random reflections

Zoom In, Zoom Out on Snowy Weather

I took these photos about 10:00 this morning, and then left for a lovely luncheon at a friend's house. By the time I returned we'd gotten at least five more inches. It's beautiful, and fortunately the roads weren't as bad as I thought they might be. I'm glad to be home before it gets dark. Most evening activites around town have been cancelled for tonight. I just heard on the news that by Friday we might have as much as 15-18 inches of snow. It's much worse east of here. I guess winter is really here.

Out our front window:

Out the back window on the patio:

 

The Christmas Club

Sian has once again come up with a great idea for some holiday blogging--a revival of her 2010 Christmas Club stories. Just begin with:  At Christmas we . . .

At Christmas we have a family band.

It started in 2007 when my brother-in-law gave Tracy's sister an accordian for their anniversary. Tracy, Greg, and Jill all played in an award-winning accordian band when they were in high school. They traveled around the country and won quite a few prizes. When his brother, Greg, saw the gift he suggested Jill learn a few Christmas carols and they'd play at Christmas. Greg is a professional musician and my brother-in-law, Tom, plays the drums in a local band so right away they had a trio.

Over the years, the band has grown. Two of our nieces brought very talented boyfriends to Christmas dinner for several years, Greg's significant other is a musician from Austin, both Tracy's cousin and her daughter are talented musicians as well, so the band sounds pretty good. Jill, however, gave up her place in the band after the first year or two. 

 

Hollis, my niece's boyfriend, seen here playing the flute, also plays the piano, bagpipes, and mandolin. He's got a great voice too. 

We're never quite sure who will bring what instrument, but for the last seven years the family band has entertained us in style. You can find other Christmas Club stories here.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 49

I'm trying to figure out what happens to my days. They are simply flying by too quickly, although I am truly grateful for my happy, healthy, busy life! 

A friend and I enrolled in Jane LaFazio's "Sketching and Watercolor:  Journal Style." I really like Jane's style, and am enjoying the class. This week's assignment is sketching flowers. Tina and I both joined the Rochester Sketch group who met this afternoon at the Lamberton Conservatory at Highland Park. This public sketching was a big step for two novice sketchers, but we both agreed it was a wonderful outing. The folks in the group couldn't have been nicer or more supportive. 

The Lamberton is all decked out for Christmas, and I took the opportunity to get the Week 49 Zoom In, Zoom Out photos. I had a different set in mind, but it hadn't happened yet. Probably this week, for Week 50. (How is it possible that there are only three weeks left for this project?) I've truly enjoyed Helena's meme this year.

It's another busy week ahead:  lots still on the To Do list, and many social engagements. December is a time when all my friends want to get together, and I just let everything else go. Connections and relationships are always #1 for me, and especially so during the holidays. Hope your preparations are coming right along!

 

Back in Business

We had a fabulous few days with family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We stayed up too late chatting with Sarah and Adam, and up too early with Caleb who decided after a couple of nights, that 5:30 am was about the right time to get up. We're partly responsible for that since he's allowed to watch PBS Kids in the morning at our house (but definitely not at his house!) We got a lot of family time with Matt, Betsy, Skylar, and the new little one, Ella. She's a keeper! She sleeps 3-4 hours between feedings and is a totally content little girl. Here's a cute photo of the three cousins. You can see that Ella is nonplussed by the three year olds.

Sarah, Adam, and Caleb left here after church on Sunday. When they left, I'd barely begun with preparations for Christmas, but I've accomplished a ton in the last 2 1/2 days:  Christmas cards are finished (but not yet addressed), shopping is nearly done, and most of the handmade gifts are completed. We put up our Christmas tree this afternoon, but still have to decorate it and the rest of the house. Aside from needing to complete several assignments for two online classes, I'm feeling like things are under control.

Sarah and I did a little crafting while she was here. I'll share that in a later post, but I managed to squeeze in time to make a birthday card and get it in the mail.

I knew I wanted to use Papertrey's Star Coverplate, and hunted through my 6X6 paper pads until I found Lawn Fawn's "Into the Woods." I die cut the cover plate twice, once with the patterned paper and again with Tropical Teal card stock so I'd have a few solid colored stars for accent. The Lawn Fawn enamel dots in my drawer matched perfectly. I love how the patterned paper behind the cover plate shows through the stars. The sentiment was die cut and stamped with Papertrey's "Wet Paint." Then the whole cover plate was attached to a top folded card made from Canyon Clay cardstock.

I'm posting this card on two challenge sites. First on Less is More, where the challenge is "Celebrations,"

 

and then on the Simon Says Wednesday challege: "Anything Goes."