a bit of snow

We got maybe two inches of snow last night. Nothing to rival the BIG SNOW in December, of course. This snow is light and fluffy. Looks lovely and is easy to sweep off sidewalks and cars. This is my favorite kind of snow and no doubt many adults would agree with me. Kids and other sledders and skiers no doubt preferred the other storm. Anyway, I took a few photos of the back deck and trees by the stream and a couple out front. As you can see, it's a beautiful sunny day with blue skies. It didn't even feel very cold outside, probably because there wasn't much wind. It's supposed to get

even colder with more wind, so I'll be glad to be inside today.

Finally saw photos on Kate's blog http://www.katelnorth.blogspot.com/ Didn't look as if they got much snow, but it was still coming down when she took those photos on Wednesday. Anyway, the kids were thrilled.

Brrrrrr

Another cold, windy day. At least the sun is shining. I will be inside mostly - at the hospital gift shop. Wouldn't want to be outside. Yesterday, I actually braved the cold and took down the outdoor lights and other decorations. (At the moment, I have piles of lights and extension cords in my living room). Luckily I didn't have to be outside for long. The fake poinsettias stuck in the flower beds and pots will have to wait for a warmer day. They are frozen into the ground!

Yesterday, I submitted one of my masks to be hung in a show at Montpelier Arts Center. It had to be in a shadow box and this requirement caused some problems. I found a box, half price at Michaels, but the little thingy on the back was not secure enough for hanging the box and mask on the wall. I finally put screw eyes on each side of the box with a wire between them. It was tricky because the frame is very narrow, but I trust that it will hold. The reception is January 15. Hopefully, some of my friends will attend. Another friend, Lynne, has also submitted something - a photograph. This show is an 'all hung' which means that everything submitted yesterday will be hung. It's mostly paintings and photographs, of course. It's really neat to have a work of mine actually on display. Once the display is open, I'll post a photo of me standing near the mask.

a bargain

I don't usually shop in WalMart, but yesterday I was there getting a prescription filled and had to wait 30 minutes for it, so I wandered around the store. (Generic drugs are very cheap at WalMart and it's much faster than the mail order service from 'the Blues.') Anyway, I stumbled across the fabric department and found fat quarters for only $1.00!! I suppose the quality of the fabric isn't the best (made in China), but for my purposes, it will be fine. Always fun to find a bargain.



The other photos show some of my latest ceramic pieces. I'm not happy with most of the glazes offered at the Columbia studio. The blue and brown combination is a good one, but the greens are not what I want. I think I will concentrate on masks and suchlike, rather than actual bowls and vases for a while. I made two masks yesterday, but they will have to dry and be cleaned up a bit and then be fired and glazed and fired again, so it will be weeks before I can show them.


Another cold day, today. I know it is winter and we should expect cold weather, but I really want to get my outdoor Christmas decorations down and packed away. The wind is still blowing a good deal, as I can see from watching my decorative flags, flapping and swirling around. I am SO GLAD that I bought a nice warm winter coat in December. It's been wonderful, especially as the heater in my car takes far too long to produce heat. Frequently, I am at my destination by the time there is heat. Today, I will wear not only my warm coat, but also my new boots. My feet are always cold, it seems. Today, I think I will be warm in the car!

Irresistible

I should know better than to go shopping when the after Christmas sales are on. Who can resist items that are 50 or 70 percent off? Not me! I had to get a new battery for my wrist watch, so I went to Penneys where I bought the watch. They couldn't do it right away, so the clerk asked me to come back in an hour. Could I spend an hour in the mall? Silly question! I needed new snow boots because the ones I wore in England for three weeks had developed splits in the fabric. (They are at least 10 years old.) I had patched them with duct tape (wonderful stuff), but the result is rather odd looking. Anyway, there wasn't much choice in snow boots, since we did have a huge snow before Christmas, but I'm not fussy about boots, so I found a pair, marked down from $100 to just $34! I LOVE bargains! Then I went wandering around the mall, poking into stores I never shop at - Ann Taylor, Chico's, Lord and Taylor's - and checking out all the bargains in the less expensive department stores. I resisted pretty well, until I hit the sales at Macy's. I ended up with slacks and zippered top in a lovely dark blue-grey. Here's the funny thing: they are advertised as being slimming, especially in the stomach. What they have is a stretch panel all around the waist. It looks just like the maternity trousers we used to wear about 40 years ago! No kidding! Luckily the top covers that panel. They are very comfortable, but I can't see that my stomach looks any flatter. Oh well, that's not really important these days. They were a bargain and I'll enjoy wearing them.

After I picked up my watch, I could have gone on home, but I needed to return a book to Target, which just happens to be in the same shopping center as JoAnn's. Need I say more? All Christmas stuff was on sale at 70 percent off. And notions and thread were also on sale - 50 percent off. Oh yes, and I stopped at Michael's along the way and picked up a few items there as well. In my house, after the holidays, I display black and white pottery and decorative items in silver. It's a nice change from all that green and red. So I got a few silver leafy stalks and some birdhouses for inside use only. And, I bought buttons and thread for future projects, like the ATC swap I'm participating in this year.

change of plans

I was all dressed up for church (not that I really dress up for anything these days), planning to have lunch with friends at the Mall and do some shopping afterwards. I went outside and guess what? my car wouldn't start. Actually, I had a bit of trouble starting it yesterday, but then it ran fine, so I didn't think anything about it. Today - dead battery. That battery is the original - 9 years old! I can't complain that I didn't get my money's worth from it! I called AAA and they are here now, replacing the battery. I am missing church, but I can still get all my errands done, assuming that the only problem is the battery. I'll soon find out. The AAA guy has closed up the hood and is in his truck, hopefully he is writing up the bill. Yep! All is well. I'm off to run errands.

London Lights

Bakery windows.

Department store window, with Kate and Alex hurrying past.

Lights, high about the streets.

Here are some photos of the lights in London, after Christmas. Only a couple of the stores still had Christmas window displays, which was disappointing. However, we did get a few pictures. We walked all along two main shopping streets (Bond St. and another), then into SoHo, to Trefalger Square to see the Christmas tree and into Chinatown, where my camera quit. Kate has some good photos of the street decorations in Chinatown, probably not yet available in flickr.

another book review

I was just re-reading my last blog and decided that I should say something more about Mary Wesley's books. They aren't full of sex scenes, like many modern romances. Her books aren't romances at all. The characters are mostly not particularly pleasant or beautiful. Many unpleasant things happen, although the two I read did have 'happy endings'. (I find enough unpleasant stories in the newspapers, so when I read for pleasure, I want happy endings.) Anyway, I will read more Mary Wesley books the next time I go to Kate's.

Here is a book that I took with me and read on the plane coming home. The trip was VERY LONG and boring. I read three books - two of which were good and one which will be discarded (to thrift store), as it was really stupid. The best one is called 'The Wedding Officer' by Anthony Capella. It wasn't at all what I expected from the title. (I thought it was just another romance.) It is a romance, or rather it has a romance at the center of it, but it is much more. Takes place in Italy during WWII. As far as I could tell, the author did a lot of research and included many events that were true. I highly recommend it. Not always pleasant reading, but the kind you want to just keep on reading and not put down.

Ok, enough about books. I got home last night at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time, after a long flight, with many delays and irritations. My carry-on luggage was searched before I could board the plane. The lines for that were very long and slow. We were only allowed one carry-on, but at least the airline didn't charge me for the second bag to be checked through. None of my stuff was damaged or stolen and my luggage arrived at the same airport and same time as I did. So I guess it was a pretty good flight. However, US Airways does NOT impress me as an airline. They seemed rather disorganized, although some of the problems were not their fault.

I was exhausted when I got home, as my body was saying it was 2 AM and I had been awake for 19 hours. I walked in the door, dropped the suitcases in the living room and went to bed! This morning, I did manage to sleep until 5:30, so I had enough sleep. However, I am getting tired already (at 8 AM), so I know that by late afternoon, I will crash again. It always takes me three or four days to recover from the return flight.

We still have snow on the ground! I was amazed to see it. Of course, my deck never gets any direct sun in the winter. The front yard is snow-free. My Christmas lights outside are still working just fine. I would like to get them down this weekend, but that will depend on the weather.

Today, I may do some laundry (I have tons to do) and am meeting a friend for lunch. That's all I expect to get done. At least the post office is closed, so I cannot pick up my mail. I will have a huge pile of mail, but at least some of it will be enjoyable - Christmas cards!