East Coast Blizzard of 2009 December 19-20

The East Coast Blizzard 0f 2009

Here in Connecticut, we didn't quite get the blizzard that everyone else got on the East Coast, but we did get about 15 inches of snow. And it came on the week end so we don't have a snow day to make up at school.

Christmas Around the House

Christmas Around The House

I thought I would share some pictures of Christmas at our house.

Tired Dogs
Reflection Of The Tree
Except for the crooked top a perfect tree.
Candy Cane Soldier by Diane Little
Sly (a Charleen Kinser creation) Guarding the Stockings
North Pole Village
Santa Hats

When I was talking to our granddaughter on the phone and said, Ho, Ho, Ho,

she wanted to know if I was wearing

my Santa hat. Christmas was so very magical for her.

A Small Poinsettia For A Small House
Creating A Gingerbread House With Closest Beast (a Charleen Kinser creation)Looking On

Country Santa, an original creation.

Christmas Moose

This Year's Christmas Cards

Christmas Card

This is our Christmas card for this year, a collaboration between Grammy and granddaughter. This was a actually painted last year, but used for this year's card. We hope to make it a tradition.

Making Cookies 12 19 09

Making Christmas Cookies With Aunt

I have a private family blog for staying connected with family and posting family photos, and don't usually post family photos on my Melange. But this was such fun, I thought I would share these photos. Our granddaughter was having a sleep over and I had bought cookie dough to make cookies. When I asked her if wanted to bake cookies, she said, "No, my Daddy told me I can't bake cookies". Later whe was upstairs with Auntie, and Auntie said, "I want to bake to cookies" and the response she got was, "me too".

And so it started out with a, "Grampy, look, we're baking cookies!"

And ended up flour hand prints everywhere.

Snow Day December 9 2009

Castle For A Princess and A Give Away

Give Away

I created this blog on February 3, 2009 so that I could participate in my daughter's blog ( http://www.inspirationflirtation.blogspot.com ) challenges. She has since gotten busy with other things and hasn't posted recently. According to my blog count this will by my 100th post. As I have seen with other blogs this is cause for a celebration and a give away. It has been a while since my last post for a few reasons: I have been busy with the holidays; I have been spending as much time as possible with our granddaughter, I have a day job which because it is teaching also translates into a night job; but most of all I couldn't decide what to give away. I would like it have been something that I made, but if I wait for that to happen, it could be next year before I post again. So in the interest of of moving on, I decided to give away the book pictured below. It is Making Gifts With Rubber Stamps by Sandra McCall. And if you are not a rubber stamper, the ideas can be used with other media. I will do a drawing on January 10, 2010 for the book. I will put every one's name into a hat and have my husband draw the winning name. To be eligible please leave a comment on this post with your email. If you are the winner, I will contact you for a mailing address.

A Castle For A Princess

At a recent visit to Barnes and Noble I found a book on craft ideas for a princess.

I had put the book on the stairs to take it upstairs before my granddaughter could see it since I wanted to collect supplies so that I would have what we needed when she saw the book and wanted to make something. Well, she spied the book before it made it up the stairs, but luckily we had the supplies for the project she wanted to make, a castle for her 3 inch high set of princesses. And of course the princesses needed a prince which Grammy drew with a pencil and glued to a piece of a paper towel roll. Our princess wanted him left as he was, no need for coloring. This has provided countless minutes (we don't do anything for hours yet, although this comes close) of entertainment, as the princesses change clothes a few times, go to to ball, get married, and then do it all again.

Wind in the Pines, and Maples, and Hosta

I woke this morning to the sound of howling wind. I love to listen to the wind, my husband does not, just one of the ways we are opposites. It sounded like the coldest January day you can imagine.

A First

I am known for not wrapping presents until 2:00 A. M. Christmas Eve Day or Christmas Day, depending on when they are going to be exchanged. I am also known for buying presents early and forgetting where I hid them. Well this a first, not only did I remember where the presents were (in the back of my car), I also wrapped them. Thanks to the Bookman, who not only leaves books, but other good things to buy in our faculty room, I got a head start on my shopping and I didn't even have to brave Black Friday. No cleaning got done, but in addition to wrapping presents, I cut about 30 small rectangles out of old Christmas cards to make a garland, and did some shopping on line.

Fingerprints

It is the day after Thanksgiving and as I am unloading and loading the dishwasher
to finish up the dishes from Thanksgiving dinner, I notice some spots on the cabinets.
Wondering what it is and how it got there, I take a closer look only to realize that it is fingerprints left from the last time my granddaughter was here and we painted together.
After painting she was ready to look for a snack, as only she can, standing on the counter to
open the cabinet and find something to her liking on that particular day. Would I have allowed
my daughters do that? Pondering what to do on this cold, dreary day, I had contemplated
doing some house cleaning and I'm thinking that if I do clean, I will have to skip over the fingerprints and let them stay awhile.

This morning I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. I don't know why, I'm thinking more about it today than yesterday.
I am thankful for my loving family. I am thankful for my dear husband, who is also my best friend, and the many things he has brought to my life. I am thankful for the fingerprints on the kitchen cabinets and the little girl who made them. I am thankful for her little big voice from 400 miles away this morning as she excitedly says, "Grammy!! I miss you." I am thankful for my two beautiful daughters who have driven the 400 miles with a 3 year old to spend Thanksgiving with my mother who turns 80 today and the others of my family who were able to join them. I am thankful for my amazing mother and for the 80 years she has been blessed with. I am thankful for my 2 sisters and 6 brothers and all of the memories we have shared. I am thankful for my extended family, too many to list. I am thankful for a wonderful son in law who is a good husband and father. I am thankful for our two ex-step granddaughters and the joy they have brought to our lives. I am thankful for my friends who share my interests. I am thankful for our warm and comfortable house, and the food we were able to have for our Thanksgiving dinner. And I could go on and on, but maybe I'll go clean around the fingerprints and think about
Christmas.

Thanksgiving Dinner Kaleidoscope

It is usually I who is snapping pictures, but today it was my husband who asked for the camera to take a photo of our Thanksgiving dinner. It was just my husband, his brother, and I who were here for dinner, a quiet, simple meal, but one still steeped in tradition.

I have been obsessed with making kaleidoscopes lately and I couldn't resit this photo.

Holly Kaleidoscope

This is a holly bush in front of the house. I thought I would do a kaleidoscope for our Christmas cards this year. I'll probably do a few more before choosing which one to use.

Fall In The Back Yard

Flamingo Kaleidoscope

Flamingo Kaleidoscope
Made using photoshop from a photo taken at Art Is You.

Splash Animals

These paintings were done at the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in Hartford.
To learn more about it see Splash Animals:
http://www.splashanimals.com/

Tanka

Last year one of my students brought Tanka to my attention. Some of my recent photos and activities have inspired Tanka. I particulary like this thought, "Tanka were often composed as a kind of finale to every sort of occasion; no experience was quite complete until a tanka had been written about it".

To learn more visit:

http://www.americantanka.com/about.html

Last Rose of Summer

Summer fades away

The last rose soon drops it petals

Quietly they fall

Pink petals liter the ground

Sadly, just rose hips remain

3 Pumpkins

Three pumpkins to show

Starting from Jack's seeds they grew

Bright yellow blossoms

Soon released a small green orb

Turning orange for Halloween

Painting Pumpkings

Rainy afternoon

Husband and wife at a class

Learn to paint pumkins

Mixing and layering paint

They share a moment in time