Well hello there! How are you? Fantastic!!! Just want to catch ya'all up a bit on the happenings here in Upstate New York. Spring has finally sprung. Only about 2 weeks ago. Plant life has greened up and fluffed out, flowers have splashed their colors around, and the sun has warmed the place up. Mostly. We went through a few days of 80 degree weather, then down to the 40s. Then up to 80s again, then down to 50s. It is still cold out today, but not as damp as the last 2 days. Maybe things will dry out enough so I can continue my yard work. We shall see. I have been wandering around the house almost daily, seeing what is growing, and thinking about how much yard work I really want to do. I was going to plant a garden this year, but I am going to wait. I want to take care of the yard around the house first. If I can get that down to low maintenance, then I can play in a garden next year. That also gives me a year to compost. The soil here isn't bad, but it could use some help. Cutting back on the 'needs to be weeded all the time' space is my main goal. So, I am cleaning up the left and right sides of the house, putting weed block paper down, and rocking over it. The rocks are free, but I have to drive to one of 2 places to get them, load up clothe bags, and then haul them to my trunk. When I get home it is the same thing, but backwards. Hard work, but worth it. Looks much nicer. Diana's mom started the process when she lived here, but she used edging stones and bark dust. Not a fan of bark dust, since fleas love it. It also puts slivers in my delicate little feet, and that makes me all 'Princess and the Pea' about life. Diana doesn't deserve that. I have been able to start getting out and exploring, an got my hands on a super atlas map of New York! Yeah! I drove to the Adirondacks last weekend- on accident. Really. I was looking for someplace else, got lost, and that was the end result. Had no idea where I had gone wrong until I got this atlas at a really neato general store that was the size of a small planet. Now I am informed and can go to the original destination soon. Yeah for maps! Dora and I have something in common! Diana is officially open for tourist season. We have the sign out now. Picked it up on Friday, and it looks pretty awesome. Soon we will be overrun with people who want to spend their money on high quality, original design jewelry! Three cheers for tourists!

I drove to Rochester yesterday, which is about 2.5 hours south east of Henderson. I drove along the lake because it is way prettier than doing I-81 (the equivalent of I-5 in Washington/Oregon). What a glorious day for it, too! Sunny and 58F. It felt like spring, and was just what my little brain needed. I went to Monroe Community College to see The Sketchbook Project Mobile Library. My friend, Shawn, turned me onto this organization a few years ago, but until this trip, I really didn't 'get it' as much as I could have. I guess I am one of those people who needs to feel something in her hands to truly understand it. Tactile learning anyone? So, this is a mobile library that travels the U.S., sharing sketchbooks made by people from around the world. They can use any medium, do any theme, make them as simple or complex as they want, and then send them in to be shown in that library. Brooklyn is the home of the entire collection, and the mobile trailer showcases only the books from the past year. I spent over 4 hours pouring over creations from all over the world, by people with zero to tons of art skills, in every medium imaginable. It. Was. Amazing. I walked away with a recharged creative battery, and a sketchbook of my own to do that will travel in next years tour. Of course, I want to make everyone I know do one now, too, but most of those people would be to afraid. They would think they were not good enough. But THAT is the beauty of this project. NO ONE is rejected, and NO ONE is judged, and there is always SOMEONE who will see what you have done and be inspired/touched/encouraged. I laughed. I cried. I even thought 'WTH???' a few times, but just seeing that anyone was willing to put whatever they wanted into these pages was enough to get respect and attention from me. In one book, the pages were filled with the same pattern, drawn in ink, but done in different colors. One was an elaborate art journal in bright colors and collage. One was a huge fold-out on a handmade paper, with seven continuous line drawings of what that person ate every day for seven days. The ideas were endless. I could go on and on. How this sort of thing makes me feel when I can actually touch it is harder to explain. When I went to Switzerland for the first time as a willing adult, I had the same two feelings. Both were unexpected. The first was a feeling of 'coming home'. This knocked me off my feet, since I had never, in any way, entertained the idea that anywhere but the USA could ever be 'home'. I don't know why I had it. I just felt so comfortable there; like I fit, even though I couldn't speak the language. The second was a feeling of awe that I have never gotten from any thing else except nature. That deep feeling of history; of meaning and life and purpose and stories. I really have no better way to explain it. Touching the side of a 1000 year old church, or hearing the church bells ring in a village that had been ringing for hundreds of years, and thinking, 'How many people, just like me, have stood here and heard this exact same sound or felt this exact same spot on this wall?' The sensation created through touch and sound made a deep connection to history that I had never felt in school, and never would have been able to feel because it is simply not taught. I found a connection through the thought of everyday people, doing everyday things in the same world I was now in. I guess what I found was wonder. Anyhow, I felt this again yesterday. I am going to post a few pictures, but they are flat compared to the 3-d experience I had. However, I encourage all of my reader to check out The Sketchbook Project website. They have great ideas everyone can participate in, and it really is a great organization with a great idea of community art. http://www.sketchbookproject.com/ And now for pictures. Just a couple or three.

Well, what have I been up to? Lessee... Not much, I guess. The weather has been snowy and cold for the most part. And by that I mean 99% of the time. Spring is apparently saying our neck of the woods for last. To busy everywhere else making her presence known. Since she is a big show-off, she will eventually have to mosey our way. So, I wait, like an antsy little kid trapped in that horrible place between after-service and being home. Com'on, Dad! Get the car already and lets get out of here! So, here is a great shot of the first day of spring. Glorious, right? People keep laughing and telling me we can get snow up through Mothers day- like that is even funny! Spring is going to have to put on one helluva speed performance if she keeps putting things off. Just saying. Diana and I have been concentrating on her shop. Here is a picture of the shelving assembled, and filled with pretties. The soft opening is April 20th, and she will open for summer business mid May. Should be fun! Lessee...I am up to the usual shenanigans and tomfoolery. Nothing new or exciting in my life, really. Probably why you don't hear from me much. I should have a burst of posting goodness when spring rears her pretty little head and gives me glorious things to take pictures of. Until then, I give you a picture of a cat. Note how The Queen of All That is Hers (Which is Everything) reclines on her pillow while snuggled up to her favorite heat source; the gas fireplace. No, the pillow doesn't get hot. Yes, she has melted the hair on her tail a few times getting comfy. But only a little.

Nothing much going on.

Not much going on other than wacky weather. Went through a spell of negative numbers, down into the teens. Because I am not used to this, I forgot to leave water running, and we had a small section of pipe freeze. No bursting that we can see. So, instead of a boring update about cats and toe lint, I bring you some cool pics of the freeze. A few shots of the lovely Lake Ontario. Shots were taken after I walked out on it about 30 feet. Guess I can scratch 'Walk on water' off my Bucket List!

This is one of the radiators in Dianas house. I do not know why, but I am in love visually with these things, and take lots of pictures which I do not torture you with. Your welcome.

A few days after my last post we had a warm spell. The snow melted quickly, and it was in the mid 40s to mid 50s for a while. It was strange to see grass again. Today it started snowing, and now it is white and beautiful out. We were not supposed to get an accumulation of the white stuff, but throw a lake into the mix and you never really know what is going to happen. Diana has moved her bedroom upstairs and the shop is taking shape. She has decided to go with her business full time, so her last day at work will be in April. We are working to get a shop/teaching space created and ready to roll by then. It's proving to be a lot of work, but it's gonna look sooooooo nice! Our bathroom is finally finished, as well.

It was ripped up for 5 weeks, and we are still making muppet arms every time we go into the finished space. Having Ugly Bathroom Syndrome sucks! I have decided that this month will be full of crafty goodness and fun. Beth found a great art gift for me. It's a book called "Wreck This Journal" and each page tells you something different you must do to it. I convinced my friend Sandra to get the same one, and we are doing it together and sending the pages to each other. Fun! I have another friend doing a 30 day photo challenge. one picture posted every day of something in the house. Just for fun. It is always fun to see how other view their environment. Not much going on other than that, but I think that is more than enough for the first month of 2013, hmmmm?

Drove along lake Ontario on the way home yesterday, through Henderson Bay so I could snap pictures of the lake frozen over.

My friend Patric is moving to Washington today. Go figure! I took a picnic to him yesterday, and we enjoyed an all to brief visit and goodbye. Gone is he, but forgotten not, hmmmmmm?

With the foot of snow came a ton of photo opportunities! w00t!

Last night, our two old female kitties were hissing and growling at each other over the food dish in the entryway. Diana was telling them to quit it, but Justice (a young and dense little boy cat of 2 years) thought the noises were interesting, and decided to go and check it out. Dianas response to his moving toward danger? "Seriously little man? You are going to get between two women and their food dish???" Priceless!

We recieved 3 or 4 inches of snow from the skys a couple days ago. We are now in the middle of a snow storm, and I can see we have more, it just isn't light enough to see how much or take pictures yet. Here are the ones I took of the first few inches.

Solstice 2012

Had a wonderful, quiet, relaxing and fun Solstice celebration with Diana. We even had snow!

My to-do list has finally dwindled. I have a few more things to get done by January, but everything for this month is done and I plan on leaving the list blank and enjoying the rest of my December. January will be busy enough. And now for a few pictures I too the other day while having morning coffe with Smudge outside on the back steps.