Starry Night...

Vincent Van Gogh - Starry Starry Night...

Walker, singing "Vincent" and playing guitar. He performed this at school at a recital. He was a little evasive about playing for me, but agreed to it. It made me cry. He said he hoped he made other people cry in the audience too...

Made my day!

The Twelfth Day of Christmas...

The Twelfth Day of Christmas - January 6. I think its time to take down the rest of the Holiday decorations and pack stuff away in the attic for next year. I still have a December Journal to finish up, but mostly it is time to turn my attention to other things.

I spent the day with Wyatt, and a little time with Tori too. Came home and made my Enchilada Casserole - comfort food at its best! Long time after dinner, in front of the fire, we roasted a few marshmallows...talk about a big bite of childhood! ummmmm! The fire was so hot it only took a few seconds before they started to smoke and swell. We didn't even need the graham crackers and Hershey bars...

Even though Christmas is over, I am still enjoying my gifts.
All the above books were gifts I bought with Amazon gift cards. Thank you! You know who you are! I'm reading the Marisa de los Santos book now. Very good, almost as good as marshmallows.

and I'm continuing with my "Jump Start" online class. The last couple haven't been "how-to's" but rather messages of inspiration, so I don't really have anything to show for them. But the above I made from Day 2, a blogger from Spain! She made ATG's out of toilet paper! She had some tools I don't have, but I figured out a way to do it with what I have on hand. It consists of tp, a rubber stamp (the fern), glimmer mist, clear embossing powder, and my own words and image (the words came from a copy of Treasure Island that I am recycling). I don't know if I'll ever do any more like this, but it was fun and interesting to do.

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I achieved my goal of posting every day in December, through January 6. Sometimes it was hard to come up with something blog-worthy. I hope my future posts will have lots more art and projects as that is what I am really burning to do right now.

The eleventh day of Christmas...

Random posting of random events in my life...never a dull moment.

Have you ever seen the Weinermobile in person? I did! I was sitting in my office, behind my bulletproof glass window, and what should drive by in the parking lot next door? (The Twin Star CU parking lot). Yes! The Weinermobile! What was it doing there? Was it lost? Is there a convention in town? It made me hungry for a nice grilled hot dog with mustard!!!

Rainier has three restaurants. This is one of them. I ate lunch here with Vicki today. Philly Cheese steak Sandwiches. Delicious! I could only eat half of mine.

I gave the other half to Walker - he remembered that Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches are one thing they do make well at the school cafeteria!

Vicki gave me these wineglasses. She made them. Aren't they great? The stems are glass candle holders; the cups are mason jars. Walker and I had a Cranberry juice toast with them. We loved the feel and the heft of the glasses. Walker especially liked the one with the measure on the side, so you can keep track of how much you drink! Thanks Vicki! Unique and adorable!

And I made a dramatic change in my outward appearance today. Lightened up and foiled. I'm still getting used to it, but my 9 year old granddaughter LOVES it! I haven't heard any negative responses yet. I'm just shocked when I look in the mirror! I'm very fragile. Don't say anything bad!

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Did you do anything dramatic or random today?

P.S. See my new BLOG LOOK? I love it! a surprise from my daughter.

The Tenth Day of Christmas

Wandering around Hillsdale campus...

at night...
during football season...

The football bus - excuse me, its a "coach",

equipped with movie screens...very comfy.

I don't think this is Hillsdale, it must be at one of the away games.

Walker's neighborhood - one block from school.

Nothing but deciduous trees.

College Baptist - W likes to attend.

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I've really enjoyed getting to see pictures of some of these things I've only heard about. I also like to get pictures like this in more than one place, just in case.

Ninth Day of Christmas

Just sharing stuff: A peek at Walker's apartment building in Michigan...

His apartment is upstairs.

In the winter...
The back of it in the Spring...

bicycles...

The second installment in my "Jump Start" on line class was very interesting. Posted by a woman in Spain! She talked a bit (sub-titles, as she spoke in Spanish), showed photos of a family vacation "the North of Spain" on the ocean apparently. Beautiful and colorful. Those were her inspiration for an ATC she demonstrated. Her blog was in Spanish too, but with an English translation alongside. The demo looked promising, starting out with folded tp, but used more tools than I own. Still, I enjoyed it and can't wait to see what tomorrow has to offer.

The Eighth Day of Christmas -

This morning when I checked my e-mail, there was mail from an unknown (but somehow oddly familiar) person. I opened it, and it was for a free on-line class I signed up for in December. If I remember correctly, I'll be getting an e-mail from a different artist every day this month.

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My first (Jump Start #1) was from Dina Wakley http://dinastamps.typepad.com She has a very interesting blog here.

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Today's topic was warmups". "the idea is not to create a masterpiece, but rather to OPEN A CONDUIT TO INSPIRATION".

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So easy! drips and globs of paint on a non-porous surface - dip, drag, or blot a book page or tag into the paper. Let dry - add stamps if desired...

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I did these in just a few minutes and I love them!

Now I want to spend my whole day creating art!

The tags can be cut up (into hearts or designs) and used on a greeting card. or as a tie on tag to a gift, or as a reminder of a fun and easy technique.

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I believe the class is still open!

The Seventh Day of Christmas...

A Happy New Year to you!

The best thing that happened in 2011 was my two grandbabies: Adrielle and Wyatt. They are both so adorable lovable and cute! I have had so much fun with them. Two trips to Minnesota this year! A first, but not a last!

Today was a working day - packing up the ornaments and decorations. a bittersweet time. The living room seems kinda dark now. I'll rearrange stuff tomorrow, and maybe buy a bouquet of red and white flowers. Tomorrow I'll go out and buy myself a nice coffee with my Starbucks gift card and see what the outside world looks like again.