RVA ornaments 2

I bet you didn't believe me that felt was a hot, hot craft item right now. Last week I received my ornaments from the Red Velvet Art swap and ALL THREE were made of felt! They were, however, really different from each other. There was a sweet gingerbread man, a lovely "ugly doll" (the purple radio nose just makes me laugh) and a yummy donut (previously featured in an RVA tutorial here). My favorite thing about swaps is being inspired by the creativity of others. Thank you to the three women who sent part of themselves to me. Happy Holidays to you.

Christmas Angels

Last night i was recovered enough from the plague to do a little cleaning and Christmas decorating. I have A LOT of Christmas decorations and very little room, so i only put out a few different things each year. This is the year of the angels. When the household was dissolved and divvied-up last year I was quick to grab several decorations made by my mother in the late 60s - early 70s. First up is my door angel. One of many made as Christmas presents in 1968, this lovely burlap-backed beauty (that's a phrase i never thought i'd used in a non-sarcastic context) graced either the front door or the downstairs' wall during the season when i was growing up. She originally had 2 smaller matching angels that would hang on either side of her that had the family's name on them. I'm not sure how many sets my mom made (3-8 depending on who she sent them to), but i have always loved her face and gold-cord halo. Next, inside my front door, is the card angel. When it was time to start dividing Christmas decorations she was one thing i HAD to have. I have no idea exactly when or why my mom made her, but she has always been my favorite with her gentle expression, her crazy hair, her tiny bare feet and the gold trimmed dress that is actually pockets for Christmas cards. She was one of the only decorations that would go up every single year. Alas, she only has 3 cards in her pockets, people - get a move on! (kudos to Aunt Judy, Kaaren (check plus plus for handmade) and Dad) When i realized i was rocking a bit of a theme (can 2 things comprise a theme?) I pulled out the choir angels. I have no earthly clue about the genesis of these beauties. They have been around longer than me and are as kitsch as you can get. In the years they were put out in my past, they normally ended up in the bar downstairs (sigh... who doesn't miss that bar?!?) either hanging on the wall or sitting on the shelf over the fridge surrounded by white lights. Made from pudding boxes, plastic figures, glitter, "angel's hair" (whatever surely carcinogenic fiber that was) and a LOT of gold paint i can't explain why i love them so much. Maybe it is because of my love for music. Maybe it is because of my love for glitter. Maybe it is because things that are beautiful to a 4 year-old's eyes remain beautiful forever. Whatever it is, this is the first year they have been out in maybe 8 years or so, and I still love them, kitsch-factor and all. (sorry the pics are bad - my digital zoom and i need marriage counselling) Do you have any crazy, silly decorations you can't let go off and love despite the reality of them?

I told you so

I said i'd get sick. Oh, how i got sick. Cold/flu/infection of some sort. Fever. Mucus colors we won't go into. (how can anything biological be GREY?) I had to go buy MORE medication cause i ran out. Not only did I call out of work, i cancelled my favorite day of the month - Team Day. It was so bad that the CEO of the company sent me home on Friday. Over the weekend i did get some drugs and after some nonsense (allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics, but i'm fine) I'm feeling much better. The heat also went out in my apartment so i was freezing for part of the weekend, but that's better, too. All in all it has been a pretty awful time in the Nikiverse recently, but i am on the mend and back in the saddle. Watch for some updates during the day - i managed to do some decorating and received my RVA ornaments last week. Release the sparkle ponies!

Happy Chanukah!

So this box has been sitting on my desk since last week Since LAST WEEK people! Do you have any idea how hard it was not to open it? I had to wait until today - you know patience is not my best asset. But i waited until after sundown (if you're gonna do it you may as well do it right) and found such an awesome, awesome present Yes, that IS a scarf knitted to look like police tape! Isn't it the coolest? Jonah's wife made it for me. The card says "(You are now an honorary Jew.) Kristie made this and I helped by keeping the cats away from it." I'm wearing it right now and feel like the best dressed honorary Jew in the world. Yippee! Thanks Jonah and Thanks Kristie!

Pharmacy free-for-all

This year i decided to try a Flexible Spending Account; i figured that i would go to the doctor a few times and i am the queen of over the counter medication, so i might as well buy things with pre-tax dollars. Plus, there was a little FSA charge card - who could resist that? So i went with a low dollar amount and gave it a whirl. Well it seemed like a good idea at the time except that this year i was (knock on wood) unusually healthy. In fact I only had my yearly physical and bought cold medicine once. (double, triple knock on wood) This all means that i still had $179 in my account last week that would disappear today. I wasn't about to let that happen, so Wednesday night after seeing my trainer i want to Walgreens. Even though the money had already come out of my budget and i was trying to spend as much as possible, I was still compelled to buy the generic equivalents of most drugs - i mean why pay more for a brand name if the dosage is the same? Do you have any idea how hard it is to spend $179 on generic OTC meds and BandAids? Somehow i manged it, but i am flabbergasted by what i bought: flexible bandaids (30) knuckle and fingertip bandaids (20) bandaids with antibiotic pads (20) tough strips in kickass case for work (20) large comfort-flex bandaids (10) extra-large bandaids (10) generic advil (24) generic excederin (100) generic aleve (100) generic tylenol (1000) generic tylenol sinus (48) generic benadryl (48) generic benadryl sinus (40) Claritin (15) generic dayquil (40) generic nyquil (40) Theraflu cold & sore throat generic cloraseptic throat spray Vicks Vaporub Tums EX (192) generic airbourne (20) Bacitraycin ointment (that's an ugly word) Lanacane creme Sportscreme Carmex and a first aid kit for my car! Basically, if you aren't feeling well, i'm the woman you want to see. I mean, some of these medications i don't even take; i just wanted to have them in the house in case a guest needed them. The sick shelf in my hall closet is now so well stocked that i am going to have to get some more baskets and perhaps a mini-shelf to keep it all organized. Needless to say, i opted out of the FSA for next year. Of course, with the way things happen in the Nikiverse, that means i'll be deathly ill by next week!

So cool

How cool were the teachers at today's school? Here is the "Science Objective" in one room:

ornament swap

So right before Thanksgiving i decided that in my vast free time i would join an ornament swap : i make 3 holiday ornaments and send them to different people and 3 totally different people send hand-made ornaments to me. The catch here is that it was a quick turn around swap; we got our addresses on Nov 22nd and the boxes need to be mailed by Dec 1st. Yikes. I had a few ideas whirling around and hung out in the studio 2 nights ago. I worked with paper, with glass, with beads, with paper and glass together, with ink, with paint, with glitter, with wire and i had bupkis. I mean nothing was coming together right or it came together but i didn't like it. I must have tossed 4 different prototypes. Randomly, around 10pm, i started opening various containers to get some inspiration and i came across some broken vintage jewelry. A-ha, says I. I wanted to make some abstract angels. I tried to make them matching, but it just didn't click. Frustrated i cut them apart and made some separate ornaments. Ha-zah! The problem was that each angel had her own personality and needed to be made accordingly. Once that was decided they came together pretty quickly. The halos are from a link necklace, the heads are vintage buttons from my grandmother's button box, the wings are from tassel angels i was going to make sometime in the early 90's but never got around to and the bodies/dresses are fashioned from various vintage necklaces and gold wire. Here are Sweet, Sassy and Shy: I decided that individually the angles felt incomplete. I considered sending all 3 to one person and making 2 more sets of 3, but i came to my senses on that one. Instead I made another ornament that matched each angel in some way (if the swap says "sends one ornament" i am compelled to send two; mayhaps i need professional help). Sweet has a heart of course, while Sassy is complimented by a zany swirl-o-rama and Shy lets her companion ornament speak for her. Tonite they get boxed up and sent to NC, AZ and CA; I hope they are enjoyed in their new homes. I can't wait to see what goodies come my way next week. I'll post when i receive all three of them.

fun school sights

So one of my teams got rear-ended in traffic today (they're fine, BTW) while my team had a stupendously fun day - odd how it happens that way sometimes. Right inside the side door was this awesome mosaic-fountain-lady constructed from individual tiles made by kids: and greeting team members Amy and Lindsey was a shark on a pole wearing green striped glasses (how could i make that up?!?):

vista

So my holiday weekend went well. After 923 miles, 2 houses, 3 generations of relatives and quite a lot of green bean casserole i got home late Saturday night. I really love visiting, but driving to and/or from Ohio in the dark (in the rain) by yourself is a bit of a bummer. However, i was able to leave early enough on Wednesday to see one of my favorite driving sights: Western Maryland in the autumn at dusk with a wee bit of fog These pictures were taken at Sideling Hill (a giant notch cut in the top of a mountain for the highway to pass through; it has an awesome geologic feature called a syncline, but that's another story) and if you look really hard at the center of the second pic you'll see a teeny little church in the distance that makes the entire scene look like a postcard. sigh...

Blessings

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. When i was younger it really was my favorite time of the year. We went to Ohio to be with my parents' families. It meant travel and food and fun and spending time with my BFF, Rickki. We used to count the days till Thanksgiving like most people count to Christmas. As an adult i find myself reflecting every year on what i am thankful for. Generally i am an appreciative person; I really know that i have a good life. I can see that the terrible, painful things in life are balanced by beauty and opportunities. Everybody has days when they hate getting out of bed, but mine are few and far between. After being unwell for so long I am thankful that I really am at peace at last. I am thankful that i get to go to a job every day that drives me NUTS, but i still love. I am thankful that despite my complete neglect, I am healthy. I am thankful that I have a genetic family that loves me. I am thankful that I have a family of friends that chose me and love me. I am thankful for the time i get to spend in my studio. I am thankful for the technology that allows me to remain in contact with everyone despite the distances between us. I am thankful that the school i am supposed to be at right now had their power go out this morning so i get to leave for Ohio this afternoon instead of staying up for 24 hours and driving through the night. I am thankful that God blesses me everyday that I wake up, especially since i know i have never done anything to deserve those blessings. Life is good. I love you all. Have a great holiday - enjoy your turkey and count your blessings.