Exactly when IS the 'first day of Christmas?'

I surely would not want to miss it! I have been decking the heck out of our house for the past few days. It has been a few years since I got all this 'decor' out of my Christmas closet. It just seems silly  to decorate when we are either here alone or traveling somewhere for the holidays. But this year, all my kids and grandkids, and my dad and a brother and sister-in-law and an extra dog will be here! So all the stuff was put out; mostly with the hope that they will latch onto a good bit of it and take it home with them!

Now that the 'decking' is all done, I am hoping to get a bit of weaving and sketching in. I know, however, that the second, third, fourth,..... etc/ days of Christmas follow pretty closely after the first day, and I still have holiday music to plan, 'perfect' (ha!,) and perform. And baking and shopping, oh, my! Mrs. Claus, didn't you have any say about all this? And if you didn't, way back then, is it too late now?

There, and back again....

For the Thanksgiving holiday, my husband and I drove from our home in western Colorado, through the western states of Utah and Idaho, up to the very most northern part of Montana to my brother's home, where my father had been visiting. We started our long winter road trip early enough to see a beautiful sunrise. (Disclaimer here: all these photos were taken from the inside of a moving truck. Also, I have not altered them, except to crop the size of a few of them.)

As the sun came up, the landscape became very monochromatic. The sky and the land and the reflected sky in the snow all blended together.

Then the clouds became ominous, and, as we were in Big Sky Country, we could watch it move across the landscape.

Very little to see, but land and sky. At one point, I became dismayed at the lack of coffee places, but we finally found one (just before final meltdown.)

The time there was a wonderful family time, with four generations present, from my father, down to my youngest great-nephew; a span of 91 years difference.

From my brother's huge windows, we watched a resident eagle, a huge gaggle of geese, and the comings and going of a gang of turkeys and many deer, all seeming to peacefully coexist.

The moon was full, and the nights were cold.

All too soon, we started back home, with my Dad along. Again, the sun rose beautifully in Idaho!

And the sun continued to attempt to burn through the fog of the frigid morning; with temps well below zero!

When it finally came out, we were back in the monochrome winter landscape. And, after the long journey, we were Home.

We live in a Beautiful world. There is Good here. Sometimes, that is not an easy thing to remember. Sitting next to a good man for two days, then two good men for two more, in the cab of a pickup, moving through scene after scene that takes my breath away is a reminder to me to not believe that the world shown in the news is all the world we have. We have so much more. And for that, I am truly Thankful.

Sketchbooks, and more.....

I recently filled my 2015 sketchbook. It's the one the middle in the image above. It is a Moleskine Sketchbook, and since they changed the paper, I have hated it all year long, and my sketches show both that dissatisfaction and the stress that the past year has involved. So, it is not my favorite sketchbook. I looked through my past books, and discovered (which should not surprise me at all) that a Stillman & Birn sketchbook I filled in 2013 is my favorite! It is the one on the left, above. I even like the cover I did on it in collage! I have a new Stillman & Birn, and I will begin it with the new year. In the meantime, I have begun a Strathmore Mixed Media sketchbook that a friend gave me. It is accepting water media well, so I am hopeful that I will enjoy it, as this year ends.

One of the things I most liked about the Stillman & Birn book from 2013, was the fact that I allowed others to sketch in it - knowing that whatever media they used, it would not buckle or balk. So my grandchildren sketched in it, and my Mother did the sketch above - my favorite page of all! Both of these sketch pages bring back good memories for me. I think 2013 was a pretty good year, and it shows in my sketchbook.

This is my favorite sketch in the 2015 Moleskine. Again, it brings back memories of a good day with my son. I also like that I 'composed' the page a bit; something I had done throughout the 2013 book, but did not bother much with this past year.

So I have now begun the new sketchbook. I always begin and end a sketchbook with a self portrait. I began this book while we were driving over the mountains to take my Dad to the airport. So I was in the backseat, behind my husband, with nothing to do but sketch myself. (It was not really a very good plan, as I get carsick when I try to 'do' anything in the car. So my selfie looks a bit peaked, don't you think?)

This sketch was done at our cabin a few days ago. Mostly all white snow, but I wanted to try this difficult perspective of the cabin. I am liking the pristine paper, and I have not yet spilled coffee on the book, which is pretty amazing!

My shelf of sketchbooks is growing. This photo doesn't show the several oddly sized or shaped books I did before 2012, or my travel sketchbooks, or the handmade book Booker actually ate (fortunately with just a few pages filled.) A picture truly is worth a thousand words, and, though I also keep a journal (and have done so far longer than I have filled sketchbooks,) the images in these books are a savoring of Time, like no other thing is; neither journals nor photo albums can compare.

I have also been weaving. I have about 2 1/2 inches woven on the "December" tapestry. Not very interesting to look at, so far, but the process is centering me, once again. Nothing feels 'right' to me like sitting at the loom, passing the weft through the warp.

Paris....

Ready, Set.... Here we Go!

The loom is warped. The new yarn colors I needed came in today's mail. Now, all I need to do is get Gus out of my chair and I can begin the new tapestry!

Ready to begin the end....

These are the Calendar Series tapestries I have done, in the order of the months (Jan, Feb, etc.) Today, I will tie on the warp for the final tapestry of the series; December, appropriately enough. Each of these are 18x18 inches, mounted on a fabric covered stretcher frame (which my handy husband constructed for me.) I still hope to hang and exhibit these 12 tapestries all together when the series is complete, along with the four Seasons tapestries.

Yes, it's still #INKtober!

I actually have been doing little sketches almost everyday this week. They are not complex. I have not spent a great deal of time or, I confess, effort on them, as I've been busy with many other things, as always. Mostly sorting messes that have accumulated with a great deal of time and neglect. But I have met my goal so far this month, of doing at least five sketches each week. And it is becoming more joyful, and less of just another chore, so that is a good thing, too!

I have enjoyed the little 5-20 minute sketches that I've done. They are all done in ink, then I've added color to some with InkTense pencils, or, in the case of the one above, watercolor. That one, and the one below were done at our cabin. Every year I sketch the colorful oak leaves in my sketchbook. They seem to capture the look of the whole of the mountains to me. The little sketch of the corner of our cabin above is, quite appropriately, a very 'rustic' sketch; just like the cabin itself.