au revoir 2009!

Well, this has been one helluva year! It has been chock full of good times and trials! I lost several months to a broken kneecap. Creatively, it has been a good year, but I have high hopes for 2010 to be even better! My new studio space promises to be an inspiring place for me to create!
I have made a tentative peace with winter, so the next few months should be more bearable and, as always, I look forward to warm days and I swear by all that is holy I WILL be at the beach this year!!!!!!
Have a fun, safe New Year's eve and may 2010 be a bright, new adventure for all of us!
xoxo~Dale

contrasts...

I am a lover of sunshine, of aqua seas and swaying palms. I love warmth and sand and azure skies... but I am making peace with winter. Even I must admit that a less vibrant landscape also has a certain beauty. Winter is quieter, slower, all tucked in, waiting.

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.

~Andrew Wyeth
I cannot say I prefer winter, but I am appreciating the merits of this season of reflection.

And of course...
O, wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

old man winter

Amazingly we are having our second little snow storm in one week here in the Dallas suburbs!

Our pansies have been sweetly "sugared" and that marvelous hush that comes with snowfall has arrived. Our snow will be gone tomorrow, but it has been so pretty to watch the big, cottony flakes dash against the windows while a fire burned in our fireplace and a pot of chili simmered on the stove.

Hope things are cozy wherever you might be.

Stay warm.

xoxo~Dale

and a good time was had by all!

Christmas was marvelous, sweet and WHITE! Yes, here in north Texas we had S*N*O*W!!

The storm arrived just after midday on Christmas eve and it snowed all afternoon and evening.

While I am not fond of winter so much, it was pure magic to have a white Christmas!!

Now several days later a few white spots linger... waiting for more, perhaps, as the old wives' tale says? Our forecast hints of ice on Tuesday. We shall see...

I have had a lousy cold and have yet to rip down my decorations as I am prone to do right after Christmas. I may start in a bit or leave them until tomorrow. I am not one to leave them for long after the holiday has passed, but this cold has me feeling a bit listless.

Hope your holidays were magical!

Stay warm! xoxo~Dale

after the Christmas pagent

I require no wonders beyond the sea
and Eridanus. The bright embellishment
of sons and daughters renders me winged,
sustained. I breathe a song of gratitude,
a quiet carol of comets and coquinas.

I have made my peace with this babe’s
briny tear, this tilted barn,
this nova’s beam. In these I hear
the chorus of man, the hunger
for hope, ever hinged on salt and light.

For me, it is enough to cup a wet star
in the palm my hand, to feel water
rush and ebb like time. I have tilted
the faces of my children upward, planted their feet
in spindrift. They will find their own miracles.

GREETINGS!

It is Christmas eve and the weather forecast is calling for S*N*O*W!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never seen snow anywhere near Christmas!!!!!!!!!! I am as excited as a third grader!!!

JOY TO THE WORLD!

It is a beautiful, warm day here in north Texas. I have cookies to bake and then Santa is welcome to come! Gifts are wrapped and under the tree! We are almost ready!!

I am feeling extra-joyful today as friends of ours are having an adoption dream come true as I write these words!!! I am so happy for them!! It is a Christmas miracle for cetain!!!

And another great joy is that my son is off work for 3 days and can join us for all the Christmas festivities!! What a wonderful thing to have all of our children with us!!

Hope these last days before Christmas bring you some special joys, too!

xoxo~Dale

Ah, down to the wire. I have cookies to bake and some house cleaning to do.

Shopping is DONE and all wrapped up!!!

Come on Santa!!

It snowed and snowed,

the whole world over,

Snow swept the world from end to end.

A candle burned on the table;

A candle burned.
~Boris Pasternak
Doctor Zhivago

"Art is running away without ever leaving home."
Twyla Tharp

In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, Long ago.

~Christina Rosetti

Okay, okay... no snow here in north Texas, but it's pretty chilly and it feels like Christmas for sure. I am nearly done with my shopping and gift wrapping. I've ordered my tamales for Christmas day and mailed my packages. I feel remarkably un-stressed.

My husband is working on plans to relocate my studio downstairs to our never used dining room. We have used this room as a little sitting room and a place to keep the piano that no one plays anymore. The kids have taken piano lessons over the years, but none of them fell in love with playing, so there sits the piano. It is a lovely instrument, ordered from the factory for my husband's grandmother a thousand years ago. I love it, but it is time for someone to have it who will play and enjoy it.

The husband will be putting in some French doors and then I just need to move about a ton of supplies, but I am very excited. This room has great morning light! And I can avoid the stairs, which my knee (that I broke last spring) will appreciate. Merry Christmas, to me!

Hope your holiday preparations are going well. xo~Dale

Two weeks!!

Oh, my~ the Big Day approaches! Today, despite the nearness of Christmas, I am taking a little break from Christmas shopping to tidy my studio space. I'd post a picture, but I have more self respect than that! ;) After several shows and the usual Christmas crafting frenzy things are pretty crazy.

The husband and are going to power-shop on Saturday and git-'er-done! If I can find the shop above I think I can finish up pretty quickly!

xoxoxo~Dale

No snow here... but very cold, well for Texas, that is.

I had a busy day and a fun evening out with girlfriends. I am exhausted from laughing!

What a beautiful thing it is to have friends that wear you out with humor!!

That, and a somewhat amazing lemon dessert are enough

to send me blissfully off to dreamland.

I think I'd like to dream the picture above...

xoxoxo~Dale

Making peace with winter...

So, here's the thing... Dallas winters are not exactly picturesque. Take today for example~ cold, grey, drizzly... So dreary. And yes, I know it is actually still autumn, but close enough! It is a challenge at times to find beauty on a day like this, but I am grateful for a warm, cozy home, the endearing sight of my palm trees bravely enduring the cold and sound of our birds chattering and singing. As the daylight fades my house begins to fill with returning family members and the gloom recedes as lamplight and laughter takes its place.
Maybe we'll have a real snow here this winter. There have been a few in the 25 years I've lived in Texas. It could happen. I have hope... and 2 sleds in my garage to prove it!
Stay warm, my friends...
xoxo~Dale

Wanderlust

Wanderlust, originally uploaded by ookami_dou.

I love mornings. They are filled with possibilities, that beautiful feeling of being on the cusp. And I love ships. Being aboard an oceangoing ship is almost like having wings. One is untethered to dry land and the vast ocean unfurls with its seemingly endless and uncharted prospects.
Need I say that I love this striking photo from the mid 1920s? Imagine the glorious feeling of leaning over the rail of this liner (the Columbus) as the sun rose over the sea. I can smell the salt air and feel the teak beneath my feet as I step into the world of the photographer.

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain."
~The Shawshank Redemption

Isn't that what we embark on every morning?
May your journey today be one of discovery and beautiful moments of grace and gratitude.
xoxo~Dale

I need wings!

Marie Antoinette winged avatar, originally uploaded by Sea Dream Studio.

My errand list is a mile long today. I could use some pretty wings to carry me from place to place! It is a beautiful, but very chilly day and there's a chance of more snow tomorrow. Welcome to Texas~ Land of Weather Extremes... On Thanksgiving we were in shirt sleeves... go figure...

I need to figure out my display for this weekend's show. I have my vintage silver trees out and a sweet pink one for my ornaments. I think you can have gorgeous items to sell, but if you don't display them properly people just walk right by. I normally snag all sorts of pieces from my home decor to use in my show space. It's a lot of work, but fun!

Well, I am off to bundle up and start checking things off that to-do list.
Hope you have a beautiful Thusday. Spread your wings and FLY!
xoxo~Dale

Snow!

Guess what we woke up to in the Dallas suburbs this morning? Yup, snow! It was a gorgeous corn flake snow, big fluffy flakes that swirled down like little ballerinas! So pretty!! And best of all, it was gone by 10 am. Now it is crazy cold!!!! Feels like Christmas for sure!
I worked in my studio today and am just about ready for my show on Saturday. Hopefully this chilly weather will remind people that Christmas is just around the corner and they'll come out in droves to buy my wares!
xoxo~Dale