cornmeal pancakes

Yesterday we celebrated being snowed in with a lazy brunch. We made eggs and sausage (both from our land) and cornmeal pancakes. We had some friends brave the snowdrifts to share the meal. And then we watched as the neighborhood sledded down our driveway. So far the Farmer's Almanac's prediction for a very wintery winter here has been accurate. I wish it were this way every winter!Pancake recipe from my Mom:
And Lil, licking the last sausage grease from her finger:

blizzard #2

I was supposed to be leaving in the morning to pick up my dear friend Caren at the airport in Charlotte... however a big blizzard is sweeping over us and it would be impossible for her to get here. There is absolutely no way we are leaving for at least a day or two, and realistically probably more than that. We already have 9" of snow and it will be snowing most of the night and tomorrow.

It can be so hard to accept change when it isn't the type of change you were hoping for...

I want the snow~ I love snowstorms... I was just so looking forward to being in the company of my childhood friend. I am taking this as a grand sign that she is supposed to come after the baby is born.

On a happier note, today was my niece Nim's 9th birthday. We had a snowy pizza party right next door. Homemade ice cream cake, presents, and a dance party in which we all did the hokey pokey (no joke). The dance party also included some Michael Jackson and a lot of top-40 music and Miley Cyrus.

Here is Lili right after she got her boots on (wrong feet) and ran outside to revel in the first snowflakes of our blizzard:

sweet mess

new 4"x4" s

I just got through updating the shop with some of my newer 4"x4" chunky collage/paintings. Well, this is a quick post as I am off to cut some pendant images.
Cheers!

scenes from the workdesk today

I am excited to share an interview that Courtney from the blog "Green and Pretty" did with me. Her blog is really wonderful ~ full of inspiring designs and fun things. Please check it out! ♥

sick

Lili is feeling very poorly today. It seemed like just a cold this morning, but it progressively got worse. I made the wise choice to cancel going to her Kindermusik class this morning, but then I dragged her to town with me to do errands anyway. I was thinking: just a few places and then we will be home. I had an art piece I had promised would go in the mail, and something to drop off for a friend, and I decided to go to the co-op and get some herbs to make a cough syrup for her. As she was patiently waiting in the cart in the bulk herb section as I filled the little bags with the herbs she went downhill. It was as if her cough and snot and droopy eyes quadrupled in seconds. And although the strangers and the bulk herb lady all were very kindly to us~ I couldn't help but feel like the villain in the situation. What sort of mother would bring her sickly child out like this and expose us all to that nasty whatever she has??? You know?But we had driven 45 mins to town already, so I felt obligated to do the bare bones of my errands... So I bribed her with a bag of pirate booty corn puffs to make it through the P.O line. Her face was covered in crumbs and she was swaying as she stood up, but she made it. On the way home though I could tell she felt even worse. She would cough, then let out a sob, and then say in a very distraught high-pitched whine, "I have booooooooooogers!" over and over again..And now she fitfully sleeping after snotting, and drooling, and running a small fever, and generally being miserable the rest of the day.

I feel like I have some apologies in order:
Sorry to anyone we shared germs with today.
Sorry to my poor sick baby... Looking back I probably should have never left the house.

After all that, the one good thing I did do was make this cough syrup for the little one. I hope she feels better soon.

new 4"x4"

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -Martin Luther King, JR.

monkey bread

This is the 2nd Sunday in a row that Alex has made monkey bread for a brunchy, go-with-a-hot-drink treat. The recipe was inspired by Amy from the Angry Chicken blog making it here. Today is a rainy, stay inside type of day. Perfect for this sort of thing...mmmmm...
also:
Alex is watching football.
I took a sugar induced nap.
We are doing laundry.
I am cutting out images to make more pendants.
Making a grocery list for tomorrow.
We are playing blocks, and we are reading children's books.
We don't even need to make dinner since we can eat chili leftovers.
♥

33 weeks with baby brother

i had a little sad day today.
probably a lot to do with Haiti and the general underlying knowledge that so many people at once are feeling scared and hurt and in pain. and yet my day here went on as normal.
sad that i feel so close in some ways to having this baby, and yet feel so unprepared. having not started to do yoga to prepare for the birth. no raspberry leaf tea every single day like i did with lili. no little onesies and diapers all folded cutely yet. not even the beginnings of a tidy and organized bedroom to fit our new family.

there is lots of guilt though... which is a terrible and cliche way to start of being the mother of two children...

i did leave alex to do the bedtime routine with lili tonight, and i got together with my girlfriends. and i do feel a little lighter now thanks to them.
it is the close of this day, and tomorrow is a new day.

a painting a day...

keeps the mind at bay? the boogieman away? or for that, hooray!?

rosy finch

rosy finch
4" x 4" x1.5"

new year

stir crazy moments

1. we made our holiday sugar cookies after the new year. they looked like valentines because all we had were red and pink sprinkles. aside from the few moments where my patience level was very thin and i had to remind myself that we were having fun (lili totally was...) it WAS fun. letting a two-year-old help make cookies is a lesson in letting go of control i found out. who knew i needed that lesson?
2. making this creamy cauliflower soup. yum.
3. making lists of things i want to get done before the baby comes.
   
4. making tea with my new beautiful orange teapot.
   
5. taking naps with lili every afternoon. i tell myself i am just going to put her to sleep and then i never get up. it is wonderful.
6. finishing this book.
   
7. going outside only to feed the chickens the compost scraps. brrrrr.
   
8. painting with lili. (need to get some heavier duty paper as she bores holes in the middle of her paintings with the amount of water she slops on.)
9. welcoming the carmonas home after two weeks of being alone on the homestead!
10. waffling between feeling trapped and stir crazy with the little one to feeling warm, cozy, and crafty inside our tiny house.
    

trades!

An exciting benefit of being in art/craft shows has been trading with other artists. I still feel a bit shy about asking someone lest they don't like what I make and feel awkward, but every time someone has asked me it has been really fun. There probably will come a time when I don't want to trade, and then I don't know what I will say... I guess I will cross that bridge when it comes... But for now I am loving this new perk to being an artist.

Here are some of the talented artists and similar wears that I have received in the past few months. Some of the items I kept for myself, and some I traded for Christmas presents.

Every time I wear the earrings that Betsy from Foundling made someone comments on them. They are so fun!

Foundling

I traded a super sweet little bomber hat for my newest tiny friend Jude who was born in November.
(I have one saved for our little baby too!)
Overlap Studios
Rachael was my neighbor at the big crafty. She had beautiful, bold, handmade hats and scarves.
Softspoken

Audrey was my other neighbor at the Big Crafty. I am in love with ALL of her work. It is elegant, and creative, and wonderfully crafted.
Audrey Laine Collection

I didn't actually trade, but rather won in the Big Crafty Raffle, a gorgeous metal belt buckle from Wingo. It was a very lucky day! I reluctantly gave it to my Mom as a present :)
Wingo Designs

And lastly, I traded a beautiful Victorian-style scarflette with Katrina from The Little Kiss to give to my sister-in-law Ema. It was made with soft organic cotton, and it looks lovely on.
The Little Kiss

drawing on a cold january day...

her new kitchen

...that Santa and Daddy made together.
(p.s. ~ Happy 2010!)