Angelas Diner

Was down for a bit - work exhausted me, drained me, and I had nothing left for the blog.  What saved me, what cleared my head lately, and brought me back up to where I usually am, was a week out of the office on vacation.  When I looked back, I discovered that the last time I had taken a full week out of the office was back in August of 2007.  That’s a REALLY long time - here I was trying to figure out why I was in such a funk, and the answer was really simple and there all along.  I took the last week of May out, and make beads and gardened until my hands ached.  I literally dug myself out of the funk I was in.  It’s funny, even the folks at work noticed that I’m much more mellow as I returned to work this week.  One person told me in the kitchen that I looked really relaxed and tan and just plain happy.  I’d have to agree!

Been raining today, and I still have a ton of more work I want to do in the gardens, but I went outside and took some shots to show off my blooms!  (I’ve planted some PURPLE roses that haven’t yet bloomed…… I can’t wait to see them - I am a purple fanatic!)  So, enjoy, and maybe, if you have time, and need a break, go outside and plant something…..it really helps.

oh, spring. sooooo much going on at work, so that when i get home at the end of the day, i want to be “brain dead.” on the weekends when it doesn’t rain i have to rake and clean and prep my garden beds - just dug a new one for PURPLE roses out front. Can’t wait to see how they turn out! I actually gallery sat almost a week ago, and only am now getting to posting the pictures here… saturday sitting was fun really. started out a grey quiet day, and then had some amiable chats with gallery visitors. one man who quilts may submit work for jurying - i’m excited! we really need more varied art - i’d love to have more jewelry there. ( visit http://www.westerlyarts.com and check out what we all do - if you’re an artist, consider applying for membership )

Some photos of the work this month - you know how I love to share my favorites! Just click them for a full size photo.

I am already planning for my gardens this year.  I’ve got a new seed starting setup from Park’s - and have a bunch of tiny Impatiens Athena sprouting up in the studio.  Just looking at these little green guys gets me more and more in the mood for warm weather!

It has been quite a winter - very very grey, wet, and generally bleary. I am finally shaking off the cobwebs, and ready to write and post in Etsy again. The sun was so bright today, and for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, I didn’t need to wear a jacket. I’m one of the perpetually cold people - I have a small heater near my desk in the cubefarm at work. The sun warmed my mantle late in the day; glinting off the pottery and glass…

I went to “Atonement” yesterday afternoon, and the staccato typewriter clicking punctuating the film made me come home and dig out my dad’s old Smith Corona.  He was a sports writer for the Orlando Sentinel around the time of WW II -and while writing for that paper, he met my mom.  I’ve hung onto this old machine for many years, and haven’t tried to type anything for at least 30 years on it.   After I placed it on the kitchen table, the kids just had to have a chance typing - and it actually worked!  The ribbon held enough ink to be legible!

Here are some action shots:

so, honestly, on Saturday (which was groundhog day) we looked in the back yard and saw THIS little guy :

GAAAAH. I hate those things.  He actually visited on Friday morning too - but not after Saturday.   And why did it take me until Tuesday to get the photo online?  don’t even ask.

Just be glad you don’t wake up and see that creature in your backyard!!!

I haven’t been out torching as it’s been just too darn cold for me. So, I’ve been reading a TON, and knitting stuff too. Just finished a book about “the Loomis Gang” that may be about my husband’s ancestors in upstate New York. Here’s a pic of the cover:

And a page on the Loomis Gang from Wikipedia.

After I finished the book this morning, I got online to see how far back I could trace my husband’s lineage. He went downstairs and got out all kinds of old photos and fun stuff. I sat at the computer for about six hours on & off doing research on ancestry.com (they have a free 14 day trial, and we decided to give it a shot. GREAT site - if you know certain things about relatives, you search on their name, birthdate, etc, and you see if they were written into early census documents, and can print the original pages) We traced him back to relatives born around the late 1860’s. But there the trail is cold. That was right around the time of the most notorious gang activity…. we plan on more searching, and maybe even a trip out to NY at some point. If you’ve never looked into your genealogy, let me tell you it can be addicting! I hardly noticed the time fly by.

On a different note, I finished the anti-stress scarf I have been knitting since Christmas. Here’s the scarf - the really cool yarn is “Tundra” by Traveling Rhinos. It was a blend of fibers that mixed all kinds of colors of the north - and it inspired the color choices for the rest of the scarf. It’s a wide scarf done in garter stitch (no stress cuz there’s no pattern to remember!) I wore it yesterday doubled over and tucked into my fleece jacket. It’s nice, wide, and warm too.

my children have a sense of humor; look what they made for me today! Anybody know what the significance of a deer and my pickup is? I had a deer run into the side of my truck back a couple of years - he left an imprint of his head in the driver side front door!

the days are flying by - can it really be december?  i worked at the gallery yesterday, and the opening was the previous wednesday.  took two out of three kids down, and they had fun roaming the streets of Westerly because it was the “holiday stroll.”  luminaria, santa in a wagon ride, shops open late (including Hammen Home, one of our very favorites!).  meanwhile i was writing up sales in the gallery like the madwoman that i am.  whew!

yesterday, on the other hand, was kind of quiet.  i took my work laptop and ended up putting in a couple of solid hours… i enjoyed it actually!

what’s on the docket for today?  well, we need to get the kids “christmas card picture” taken - i have an idea for that, but i wonder if it will work.  then, swap the screen on the front door for GLASS - cuz it’s cold outside! oh, and we have to take out the air conditioners too…. hmmmm. no more 80 degree days in the near future here!  we actually still have a dusting of snow on the ground.

i’m sitting here watching the sun come up, watching the sky turn creamy yellow… i WANT to go make beads, but it’s so COLD in the garage.  i have gotten to the point where i really really don’t like the cold.  so instead, i’ll make blueberry muffins, and go cut out a couple more t-shirts to sew.

got the coolest pattern from fabric.com - a jalie crossover tshirt pattern.  I made a couple already - a plain black one, and a really cool red panne velvet one.  i’ve got fabric for 4 more! getting in a tshirt groove here…

later, J is going to a screenprinting class at the Dreyfus (the AS220 printshop) - I still have to stop by Utrecht and get supplies for that! there’s no such thing as a “relaxing weekend” when Christmas is just 16 days away.

today is cold - bitter, biting, windy, frigid - the first really cold day of this season. it would have been simple to stay home and stay warm, but the kids wanted to skate. we dropped them here for a few hours where they stayed COLD.

then, we, being the smart adults that we are, headed over to wickenden st. ! finally saw the roelle show at 5traverse - so intricate in person. amazing. then, went to Utrecht, and strolled up the street to the Z Bar. Look what kept me warm <along w/the company!>