Posts Tagged With: WV

Getting Back in the Saddle

Posted on December 8, 2015 by lifeisjustduckie

Whew! I’ve been gone quite some time…I felt like I had nothing to post for the longest time, and then I just got out of the habit

BUT!

I’m ready to get back in the saddle, metaphorically speaking of course.

Anywho, I’ve decided to mainly focus this blog on my crafting endeavors, with the occasional book review, cooking tidbit, or Goodwill discovery making its way on here.

Now on to exciting news! On the 6th I participated in my first craft show!!!

It was very cold in the building hence me being all bundled up. As you can see, I have some lovely wares for sale including knitted wrist warmers, jewelry, and adorable holiday aprons.

Sadly I sold nothing.

I do have a few bright sides.

People said they liked my work.
People weren’t in a buying mood. No vendors really sold much.
I DID IT!

I think the last one is most important. I am really good at a few things, but I feel I truly excel at procrastinating. Why do today what I can put off til tomorrow?

And yes, I did sign up for this show two weeks before it happened so I have a ton of material leftover to make even more holiday aprons, but I now have actual stock to put in an Etsy shop. So be on the lookout for lifeisjustduckie on Etsy to fill all your holiday apron needs.

I’ve yet to see a deer…

Posted on December 20, 2014 by lifeisjustduckie

In keeping with the West Virginia homesick theme, I have to mention the other night. I was talking on the phone with my friend Tyler, who’s currently in New York, and as we were talking I was enjoying the cool night air. Back home I wouldn’t be outside at night this time of year without a heavy jacket, and probably a scarf and a hat, but only a light sweatshirt is needed so far in Tennessee.

Anyway, as Tyler and I were talking, I walked around the corner of the house and saw an opossum….in Memphis…in Tennessee.

Cute, in a scary stay-over-there kinda way.

Doesn’t seem too shocking, does it? In West Virginia, wild animals are all over the place. Our state is stereotyped for eating roadkill, of all kinds; we even have a roadkill festival.

For me, this sighting marked two things. 1) It was my first live wild animal sighting in Tennessee. (I did see a dead raccoon within a couple of weeks here.) 2) If opossums live here, then maybe there are more wild animals (not counting that one raccoon, he could’ve been a fluke). If there are more wild animals, they have to live somewhere, right? If they have to live somewhere, there must be wild green space, right?

So really, I’m just excited about the prospect of forest, or uncultivated green-ness.

I make it sound like I’ve never been to a city before Memphis. I have been to plenty of other cities. I lived in Morgantown last year and I thought that was a city…I never expected to be this confused living in a city though. I expected to panic about driving, and get lost all the time. I even expected Mom to tell me about all the crimes that happened here in the last year and a half. I just didn’t expect the city to be so grey.

And I’ve yet to see a deer.

Categories: Daily Duck | Tags: daily duck, opossums, possums, west virginia, WV | Leave a comment

Oh the hills…

Posted on December 14, 2014 by lifeisjustduckie

I made this as a present for one of my best friends, Kurtis.

I’m not saying that Memphis is flat…but it’s no Mountain State. I never really thought about how much the land impacts my mood. I should have known that being away from my hills would zap a lot of my energy though. I had a folklore class that talked about the ‘sense of place’ that is so important to Appalachians, it’s one of the reasons that so many people never want to leave home.

I’m one of those people. Living in a city is so oddly disconcerting…I just want to find a hill and roll down it. People would probably think I was crazy, but I’m used to that sort of thing.

And missing home doesn’t mean I think any less of Memphis. This place is great. There’s always something happening or something to do, which is refreshing. Back in Fairmont it seemed like we were always trying to find something to do, and yes it would sometimes mean going to Wal-Mart to walk around. At the same time, all this bustle makes me long for a back porch to sit on…

Having this internship has made me realize quite a lot of things in the short time that I’ve been here, but the point that stands out most is how important West Virginia is in my life. It has shaped my worldview in so many ways, mostly good but some that I’m working on changing.

One thing I know for sure, I’ll live in a lot of places before I settle down, but West Virginia will always be home.

Categories: Daily Duck | Tags: art, homesick, west virginia, WV | Leave a comment

Up, Up, and Away!

Posted on August 22, 2014 by lifeisjustduckie

Wednesday was my first day back to school!

I know, but I’ve graduated! A whole year ago, where’s my big girl job??? Well getting a big girl job has proved to be a bit of a challenge this go round but I am working on it so I’ll be all grown up and employed next year…(and not in food services)

I went to SETC this year and did Job Contact Services, it was a great time and I had a few interviews but didn’t get any internships. So I’ve decided to take this year and work on my portfolio/resume, get a job, save up some money, and good lord try to declutter my apartment! I seem to have so much more stuff when I moved into a single apartment.

I spent my summer working as an ECI (Extension Camping Instructor) at different 4-H camps in West Virginia. It was a blast! I worked at Doddridge County, Marshall County, and Mingo County as well as volunteering down in Mercer County. I had quite a summer and not a lot of computer time as I’m sure you noticed, which I’m planning on remedying this coming month. Speaking of summer, I was at a camp without water for a day and a half, saw a raccoon get shot, and felt like I swam to more places than I walked it rained so much…but I wouldn’t trade any of my weeks at camp!

On to school!

I am taking Costume History and Design, which I am super excited about! I have been waiting for this class to be offered basically all of my undergrad and now I’m actually taking it. So far we’ve done quite a bit of gesture drawing and just started on proportions with the 8 head method. It’s just me and two other ladies, as well as Troy our professor.

My other class is a special topics class The World of The Teaching Artist. It’s all about ways to be a good teaching artist (more on that later). So far we’ve played quite a few theatre games, which are always fun. This class is bigger than my design class and has 8 students and Fran, our professor. Today we talked a little about content standards, those things are simultaneously super easy and super hard to understand. I kinda feel like I have to stand a certain way, tilt my head, and squint to get them. Next week I have to do an activity with the class, I’m not too worried about it though I think it’ll be fun.

Oh and I found this fantastical skirt at the local goodwill sometime last week! I’ve had some great finds lately and this is one of my favourites.

Categories: Daily Duck | Tags: 4-H, camping, daily duck, fun times, WV | Leave a comment

Volunteering at Empty Bowls Monongalia

Posted on February 23, 2014 by lifeisjustduckie

Saturday afternoon I was lucky enough to volunteer at Empty Bowls Monongalia. This program promotes an end to hunger and strives to bring awareness to local hunger issues. The phrase “We’ll stand in a SOUP LINE so others WON’T have to…” was on the backs of shirts that were made for the event. A ticket was $15 for endless soup and your own handcrafted bowl. The bowls were made by many local artists and donated to the event.

While I was expecting a good turnout, I was in no way prepared for the size of the event. When I arrived, the line was out the door! It stayed pretty steady until the last 45 minutes or so of the event. I sampled two delicious soups, a chili, and a crab soup.

My job was to refill the cookie trays at each table in my section, with ten tables to look after I was constantly moving. I volunteered by myself and was working with a group of people I had never met, everyone was great. Working a few hours made me appreciate waiters’ feet a whole lot, mine were killing me by the end of my shift.

In the back of the space was a small section with three tables holding the donated bowls. As people were constantly taking a bowl, other bowls were set down to take their place. I went back once to make sure I had gotten the right bowl and I think I made the perfect choice.