A Little Anime

Signed the lease with our new tenant last night, leaving me with a wonderfully free weekend for the first time in several weeks.  It's Sakura-Con this weekend, so Joe and I hopped the bus downtown to do some people watching. 

My camera was acting up, so I only caught a few photos.  This is one of my favorites.  Dressed all in black, with matte black facepaint this elf was almost impossible to photograph, fading into the shadows even in bright light.

The candid shot taken after she finished posing for photos shows just how hard she was to photograph compared to her friend.

I'm only familiar with a few anime series - recognized a number of characters from Bleach, and several Edwards from Full Metal Alchemist, including one with a fully articulated "auto-mail" arm.  

Here's the only other photo that turned out well.  Again, I'm not sure of the series, but I loved the tail.

We happened to meet one of Joe's co-workers.  He was hanging out while his 16 year old son checked out the convention.  Based upon his recommendation, looks like we're going to check out Black Butler this evening.

My other life

Between taxes, an unexpected vacancy at one of my rentals and jury duty, I feel like I've been stuck in my 'other life' for the past week and a half. Usually I manage a little better balance.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel! As of yesterday I've found a new tenant for our studio apartment (after two marathon sessions with 10-11 showings each). I have completed my jury obligations - spent the days trying to get work done in the jurors' lounge while waiting for a call that never came. And, with a little luck (and pixie dust?) taxes will be ready on time.

In the meantime, I've managed to create one bracelet and three earrings. (plan to create earring #4 today). The bracelet is a simple cuff made from random right angle weave.  Sticking with one bead color allowed the open, lacy effect of the stitch to stand out. 

Finches and Bamboo, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Emperor Huizong (1082–1135, r. 1101–1125) Chinese

Yesterday I showed my husband the painting for this month's Art Bead Scene challenge. He agreed it would be an interesting challenge and wondered what I'd come up with.

A little later, he returned from running some errands with this 'bouquet' for inspiration.

So, all I have to do is make it through this week and I get my regular life back.

Anything is doable for a week or two.