cookies have a delayed reaction

I'm getting closer to cracking the cookie code. Maybe fresh baked cookies give you momentary pause, allowing you to rethink your problems and then they trick you. By seemingly disapearing with the last bite your left to wonder "was that really all?" "Well, that didn't help at all." When really your mind is now distracted by the fact that the magic cookie didn't work therefor freeing up subconcious brainpower to work out your problems without your interference.
It's true, it happened to me.
I am walking proof of the power of fresh baked cookies.

In retrospect, it's really quite simple.
99% of all of my problems can be solved by simply changing my attitude.

So what if the dogs are hell bent on escaping the yard every single day now. Just think of how happy they are to see me when I get home and can let them back into the yard and think about how fast and free they run when tearing down the road away from the house. I wish I could run like that.

Who cares if I don't have 15 gifts for everyone. A sincere "I love you" or "you are special to me" will do just fine.

Pish Posh, so I don't have hardly any of my hard earned money left to show for all the craft fairs I worked and custom pendants I made. I paid all the bills and still managed to get myself new art supplies and a couple of treats (new boots, new clothes).

It's really no big deal if the last 6 pendants I've made, have had to be redone twice if not thrice. (ok, this one does suck. But I have a new theory about this and now I have the time to test it).

Really, the only thing that matters today is that I am wearing my new cute skirt from pacha play, I have all day to work on Christmas doings, and it looks like it is going to snow.

When life gets overwhelming and you feel a little claustrophobic, just remember to breathe.

xo

there are some days that even a fresh baked cookie cannot fix

unfortunately.
I didn't think this was true. But I tested my theory last night and even though the delicious almond sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar gave me momentary pause from my problem it did not solve it in any way. I'd like to make a magic cookie. One that has all the answers, then I'd give the recipe to everybody.

I've always wanted to start a bakery for this very reason. If you could improve someone's day or hour or moment by simply feeding them something you baked, that would be complete and utter satisfaction.

Christmas has always been a funny time for me. I love it, I love the season, I love the warmth, I love the snow, I love the tacky decorations, I love the feeling in the air, I love giving people gifts, I love all of these things to pieces...in the beginning.

And then we get to the home stretch and a wave of stress comes over me. Mostly because I haven't finished making someone's gift. It all comes back down to the stupid gifts. Admitedly, I have been exceptionally busy this season with my business but tell it to the trees. No one cares. Everybody is busy. The problem is this: I'd love to say whooey let's forget presents this year. But I like to give the people I know and love something special.

ugh.

In the beginning I have all of these wonderful grandiose dreams of what I'll make for people and by the end I'm cutting corners and rethinking my plans so that I can have it all done by the magic date.
I need a new plan.
I don't want Christmas to be all about the gifts for our new baby and maybe if I start a tradition of one handmade gift for all, or one handmade card, or nothing at all but a good potluck meal. Then maybe s/he will never have to feel this way.

We all own too many things already.
Couldn't we be just as happy with a fresh batch of cookies?
I could.

xo

good morning belly

Some days I wake up and I feel like my tummy has doubled in size overnight! It's funny because I get so used to looking at it (my belly) that I can't tell anymore if it is getting any bigger or not. My appetite is rather large, so all that food must be going somewhere!

I met my lovely Grandma for lunch on Monday and she took one look at me (sitting down) and said "You're not getting any bigger!" I said, "yes I am, you just can't tell right now. I gained a whole pound last month" Then she looked at me very seriously and said, "You're not trying to not gain weight, are you?" Obviously this woman doesn't see me eat... I've always eaten everything in sight. My Grandpa used to say I must have a hollow leg because he couldn't figure out where I put it all! Well now imagine me (already a big eater) eating for two. I can almost eat as much as my big hockey player husband!

Anyway on to other topics. I think I wore out my printer. I've been printing onto card stock a lot lately and I think I broke the paper feed because now it only takes in select sheets of regular paper when it feels like it. Ugh. So I have to go get a new printer today. I also poured the resin for all of my silhouettes last night and something happened. Maybe they got cold. But half of them are no good, filled with little bubbles. The EXTREMELY icky part about this is I had used my last rings for each othese different styles and now I have to try to peel the resin back out to start all over. I might also mention that I am now out of resin. Then on top of all of this I still have more jewelry and journals I need to make for this saturday~ as well as invent a contraption that can hang a larg map behind my booth... and tomorrow is shot because I am going to Denver for a spur of the moment sale...

The ONLY good part about all of this is that if I leave the house I get to go to Cafe Ardour and get a house chai and a bagel and whatever else goodies they have today.
Last weekend it was Mexican Chocolate Pound Cake. mmmmm... It was so good, chocolate with cinnamon and chile.

Oh! speaking of yummy things. The dogs (my lovely. FOUR. big. dogs.) Really like Ginger Sparkle Cookies too. I left them in the house while I went to get Nepalese take-out (more about this in a sec) last night and they ate the whole plate of them! And the bread... and the butter... and whatever else was on the counter that I can't remember...
So I guess it is time to make more cookies. Sure. I'll just whip those out real quick, like when I'm sleeping!

Last thought. As I said, last night I went out and got take-out from Mt Everest Cafe. It. Was. So. Good. I walked in and the very friendly sherpa took my order. He asked if I would like to sit down while I wait and have a cup of hot chai. I told him I would love to, but I needed to run next door really quick. I went and bought a couple movies at blockbuster. I came back, grabbed the paper and sat down. He brought me a delicious cup of hot chai and I did the crossword puzzle while I waited. It was lovely and the food is delicious and the portions are large.
I walked back out to my car, which I had parked inbetween the restaurant and blockbuster, in front of The Battery Store (let me mention my car was the only one in whole strip of available parking spots and the store was closed by the time I finished my errands) Anywho, the lovely battery store employee had left me a little love note on my windsheild.
It read:

This parking spot is for The Battery Store customers only.

No Restaurant Parking!!! (and as if this wasn't enough he was kind enough to reiterate)

NO RESTAURANT PARKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(underline, underline, underline)

I kid you not, there were a plethora of exclamation points. The possibiltities started to swarm through my head...

"Dear sir, thank you for your extensive use of exclamation points, I wasn't sure I understood what you were saying until you repeated it the second time..."

or maybe

"Wow! that's a lot of exclamation points, maybe someone with so much free time should MAKE A SIGN that says Battery Parking Only!"

I decided to leave him with this.

"I'm sorry!!!!! Maybe you should put up a sign. xo"

I hope he got to work today and it made him smile, even if just for a split second.

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."
-Henry James

xo

ginger sparkle cookies, you're my new best friend

There is a coffee shop here in my town called Cafe Ardour. They have the most delicious home brewed chai tea and last time I was there I bought their last ginger sparkle cookie. These cookies are delicious! They bake all of their goodies and when you order a bagel with cream cheese it comes perfectly toasted with butter and cream cheese.
I can't justify driving there every morning so I bought my own chai tea, and this morning I tried my hand at my own ginger sparkle cookies. Neither are the same, but a close substitute until I drive back into town.



This recipe makes a ton of cookies, so unless you want to share with the whole neighborhood (hey, why not?) you should 1/2 it.

Ginger Sparkle Cookies
1 1/2 C Butter
2 C Sugar
2 Eggs
1 C Molasses
1 t Vanilla

4 1/2 C Flour
4 t Baking soda
2 t Baking powder
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t ginger

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer - add other wet ingredients and mix.
2. Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. The dough should be easy to handle and not sticky - add flour if necessary. The dough should not be dry.
3. Shape dough into one inch balls and roll in sugar.
4. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes - Cool and enjoy!

xo

Handmade = Made With Love

Good Evening All!
I hope this first weekend of december has treated you all well. I don't know what my deal is lately, but I am so excited for Christmas this year. Not for the gifts or even all of the candy (ok maybe I'm a little excited about the candy) but just the season makes me happy this year. We got our tree yesterday and I finished decorating it today. I think, quite possibly, it is the cutest tree I have ever seen. Those of you who know me, know that I have a penchant for 'charlie brown' trees, and this one does not disappoint!



I'm also really excited to try and make this a handmade holiday. I'd love to be able to make everyone their gifts or at least buy them from local craft fairs or Etsy.com for that matter. Speaking of craft fairs, here's a rundown of the shows I will be at. Come see me if you're in town!

Friday December 7th and 8th
Fine & Funky Holiday Craft Fair
Inside the Opera Galleria in downtown Fort Collins

Saturday December 15th
Freeze! Fashion Denver's Holiday Market
Located at the Hot House on Larimer in Denver

Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd
The Bellvue Store, right around the corner in Beautiful Bellvue

Back to my point.
I watched the Grinch the other day and I really love that movie. I'll leave you with this:

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?" "It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!" "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

xo

Warning! this blog has been taken over... along with every other part of my life

The belly chronicles... What on earth could this woman be talking about?

Is she thinking of herself as the new Santa Claus? - no
Did she recently take up belly dancing? -no
Is she devoting her life to helping starving children? - very sad, but no
Did she eat too much last night? - no
Uh oh, gastro-intestinal disorders? - no
New piercings? - no
Tape worms? - no

FOR GOD'S SAKE WOMAN WHAT IS IT?



By Golly! I believe they call that a 'baby bump'.

There.
Now do you all understand why I've been just a teeny bit distracted?
I'm very sorry. I wanted to share the news with you right away but I'm a little superstitious. So, every time I sat down to write about something nothing would come but baby thoughts. Well now, whether you all like it or not this blog will be hijacked by baby thoughts, pregnant mumblings and mommy worries.
I hope that's ok. It'll be interesting. I promise.

Until the next post, Happy Birthday to me!
And Happy December to you!

xo

Blog like you mean it. Take three?

ooooh. I am in so much trouble.
I had this blog thing going so well and I had people actually reading it and then...
I blew it.
I'm sorry.
What can I say? I got really really busy and I forgot to take pictures and then I felt like a post without a picture isn't worth posting.
I'm still really busy so we'll see if I can keep this going... again.

xo

off to the cock fight

Me and my dad pulled up behind this guy on our way home from texas, outside kit carson. And at the exact same time we turned to each other and said "That's a rooster!"

xo

busy busy bee

I have been crazy taking photos of all the cool stuff I bought down in Texas and then editing the photos and now I am starting to list everything on etsy. Whew! On top of that I have stores wanting to order jewelry, I have a BIG magazine wanting to do an article on my silhouette necklaces (eek) and of course there's all the normal life stuff like laundry and dishes and dog hair everywhere...
But life is good. I can't complain. I like being busy. I have a crop of new ideas rollling around the old noggin for christmas stuff!


I got my first taste of winter last weekend. We went up to my cabin in the woods and stayed the night and when we woke up in the morning there was 6 inches of snow!! It was GORGEOUS!

My brother, Taylor in the canoe.

My husband fishing.

My brother fishing.

The boys ended up catching a brookie and a rainbow (trout that is). We took them home and I cooked them for dinner the next night and they were so good. Even my husband liked them and he hates fish.
xo

heroes and ribs

I apologize for not writing more often but I cannot express to you, my lovely audience, how dadgum hot it is down here. By the end of the day we stumble back to the hotel, take cold showers and fall asleep. I would love to write little bits about funny things that happen, funny things that people say, funny things that people wear, but my brain has been seared by the unrelenting Texas sun.

But tonight I will tell you a story (or two).

Last night we ate dinner with Sharon and John at the lovely sack lunch airstream. They grilled up some delicious p.i.g. and chicken. With fresh vegetables and salad, and artichoke dip and cowboy candy dip. It was so much fun. We ate good food and sat around and told stories and laughed.

Tonight we were lucky enough to get some of Shorty's ribs before they sold out. He cooks them up out behind the office, only on Fridays and when they're gone, they're gone. He doesn't charge anything for the food but takes donations. We're going to pig out (pun totally intended) and watch the first season of heros.

Every night on the drive home we count the frogs and toads that jump out in front of the truck and last night we made it to five when we got bonus points for seeing a momma raccoon and her 4 babies. The frog record is fifteen.

We have a huge spider that lives at the top of our porch, I think her name is Charlotte and every morning and every night we have to disturb her web to put up the rain guards (tarps) and I think she's starting to get mad. We don't know what kind of spider she is but she huge and very brightly colored. Some people call her a banana spider.


We have a new colony of fire ants that just sprung up in the lawn out front of our porch. They are evil.

I met a lovely pair of gentlemen (not like that) this afternoon. I bought a bunch of old pictures from them and while I sat there and sorted through all of the tubs they tried to guess my name. They still haven't figured it out.

I've bought all sorts of wonderful things to sell on etsy and make jewelry with. I came down here with my resin pendants and some old opticians lens pendants and my usual recycled vintage stuff and I've almost sold out!! Thank you Texas!



xo

trick or treat

Halloween is right around the corner. Well, maybe down the block and to the right
but I digress (I've always liked that phrase).
I need a good costume. I haven't really gotten into Halloween for years even though it is one of my favorite holidays.

In the past I have been a ballerina, a cowgirl (more than once), a person who could dance with themself (I was half girl, half boy) I was wearing a suit and half a tie on one side and a pretty pink dress with tights on the otherside, it was awesome! I've been a pixie, a farmer, and a frozen vampire. But this year? I need something good...

I wish I had photos to go with this part, but here are some of the best costumes I've ever seen or heard about:

Glowstick stick person. (you can search youtube for an example.)
Last year I saw a guy wearing a wrapped box with a big tag on it that said "To: Women From: God"
I just read about a guy dressing all in grey with cotton balls glued to himself and carrying a squirt bottle, he was "partly cloudy with a chance of rain"
I saw a woman a few years ago who was dressed in black with numbers all over herself, she was "somebody you could count on"

Who are you going to be?

xo

welcome to giddings

We have arrived.
11:21 pm
A balmy 76 degrees.
Giddings high won their football game tonight.
And we only got lost a couple of times on the way here.

Here's a photo I snapped in Memphis, Tx along the way.
It's a cool little town where you could spend all day taking pictures.


Time to sleep, no more drivey...

xo

on the road again...

xo

denver, oklahoma, texas

Here is the coolest picture I took today. We were stopping at some construction in the middle of the night in the middle of a wind farm and my dad stopped the truck and then backed up about 30 feet so that we could play around with this shot while we waited for traffic to start moving again.



This is the second coolest picture I got today. His name is Dozer and he guards this car.


More tomorrow.
xo

a brief intermission

I don't have much to say today. I packed up all my stuff for Texas and left home. I spent last night at my grandma's house and this morning we'll be hitting the road: destination Dumas, TX
Here are some lovely photos to tide you over until tonight, when I should have something to say.

(my parents live in France and these photos are from my trip last christmas) I think they look very fall-y











xo

rainy morning rambling

I have been tagged
Once you've been tagged, tell 6 things about yourself and then tag 6 more people.

1. I bite my nails. Not constantly and not until there is nothing left, but just as an alternative to using nail clippers.
2. I have small feet and very small fingers.
3. I like to listen to other people's conversations.
4. I feel claustrophobic in line at the grocery store.
5. I never forward these sorts of things.
6. I went to a private school called Rivendell (named after the place in the book the Lord of the Rings).

xo

today is the day

Today is my first workshop with Michael deMeng! I get to make art for 3 days straight!!! eeek!
I will post with some of my results. Right now, I am late and I haven't even eaten breakfast yet..

xo

divine intervention

I was feeling very creative yesterday and I managed to make these two pieces.
The first one I actually started years ago but I was never happy with it. But I think it looks good now.

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for eachother?"
-George Eliot

This other one was just a spur of the moment thing. I really, really like it though.

"All that is left to do is sit and wait..."

xo

tooting my own horn

Take a looksee at some of the kind, kind people that have featured me on their sites!
(You have to scroll down a little on each site to see me)

Modish
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sew Bettie
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
BC Finds

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
You guys are too sweet.

Things are rolling right along here at home. I'm getting ready for my bi-annual migration down to Texas.
For those of you that don't know, me and my mom sell antiques. (You can see that site here www.chineantiques.com)
We drive down to Texas twice a year with my dad to participate in the Marburger Antique Show. Which is a part of that whole huge antique week that happens down there; Round Top, Warrenton, etc..
I'm pretty excited because I am going to take my jewelry and also my cards and I'm taking some antiques to sell that I bought all by myself. We'll see how good my eye is! And of course I get to see the lovely Sharon at Sack Lunch and shop my favorite spot on earth, Clutter. I'll still post from down there so don't worry. But any orders will have to wait until I get back to be shipped.
Here's a little something to get you in the Texas mood...



I bought that pin at Zapp Hall last spring. It makes me giggle every time I read it.
xo

I've got frogs

We have an abundance (ok, maybe like five) frogs that live around our house! I have no idea where they live, because we don't have a pond. But I've seen about 3 small little guys that I always try to catch and then when I do catch them they pee on me. And then yesterday this little guy got into the house. Two other frogs that may or may not have been him (they're so hard to tell apart) also came to visit me in the house yesterday. And finally there is a big ol'e papa frog or toad (I don't know) who is the size of a potato. I've seen him 3 times.
So I did a little research and frogs are symbols of good luck and prosperity. (As well as being a goddess symbol and being connected to the moon.)
That's pretty darn sweet.

xo

redneck camping 101

*Disclaimer: I use the term 'redneck' lovingly and not in a derogatory way.*

I've been camping.
For me, camping has always been about finding a spot far, far away from any roads or any other campers. Parking your car and trucking your gear down/up to the campsite. Setting up tents, finding enough firewood for the night, setting up the food area and then kicking back with a cold beer in your hand. If you're lucky enough, the next day you don't have to go home and you get to explore and hike and play with the dogs.
This weekend I got to go redneck camping for the first time. What makes a camping trip a 'redneck' camping trip you ask?
Well, It starts with beer.
Add four-wheelers, loud dirt bikes and big dualie diesel trucks.
Add to that more beer.
Add steaks, brauts, stews and more beer.
Add hunters. Hundreds of hunters on four-wheelers with guns and bows and arrows.
Then add more beer.

Let me tell you I still really enjoy my familiar way of camping but this weekend was a lot of fun. There were seven of us total. We played all-terrain croquet (I highly reccomend this). We blew up a can of beer in the fire and burnt holes in everyone's chairs. We peed in the woods. We tried to heat a glass bottle in the fire and then twist it, but I think we accidentally tempered the glass and it ended up breaking. We ate, and we ate and then we ate some more. We had roasted marshmellows and banana boats. We took the dogs to a nearby moose pond and let them play. We laughed a lot and slept very well (even though it was pretty chilly). We made cowboy coffee and used a dutch oven to make stuffed orange breakfast thingys. We went four wheeling and fishing. We got dirty and forgot to brush our teeth. We slept in and stayed up late. We got rained on and made our way back home.
The battery in my camera died halfway through the trip but here are some of the photos I got.

Our little village.

Our new tent.

My husband.

Our campfire.


And here are some pictures of the moose pond.






And here is my lovely Lucky dog.




xo

easily amused, remember?

If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and no one is around to hear it does a squirrel grab his nuts and run?

giving myself a good talking to

I was on the front page of etsy!!
(and I don't have any way of proving it because the list has already expired.)

'Sure you were'

Yes I was.
Uh Huh, I promise!

'What did they show? your recycled vintage jewelry?'

No, it was my custom silhouette pendants.

'Sure'

No really, my photo was right there. In the upper right hand corner.
Fine, don't believe me, see if I care.

But I really was on there, really.

hehehe
Have I ever told you that I am easily amused?
Well, my 15 seconds of fame did generate alot of interest in my pendants and even a couple orders!

I don't have much to say today. I had a very bizarre dream last night.
I don't remember all of it but here are the highlights:
I was on an island up north with a group of people I didn't know. I had a bulldog puppy and another gruff biker dude had a yellow lab puppy. We were all sitting on a cliff looking at the ocean and the strange brightly colored birds below when I realized that the brightly colored birds were actually punk monkeys. yes, punk monkeys, terrifying I know. Everyone was laughing at the monkeys and just enjoying their day when the monkeys started to sneak up behind people and try to push them off the cliff! I grabbed my puppy and tried to make a run for it but my path was blocked by a very grouchy and very huge gorilla. I turned back and ran into the house where everyone was staying and there were a bunch of people just sitting around talking. I sat on the floor and joined them (after I told them about the killer monkeys) Then a lynx comes slinking into the room and everyone gasps. It's walking right towards me. It stops next to me and the girl to my left reaches down and pets it and says 'oh what a cute kitty' then I say 'that's not a kitty, that's a lynx' Meanwhile it starts to get friendly with me and is licking my hand and my arm and nuzzling my neck, then it licks my neck and then it BITES ME! right on the throat. Everyone is giggling and pointing and they think it is so cute but I can't breath and the cat keeps clenching tighter and tighter until I feel like I'm going to pass out.

Then, I don't remember what happens.

The next thing I remember is that I am now in charge of my puppy bulldog and the yellow lab puppy. I find an empty room and try to get some sleep. I put the puppies in little, weird, bed things and we all go to sleep. I wake up (in the dream) and freak out because I think I've killed the puppies. I pull them out of their 'beds' and they are just fine. Then I go out to the kitchen and this random guy tells me that the biker dude who owns the yellow lab is missing and I say 'ok, I'll take care of his dog' And then I woke up.

weird.

I read a great excerpt from a book yesterday. In a round about way. I got some Erraticus zines from my friend the other day and this part was about an artist named Annie Yu and this excerpt is on her profile page (but was printed in the zine)
Anyways the book is called 'born confused' by tanuja desai hidier

"Those studded slippers that tilted the feet to be nearly vertical. The deluge continued as I admired the heels - now that I was up close, I saw that they were embedded with coins in different currencies, bits of scrap metal and plastic, pricked balloon and beer bottle glass. Like she'd stepped into life and it stuck."

This reminds me of that other quote I wrote about. The one about bumping into things because you don't know where you end and the world begins. I like ideas like this.
What would your shoes be covered in if they had kept a little piece of everywhere you've been?

xo

I'd like you to meet the band

Elton John

Van Morrison

Paul Simon

The Blues Brothers

Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath)

I can't stop! I told my husband that if he sat still for too long I'd bind him into one of my journals (that way I could take him everywhere)...

xo

story time

Today is the first cold day of the season and in honor of this frosty morning, I would like to reprint a short story I wrote in college. This story was part of a book titled "My Shoes Are Size 6" (I know it's kind of long, but it's worth it. I promise.)

I Am Much More a Winter Person.

      My life makes sense on snowy days. I wake up in flannel pajamas and pull on my biggest sweater, the one that feels like my mom's arms are wrapped around me. I pick out the gray socks that are so thick my feet barely fit in my shoes. I use words like 'cuddle' and 'snuggle'. Wrapped in a thick blanket, I sit by the window and watch the snow fall. My breath clouds the pane of glass, and when I can no longer see, I wipe it away with my hand. The glass is cold and I shiver just thinking about going outside. Under the streetlight the snowflakes dance around each other, twirling and leaping, slowly making their way to the ground. I feel at peace. With the snow comes silence and a strange warmth I struggle to explain. When it snows I feel like time slows to a crawl. The sky and my surroundings push in towards me and hold me gently in space. The beauty and tranquility of it all creates a warmth deep inside me, which protects me from the cold. The flakes continue to fall, and my thoughts turn back to my bed. Six inches taller now that the down comforter is on it. I thank my flannel sheets because if they were not so cold when I first lay in them I would not appreciate the warmth they soon give. I hear the heater click on and I can soon smell the dust burning off of the dormant coils. That is the essence of winter.
     Stepping outside, the icy air tickles my nose and stings my eyes. This is my first breath of winter. Words escape my mouth in clouds of steam. Snow and ice cling to the trees where leaves once did, and some boughs bend under the weight. I walk along a shoveled path past a sleepy house and over a silent stream. I lose myself in the beauty snow creates. Everything looks innocent and new. The mountains, now blanketed in white, beckon me. I turn back and promise to return another day. Back inside, the aroma of hot chocolate and burning logs greets me. I remove my gloves and shake the snow off of my hat. Sitting by the fire, I pull the blanket tight around my shoulders and eagerly await tomorrow.
     As April nears the snow starts to melt, and with the first blade of grass spring announces her return. The skeletal trees have been bare for so long, their first leaves reintroduce me to the color green. A flower blooms and then another. I see purple, yellow and pink. Spring brings rebirth and a feeling of freshness to the world. These days make me feel like a mother and a child all at once. I tend and I fuss. The word 'clean' is added to my vocabulary and used frequently. The sweaters are packed away neatly while the entire house is reorganized. Spring essentials like fresh cut flowers and young vegetables now have priority. When I'm finished the house is aglow. Sunshine pours in through the window, spilling over the sill onto the floor. Then reaching for my toes it beckons me to step outside. My pale face welcomes the sunlight. Warm and bright, I see things with a new eye. Activity abounds and my inner child begs me to explore. I poke my nose in flowers, going from one to another, smelling everything I can. I lay in the grass and watch the trees sway back and forth. I watch the clouds change shape and move on. A contagious energy fills my world.
     The days grow longer as the temperatures rise, and the last day of school signals the unofficial start of summer. Shorts and tank tops conquer the shelves in my closet. I find my swimsuit hiding in the back of the third drawer from the top. Slipping into my blue bikini, I quiet the voice in the back of my head and reintroduce my legs to the sun. I dedicate the first days of summer to achieving a healthy golden glow. Lying on the lawn with my walkman and a bottle of water, sweat drips off my nose into the spine of my book. Ani DiFranco singing in my head, "The heat is so great it plays tricks with the eye, it turns the road into water, then from water to sky..." The smell of chlorine and Hawaiian Tropics permeates the air. A quick dip in the pool reveals what I forgot a cold month ago. I feel at home in the water. Spinning and diving, I jump from the board. Gliding across the bottom of the pool, I test myself to see how long I can hold my breath. Every way I turn, hot, smiling faces greet me. During the summer the days never really end. Lying in the sun becomes reading in the shade. Reading in the shade leads to napping through the afternoon. Evenings start with the smell of burgers and the taste of cold beer then change to campfire smoke and uncontrolled laughter. At the end of the night they slow to full moons and long talks. Ultimately fading to black. Then a burst of gold and the cycle continues. That afternoon, while watching the heat rise off of the hood of my car, my mind relives the past two months, and I realize summer is almost over.
     The morning that fall arrives, I can see a new crispness in the light that shines through my blinds. Fall is that subtle bite that calls for a long sleeved shirt. It's the pleasure of feeling a cool breeze caress your cheek as you drift to sleep. It's the excitement I feel watching a thunderstorm. An indecisive season, fall teases me with days of sunshine and then rain. In the background, the trees explode with color as if not to let me forget them in the coming months. They leave me with a spectacular show of yellow, red and gold. Every tree and bush joins in creating this masterpiece and once again I am in awe over the simple beauty of nature. My excitement grows when the leaves start to fall. A chorus of crackling plays wherever I go. The days are cooler and I am delighted to wear jackets again. Ghouls and goblins are followed by family and fowl. I pause to give thanks for all I have. There is a very cold wind from the north tonight and I can't help but feel anxious. I find my mind wandering to snow capped peaks, as I impatiently await the first snow. After all I am much more a winter person.

xo

there are those who understand

Good morning my magnificent eight.
I've started keeping a notebook by the bed so that I can write down my ideas as I get them (which is always as I fall asleep). It's great except now I never fall asleep. It takes me an extra 2 hours at least to doze off.
I get all comfy and drowsy and then BAM I roll over scribble something and hope I can read it in the morning.
Here's proof.




last night I fell asleep thinking about these 'ready to alter' books I'm making. They are so cool. I couldn't stop thinking about different types of paper to put in them and where to try and sell them and who I should give one to...





They're full of all sorts of different papers and images and photographs and dividers and pockets and more!
I might keep 'Tupelo Honey' for myself... I've always loved that title.

My darling husband lovingly called me scatterbrained yesterday.
I took it as a compliment.
We were discussing the magical lampshade machine. (I went and looked at it yesterday and saw how it works and all the lovely pieces that come with it. It is a very good price for what all it includes.) And he was just saying that I seem to have a short attention span for my art projects. I come up with an idea and make that 'thing' until I'm sick of it or until I get a new idea and then I move on. (What can I say, that works for me.)
But a magic lampshade machine requires a large space and lots of attention and large supplies. I'd hate to be sick of it in a month...
I'm having a hard time deciding (I think because it costs a good chunk of change) It seems like it is the sort of thing you just have to plug your nose and jump right in. But maybe I should go buy a couple pre-made lampshades or a lamphshade kit and try it out first. That's just so boring and anti-climactic.

xo

some call me "MacGyver"

Craft Challenge:
6 toothpicks
1 twig
4 coffee filters
and a matchbox

Go!

Just kidding, but it would be cool to start one of those 'challenge' websites. I'm thinking about participating in the new Green Pepper Press Street Team one. And maybe Illustration Fridays too. Who knows, I have very good intentions. That's what my tombstone will read: "Whitney Phippen ~ She had really good intentions."

I have a ton of etsy orders to fill this morning and I am procratinating. A subtext on my tombstone:
"Whitney Phippen ~ She had really good intentions.
We're surprised she actually got around to dying"

hehe

I have the opportunity to buy a lampshade machine.
I went into my favorite local used furniture store yesterday to inquire about a butt load of lampshade wires that they have hanging in the back room. I wanted to buy a couple just to play around with and the nice woman told me that they don't sell them individually because they are part of a LAMPSHADE MACHINE, with fabric and everything, she told me.
Well, I left, disappointed that I couldn't have just a couple lampshade frames. Driving home I started thinking about this magical lampshade machine and I started to get ideas.

Tons of ideas.

Ideas from every corner of the globe.

I could make really, really cool lampshades with my art on them and out of old photographs and maps, the sky's the limit.
I imagined our small 900 sq ft house filled to the brim with lamps. One for every room. Nay, one for every chair!

So I did what any wise person would do in this day and age, I googled it.
'lampshade machine' = nothing
'lamp shade machine' = nothing
'fabric lampshade machine' = nothing
'lampshade ring machine' = AHA!


(photo politely borrowed from beccascustomshades.com)

I think this is it. I believe this invention glues the fabric or whatever to the rings. Instead of doing it by hand and thereby saving a lot of time. I am going to go talk to my furniture lady about purchasing this contraption after I ship my Etsy orders. So I had better go do that.

I will leave you with this:
"If you always do what interests you, then at least one person is pleased."
-Katherine Hepburn

xo

eight

eight. 8. ocho. huite. ocht. otte.

that's the largest amount of people that have read my blog on a given day.

EIGHT!

people. I am worth listening to. tune in. tell your friends.

I have a lot to say.

xo


(your moment of zen)