Winter Has Me in Its Grip

Last night in bed some lines for a new song gathered in my head... all about dealing with this bitter cold spell that has gripped North Carolina and other parts around the country. It's been very hard for me to get motivated to do much of anything productive... but today I know I'll be working on this song, trying to coax it out of its cave.

In the meantime, here are some fabulously pretty items in winter colors, but unlike winter, these will warm your heart and make you feel like a million! These are all created by my fellow teammies on the Etsy team, Project Embrace, whose goal is to spread awareness for the need of continuing and ongoing cancer research and also to share love and hope to those who find themselves dealing with cancer. To read about the woman who influenced the beginnings of this team, click here to visit her blog.

Working in mosaics, Sigmosaics makes the prettiest useful and decorative items...

A gorgeous necklace that shimmers like ice by nyblaque...

A stack of beautiful hammered skinny rings by accessoreese...

Mmmmm... a lovely lampwork dangle by erikaprice...

A hammered heart pendant that reads simply... Love You... on the back side by jealousydesign...

You have to love poppyswickedgarden's fun and feminine ruffle...

And these pretty little Simplify earrings by wildwomanjewelry... oh so lovely!

So forget about the cold winter days and feast your eyes on these pretties, and remember, when you need a little pick-me-up purchase, shop handmade, shop Etsy!

Frozen Falls

While I was getting back into the rhythm of band practice yesterday afternoon, my husband took a little trip about a mile down the road from our house to the Lower Falls of Hanging Rock State Park. Since we've had about a ten-day long freezing cold spell, it was no surprise what he found there.




This is a lovely spot where we, on rare occasion, have enjoyed a bit of skinny-dipping during the warmer months. Here it shows the essence of winter. The good news is that at the end of this week, we are supposed to enjoy temperatures in the low 50s! Hallelujah... so looking forward to that!

Two New Members of the Household

Today we welcomed two new members to our household. Well, one is not so new, having been here plenty of times before. Empi, our grandpuppy, returned for a 5 or 6 week stay while her dad goes off to snowy Ohio and then to sunny Florida and then back to Ohio for photo shoots for his job. She is always welcome here; she's a fabulous little pup to have around, and our dogs accept her as one of their own... they are very gracious.

Our other new guest is a very large cat! She will become Scout in the Garden, a process that will take about 3 months before she is transferred to her summer home through the Art Unleashed Fundraiser for the Humane Society of Forsyth County. We picked her up this morning and loaded her in the car before heading off to Greensboro to pick up Empi.

Here she is in her bare white beginnings, standing like a sentinel on our table, where I most likely will paint her.

She is pretty darn big; her head is almost as big as mine! She stands 27 inches tall at her head, 32 inches at her tail, and is 29 inches long from head to tail... much bigger than my own Scout, and even bigger than Empi!!

Because of her size, I think she will remain in the house rather than my studio. She'd take up so much room there that my canvases might get squeezed out!

I don't think the cat forms are as nice as the dog forms, but they all improve when color is put over the white base. Scout will turn gracefully into a joyful cat as the weeks progress, adorned with a variety of colors and flowers. Stay tuned to watch her progress!