My son, Josh, said they had a massive blizzard in Kentucky...
This reminds me of a similar snowman that was created by my great-grandson, Ollie, who lives in Oklahoma!
I had a nice few hours with daughter, Micah. Adam had the day off so he babysat while we did our grocery shopping. We also stopped at Burger King for a bite to eat and, after shopping, picked up some lunch for Adam and the kids. It was just fun hanging out with my girl and having a chance to visit. Micah said, "It's so quiet!" She's not used to driving anywhere without four kids clammering in the back of the vehicle, lol.
I signed on for the Goodreads Book Challenge. I committed to reading 26 books this year. I see Josh is going to aim for fifty-two! I'll have to give up some online time just to make my goal. (At least, I'll have to give up "binge watching".) But it will be time better spent, I think. My Kindle is stuffed with good books I look forward to getting to, finally.
My young landlord is changing the filter on my furnace, so I'll cut this short. I'm not sure if he's finished or if he's coming back! I guess I'll just stand at attention for a while, lol.
You all have a great week!
Shalom and love from the backwoods.
May God bless you all in 2018!
My New Year's resolution? To read Wind in the Willows again! After looking at my header photo, I just feel this sudden need to read it again. First, I have to find my copy! I think it's on my Kindle, too.
Well, I could go on and on!
My only really important resolution will be to come to know Jesus better and to spend more time looking at Him. It's too easy to get lured into entertaining yourself until the day has sped by. Time spent with Him and being His hands and feet in this world are all that really count in the end. Why is that so difficult? Distraction is one of the enemies most effective tools. Reading the Word and talking to Jesus is the best antidote. I'll try to work on those two areas.
Good night, friends and family. I doubt that I'll stay up until midnight. ;)
Shalom!
I was scanning the offerings on YouTube and this one looked intriguing. I really enjoyed watching how these people live. So simply. This is the kind of work I enjoy. Real work making and growing the things needed for daily life. Not a job that's totally disconnected from real life. I know the winters are probably much harder. I'm not sure what sort of climate they have in winter in this part of Romania.
I loved the lady's little grocery store which supplies the village with all of their shopping needs. And it's interesting to see the jars they are canning fruit in. A very down-to-earth and beautiful culture. I hope you enjoy it!
Here are a few cards I've made in the last couple of days.
These are for the Winter Wonderland swap:
This one was for a private trade.
Here are a few photos of the grands enjoying Christmas morning. They are fun and lovable folks!
Audrey finished decorating her pillow in one sitting!
Adele shared her dollhouse very nicely with Hazel.
The dollhouse has a toilet that makes a flushing noise, AND when you shut off the little purple alarm clock in the bedroom, the two little people get tossed out of the bunk beds! ;)
It's -20 outside, so I'm just hibernating. (What's new?) It's feeling like lunchtime, so I think I'll fix a little something and watch some more documentaries. Woo hoo!
I was innocently scrolling through my email and came across one from Amazon informing me that someone had sent me an Amazon gift card! I'm always suspicious of anything in my inbox offering me something free, but I decided to assume it was real, and it seems that it is, lol. So, I had a little fun ordering some things I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
For some time now I've wanted to try making my own rubber stamps, so I ordered some items to do that. A lady on YouTube recommended using white erasers as the base of my stamps, so I ordered some of those. I also got a set of linoleum cutters for carving the designs and a sepia ink stamp pad. In addition, I ordered a set of dip pens and India ink and 3 bamboo pens in different sizes. These should make a nice addition to my art supply stash.
Here's a quick little video showing how to make stamps out of an eraser. I think the cutting tools I ordered will make it a little safer than using an Exacto knife. I bought some Speedball tools made for cutting stamps.
The dip pens and bamboo pens will allow me to try some different effects with pen and ink.
And here's a quick video of a guy drawing with a bamboo pen. It's pretty much dipping a stick in ink and drawing, lol.
Should be interesting to play around with some new things. Thank you to my generous kids! It was a fun surprise!
It was a beautiful, very cold day. Thank you, Jesus, for being here with me ALL the time.
Hope you're all enjoying this day after Christmas. Shalom, everyone!
I'm about to pack up my sleigh and head over to the kids' place to watch the grands open gifts, and have brunch together. (Well, we're not fancy. It's just a late breakfast, lol.)
It's -20 outside! Brisk!
I was reading in Revelation last night and came upon Rev. 7:13-17 and it yanked me back in time to the late '70's when I sang this (and other Bill Gaither songs) with an older gentleman at my little Boulder Foursquare Church. I was a newly minted Christian at the age of 16. These vocal harmonies were some of my favorites. I love listening to this rendition.
We're getting more snow. Very fine powdery stuff. I think it will slack off and disappear later today. I'm glad to just stay home, do art, read and hibernate.
Here are a few more ATC's I've finished in the last few days. I uploaded about 200 to a Facebook album recently and realized just how fast they pile up! That was an exhausting job, so now I'll try to upload them as I make them.
These were made for the December Pick-a-Theme swap. Each participant asked for a particular theme for their card. I'll write what they requested under the photo.
African grey parrot
whimsical girl with purple hair
a girl and her fox
lady with a fancy hat
The card below was made for an unusual swap. Apparently, a lady, who doesn't swap on our particular website, was recently admitted into a nursing home after having several strokes. Her family was going through her things and found her binders full of ATC's which she had received from other artists over the years. They weren't sure what to do with them (Remember this wasn't HER art. It was from a bunch of strangers, so you can understand that they might not want to keep it.) and they were on the verge of throwing them out. A gal from our ATC trading site caught wind of this and asked if she could have the binders. She thought some others might appreciate the art, rather than throwing it away. So, she's offered 6 of the cards to anyone sending her 1 card with a picture of a mouse on it. Mice are her thing, lol. I made the card below and in return I'll get a little stack of mystery cards. Should be interesting!
And, of course, my favorite mice come from the pen of Beatrix Potter!
Thinking of you all, and wishing you a warm and cozy Christmas!
Shalom and blessings!
When I opened my email this morning and saw such wonderful comments posted by elizabeth, GM and Mags concerning yesterday's post I almost cried! I am so blessed to have so many wise and beautiful friends here! I feel so much better! My daughter and I were discussing the whole housing situation this morning and there are some things coming down the pike that should really be a blessing to all. I'll post about it as things happen.
I just wanted to say THANKS and wish I could hug each one of you. Your support is such a big deal to me!
And now I'm off to work on some ATC's and possibly eat another huge peanut butter cookie...with some coffee...or tea.
Love you ladies (and a couple of gents who are listening in)!!
Shalom! :)
