Have you been to Yats?

Broadripple has a lot of great and interesting places to eat! One of my favorites is Yats, a quaint little place with a New Orleans kick. Try the Chili Cheese Étouffée, it is delicious! When you visit, you will notice an eclectic collection of decorations, including (naturally) Mardi Gras beads, several statues, a twisty trumpet, and more. Here are a couple pieces that captured my interest on an artsy day.

Recording! 'In the Garden'

I was asked to sing in church.  My mom suggested this beautiful, peaceful song and I think its perfect! ...If only I knew how to get it into a blog!...

In the Garden   by C. Austin Miles

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

And he Walks with me, and he talks with me,
And he tells me I am his own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me,
Within my heart is ringing.

And he Walks with me, and he talks with me,
And he tells me I am his own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

I'd stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me is falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

And he Walks with me, and he talks with me,
And he tells me I am his own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

Thumbnail Sketches

Every now and then, doodling just happens. Often, the spontaneous ones are fairly small and not too specific. Hope you enjoy these little pieces! I certainly enjoyed creating them. Copyright 2013.

Indianapolis Home Show: Aspen Outdoor Designs

I have been enjoying the Home Show this week. Every now and then there is some down time. Here are a couple resulting sketches.

Once I have a computer I will get that one rotated!

enjoy!

Paver Patio Progression

So, my good friends and family keep asking me, " What are you doing at work? Do you like it?"
Here is a look into a recent project... I spent a few weeks outdoors with the crew, working with them and collecting images and memories of the experience!

Normally I work inside designing, drafting, and occasionally rendering or performing other office tasks.  It is also pretty common to catch me outside around Indianapolis, measuring clients' properties and preparing a base plan for the future design.  It is not normal, though, to catch me digging out the soil to prepare for the base of the paver patios that I helped to draft. Also not normal to catch me shoveling multiple tons of gravel before my coworkers compact it down to prepare for the sand base. However, if you were in Cicero during the fruition of this design, you would have caught me doing these things. AWESOME, RIGHT?!!!!

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I loved being there for the learning experience! Sure, I learned a lot of great information during my landscape architecture undergrad at Ball State. I learned how to specify a great, long-lasting and reliable base to support various paving materials. I learned about soil compaction, grading, water and drainage, and the importance of doing things the right way. I learned about good design practices and how to take both micro- and macro-climates into consideration.  Ball State gave me a great start with a great education.

But, there is more to design than what you learn in school.  There is something unique and exciting about being there and building what you already designed on paper.  Putting pencil to paper isn't quite the same as plunging the tip of a shovel into the earth and breaking ground.  Then doing it again, and again, and measuring the grade of those efforts to determine whether they are deep enough to get a solid base under the pavers.

Fetching about 5 tons of gravel in one trip, unloading, shoveling, and wheeling that gravel, then smoothing, leveling and compacting it teaches a lot about the time it takes to get things started. It teaches a lot about the elbow grease lodged under those pavers. We aren't quite to the pavers yet though. Of course, another load of gravel must be fetched and the process starts again. (The project took more than 25 tons of gravel.) The story is about the same for the sand.

 

Building a project also teaches about the techniques involved with making each individual paver level and sturdy. Well, I'm rambling a bit. At any rate, it was a wonderful experience and if you get the chance to be a part of an experience like this, don't turn it down!!

Here is my video, which chronicles the progression of the paver patio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfK2GFUl_Gk
(The images on this blog are not in the video, but supplemental. Check out the video... worth watching!)

Care Package: Sweet Notions (1)

As many of you know, my mom is starting chemo very soon. I've put together some sweet little care packages to bring her a bit of joy.  The first bit is to add some creative and colorful spunk to inspirational and joyful sayings and scriptures.

I started with some mini canvases and easels that will easily fit on a bedside table, or near a collection of flower arrangements!  (Don't judge the talent here. They are VERY tiny canvases!)

Here are the first two:  (Click the picture to enlarge.)

1)

2)

I would love to have some ideas...
...for little goodies to include in her care packages! She does not want reminders of what she is battling.  She prefers cheery reminders of the best things in life.