I'm baaaaaaaaack!

Yes, that's my child. Still in her pajamas at noon.

What? That black stuff? Oh, yeah. That's the pretend chicken pox she drew on her face - like Pingu - with a marker. No, it's not enough that she gives me this never-ending plague - she also has to use a black marker on her face mere days before we go face the relatives. I did manage not to laugh so as not to encourage her - but I had to take a picture - and that encouraged her. When I went to get the camera, she went over to the mirror with her marker - to get the places on her face that she'd missed!

On the bright side, though, it came off pretty easy. Turned out she'd used a dry-erase marker. Phew!

Winter Haikus

Blue Stellar's Jays hanging out in our snowy plum tree.

First, I'd like to share SueAnn's Haiku:

Frost fills the air; cold
etching glass with swirls and curves
Watching breath turn white.

Isn't that beautiful? It so perfectly captures our ideal version of winter.

And from Kayce, as always, making me laugh:

December is cold
chocolate and Schnapps
mug is all i need

Eyes peeking at me
a hat too big, scarf too long
torture is my game

From Teresa, I wish I was in Texas right now myself!

A chill in the air
Does not snow in South Texas
but very rarely

And lastly, from Liisa; although it was Thanksgiving turkey that brought her parents together, we have turkey for Christmas dinner, too.

Nineteen thirty-three,
farm girl raises turkey chicks,
sells one to my dad.

Thanksgiving turkey!
Without him there'd be no me!
You can ask my mom.

(well, that wasn't really the last one, mine is down at the bottom of the post.)

Frosty, the mini snowman


Frosta, the mini snow-woman

We're snowed in. If you live anywhere but the northwest or a warm climate you will laugh at the next sentence. We are snowed in because we have 10 inches of snow. Yep. Ten inches. (Okay, possibly as many as 12.) The Seattle area pretty much comes to a standstill at about 3 inches. I think there's about 2 snowplows and .62 of a road sander for every 100 square miles in this area. Seriously. Right now there is a huge suburban neighborhood completely without gas in their gas stations because the tankers can't get to them. The situation is almost the same in the state's 3rd largest city. In our defense, we average about 3 inches of snow a year - and we got eight inches in one night! Also, we are an area of hills, hills, and more hills. So while the main road might be passable, you may not be able to get out of your neighborhood, or even out of your driveway due to steep inclines.

What this means at our house is that my DH has been home, Rexy has been out of school, and both of them have been needing to be entertained! Rexy and I have been doing lots of crafts. The DH and I have been watching movies. And the DH has been monopolizing the computer! I started this post 4 days ago and have been stealing time here and there to fill it in.

The barn at the tree farm, appropriately named The Red Barn Tree Farm!

During my blog absence, we went to get our Christmas tree from my aunt and uncle's Christmas tree farm. I wrote about the farm extensively last year in this post and this post.

The stove used to heat the inside of the barn

I thought I would just post a few pictures from the excursion. Rexy was the happiest girl in town when I let her play in the giant mud puddle. Her hat kept slipping down over her eyes, so all of her pictures make her look eyeless - or nearly eyeless.

She's still in love with the flocked trees, but after last year's indoor "It's snowing!" experience in her bedroom we are never doing that again. (I was still finding that flocking stuff in July!)

When looking at last December's posts, I saw the free images I posted in honor of Chanukah. If you didn't get them then, here is a link to all of December's posts from 2007 which is where the freebies are posted.


And finally, some art! Well, works in progress anyway. I've been finding it strangely difficult to work on things with everyone at home. By the time they go to bed, I'm feeling so wrung out and cranky that I just want to vegetate. During the day, I find myself thinking longingly of my computer games! I guess I didn't realize how much I have come to rely on that block of time when Rexy is at school and Phil is at work and I can just be by myself. I feel like I should be a model mother and be happy to bake cookies, fold laundry, and play Chutes and Ladders with my child every day...but I'm just not that person. I love my family soooo much - but I 24/7 togetherness just makes me cranky. Am I the only one? Am I a terrible person? (Do I really want an answer to that question???)


This is a gal I'm working on and (and my last Kelly Rae background), obviously, I'm trying to figure out what color to paint her dress. I was going to ask for your opinions, but since I took this picture (4 days ago when I started this blog post!) I decided on dark red. It's almost done. I'll post a picture as soon as it's complete.

The canvas below I started about 2 months ago. I'm sort of in quandary. I'd like to use some pretty paper to add texture to the painting, but I can't quite find the right color. And I'm nervous about painting blonde hair. I'm certain I'm going to paint a woman, though. The mood of the painting lends itself to that, I think. We'll see.

In closing, I would just like to extend my gratitude to each and every one of you. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read and comment on my blog. The last two years have been thrilling and heartwarming and full of your lovely, generous spirits - and I thank you for that. You make my world better a better place.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Kwanzaa!

Happy New Year!

Basically, may happiness follow wherever you go.

My winter Haiku:

Snowmen standing guard
our ice castle safe and warm
holds us close inside.

Next Haiku challenge, lets make the deadline after the holidays - January 5th, - and the theme is Beginnings.