Sometimes I HATE making decisions!!!!!
Well, I’d love to say that after all of the torture shooting Runekeeper in the bitter cold yesterday that the photos knocked my socks off... but I can’t. I was using the tail end of a roll of film from indoor holiday shots. When a film is processed, the machine usually takes an average reading and exposure for the roll, then some can calibrate each image a bit from there.
It’s not that they are bad... I just need to go in and spend some time with the girls at the photo lab to alter the image ( a bit more magenta... a bit less density....) The real problem is in how much of the model I am going to show. I love the framing and matting on this piece. I know that when shop owners see it “in person” they are going to say “Wow”...but none of the photos that show the full frame really do it justice yet (I may change my mind when I play with the colour a bit and have them print it as a 5 x 7)! The one exposure that really draws me tonight (under my horrid kitchen lighting) is the one where I zoomed into the piece and shot a “close-up” that just covers the stitching and the cut edges of the mat around it... but ignores the frame and our DD fabric.
So, I did the really mature thing and indulged in a 5 minute pity party where I had my little rant “I wish it hadn’t been so cold out! I wish I’d been making these decisions 3 weeks ago because now I feel like my back is against the wall and I hate to settle for anything less than being thrilled with something.... I wish I had people to delegate stuff to....”
Then, I picked myself up off the couch and made some toast and a warm mug of tea to curl my claws around. I always try to eat the elephant one bite at a time.... I will play with the image at Black’s tomorrow to see if I can come up with a version that I really like.... and if not, then I will decide from there. After all, the files don’t have to be to the printer for 36 hours... and Nashville is only 23 days away...
Deep Breath.... Think of a Happy Place..... (I just want to go claw something!!!!)
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Monday, January 12, 2004
You Do What Has To Be Done...
I will ALWAYS LOVE my husband.... but right now I HATE him!! He called around 9 am to let me know that the sun was indeed out (my basement office doesn’t have very big windows... but I had already guessed that) and that the temperature was holding steady at -18 degrees Celsius. For the first time in just over a week, there was NO wind to kick the -33 degree wind chill into effect. So, I bundled up in my winter woolies and headed out to our little shed to find my photo shoot box. This is a large cardboard box that once held the “Excersaucer” we bought for Erin when she was a baby... so that tells you I’ve had it for at least 8 years.... but it is big enough and sturdy enough cardboard to pin my fabric to and then put the models up for a photo shoot on one of our kitchen chairs out on the back deck.
This time, however, there was a problem getting to the box. Not only were all the recently removed Christmas decoration and artificial tree boxes between me and my goal. the giant Mickey shaped wading pool, a wicker basket of empty plastic storage containers, the screens from the windows and the patio furniture had been piled up around the box in the farthest, darkest corner of the shed. With a sigh, I began to move boxes. Have you ever played Jenga or Pickup sticks?? Have you ever spent time trying to untangle a skein or Rayon or Flower Thread?? It seemed that somehow most of the summer stuff had shifted in the cold, sliding down to trap my poor box against the back wall. In order to even get to it and move it in any way, I had to first clear through the debris field. I’d forgotten that I still knew some Greek swear words..... but they all came back to me. After almost half an hour, I finally got a path cleared to my box and managed to wrestle it free (by now I had lost the feeling in my fingertips and toes) only to discover that it had been severely crushed on the side I liked to use by the weight of all the stuff!
I came in to the house to thaw a tiny bit, box and tripod in tow. I stumbled down to the basement to iron the Dragon Fabric (just peek at any of our model shots and you’ll know which one I mean) since I keep it folded in a cupboard when not in use. I was so cold that I even contemplated ironing some warmth back into my fingers! Not really, but the warm fabric sure felt good under my fingertips. Then, grabbing the model and fabric, I raced back upstairs.... only to discover that the sun was now hidden behind cloud cover!!!!!
I could have cried. Nick chose that minute to call about a file I had e-mailed to him and I was almost in tears of frustration. He took the brunt of it VERY well (poor guy!) and told me that perhaps things would clear up soon since it was still sunny over at his school. I hung up and then remembered that he works in the direction the clouds seemed to be moving towards... so maybe they hadn’t reached him yet??
With a deep breath, I pinned the fabric to the one remaining side of the box that was intact, put my winter woolies back on and headed out onto our back deck. Taking a deep breath in the shed hadn’t been too bad. Out in the open, you could feel the air trying to freeze you on the way in until body heat won... I set everything up to start taking my pictures, cloud covered sun or not. While sunlight makes the braid sparkle nicely, any full spectrum light is much better than indoor light for colours anyway... and all the white snow reflecting around should help to brighten the piece anyway. So I began to shoot the last 9 pictures on my roll of film from the holidays. The story does have a happy ending after all. The sun came out briefly for the last 3 frames... just enough to add a bit of sparkle, I hope.
So I will run these over to our photo place tonight (or as soon as Nick gets home with the car) and see if any of them are crisp enough to scan in once I get a 5 x 7 made. Since Runekeeper is being printed as a book, I want the cover image to be as crisp and clear as possible... which would normally mean shooting an image on a larger format or high end digital camera. I have called a few studios and know what kind of money I am in for if these don’t turn out, but at least this way I will have TRIED....
After a warm mug of tea and some toast, my fingers and toes have thawed enough to type this. Being a designer means sometimes doing whatever it takes to get a quality product out to stitchers... and I am sure that many of my fellow designers have their own collection of horror stories. I’m just glad that today’s had a happy ending!!
I will ALWAYS LOVE my husband.... but right now I HATE him!! He called around 9 am to let me know that the sun was indeed out (my basement office doesn’t have very big windows... but I had already guessed that) and that the temperature was holding steady at -18 degrees Celsius. For the first time in just over a week, there was NO wind to kick the -33 degree wind chill into effect. So, I bundled up in my winter woolies and headed out to our little shed to find my photo shoot box. This is a large cardboard box that once held the “Excersaucer” we bought for Erin when she was a baby... so that tells you I’ve had it for at least 8 years.... but it is big enough and sturdy enough cardboard to pin my fabric to and then put the models up for a photo shoot on one of our kitchen chairs out on the back deck.
This time, however, there was a problem getting to the box. Not only were all the recently removed Christmas decoration and artificial tree boxes between me and my goal. the giant Mickey shaped wading pool, a wicker basket of empty plastic storage containers, the screens from the windows and the patio furniture had been piled up around the box in the farthest, darkest corner of the shed. With a sigh, I began to move boxes. Have you ever played Jenga or Pickup sticks?? Have you ever spent time trying to untangle a skein or Rayon or Flower Thread?? It seemed that somehow most of the summer stuff had shifted in the cold, sliding down to trap my poor box against the back wall. In order to even get to it and move it in any way, I had to first clear through the debris field. I’d forgotten that I still knew some Greek swear words..... but they all came back to me. After almost half an hour, I finally got a path cleared to my box and managed to wrestle it free (by now I had lost the feeling in my fingertips and toes) only to discover that it had been severely crushed on the side I liked to use by the weight of all the stuff!
I came in to the house to thaw a tiny bit, box and tripod in tow. I stumbled down to the basement to iron the Dragon Fabric (just peek at any of our model shots and you’ll know which one I mean) since I keep it folded in a cupboard when not in use. I was so cold that I even contemplated ironing some warmth back into my fingers! Not really, but the warm fabric sure felt good under my fingertips. Then, grabbing the model and fabric, I raced back upstairs.... only to discover that the sun was now hidden behind cloud cover!!!!!
I could have cried. Nick chose that minute to call about a file I had e-mailed to him and I was almost in tears of frustration. He took the brunt of it VERY well (poor guy!) and told me that perhaps things would clear up soon since it was still sunny over at his school. I hung up and then remembered that he works in the direction the clouds seemed to be moving towards... so maybe they hadn’t reached him yet??
With a deep breath, I pinned the fabric to the one remaining side of the box that was intact, put my winter woolies back on and headed out onto our back deck. Taking a deep breath in the shed hadn’t been too bad. Out in the open, you could feel the air trying to freeze you on the way in until body heat won... I set everything up to start taking my pictures, cloud covered sun or not. While sunlight makes the braid sparkle nicely, any full spectrum light is much better than indoor light for colours anyway... and all the white snow reflecting around should help to brighten the piece anyway. So I began to shoot the last 9 pictures on my roll of film from the holidays. The story does have a happy ending after all. The sun came out briefly for the last 3 frames... just enough to add a bit of sparkle, I hope.
So I will run these over to our photo place tonight (or as soon as Nick gets home with the car) and see if any of them are crisp enough to scan in once I get a 5 x 7 made. Since Runekeeper is being printed as a book, I want the cover image to be as crisp and clear as possible... which would normally mean shooting an image on a larger format or high end digital camera. I have called a few studios and know what kind of money I am in for if these don’t turn out, but at least this way I will have TRIED....
After a warm mug of tea and some toast, my fingers and toes have thawed enough to type this. Being a designer means sometimes doing whatever it takes to get a quality product out to stitchers... and I am sure that many of my fellow designers have their own collection of horror stories. I’m just glad that today’s had a happy ending!!
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Back in the swing of things...
This morning was the first Saturday morning back in our usual routine of getting up and out the door by 8:15 to head for Saint Pat’s Family Center. I wasn’t teaching the Circuit Training class this week, so I got my workout in first while Nick waited with the girls until they headed into the pool at 9:00 am. Bethany came out at 9:30 and showered with me and we managed to get the hair partly fluffed dry with the blow dryer before Erin came out at 9:45. They both headed into gymnastics at 10 for an hour while Nick went up to take the circuit class from Denise while I watched the girls in the gym and worked on some stitching. By 11:30, everyone in the family had had at least one workout and everyone’s hair was clean too!!
The only thing is... it is FREEEEEEEEZING out. I don’t think my fingers have been warm at all this week unless I have them wrapped around a mug of tea! Even my stitching feels slower than usual.. thank GOODNESS for quick model stitchers like Dani, Beth and Juls... or I would be in a TOTAL panic!!
I’m off to speak with a seamstress this afternoon because I have decided to get a little help with my costume for Nashville... My sewing machine is being a bit temperamental and as Nick said the other day “how much is your time and sanity worth??” Sometimes trying to do everything yourself just isn’t worth it.... so we’ll see what she quotes and then I can decide
This morning was the first Saturday morning back in our usual routine of getting up and out the door by 8:15 to head for Saint Pat’s Family Center. I wasn’t teaching the Circuit Training class this week, so I got my workout in first while Nick waited with the girls until they headed into the pool at 9:00 am. Bethany came out at 9:30 and showered with me and we managed to get the hair partly fluffed dry with the blow dryer before Erin came out at 9:45. They both headed into gymnastics at 10 for an hour while Nick went up to take the circuit class from Denise while I watched the girls in the gym and worked on some stitching. By 11:30, everyone in the family had had at least one workout and everyone’s hair was clean too!!
The only thing is... it is FREEEEEEEEZING out. I don’t think my fingers have been warm at all this week unless I have them wrapped around a mug of tea! Even my stitching feels slower than usual.. thank GOODNESS for quick model stitchers like Dani, Beth and Juls... or I would be in a TOTAL panic!!
I’m off to speak with a seamstress this afternoon because I have decided to get a little help with my costume for Nashville... My sewing machine is being a bit temperamental and as Nick said the other day “how much is your time and sanity worth??” Sometimes trying to do everything yourself just isn’t worth it.... so we’ll see what she quotes and then I can decide
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Fire and Ice...
It is SO ironic that as I am putting the finishing touches on the first of my elemental dragons... Fire... and have been looking at ways to use these charts to help others around the world, that a disaster should hit so close to home. Late Monday afternoon, one of my fellow “bus stop moms” came home to find her parents herding her boys out of the house as flames began to burst from the roof line. Somehow something smoldered in their chimney and, despite the fire department coming once to check the house, burst into flames later in the day. Most of the upper floor and attic are totally destroyed, and there is quite a bit of water damage elsewhere. Since all 5 of them moved in with her brother’s family, whose home is even closer to ours than hers, many of us took up food, spare clothing etc. What else can you do when tragedy hits but respond as a community? Isn’t this what I hope my neighbours would do for me if something happened at our house?
Today, the temperatures have plunged into Wind Chill warnings and bitter cold. I don’t think that I have had warm hands or toes since I first crawled out of bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be even more bitterly cold, but after that... I hope things warm up a bit for a photo shoot... If not, I will be finding a studio space to rent or hiring a professional to shoot the Runekeeper model..
I’ve enjoyed the feedback from stitchers about how to best use the Elemental Dragons for charity purposes. I really feel the need to somehow encourage people to not only enjoy what they are stitching, but also think about how they could also help others in tiny ways. Imagine that each one of us helping one another is like one more tiny X added to a design that makes the world a better place instead of an X that has to be “frogged” (Rip-it,-Rip-it).
Since so many stitchers outside North America pointed out how hard it is to find truly International organizations (like the Red Cross), I think I have come up with a solution that works for me. When each elemental dragon is posted, I will put a list of ideas for places to donate on the website... but then let each stitchers decide for themselves. I’m not going to try to “force” people to be generous. I also know that there will be some stitchers who choose not to donate anything to any cause, but I think that will be better than making it a chart which can only be obtained with a contribution. Somehow that will make the chart even more tempting to those who continue to abuse copyrights and share or post patterns illegally. I’m working on the wording that will appear on the chart itself, but I think there will be room in there to put down some ideas of causes.
I can remember looking at a campfire this summer and thinking just how beautiful and terrible Fire can be.... that something to bring warmth, cook food, act as a beacon in the darkness (that scene in Return of the King where the beacon fires were being lit game me goosebumps!!) and much more can also destroy...
It is SO ironic that as I am putting the finishing touches on the first of my elemental dragons... Fire... and have been looking at ways to use these charts to help others around the world, that a disaster should hit so close to home. Late Monday afternoon, one of my fellow “bus stop moms” came home to find her parents herding her boys out of the house as flames began to burst from the roof line. Somehow something smoldered in their chimney and, despite the fire department coming once to check the house, burst into flames later in the day. Most of the upper floor and attic are totally destroyed, and there is quite a bit of water damage elsewhere. Since all 5 of them moved in with her brother’s family, whose home is even closer to ours than hers, many of us took up food, spare clothing etc. What else can you do when tragedy hits but respond as a community? Isn’t this what I hope my neighbours would do for me if something happened at our house?
Today, the temperatures have plunged into Wind Chill warnings and bitter cold. I don’t think that I have had warm hands or toes since I first crawled out of bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be even more bitterly cold, but after that... I hope things warm up a bit for a photo shoot... If not, I will be finding a studio space to rent or hiring a professional to shoot the Runekeeper model..
I’ve enjoyed the feedback from stitchers about how to best use the Elemental Dragons for charity purposes. I really feel the need to somehow encourage people to not only enjoy what they are stitching, but also think about how they could also help others in tiny ways. Imagine that each one of us helping one another is like one more tiny X added to a design that makes the world a better place instead of an X that has to be “frogged” (Rip-it,-Rip-it).
Since so many stitchers outside North America pointed out how hard it is to find truly International organizations (like the Red Cross), I think I have come up with a solution that works for me. When each elemental dragon is posted, I will put a list of ideas for places to donate on the website... but then let each stitchers decide for themselves. I’m not going to try to “force” people to be generous. I also know that there will be some stitchers who choose not to donate anything to any cause, but I think that will be better than making it a chart which can only be obtained with a contribution. Somehow that will make the chart even more tempting to those who continue to abuse copyrights and share or post patterns illegally. I’m working on the wording that will appear on the chart itself, but I think there will be room in there to put down some ideas of causes.
I can remember looking at a campfire this summer and thinking just how beautiful and terrible Fire can be.... that something to bring warmth, cook food, act as a beacon in the darkness (that scene in Return of the King where the beacon fires were being lit game me goosebumps!!) and much more can also destroy...
Monday, January 05, 2004
Ahhh.....Back To Just Me and My Thoughts...
It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday season... which is probably why I posted so few blogs... I was just too busy having fun with my family! But as much fun as it was not to wake up to an alarm clock or be tied to much of a schedule, I am still glad to have the house back to being quiet and getting some work done.
I really wonder if I could work in an office anymore. I have become accustomed to the silence behind the clatter of keyboard and mouse, the soft tunes I might tuck on in the background when I am designing and just being able to get lost in my work.
With Nashville only a month away, it is hard not to give in to panic as my “to do” list grows, but I learned long ago to eat that elephant in small bites... so I just concentrate on getting things done one at a time!!
Today I am printing out covers for A Dragon’s Tea Party on one Mac while I polish up the final layout for our Runekeeper Saga on the main computer. Even though the press bill on this one is going to be on the edge of my comfort zone, putting together a beautiful book with story and stitching is quite fun. The framed piece looks so wonderful and I can’t wait to have a sunny, non-windy day (without the -22 wind chill today) to photograph the piece on our back deck. Sunlight really does bring out the sparkle in the braid the way you can’t do unless you have LOTS of studio lights. Photos never really do the model justice, but at least you can try to make it as close as possible. One of the thrills that I had stitching other designers patterns was that it always looked SO much better in real life than in the photo, so you had that joy of falling in love with the design that your fingers were itching to stitch all over again!
It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday season... which is probably why I posted so few blogs... I was just too busy having fun with my family! But as much fun as it was not to wake up to an alarm clock or be tied to much of a schedule, I am still glad to have the house back to being quiet and getting some work done.
I really wonder if I could work in an office anymore. I have become accustomed to the silence behind the clatter of keyboard and mouse, the soft tunes I might tuck on in the background when I am designing and just being able to get lost in my work.
With Nashville only a month away, it is hard not to give in to panic as my “to do” list grows, but I learned long ago to eat that elephant in small bites... so I just concentrate on getting things done one at a time!!
Today I am printing out covers for A Dragon’s Tea Party on one Mac while I polish up the final layout for our Runekeeper Saga on the main computer. Even though the press bill on this one is going to be on the edge of my comfort zone, putting together a beautiful book with story and stitching is quite fun. The framed piece looks so wonderful and I can’t wait to have a sunny, non-windy day (without the -22 wind chill today) to photograph the piece on our back deck. Sunlight really does bring out the sparkle in the braid the way you can’t do unless you have LOTS of studio lights. Photos never really do the model justice, but at least you can try to make it as close as possible. One of the thrills that I had stitching other designers patterns was that it always looked SO much better in real life than in the photo, so you had that joy of falling in love with the design that your fingers were itching to stitch all over again!
Thursday, January 01, 2004
REFLECTIONS RATHER THAN RESOLUTIONS...
Having my Mom and Stepfather, John, here for the tail end of the Christmas Holidays has been wonderful!! I thought that Bethany was going to explode on Tuesday as she kept asking (from about 11 am onwards) “Is it night yet? Are we getting closer to supper when they come here? Is it soon?”
Last night, spending New Year’s Eve in our own home surrounded by board games, great food and good music was also heavenly. Both my mother and I took time to write down our thoughts. She makes up a list of the highs and lows of the year that has just been while pouring through her date book. Being FAR less organized than she is, I love to spend my New Year’s Eve journal entry writing down my thoughts on the year that is coming to a close.... what things I have enjoyed most, what I am thankful for... and then the entry always seems to turn towards what my hopes and dreams are for the year ahead. Not RESOLUTIONS ... those always seem to be a checklist of tasks that most of us cannot keep without a lot of hard work. I like to think of dreams and goals to strive for rather than a list of tasks to do. While they may often have the same end results (staying healthy, getting regular physical exercise etc.) I am far more comfortable with this way of setting them out.
Today has been a busy one getting the website ready for 2004, including reactivating the samples page which has been black for an entire year. I find writing code VERY hard on the head... but at least Mom and John have been a wonderful source of distraction!!! Best of all, I heard from both my Brother and Sister by phone/e-mail despite each of them being on opposite sides of the world from me... one in Switzerland and the other in Tokyo! What a nice treat!!
Happy New Year everyone... may you have fun thinking about your own dreams and goals for the year ahead!!
Having my Mom and Stepfather, John, here for the tail end of the Christmas Holidays has been wonderful!! I thought that Bethany was going to explode on Tuesday as she kept asking (from about 11 am onwards) “Is it night yet? Are we getting closer to supper when they come here? Is it soon?”
Last night, spending New Year’s Eve in our own home surrounded by board games, great food and good music was also heavenly. Both my mother and I took time to write down our thoughts. She makes up a list of the highs and lows of the year that has just been while pouring through her date book. Being FAR less organized than she is, I love to spend my New Year’s Eve journal entry writing down my thoughts on the year that is coming to a close.... what things I have enjoyed most, what I am thankful for... and then the entry always seems to turn towards what my hopes and dreams are for the year ahead. Not RESOLUTIONS ... those always seem to be a checklist of tasks that most of us cannot keep without a lot of hard work. I like to think of dreams and goals to strive for rather than a list of tasks to do. While they may often have the same end results (staying healthy, getting regular physical exercise etc.) I am far more comfortable with this way of setting them out.
Today has been a busy one getting the website ready for 2004, including reactivating the samples page which has been black for an entire year. I find writing code VERY hard on the head... but at least Mom and John have been a wonderful source of distraction!!! Best of all, I heard from both my Brother and Sister by phone/e-mail despite each of them being on opposite sides of the world from me... one in Switzerland and the other in Tokyo! What a nice treat!!
Happy New Year everyone... may you have fun thinking about your own dreams and goals for the year ahead!!
Monday, December 29, 2003
The Joy of Getting Lost in Something...
Vacations are all about not watching the clock... right? I guess today counted... sort of. There were still work related things to take care of, a run to the post office in hopes of finding some fabric that is still lost in transit from the USA (no luck) and mailing out one piece that got lost in the mess of my office when we cleaned up the kitchen... There was also the hilarious scene of filling out an International waybill for the courier on my knees in the kitchen right as the fish sticks needed to come out of the oven and my kids were fighting over a new toy...
The courier guy was very patient. I’d run out of International waybills and only discovered it as I tried to get my 2 box shipment of that nice distributor order ready to go off tonight. (Isn’t that always the way... you find out that you are missing something when you need it most... like halfway through a recipe??) So here I was filling out the waybill from him... only to discover that it was one of the older type without the secondary labels for multiple box shipments! Down I run to the fax machine and put the waybill through on “copy” which we then stuff into another sticky pouch for the second box. Nick was racing around saving the fish sticks from certain cremation and trying to negotiate a cessation of the hostilities between our two daughters that did not require the establishment of a Neutral Zone....
Sometimes, I wish that I did have a loading dock, a shipping department and a cute guy Friday (actually... I DO have that last one...but he has his own career too!) until I have to do a late night commute from work that only involves walking up two flights of stairs.
Amid all this chaos... there were two fun escapes. The first was a good Nora Roberts book, the first in a new trilogy, which I inhaled today between e-mail downloads, bathroom breaks and a nice, hot bath this morning... (being a speed reader helps, except that it means the fun is over sooner) and also the Animal Crossing game that our kids got for Christmas has turned out to be quite addictive for Mommy and Daddy too! LOL!
Getting lost in something totally fun and unjustifiable really does make me feel like I am taking time off... even in little spurts!
Vacations are all about not watching the clock... right? I guess today counted... sort of. There were still work related things to take care of, a run to the post office in hopes of finding some fabric that is still lost in transit from the USA (no luck) and mailing out one piece that got lost in the mess of my office when we cleaned up the kitchen... There was also the hilarious scene of filling out an International waybill for the courier on my knees in the kitchen right as the fish sticks needed to come out of the oven and my kids were fighting over a new toy...
The courier guy was very patient. I’d run out of International waybills and only discovered it as I tried to get my 2 box shipment of that nice distributor order ready to go off tonight. (Isn’t that always the way... you find out that you are missing something when you need it most... like halfway through a recipe??) So here I was filling out the waybill from him... only to discover that it was one of the older type without the secondary labels for multiple box shipments! Down I run to the fax machine and put the waybill through on “copy” which we then stuff into another sticky pouch for the second box. Nick was racing around saving the fish sticks from certain cremation and trying to negotiate a cessation of the hostilities between our two daughters that did not require the establishment of a Neutral Zone....
Sometimes, I wish that I did have a loading dock, a shipping department and a cute guy Friday (actually... I DO have that last one...but he has his own career too!) until I have to do a late night commute from work that only involves walking up two flights of stairs.
Amid all this chaos... there were two fun escapes. The first was a good Nora Roberts book, the first in a new trilogy, which I inhaled today between e-mail downloads, bathroom breaks and a nice, hot bath this morning... (being a speed reader helps, except that it means the fun is over sooner) and also the Animal Crossing game that our kids got for Christmas has turned out to be quite addictive for Mommy and Daddy too! LOL!
Getting lost in something totally fun and unjustifiable really does make me feel like I am taking time off... even in little spurts!
Saturday, December 27, 2003
Happy Holiday Thoughts...
Here’s what I tried to post on Christmas Eve....
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Hiding from Boxing Day Sales.....
It was magical just spending Christmas in our own home at our own pace this year! We had fun and even some giggles when Nick found THREE lumps of pretend coal that Erin had stuffed in his stocking. The poor guy just kept saying...”I haven’t been THAT bad!!” We had some very dear friends for the holiday meal since their family has jumped from 2 kids to 4 with the additions of twins. They are 9 months old now and often crawling in opposite directions, so we invited the whole family to join us for a turkey feast. It was merry chaos indeed for all of us.
Yesterday we went down to Nick’s Mother and Step-Father’s Bed and Breakfast (closed now for the season) for another wonderful meal. We had a great time and left in the evening amid big, fat, fluffy flakes of snow falling from the sky. This morning there is just a dusting of new snow... which my kids love a lot more than the rain, so we are going to go for a walk in the nearby woods this afternoon. We had a quiet morning that was spent at HOME rather than fighting crowds at the malls. I didn’t see anything I wanted badly enough to play “body hockey” with total strangers over!
Tonight we are having a friend of the girls over for a sleep over, so the only message we will do is to head out for some snacks and maybe movies or Nintendo games to play tonight....
I’m going to put off working until Monday, except for folding some leaflets. I am enjoying this break!
Here’s what I tried to post on Christmas Eve....
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Hiding from Boxing Day Sales.....
It was magical just spending Christmas in our own home at our own pace this year! We had fun and even some giggles when Nick found THREE lumps of pretend coal that Erin had stuffed in his stocking. The poor guy just kept saying...”I haven’t been THAT bad!!” We had some very dear friends for the holiday meal since their family has jumped from 2 kids to 4 with the additions of twins. They are 9 months old now and often crawling in opposite directions, so we invited the whole family to join us for a turkey feast. It was merry chaos indeed for all of us.
Yesterday we went down to Nick’s Mother and Step-Father’s Bed and Breakfast (closed now for the season) for another wonderful meal. We had a great time and left in the evening amid big, fat, fluffy flakes of snow falling from the sky. This morning there is just a dusting of new snow... which my kids love a lot more than the rain, so we are going to go for a walk in the nearby woods this afternoon. We had a quiet morning that was spent at HOME rather than fighting crowds at the malls. I didn’t see anything I wanted badly enough to play “body hockey” with total strangers over!
Tonight we are having a friend of the girls over for a sleep over, so the only message we will do is to head out for some snacks and maybe movies or Nintendo games to play tonight....
I’m going to put off working until Monday, except for folding some leaflets. I am enjoying this break!
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Happy Holiday Thoughts...
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holiday Thoughts...
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holiday Thoughts...
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Well... the blog and website are updated... my duet at church tonight went well and neither of my kids self-destructed during the family service. Many of us burst into giggles during the children’s moment when one little girl insisted that there were elephants and giraffes in the manger because her story book said so...
We have to be up early to get the turkey in the oven... so this dragon is heading off to bed. I hope that peace prevails... that generosity outweighs commercialism... that compassion exceeds judgment... and that we never forget to have that flicker of hope in the dark of the night.
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Christmas Cookies and Christmas....Rain??
I was the only one who had to get up and out to work this morning for a meeting, but Nick was SO kind... he took the girls with him to pick up the last few groceries we need before Christmas. Somehow Bethany managed to spill grape juice on herself TWICE before they came to get me, but the laundry is done now.
This afternoon we iced many dozens of cookies when one of our best friends, Karen, came over with her son (and our godson) Ben for a madcap lunch and cookie icing session. The kids ate them as fast as they could decorate them at first... but then their blood sugar probably peaked so we have some truly creative cookies to leave out for Santa and enjoy ourselves!
Nick snuck off for a workout and called from the framers to tell me that the Runekeeper piece I am releasing at the show in Nashville in February looks “TOTALLY AWESOME” and that my framers had outdone themselves this time... so I can’t wait to see it when he gets home. I’d picked out a frame that I’ve wanted to use for years.... but always worried it wouldn’t travel to trade shows well. I plan to just package the heck out of this one and not have it move around more than necessary. Many of my frames will need to be replaced in the next few years because they take so much more banging than a piece that just hangs on the wall... Ah well... that’s why it is a business deduction ...right??
They are calling for rain tonight and tomorrow night... so that doesn’t feel very Christmassy, but it shouldn’t be enough to melt the snow away completely. I am very much looking forward to celebrating Christmas in our own house this year, especially the serenity of Christmas Eve and then the excitement and chaos of Christmas Morning. The girls have already asked that their Dad make them Happy Face Pancakes and that I make the scrambled eggs.
The only task left on my list for tonight or tomorrow is to tuck two more sample charts up on the site as a final Christmas gift to all those dragon loving stitchers out there. Then I am going to take a few days off from even blogging and just spend some quality time with those I love.
May the holidays be a time of unexpected joys and thoughtful gratitude for all that we DO have... for everyone out there who reads this Dragon’s Musings
I was the only one who had to get up and out to work this morning for a meeting, but Nick was SO kind... he took the girls with him to pick up the last few groceries we need before Christmas. Somehow Bethany managed to spill grape juice on herself TWICE before they came to get me, but the laundry is done now.
This afternoon we iced many dozens of cookies when one of our best friends, Karen, came over with her son (and our godson) Ben for a madcap lunch and cookie icing session. The kids ate them as fast as they could decorate them at first... but then their blood sugar probably peaked so we have some truly creative cookies to leave out for Santa and enjoy ourselves!
Nick snuck off for a workout and called from the framers to tell me that the Runekeeper piece I am releasing at the show in Nashville in February looks “TOTALLY AWESOME” and that my framers had outdone themselves this time... so I can’t wait to see it when he gets home. I’d picked out a frame that I’ve wanted to use for years.... but always worried it wouldn’t travel to trade shows well. I plan to just package the heck out of this one and not have it move around more than necessary. Many of my frames will need to be replaced in the next few years because they take so much more banging than a piece that just hangs on the wall... Ah well... that’s why it is a business deduction ...right??
They are calling for rain tonight and tomorrow night... so that doesn’t feel very Christmassy, but it shouldn’t be enough to melt the snow away completely. I am very much looking forward to celebrating Christmas in our own house this year, especially the serenity of Christmas Eve and then the excitement and chaos of Christmas Morning. The girls have already asked that their Dad make them Happy Face Pancakes and that I make the scrambled eggs.
The only task left on my list for tonight or tomorrow is to tuck two more sample charts up on the site as a final Christmas gift to all those dragon loving stitchers out there. Then I am going to take a few days off from even blogging and just spend some quality time with those I love.
May the holidays be a time of unexpected joys and thoughtful gratitude for all that we DO have... for everyone out there who reads this Dragon’s Musings
Monday, December 22, 2003
I Know Why Some Animals Eat Their Young.....
Well... it is the first true day of Christmas Vacation and I am already wishing I could shove my daughters out the door to school and daycare! Yesterday was a wonderful day, so perhaps this is some barometric abnormality... biorhythms... planetary alignment... or just two girls who have forgotten how to get along with each other for more than a weekend. I even considered shipping Erin off to La-La Land to help Linn Skinner with her book binding... but she's probably drive her crazy too!
Of course the fact that I had parcels to ship and family errands to run had nothing to do with it...right? They even fought about which restaurant we were going to eat at as a treat for lunch!!
Some parent somewhere must have had a day like this and been the first to invent the “Let’s see who can be quiet the longest in the car” game. Nick spoke almost right away... and then made me laugh out loud by saying in his wonderful French “Je pense... c’est pourquoi quelques des animaux mangent leurs petits!” Which is supposed to be “I think this is why some animals eat their young”... but the grammar was cute enough to make me giggle.
Sometimes raising responsible kids is just such a challenge! I have pretty good kids, but it is having the patience to teach them coping behaviours and proper boundaries instead of just doing what they want all the time. I’ve been reading an excellent book on the subject which is helping me not react emotionally to everything, especially Bethany’s new hissy fits or sudden “my legs won’t work any more” or “my body isn’t feeling well... I have a headache!” whenever she is asked to do something she doesn’t want to do. This morning she was complaining that her fingers were too stiff to put the crayons back in the box and that I should do it. (I thought to myself “Do I have Crayon Maid written on my forehead??”) I just firmly told her that she had to be responsible for cleaning up what she had been using... but then explained that I used to play a game when I was putting crayons away as a little girl. I pretended that the box was their cave and that I was tucking the colours away for the night. Before she knew it, she was wishing the purples “Good Night” and putting the colours away. I can still remember doing every trick from playing “beat the clock” to singing songs as I did tasks I hated. By turning them into games, it made it more bearable. Perhaps I should apply that to tidying my office!
Sigh! There.... it is amazing what a few moments of quiet head space will do to restore my sanity. No wonder my Mom would have a nap and send us each off for Quiet Time on weekend afternoons. She was probably ready to shove us out the door too!!
I can hear the occasional clunk of Lego on the hardwood floor upstairs and they play Harry Potter Lego, and my gingerbread dough for gingerbread men tomorrow with my girls and my godson should be just about ready to come out of the fridge.... Only 3 1/2 hours until they are asleep!!
Well... it is the first true day of Christmas Vacation and I am already wishing I could shove my daughters out the door to school and daycare! Yesterday was a wonderful day, so perhaps this is some barometric abnormality... biorhythms... planetary alignment... or just two girls who have forgotten how to get along with each other for more than a weekend. I even considered shipping Erin off to La-La Land to help Linn Skinner with her book binding... but she's probably drive her crazy too!
Of course the fact that I had parcels to ship and family errands to run had nothing to do with it...right? They even fought about which restaurant we were going to eat at as a treat for lunch!!
Some parent somewhere must have had a day like this and been the first to invent the “Let’s see who can be quiet the longest in the car” game. Nick spoke almost right away... and then made me laugh out loud by saying in his wonderful French “Je pense... c’est pourquoi quelques des animaux mangent leurs petits!” Which is supposed to be “I think this is why some animals eat their young”... but the grammar was cute enough to make me giggle.
Sometimes raising responsible kids is just such a challenge! I have pretty good kids, but it is having the patience to teach them coping behaviours and proper boundaries instead of just doing what they want all the time. I’ve been reading an excellent book on the subject which is helping me not react emotionally to everything, especially Bethany’s new hissy fits or sudden “my legs won’t work any more” or “my body isn’t feeling well... I have a headache!” whenever she is asked to do something she doesn’t want to do. This morning she was complaining that her fingers were too stiff to put the crayons back in the box and that I should do it. (I thought to myself “Do I have Crayon Maid written on my forehead??”) I just firmly told her that she had to be responsible for cleaning up what she had been using... but then explained that I used to play a game when I was putting crayons away as a little girl. I pretended that the box was their cave and that I was tucking the colours away for the night. Before she knew it, she was wishing the purples “Good Night” and putting the colours away. I can still remember doing every trick from playing “beat the clock” to singing songs as I did tasks I hated. By turning them into games, it made it more bearable. Perhaps I should apply that to tidying my office!
Sigh! There.... it is amazing what a few moments of quiet head space will do to restore my sanity. No wonder my Mom would have a nap and send us each off for Quiet Time on weekend afternoons. She was probably ready to shove us out the door too!!
I can hear the occasional clunk of Lego on the hardwood floor upstairs and they play Harry Potter Lego, and my gingerbread dough for gingerbread men tomorrow with my girls and my godson should be just about ready to come out of the fridge.... Only 3 1/2 hours until they are asleep!!
Saturday, December 20, 2003
Lord of the Rings Afterglow...
Here it is almost 24 hours after seeing Return of the King, the last Lord of the Rings movie, and I am still in absolute amazement of how well crafted the whole trilogy was and how far movie making technology has jumped since I saw Star Wars on the big screen at 13 and really BELIEVED I’d been on other worlds!
Going out to a movie has become a rare treat in our household... it’s just too expensive to do unless it is a movie that we REALLY want to see. Baby sitters run about 25 to 30 dollars for supper and putting the kids to bed, especially on a Friday night right before Christmas... Tickets were $10.25 each and the food was another $12.00.... but oh, this was worth every penny!! I sat spellbound through most of the movie until I had to watch Nick’s shoulder for all the spider scenes and some of the cliff or Gondor over the wall shots triggered that vertigo/lemming feeling, but I just sat in awe as incredible directing, camera angles, close-ups, lighting, dialogue (staying true to some great Tolkein lines), special effects and some truly awesome actors combined to make a magical ride. I blubbered like an idiot for most of the end too... Goodbyes always do that to me.
Most of all, I love the intricate blend of humour and wisdom in the face of impossible odds that Tolkein and many of the great fantasy writers are able to share with us. To never give up... to do what is right even though it may not be easy or safe... to be loyal to your friends.. to speak out against insanity and injustice... to face down the monsters....to hope against impossible odds... and to know that death is just the beginning of a new adventure.
Tolkein made the world a whole lot richer with his imagination... and Peter Jackson has certainly created a legacy of his own with this trilogy. It makes me realize that when you strive to do your very best, in whatever creative endeavor you undertake, rather than just trying to make as much money, as quickly as you can, it really shows... and I think it will stand the test of time.
I can still remember one young artist that was the buzz of the New York art scene when I was studying Fine Arts at Mount Allison back in 1986. Everyone was calling him the next great thing in Modern Art and claiming that his paintings would be worth triple their incredible prices by the end of the 20th century... He’s still considered to be a talented artist, but there is far less hype about his work now. Was it partly marketing and hype? Should you buy a piece of art because someone tells you it will be a good investment... or because it speaks to you or moves you in some way??
I guess that whatever I chose to spend my money on... I want to feel like it was worth it.
Watching Legolas surf down that trunk... or Gandalf’s face as he comforted a hobbit... it was indeed worth it! (Now if only I could get those scuttling spider sounds out of my head!!)
Here it is almost 24 hours after seeing Return of the King, the last Lord of the Rings movie, and I am still in absolute amazement of how well crafted the whole trilogy was and how far movie making technology has jumped since I saw Star Wars on the big screen at 13 and really BELIEVED I’d been on other worlds!
Going out to a movie has become a rare treat in our household... it’s just too expensive to do unless it is a movie that we REALLY want to see. Baby sitters run about 25 to 30 dollars for supper and putting the kids to bed, especially on a Friday night right before Christmas... Tickets were $10.25 each and the food was another $12.00.... but oh, this was worth every penny!! I sat spellbound through most of the movie until I had to watch Nick’s shoulder for all the spider scenes and some of the cliff or Gondor over the wall shots triggered that vertigo/lemming feeling, but I just sat in awe as incredible directing, camera angles, close-ups, lighting, dialogue (staying true to some great Tolkein lines), special effects and some truly awesome actors combined to make a magical ride. I blubbered like an idiot for most of the end too... Goodbyes always do that to me.
Most of all, I love the intricate blend of humour and wisdom in the face of impossible odds that Tolkein and many of the great fantasy writers are able to share with us. To never give up... to do what is right even though it may not be easy or safe... to be loyal to your friends.. to speak out against insanity and injustice... to face down the monsters....to hope against impossible odds... and to know that death is just the beginning of a new adventure.
Tolkein made the world a whole lot richer with his imagination... and Peter Jackson has certainly created a legacy of his own with this trilogy. It makes me realize that when you strive to do your very best, in whatever creative endeavor you undertake, rather than just trying to make as much money, as quickly as you can, it really shows... and I think it will stand the test of time.
I can still remember one young artist that was the buzz of the New York art scene when I was studying Fine Arts at Mount Allison back in 1986. Everyone was calling him the next great thing in Modern Art and claiming that his paintings would be worth triple their incredible prices by the end of the 20th century... He’s still considered to be a talented artist, but there is far less hype about his work now. Was it partly marketing and hype? Should you buy a piece of art because someone tells you it will be a good investment... or because it speaks to you or moves you in some way??
I guess that whatever I chose to spend my money on... I want to feel like it was worth it.
Watching Legolas surf down that trunk... or Gandalf’s face as he comforted a hobbit... it was indeed worth it! (Now if only I could get those scuttling spider sounds out of my head!!)
Friday, December 19, 2003
Mostly Set For The Holidays....
Well, this is my last quiet day at home for a while... kind of bittersweet, but also exciting. Both girls skipped out of the house today to give their gifts to their teachers. We also handed the morning bus driver a tin of mixed holiday baking that 5 Moms had put together while the 6th & 7th bought the Tim Horton’s Gift Certificates. It was a lot more practical to all work together than duplicate our efforts by each getting little gifts. Bethany also took 8 little Santa Pins that I painted for all the workers at her daycare, but she is VERY much looking forward to the 2 week break to “stay home with Mommy...... and Daddy!”
I’m actually making headway in cleaning up older e-mail messages and sorting out the piles of paperwork and receipts that have slowly been taking over every surface in my office since the girls had chicken pox. I sometimes think that the piles multiply like Dust Bunnies overnight. This is one of those times that I miss being an “employee” with just my own little division and tasks to follow instead of having to do it all. I am so much more of the creative type than the organized, know-where-everything-is type... and yet I also HATE to not know where something is when I need it in a hurry! Filing paperwork and keeping things straight makes me feel like a kid who needs to clean their room - I don’t like doing it, but there is that sense of satisfaction when everything looks ordered. Maybe in 2004, I can actually keep things that way!! (LOL!)
I have a few more Christmas presents to finish making as well, but those are enjoyable... and then there are the stocking stuffer fun things to pick up next week. I am actually REALLY looking forward to not traveling ANYWHERE this Christmas. It will be Bethany’s first Christmas at home and she is almost 5!! With far flung families, it seems as if we’ve always been traveling during the holidays... so this will be a welcome break not to have to worry about storm delays, lost luggage etc.
Just 4 more hours to get my work done and then Nick and I are off to see the last Lord of the Rings movie tonight. Yay!!
Well, this is my last quiet day at home for a while... kind of bittersweet, but also exciting. Both girls skipped out of the house today to give their gifts to their teachers. We also handed the morning bus driver a tin of mixed holiday baking that 5 Moms had put together while the 6th & 7th bought the Tim Horton’s Gift Certificates. It was a lot more practical to all work together than duplicate our efforts by each getting little gifts. Bethany also took 8 little Santa Pins that I painted for all the workers at her daycare, but she is VERY much looking forward to the 2 week break to “stay home with Mommy...... and Daddy!”
I’m actually making headway in cleaning up older e-mail messages and sorting out the piles of paperwork and receipts that have slowly been taking over every surface in my office since the girls had chicken pox. I sometimes think that the piles multiply like Dust Bunnies overnight. This is one of those times that I miss being an “employee” with just my own little division and tasks to follow instead of having to do it all. I am so much more of the creative type than the organized, know-where-everything-is type... and yet I also HATE to not know where something is when I need it in a hurry! Filing paperwork and keeping things straight makes me feel like a kid who needs to clean their room - I don’t like doing it, but there is that sense of satisfaction when everything looks ordered. Maybe in 2004, I can actually keep things that way!! (LOL!)
I have a few more Christmas presents to finish making as well, but those are enjoyable... and then there are the stocking stuffer fun things to pick up next week. I am actually REALLY looking forward to not traveling ANYWHERE this Christmas. It will be Bethany’s first Christmas at home and she is almost 5!! With far flung families, it seems as if we’ve always been traveling during the holidays... so this will be a welcome break not to have to worry about storm delays, lost luggage etc.
Just 4 more hours to get my work done and then Nick and I are off to see the last Lord of the Rings movie tonight. Yay!!
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Tell Mother Nature she can... hmmm well....
Ok... I KNOW that when I first moved to the Maritimes, they used to say that if you didn’t like the weather, you should just wait a bit...but this is just plain silly! We woke up this morning to find that the temperature had soared to well above freezing and that more than an inch of rain had fallen overnight!! Those snowy roads that haven’t been properly plowed since Monday’s snowstorm are now puddly, slushy, slippery channels of cold, grey slush. As Erin and I walked up to the bus stop in the driving rain, I discovered that some of the puddles were far deeper than they appeared. Since I was wearing my ankle high winter boots instead of my mid calf ones.... this caused the dragon to do some pretty funny leaps! I also changed my socks as soon as I got home and made myself a hot mug of tea to wrap my claws around.... but I don’t think I have been warm since. By tonight everything is supposed to freeze again into nice hard slippery puddles... so I’m going to chip at any ice left on the driveway after lunch.
I’ve spent the morning trying to archive older e-mail, catch up on stuff I missed, and find the floor of my office which seems to have disappeared in the past few weeks. Nick and the girls are very excited about tomorrow being the last day of school and the start of Christmas break.... but I am trying to be as productive as possible in the next 48 hours ... as I savour the peaceful silence of the empty house!
Ok... I KNOW that when I first moved to the Maritimes, they used to say that if you didn’t like the weather, you should just wait a bit...but this is just plain silly! We woke up this morning to find that the temperature had soared to well above freezing and that more than an inch of rain had fallen overnight!! Those snowy roads that haven’t been properly plowed since Monday’s snowstorm are now puddly, slushy, slippery channels of cold, grey slush. As Erin and I walked up to the bus stop in the driving rain, I discovered that some of the puddles were far deeper than they appeared. Since I was wearing my ankle high winter boots instead of my mid calf ones.... this caused the dragon to do some pretty funny leaps! I also changed my socks as soon as I got home and made myself a hot mug of tea to wrap my claws around.... but I don’t think I have been warm since. By tonight everything is supposed to freeze again into nice hard slippery puddles... so I’m going to chip at any ice left on the driveway after lunch.
I’ve spent the morning trying to archive older e-mail, catch up on stuff I missed, and find the floor of my office which seems to have disappeared in the past few weeks. Nick and the girls are very excited about tomorrow being the last day of school and the start of Christmas break.... but I am trying to be as productive as possible in the next 48 hours ... as I savour the peaceful silence of the empty house!
Monday, December 15, 2003
Of Pageants & Surprise Guests, Stalled Vans, Big Orders and Bigger Biceps...
Well... I really shouldn’t have gotten so stressed over those gingerbread houses (though I laughed my way through the article in the January Canadian Living about a Mom whose experience was almost the same) because the three families had a GREAT time decorating the three houses I put together on Friday night from the kits. I did make my OWN Royal icing, because the goopy stuff in the kit wouldn’t work at all.
Saturday was marvelous fun except for our van suddenly deciding to stop dead in its tracks at only 18 months and 36,000 km. Nick got it towed to the dealer who was just as baffled until later this morning when after a few hours in their toasty warm service bay, it started like a charm. Perhaps something got clogged or frozen in the fuel line... so we shall see.
Sunday was the day of our Christmas Pageant during the service at church. Erin and Bethany were both angels with “real” feathery wings... but the highlight of the morning for them was when Nick’s Mother and Stepfather appeared to sit in the second row!! My girls just beamed through the service and then insisted on taking their grandparents out to lunch at their favourite restaurant.
I came home to find a very nice order from one of our distributors on the fax machine as well. Nick was even smiling because it was for our process colour leaflets instead of the chartpacks and he prefers to fold rather than collate and stuff bags. The weather warnings for another massive snowstorm were also out, so we went to bed not knowing what the morning would hold and Christmas parcels to ship out overseas...
When we woke up at 6 am to catch the headlines, we learned that schools were closed all across the province, despite the fact that not a flake was falling. Since the girls were still asleep and Nick was able to doze off again, I got up and headed down to the computer. In icky weather, I love the fact that my commute is only two flights of stairs. I worked until the girls got up at 7:30... and by 8 am the flakes were really starting to fly, but there was only about and inch or so on the roads. We decided to load the parcels in our borrowed vehicle and race up to the post office before the weather got worse..... but I was 26th in line!!! Apparently all the other procrastinators out there with parcels to mail had the same idea. Nick is still teasing me that the boxes are probably all sitting at the airport unable to move... but at least I am not tripping over the boxes in MY house.
So... do I want anther snow day with my family tomorrow and have my morning meeting canceled?? Do I want to have them all get out from underfoot since they will be home over the Christmas Break and I will no doubt miss my ability to work at my own pace in a nice quiet house?? I think that for once, I will just let Mother Nature do whatever it is she has up her sleeve and not stress about it. Since I cannot push a button and stop a snow storm... there’s not much point in getting all worked up about it.... especially since it will be such a great bicep workout!!
Well... I really shouldn’t have gotten so stressed over those gingerbread houses (though I laughed my way through the article in the January Canadian Living about a Mom whose experience was almost the same) because the three families had a GREAT time decorating the three houses I put together on Friday night from the kits. I did make my OWN Royal icing, because the goopy stuff in the kit wouldn’t work at all.
Saturday was marvelous fun except for our van suddenly deciding to stop dead in its tracks at only 18 months and 36,000 km. Nick got it towed to the dealer who was just as baffled until later this morning when after a few hours in their toasty warm service bay, it started like a charm. Perhaps something got clogged or frozen in the fuel line... so we shall see.
Sunday was the day of our Christmas Pageant during the service at church. Erin and Bethany were both angels with “real” feathery wings... but the highlight of the morning for them was when Nick’s Mother and Stepfather appeared to sit in the second row!! My girls just beamed through the service and then insisted on taking their grandparents out to lunch at their favourite restaurant.
I came home to find a very nice order from one of our distributors on the fax machine as well. Nick was even smiling because it was for our process colour leaflets instead of the chartpacks and he prefers to fold rather than collate and stuff bags. The weather warnings for another massive snowstorm were also out, so we went to bed not knowing what the morning would hold and Christmas parcels to ship out overseas...
When we woke up at 6 am to catch the headlines, we learned that schools were closed all across the province, despite the fact that not a flake was falling. Since the girls were still asleep and Nick was able to doze off again, I got up and headed down to the computer. In icky weather, I love the fact that my commute is only two flights of stairs. I worked until the girls got up at 7:30... and by 8 am the flakes were really starting to fly, but there was only about and inch or so on the roads. We decided to load the parcels in our borrowed vehicle and race up to the post office before the weather got worse..... but I was 26th in line!!! Apparently all the other procrastinators out there with parcels to mail had the same idea. Nick is still teasing me that the boxes are probably all sitting at the airport unable to move... but at least I am not tripping over the boxes in MY house.
So... do I want anther snow day with my family tomorrow and have my morning meeting canceled?? Do I want to have them all get out from underfoot since they will be home over the Christmas Break and I will no doubt miss my ability to work at my own pace in a nice quiet house?? I think that for once, I will just let Mother Nature do whatever it is she has up her sleeve and not stress about it. Since I cannot push a button and stop a snow storm... there’s not much point in getting all worked up about it.... especially since it will be such a great bicep workout!!
Friday, December 12, 2003
This Old Gingerbread House...
Well.... Bob Villa is probably shaking his head somewhere and Martha Stewart would NOT be proud... but the thought was nice!
Tomorrow we are getting together with our best friends - two families with whom we have watched our children grow, shared tears, laughter and milestones.. and who are the closest things to “adopted cousins” that my children know. We are all going to a pancake breakfast with Santa to start the day, the over to Sue’s house for a morning of Christmas crafts and lunch, then over to our house for a Christmas cookie baking extravaganza and a chili supper. Since I have a WONDERFUL recipe for Gingerbread people, I gleefully announced that we should each make houses for our families.
Nick and I have poured over house plan books since we were in University and not even dating yet. He builds Lego like a champ and probably would have been an architect if the call to teaching hadn’t been stronger. Not that we were planning anything fancy like dormer windows or Victorian porches.... just a nice basic house to decorate once we baked all the pieces. So earlier this week we made cardboard templates and then last night I dug out all my ingredients and made a triple batch of dough. Oh the house smelled heavenly!!
I carefully rolled out the dough and followed all the directions in my detailed article about putting the pieces in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen them before baking etc.... but the first pieces came out HUGE!! Nick and I had forgotten to allow for the dough to expand. We didn’t want mansions!! We carefully adjusted the pieces by scaling them down an inch on all sides and started rolling out more dough. I was counting things in my head as I glanced at my watch...2 fronts + 2 sides + 2 roof pieces per house x 3 families.... oh my!
The new side pieces cooked up much smaller, though they certainly lost their nice sharp angled edges and I began to worry that they’d take a LOT of icing to hold the joints together. Then the two roof pieces came out of the oven to cool “on the greased baking sheet on a wire rack” as instructed... but for some reason, they chose to bond completely to the cookie sheet and shattered when we tried to lift them off. Things began to unravel quickly after that, and Nick headed off to bed, but I was far too stubborn to admit being bested by a mere lump of dough!! Did you know that gingerbread stuck to cookie sheets disolves rapidly to mush when placed in hot, soapy water? At least I didn’t have to scour my cookie sheets to re-use them!
I started moving pieces around from freezer in the basement to other cookie sheets so that I was only baking on the one that seemed not to stick... 4 fronts and 2 sides were safe and sound on the wire racks when the two roof pieces burned and stuck to the cookie sheet just as the clock struck midnight.
The gingerbread had won. I saved the rest of my delicious dough in the fridge to turn into the Gingerbread people that DO work out... put the pieces in a tupperware container to save for a fun dessert idea (break off bits of former roof or house front and use to make a “sandwich” around Candy Cane ice cream!) tomorrow... then went to bed.
This morning I bought 3 kits from our local supermarket... it was the thought that counted....right??
Well.... Bob Villa is probably shaking his head somewhere and Martha Stewart would NOT be proud... but the thought was nice!
Tomorrow we are getting together with our best friends - two families with whom we have watched our children grow, shared tears, laughter and milestones.. and who are the closest things to “adopted cousins” that my children know. We are all going to a pancake breakfast with Santa to start the day, the over to Sue’s house for a morning of Christmas crafts and lunch, then over to our house for a Christmas cookie baking extravaganza and a chili supper. Since I have a WONDERFUL recipe for Gingerbread people, I gleefully announced that we should each make houses for our families.
Nick and I have poured over house plan books since we were in University and not even dating yet. He builds Lego like a champ and probably would have been an architect if the call to teaching hadn’t been stronger. Not that we were planning anything fancy like dormer windows or Victorian porches.... just a nice basic house to decorate once we baked all the pieces. So earlier this week we made cardboard templates and then last night I dug out all my ingredients and made a triple batch of dough. Oh the house smelled heavenly!!
I carefully rolled out the dough and followed all the directions in my detailed article about putting the pieces in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen them before baking etc.... but the first pieces came out HUGE!! Nick and I had forgotten to allow for the dough to expand. We didn’t want mansions!! We carefully adjusted the pieces by scaling them down an inch on all sides and started rolling out more dough. I was counting things in my head as I glanced at my watch...2 fronts + 2 sides + 2 roof pieces per house x 3 families.... oh my!
The new side pieces cooked up much smaller, though they certainly lost their nice sharp angled edges and I began to worry that they’d take a LOT of icing to hold the joints together. Then the two roof pieces came out of the oven to cool “on the greased baking sheet on a wire rack” as instructed... but for some reason, they chose to bond completely to the cookie sheet and shattered when we tried to lift them off. Things began to unravel quickly after that, and Nick headed off to bed, but I was far too stubborn to admit being bested by a mere lump of dough!! Did you know that gingerbread stuck to cookie sheets disolves rapidly to mush when placed in hot, soapy water? At least I didn’t have to scour my cookie sheets to re-use them!
I started moving pieces around from freezer in the basement to other cookie sheets so that I was only baking on the one that seemed not to stick... 4 fronts and 2 sides were safe and sound on the wire racks when the two roof pieces burned and stuck to the cookie sheet just as the clock struck midnight.
The gingerbread had won. I saved the rest of my delicious dough in the fridge to turn into the Gingerbread people that DO work out... put the pieces in a tupperware container to save for a fun dessert idea (break off bits of former roof or house front and use to make a “sandwich” around Candy Cane ice cream!) tomorrow... then went to bed.
This morning I bought 3 kits from our local supermarket... it was the thought that counted....right??
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Bulging Biceps and Christmas Concerts
Now, I just know that with a title like that, someone out there is picturing something à la Chippendales.... but the combination was just because that is the chaos of this week!
I did manage to sneak on the computer Monday during the snow day... and when it was all over, Moncton was the hardest hit with almost 70 cm (over 2 feet!) of fluffy, heavy white stuff. Erin and Bethany had a BLAST playing outside while I shoveled and Nick used the snow blower. He offered to show me how it works, but in true “paranoid artist very afraid of stuff that can munch hands” fashion, I declined. Give me a shovel and She-Hulk biceps over whirling machine parts any day!!
Tuesday was pure chaos because the snow drifts were so high and the roads so narrow, the school buses had trouble getting down the streets to pick up the kids. Schools opened on time, but buses ran at least an hour late... and Nick’s school (along with 3 others) were even late opening because the parking lots and bus zones hadn’t been fully plowed. I walked up to my Tuesday morning meeting on the main road with no sidewalks showing, jumping up onto snow banks now and then if 2 lanes of traffic were headed my way.
Today was sunny and beautiful, but the plows have been out widening streets as the panic about tomorrow’s weather sets in. Apparently there is rain on the way... possibly lots of it. With many of the storm drains and sewer openings still buried under snow, there is a push on to clear them so that all that water has somewhere to go! I hope they are wrong!! Now that the snow is here and the kids are having so much fun playing in it, I want it to just stay cold enough for snow instead of having heavy rain sink down and make it into mountains of ice you can’t play on and driveways that never quite clear until spring. The bigger the Dragon .... the harder they fall!!
Tonight was Erin’s Christmas concert and she looked wonderful singing her heart out on the stage to such memorable songs as “All I want for Christmas is a Dinosaur” or the “Reindeer Boogie”. Bethany watched most of it on my lap, wiggling when the music notes were off or holding her ears when people clapped to loudly. When she got really bored, she discovered that she could make shadow puppets with her fingers onto my chest from the bright lights of the stage! She’s got an imagination for sure!
Both are home in bed and my biceps are still throbbing from the shoveling sessions this morning. But I got 3 orders shipped off, some e-mail answered, one job off to a client to review and only one logo design left to work on before I sleep tonight!
Now, I just know that with a title like that, someone out there is picturing something à la Chippendales.... but the combination was just because that is the chaos of this week!
I did manage to sneak on the computer Monday during the snow day... and when it was all over, Moncton was the hardest hit with almost 70 cm (over 2 feet!) of fluffy, heavy white stuff. Erin and Bethany had a BLAST playing outside while I shoveled and Nick used the snow blower. He offered to show me how it works, but in true “paranoid artist very afraid of stuff that can munch hands” fashion, I declined. Give me a shovel and She-Hulk biceps over whirling machine parts any day!!
Tuesday was pure chaos because the snow drifts were so high and the roads so narrow, the school buses had trouble getting down the streets to pick up the kids. Schools opened on time, but buses ran at least an hour late... and Nick’s school (along with 3 others) were even late opening because the parking lots and bus zones hadn’t been fully plowed. I walked up to my Tuesday morning meeting on the main road with no sidewalks showing, jumping up onto snow banks now and then if 2 lanes of traffic were headed my way.
Today was sunny and beautiful, but the plows have been out widening streets as the panic about tomorrow’s weather sets in. Apparently there is rain on the way... possibly lots of it. With many of the storm drains and sewer openings still buried under snow, there is a push on to clear them so that all that water has somewhere to go! I hope they are wrong!! Now that the snow is here and the kids are having so much fun playing in it, I want it to just stay cold enough for snow instead of having heavy rain sink down and make it into mountains of ice you can’t play on and driveways that never quite clear until spring. The bigger the Dragon .... the harder they fall!!
Tonight was Erin’s Christmas concert and she looked wonderful singing her heart out on the stage to such memorable songs as “All I want for Christmas is a Dinosaur” or the “Reindeer Boogie”. Bethany watched most of it on my lap, wiggling when the music notes were off or holding her ears when people clapped to loudly. When she got really bored, she discovered that she could make shadow puppets with her fingers onto my chest from the bright lights of the stage! She’s got an imagination for sure!
Both are home in bed and my biceps are still throbbing from the shoveling sessions this morning. But I got 3 orders shipped off, some e-mail answered, one job off to a client to review and only one logo design left to work on before I sleep tonight!
Monday, December 08, 2003
It’s STILL Snowing!
Well.... when we emerged from our house to snow blow and shovel last night in what must have been the “eye” of the storm, Nick and I were both sure that the worst was over. Hah! When I got up for a dragon potty break around 4 am, Nick looked out the window at the wind barreling up our street at almost 80 km an hour and far more than those last few inches of snow on the ground to predict that today would be a Snow Day. (Erin watched that movie for the first time while recuperating from Chicken Pox and laughed herself silly)
I’m hiding in the basement for a few moments of “alone time” under the pretext of checking e-mail and updating my blog. I am ready to turn everyone out in the snow soon to wear off the abundance of energy. With over 2 feet of snow having fallen already, there are some pretty impressive drifts where the winds has piled things in our backyard that is much taller than Bethany. There were shrieks of sorrow this morning when they realized that Frosty (their first blobby snowman of the season) got buried overnight... but they are now determined to form a “rescue party” to uncover him. As long as I don’t have to go out and be the Saint Bernard, I am fine with that!
Thank goodness for crafts and cable. I have enough tricks up my sleeve that I should still be able to eek out an hour or two on the computer between the “I’m bored”s. Oooopppss! I spoke to soon. I hear feet coming down the stairs to the call of “Moooooooooooooooooooooooooom!”
Well.... when we emerged from our house to snow blow and shovel last night in what must have been the “eye” of the storm, Nick and I were both sure that the worst was over. Hah! When I got up for a dragon potty break around 4 am, Nick looked out the window at the wind barreling up our street at almost 80 km an hour and far more than those last few inches of snow on the ground to predict that today would be a Snow Day. (Erin watched that movie for the first time while recuperating from Chicken Pox and laughed herself silly)
I’m hiding in the basement for a few moments of “alone time” under the pretext of checking e-mail and updating my blog. I am ready to turn everyone out in the snow soon to wear off the abundance of energy. With over 2 feet of snow having fallen already, there are some pretty impressive drifts where the winds has piled things in our backyard that is much taller than Bethany. There were shrieks of sorrow this morning when they realized that Frosty (their first blobby snowman of the season) got buried overnight... but they are now determined to form a “rescue party” to uncover him. As long as I don’t have to go out and be the Saint Bernard, I am fine with that!
Thank goodness for crafts and cable. I have enough tricks up my sleeve that I should still be able to eek out an hour or two on the computer between the “I’m bored”s. Oooopppss! I spoke to soon. I hear feet coming down the stairs to the call of “Moooooooooooooooooooooooooom!”
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