Weird weather and a couple of spooky dolls

I expect the Wicked Witch to pop by any minute. It is a'blowin out there. I walked to the mailbox and my hair flew out in all directions, scaring a frog that was sitting in the driveway.

Yes, a frog. A FROG. In January. And I saw a wasp. Pretty strange goings on here, nature-wise. We are usually covered with the white stuff right around now.

Maybe that is why I am sewing weird little dolls. Here is my latest batch.

On another topic, anyone else out there feeling like a sandwich? I don't mean eating one, I mean feeling like you are one. Like you're being squeezed by opposing forces? Like you need to be cloned big time?

I was talking to a friend about this. She said she is a bologna on white bread.

Maybe I am a cheese panini, since they get squished and grilled.

Now I am hungry. I will go make tea and sandwiches. The Wicked Witch should be here any minute now. I wonder what kind of sandwich she is? I bet it has anchovies on it. Or squid. Or whale blubber and bugs. Possibly a frog. We'll see.

What I've been doing...

Hey all!

So here we are, fully entrenched in 2012. What have you all been up to? I have been writing, writing, writing. We have two more college tuitions staring at us, and the DH and I would like to have enough Mac n' Cheese to live off of in the future. Such is life today, no? Hurry scurry.

I did sneak in some painting before I started my writing project. I have been on a 'critters wearing crowns' bender. Now I am on a 'Wednesday Addams' bender, and I'm going to make a doll or two. I love Charles Addams, and I will admit to watching the TV show faithfully. What I truly, dearly love are the cartoons he did for The New Yorker. (That's him above, sitting the chair with the helmet on.)

And you gotta love that when he died, he was cremated, and his ashes were sprinkled in the pet cemetery he had at his home, called The Swamp.

I do so love oddballs. I wonder why.

Here are my paintings:

This last one is a little Wednesday.

Yes, I am a little odd myself. Thank you for noticing.

Huzzah!

It's a brand-spanking-new year! Let's hear it for fresh starts!

I've been taking a personal 'inventory' (I refuse to make resolutions). Here's what I have come up with:

I need to learn how to say 'no'.

There needs to be more play time in life.

I hate diets.

I love being a creative person.

So I guess you can surmise that I will be answering 'no' to non-play requests while I eat apple fritters and paint and write at the same time!

I wanted to share a couple of presents I made for my kids. This year I made sculpey critters. I made a cat for Lucas, but I haven't taken a pic of it yet. Alex has to wait for his (I am holding it hostage until he comes home from Spain).

And here is a kitty I sewed. These are slightly addicting to make.

Life is busy here. I am going to try and earn some money writing (keyword = try). I am making friends with my new Mac. And I actually organized a section of my work area! Weee!

I hope you are all busy doing things you love, and sneaking in a donut now and then. I will be by to visit you soon. Hopefully you're up to no good, but not the kind that lands you in the slammer.

Christmas excuses, feel free to borrow!

It feels like I haven't blogged in ten years. But I have many, many excuses. I was thinking that some of you might need excuses right around now, so help yourself. Consider this an excuse buffet!

While you are reading my excuses, here are some pictures of my anniversary trip to Gettysburg with my long-suffering DH.

Married for a big old 24! High five to my honey!

Historic Gettysburg is an amazing place, and it was really cool to be there during the Christmas season.

On to my excuses...

1. I was sick. I WAS. I had this cold where you walk around saying things to yourself like "Come on, you aren't that sick! Go wrap some presents!" but then you find yourself drifting over to the couch with a nice warm blanket.

2. Technical difficulties. I did get my new Mac, and it is sweet. However, I have the technical proficiency of a gnat. Very small learning curves are like the Himalayas to me.

3. Shopping. Next year I am starting in June. And I will start wrapping in July. Decorations will go up in August.

4. Family. Oh, here lies a plethora of excuses! Just think of your own relatives. I'm sure they are the reason you are still in your pajamas at dinner time and can't remember your name. Not that I don't love each and every one of you (just in case you are reading my blog, which I am pretty sure you are not)!!

5. Pre-holiday-stress-disorder (PHSD). It needs no explanation. Rabbit in the headlights time.

6. Paper cuts. Free DNA with every gift I have wrapped.

7. Holiday movies. They take time to watch, after all.

(our Christmas tree)

8. Sugar overdose. I have started a new holiday tradition. I have a bag of M&Ms next to me while I wrap presents. Every time I wrap a gift, I pop 3 M&Ms into my mouth.

I'm sure there are more excuses than these. But I have to run to the store to buy more gifts so I can eat more M&Ms.

(our Christmas village)

All excuses and whining aside, I know I am a lucky duck. I'm wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah, too! A safe and healthy 2012 all around!

Laptop=croaked=awol

Well, it had to happen sometime. My beloved Mac laptop kicked the bucket. I am working on Caity's old HP which has Unix. GAK! I am too old to learn new things! Can you see me kicking and screaming from where you are? No? Well, trust me, I am.

On to holiday cheer!I live in a lovely part of the world. It's near a little town called Mt. Airy. In the historic district is a little shop called Ben Gue's. It's hard to explain this shop except to say that when you walk in, it is packed to the brim with gifts, leaning toward country and folk art. You can hardly move through it without touching something (or maybe that's just me needing a DIET...ahem).

The store has a basement dedicated to Christmas. You walk down narrow stairs into a space crammed with Santas, angels, and snowmen. It is very easy to get lost down there.

Here are a couple of pictures the DH took with his phone. That's my blurry head back there, trying to pick out this year's snowman. What? You don't buy a snowman every year? Huh.
The new snowmen are living in the Snowman Village in the dining room.

Now you are telling me that you don't have a Snowman Village in your dining room?
What is the world coming to?

I am going to post this before I accidentally hit the wrong key and delete it. Good news: a Mac is on the way from Santa!

HO HO HO!!

I'm having a sale!

Are you still full? I am.
And is it STILL snowing here on my blog. My, my. The weather in BlogWorld has been something else.

This is just a quick post (between leftovers) to let you know I am having a little etsy sale. Everything in my shop is 15% off. Just enter the code MERRY2011 upon checkout (good through December 1st).

Here are a few new things:

Gerald, a jester from the Enchanted Forest

Frida
Josephine

And I couldn't break up Nanette and Roger.

I think I ate an entire pecan pie over the weekend. I mean, there is only one little slice left, and I didn't see anyone else eating it. How did this happen? Is there such a thing as somnambulism pie-eating? I think I slivered it to death. You know, a sliver here, a sliver there. Now if I could only sliver into my jeans.

HO HO HO!

Thankful

It's that time of year! We get to eat like crazy (stuffing, cranberries, pie!) and think about our lives for an entire day. How cool is this?

There are no gifts to worry over, or wrap - just hanging out. That's my favorite part. I get up early and spend the day in the kitchen. People wander in and out. We eat. We talk. We sip coffee. We switch to wine.

I LOVE this holiday!So, about that thankful part...

I am very thankful to have 'met' so many of you fabulous people here in Blog World. Maybe I haven't seen your mugs in person (yet!), but I feel like I know many of you. I am very thankful for your visits. You make me like human beings more.
I'm thankful for the friends who put up with me year in and year out. Furry friends included.

And for my family (who I suppose COULD act like they don't know me, but they haven't so far).

For income, health insurance, and a safe and beautiful place to live.
And while I am being thankful, I'd like to thank Lorna for my lovely blog prize.
You know I like skellys, and this one is really beautiful. I was very lucky to win it on her blog giveaway. Look at this!Where would I be without art, or writing, or story, which always inspire me?

On Thanksgiving, I hope that you are with people that you love, and that there will be food aplenty. I hope that laughter and memories will be passed around the table with the mashed potatoes and gravy.

Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you!