The New Year

So begins another chapter, a fresh start, a clean slate, a journey that begins without completion in sight. Happy New Year all. I have not made any firm resolutions. In the abstract sense, I am still thinking of what I would like to accomplish. I have much to be grateful for and many things that I feel are blessings in my life. I am not going to list them here but trust me, this next year promises some exploration into uncharted territory on my part and a nesting with family as we approach a few milestones in 2012.

"I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind."
Neil Gaiman

Jake and his energy drink in a fancy glass.

Thinking of all of you and wishing for you all that you dream and hope for in the coming year! xo

Stringing Beads

Multi strand necklace with my hand finished cones. 

Today I spent the morning in the studio making a few things for the shop, trying to fill up spaces emptied by holiday shoppers. Before I leave for the Tucson shows, I am trying to get the shop all readied and filled in. No empty spaces when I leave town!

After all the Christmas gifts were opened....

..... Jacob had me cover my eyes and Phil brought in my final package from the garage work bench. He and Jacob had made a shadow box with pictures of my beloved Regina dog along with her collar, tags and leash. As they placed it in my hands and I opened my eyes, I could not help but crying. I loved that girl so much! Honestly, with all the love they placed in the making of it and the box containing pictures of Regina so close in my heart, it was the best Christmas gift ever. I do not think the two of them have ever made anything for me before. I feel so loved and embraced by my family.

Jesse spent the morning with us watching us open gifts and sharing breakfast. She is so old now and even as I cried over Regina's shadow box, I know that Jesse will probably not make it to next Christmas. That knowledge made the day even more bittersweet.

With some of the highest tides of the year today and with the wind blowing in a westerly direction, we thought a drive to the beach would be fun. All of us love the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and hearing the wind in the trees. North Beach is Phil's favorite beach and Jake was especially excited because I let him wear his new pajama pants into town.

Clowning around early in the day in the living room, I took photos of Jacob to send to Michael so that he could see just how tall his little brother has become. Before we know it, he will be driving, then off to college.

As for me, I spent part of the day nursing my bruised foot. Jacob in all his excitement to present me with Regina's shadowbox, stomped on my foot and left a sizable bruise if not a broken bone. Here it is just beginning its' color change. I could not get upset though, he was that excited and that full of love!

Finally, I will leave for the evening and close with a picture of the Olympic Mountains and how they looked this morning around 8:30, partially clear with thick clouds hovering in the valleys and foothills.

I am truly grateful for everything tonight. For my friends and family, for my shops and for work  that lets me do what I love. I feel blessed to be loved and to give love. As December wraps up for a close, and 2011 is nearing an end, I say thank you, thank you, thank you and may you enjoy all the blessings of the season and look forward to a spectacular new year.

I tried to add snow to this blog with a widget but somewhere; like much of the snow not happening in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, it is lost. I want snow. I miss snow. I love feeling snuggled into the house as snow falls all around. I work on projects in the studio and a strong desire to bake and make soup comes over me. Maybe before winter is over, I will figure out the snow on this blog but in the meantime, I am just going to dream of all that white stuff!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is all around me. The stockings are hung, the tree decorated, gifts have mysteriously shown up on the tree skirt in the last few days and I am relaxing in the living room. The shopping is done both for my family and customers, as we closed up shop today around three. I am astounded by how comfortable everything feels right now and how very contented I am. In a few days things will change and once again I will be busy making things and getting ready for the big Tucson show. But for this moment, this space in time, this quiet Christmas Eve, I just want to say how much everyone has come to mean to me and how blessed I feel in your friendship, my family, my community, my career, my shop. May this season of peace bring you a season of love and comfort. Much love.

Christmas Eve Sky.

The tree. Mmm, the house smells great! 

Daisy and tree. 

Jake and dad in a quiet moment of companionship

Solstice!

Today is the winter solstice and we celebrated with a little party at my home. Did I manage to take any pictures? Of course not. I was having too much fun! Laughing, talking, telling stories and eating. Sometimes it is just nice to gather and have time to sit and talk. Thank you Yvonne for the sparkling wine, even though you were not here and thank you Phil, for my favorite white zin. What great company everyone was. I am grateful for the light we brought into the solstice evening. 

A customer walked into the shop the other Saturday evening carrying this little silver tree and I almost jumped on her; I loved it at first sight. She had just purchased it down the street in a consignment shop and offered to trade it to me for beads. That sounded like a great idea to me so now the little tree rests in my living room all ready for the holiday! When Michelle came into the house this evening the first thing she said was how she always wanted a silver tree. Great minds think alike.

I also spent some time working for Gina in her candy shop this week, too. A nice but dangerous change of pace from the bead store. Dangerous, you say? Yes, I say because candy and chocolate are my downfall. I am powerless in its wake. I surrender to it constantly even when I shouldn't. But it IS the holidays I tell myself. So while I wait for Christmas to arrive on this solstice evening, I will look at my little sparkly silver tree and think of chocolate kisses. 

This Time

This time of the year, I give myself free time. The few days before Christmas and the week after, I do not rush around the studio making things or writing orders or doing paperwork. I let myself have time to linger with customers at the shop, having conversations and remarking about holiday plans. I also take the time to finish up little things that during the normal course of days, I do not have the time to do. So today, I worked on Christmas cards and finished them!

Christmas greetings.

Then, after the red and green note writing in the cards, I worked on my journals. I have been keeping a combination of journal- scrapbooks since high school. Too many years and books to count. So today I collected up everything I had saved to put in them, clippings of obituaries, birthday cards, horoscopes, pretty postcards and pasted them all in the journals along with little comments and memories. I don't think I have allowed myself the sheer luxury of doing this since at least March. My fist posting was the sympathy card Marlene sent me when my beloved Regina dog died. It is amazing to me the things I have saved since then that documented my days and therefore my life.

Journals on my desk top.

Now, this evening I feel accomplished and contented that this things are done. The holiday cards written and mailed, the journals all up to date. Next we will see about finishing some of the things I began in the last few months that are fun. No other purpose than just for me because it was and is fun.