So here we are at the end of the holiday weekend- and my week of grateful posts.
I am so grateful for you, dear readers and friends, your kind words and loyal support. It's wonderful to be part of this community, so like a family now.
It's been a busy month with my mom's move, Silver Bella, a beautiful autumn and now the holiday. I am thankful for the days and days of celebrating with our little family, all here for the occasion. Big events like Thanksgiving dinner, but also the unplanned moments along the way, each a genuine gift of love.
I do know what I am grateful for. I have so much.
Sassy, my mom's best friend.
I am so glad she is there waiting for Mom on the other side of the door when I bring her back home. Especially chosen just for Mom by the Humane Society staff who promised she was super sweet, docile and content, it's been a happy-ever-after for many years since. Pretty sure that Sassy is grateful for Mom too. Made for each other, it's a perfect match.
Grateful that none of us are interested in shopping or being part of the general rush of madness that is the feverish headline today. And what a heartbreaking headline it became as the day wore on. This tragedy in a WalMart where shoppers trampled and killed an employee - and then another crime scene in a ToysRUs.
I heard that breaking news on the radio earlier while cleaning my mother's apartment. Erin is here from Boston for the holiday (which was wonderful!). She and I joined forces today and then split the tasks. She took my mom to the grocery and I cleaned her apartment. Erin returned with a dismayed report about the rude shoppers who refused to make way for an elderly woman with a cane.
Seriously, I'd rather be on my hands and knees vacumming the back of the closet than be in a WalMart or in a ToysRUs or even in a grocery store. Is this really the beginning of the holiday season? Give. Joy. Love....what about Compassion? Can we please put that on the list- somewhere near the top.
Actually, I'm all for skipping the list and snuggling on the couch some more. That's enough for me. As is often the case here, it's handmade again. This year for sure.
Unexpected inspirations that my camera collects. I especially love the things I see when away from my own nest. Color, composition, snapshots. Today I'm drawn to the red ones.
I'm grateful for our painted kitchen table. It's where we eat every meal together from a bowl of oatmeal to a candlelit dinner. A shabby, shaky old thing, the top of it is a little warped, but it handles anything we ask of it- well, up to 8. I bought it in a Connecticut junk store, found way in the back and now it's the center of the house.
The place where Suzanne's September orchid still blooms.
The surface where I stage my photos in spring.
And every other season too.
The scene where I introduce new friends.
Where I paint and play.
Sit down for a meal or celebrate a special day.
Linger with visiting family and friends.
Cherish a million fleeting, favorite moments that could only have happened here. At this old table, then and now. Gratefully.
This is the time of year when we count our blessings. It is easy to see the big things. Family, love, friends, home, work, food, health, comfort. We are so very fortunate.
I want to notice the littler things as well, those that surround me every day. The ones I rush past. They matter too.
This wall is in our upstairs hall. It's a short, skinny hallway made for connecting rooms, not much else. I couldn't even stand back far enough to take a full-on picture of the whole wall (this is half), our gallery of babies and days gone by. Prints dropped into lucite box frames- mostly from the time when we could only view pictures as prints. The lovelies have grown up, but thanks to Maggie, who made a day-long project of this, we can stop here to remember. Gratefully.
How much do I love Maggie's beautiful hands? Those long, elegant fingers. Her comfortable grace and loving heart. She has been a huge help with my mom while I was away in Omaha. Cooking, shopping, taking her out, hanging around, listening and laughing with her Grammy. I am so grateful for our amazing girl, so happy she is close to us.
Next week, I'm going to start a grateful series. Tis the season.
My second class at Silver Bella was this, and it was so inspiring to see the creations made from my kit elements and student's extras. At the end of the last class, we put them out in the hall together to take a village picture. I'm sorry I didn't think to do that with the first class.
I just read on the message board that someone's niece called this the Bella Bender....o, yes, that's a perfect description. And I didn't even have much to drink. But it was a crazy craft high, a creative love fest where we all came away with something to be inspired by. Mostly each other.
The whole thing is hard to explain to anyone who doesn't get excited about dusty boxes of yellowing lace, curling black and white snapshots, pools of paint, glue and glitter, fast talking girls hard at work, shared stashes of buttons, brittle scraps of flocked wallpaper, little paper houses and soldering irons. On our way to the airport heading home, one woman said she now saw her life in 2 parts: before Silver Bella and after Silver Bella. Completely serious.
For me, it was all of the above plus the delight of being with so many talented, generous, caring women. Old and new friends. It just fills you up.
My Prada Schmada class was a wild success and those 60 fabulous decorated, painted, trimmed bags toted all over the hotel were so cool to see on the arms of happy girls. I had never taught that class to anyone- invented just for the occasion. I was so worried that it would be too many processes for the amount of time, too complicated to carve potatoes, let paint dry, sew on pockets. Heck, no! The idea took off like a kid on a bike and was so, so much fun! I was seriously blown away. Bella bliss. Big time.
Thank you, Anna Griffin, Plaid and Marcus Brothers. Your contributions made this class the coolest ever!
Even our trash was inspired and memorable.
Have to take a breath here. Tomorrow I'll show you the second class round-up. Holiday House Tour. Too sweet!