Christmas Gift

My dear Aunt Joanie, a wonderful artist, sent me this book for Christmas. She and my cousin, Gina, also an artist, have been so encouraging to me in terms of art. I look back fondly on early childhood days when we lived near each other (although Gina, being much younger than I, was still a baby when we moved.) There were days when I could "do art" with Aunt Joanie. I so loved those times. But math and science got in the way and art was moved to the back burner. Now I have some time to rediscover "doing art" and am convinced if I work hard enough this coming year I will be able to draw reasonably well by this time next year. Aunt Joanie, I'm working on an apple for you--my teacher!

Since we were up in Glenwood Springs before Christmas, the tree and all the decorations were left up to our girls. We came home to a beautifully decorated house. Maybe we should do this every year! Have had some time to play in "my room" and since Lizzie needed a gift for a dorm friend, I made her a bracelet in the young lady's favorite colors: blue and green. I really liked the way it turned out!

Resto-Lounge?

On our walk we saw a sign for a restaurant that said "Resto-Lounge." We laughed about what that might mean as we hadn't seen that before. However, within ten minutes we saw another "Resto-Lounge" sign and thought we better get a photo of it. And this in a little town of about 8500 people. Seems these Resto-Lounges are taking over the valley. What exactly is a Resto-lounge?

Glenwood Springs Sights Today

It snowed about 3 inches during the night and this morning but we decided to walk to downtown anyway. Took a picture of the Bail Bonds place near the jail. Seemed like a sad Christmas joke. Then walked over to the Hotel Colorado for some hot chocolate. Tom met another one of his weird friends there. And of course there were plenty of swimmers in the Hot Springs. I always think it's funny to see the swimmers doing laps, and the lifeguards wearing ski parkas! Ahhh.......I love Glenwood Springs!

Enjoying Glenwood Springs

Walked downtown today and met two cute penguins, just before the snow arrived. We watched the snow slowly head this way, covering the mountains. But it doesn't look like it will stay in town. That's OK by me. I like it when it stays in the mountains for the skiers and boarders.

Added FeedBlitz Widget

Just wanted you all to know that I've added a FeedBlitz widget so you can subscribe to my blog. The widget is off to the left. Fill in your email address and you will receive an email whenever I update my blog -- however infrequently it might be.

Our Pre-Christmas Adventure or The Glenwood Springs Limited

Tom and I decided to take the California Zephyr from Denver to Glenwood Springs this time. What a lovely adventure! It took 12 hours from the time we left our home in Boulder to the time we arrived at our Glenwood Springs home (by car, usually 3.5 hours) but it was such a relaxed trip. Certainly beats fighting the traffic on I-70. We had to wait for the train to arrive in Denver so we found a lovely cafe, Common Grounds, had lattes and read the papers. Then, back to the station where we waited --and read--some more. Finally got on board and had quite spacious accomodations and beautiful scenery. Even had a lovely lunch in the dining car. All in all, well worth it! And I made quite a dent in my latest read--Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

Sarah's Bracelet

My little niece, Sarah, was in town for her 11th birthday this year. The first time we'd be able to celebrate with her. Unfortunately, one of our daughters ended up in the emergency room and then had to have surgery so we missed the party. Here is the bracelet I made for Sarah. In her thank you note she said that the bracelet is cool! Glad you like it, sweetie pie. And the red bead is a family "we love you" bead. That's why there's just one.

Dry-brushed tags

Here are all of my previously dyed, inked, marbled, etc. tags now with gesso dry-brushed over them. They remind me of weathered cottages at the beach. I'm learning a lot with the Artist's Circle.

My 50th Post

This post makes 50 for my blog. I'm glad to be keeping it up even if it is sporadic. Found this quiz on another blog and since I love quizzes I took it! Here's what book I am:

You're Siddhartha!

by Hermann Hesse

You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in. This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in ferries.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Tags with dye ink

I took balls of fiberfill and dabbed them onto dye ink pads. Then I both dabbed and smeared them onto the tags. Each tag has three different colors of ink. I think these are my favorites of the whole process. What fun!

My marbled tags

The next step in the tag booklet I'm making with the Artist's Circle group was really fun to do. Spray shaving cream into a pan, drop some ink on top, swirl a bit---and then lay the previously coffee-stained tag on top! I love the way the tags came out. I did each color separately and used Ranger inks.