The New Year's Eve

Well, here it is nearly the end of 2007 and I am always a little sad to see the current year fade away but terribly excited for a new year to arrive. The hopes, wishes and desires that are waiting for 2008 need to sleep just a few more hours and then a look into the future and suddenly it is tomorrow. I truly DO believe the best is yet to come! Happy New Year to all and especially to my family and the many, many customers and friends who have supported my work this past year! Cheers! Lois

Just look at this beautiful view!

Just when you think you can not take one more moment of a gray, wet day; the clouds lift and you are treated to a view like this! Big fir trees that eagles rest in and racoons play on remind me of the beauty I am around all the time even when covered in clouds. This view is from Andrea Guarino's back yard and looks out over the Straits of Juan de Fuca and in the corner a glimpse of Whidbey Island.

Could it be any more beautiful? I promise I will remember this on all winter days in the great Northwest! Lois

Christmas Day

A beautiful and lazy day to celebrate the season. It also snowed for a bit today which was a great surprise as we only get snow on Christmas day maybe every 20 years or so! We were lucky to feel all snug at home as the snow filled the sky and became a wintery blizzard.

Then off to Andrea's for a computer lesson and presto, I loaded songs for the first time ever on my four year old IPOD! You can teach an old dog new tricks!

A fabulous dinner at Glen and Kathleen's finished up the day and I need to say; I love their dogs. Sonic, Lily and Rosie are so wonderful. The kids exhausted themselves playing fooz-ball and we ate so much; we needed a long winter nap! Merry Day for a Merry Christmas! Lois

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve and the skies are clear after a gorgeous sunny day here in Port Townsend. I wore my annual Christams outfit and necklace to the shop today and felt very festive! Customers were in a fine and merry mood and the day has just flown by. Here are some of my crows, decorated for the season and looking very bright for the holiday. Wishing you all a season of peace, joy, loving and family. Merry Christmas! Lois

Here is my sweet Regina getting all ready for Christmas day and I have the day off! I have so much to do that my head is spinning! Do I paint? Make jewelry? Address Christmas cards? I should get ready for my show in Hawaii that I fly out on the 3rd of January for. I really want to do everything and drink hot chocolate and snuggle with Jacob and watch a stupid holiday movie. It's pouring rain outside but the winds have finally stopped. Ah... Christmas in the great gray, rainy Northwest! Happy Day!! Lois

A Winter's Day

I left the shop tonight at about eight and on the drive home the sky was glowing in moonlight, the stars were out and the moon gave the large, fluffy clouds an azure glow radiating from deep inside. Within 10 minutes of opening the front door and beginning to eat some dinner; the fog had rolled in and the whole night sky had changed. In the blink of an eye, everything from the sky was gone and I couldn't even see the neighbor's home! An amazing quick change. I'll tell you though that the Christmas lights around my home, garage, fence, studio and garage had that soft twinkly glow that made the lights look like they were a part of the very air I was breathing! Happy winter's night. Lois

We are officially in winter now with this day being the solstice. We are expecting a bit more snow or a snow mix and right away; I have visions of a white Christmas in my head. All the presents are wrapped, the fridge is stocked and we are preparing to celebrate the joy of the season within my little family.

Here is a photo of my front yard jungle looking out from the porch. You can see a glimpse of Jacob' s extremely bright, extremely yellow playhouse.

Happy Solstice!!! Lois

Finally! We have some sort of ferry service back in PT! A foot ferry is running 4 times a day between PT and Seattle at a super reasonable price in a 90 minute crossing. That should bring some tourists here for the holidays. Then we have a small private boat running between Whidbey Island and us that is also a walk on. Hopefully a fifty car ferry will be here at the end of January and a new boat built and running in 18 months. It is about time the state stopped playing with our lives and realized our 80 year old steel electric ferries needed replacemet and we needed ferry service!! Politics!! UGH!!
So here's for a busier shopping season for my stores and studio. Now I may have to ride the ferry to Seattle or Whidbey myself. I hear in our winds that the ride can get a little rough and I LOVE a wild boat ride! Lois

Today was a beautiful day in Port Townsend! The sun was out, the air was crisp and clean and customers were in a great mood at the shop! It's the kind of day that really makes me love being in my " playground " aka, my shop. This is a photo of my warehouse, in the snow of course, from last weekend. Note my friend, Gunther's rooster. I bought his first one that he ever made and I love the piece. He is especially charming in the sunlight that glints off all the spiderwebs that spin themselves around him.

Here is a photo of my studio in the snow that was coming down like a blizzard on Sunday. All that beautiful snow allowed me to think that I was isolated in my studio and creating, creating, creating without any interruptions! In my household, we are all in love with the snow. We just do not end up getting snow here very often; we are the RAIN place! Oh, and gray sky place! Thank you winter for letting me have time indoors to explore my creative side and welcome into my heart my muse. Lois