Amelia Magic

Old Fashioned Gal

I recently got hooked up on Facebook.  It's fun, sort of.  I have the usual friends, the ones I see on a regular or semi-regular basis.  But, I am also gathering friends that I haven't seen in AGES, like 25 years or MORE!  It's a little weird.  Especially because it is a weird way to "run into someone", on "the wall".  They say, "Hey!  Are you the girl I went to Eastview Elementary with?", and I say, "Yep, that's me.", and then we type meaningless chatter back and forth for about 60 seconds.  It's not about the people, I love the people.  It's about the lack of real connection in our new world.  This is what I would love to happen; I am walking down the street one day, whistling a merry tune, maybe I just came from the grocery which is just around the corner (it really is just around the corner) and I run into one of my old friends.  She stops me and says, "Holy Hollywood, are you Danette, from Eastview Elementary?!", and I say, "Lori?!  OMG! (I wouldn't actually say OMG) How wonderful to run into you like this.", and then we wander into the corner coffee shop that we are standing in front of and we catch up properly with coffee and cherry pie and we lose track of time because we are talking about alllllllllllllllll of the stuff we have been doing for the past 25 years and then I realize that I still have my groceries and my ice cream has melted and my lettuce has wilted and I say, "I have to get home, but why don't you come by for dinner tonight and bring your family?" and she says, "I'd love too."..........................wow, now that would be cool.  But, she lives all the way over on the other side of the country and so, until I get a chance to go back home and visit, Facebook is it.  I will check out her profile and leave comments about how cute her kids are and she on mine and other long lost friends will come out of the closet to say hello and so on and so forth.

And I will still carry my Blackberry every where I go, because I couldn't bear to miss that e-mail from Lillian Vernon telling me about her new clearance sale.

And my girls will still Tivo Max and Ruby so they can watch a little before bedtime.

And my husband and I will still IM each other sweet nothings.

And I will still check weather.com every morning to see if I need a sweater instead of walking the 20 feet to the front door.

And I will still blog in hopes of making new friends out there in the blogosphere.

But, man, cherry pie and coffee sure does sound good.

Busy, Busy, Busy

This has been a crazy week.  I thought all would settle down with Piper back at school, D back at work and Audrey back at Tot Time.  I forgot how much running around we do when everybody's schedule kicks back into gear.

Nonetheless, life has been good and I have been painting.  A little.  Mostly I have been cleaning and organizing and de-cluttering.  I am not much of a clutter bug, but it is amazing how quickly stuff piles up.  I think I will add that to my list of resolutions; stop accumulating stuff.  Good, done.

I did a quick little watercolor sketch a couple of nights ago.  Piper directed the theme and character of the sketch and Miss Audrey squirted out the paint colors that she thought I should use.  So, this was definitely a collaboration. 

Piper at her balloon party (supposedly balloons are the in thing for this year) in her pajamas, which Audrey declared should be red, in a room with a green floor..................



When I went to find my watercolor paper, I found a couple of old watercolor sketches that I had forgotten about. 

The boat....................



.....................and the kitty at the window.....



I love the boat.  I made some cute little toddler thermals with the boat transferred onto them.  I will have to have a look and see if I have any more of those.

I will add that to my to do list.

Right after working out-painting more-accumulating less.  Jeez, what a year I have ahead of me, last year's resolution was to take naps.

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh........

What a beautiful Monday.  Piper and Damion have left, Piper has gone back to school and D back to work.  The baby (I still call her that, poor thing, I probably always will) is still sleeping.  Me?  I am chillaxin' with a capital CH.  In my cozies, my new Uggs (thanks mom) and a hot cup of....holy caffeine...the "baby" just woke up and crying none-the-less............ok, she has been slippered, sweatered, moatmealed and juiced and is happily entranced by Max and Ruby.  I love TV.  However, my morning has just changed drastically and I will make this a quick one.

The final Sunday was a nice wrap up to the Holiday break.  The church ladies had a wonderful surprise tea for my mom's birthday, they did such a lovely job and it was so sweet and old-fashioned, I had to share a few pics. 

They even set-up a small table just for Audrey and Piper.........



..........scones and marmalade and low afternoon sun coming through the window.....



..............the "gentlemen" where asked to step out to the back for ham sandwiches and potato chips (how old fashioned is that?!), Damion cracks me up...............



.........so the "ladies" could enjoy their strawberries and custard (that's Cheyenne the cousin joining the girls)...........



..........Audrey matched the pretty in pink tablecloths................



.........it was really so much fun and my mom was really truly surprised, which is no small feat with our family of blabber-mouths.

Happy Birthday mom.

PS Next post will be something arty--per my resolution.

Nothing Special

Nothing spectacular going on here.  Damion painting a shelf with the girls.  He and I were child free for the day and we spent it GETTING STUFF DONE.  Which was good.  We ran errands and bought new plants for the courtyard and grocery shopped and I cleaned up my art space and together we built a shelf and then, once the girls got home, they painted it, now that's called teamwork.  Love it. 

And, one more non-spectacular photo to share that I really really love.  It's from New year's eve, we went out for pizza.  It's not about the way either of us look, it's about the way we look with each other.  I don't know, maybe I am the only one who can see it, but it's there.  The mom and daughter thing and I think it is so super cool.



Nothing special, just life the way I like it.

Happy New Year

I love the new year.  I am always ready to turn the page and start again, try again, see what's in store for me now.  Leave behind the hardships and challenges of the past year and bring along  the good memories for safe keeping.  I make resolutions every year, I love them, sometimes I keep them and sometimes I forget about them by January 2nd.  I think this past year has been such a year of change for me that I really feel like I am on the right track in almost every part of my life.  I feel good about who I am and how I live my life.  I do have one resolution that I think is important to share with you and that is to PAINT MORE!  More, more, more.  I want to fill my paint tray to the top and then go out and buy another one to fill up.  I will paint on wood, walls, paper, furniture, plates....wherever and everywhere.  It will be kindergarten all over again.  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Every year, for the first couple of weeks of January, I hear myself say "this is gonna be a great year, I can feel it!".  Well, this IS gonna be a great year, I can feel it.  Can't you??