times that
I care to admit. 

I would post Origami things, but my creative streak has come to a halt.   Possibly because I have been tackling the Ancient Dragon...   240 some steps of pure misery and joy!   I have attempted it multiple times and it never comes out the way it is pictured in the book.   ( When I actually finish it!)  Normally it takes 3 days of heart break to complete something that almost looks like a dragon.  I would say instead of an elegant folded sculpture it looks more like a crumpled ball of tissue paper!

But still rough around the edges. 

An earlier version...  somewhat
successful. 

It is easy to get frustrated and have it ruin your day.  Especially since several of SATOSHI KAMIYA's Steps are challenging to decipher.   Perhaps some day I will watch the three and a half hour video of how he does it.   And... I could always use better paper!

Lastly,   The White house Briefings have been a Hoot for us. I may like the way the President is handling things,  but the Libertarian in me has had to cringe more than a few times during this entire fiasco. Not just the way the President is handling it. ( I do believe he is doing the best he can at the moment)  But the Press and other politicians are more than happy to use this opportunity to grab more money and more power.

What the Government deems
"healthy!" 

Case in point:   Children!   Seems Parents are SHOCKED when they discover that they have to feed their own kids now that they are not eating in school.  ( If that statement did not make you laugh out loud in disbelief....  I worry for the country.)  Yes!  Parents.   Seems they know how to MAKE the kids..  But are totally confused on how to feed and take care of them without government run schools..   ( Again...  Laugh!  Because it is ridiculous!)

Mom's cooking was not very
great...

I was raised in a day when either we fed ourselves or Mom made some tasteless gruel that was horrible, but satisfying.  We also found things to do whenever there was a "School Free" day. ( which there were none....)  Parochial schools do not have teacher's strikes, government shut downs, or pandemics as reasons to close.  ( Pandemics are "acts of God!"   Fire and Brimstone.... stuff like that.) The learning never stopped  no matter what!

Life is the hardest teacher...
And Professor Zieger...

But ever since the Government... (YOUR TAX DOLLARS!)  has taken over the raising of the children and the feeding of the Children ( Again!  YOUR TAX DOLLARS) ,  the people who SHOULD be doing those things have relinquished control...  fully satisfied that someone else is raising and feeding their kids.  Heck,  Why even come home at all?   Those people are just genetic material donors.   The Government is now your Mom and Dad...  (Or just Mom, as Dads have been pushed out the door years ago....)  And those of us who have no kids for whatever reason are forced to flip the bill. 

Well we now see where Government fails.   Turns out when the money runs out or something big happens... your kids are just not very important anymore.   Hey!  At least they give them back.  You only had to feed them for two weeks... and already you are complaining?   Should have thought of that before making them in the first place.

Me, my brother and My dad...   Though we had a boat...

Ok... a bit of a rant.   Most parents are fine and actually take care of their kids.  I'm not talking about them.  If my Mom and Dad were stuck home with me and my brother... we would go fishing.   We would play games.  Mom would cook for all of us.  Dad would fix something around the house.   OR   most likely.... we would sit around the Television and watch TV for hours.

How we would have spent our time at home...

  We were used to each other's company because we did that every night.   Under the same roof...  eating at the same table.   Perhaps this moment will show people what it was like back in the day... and maybe show them that things were no all bad.  Perhaps  things like Family time was actually a GOOD thing..  for both Kids AND parents.  Because,  for all their flaws. ( Oh!  There were LOTS!  Trust me.) .. I probably had the best parents in the world. Or at least "pretty good" parents....  in the neighborhood at least.  More family time, less Work Time makes for a stronger America.  My opinion.    Sorry for the rant... thanks for stopping in.

Happy Presidents Day! With Finished weekend Origami...

I finished only three sculptures this weekend.   That is pathetic given that we had a three day weekend this weekend.  I guess the designs were a little more challenging than normal.  And I did do a few housekeeping chores that needed to be done.  But I really had three whole days where I could let my creative fire loose on the world...and All I have to show are three designs.   BLA!

Well at least they are finished.  I was worried I was not going to complete the ancient dragon in time for work tomorrow.  By the way, ACT had presidents day off!   I have never had presidents day off from work.  Heck,  I usually had to work on most holidays!  It is nice to work for a place that celebrates the obscure holidays that only the US Postal Service even acknowledges! 
I'm not sure why ACT "celebrates" ( or simply 'observes') Presidents day, but my theory is that Iowa School are closed on this day, and ACT, being a part of academia, follows the education crowd and gives their employees a day to recover.  Then again,  According to Larry's Creative zone,  The schools in Des Moines were still open for business today.  Well, what do I know?  I'm just a simple origami Artist.

Speaking of Origami:  The finished bulldog and dragons are here on display.  I had planned to fold up another bulldog design, but time was in short supply.  This one apparently likes shoes...and cats.


As for the dragons,  well the ancient dragon did not turn out as well as the previous one.  However,  he isn't all that bad.  And he is the third one that has been successfully completed!   Not had out of five attempts!  Paper makes a huge difference in the folding process.  I still think that the red wrapping paper is not the best choice, so there is still room to improve. 

Well, I hope everyone had a great Presidents Day.  And if you are starting the work week,  I hope things go swimmingly for you for the remainder.  As for me,  the project at ACT has about three more days of scoring and then I will find myself with a surplus of time to fold and start up that Etsy shop that Cheryl has been bugging me to create.  So Much to do....so little time.

Flowers, Orcids, Rhino's, and The Crowning Achievement: Ancient Dragon!

So it has been a while since I have blogged and I have been folding things without posting them...so, as always, I have decided to cram them all into one post.    Probably not much to say, other than much has happened and I have probably forgotten most of it.    Oh!   Cheryl's parents came last weekend!  It was fun-ish. 

  That is to say, it rained,  we spent most of the time in the car, and it ended too quickly to do or say much.   Sometimes I forget just how far from civilization we are!

Other than that,  the Ancient Dragon has to be the most difficult pattern I have ever completed up to this date.  

 It was fun and I think it turned out pretty well.   I can't wait to try it again,  however, it took me almost 4 days to complete!  I had to glue the horns and toes together because the paper wanted to come unwrapped.  

Anyway,   I also have been working on my Origami Banzai trying to get the flowers to look real and cute.   Enjoy the pics....I can't say much as the time is limited on this post and I have to hurry...Cheryl is in a rush to get out of here.   Hope everyone has a great weekend!