Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts

March 28, 2008

Merry Christmas! Wait. Whaaaa...?

Oh sorry, I was having a dream where there was a raging snow storm going on outside and...AAAAAACK!

It's no dream! This is the scene I work up to this morning. I wish I could animate this photo to show you how heavy and fast it was coming down. Welcome to "spring" in New England. One of my favorite old jokes about the area is that we have 4 seasons - Almost Winter, Winter, More Winter, and Construction. I believe we're currently in the "More Winter" stage. Last year we had two April blizzards.
Since I work for a school district, this means it's a day off for me. Yep. I wish I could tell you I'm going to do something marvelous and creative with my day. But what I plan on doing is chipping away at my typography homework. Sorry to disappoint you. Trust me, I'd much rather be finishing that painting for my dad or trying my hand at some ATCs.
Since I have the time this morning (and a big cup of coffee which I have the ability to refill) I'm going to do something a little different in my blog today. I woke up to find that I've been tagged by DivaDea to write 7 random facts about myself. I'm not about to let a fellow Etsian down, so here we go. First, the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as their blogs. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Get it? Got it? Good. Here's my seven:

1. Hi, I'm Nicole, and I'm an NPR addict. I'm serious. There is no such thing as silence in my house. The radio is on ALL THE TIME. I started listening to it in college because, one summer, my friend had an internship at NPR in Washington D.C. and I missed her. Now I can't stop. On the upside, I'm more informed about the news than I've ever been in my entire life.

2. My husband has been friends with my sister (and best friends with my brother-in-law) since high school. Even though we grew up right down the street from each other and attended the same church on that street - we never met once. Not until after I had graduated from college.

3. I love seafood, but hate scallops. I keep thinking I should like them so I keep trying them, and still hate ‘em every single time. I think it may be a texture thing.

4. My favorite flowers are lilacs. In the house I grew up in, there was 2 giant bushes of them below my bedroom window. One purple, one white.

5. I used to have a canary named Beck. His name had meaning on several levels. Like the singer Beck, my canary was blonde & could sing. “Bec” in French means “beak” and can also mean to give “a little kiss”. As in “a peck on the cheek”. I thought I was terribly clever.

6. When I was a kid, I took dancing lessons. I tap danced for 8 years. (Sometimes I still kind of miss it!)

7. I often drink tea or some other hot beverage while I’m painting. There’s been many occasions where I’ve almost drank out of the water cup I was washing my brushes out in. (Haven’t yet. Though, I have washed my brushes off in hot chocolate by mistake.)

That's it! It might not be 7 people, but here's a couple gals who I plan on tagging: Sarah at Pink Shoe Diaries, Gina at Pineapple Diary and Pat's Motorcycle Travels blog.
Enjoy!

March 05, 2008

Wednesday picture blog

I've really been trying hard to stay on-topic with this blog. It's supposed to be my forum for art, illustration, and craft-related subjects. That said, it's totally ok to break your own rules once in a while, right? This isn't really art-related, but I figured, "Eh, why not?" I'm feeling very blah today. Like I got a case of the blues for no good reason. Maybe it's because there's still nothing but a snowscape around here that I feel the need to brighten things up. (With any luck, it'll inspire spring to get here quicker!)

Here are some pics from last year of one of my favorite spots of all time, Pickity Place. It's a 200 year old cottage out in the middle of nowhere. It was the inspiration for the illustrations in the 1948 Little Golden Books version of Little Red Riding Hood. They have the most amazing (and totally affordable) gourmet lunch - just take a look at their online menu. Make sure you call to book your reservation weeks in advance - they fill up fast! There's a greenhouse, herb and flower gardens, and quaint gift shops. I grew up going there and it's still pretty much instant happiness for me: I took this pic on the way there. Ah...


We've arrived! This is where you have lunch. I'm kind of in love with that twisty old tree. Here's some shots from the herb and flower gardens around the cottage:


Tiger lilies

Teeny strawberries

Big fat bumble bee sitting on a flower. I love big furry fat bumble bees! You guys must have figured that out by now...seeing as how I sculpt bees out of clay and sell 'em on Etsy. (o:


Here's a little secret about me: sunflowers scare me. Oh yeah, they make me totally uncomfortable. I'm sorry, but no flower should be 7-8 feet tall. I feel like one of them is going to lean down to my ear and say, "Feed me, Seymour!!!" Agghghh!!!

Sleeping kitty. Though I'm terribly allergic, you can't help but say "Awww" to a cat sleeping in a puddle of sunshine. Pickity Place used to have sheep. I remember them from my trips there as a kid. They don't anymore, but I wish they did. I'd probably have photos of them too!
There. I just cheered myself up.
I don't know if it did anything for you, but I'm inspired to go ask my husband to make a lunch reservation for us.