Florence and Pauline

There are two hens left in the coop these days, Florence and Pauline.  Anyone who thinks that blogs that mentions chickens is dull, please skip ahead.  But for anyone who has been jonesing for a livestock update, here they are basking in the sunshine yesterday in their dust bath.

 

And here are today's eggs.  The little one is unusual, and very amusing.

Ghost chickens and blue paint

No snappy photos for you today, sorry!  I thought about posting a shot of the bleak grey and brown world that is my driveway and view from my window, but am choosing not to.  If it's not going to be snowy and bright and ski-able, I'm not going to acknowledge winter.  Instead I am inside basking in the glow of my gorgeous new Happy Light (to combat SAD...clever name, no?), trolling online for cheap tickets back to Hawaii, and cranking up the wood stove until it's 75 in the living room.

I've had a couple of fun and interesting dreams lately.  First, a few nights ago I dreamed that the former garage at my parents' house (now converted to my Dad's country store) was suddenly a chicken coop.  And SURPRISE, all my chickens that have gone missing over the years were there!  Including the three who were eaten by a phantom fox or abducted by aliens a few weeks ago, and also Harold the rooster had come back to life. 

Second, last night I dreamed I was wandering around London, over in the northwest neighborhood where I used to live when I interned at Kew Gardens.  I had a bucket of blue paint, and I was painting over all the yellow paint on the curbs.  Somehow having this bucket of paint was my disguise to fit in and look purposeful, because I was actually a little lost and trying to find my friends Dave and Ann's house, which in my dream was a few blocks away (rather than in Cumbria) but I didn't quite remember how the streets went because it had been a long time since I lived there.  There was also a big football (read: soccer) game happening in the park.  Random, but interesting.  I do like blue paint.

Painting shoes like a house a'fire

Or something like that.

Here's yet another pair of bespoke footwear creations (Wingtip is paying the mortgage this month):

Winter is being very coy this year.  Temperatures above freezing, no snow in the high hills where I like to go skiing, enough sunshine that I haven't gone completely comatose.  I'm considering doing a snow dance out in the back woods, in hopes of a good exciting blizzard and decent ski conditions.

You know you still want a pair, right?

I've been saying all along that in January I'll really get going again on my Wingtip business.  The belts I posted last time, and now these hot-off-the-press Danskos attest to the fact that the year is starting off well.  These were another bespoke project, and I think they turned out mighty fine.  There are three more pairs of bespoke shoes lined up awaiting attention.

New year, new belts

Coming out of my slump of slothfulness, and ready to tackle the new year.  One of my winter goals is to expand my Wingtip business, so let's start that off right with a couple of new belts.  They are both available on my Etsy site.

Bend it like Beckham

As you know, especially if you read my last post, I am a minor deity in the pantheon of specious gods and goddesses.  That's right, I am the rutabaga goddess (I'm lobbying to represent all root vegetables, but am not sure that will work out) in the yearly Ithaca Farmers' Market Rutabaga Curling Championship.  Also every year, a gentleman named Jerry Feist takes a lot of great photos of the event.  I like this one, where I'm trying to nudge my 'baga by the force of will to be closer to the goal.

Sloth and Indolence

It's the day after Christmas, and I had all these visions of productivity and cleaning and organizing.  However,  I sat down in this chair (the Adirondack chair with the sheepskin) in front of the wood stove (the cute little warm efficient Jotul with the big glass front) for a late breakfast (delicious scrambled eggs from my happy hens, with greens and salsa and GF toast and a cuppa tea) with my book (not worth mentioning but readable enough)...and I find that I realllllly don't want to move.  I think I'll take the day off, and get back to the rest of life tomorrow.  It will still be there waiting.

The day after Christmas is one of my favorite days of the year.  December, also known as the month of Dismember, is rife with holiday craft fairs and getting orders in the mail, and running back and forth to the printer, and fielding emails about special orders, and dragging carloads of display structures back and forth, and working in the temporary cooperative store downtown.  Throw in some cold market days, being the Rutabaga Goddess at the Rutabaga Curl, several fun houseguests, gift shopping, and all of the festive family-ness that happens around the holidays, and you have a heady cocktail that tastes great, but will leave you dragging the next morning.  I'm working around to a metaphor here, something about having a holiday hangover....ANYWAY, it was a great and profitable season, but now I'm taking the day OFF. 

Meanwhile, my paintings are still hanging at the Bandwagon Brewpub, here in Ithaca.  A couple of them have sold (huzzah!)...including my favorite:

It's called "Migration," and painted with acrylics and gel medium on a lovely walnut board I've been looking at for about a year.  It's about 7 feet long.  This photo is a little rough what with the glare from the flash on the shiny gel medium.  You can also see a small watercolor, called "Solstice," which just happens to be available as a notecard.

I have decided not to travel to the tropics this winter.  In one way I'm pleased to be able to just hang out at home and work on my Wingtip business and get some skiing in, but on the other hand I know that around mid-January I will be sad to not be heading out.  I'll miss Thailand, but will make a point of getting back there sometime soon before I forgot how to speak Thai.

Time for more tea.

Objects of Art + Spirit

Just quick, before I head down to the basement and pack up even more cards and calendars.  For your shopping pleasure, all you Ithacats, here's a little show I'll be participating in today and tomorrow at the lovely Rasa Spa.  Art, clothing, jewelry, herbal care products...all local and handmade.  Plus a chance to browse Rasa's gift shop, which is also full of treats.

The first belt!

 

I finally have a belt to show you, loyal readers!  I've been learning how to make the belt blanks, and have just started the fun process of painting them.  This one is posted on my Etsy Wingtip site, and more will be coming along soon.

Although I have a big show to get through this weekend first, before I can enjoy painting.  I'll be in Syracuse this weekend at the Plowshares Craftsfair.  This is a great show, full of fantastic art and craft and other goodies, plus the Syracuse Cultural Workers great collection of opinionated tshirts, calendars, books, etc.  Please stop in.

Across the other pond

Hmmm...seems to have been a while since I last posted.  So I got back from Hawaii in mid-October, worked really really hard for two weeks to get ready for the upcoming holiday season (more on that later, because I have some important business announcements to make in re: the holidays and how to shop for them), and then flew off across the other ocean to England, where I met up with my brother and had a really fantabulous time for two weeks in a preemptive birthday celebration.

He was checking out pubs, and I was generally exploring and having fun.  For the bulk of the time we stayed with our friends Dave and Ann from Hardknott Brewery, who were very generous with their time and resources as we romped around Cumbria (aka the Lake District) and Newcastle and Kendal and Manchester and...and...  Rather than go into detail verbally, I'm going to give you another photo essay of the things that caught my eye.

Spent a few days in Oxford visiting Erin and Sydney and their adorable kids.

Also took a side trip to Scotland to visit Beth and her family,
and got to explore Bothwell Castle.

Had tea and crumpets, in a wild departure from
my usual gluten and dairy free existence.

Walked by some beautiful trees near Broughton-in-Furness, in Cumbria

Walked miles and miles to find Sunkenkirk stone circle, in a farmer's field in Cumbria. 
This was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Really, really old stone walls!  Plus, it wouldn't be right if I didn't include
a photo with some sheep in it since we're talking about northern England here.

The view from Netherwasdale up the Wasdale valley, in Cumbria. Possibly
one of the most beautiful places on earth, both in the big picture and the details.

South shore

 

The lovely sunset I saw tonight at Po'ipu Beach, south shore of Kauai.  This photo turned out almost better than some of the postcards on offer out here.  Oh wait, I just gave away my undisclosed location...!

Featuring sand and sun

Why the long silence?  Well, not surprisingly I've taken off for another one of these trips I take at regular intervals.  And this time I'm really vacating, not particularly checking in or doing much in the way of work.  First because one really can't worry about anything while one is here, and second because I know when I get home again next week the work is going to hit the fan so I'm resting up.  Can you guess where I am?  Here are a few hints: