the weekend

The weekend is here. First basketball game done and won (phew!) Two more to go. Kids are already wishing for spring. 55 days and counting! Still lots of snow on the ground and wow, it is a sunny, balmy 21*. Thanks to the sun, I was able to get this shot of the shadow of our weather vane on the house. Looking forward to even more warmer weather and when I can get out and take some good pictures. Lots of new things in store for my shawnsthings friends for the spring. I am working on new ideas and ways to freshen up spring. Check back for hints!! xo

round four for snow

Weather man is saying 4 more inches plus, yes, rainy, sleet-y, icy weather tomorrow. Yay! I did get more canvases and I have my pastels and my camera to keep me busy. sheesh. I am counting the days until the first official day of spring-March 20. Sigh. Only 58 days. Sigh. Only so much indoor tackle basketball I can take. Sigh.

pastels

I have to say at first I didn't know what to expect from myself in the pastel class. It has certainly been MANY years since I last took an "art" class and after walking into the class at Silvermine late after a snow delay, I found the talent there INCREDIBLE! Now, after the second class and many, many trips to the art store, I am offically addicted to pastels. It is a wonderful medium that can be massaged into realism or impressionism or anything in between. Who knew three hours would fly by so quickly! Still taking lots of photos too.

more photos

Yes, I've been out in the cold to take some photos. Brrrr! The first is of the barn in my backyard while it was snowing. Looks cold, doesn't it? The second of old fuel pumps in the village across the street. Love the patina. It sure isn't easy in this weather to meet my challenge, but I am working on it. Learning to LOVE my camera (though a few lenses wouldn't hurt) I am also making strides in my pastel class. I purchased some additional pastels and I LOVE them!!! The colors are so vibrant. Who said tools do not make the mechanic???? The kids think it's hilarious that I get to go to "school" and take art classes only. My littlest one wonders why I am taking math and english at my "school". There was an attempt to connect art and math, but the communication was lost somehow.

Are you kidding?

TGIF!! Yes, it really was 1* when I woke up this am. What you may not realize when you talk about the high being 14*, is how cold will it be in the am. Yep, 1*. Thank goodness it's moved up a little since I snapped this......When is spring again???? The good news is that the icy, snowy conditions make for some interesting photos. It is also the time of year when the winter shows are releasing new paper lines. It is like fashion week for paper. I have already previewed some of the new designs and they are stunning! The art classes are going well-I am enjoying stretching my creative legs a little. I needed a kick in the pants! Long weekend ahead of us! Maybe some skiing-though I think there will be mostly lots of hot chocolate! xo

high temp to only reach 14*????

OK, so this is where I begin to complain about the weather-specifically the temperature and what it "feels" like. Friday I think the high is going to be 14* but it will "feel like" ZERO with the wind. I almost wrote "wine" instead of "wind"......must be me thinking about wine to ward of the frigid temps!!! How many more days until spring???? Anyway, this weekend we got ANOTHER four inches of snow with a crispy coating of ice. Yeah, I said ICE! When we asked the kids "Why don't you go out and build a snowman or have a snowballfight?" SOMETHING!!!!!! Anything!!!! (we were going a little stir crazy this weekend) They just looked at us and said "That isn't the GOOD kind of snow!" UGH!!!! They were right, it was awful, so we decided to paint instead. Good thing I stocked up on acrylic paints and canvases. If you've never done this with kids before.....BEWARE! It is highly addicting. We went through a total of 14 canvases (not including the one I did) and many tubes of acrylic paint. The good news I have instant art for the bare walls in my hall!! It is sensational, however, to see three kids get caught up in the moment, not wanting to stop even to eat. This morning my littlest one didn't even want to go to school. He just wanted to paint. Guess it's time to go get more canvases!! It was a good weekend, indeed. xo

Let there be Light!

Today I looked out the window to my back yard and saw the most beautiful light shinning on the bare trees. Even winter can have some beauty. The different colors of brown and grey with the sunshine beaming down is simply stunning. It made me pause and take out my camera. Isn't that what being in the moment is all about? I played a little with the photo and enhanced the values to what I visualized when I snapped the shot. Enjoy! xo

ice storm

Nothing beats the feeling of getting an extra two hours sleep when you are trying to recover from the West Coast/East Coast vacation. This morning was one of those rare treats of waking to the 6am alarm, checking the news, only to find out the kids have a two hour delay!!! Ahhhhh, like having an extra day in the weekend! Not wanting to leave even a minute of my extra sleep to chance, I turned over and managed to sleep all the way up to 8:40!!! DECLICIOUS! Kids were well-rested and ready for school and I was able to get some of these shots of the beautiful ice stacking up on the plants and items outside. Hoping to keep my promise of shooting something that moves me everyday, here are my shots! xo

Katie peering over the Grand Canyon.

The "vortex" in Sedona on our way from AZ to Utah. Dave and the boys ponder life.

Happy New Year!

What a year. As I look back on 2008, I realize, happily, that I spent much of the year connecting with family and friends, enjoying the process of creating for clients and kicked things up a notch with my re-kindled passion-photography. The close of the year however, brought some sad news as my father in law passed away rather suddenly on December 27th. While he has lived a long and fruitful life-6 kids, 15 grand kids, 7 great-grand kids.........married to the same woman for 65 years-the gap that remains is one not easily filled. He is greatly missed. I feel blessed that we already planned a trip to Arizona to visit, but saddened as our chance to visit with him was cut short. Fortunately, we also planned to visit my parents in Utah, and had an opportunity to catch up with them. Time is so precious. As I look to 2009, I am more resolute than ever to maintain the connections with those I care about. I am excited about the chance to feed my soul, taking some much needed time-out with creative classes to keep the creativity flowing. I PROMISE to share some pics as soon as the dust settles around here. xo