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First Day Of School

Hi, Folks! Sorry I went AWOL for a while there. It turns out it's been as much work to depart from summer as it was to enter it. School started 2 weeks ago, and getting up at 6:30 instead of 8 has been kickin' my tail. The only way I know to survive it well has been to take any gaps in my schedule where I would normally draw or paint, and SLEEP. Along with this shift, I've had occasion for a lot of baking and hostessing lately, which I did enjoy. However, I think things are going back to "normal", so I'm considering how I can work some visual creativity back into my schedule. Thanks for hanging in there with me through all the ebb and flow this year has brought.

eye dilation

I had to get my eyes dilated last week. What a traumatic thing for an eyeball to go through!

I wore two pairs of sunglasses to the airport to pick up Adrienne & Bentley
later that afternoon, and I could hardly focus on anything within three feet
for most of the day. Since then, I regularly find myself feeling surprised
at how clear things look. I guess it's a good reminder of one more thing to be thankful for.

martha stewart made my day

Today we had a little boy birthday party for Elliott.
He's been looking forward to this all summer, since the girls
have happily shared all their birthday lore with him and
hosted many a pretend birthday party. It was so cute to catch
his smile while everyone was singing Happy Birthday to him --
he recognized that this was the moment he'd been waiting for.
Fortunately for me, I found Martha Stewart's Monkey-Party-in-a-box
on clearance 5 months ago, so all I had to do was send out the
monkey invitations and put out the monkey cups.
Of course, I couldn't pass up making these monkey cupcakes
from the February edition of Martha Stewart magazine.
I adapted mine a little, using marzipan (which I love) instead of fondant
for the face shapes. Now, how fun is that?

miniature road trip

Howdy again! This week has been packed to the gills, so to speak.
Is that even an expression? I can't think of anything with gills that
"packs". Fish have gills. They don't pack. They might be stuffed, though,
if they ate too much pond scum. Stuffed to the gills? Sure. That.
Anyway, Elliott's birthday is Saturday, so I've been baking like a fiend.
School started Monday -- I'll post soon on how summer went --
and Adrienne's here from Michigan (yay!). Busy & wonderful days these are.

i heart stripey fingerless mittens

I don't know if you all remember that two-week stint in June
when I was too sick to get out of bed but well enough to
watch lots of cooking and crafting shows. I had
just found the instructions for these adorable items in a
Martha Stewart magazine, so I started in on them during my
recovery phase and just finished them today. I thought they
would be mine for winter, but they were quickly adopted by
my daughter! I like them -- maybe I'll make another
pair that go higher up the arm for myself.

38. find old photos of yourself and draw them.

This is me at a volleyball awards ceremony when I was 12.
I had the biggest glasses ever, complete with
a little golden heart sticker in the corner!
And yes, my arms really were (and still are) that long!!

This is me at 4. Looks like I already had scoliosis, judging
from the collar hanging lower on my left shoulder.
It's fun to see my son in the squinty smile and face shape
and my daughter in the posture of these early photos.

37. get more people in your life (draw them).

This is Liz. She's not the newest person in my life,

but she entered the scene less than a year ago.
And I'm sure glad she did. Hi, Liz!!

count your blessings

It's been so hot around here lately that I often find myself

lagging into a state of grouchy hostility. I've been realizing

lately just how good I have it, though, so today I decided

to thank God for the goodness. Here's just a little sampling

of things I'm grateful for, some of them answers to prayer.

and here's the finished product.