Blast from the Past

Several of my friends (especially the long-distance ones) have commented that even though they enjoy seeing my art on the blog, they would like to hear more about what is happening in my life.  The truth of the matter is... not much.  I work full-time (and then some!) and spend most of my spare time working on my art and moderating our Paper Traders group.

The art group is continuing to grow and expand and we created a blog this year - which is terrific, but also a lot of work.  I think we get a pretty decent level of participation in our group swaps but it's often hard to get people to host projects so that task generally falls to us moderators.  Not that hosting is difficult, but when you do it regularly, it doesn't leave much time to fit in other things.

One of the "other things" I keep telling myself I need to do is to participate in more Single Adult activities with my church.  I am perfectly happy staying in and doing the art thing but I'm never going to meet anybody at home in my pj's  =)   I did recently break out my old gypsy costume and put in an appearance at the annual Halloween dance.  It was nice to see a few old friends but I didn't really meet anybody new (it's hard to interact with people in a dark room with loud music) so my goal this next year is to get out of the house a little more before I turn into a complete recluse!

This past week, I actually did get out of the house to spend time with an old friend who was here for business.  Tim was my very best friend in high school and I haven't seen him since before graduation - 25 years ago!  Sometimes when you reconnect with old acquaintances, it's nice but a bit awkward; but this was not like that at all... instead, we were immediately able to start up a conversation almost as if no time had passed at all.  It was great to catch up and rediscover our friendship again.  Below is a picture we took when we were in high school... the other photo is (a grainy cell phone picture taken in the dark) from our meet-up this week:

It's hard to believe I've been back in San Diego for more than a year now.  Time has really flown.  I recently added more shelves to my art studio but it's STILL not clean and organized enough to unveil to the rest of the world.  I went "home" to Wyoming this summer and got to see my oldest nephew graduate from high school.  I am so proud of him and excited to see him starting college now.  I'm planning another trip for Thanksgiving this year and am really looking forward to seeing my family again.  I love being in San Diego but it's awfully far from them.

So, that should get me caught up for awhile... I promise to try to be better about keeping everyone updated  =)

Catching up on the past six months...

Moving back to San Diego has been terrific although I still feel like I'm in my adjustment period.  It took me several weeks to find a new home and even longer to get unpacked... I still am not completely settled in but I'm getting there.  I found a cute duplex in the suburbs and am blessed to have a nice landlord, a friendly neighbor, my own laundry room, a garage, a yard, and the best part - a whole room to dedicate to my art studio/office!

I used my birthday gift cards to buy shelving for the studio and I am almost done getting everything put in its place.  I would have been done ages ago if I didn't keep hauling stuff out and making messes (along with art) along the way.

Shortly after moving into my new home, I discovered this nest of baby birds right outside my window.

I've really enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones since coming back to San Diego. 

Sadly, my best friends relocated to the Monterey Bay area shortly after I arrived.  I was lucky enough to get to spend a long weekend with them over Halloween.  On the way home, I took the scenic route down the famous Highway 1...

Being back in Southern California gave me the opportunity to attend one of my online artist friend's art showing... and to finally meet her in person.  Kate Carvellas was as sweet in person as I'd come to know her online and a talented artist too!

Although I went home for Thanksgiving, I spent a lovely quiet Christmas at home this year.

I'm looking forward to the new year and good things  =)

Birthday Box

I waited a little while to write about this because I made it as a birthday gift for a friend and I wanted her to receive it before I showed it to everyone. This is just a simple little cardboard box that I decorated and filled with lots of goodies. This puzzle angel is another piece from that larger puzzle I broke up earlier this year (you can see what else I've done with that on my previous post). On this box, the ribbon looks so dark but it's really a soft green, like the paper quote... but it has a sheen to it that turned black in the camera flash.

I really haven't had much time for art lately - long, busy days at the office have sent me home feeling drained for the past several weeks. I did manage to get my studio MOSTLY cleaned up and the remnants of many previous projects sorted, if not all put away. Sometimes it's easier to find inspiration when all your goodies are spread out around you, however my art space is tiny so there isn't a lot of room for clutter - it takes over my work table until I just have a small spot to work in and it piles up on the floor around me so that it's a maze to get in and out of the room. For the most part, I manage to keep it confined to that one room... otherwise it might take over the whole house!