An Artful Gathering

Thanksgiving Recipe

Here is a great quick and easy Thanksgiving recipe:

Pumpkin Parfait - 4 servings

1 small package pumpkin jellow pudding

2 cups whipping cream

Whip together, chill, and serve

You can't get any easier than that!

Time Spent at the Smoky Mountain Art Retreat

I just realized I'd never written anything about my time in the Smoky Mountains of NC.  I went there to teach a book class, Gypsy Lore.  This is a book that I created several years ago and still on occasion present it to a group.  We stayed in a most elegant "cabin" LODGE is a better description - in Maggie Valley, NC.  Our meals were heavenly and friendship abounded. 

I presented the book, gave some instructions and handed out kits and let the bookmaking creative process begin.   We had a glorious long weekend with a couple of my friends showing up on Friday only.  The ladies outdid themselves and I got rave reviews for holding a class and allowing the students to be as creative as they dared to be.  They thoroughly enjoyed me encouraging them to surpass what I had originally created.  In fact their artwork was so good that I'm going to do "another" Gypsy Lore book to showcase what I'm now capable of creating artwise.

On Saturday I visited Random Arts, a fantastic little altered art store nestled up in the mountains in Saluda, NC.  I chatted with owner Jane and she snapped some pics of our group - what an adventure to get to shop in her store!

Lastly, I want to saw the whole of North Carolina was beautiful with the leaves in all their glorious color.  I've traveled from Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusettes on down the coastline to Florida.  And I have to say that North Carolina reigns supreme when it comes to the magnificent color of their trees!  I'm so lucky to have been able to see this wonderful fall scenery and to be back "home" with my siblings and their families.

My Latest Art Endeavor

I've been working on some pages for a Cabinet Card Christmas Book and have finished them.  They were to have a santa hat on them and represent a song.  Mine is Little Drummer Boy ~

On Being Thankful

This morning I began an exercise wellness program.  I have been suffering from sciatica for several months and being treated with physical therapy.  I joined their wellness program and this morning was my first "exercising on my own".  I was very very pleased with myself - I did exercises for the sciatica problems, and then used the recumbent bicycle for 12 minutes - my pitiful little records stands at 16 minutes, but I have not ridden it in over 3 weeks so I was pleased.  I then used the treadmill which was a first time experience also - 10 minutes and 10 CALORIES burned - lol.  Actually I'm not making light of that, I'm extremely pleased with it.  I'll be back bright and early Monday morning for more wellness exercise!

After I finished the exercises, and before the post office opened, I went to my favorite breakfast place, Cafe Cappucino for an omelet and coffee.  This morning was dreary, rainy - one of those "white" days that usually gives me a headache.  I sat in the restaurant looking out a huge window, John Denver's Rocky Mountain High was playing and my coffee was good and the tree I was looking at was a lovely shade of green with tiny red berries all over it.  The rain had made those berries look like little jewels.  I was content, happy, and began to think of all the things I'm so thankful for.  It was a quiet reflective time for me - it actually has shaped the rest of my day.  I've been very quiet and reflective all day.  Life is good!

I've just finished a Christmas Cabinet Card Book swap and will be binding those tomorrow and they should all be ready for mailing on Monday.  I've also completed Tall Skinny Book pages for my online group.  I'm in a 25 Days of Christmas Swap and the gifties are arriving daily!  I'm getting ready to sit down and make something for a Lottery I'm in - theme Thankful.

Here is a free image I'm sharing with all of you - enjoy!!  I'll sign off for now -

Happy Birthday Sister of Mine!

It's October 15th and back home the NC state fair is in full swing!  It's also a day of celebration in our family.  Today I'm wishing my sister, Diann, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I can remember when she was born.  What I remember is daddy bending over me and telling me I had a new baby sister - I told him to take her back.  So funny how our memory works - all my life I've had this memory but I was laying on a pallet in the floor when daddy woke me.  Of course I wasn't on a pallet and also daddy and mama didn't take Diann back - I'm glad!!! 

Diann and I have shared a few ups and downs, but for the most part we have shared a very special bond.  There is just something about sisters, those secrets we've shared, childhood memories - memories that today no one else in the world knows about, much less cares about.  There are even certain looks that we can communicate with, certain words that cause us to remember so many things. 

Both of us are passing along our childhood memories to our children & grandchildren through journals and written stories.  And to coin a phrase, "that's a good thing!"

So if you have time, stop by Diann's blog, http://diannsartspot.blogspot.com and wish her a big old whopping HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Shady Ladies Altered Art Workshops

I've been hard at work for the past three months creating Shady Ladies Altered Art Workshops - an art retreat that will be held in Salado, Texas, April 24-25, 2010.  This project is near and dear to my heart, something I actually began plans for two years ago and put aside.  I finally decided early this summer that there was no time like the present to begin - JUST DO IT - SO I DID!  I found a hotel, found some wonderfully qualified teachers, found a blog person to help set up the posts, and here it is!  If you are interested in attending next spring's art retreat, the link is listed on the left side (bottom) of my blog OR here is the link - do check it out. Shady Ladies   

Home Again, Home Again

Since my last post, I've been on the most fabulous art retreat - this was our 9th year of getting together and sharing our art and friendship - what fun we had.  I keep saying it's probably the most fun retreat of the nine!  Let me tell you a bit about it - We "retreated" to the wilds of Crouch, Idaho - I'm talking about a narrow mountain road, followed by an even more winding road with the Payette River running beside it.  Then the town of Crouch with it's Ranchhouse Restuarant that sports the address of "Middle of the Road, Crouch, Idaho - and yes, it does sit in the middle to the road!  From Crouch we took an even more narrow winding road and then on to our lovely log cabin.  Most mornings around 4am I would awake and look out my bedroom window which was set high in the wall to look upon the most wonderful view - a dark but paling deep blue sky with wonderful tall pines and the biggest, brightest stars I've ever seen.  It was extremely chilly at night and those stars looked like beautiful illuminated chunks of ice!!  On those early mornings that I did not awake, I was all but angry to have missed that wonderful earliest morning view!!

It was 9 days of surprises - two of us sneaked up to the cabin a day early to prepare a Cabin Fever Christmas Dinner for the others.  We decorated a Christmas tree and hung stockings with care - filled to the brim and over flowing with goodies.  When the rest of the group arrived, it was amid the most wonderful turkey & dressing kitchen smells.  Everyone was dutifully shocked and surprised.  After our dinner we all exchanged Christmas presents (what the rest of the group thought were secrete sister gifts!).  On Sunday we began our projects and worked until the following Saturday night.  We had a movie night and also went out to eat one night, took nature walks, read, arted, laughed - FUN to to max. 

I will begin uploading some pictures soon of our most excellent retreat!

More Halloween Art

I've created a Halloween banner for my friend Pauline - it is not tied together so that I can mail it easier - Pauline when you receive this you will have a tiny bit of ribbon tying and then you can hang it.

Three banner pieces that read Trick Or Treat with orange cat masks hanging between them - very very simple and quick.  I've laid the cat mask over the banner piece but it will actually go inbetween the banner pieces.  I also think I'm going to give the mask a bit of stippling and throw on a bit of a crackle stamping so take away the "blahs"!

 

I've finally finished mailing out a fat book swap (38!).  The theme was Under Lock and Key.  I'm so glad to get that job finished with and will try to share a couple of pics of the book within the next couple of weeks.

Later ~

A Blog Award From My Sister!

I've received a sweet blog award from my sister, Diann -  Thank you girl, even though I"m over a week late in picking it up ~

 

I'm supposed to name 5 things that I love.  If you know me at all, you know this will be hard for me - I could make a LONG list so this is only the tip of the iceberg!

1.  Having tea parties with my girlie girls!

2.  Being in North Carolina during the fall season!

3.  Herb gardens.

4.  Moravian Cookies (these are baked in Salem, NC)

5.  All Things Christmas and especially my family gathering together!

Here is a list of five friends I'm passing this on to:

Autumn

Susan 

Jackie 

Angie 

Kari 

Ladies, have fun with this one - it's quick and easy. 

Bicycle Riding!

I'm currently in a physical therapy program trying to get some relief from sciatica pain.  Today I rode the bicycle for ELEVEN 11, yes I said eleven minutes - that was a shocker, let me tell you.  But I hung in there a kept pedeling.  I was re-evaluated during the session and told that I had really gained a lot of strength in my lower legs and feet - woo hoo!

I'll share more of my Halloween cabinet cards with you ~

 

 

 

That's it for this evening - more later.