Not a creature was stirring...

Not even the mouse who usually has the gall to climb right out on the stove top and snicker at me when it's this quiet in my house. Even he, fine soul, has left me alone with my Wolaver's IPA and my terrycloth bathrobe this evening.
Well, it's Christmas Eve and I think this is the first time that I'll have spent this particular evening without family. Goat will come home from the shop at some point, but for the time being, I'm enjoying the stillness of the house. I closed up shop early (was reprimanded slightly by my boss for not consulting him first, but so it goes). Headed home, took a bath, read a bit. Nice, quiet evening thus far.

You probably know something about the snow storm we got in Baltimore last Friday night into Saturday. It was lovely. The only drawback was that it delayed my trip to Western Massachusetts (where they only got three inches of snow) and so I was only able to spend a wee little bit of time with my family there. I took about 600 photos though.
I'm serious.
I'll post a few once I get them off the camera.

I met the most recent addition to my family, Mr. Alejandro, Beautiful Baby Bundle. I gave my dad two boxes--rather than an entire pallet--of Cheez-Its. I drank Dunkin Donuts coffee and Budweiser. I squeezed the guts out of my nieces and nephews. I have 8 you know. Eight nieces and nephews, ranging from 24 years to 2 1/2 months old. And there are more on the way.
Wee!
All you crafters who make baby stuff, beware.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

You know what's funny?

My family is celebrating solstice this year!
We'll be drinking Bud and eating pizza, but it'll be on Winter Solstice. That, my friends, rules.
Due mostly to my work schedule, we kinda had to rearrange Christmas in order to spend it as a family this year, and it turns out that we'll be celebrating on my favorite day of the year...Winter Solstice! Okay, maybe winter solstice isn't my favorite day of the year, but I dare say I'm usually the only one in my family who stops for a moment to be still on winter solstice.


Those Gosses....
Buncha pagan hippy noodle-dancing freaks...

:)

I'm a reflector.

That is part of the reason why I feel overwhelmed when things get hectic in good ways. It's okay to get overwhelmed when things are hectic in bad ways, sure, but I'd like to get a better grip on those feelings when they are brought on by joy, fun, artistic inspiration and love. A way to do this, I know, is to be more present. To enjoy a moment and let it go. My instinct and desire is to dwell on moments both joyful and painful. I want to write about them in my journal, update my blog, make artwork reflecting those feelings, talk about it with my family and friends. I'm a reflector. I want to experience a feeling fully, to come at it from every angle. Instead, I need to be a rock in a river bed. I need to let all these feelings and experiences wash over me, allow myself to be shaped slowly by these experiences, but to continue being a rock in a river bed rather than a bee buzzing from blossom to blossom.

A list of joys and trials:

• Charm City Craft Mafia's Holiday Heap: Snowy, festive, packed, delightful, inspiring
• Easter Rabbit: Joe's new book, release including performance tomorrow at Hexagon
• Studio: searching, stressing, leaping and then looking
• Looms: a couple of them to a couple of good homes
• Singing: I tried. Cried. No one noticed. Try again next week. Words too big to sing.
• Schedule/Staff: Compassion for others vs. my sanity vs. getting a job done
• A Pallet of Cheez-Its: A Pallet of Cheez-Its
  
• Warren Seelig show at MICA: Beautiful, inspiring, grounding
• Barry Nemett show at MICA: Excellent work, too crowded in the space
• Threadbare: White on White, Rock in a River Bed

Holiday Heap: A Few More Favorites

I wasn't lying when I said Holiday Heap is coming up.
This Saturday, December 5th from 10am until 5pm at 2640 Saint Paul Street.
Wee!
Check out these superstars who will be there in full holiday cheer:

Elisa Shere Jewelry:


Maneating Flower Flasks:


Charm City Craft Mafia's own, HVM Designs:



Come, shop, say hi to your friends.

Holiday Heap: Saturday December 5th

A list of favorites to whet your appetite for the best holiday craft show of the season:


2 Hawks 2 Fishes




Bowerbox Press

Biggs and Featherbelle

List(less)

I just read a friend's recent blog post--he hasn't been blogging much lately and neither have I--so it was nice to see at least one of us is writing a little something. His blog generally consists of lists. Interesting lists, simple lists, lists that I love to read.
His most recent is a list of what he's been up to and I thought, "that's a good idea to steal." I haven't felt up to writing in full paragraphs concerning what I've been up to lately, but it seems like a list version might be manageable. Let's try this.

Photo courtesy of Kathy Fahey


What I've been up to recently (as in, 'the past couple months'):

• Grieving the loss of my mother
• Learning the ropes of a new job and then becoming the boss at said job (by the way, my predecessor at said job left me quite the legacy...)
  
• Appreciating, enjoying and resenting being a 'social mentor' to a fairly new friend
• Rehearsing a lot
• Singing at two Creative Alliance shows and hardly singing on Thursday nights at all
• Reconciling the knowledge that my voice is ruined but I'm not done singing
  
• Rearranging schedules to accommodate everyone but myself
• Wrestling with the fact that I no longer make art
• Having my studio kinda snatched from under my nose
• Reading Touching the Void, a true story about a pair of mountaineers in Peru to keep my trials in perspective
  
• Going to bed early as often as possible
• Saying no as often as possible
• Feeling guilty
• Wishing I had more time to myself
• Over-committing left and right
  
• Applying for a million jobs and then realizing the one I fell into might be just right
• Feeling incredibly overwhelmed by the complexity of certain relationships
• Feeling joyful regarding all the brand new babies showing up in my life (birth makes me feel more positive about death, I guess)
• Feeling frustrated that I cannot afford to purchase a pair of new socks, much less pay my outstanding bills, especially knowing that in two weeks I will be able to. A little love now, how 'bout?
• Missing Patty's wedding to sing at my mom's funeral
  
• Crying when no one's looking
• Working a lot on Craft Mafia sponsorship, but not on my own work
• Missing my friends, but being unable to connect with them
• Missing my mom. A lot.
• Trying hard to be good to my friends and family but feeling completely disconnected
• Acknowledging that I do not feel present and need to change
• Allowing myself the space I need, but now knowing that I need to try harder
  

Did you get your tickets yet?

Do it. Get your tickets. You'll be so sad if you miss this show.


For the record, and because I'm kinda less than skilled at dealing with Blogger's quirks... the blue one on the left is last year's poster, the yellow one is 2007's poster and this lovely longer one below is THIS YEAR's poster! Wee!