Wow!

Good art inspires me. I, myself, am drawn to creations that are almost other worldly. The stuff where you think to yourself.... how did he DO that, how did he even THINK to do that, how did he even decide that it was HUMANLY POSSIBLE?!? This definitely falls into that category.

I also love small things. I have a 'small thing' collection. Remind me to share it with you one day. I would love to have one of these in my 'small thing' collection. Eeee Gad.

As Della would say, is this for weals?

His name is Dalton Ghetti and he is a carpenter by trade. He uses a razor blade and a needle and good light to create these. To see more go here!

sunday night

the smell of chicken and dumplings
a fire blazing in the wood stove
tired kids
a long fall weekend filled with great friends and lots of laughs...the kind where your face hurts
relatively prepared for monday

hope you all had a good one

the not sick, sick child

My children are pretty good about claiming their space. Every now and again they will feign illness when they are actually perfectly fine and just in need of some momma time and some personal pampering. If at all possible, I go with it. We spend a quiet day at home 'pretending' to be under the weather. I will fluff the pillows and prop them up in bed and bring them a good book. The cat is usually a willing participant and will loll all over the 'sick' child and purr when necessary.

Yesterday was Lew's day.

Breakfast arrived on a tray. Eggs, toast, and home made apple butter. Have I ever mentioned that I believe that a tray alone has healing qualities? I do.

what a lousy picture...santa, i want a camera!

He loves comic books and read Peanuts in bed all morning. He would call me in to ask questions about Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the gang. I answered them... Charlie Brown was just always down on his luck, no Peppermint Patty was not a boy, and I'm not sure why Marcie called her 'sir', and Lucy is pretty much just a bitch....

He had a warm bath with candles and we even turned on the heater in the bathroom to make it extra cozy. He had mint tea with honey. We built a fire in the bedroom. We played Monopoly. We had sick soup. Go here for the recipe.

And the cat enthusiastically cooperated.

I love my Lewis! Be well!

I love my girl friends

I have a scheduled post for tomorrow, so I'm slipping in here tonight to say thank you to all you beautiful women out there with your lovely thoughts and words of encouragement on my dilemma of the previous post. You all rock and I am so grateful for my sweet friends!

The (Fashion) Fit

the bracelets make the look...from the sartorialist!

I'm generally a glass half full kind of gal, but on Sunday I dumped that glass out and had a full blown fit. I was getting dressed for church and was suddenly, utterly, overcome with anger and frustration.

I'm going to stop right there and say that I have NEVER admitted anything along those lines and it feels very weird.

Anyway. I  got angry. It, initially, all stemmed from my wardrobe and I figured that that was as good a place as any to start. I looked in my closet and it all disgusted me. It was an awful hodgepodge of hand me downs and thrift store and just plain old crap. I filled two huge garbage bags and felt better. As I did it I realized that it's been WAY too long since I've taken care of myself in any meaningful way. I thought about the prospect of buying some new clothes, but could hardly remember what my 'style' might be. This made me madder. I cry when I'm mad, by the way.

And, of course, I am bright enough to know that it's not about the clothes.

But let's talk about clothes.

I think she looks darling!

In some ways, we could say that they define us. Mark Twain said that "the clothes make the man." I'm not entirely on that boat, but I do understand that we look around at each other and make superficial, but lasting assessments based on appearances. For some of us, a great deal of effort is directed toward how we look. So conversely, we put great stake in how others look. Fashion is a huge deal in our culture! Huge! My dear old friend and college room mate, Amy, is a fashion designer and has such a wonderful sense of style. (fashion and style are not the same, you know) I love seeing what she turns out and that is in part because of our shared history. I can see 'the southern thing' and 'the eighties thing' and 'the preppy thing' and 'the bohemian thing' and even 'the Nancy thing' in her designs! Nancy was our beautiful roommate from south Florida who brought us a new dimension in fashion. I'll never forget her white boots! (and it was after labor day, too!) What fun it was to share a closet with those two!

Which brings me, full circle, to my hellish closet that I UNLOADED on Sunday. You can't know how good it felt to just say no to my wardrobe. Save for a few trusty items, the cupboard is bare. Seriously. I am all but walking around naked. I'm apprehensive about winter. It's going to be chilly. But I am committed to no more junk. Over the years I have had a 'uniform'. I wrote about it here. And, with some careful editing,  I will probably adopt it again in some form. Jeans are non negotiable. I live in them and my favorite Sevens made the cut. Yesterday I went to the Ralph Lauren outlet and bought two somewhat tailored white button downs. Hello high school. That is as far as I've gotten.

Durango is not a shopping mecca and the budget is slim. (and it all needs to coordinate with snow boots and a down jacket.)

And, of course, it's not all about the clothes.

How do you renew and restore yourself? Tell me your secrets for taking care of yourself. How do you do it all and claim your own space? I would love some input here!

I'll leave you with this. I like it.

Souls wouldn't wear suits and ties, they'd wear blue jeans and sit cross-legged with a glass of red wine.  ~Carrie Latet

Love

I adore these plates from Lou Rota, and would love to figure out how to make them myself! Of course, I would hang them on the wall. And make them for Christmas presents for my ever stylish sister and sister in law!

You can purchase them here, however!

A T O L

I f you are odd, like me, you know that ATOL stands for 'a touch of leopard'. I can't remember a time  that I didn't know this. It's a part of who I am. Now that is a an exaggeration, but sometimes it's fun to exaggerate, especially about something as IMPORTANT as leopard skin. (See, I'm doing it again! Feeling feisty this morning, I am!)

have loved this light fixture since the beginning of time!

Needless to say, I was thrilled to come across this post from Jenny about the importance of leopard skin at this whacked out blog! Please go read it! I will make another revealing confession here. I love Jenny's blog because she cusses like a tweaking sailor and is pretty darn offensive to some. Not to me though!! She makes me laugh! I love to cuss and I try to contain it, but inside my head I just cuss all the time. In a fun, upbeat, but slightly cynical way. Yes I do. I don't do this around many people, but when I really feel comfortable around you, I'll let it eat. (Joe Kenworthy, where are you?) The genteel and kind southerner in me keeps me in check, along with some good Christian guilt, and the fact that my mom is reading this. And to be honest, Jenny is yucking it up enough for the both of us. Read this post, if you don't believe me. It is hysterical and crude and true. I will take this opportunity to say that I will never get used to referencing certain body parts as she does. It crosses my line and you should know that I DO have a line.  I so worry about her dad (or mom) reading her blog. I should probably just get a life!

Happy Thursday all! Are you ready for Halloween? I'm not!

On the Move

You know it's fall when the tarantulas come out. In Mancos, I would always see them in the woodpile at this time of year. And some might think it odd, but what a gift it is to enjoy one of these wild wooly creatures. We carefully pick them up and study them for the day. We hold them and let them crawl all over us and marvel at their remarkable design. When we have properly investigated them and scared Daddy to death, we release them again to go about their business of finding a mate.

This beautiful specimen was found by Tom Vaughn in Mancos! Thanks Tom!

What's for Dinner?

In the south, gardens flourish early. They thrive in the deep, moist heat. In Colorado, things evolve a bit more slowly. I planted tomato plants for my classroom last spring and they were loved almost to death. I'm not going to be the one to tell an enthusiastic 4 yr. old 'gardener' that the plants don't actually need water because they have already been watered 16 times this morning. If they want to tote that darling little watering can around the classroom and soak every seedling 88 times a day, then so be it. There are plenty of No's for other things. Our seedlings flourished in their sunny windows and it got a little jungle-ish.(we created a very humid climate!) We never got them into the garden because of lots of late frost and at the end of the year I reluctantly brought them home. We left for Georgia the next day for several weeks and these plants sat without water for the duration. But they must have had reserves like a camel....

Long story short. I put them in the ground and then neglected them again. I didn't have much faith and I had worked these poor guys to death already. They had other plans.

Della and I are now dealing with more tomatoes than we know what to do with. Della also harvested a huge basket at Granne and Grandaddys. (My mother in law has her tomatoes in a 5 star hotel....a delightful little hot house with a heater!)

I never tend to eat my sun dried tomatoes, so I thought I would share my surplus tomato solution. It's simple and I pack it up in little baggies like pesto and freeze it. It makes a wonderful sauce for pasta and you can add feta and  bacon to it for a very rich and decadent meal.

Remember that my recipes are very general and can be modified to fit your needs!

Throw all your tomatoes in a large pyrex or baking dish. If they are large, cut them up, if they are cherries just throw them in. Pour a cup or so of olive oil over them. Enough that they are swimming in it. Salt and pepper generously and add lots fresh garlic in whole cloves. I probably add at least a head.

That's it, basically. You can slow roast these on 200 for many hours or speed it up at 300 for an hour or so. Near the end, we add handfuls of fresh basil and goat feta, if we are eating it right away. Toss with pasta and savor!

If you are putting it up, then let it cool and put in individual containers and freeze.

That's what's for dinner around here.

Halloweeeeeeeeennnn!

I love Halloween. I think that the notion of running through the dark, from house to house, in costume collecting candy is pure genius. Seriously. Whoever came up with it was at one with childhood. As a society, we are working hard at ruining it.....making it 'safe', making it 'all natural', convincing our children that the one night sugar high is bad, moving it to random nights other than Halloween, and pronouncing it evil or anti-Christian. Bah humbug!

Some of my fondest memories as a child are of Halloween. Running, hell for leather, through our neighborhoods with my friends and my dad's flashlight. Eventually the batteries would die and we'd still be flying through the dark. Tripping and falling and getting slapped in the face with branches but thrilled and euphoric, none the less. I have no memory of my parents going with us. They were at home doling out candy to the ghouls and goblins. They weren't worried about us. We weren't out smoking crack with pedophiles, for pete's sake, we were trick or treating!

And it was tons of fun to ponder the old razor blade in the apple scenario. Every kid knew that story and was wary of the fruitcake (or loser) that might dare to give out apples in lieu of candy. And then there were the dark and eerie houses that we'd tiptoe around and speculate on the evil stirring inside....and then someone would hear something or see a flickering light and, again, we'd be off! The imagination works triple time on Halloween and it's probably compounded by an enchanting sugar high. But we weren't too worried about our sugar intake.

We were kids having an inordinate amount of fun on one very special night.

Did you come home and dump your bag out and marvel at the wonders? Did you divide it into categories and pull your favorite ones close to you? Did you barter and trade with your siblings? Did you count every last piece?

Wasn't it grand?

Polka Dot Pumpkins

As much as I like Halloween, I'm not big on carving pumpkins. I do it every year, but I usually offer up standard fare in the jack o lantern face department. None of those fancy, magazine worthy, works of art that some people whip out. And because I have three children, there are usually three pumpkins to be tackled. That's why I created the polka dot pumpkin! I've been doing this since Max was six months old. We lived in Port Townsend, WA and I had a halloween party for our mom's group and I went a bit crazy on the pumpkins with Matt's drill. But boy howdy is it fun.

I would explain how, but I think you can get it just by seeing the photos. Della did this one. You need a drill, different size drill bits and that's it. Drill away. Add candle and Voila! Everyone loves them, especially Max's friends.

I am doing one in Lew's class on Friday along with a scary story.

Can you tell that the top photo is in the bathroom? No one sees them on the front porch, so at night they come in for bath time by pumpkin light.

Spooky fun!

Uber Sunset

Wow. Just wow. We live in a narrow little valley and when the sun sets it feels very personal. Matt and Della took these from our back rock.

I can almost hear the choir singing.

I have always loved a good quote

I found this via facebook from an old  sorority sister. I don't mean that she is old. Hi Kendra! I mean that the sorority days feel like ancient history. So maybe we ARE getting old. But if you are approaching LIFE properly, what the heck does it matter anyway??!?

Fun Project #1

I ran across this awesome project the other day and thought that I'd pass it along. These could easily be bracelets and I love that they are perfect for kids - both boys and girls - and moms! My boys wear lots of 'jewelry'. Do yours?

To find the 'how-to' go here.

And on another note, the Pattons have begun work on a totally handmade Christmas for our friends and family. I am generally not one to plan ahead. I'm a Christmas Eve kinda gal, but we are brimming over with all sorts of good ideas for some really nifty gifts.

I will post some of our ideas here! (as I have just done)

Stay tuned and Happy Tuesday!

The Holiday Weekend in Review

First things first. We changed the dog's name. We took him to be washed and shaved and when we picked him up he was no longer a Sioux. He is now Limas. He is named for the pro football player Limas Sweed. Don't ask.

We had a holiday on Friday and went hiking with our Columbine friends. It was our third annual Spud Lake hike and it was beautiful. The leaves are still breath taking and the weather was perfect.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with cousins and neighbors and lots of cleaning, cooking and laundry. It's amazing how much seven children can eat. We topped it off with a late night Dairy Queen run.

On Monday we headed back up into the mountains...Gibbs Peak...for more leaf viewing and some boulder rolling.

Did you know that you can use an Aspen tree for sunscreen? It's true. Rub your hands on the bark and then apply where ever needed. You look ashy and pale, but that's OK. My kids love it.

Happy Fall, all.

A Boy Named Sioux

I didn't know that I wanted A dog. My children wanted a dog. I was quite fine with the cat. But the Humane Society has a way of beckoning that is hard to deny. Maybe it is the good citizen in me, or maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but look what I got. Look at those eyes.

He's a shepherd mix. He has every malady known to the animal kingdom. He came from the wrong side of the tracks. And he LOVES us to pieces....smart dog.

And here is Johnny Cash to help explain the name....

Blame it on Michael

love his bare feet!!!

  I got a ticket the other day. Michael was playing at top volume and I was jamming. And speeding. I was doing 45 in a 25. I don't often get pulled over, but when I do, I can generally talk my way out of it. I start off by apologizing profusely.

"Yes, Officer, I know. You're right and I am so sorry. I was late for work and that is no excuse. I am REALLY sorry." (and that's for real, because who wants a speeding ticket?!?)

It works best if there are three wide eyed children in the back seat and I tweak the southern accent just a tad.  

But she wasn't having it. She said that she had to issue me a citation because I was so far over the limit. Dang. She asked me where I worked. I told her that I teach. And that I mom. And that I'm normally a good driver. And do you know what she said?

She said this....

"Ma'am, I believe that you are a good citizen.  You should go to court and ask the judge for a deferment based on the fact that you are a good citizen. I will make a note on my report that I believe you to be a good citizen."

Whoa. I felt like I should get out of the car and say the pledge. I think of myself as lots of things, but 'good citizen' is not on that list. Not that I'm not. I do my part. But being a good citizen ages me. Retired vets are good citizens. I am just me.

But no longer, folks! On October 26th I will go on record as being a good citizen. 

Before a judge! Watch out!

And speaking of good citizens, I do think it safe to say that Michael Franti falls into the category. What a concert! He is good energy incarnate. How many rock stars let every kid in the audience on stage? If he is performing anywhere near you, don't miss the chance to see him and hear his message of peace.

Totally worth a speeding ticket. 

Transformation

Zucchini Before

Zucchini After

This was as yummy as it looks. Go here for the recipe.

Soccer Saturday

News from these parts

The biggest news out of the Patton house may not sound exciting to you, but I am beside myself.  Up until yesterday, my precious Max was COVERED in warts. Both hands.... covered! We were studying together last night and I was watching him write when I noticed. I squealed! I ripped him out of his chair to go show Daddy. His fingers are virtually wart free. They are evaporating before our eyes. His thumbs are the last hold-out and we are praying, wishing, voo-dooing them away before our Halloween deadline.

Sooooo, A big thank you to Dr. Wickless and his suspicious sounding 'beetlejuice'!

Soccer has taken over at our house and I am not much of a Soccer Mom. Thankfully I am married to a fabulous Soccer Dad. We spent a chunk of yesterday lining 14 fields for a tournament this weekend.  Good Luck Max!

Della is in the news with a full room makeover and I can not wait to show you pictures. Daddy is building her a new bed and as soon as it is done I will do a photo shoot. I must say that it is my favorite interior paint job EVER! (for those of you who don't know, I used to be a decorative painter. Murals, faux finishes, etc...) This one was sooo much fun that I almost want to start back up!

Lewis is very popular this weekend. His schedule includes a Friday playdate, a train trip on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge to see the amazing fall foliage and visit the Big Foot Museum with our sweet neighbors, a sleepover on Saturday night, and a family fall party at one of his new school friends on Sunday. And I was worried about him assimilating?!?

Fall is in the air and it is truly amazing. Our mountain has changed colors almost overnight and the firewood is stacking up out there. I'm in the mood for apple pie and soup and warm bread. In the fall, I get the bug to spruce and decorate and cozy in. Go here for some fun fall recipes and design ideas.

And I leave you with Lew, in his drawers, splitting wood.

Work it, Brother!

Sunday Afternoon

Sometimes, not often, the house will get oddly quiet on a Sunday afternoon. I always go investigate. And I love it when I find this. My sturdy little girl rarely slows down... rarely stops talking. It's so sweet to see that there's still a bit of baby left.

But check this out.

The baby sleeps with its eyes open!

Cue the eerie music......

The Patton House...Dwell Version....Part 2

Continued from The Patton House...Dwell Version....Part 1.

So, aside from the talking, the house moved right along. Matt did it all himself with the help of one other guy and some specialty subs. If you have ever built a house you know that this is no small thing. In Colorado it is especially difficult because of weather constraints. Concrete won't set below a certain temperature. Two feet of snow will put a hurting on your radiant heat plumbed slab. Mud season could push some people over the edge. The monsoon season is.....well, it's monsoon season. Even the word is ominous. Look at it..... monsoon.

But it all came together, and we moved into our 3,000 square ft. ode to modern design. (in mud season, of course) Everything about it was creative, but the MOST creative thing about it was the financing. We had built a half million dollar house on, drumroll please, on a credit card. At something like 1% interest. That was back in the day of free money. We had enough frequent flyer miles to take the whole family around the world six times. We could visit 'the voice' in Sao Palo. We converted it to a mortgage and settled in.

Sort of.

The views were amazing.
 

The sunsets were surreal. That's mystical Mesa Verde in the distance.

The staircase was a work of glue-lam art with a thirty foot drop to the basement. Has anyone seen Della?

And where are the boys? Up? Down? They have their own 'floor' now. But it's way too far away. I can't hear them breathing at night. And, excuse me, but where is the cleaning crew? And the landscaping crew? Oh wait. That's me.

"And, hey, where is my husband?" I'll ask 'the voice'. He might know.

"It'll take him every spare moment for years to tame this beast of a parcel." he said. "Have you noticed the rocks, the trees, the fences, the pasture, the driveway, the mud? The tub surround and the basement entry and the decks and and the stair rails and the trim and the tile and the concrete island and the closet systems and the drawer inserts and....

 I guess we would do this on the weekends after both having to work all week to pay for it all. It was totally doable. It really was. If our hearts had been in it, it was totally doable. But that is not where my heart was or is.

I don't overly give a hoot about my home. I do love to 'decorate' but my style is quirky and I had just as soon decorate a tent. Maybe it's the vagabond in me. I have always been drawn to the gypsy wagon.

from here

Long story short. A delightful couple from Atlanta moved to Colorado to be near their kids. They loved our house and bought it. And they did something outrageous and I know she was hearing 'a voice'. Not my guy, her guy. She turned our cantilevered, clean lined, modern home into a vintage, shabby chic, funky, country retreat. And I love it. Because 'the voice' is with her.

Not me.

We've built two homes and remodeled countless. I will not do it again. Someone else has built my future home, just as I have built theirs. I will be happy with their nooks and crannies, their floorplans, and their tile choices. We live in a rental in Durango right now. It's wonderful. I love the location and the neighbors and it's spectacular setting. I love the boulder by the back door that is twice as big as the house. The house itself is nothing special, but it is cozy and it has absolutely nothing to say to me. We spend our weekends doing whatever we want. Today Matt is hiking up Mt. Sneffels with his dad and I am taking the kids to Mancos to the hot air balloon festival.

We might just go and see Jama and Hardy, the delightful couple who bought the house, and watch it from their back deck.

It's the best view in the valley, after all.

And I can say 'hi' to him.

The Patton House...Dwell Version....Part 1

The house....unfinished....but the cat is already paying homage.

If you have never visited the website Unhappy Hipsters it's high time you did. It's over on the side bar under my favorite blog lists. Take a moment now and check it out. But do come back. It will make this post much more relevant.The gist of it is this. Modern homes seem to take on a life of their own. Separate from the architect, or the builder, or god forbid, the owner, they are their own unique entity with a personality and, horror of horrors, an actual voice.

One that speaks. Out loud.

I know. I've been there. For us it was a triple whammy. We designed, we built and we owned. That house screamed at me!

It all started with the land. A beautiful six acres on a hill with amazing views and darling little creeks and deer and peacocks. It was called Paloma. It caught Matt's eye and we looked at it. There were some small glitches...no water tap, no power, and a steep grade that made cutting a driveway just a tad difficult. A friend told Matt that he had looked at it, but that it was impossible to access the building envelope. We bought it the next day.

Water Tap? We bought one on the black market. Power? Matt bribed an official. (not really, but it was arduous and ridiculous, and nerve-wracking.) The driveway? Don't tell Matt it can't be done. He told two of his friends with heavy equipment that Joe Blow had said it was impossible to get up the hill and, literally hours later, they and their testosterone fueled egos were at the top. $15,000 dollars worth of gravel later, we were ready to go.

And let me say here, that it is sad when you are hoping for loads of gravel for your anniversary or Christmas. I think we gave Max a yard of concrete for his third birthday. And it was awesome! But that's a different house, a different driveway, a whole other post...

Now the task at hand was to design a house. Which we did. We ARE NOT the type to research and study and analyze and research some more. We are of the 'just do it' ilk.

Matt said that it had to be rectangular because of some site issues and cost efficiency.

We decided that we were in a modern mood.

And that was that. I drew it and we took it to a draftsman. It was to be our Dwell House.

It was three levels and cantilevered. There were more windows than not. Roof top deck. Why not? Yoga studio off the master bedroom. No one does yoga, but what the hell. (We should in a house like this.) Symmetrical rooms for the kids. In floor heat, sustainably harvested bamboo floors, passive solar design, a staircase to quickly end the life of an eighteen month old, a vintage bubbler by the back door, yada, yada, and yada.

We moved in before it was finished, which is again, another story.

And it started talking. I imagined the voice to be that of an elder statesman from somewhere in South America. Sao Paolo perhaps. That is to say that the voice had an accent. 

Of course it would.

"Do you think your grandmother's sofa is appropriate for this space?" it often whispered.

"Does that thing on the counter top have any significance?" it would ask. 

"That thing is the coffee maker and it's non-negotiable, Senor!" I would reply.

But inside I would be thinking, 'it's a stainless steel french press, for God's sake, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!!?'

Sometimes it would say..."Would you please go to Toast and order your family some damn clothes!"

The voice was at times annoying and at times humorous. The details were often overwhelming and I'm not one to be vested in details so it wasn't always fun. And, of course, all of this came with a price tag. 

" Excuse me, Madame, but where is the mint condition 1920's water fountain that you plumbed for in the mud room?" he asked one day.

"It's in queue on Ebay, jackass." I calmly replied "Can we use YOUR credit card?"

TO BE CONTINUED....

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom! I am missing you more than usual and would love to be right there to celebrate! I hope it is a  wonderful day! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Inspiration

Zee Fox.

Holes where dish was mounted make this folk art...officially.

The other day I signed up for an e-course designed to turn my creative ideas into 'action'. It was offered by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. I admire her boldness and thought that I could use a dose of it myself. I tend to get bogged down or redirected easily and good ideas or creative inspiration can slip right through my fingers. So, when I saw the offering for her free mini e-course, I jumped on it. Sure! I'll take any help that's being offered!

And guess what happened.

It worked.

But maybe not in the way that Tara had intended.

This is how it all went down.

On my sleek new smart phone, I signed up for Tara's course. It was simple...I typed in my email and it was done. I set the phone down, walked outside, found an old satellite dish that Matt had removed from the side of the house, primed it, waited a minute, and painted this fox. (he was inspired by one I saw somewhere on the internet...can't remember where)

"Wow! She's good." I said to myself. (referring to Tara, not the fox, as it's a he.)

And then the e-course emails started. They were dead on. Short, but concise. A daily dose of 'kick in the pants'! I felt like she cared. I grooved on what she was saying.

But the fox was done.

Hhhhhmmmm. Could this be about something more than zee fox? I sink maybe. (my smart phone would  be all over itself trying to correct those spellings..)

Could this be something bigger. I think yes. You see, there have been times when I entertained a vision of a more creative life. I love Art. I love Words. I worked for years with this amazing group of folks. I paint and I try to meet every day with my own brand of love and creativity. My brain is always churning and burning and how lovely would it be for my livelihood to be working in direct correlation with this. It would be a dream! That's what.

And a dream that I am pursuing. Look for new things around here. New offerings, a new site, new creative inspirations, and hopefully a laugh or two along the way. I am expecting your support. So there.

Tara says to state it, to take small steps, to say it out loud so there will be others to hold you accountable. And I knew all that, but needed to hear it from a stranger. Thank You Tara.

Back to Zee Fox. This dear little fellow is the first in a Five Fox Series. Lewis claimed this one right away and I was sort of bummed because I wanted it for the entrance hall. But he said, and I quote, "Mom, you are an amazing artist." And that just flat out wins it for him.

The tackiest and softest blanket on earth. Anything for my Tiggy.

The next four foxes are available for sale. They are $100 each plus shipping and they will be unique. I can't guarantee a satellite dish, but they will be painted on some odd bit of recycled material. They are alive and well in my head and the minute you say you want one he/she will begin to become a reality. It's sort of sad, but one of them only has three legs and he needs a 'special' home. Could be you. 

Let me know.