Successful Holiday

Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house was FAB! We all ate too much and enjoyed every bite!
We then played a family game of Parcheesi (Wilson's favorite game) and I was the big winner!

I have made the best oatmeal cookies this morning. I made them for the crowds hitting the gallery on "Black Friday". Actually, I don't really think my "little off the main drag" shop will be getting a lot of traffic, but I am always hopeful. Maybe my sign will attract someone going to the mall.
I do however plan on a big crowd a week from this Sunday for the opening of "Gifted". I have been handing out cards and talking things up big time. The artists will be hanging this week, I always look forward to seeing everything in place.

Happy Thanksiving

Norman Rockwell depicted the all American family Thanksgiving better than words ever could.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with the family. My mother is cooking the dinner! I am excited SO EXCITED for this. Last year my mom decided she was taking the day off, and we went to a restaurant- It just wasn't the Thanksgiving I wanted! Our family food tradition is something called cranberry ice, this is a sorbet served as an appetizer and it is the best stuff! It is like having a little dessert before dinner. There really isn't a story behind the cranberry ice my Great Grandmother started this tradition after finding the recipe in a women's magazine in the 50's. It has been a staple on the table ever since. I can't wait! I am thankful for so much, but one of the little things is cranberry ice!

I need a change!

I'm thinking I need a change- in my hair that is.
I found this picture and I really like the style. I think a new doo might perk me up. I am sure I will look exactly like this model (if I put on make-up). Although I think I will stick with my signature bright unnatural red! Yes, I need a change.
Now that I have made up my mind I hope the roads are not too bad for me to get to my appointment this morning. We have had a lot of very wet snow. The cars are moving pretty slow out there.

Super Busy!!!

I have been painting "like the wind", trying to get things done for people that want orders by Thanksgiving. I just finished this sugar/creamer set this morning, and I am delivering it at 11:30 in Ithaca. I am still painting dreidels and ornaments and just trying to get my inventory better stocked for the store. Everyone that comes in says, "where is all your work?" To that I reply, "that is all my work"! Orders are GREAT, but they do not help the display. I better get crackin!

I should be working!

But I am goofing off a bit- my son LOVES the photo booth on my MacBook and for some reason I felt like playing around a bit. It is a lot of fun!

Requests from customers...

I had an interesting request from a customer yesterday. He was looking at my selection of Gary Rith pottery and he says to me: "Does this guy do a bacon press? I can not find a bacon press to fit my frying pan! If this guy did one of those I would buy it." I told him I would be happy to ask the artist if he would consider making him one, and I would need to know the size of his frying pan.
The gentlemen than said "I bet he could sell a lot of those- they are hard to find". I explained to my customer that I might be able to get Gary to make one, but since he is a vegan he probably would not want to go into the bacon utensil business! He understood, hey Gary- want to do me a favor? you could put a little piggy on top!

Getting in the spirit!

I am getting into the spirit of the holidays! I have a tree at the gallery I need to decorate and make festive. Here a couple of items that will be going on. I also have a number of artists that do special ornaments to help fill up my tree.
Ornaments make great Teacher gifts!























Everyone Loves a little sparkling t-light! A very affordable gift for anybody!

I have a bit of an injury- an accedent with my exacto knife has left my thumb very sore. Never use an exacto for anything other than its intended use!

I have the card revised and , I think it is looking good. It's off to the printer and I should have it ready to hand out by Thursday! I am really hoping for a good turn out for this one- lots of food and wine! I also have never had an opening on a Sunday in the afternoon, so I hope that helps bring people in too.

perils of the porch!

My beautiful front porch is still a mess. I am at my wit's end! I have not seen my "contractor" or had anything done since the day before Halloween- when he came, hammered on something 4 times and left! I still need the concrete slab for the steps, and one support poured. It is 33 degrees here, and as far as I know, you can't do concrete in that kind of temp. If the support is not done, he can't put the new joist in place, and I am looking at this all winter! UGHHHH! I am so full of exasperation I could scream!!!!

Getting it together!

I have been working hard on getting the card done for my group holiday show at Thou Art Gallery! I have a group of 5 fabulous artists, all with very different work. The show is called "Gifted" because the artists are gifted in talent, and the artwork makes great gifts! We will have holiday items such as ornaments, cards, and VERY affordable gifts for everyone. All items are produced in the Finger Lakes area. I'm looking forward to this one!

Spindle Santas

My Dad got one of these Santas in a gallery somewhere- the original was made in Sweden. I don't usually "knock off" things, but I found these guys so sweet, I had to give it a shot. Yesterday I went out and bought myself a miter saw and some spindle wood. They came out GREAT! I love them, However, it is really hard for me NOT to checker, stripe or polka dot them up. I do think the simplicity is what is so appealing. I'm a bit sore from sawing by hand, but it was worth it.

The Holidays!

The snow yesterday made me think about the holidays! Somehow it always to sneaks up on me. I have quite a few orders to get done, and I have many dreidels and ornaments to paint, not to mention the shopping, and cleaning. I haven't been able to see my dining room table in a year or so- I hope it is still under that big pile of stuff!

The BIG birthday weekend!

When your child's birthday falls on a Sunday, the celebration tends to be a three day event! Friday we had the school party, Saturday we had Wilson's pick for what he wanted to do- Chuckie Cheese's! He LOVED THAT! Then Finally we went to Gram and Gramp's house for the family party. It was a great weekend- and, as far as Wilson is concerned, the BEST 7th birthday celebration ever!

Workshops at Thou Art

The classes began at Thou Art! I would have LOVED to have more people take advantage of this opportunity, but the kids and adults that came had a really good time, and that is what is important! I am sure we will have a better turn out next week, I have already had calls from people wanting to attend. Thanks Reagen, you did a great job.

Wonder Woman flies again!

Wilson will be turning 7 years old on Sunday, but the "celebration" starts today! This morning I went to make the cupcakes, and discovered I didn't have enough eggs! I got Wils dressed and we went off to the store- this was at 6:45 a.m.! Then I made a quick stop at the gallery for a tray to put the cupcakes on. Got that. When we got back home I served my "master" (Wils) his breakfast, and got the cupcakes baked. I now have to let them cool so I can frost and decorate with rainbow sprinkles and a Hershey's Kiss in the middle! This is how they MUST be finished! Then I have to get them up to school by 10:15, sing Happy Birthday with the class, and get to the gallery and have it open by 11:00! Oh, I forgot to mention: I also have to tell someone to brush his teeth about 50 times, get his jacket on about 25 times, and yell at the top of my lungs about 12 times "WILSON HURRY UP, WE ARE GOING TO MISS THE BUS!"

My celebration starts at 2:00, when I have an hour (before Wilson is back home) to be alone and quiet!

At 3:30, Vet appointments for the dog and cat! I have to remember to give Salvador Doggy his "happy pills", at least 2 hours before we go- he doesn't like the Vet, and a sweet dog can get very nasty when he is scarred.

I Remember back when I was young and childless and in a pretty high pressure job in NYC. I had a conversation with my boss at the time. I said to him in a fit of panic- "I am not Wonder Woman!" The wise man responded with: "Oh but you are darling- yes you are!"

Super powers don't let me down!

Okay, Here It Is!!!!

Reference to this sign has been made several times on my blog, so, here it is.
I live in a small town, and unfortunately with the beauty and comfort of a small town, you get a few small minds as well. I have been looking at this directly across the street from my business for a long time now! I personally feel that this is the type of "Bully attitude" that provokes fear and hatred between Americans and people from other parts of the world. I can't tell you how many people came into my shop and made a comment about the "red necks" across the street. I get it- why do you have to be so mean and evil about it? Put out your candidate sign and make a point that way. I would also like to say, this sign is among a bunch of other lawn decorations like pumpkins with silly faces, striped reindeer, snowman, and other festive holiday wooden cutouts! Somehow I don't see the correlation between the hatred and festivities!

I like his name!

When I was talking to my son Wilson about voting on Tuesday we had an interesting conversation about how to pick the new President.
W (wilson)
M (mommy)

M- who do you want to vote for for President of the United States?
W- I am going to vote for Barack Obama!
M- Why?
W- Because I like his name!
M- I like his name too, it is a pretty cool name, much better than "George Bush".
W- But I like George Bush's name too!
M- Okay, well that probably isn't the best way to pick a President.

Later that day Wils came home, they had a mock vote at school, and I asked him who won at school?

W- Barack Obama won- lots of people liked his name!

The election process is much more simple through the eyes of a 7 year old!

A good day to be an American!

My Favorite Republican!

This is my Grandpa. He died a few months after this photo was taken in 1992. My Gramp was a REPUBLICAN all the way! When the whole family got together we would have heated political discussions around the dinner table that would always end in shouting, crying, storming off, and Grandpa saying "If you vote for a Democrat, I will disown you, and that's it- OUT OF THE WILL!" I don't think anyone ever really took Gramp too seriously because I know for a fact there are quite a few Dems in the family, and nobody was ever disowned! This morning I started thinking about how would Grandpa vote today, I would like to think that maybe he would finally take a ride on the Democrat train - venture over to the scary side, with all the disowned people who have the guts to make their own decisions, even if they might be "out of the will".

My Grandpa was a great man. Things are different today, the parties are different than they were in my Grandpa's time. I do think Gramp would make the right choice- we all make the right choice- for us! That is the beauty of the vote!

Dreidels, Dreidels, Dreidels...

These are made from wood, not clay! I use wooden bits like knobs, blocks, Shaker pegs, wheels, and buttons. Then I drill and assemble, make sure they spin, and then I paint. No two are alike. They are very popular this time of year. As I have said before, I like to work on a number of pieces at a time- non of these are done yet. I still have to glue, finish painting, and apply the non-toxic poly finish.

This is my beautiful Princess Frank, she likes to bat my dreidels all over the house- my quality control team! They need to be tough enough to actually play with, and Frank makes sure they can handle a beating!

New Classes for kids and adults!

Click on the image for an easier to read view. I am very excited about the new programs being offered at the gallery. These classes are a great, affordable opportunity for young and older people that enjoy art! Sign up early, class size is limited! Stop in, call, or e-mail to register for classes.

Exciting night!

My Little pastry chef had a fabulous night! It all started with the Halloween Parade at school. All the classes line up around the bus circle and do a couple of laps. Then it is inside for class parties. After school we went downtown and trick or treated on Main st. It is so much fun- all the businesses give out candy to the kids and everyone in town does it! The weather was prime! Main Street was PACKED with little urchins on a sugar high! Thank you to all the businesses that make this so special for the kids of Groton!

Then it was time for the neighborhood door knocking! I take Wilson on one side of the street and around the block, and Donald takes him around the other side. This way we can both participate in the passing out of candy and the action on the street. At the end of the night Wils had a HUGE bag of candy and tired little legs! I was able to get him to eat a bowl of Cheerioes- just to get some real food into him, and he crashed hard for the night! I think it was the best Halloween yet- must have something to do with his age. Speaking of age- next Sunday will be Wilson's 7th Birthday!