Who's Side Are You On?

A while ago, Molly posted about her bedside reading. I love those kind of intimate daily glimpses that people afford through their blogs. Yesterday, an unexpected snow day, offered a slower paced morning than usual and I had time for a few captures of our morning. First, the two nightstands. This view always cracks me up because I used to think that I was the intellectual of our pairing. Ha. Take a look at our bedstand reading, completely unedited and you tell me, who's the deeper thinker? There's also a pile under the bed along similar lines.

Hers:



and His (the book on the top left is The Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire. Just some light bedtime reading:

And one of the other brother

I also painted Max's portrait. Which means I have one more little boy portrait to go. I have to take a portrait breather now, though, and do a still life. I'm thinking about Bonne Maman Quatre Fruits or maybe the illy container. Two of my other loves.

Portrait of a Portrait

I find portraits intriguing, in most any medium.  I don't read Vanity Fair very often anymore, but I always like their portrait features.  Here's one that I scored at an antique shop in Reynoldsville, PA a few years back. That shop is probably gone by now, but it was one of my favorite type of antique shop. Dusty, cavernous, filled with really good stuff and very well priced.  I think I picked up this portrait for $12.  Thanks to trusty Google and the amazing internet, I fairly quickly learned that this painting came from the art dealer Willibald Ulbing in Vienna on Schottenfeldg. 61.  I also learned that a Viennese resident Mr. Willibald Ulbing died at 87 years old in 2007.  He might be one and the same.   

And here's a portrait I recently painted of my son.  

OK, some Crafty Goods Already

Well, it's snowing, it's cold and I haven't had as much time out in my little grey cottage lately. Plus, it doubled as Santa's Workshop and that Santa sure leaves a mess.

I'm not big on giving handmade gifts.  I used to be, but it can be a giant let down for both giver and receiver if receiver really just wanted a gift card or a wii game.  Verbatim from our holiday.

Scene:  Jill sitting in chair knitting away on a striped scarf.  Minding my own business while everyone else just sat there and watched tv. Ahem.

John:  What are you making?

Jill:  Oh, a scarf.

John:  Why... so you can just go right over and give it to the Goodwill?  [self-congratulatory chuckle here]

Yes, hilarious.

Anyway, some knits...

The red scarf is a 1x1 rib with manos, kid silk haze and some heavier mohair together in three shades of red (as my son would say, dang, that red is hard to shoot.)

The mittens have been shown before, I believe.  I plundered the stash for some worsted weight Colinette which was once destined to be part of some hideous blanket.  They've gotten a lot of use so far.  Someone wrote that people complain that mittens are hard to drive in.  Her response:  drive less. I have to wonder what you're driving that's so tricky with mittens.  The space shuttle, I'll give you, but they work fine in a mini van.

I sewed the third scarf.  It's just a skein of Colinette Point Five with a few lines across every few inches.  It makes a very lightweight scarf from a heavy yarn.  Plus, it's a scarf in an hour and how can you beat that?  

The fuschia/blue/purple one is a  mistake stitch rib from Noro Kureyon.  It's a bit short, a bit itchy but so well loved by the third grade knitting club. They gasped when they saw it. Erica, Moena and Mai -- the three Japanese girls in the class -- were allowed to try it on first, since Kureyon is made in Japan. I'd like to think my knitting wowed them, but let's be honest, it's kind of a third grade color scheme.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Still Here!

Hello out there. I'm still here.

I got a little sucked into the holiday vortex and then fell off the blogging wagon.

Also, I'm feeling somewhat vulnerable lately and sort of pulled back from my "exposure" on the Internet.

First, I lost my camera on December 19th. Actually, I'm pretty sure that it was stolen. I had it at school shooting my son's third grade "wax museum" then went to lunch with some friends. I distinctly remember taking it out of my bag to lighten my load before lunch. Later in the day, I wanted to upload my photos and my camera was not in the car. I searched EVERYWHERE and I am pretty convinced that someone took it out of the car. It is very possible that I left the doors unlocked. I don't usually do that, but it might have happened. Anyway, I had not camera for the entire holiday, including our Christmas Eve party, Christmas morning, the 25th-27th at Mark's grandparents with his side of the family and our family trip to Florida with my side from the 28th to the 2nd. I hesitated to get a new camera until I checked to make sure I hadn't left it at school. Oh, I also missed photographing two snow storms, which I always find so beautiful and interesting. Anyway, it actually was a wonderful Christmas, but I have not blogged because it makes me miss my camera. Sounds kind of silly.

This week, we decided to bite the bullet and get another camera. I upgraded to the Nikon D50. I can't wait. See, there's always a silver lining. I was a Canon girl, but after digging deeply into various camera reviews, I have decided to go with the D90. I also plan to sign up for a photography class at the local arts center, just to add to my artistic pursuits. Really, I think my ideal job is student!

Oh, and the other cyber violation: ebay. I rarely get anything on ebay these days but I have been on the lookout for a used toy vacuum (they're surprisingly pricey) for my little guy. I often prefer used toys for little ones, as the kids don't know the difference and it seems so wasteful to buy new ones when they rarely wear out. Anyway, I started wondering why I hadn't gotten an email either way concerning the vacuum auction when I discovered a list of about 25 items that apparently, I was due to ship out. Oh, when I logged on to ebay, my home page came up as ebay singapore. First sign of trouble. Someone had hacked my account and began fraudulently selling items under my name about two weeks ago (mostly photoshop). I *think* ebay solved the problem, but I feel like I know that it was really their customer service to begin with.

Well, in any event. My identity has been stolen, or at least borrowed, and I feel I feel really unsettled, to say the least. I just wonder how far it will go.

I'm not here to dwell. I feel so hopeful for 09 and can't wait for the inauguration. New pics to come soon. I have quite a few projects to post. I had to slow down on the bread baking. Doesn't mix well with my desired pants size.

Thanks, Molly, for the comment. I still want to do a creative exchange. Really, I'm back!

Holidaze

I had grand plans to finish all my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving this year. Yeah, you're right. I'm just not that kind of girl. There are so many things I would like to do for the holidays and yet, I just don't feel like I have the time. I was thrown this weekend due to a fall on Friday (yes, I am getting old). I fell in a parking lot while carrying my 21-month-old son. No, not wearing heels or anything, just walking down a slight hill on my way to a bakery of all places. Somehow I fell and managed to save Jack from harm but scrapped up both my knees, ripped my pants and sprained my ankle. Yes, our weekend plans changed from dinner in the city with old friends to a movie at the local multiplex and a few hours at Barnes & Noble (one of our favorite date nights). Actually, we had a great time, but it has slowed me down.

Anyway, I've been scurrying around in my little grey cottage making holiday preparations. I don't do too many handmade gifts because, sadly, I've found many of those on my list just aren't that into them. Well, to each his/her own. I will persist however, in making some tokens, and hope they are well-loved or at least, liked.

Another round of book bags. Pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. I like her proportions and construction. I think those will pair with some pashminas I got in the city and perhaps a book in each from the aforementioned Barnes & Noble trip.

Some mittens for moi. Only one pictured, the other one does not have a pink thumb. Just because.


I did finish my portrait of one of my sons last week. I will have to take a picture and post it next week. I couldn't save that one until Christmas.

First snowfall today. Of course, I dashed out to capture that perfect snowy-Christmas-card photo. Not quite!


Tomorrow when everyone's back to school (I had a sick child home for all of last week too), I'm going to put up the wreaths and the outdoor lights. I think I'd like to surprise everyone with a little holiday magic. I have grand plans for another tree outside, but we'll see if it works out in real life to be as glorious as it is in my head.

Weird Habits

I had to laugh today when I realized I was uploading 26 bread shots into my iphoto library. Is this weird? Yes. Would I have done such a thing in the days of film? Probably not. Actually, even if I took said shots in those days, I wouldn't have printed, scanned them and posted them online. Too much trouble. I guess that's why everyone shoots everything these days. Weird? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely.