Mingle & Jingle, snacks & crafts

In conjunction with a little open house on December 6th, I’m hosting a small craft sale from 10am to 4pm. Scott & Maggie & I will be decorating & playing holiday music & cooking up some yummy snacks. Okay, so Maggie will just be begging for the snacks, but she will be on hand to bark randomly and get snuggles from everyone.

There will be some snickey-snacks and some eggnog (provided Scott hasn’t consumed it all by the time you get there) as well as all of my paintings & cards & crafts on display for sale, at special Holiday prices! I’ll have my wrapping supplies on hand in the wrapping station, so if you’d like your purchase gift wrapped as well, I can do that too.

Come by early for the best selection of crafts (oh, & snacks!).  Let me know if you can come by so I can ensure there are enough snacks for everyone.  :)

Charles

"A man (or woman!) should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying... that he is wiser today than he was yesterday." - Alexander Pope

Ahhh Charlie, the sweet little terrier-poodle cross from the Humane Society. Had you been the only dog in our house, this would have all worked out fine. As it stands, Maggie is the Ruler of the Roost, and you and she just don't get along. I'm sorry, little dude, but I had to take you back to the Humane Society so a family who has more space (and less Maggie) in their lives could adopt you.

Here's the back story - after realizing that children will not be a part of our lives, I wanted to add another dog to the mix. The theory being he or she would be a playmate for Maggie, our poodle from the Humane Society 3 years ago, and would help to calm her down a bit (did I mention she's kinda high-strung?). As well, caring and loving him or her would fill a little more of the empty spot in my heart, and let me love another little soul (albeit a soul covered in fur.)

Maggie, however, had other plans. She has Plans of World Domination, and her world is our house. I know she's gotten along with other dogs before; not famously, but well enough that I thought perhaps this could work. Enter Charlie. The 'meet-n-greet' went okay, but once at home the clashing began. Maggie would hide in her kennel. Charlie would eat her food. Maggie would lash out. Charlie would fight back. hmmmmm...... Not good.

There is the theory that I could have waited longer, given them more time before taking him back. Maybe things would have improved between Queen Margaret and Prince Charles. Maybe they would have worked it all out, and I was being too impulsive. But I felt so bad for Maggie! Here she was, finally settling in and not being as aggressive as before, and then I go and add another dog to the mix, and he's getting all the attention! She had to share her bed, her food, her water, and my lap, Scott's attention. And then I felt bad for Charlie! Here he was, all set to be adopted by some nice family in the near future (he'd only been there a week) and I plucked him out of there with promises of a Lady-friend and many quiet naps on the couch, and a few belly rubs too. And what he got was a lot of surprises instead.

I didn't want him (and us) to get so attached that we couldn't see that this wasn't going to work. I also knew that people who were looking at him last week would still be checking the Humane Society website, and would be happy to see him still there for them. So I decided this was just an expensive weekend for all (emotionally and financially) and took him back to the people who could best find him a good home. Sadly, we are not a "good home". But I am wiser! I will never adopt a dog while Maggie is still with us. I swear.

And so, his little bark, funny walk, and voracious appetite are meant for someone else. Good luck, Charlie (although I don't think you'll need it, cute boy!)

Advent

"twas the night before Christmas, and all throught the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" C.C. Moore

click on the above to get a larger view of the collage

I recently found a project I had started before we moved into our house (2 years ago!) An Advent Calendar that didn't involved chocolate. I incorporated the classic story into little cards and envelopes to turn around and read. It's really a lovely piece. I'm going to be taking it to the Craft Fair this weekend and see if it sells! If it doesn't, you'll see it on Etsy by Monday.

U2 360 Tour

"Music is what feelings sound like." anon.

I love U2. Always have. And now I'm going to see them when they come to Edmonton next June. How cool is that? Too cool. Gotta love eBay. And Bono. And the Edge. But mostly Bono.

thank you and thank you again

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

Just got home from the craft sale and had to say a big "Thank You" to the people who purchased from my table - a photograph, 4 paintings, and a couple cards. WooHoo! And the people who I met there were just great too - one lady made comfy pants and another made bathbombs and soap and those bags you heat up and wrap around you - her Mom was fabulous as well. It was a great day. People were very receptive to the collage ideas I added to the paintings, which, I have to say, made me very happy. It's nice when people like what you do. I guess I'm not supposed to be attached to this type of ego boosting, but.... I am! (haven't quite reached that "be unattached to the outcome" zen like state).

craft sale

I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning... Every day I find something creative to do with my life. Miles Davis (1926 - 1991)

It’s that time of year again – craft sale season. I’m starting off in my home community at the Riverbend Community Center this Saturday from 10am to 4pm. I’m going to have a variety of paintings and collages for sale, and if there’s room on the table, maybe some photography and notecards. There’s a variety of other crafters at the sale as well, so please stop by. It’s always nice to see some familiar faces!

Saturday - October 24th, 2009

10am to 4pm
Riverbend Community Centre
19 Rivervalley Drive SE, Calgary, AB T2C 3S1
Glenmore to 18th Street South, second right onto Rivervalley Drive, large building with parking lot on the south-west side of the intersection

Kennedy Ink
Shoppe - www.kennedyink.etsy.com
Website - www.kennedyink.ca/creative
Flickr Photography - http://www.flickr.com/photos/36679604@N06/
Flickr Paintings - http://www.flickr.com/photos/43155425@N06/

happy Monday!

"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it." ~Author Unknown

I'm taking an on-line class on photography. I'm finding Manual mode to be challenging and my usual subject (my dog Maggie) uncooperative. So I took my weeping Buddha from his usual post and used him for this lesson on Focus Points. I look forward to the feedback (perhaps too much) and feel really happy to have received the comments from the instructor (below). It's nice to know it's not just myself who likes my photographs! (To see more of my photographs, you could go here.)

Class Exerpt
focus
K100D - pentaxAperature: f/5.6Shutter Speed: 1/350ISO : 800Focal Length : 55mm
I put my weeping Buddha on my Dragon's Blood Stonecrop and began taking shots focussing him on the left. It didn't look right, so I put him on the right and decreased the Aperature (the automode wanted f/5.6, 1/350). This could have a sweet quote off to the side, a texture and/or filter applied, and voila! Art.

candice*stringham
[Oct 05, 2009 at 01:01 AM]
Michelle, this is art as is. The focus on the Buddha is perfect, and from an artistic standpoint there are so many ways to interpret this photo: A tree was cut down to be carved into this statue, which is placed back into a natural environment. One can ponder why the Buddha is weeping. Typically when an item is "looking" to the right and is placed on the right, the viewer's eye drifts off the edge of the frame. However, since the Buddha's face is down covered by his hands, the viewer is stopped by the frame and is brought back into the photo. You have a great eye for combining color, texture, and composition in your photos.

is that a chill in the air I feel?

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Okay, so I'll admit it - as soon as the first leaves start to turn colour, I start to think about the upcoming Christmas season. A little early, I know, but I thought I would make up this decidedly non-holiday themed pdf sheet as a reference for card orders. I had a couple clients last year surprised by the square card overages, and a couple clients this year whose wedding invitations went over the 30gram allowance. Both situations translated into higher postal costs for them. So I thought I would be preemptive this year and do the research and post it for all to download.

Let me know if you are feeling the Christmas vibe already too! If you feel like jumping the gun on the season as well, we can talk about cleaning up my inventory of the cards I have in stock. If you’re into having a variety of sizes and non-traditional colours, I can certainly accommodate you, and your budget.

home again, home again

“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep... wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky his is to have you.... The one who turns to his friends and says, 'that's her.'”
samwilson123 at thinkexist.com ..... below is my guy & me

Well, we're back from our 7th anniversary trip. This time we went from Seattle down to San Francisco along the coast highway in a convertible Mustang. It was a blast. I have a bit of a farmer's tan now, but no burns. And we're a little lighter in our savings accounts, but I think that's why we work... to travel! I would do it all over again, except for trying to drive in San Francisco traffic. I didn't like that part. But everything else rocked.

I'd suggest Seattle Washington, Newport Oregon, Mendicino California to anyone. They were all great and had different things to offer. In particular, I loved the Glass Beach where we found sea glass. I guess the area used to be a dump, and when they cleaned up the dump all this sea glass was there. People have been lugging it out of there by the bucketfuls for decades, which begs the question... why isn't it regulated? oh well. The other strange thing we noticed was the size of the meals - HUGE! Do the restaurants think we don't eat for the rest of the day? It was amazing. I think one place in Seattle (The Pink Door) served a normal size meal that was actually finish-able. Everyone was incredibly friendly (even in San Francisco!) and it was hard to take a bad photograph. The weather was great, until Healdsburg, where it was 100F (so sayeth our car). We just went from tasting room to tasting room and art gallery to art gallery to keep out of the heat.

It was a great trip, and we got to finish it off by picking up our dog, Maggie, from my parent's place. We were both really happy to see each other (thanks Mum for taking care of her and giving her snuggles!) And we're both really happy to be home again. Although I could go for someone else making my bed and cleaning up after me every day! ha!

Out of Pocket

On holidays from Sept 12 - 21. (A great excuse for a photography extravaganza from the Oregon Coast down to San Francisco!)

thought I would include the photo I took at a wedding I attended Sept 6th. I believe this is a Harvest Moon. I had to capture it (as best I could) as my husband and I got married under a Harvest Moon as well. Best wishes to the newlyweds!