Here We Go Again!

Well, this is what I woke up to this morning! And it was in the 50s a couple of days ago!


Ice is on some of the plants (hard to see in this photo of my Rose of Sharon bushes, but all of the seed pods are covered in a layer of ice, topped with snow.


Looking west down my street...


And looking west. Spring starts on March 20 at 7:21p.m.!

OWOH Winners

Yes, I said "winners" with an S! The quilt label book was won by Nancy of Michigan - and she's a quilter!!! Because so many commented on the OWOH post, I decided to choose two additional winners, who will each receive a special surprise goody from me! Those winners are Gayle from Canada and Mervi from Finland! Congratulations, everyone!

Shelby and the Wolf

The other day, I was watching a "Nature" episode on PBS that was about the grey wolf. For a little bit, I was listening more than watching, when I heard a noise that had nothing at all to do with the wolf on the television. I looked up, and there was my younger cat Shelby, watching the wolf! He had just become intrigued with the sounds of the wolf, but then he seemed to be watching its movement.

He ended watching most of the episode!

And today, Shelby and Dodger and I all wish my brother Jeff a very happy birthday, indeed!

The Fiction Project

I got my notebook for The Fiction Project and thought I'd tell you a little bit about it. I'm so excited about it! It's sort of the baby sibling of The Sketchbook Project, a huge venture between Art House Co-op and The Brooklyn Art Library. Artists signing up all receive the same moleskine cahier notebook and are challenged to do something with it. They then send them back in, and they are catalogued permanently at The Brooklyn Art Library, where anyone can check them out and peruse their pages.

The Fiction Project grew out of this - the only real difference is that participants are challenged to tell a story, along with illustrations. This year's Sketchbook Project is closed, but the Fiction Project is still open for a short time. You can find out information here http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject and here http://arthousecoop.com/projects/fiction as well as viewing previous sketchbooks and fiction.

Is It Getting Warmer?

It's going to be about 15 degrees warmer today than it's been for days! I can't imagine it - 25 degrees! And it's supposed to be in the 40's by Sunday! It'll be a heatwave! Hope everyone else has good weather and does something wonderfully fun this weekend!

I think I'll be switching time between writing - thesis and other stuff! - and reading a wonderful mystery: Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George. Although I'm way behind, it's the third (of about fourteen) in her Inspector Thomas Lynley series. Fantastic books, phenomenal writer!

One World One Heart 2011

The last one! I'm so sad, but I want to thank Lisa Swifka so much for hosting them the past five years! Anyway, I'm finally participating in the fifth and final One World One Heart 2011!

I'm a fifty-something widow who is also a graduate student in mid-nineteenth century American history, a grandmother of several, mom to five kids and two cats (first time I haven't had a dog in several years!), and a lover of writing, art, and craft. I also love to watch (when I can) old television shows (Ironside, Hawaii Five-O - new and old, Columbo, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, etc.) and British shows (crime dramas like Inspector Lynley and Inspector Lewis, and comedies - my favorite being As Time Goes By). And a lot of the time when I'm watching the old shows, I'm gazing fondly at the decor because I love mid-century modern anything! So, while all of my current history projects are centered in the 1860s, my heart floats in the 1960s! I even find the arts and crafts of that era amazing, both in observation and in creation. I also am adamant that if we don't fix our environment, nothing else will matter much. So in that vein, most of the crafts that I enjoy involve at least some recycling.

I'm giving away the book "A Treasury of Quilt Labels" by Susan McKelvey, a wonderful source of all manner of labels to attach to your quilts! In order to win, leave a comment at the end of this post. I'll be choosing a winner by random generator and will announce on February 17. If possible, I'll be adding another gift for a second winner. Hope you win!

Snow! And Ice!

Wow! Snow, then ice, then snow again! Finally, today nothing much is happening - but it's freezing! I can't wait for winter to leave!