ok. the first week of the new year has been whiz bang, let me tell you. But at the same time slow and gentle. inside. chaos swirls around outside, but i am focused on where i need to be. one thing that i know i need to improve on is beating me over the head...and i can't understand it. I am uber-punctual for appointments...always 15 minutes early at least. it's maddening sometimes, because if i am meeting someone for lunch, and they're 10 minutes late, i've already sat there 25 minutes. my bad. but i will be totally honest with you here: I have not mailed out christmas presents yet. i know. i feel so ashamed. yes, i was sick for 140 years, so that did slow me down, but i have one that i'm making, and it honestly would take maybe 30 minutes to finish, and i just can't seem to work on it. yes, i've been busier than usual with Stuff That Needs Sudden & Immediate Attention, but i just feel so wickedly aweful about (what I perceive as) sluggishness. so this year, i will be trying my best to get gifts, cards, letters, etc, out on time. it's a lifelong problem that i am known for, and feel like a bad friend. it's not that these things aren't important to me...they are VERY important to me. which is why it makes me scratch my head in wonder. new topic. I am signed up for a second round of online workshops with Suzi Blu. I have always wanted to draw faces, and my brain and hand refuse, just REFUSE to play nicely when the pencil hits the paper. so i thought if i was learning to make a folk art-ish face, then there would be less pressure. and it was so great! i'm not sure how she does it, but within 1 lesson, i was drawing and shading and SEEING what i needed to see. and have carved out time every morning to draw a face from a magazine - a real face. i'm pleased with the results so far, although most of the models would probably take one look and push me down. But i am doing it. The next round of workshops i signed up for is a Portraits class, where she goes more in depth about where things should go. I never thought i'd enjoy this type of class online, and figured i'd be so high-maintenance in person that i should stick to collage. but there you have it. i also signed up for a free mixed media class taught by Traci Bautista through Strathmore online. check them out - there are a bunch of different artists and techniques to choose from. free is a good price. i also found a cool website called "Bookmooch," where you can trade books with people all over the world. i have to look at it more, but the premise is that you list the books you want to get rid of, and if someone else wants them, you either trade for something they have, or get a certain number of points to use elsewhere. (if they don't have a book you want). i have stacks of books here that i've cleaned out. our local library is pathetic, yet when someone donates books to them, they put them in a huge book sale in the summer (50 cents each). i mean, hey. you have a perfectly good book here that obviously SOMEone wanted to read...why not put it on the shelf?? or sell it for $5 if you need the money so badly. and i'm not sure what they spend the book sale money on, because they haven't seemed to add to their inventory since bell bottoms came around the first time. so here's something confusing: a few days ago, we had our first snow. yes - FIRST. it was a respectable amount...enough to get my prepaid plow guy to come. yesterday was 9-degrees and Very Windy & cold. my windshield wiper actually froze and broke off. for real. now today, i went outside with diva at around 8am (lazy slug that she is) and it was warm enough for my usual morning uniform of bathrobe & boots. (no wonder the neighbors have their house up for sale). i'll take it, though. not a fan of snow. diva is getting old by the day. she is slowing down in ways that remind me of Kita's last year. and she's been getting weird spots on her...a sore she keeps licking on her paw...some kind of irritation on her chin. between my dentist appointments and her vet appointments, i have a full time job. speaking of which - time to get back to the workbench and Gepetto out some very special necklaces that are scheduled to head out. but first a shout out & big congratulations to Swirly! not only is her book on the shelves, but she became a grandma yesterday!! yikes - and she's, like, 20 years younger than me. oy. wishing you all a day filled with blessing and gratitude