The wind is blowing like crazy and is shaking the entire house and making the sliding glass door bow in. It makes me anxious and I can feel my heart fluttering in my chest. I suppose it comes from years of living on the beach when I had to worry about the tides and water crashing over the bulkhead. That was definitely scary then when you live at minus 1 foot elevation. Of course, no insurance company ever wanted to offer us flood insurance! HAHA - I figure if I put my ear plugsin; I just might be able to sleep, per chance to dream.

This is a beautiful sunset seen from my front porch the last evening before our big snow storms came. Isn't it just beautiful? It holds the promise of such a peaceful night, something I wish the whole world could experience!
I worked all day today in the studio, flitting from project to project and thouroughly enjoyed myself. I can dabble in so many things while I am out there; Today, I made jewelry for the shop, painted on canvas, worked on a scrapbook or rather the Lois version of a scrapbook and did some hand sewing on a silk bag I am making as a gift for a friend.

Anyone notice how the news is ever so depressing day after day? Retail sales are horribly down but sales of alcohol are up and auto body shops are extremely busy after all our snow. Go figure! I think one of my new year's resolutions will be not to watch the news and to think of and believe in the positive side of things. Tomorrow is a full day in the shop for me. Hope it is a nice busy day and that my customers and I enjoy each other. Good night!

A Gift

This cool piece is now hanging on my living room wall so I can see it from my knitting chair!
This is a wonderful gift that I received from Phil for Christmas. It is made in Hati from oil drums that were cut apart and made into animal shapes. This is a bird that reminds me of a partridge. I'm not sure if that is exactly what it is but I do love it! I have new charms back from the caster already for Tucson so I will try and add some pictures soon. Nighty - night, Lois

Finally, we are having some more normal weather! Gray skies, fog and temperatures in the 40's. I am looking forward to the return of a little bit of sun but I do not know when that might happen. In the meantime, I am going to begin in earnest to get ready for the big show in Tucson. I have sample jewelry to make and charms to organize and lots of lucite beads to dye. I also have new diamond hollow core drill bits so I hope to begin drilling beach rocks and coring them with silver. Hmmmm ... that might just mean some walks on the beach will be needed! I could really go for that!

I have posted a picture of an end table I painted. It is my first piece of furniture that I tried to do more rubberstamping on than free form painting. I am now using the table to hold my colored pencils. I will be doing a few more pieces as time goes by this winter but first I am going to paint new signs for my " gallery space " that I am carving out of the back hall. Stay tuned!

This Beauty

is my grand daughter, Maia Rose. She is now living in Tennessee. What a sweetheart! She also signed her name,

Christmas Snow Pictures!

Merry Christmas!! And it is SNOWING!!!

It has been at least 18 years since we had snow on Christmas here in PT! We opened gifts and the entire time it was snowing! What a treat! Things are pretty white outside overthe oldsnow but I do not think this will last long as our normal rain is returning. Here are some Christmas morning photos.....

Snow Pictures

The Solstice!

Welcome to the winter Solstice. I love this day, the shortest in the year for I am truly a winter girl and thrive in cold temps and low light. The snow outside is deep and glittery and although the day is brighter, there is no sun. The wind is beginning to blow and I can hear the chimes tinkling in the trees around the house and on the porch. Ahhh ... everything is so pretty, white and wintery. I love it. Just love it!

Jacob is dancing around me, skipping here and there chanting for my hair to hurry and dry so we can go build a snowman. I want to build a snow queen! Maybe I will lend her one of my tiarras! I am off to play in this amazing winter wonderland but I am leaving you with these beautiful snowflake photos. Wouldn't it be amazing to craft them into jewelry fit for a snow queen?xo, Lois

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.....it is snowing and blowing and a blizzard exsists outside the doors and windows of my home. We are not even due for the really big winds until later tonight and early tomorrow morning. Then the winds could equal a category one hurricane, gusts to 90mph! Wow! We have not had a snowstorm here like that since 1974. It is all very exciting but just horrible with a capital H for business.

Oh well, the kid inside me loves, LOVES the snow!

Our handsome teenage cat, Milagro who is now sharing my studio in this cold, cold December! I think he inspires my creativity especially when I trail after him cleaning up his messes. Curious kitty, that's him.

Getting Along

I am trying to get back into the swing of things, you know, work in the shop, enjoy the snow we have now, making jewelry and painting and I will be humming along all fine and then stop and think, " My mom is gone! " Really gone! I can't call her, can't ask her a question. There was so much I should have asked her about family, growing up, being a woman. I just didn't. A friend said it so well the other day; a girl just needs to know her mother is around, then she can do anything. I am sure this funk will lift shortly then I will truly be back. Till then....

My mother passed away today at about 1:30 my time.I will miss her a lot and our talks. She was very peaceful at the end and just simply stopped breathing. I will get back to life and this blog soon. xo.

A Very Sad Day...

... as my mother lingers near death in a hospital in Parkersburg, West Virginia, so far from here. I am not going to say anymore at this time on that. I do have a big headache from crying which began as soon as I found out yesterday morning. She has had lung cancer (DAMN! DAMN! CIGARETTES! ) but still this is all very sudden so the poem I posted the other day by Auden " Stop All the Clocks " ends up being prophetic, sad and oddly comforting.

Little drawings that I like to make and include when sending cards. They are very small maybe less than 5 inches overall and are meant to be a happy inclusion in greeting cards. I have a new camera now and promised Andrea at lunch today that I would get it out of the box tonight so off I go to do just that! Me - with new technology that has not hidden in a box in my closet for years until it is old technology! Amazing! Off to new explorations! Lois

W. H. Auden


Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.


I just recently watched the movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral and this poem is recited in it. I love the weighty-ness of it. The sentiment. The heavy grief. The pause in time. I don't know why I am printing it here as usually I am a pretty happy person but I can appreciate this poem. It also seems appropriate on a gray winter's day here especially when we have not seen sun for many days!