woopee!

Today I have THREE great pieces of news!

Firstly, the etsy treasury I created just last night made it to the front

page this afternoon and a couple of the artists' lovely items sold!

This warms me ole' heart.

Secondly, Jason also made a treasury and featured my art print in it,
and that made it to the front page also! And thirdly, I have been featured on a fellow etsian's blog!

http://designspunk.blogspot.com/2008/12/pipodoll-wintery-wonders.html

A lovely bit of goodness to bless my Tuesday, which was spent at the movie theater watching Despereaux with Isabella and Jason, and then spent taking a wee bit of a walk in the woods way up in the Oakland hills (-:
The evening is calm, There is a hot pot of tea in the kitchen and
Isabella is tucked into her warm, cozy bed.
Life is good.

such a while..

I have felt bad about abandoning this poor blog over the busy holidays so I thought it best to post a little something (-: Being the long Christmas holiday from school, we have all been doing this and that (playing wit new Christmas toys, drawing, painting, playing at the park, visiting Starbucks with our sketchbooks, taking walks, watching movies, snuggling, being silly, reading lots of books, and unfortunately for me, working on legal documents in the evenings which must be attended to but are so very drab. Ah, well.

I do have pictures to post but darn it, they are still snoozing in the camera

so they shall have to wait..

I thought I would have less of a chance to draw and create with Isabella and Jason home all the time but interestingly enough, I have been so cheery at their presence that I am even more creative than ever and the ideas are flowing; I have made at least 10 new drawings! They aren't ready for posting to my shops yet but they certainly will be soon! Yippee!

You know, I am such a visual person, I simply cannot leave this blog where it is,

sad and picture-less, so I will take a moment to put in something...

I happened to notice this rock-fellow when I was sitting under a tree on the top of a California hill,, I didn't see him at all for quite a while, but when I did I was startled, so real he was! He said it was fine with him if I took a photo. I think wise nature spirits are all around us and we are blessed indeed if we have a chance to glimpse one of them! I happen to see them quite a lot these days, but rarely are they so agreeable as to sit for a portrait ^__^

Winter Solstice magic

Happy Winter Solstice!

I love this day, this magical first day of winter...
Yes, the holidays are indeed upon us (-: We have After Eights and Ferrero Rochers on the coffee table, a sparkling tree, presents happily piling up, Good smells and bursts of creativity ignitied by the coming of Christmas... Isabella has planned a concert for our Christmas eve; a lovely collection of holiday songs and poems for us to savour.

I am working on her main present; It is currently hiding in the closet, waiting for evening to emerge and take shape..I think it will only take one more night, or maybe two, to finish..

We did some local shopping yesterday, starting with our favourite shops along Grand Ave and Lakeshore Ave, all within walking distance. We stopped into Starbucks and made good use of the gift card my wonderful sister sent us, enjoying gingerbread men and delicious drinks, and then more shop perusing, and finally to end the rather jolly and productive run with chinese food on our walk back, and then cozily wrapping ourselves up in blankets to enjoy 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' before falling into bed..

My Mom tells me stories of the snowstorms they are having and the gleeful Christmas shoppers wearing huge smiles as they finish off their holiday preparations. I do miss it there, But we are finding our own way here, managing to carry the glorious spirit of winterness that will never leave me..

In a few moments, Isabella and I will stroll to the corner store to purchase many bags of candies with which to decorate our gingerbread house ^__^

neeeewwwwww artwork!

Yessirreeeee,, I just posted these lovelies to my etsy shop!

Newness abounds. Yes, it does indeed (-:

Oh Christmas Tree..

Our Christmas tree looks and smells wondrous

So much so that our sweet Mabel likes to spend her whole day under there..

~ We are so blessed to have a true Christmas angel for our tree ~

^__^

All about Isabella

Isabella's birthday went very well indeed!

We started the morning off by painting a snowflake on Bella's cheek,

to commemorate that wondrous morning, eight years ago, when she

was born in a midwives' clinic in Toronto amidst an immense snowstorm.

After a pleasant day at school she came home to a pile of wrapped
presents sitting on the table. She was very excited but we had to
wait until Jason, too, arrived home before she could even consider
opening one of them! She bided the time with her first birthday gift
(an activity book from her teacher)...

She opened two gifts - three new pieces to add to her ever-expanding
rock collection, and a dress, made just that afternoon by yours truly
and which she immediately put on before we ventured out for dinner
at the sushi restaurant Nanayiro.

Back home with very full bellies, she opened the rest of her
presents (of which there were many, thanks to two sets of
grandparents!) and then we celebrated with ice cream cake.

Here Isabella is making a very important wish..

A lovely evening was had by all (-:

Here, by the way, is the big, squishy pillow I made for her
(and Blue, my own personal pillow-model)

^__^

many scattered thoughts

Ooh ooh oooh!! It's Isabella's birthday tomorrow! So exciting...Eight years old!
So, after I finish here I will be sewing up a storm,, Yes I have waited until the last minute but that seems to be the way of it for me. I think I inherited this trait from my own mother who would be gone the whole day of your birthday, shopping in town while you sat waiting at home, bored. Ha ha! But when she returned it was the greatest, and she meant well, so it was hard to be sore about it. She always went all out and created the most happiest birthdays, Christmas, Valentines, Easter etc..Me though, I do complete all tasks before the event itself, albeit in a rushed and superly-endorphined manner (-:

I am thinking I will sew a giant squishy pillow for her, a very pretty one of course. This is something she keeps asking me for. I made her one when we lived in Canada when she was three years old but we couldn't bring it here when we moved. Now it hangs out with her Grandma Jude and Grampa Joe in their cozy house in the snow (-:

Ahhhh *big sigh* I like sewing, It's very relaxing and a nice break from other creative endeavors. Especially at Christmas time! I always get the sewing itch at this lovely time of year, as well as the profound urge to knit, but it seems that one of the rascally cats has made off with my knitting needles. Naughty!

I should like to mention that we have found the most perfect Christmas tree. We ventured to Half Moon Bay and saw her standing in a Christmas tree field and loved her wild tree hair-do, There are enough little boughs up there to display a bunch of angels! But we only have one, so she is relaxing up there, taking in the scene..We named the tree "Blossom Betty Windy", each name chosen by one of us and put together (-: I want to post pictures right now but they're still in my camera. Oh well, soon enough.

Alright then, it's off to sewing for me! And then I must call my Mama. I miss her.

lovely lovely lovely

Today was absolutely lovely.

I needed to mail out some art prints (sold three this week!!) and so I caught a ride to the post office with Isabella's morning ride to school,, discovered that I was too early and the post wasn't yet open so I ventured further to Starbucks and ordered myself a green tea. Much time was spent there, as I needed to fill out an artist's application and write up a bio for a local showing. The sun was streaming in through the window and I chose a big squishy chair to sit in. Comfy. Feeling the itch to continue on, I mailed out the prints and then headed over to the grocery store and bought myself a box of blueberries, a box of blackberries and some fig bars,, then over to the pharmacy to pick up some last minute gifts for Isabella's birthday/Christmas, both of which are creeping up on me at alarming speed. Pleased with my purchases, I walked back towards home, stopping in to drop my artist application along the way..

Pleasant enough day, but here are the thoughts circulating around inmy head:

My stagnancy (or what I feel to be stagnancy in my life) is caused by none other than my inability to let go and realize that I am not stagnant at all. That creativity lives in me, It is not something I need to force, nor is it something that comes and goes (which is very much the way it seems at times) but that it is always there. I am just unaware, thinking and worrying so much. I realized that I have gotten so far from my center that I am spiraling in chaos of mind, and so I have been ever mindful today, focusing focusing focusing. 'Tis good.

cat on my arm

Kitty Blue is sleeping on my lap/arm/left hand so I am typing this with only one hand. A bit slower than usual! Cozy though, and well worth it. I think I shall get myself into the shower, perhaps whip up a blueberry smoothie and then settle in for some rather boring immigration work. I need to submit about a million forms and other various documents in order to get my US green card renewed, and then start on the Canadian immigration forms (again about a million of them) so that I can bring Jason back to Canada with me, hopefully within a year. And after all that...well, I have plans. They involve Christmas cards and ornaments, some sewing, painting, and meditation. I hope I get to them today.