Tales; introducing Ivy

I'd like you to meet Ivy:

Ivy (monkey)

A bit reckless, Ivy likes to flirt with danger. She is a competitive rock climber and loves the thrill of an authentic challenge. Unconventional(she gets that from her dad), dramatic, intense, she hates to be ignored. Ivy is a high achiever who is obsessed with efficiency and prioritizes well. She is attracted to art, ritual, and scandal. She only wears clothes made of cashmere or organic cotton. Like any monkey, she gets into mischief and loves to break rules. Highly intuitive, she resonates with the feelings of other people and makes the perfect confidant. With her ability to energize people, she is the one to rally the group. And I won't describe how very very cute* she is, you can see that for yourself...

*she gets that from her mom

Tales; Gwendolyn Fig comes home

Gwendolyn Fig is home from college in Massachusetts for winter break.
Little is so happy! She has missed her every day.

(p.s. I told you the Tales characters were trying to take over the blog, I'm trying to reign them in but they are clamoring!)

Tales; Jam is cold

Jam gets cold and burns everything he can lay his hands on. In his fervor, he accidentally burned a present Lucy gave to Bear. He feels terrible about it.

Tales; Lucy is baking cookies

Lucy is baking cookies and making candy.
Spritz, rugelach, pecan fingers, fudge, and toffee!
Eek! It's Christmas Eve! We're snowed in!

the best things about winter are

Baking cookies and grandma's linens

Goofy dog getting goofier.

Untidy areas looking neat.Pretending to be snowed in.

But I don't like actually being snowed in.

And I don't like my outdoor bed.

Happy Winter

Season's greetings (for whatever you celebrate this time of year) from Yeti, Lucy, Arturo, and Little.
We like Solstice best because it means that the days will getting longer from now on.
Yay, sun!

Tales; this week

Yeti builds a table. It is a profound table.

Yes, tables can be profound.

Bear goes shopping. The big one is for Lucy!

Okay, no its not.

Little really gets into wrapping presents, she's the family expert.
She loves to buy presents and is better at it than anyone else.

Boise breaks his elbow skateboarding. He refuses to see a doctor. He won't take anything fo the pain. Yet he expects to be able to play drums with his band on New Year's Eve. Hmmm...

Arturo got straight A's for the first term of his senior year in college. He took really hard classes, too. He been on the Dean's List every term so far. Yay, Arturo!
Lucy is careless while stacking firewood and the entire row collapses on her. Yeti and Arturo rush to help her with damp cloths for the blood and ice packs for the lumps. Lucy is stoic, but when they leave her alone she cries and cries.

Open Studio

I made new signs (finally).
That's Lucy pointing the way (above) with Arturo and Little (below)

We set up the dinnerware on the new table in the house.
It was a glorious sunny day on the first Saturday.
I made apple cake, pumpkin spice bread, and spinach feta bread.
We had hot spiced cider and cranberry sangria to drink.
We always have pots set up in the studio.
I like to put out a selection of work on sale too.
A table full of plates (below)

A row of bowls.

We love seeing our friends and meeting new people at our open studios. We never get huge crowds, so there is always time to hang out, snack, and chat with our guests. It's pretty cozy.
I was sure that predictions of snow on the second Saturday would keep anyone from driving out (we are in the hills), but it was just a tad slushy and drippy so most folks came out anyway.

I send out a black and white postcard to announce the show, but I just realized that email invitations can be a lot prettier. I want to build up my email list so I can use both methods; leave me a comment or email if you would like to be on my list.
*I don't send out more that one to three invitations a year and I promise not to share your info

art from our trees

A well stacked woodpile is definitely art for daily life; just look at how gorgeous this is! It makes me feel secure to have the shed filled with wood for the winter. I love to stack wood.
Our usual assortment of tables collected together to seat a crowd at Thanksgiving takes up most of the circulation in the room. Mr. Cranky came up with a fabulous solution by cutting posts from a big log that has been sitting around for years and pulling two 12" x 4" x 14' wood planks from the wood stack. He used the stumps as a base and set the planks on top, they are so heavy and thick that it is perfectly stable with no nails at all. We left a gap between the planks which turned out to be a perfect place to drop in a 2" x 6" to form a sunken trough. On Thanksgiving I lined it with about thirty votive candles; it was really pretty.
We sawed the planks (years ago) from trees we cleared from our house site. Much of the wood was used in building the house, but we have a few beauties left in storage. It has been sanded and the edges chamfered, but it is a little dry. We might seal it (or oil it?) with something to make it softer.
I think we should each sit on opposite ends for dinner and feel fancy.
Those hanging leaves are more art from our trees. Sadly, I had to collect them all by myself for the first time this year because my kids were too busy to come with me (sniff...)

We are having an open studio* on the next two Saturdays and I am excited to put the pots out on this table.


*leave me a comment (or email me) with your address and I'll send you an invite, everyone's welcome to come.