So here it is November 2008 already and I am still trying to finish moving back into my studio after last year’s renovation project! I am also still trying to find the time to check in here on this blog a little more regularly.

In fairness, I have had a lot going on since I got back from my summer travels.

I spent most of the summer designing a bathroom renovation & managing sub-contractors. I have so much respect for General contractors now I cannot tell you!

   It was kind of a bitch in process, but the results are not so bad.

I feel like I have a little spa in my bathroom now… which is a good thing, considering the development that followed on the heels of the renovation fun.

We got news that my Dad had to start chemo treatments for metastatic prostate cancer at the end of the summer. He is the primary caregiver for my Mom, who has advanced MS.

I have been very busy this fall, but they both seem to be holding up pretty well, so I don’t suppose I am in a position to complain too much. 

Not much time to really do alot of jewelry making or mixed media work, but I have tried to keep my muse occupied with photography & a little digital work.

I have done cover designs for a friend who writes romance novels. The first, Donovan’s Prize, is currently in print. The second, Upon Her Honour, is currently in the design stages but should be available soon. It is way spiffy to hunt a book on Amazon and see your own cover art staring back at you. Yay!

I also have my first solo photography exhibit in a small gallery space at a local Yoga & Pilates studio, so that’s spiffy cool as well.

I really miss playing with papers and glue and paints, oh my! I miss playing with the silver & my torch, too.

I also miss having the time to catch up with blogs – both reading others and writing my own. I have thought several times about adding a quick entry here and there when a free moment presented itself, but held off because I didn’t know when I might be able to return to it. I have decided tonight, though, to jump in with a quick line here and there as time allows and inspiration strikes. If entries are sporadic for awhile, then so be it, but I don’t want to abandon this blog. Someday I will have the time and energy to devote every bit of attention that this endeavor deserves. Until then, I hope you will bear with me while I do the best I can in the midst of the various other demands on my time.

Until we meet again…

Well, I am finishing up my packing for Art & Soul and am off to Hampton tomorrow.

I completely ignored the advice I got from veterans in Portland last fall and filled my schedule with both day and evening classes. I’m going to be ready to veg at the beach for a couple of weeks when this is done! Though I have been estranged from my muse for several months, so I am looking forward to the opportunity to court her most ardently over the course of these upcoming days.

She did make a brief appearance this week to help me with my fish… we all got a plain white ceramic fish to alter that we will have the opportunity to display in Virginia. I chose to do a mosaic…

I haven’t done mosaic for some time, and I’d forgotten how meditative it can be to select & arrange the pieces. I shall have to play more often.

I think I’m off to get some sleep. I have a long drive ahead of me tomorrow.

Hopefully, I shall return with many stories & much knowledge.

And I was doing so well back in November!

I came back from my trip to Munich & Prague to a busy holiday season, ongoing struggles to get my studio in order – almost there! – more travel… and most importantly a family health crisis that has claimed both my attention and my motivation for the past several months.

I would like to assure you that this long overdue post is my first step towards settling back into a regular routine of blogging, but I confess I am about to be off again – first to Art & Soul in Hampton, Va. and then for 2 weeks of sand, sun & relaxation at the Outer Banks of NC.  I do hope to resume more regular posting upon my return.

Why bother sharing this now, you ask, rather than waiting to jump back in when I might actually be around for more than one post in a month’s time? I wanted to share my intention – road to hell and all that – in the hopes that putting it out there will encourage me to follow through on my commitment to maintaining this blog.

I guess we’ll see how well that works for me when I get back mid-May.

In the meantime, maybe one little picture from Munich…

Well, it is the 30th of November. I have reached my goal of posting to my blog every day this month. Yay me!

I’m afraid that I will not have access to a computer while I’m in Europe, so it will be awhile until I post again. I have to say, I will miss my daily visits here to share. I shall return after Dec. 10th with stories of my travels.

It is just short of 2am, and my packing is finally done. I have my new camera all ready to go & play, and my ipod is almost ready to sync one last time so that I will have video goodies for my long plane flights. Time for tired little artists to go to bed.

I’ll leave you with a photo from my last trip abroad…

Bis Bald ~ that’s German for See you soon

Those of you who know me well – or even casually for that matter – probably know that right about now I am running about like a crazy woman trying to pack and do last minute errands… for instance, as soon as I finish with this post I am off to Borders for a German phrase book. There is also a Trophy Ball at the dance studio tonight, so the updo took up a good portion of my afternoon. Am I packed, you might ask? I will offer no answer except for a slightly manic giggle.

At any rate, the point is that I do not have much time to share this afternoon. I thought I might just post a spread from my art journal…

If I am rushing around & unable to create anything right now, I can at least contemplate creativity…

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. – Carl Jung

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. – Joseph Chilton Pearce

I was trying to track down some lost paperwork this afternoon while in the car on my way to an appointment and had to call information on my cell – thought I had brought the necessary business card along, but had not – and as I was asking for the listing, the operator apologized to me for cutting me off as I was saying ‘please’ because “I’m not used to anyone saying please” I didn’t mind being cut off & frankly didn’t really take note of it, but the exchange got me thinking…. Are we really too busy in our daily routine to use basic good manners?

Honestly, what does it cost us to say please & thank you as we go about our daily errands? Would it kill us to wait in line for more than 15 seconds without being snippy to the clerk who is backed up half a dozen customers with no other registers open? Is there some compelling reason we can’t wish the stressed out postal workers a Happy Holiday instead of complaining about the line when we are mailing our packages? During this season of peace & love, perhaps we should remind ourselves to show some consideration for those people who help us through our days.

I don’t mean to go off on a rant here, but the notion that the word please is so alien these days that it comes as such a surprise in an interaction as to require comment is something to take note of. I’m not pointing any fingers here, just making an observation. Lord knows, I have days when I am sure plenty of people regret having come anywhere near me, so I’m not perfect with this whole manners & consideration thing. I like to think I score in the positive column most days… perhaps I have just stumbled upon my first resolution for the new year.

Thank you for listening. I shall climb down from my soapbox now and return to my frenzied pursuit of laundry so I can pack clean clothes for my travels.

Well, it’s only 5 days until I drag my butt on a plane to Munich. The Hubster is doing a program in Germany, and I am tagging along with a friend of ours to play a bit. We are exploring Munich until Hubby finishes work and then hopping a train to Prague to explore for the weekend. I am way excited & a little overwhelmed because as usual, I am pushing deadlines. I haven’t really gotten started on the travel preparations yet, so that is pretty much how my week is going to go… laundry, packing, making sure bills & such are up to date before I fly away. You know the drill.

Oh, the fun! 

Maybe just one more pic from yesterday’s excursion…

Today was fun. We went on an antiquing safari with some friends – had brunch then did some trolling in the countryside. My favorite stop was an antique & stained glass place about 30 mins from here… huge stock! … beautiful pieces! They deal primarily in salvaged windows, doors, etc. Of course, I had to bring my new camera…