Little Comrades

Here's a canvas arted up with my valentine image & more:

Down from the Box

Lest some of you may think I have given up all attempts at making art for either writing entries in this blog (OR using it as a Soapbox), I just wanted to let you know I have been thinking about Valentines Day. (Pay no attention to the COMRADES in the mirror!)

A little more Afghanistan

This Crazy World we live in. . .

Last night Colin & I went to preview a presentation a swim friend of his is giving at CSU tomorrow.
Lee & his wife are friends with the current British Ambassador to Afghanistan & she had invited them to visit before her tenure there ends. They did so in December of 2005.
Afghanistan is approximately the size of Montana. Tremendously mountainous, peopled with numerous (some of them warring) tribes & factions and a crossroads for the (also numerous) tribes & factions of other countries passing through, it has a history fraught with misery, natural disasters, poverty, war.
The slides we saw of both city & countryside equally were of desolation & ruin, though some rather random rebuilding is occurring. This is a photo of the British Embassy in 1967. It now sits in ruins, officially owned by Pakistan:

The photos we saw of the men & children (NO WOMEN, except in burkas, from behind)
make one cry out against the crimes committed by us (that is, all of us) against our own brothers & sisters (that is, much of the so-called Third World).
At any rate, they make ME cry out.

She's Clever

I was so excited when my darling girlfriend Denise sent us a copy of her That's Clever Episode! We (September, Dante, Sebastian, Corina, Colin & me) watched it four times! She sent popcorn, too! Here she is:

We love her so much!

Now here is a glimpse of her second project, which is cool, but gotta tell ya, it's way cooler to see her in the act of making it:

Thanks, sweetie!

Staying Cozy

January is month for which I have mixed feelings.
Hopes are high, the slate in some ways fresh.
But it's often cold here in the foothills of the Rockies
& our house doesn't stay warm easily.
Rare sunny days, though short, are welcomed with a thankful heart.
On an afternoon spent trying to keep my fingers warm enough to work,
I dream of a lofty mountain cabin, with blazing fire, spacious hearth,
overflowing bookshelves & huge comfy chairs.
Outside, a flash of sheer red - a bird - through trees so deeply green
one gets lost just looking at them.
Snowshoes crunch, yet quietly, back up the path to the porch
& in through a lovely heavy wooden door.
Wool piles form on the floor as scarves & hats & mittens
are flung off, exchanged for the handles of thick homemade mugs
overflowing with coffee & chocolate & cream.
Music & laughter replace snowshoe's crunch.
Here & now & back to everyday, I find myself; cold fingers stiff
& hard to guide.
Maybe I'll begin a wish list:
Item # 1 - fingerless gloves (with altering potential?)

Remember Seventeen Magazine?

I wouldn't mind still looking like this at all, & being the cause of "His Capitulation"!
I STILL wear my Copperscope Slicker, but SAD! It's almost all gone.
Honestly, I don't know where I will ever find anything half so perfect.

Only fifty of "My Favorite Things" in absolutely no special order:

1. retro & vintage snapshots, esp. of girls with braids, or wearing plaid!
2. "Paris" perfume
3. things which smell like peaches
4. dusk
5. my kids
6. the color pink
7. taking hot bubble baths without the phone ringing
8. road trips
9. the movies
10. my darling friends
11. surprising someone with a gift
12. music from the '60s & the '80s
13. the original Oh! de London perfume by Yardley
14. black boots
15. funky scarves
16. bookstores
17. my grandsons
18. Chicago
19. long flowery skirts
20. warm sweaters
21. The New York Times
22. a sunny day at the beach
23. a cloudy day at the beach
24. Fiestaware
25. frames made of weathered wood, with a hint of color still there, or added on!
26. mobiles made from seashells & driftwood
27. thinking about my grandparents
28. Urban decay make-up, including the names, like "Gash"
29. train stations
30. dangly earrings
31. capri pants
32. a long leisurely massage
33. the art of Marc Chagall
34. black 3/4 sleeve v-neck leotards
35. plain yogurt
36. vintage ribbons, esp. plaid
37. graffiti
38. finishing a project
39. cut flowers in things not intended as vases
40. making art in a well-appointed cabin in the mountains
41. spray paint
42. Champagne
43. the Internet
44. zines
45. Irish Coffee made with Scotch whiskey!
46. daisies
47. vintage glitter
48. the art of Peter Max
49. being surprised with a gift
50. walking down a city street

It's the little things. . .

Silly me! - back to the list of Four!

I just realized in all my messing around here yesterday, I accidently deleted the first two questions about the "Four Things"!
What jobs I have had, what movies I would watch time & again. . .
So for those I tagged, I am going to check later & see if you are missing those MONUMENTLY important categories. (at least that movie one!)

I am a poplar tree - Celtic horoscopes

A vintage photo of a car on the poplar tree lined Beach Road that leads to Pines and Kairaki Beaches from Kaiapoi, New Zealand.

You Are A Poplar Tree
People tend to look up to you, and it's a bit lonely at the top.
Inside, you are not always self confident, but you show great courage.
Mature and organized, you are reliable in any situation.
You tend to have an artistic or philosophical outlook on life.
You are very choosy in love and take partnership seriously.
http://www.blogthings.com/celtichoroscopes/

Image Savvy (well, sort of)

AT last, I figured out - by myself - a way to get my images on despite the MAC
situation!! YAY! I can't wait to run out & tell me friends. . . now, to borrow a digicam!
In the meantime, here is the front cover of the ATC accordion style holder I made for the current (February/March 2006) issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine.

One Rainy Day Last Spring

I took this photo of Dante & Sebastian - today (January 17th) is SOOOOOOO cold here, as was yesterday & the day before & the day before THAT! So this can remind us all that when Winter comes, Spring can't be far behind!

Four things. . .

Here's a perfect rainy day scene - the last kiss in Breakfast at Tiffany's. . .

Four jobs you have had:
Artist
Costumer
Nursery School teacher
Shopgirl
****
Four movies you would watch over and over (ONLY 4!?):
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Grand Canyon
A Life Less Ordinary
To Kill a Mockingbird
****
Four places you have lived:
Arizona (USA)
California (USA)
Colorado (USA)
New Mexico (USA)
****
Four TV shows you enjoy watching:
Dark Angel
Firefly
The OC
Project Runway
****
Four places you have been on vacation:
Chicago
Florida
New Mexico
New Orleans
****
Four websites I visit daily:
Amazon
Blogger
Flickr
My Yahoo groups
****
Four of my favorite foods:
Beignets
Chocolate
Strawberries
Tempeh Burgers from Avo's in Fort Collins
****
Four places I would rather be right now:
A warm sunny beach - maybe in Mexico or the Caribbean
In bed
Relaxing over martinis, wine or coffee almost anywhere with my friends
oh shoot for the fourth one i have to say i actually don't mind being here now!!!
****
Four bloggers I am tagging:
Angela
Denise
Steph
Tiffini