Happy Cat & a visit from Bambi...

 I'm middle-aged, and sometimes I get chilled… my kitty Oreo is 13 in human years (that's about 90 in cat years) and has been begging for the fireplace to be turned on a lot lately, so I got her a little heated kitty bed… she loves it!!

Jeff & I have been up to our usual stuff… church, bowling, date-nights… nothing particularly stunning to talk about, so I'll wait until there's something more interesting to mention.

I've been busy in the studio lately… this picture was actually taken upstairs in the kitchen, the clay-looking stuff is Jett Set, it has to be warmed in water to soften - thus being in the kitchen.  These are the earrings, I'm also doing a pendant… not done yet (my hands/arms got sore setting the stones)...

Last weekend had a bit of quiet excitement, we had 5 visitors… right out in the woods behind the house!  This picture was of the most active one (spotted first).

There are 4 in this picture…

All 5 are in this picture, but its hard to see them…

There were bunnies as well… so I guess you could say we were visited by Bambi & Thumper… but we've always got bunnies, the deer were the special guests.

Positives & Negatives...

I live in Minnesota… the temperature yesterday stayed below zero, I stayed home…

The temp today may reach a high of 1… guess who's staying home today…

But not one to sit around & do nothing, I turned a negative into a positive!!  I got to work in my newly established studio space, and started practicing some jewelry techniques I hadn't done in a while… this is a picture of one piece:

Torch-Fired Enamel on Copper, Sterling Silver Chain.

This piece has both a positive & a negative heart shape… I made a small series of pieces (and I'm not done yet playing with this theme)… to see more check out the latest post on my Art Blog.

Now I'm off to bake some bread & spend some more time in the studio… until next time!!

Ben's Been Baptized!!

This week I had the honor of attending a service at which our youngest nephew Ben got baptized…

There's the little guy… he doesn't seem all that impressed or concerned… but he was awfully cute in a little striped button-down shirt (his dad had a matching shirt)...

They got to take this cute little commemorative flag home…

And after church the family went for Pizza!!  About 35 (or so) of us crowded into a party room at Davanni's & spent time eating & having a good time…

Overdue Post...

So… I've been super-busy trying to get my studio set up (check out my arts & crafts blog for the latest posts), so I'm way overdue to just spend some time chattering :)

So far it's been a pleasant new year, I've lost a couple pounds I gained over the holidays (check out my recipe blog if you'd like), I'm finally bug-free (was sick for a while).

We've done some of our usual things, like checking out new places to eat & bowling…

Jeff getting his Turkey (3 strikes in a row)...

Jeff took a business trip out to the San Francisco area… the evening he returned I went with him to his hockey game…

Jeff is #4, red jersey… left of the net...

The next day he started feeling bad, yep now he's sick :(….

Hoping that soon he'll be feeling up to helping me set up a couple pieces of heavy equipment down in the studio… until then I'm babying him a bit…

I've also been back to my studies for the lessons I'm teaching in the book of Revelation (see my Bible Study blog if interested)…

Like I said, busy-busy-busy!!

Lots of Good Stuff Happening…

Wow, where do I start, there's just been so much happening, and not just because of Christmas!!

Speaking of which… if I missed getting you this message any other way...

We had a quiet Christmas at home, just Jeff & I, and we enjoyed it!!

We listened to beautiful Christmas music all day, just hung around the home… as it got dark we had a very nice dinner with Mini-Turkeys (Cornish Game Hens), complete with lots of lit up candles and inside Christmas lights…

Santa did good, he remembered my Pickles again this year (a family tradition since I was 2 years old)…

I've been busy getting my studio set up, lots of stuff still on order, but at least its a start…

I made this set a couple days ago with the equipment I have on hand…

And I've been working on these as well (still quite rough)…  read more on my studio & it's happenings in my latest post on my Art Blog.

Never to be people that are all work & no play… Jeff & I checked out a German restaurant (Black Forest Inn) in Minneapolis that we hadn't visited before… love the holiday decor… and the food was good too!  I highly recommend the Sauerbraten, the German Potato Salad, and the Red Cabbage… Mmmm!!

That's the latest… hope your holidays have been fun, festive, and full of family!!

Celebrating with loved ones!!

This year our Christmas celebration with the kids (my son Tim & his wife Marta) was early, they'll be at Marta's family on Christmas Day...

So we celebrated early, yesterday actually… and though dinner was simple (Cock-a-Leekie Soup and fresh baked Artisan Bread) it was home made… But before we ate we opened our Christmas Socks (a tradition for us) & our gifts…

This is after dinner, with some bread & butter still on the table & the decorative candles still lit...

More candles & some Christmas Cards on the Piano (only time of year I let anything sit on the Piano)...

Our guests of honor, Marta & Tim… we very much enjoy getting to spend time with these two!!

Hope your celebrations are filled with Family, with Love, and with Joy!!

Merry Christmas!!

Fun with Friends!!

I just finished watching "The Grinch", the Jim Carey version, and I've decided that I've finally stopped being a Grinch this year… its about time!!

Why was I Grinchy?  I've been grieving a family member who passed unexpectedly (my brother's wife), and I've been sick…

What has changed?  I'm finally getting well, and I'm hearing that my brother is doing better too… Also, in the last couple days I've had the chance to spend time with several people I enjoy - my hubby (I always enjoy his company), the Young Adult class at church (great group!), my Small Group from church (wonderful & supportive), and I spent some time today around my friends Susan (here at the house) and Jen (at a coffee shop)…

While out & about with hubby we got to Christmas shop, mostly for the kids in the extended family - that's always fun!!

While visiting with Jen I got to play with Larkin… she's such a little delight!!

What is it about kids, they just make me smile… I love little kids!!