The past week involved lots of drawing (nothing final I can share yet), snow days, and a few (very few) naps.
"Progress shot...flowers of peace and hope"
"New Englanders laugh. Schools had a snow day today."
"Pure magic"
Welcome to the New Year
Here we go again, a new year, new intentions, resolutions, projects, and glossy dreams of reaching perfection starting January 1.
"My favorite of our 2015 creations: an egg holder suitable for chicken and/or duck eggs!"
I have dreams (delusions) of this being the year I balance it all: appreciating family time, making art, exercising daily, cooking wholesome meals, and keeping the house clean. If the end of 2015 taught me anything, if I do any 3 of those things simultaneously, 2 invariably suffer. (And oh do they suffer!)
"Nearly finished! Now I have a giant stack of #original #drawings, if anyone is interested!"
I didn't mention gardening because somehow gardening has become a given. It's my get-away-from-it-all, 100%-me-time thing I do nearly every week.
"If you like sweet potatoes today would be a good day to help out at Little Sugar Creek!"
Blogging, if you have followed along and figured out, is a reflection of whatever is getting my attention at the time. Long gone are the days when I had time to pick up Charlie's camera to play. An Instagram or 2 a day have become what you'll see here, probably discussed slightly more in detail.
"Happy holidays, take some time to breathe and enjoy it!"
So there you have it, vague intentions for the Sweet 16. Anyone else have thoughts on what you expect from the new year?
One for the road
After a quick hop on the road to Raleigh for the always-awesome Handmade Market, we're gearing up for show #2 of the season in Atlanta! This weekend is ICE, a show with a decade of amazingness under it's belt, Christy and Shannon have hammered out all the details to guarantee a good time!
If you're in ATL this weekend please stop by and say hi!
If you're looking for some great handmade holiday gifts but can't make it to a show, check out the vendors from The Handmade Market here and the vendors from ICE here.
Sticky Situation
I've been preserving more this summer than I have in the past few years, at least since the kids were born. The products have been relatively simple: mostly jams, a peach barbecue sauce, and some peaches in juice. I made a successful batch of Elderflower Champagne (third time's a charm). The jams, though, ohhhh the jams; rose petal, rose petal strawberry, strawberry fig, fig with cardamom and vanilla, chunky peach mint, and the others I can't remember off the top of my head. The jams make me wax poetic, though I'll spare you the actual poetry.
What is it that's so satisfying about canning and food preservation? Somehow it stirs my self confidence, knowing I can provide delicious foods well after the plants are finished producing. Certainly the colors appeal to my artistic side. Perhaps even the productivity of a quick exercise of making appeals to my artistic side as well. Whether it's one of those things or a combination of many, canning is a satisfying experience, though I wonder if my enjoyment is a stark contrast to those in the past (and certainly still some families today) who rely on the hard work of preservation to feed their families. In which case, my own jam-making is one of luxury or entitlement.
Homemade concoctions to aid in making homemade concoctions.
A few holidays ago (I have no idea which one) Charlie started building me a drying rack as a gift. Six, maybe 8, months of starting and stopping later it's finally finished and in full use! It's basically a pine frame with slots to slide trays in. The trays are also pine and I hot glued taut screen on top of each tray. The whole thing, though large, is lightweight and easy to move, but also slips nicely into place underneath the kitchen counter. So far I'm drying snow/snap peas and fava beans for fall planting, various herbs, and thin slices of a large beet.
The beet is an experiment. My favorite lip balm has a hint of beet powder in it to tint the balm. I'm interested in trying to make my own with fewer ingredients and perhaps a bit brighter color. Wish me luck, it may take me another 6 to 8 months to get around to making it!
