Happy Halloween

Y manana, El Dia de los Muertos!

More Fall Festivals!

I’ve been in a fall mood and have been as busy as a squirrel. There is something about the cooler weather and shorter days that makes me want to gather up and organize my resources. I am making little handpainted Witch Brooches, Catrina Cameos and Pumpkin Pins to celebrate the season.

Catrinas are the skeletons of well to do ladies. On El Dia de los Muertos,  they come back to remind us that, in the end, regardless of how much money, status or power one may have,  we all wind up dead. I’ve loved these ladies with their fancy dresses and headpieces ever since becoming acquainted with them while living in Texas. I thought it would be fun to make some cameo pins of them. (while listening to mariachis, of course!)

The brooches, my little skeleton books and more will be for sale this Saturday at the Festival on the Hill in lovely Bolton Hill. I’ll be teaming up with Kris Willett again, so look for us under the Earthly Treasures sign. Fingers crossed for nice weather, please!

I’ve also featured a selection of pins and mini books at my etsy shop, peggyellen. Please visit this little witch and her pumpkin pals there!

And….don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Family Festival of Champions, Oct 24th,  and  the Dia de los Muertos Festival ,Nov 1st, at The Walters Art Museum. More details about both of those days to follow…

Witch arts & craftiness

I am gearing up for some fall craft festivals, making more little books, cards, some pins and masks.  They will feature ghosts and skeletons awakened from their infinite rest to celebrate Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. Maybe some witches too! First stop, The Lauraville Fair Saturday the 26th, starting at 12:00.  I’ll be joining the lovely Kris Willett of Earthly Treasures and artist  Nathalie Jedynak.  If you are in town, stop by and say hi!

I could cut this pink rubber stuff from now to eternity.  It is so very relaxing. I’ve been printing with acrylic paint onto felt, then touching it up and adding highlights with a brush. It sort has that “paint on velvet” feel.

ps…Stay tuned for more festival dates and the grand re-opening of my etsy shop!

Back home…

The trip was fantastic. It was the classic southwestern road trip…cactus,  the Grand Canyon,  the Pacific, but with the added bonus of seeing so many friends and relatives along the way. Here are a few highlights, in chronological order:

We arrived in El Paso late and stayed at the Camino Real Hotel.  It is a gorgeous landmark building. Above is a photo of the famous Tiffany Dome over the bar.Across the street from the hotel is the  El Paso Museum of Art. It is wonderful and free. It opens at 9:00am, so I ducked in while the kids were getting ready for the day, I loved it so much I went back and got them.

This is a detail from a mural painted by Tom Lea in 1938. I saw the restored sketch for it in the museum and just had to walk the 6 or 7 blocks to see the finished mural in the courthouse. It is gorgeous.

Then it was off to Marfa, but first a little shopping along the way…

We visited friends, Buck and Camp. What a good time, great friends, art everywhere and four dogs to keep us on our toes.

The girls had a blast. They rode bikes all over. We made pizza on the grill and drank tequila,. The next day we went to Chinati…loved it.

In the afternoon we went to Balmorhea, a natural spring.  It was heaven.  Later we had another great meal at Cochineal, then a night walk with the dogs and tons of stars. It was sure hard to leave. I could have spent a lot more time in that small town.

Onward through New Mexico

Our next stop was the historic Arizona Inn where we spent a few delightful days with more dear friends. We relaxed and ate and talked and swam. The littlest ate oranges straight from the tree. Mushy. Perfect.

Rt 8 to San Diego, a dip in the ocean, then north to LA.

In Los Angeles we stayed with cousins and had a wonderful time. We had a nice mix of touristy activities and family meals.  The girls fell in love with Pinkberry. LACMA, Griffith Park. We went to Malibu and had a wonderful afternoon and evening with my  dahlia mentor and her charming husband.  AND I got to meet a blog friend in person! But that deserves a whole post of its own….soon.

We left sunny California and headed east on Route 66…well mostly route 40 but we got off onto 66 often.  We were going in the opposite order of the song…but we sang it anyway. Its impossible to sing it backwards. I dare you to try.

The Grand Canyon….words cannot describe the awesomeness. Pictures never do it justice.  Just go.

Finally, we spent a lovely evening swimming with more cousins in Tucson, then back to El Paso in the middle of the night to catch our flights home.

Whew! Ok, hard to believe, but that was the speed version. If you want the true vacation slide show experience check out my flickr pictures.  And be sure to hum this while you’re at it…

Graduations

This week my older daughter graduated from middle school and will be going on to high school. My younger daughter graduated from elementary school and will be going on to middle school. Big changes. Here is a map of my day on Friday:

Yes, I lost it and started crying when Sylvia’s kindergarten teacher got up and spoke. Embarrassing to admit, but true. How did the time fly so fast? Wasn’t I just volunteering in that kindergarten class, tying shoes? Passing out cookies?  But, no I don’t want to go back. I am very proud of both girls’ progress.

I’d like to share this with everyone. I have watched this video so many times. And showed it to every graduate I know,  and  some parents too. It’s the best advice I can imagine giving any of us.

According to wikipedia this video is  “based on Mary Schmich’s “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” was published in the Chicago Tribune as a column on June 1, 1997. In her introduction to the column, she described it as the commencement address she would give if she were asked to give one.”

Thanks to Krishni for bringing it to my attention. xoxox

Mothers Day road trip

The girls and I took a Mothers Day road trip to visit my mother and sister in Asheville last weekend. We loaded up the rental car with plants and travel snacks, turned up the music and headed to the Smoky Mountains.

It was a perfect weekend for appreciating why they are so named. The clouds seemed to be just hanging there at eye level. It was truly breathtaking. We stopped at a scenic overlook along the way for a better look. You can imagine my shock and horror when I saw the girls scale this wall, nod to each other and leap into the abyss……

I have to confess that this is a reenactment. The first time they jumped I was running full tilt toward them screaming STOP!!! Don’t climb the wall!! When I got to the wall and looked over there they were…..Clutchng their sides and laughing hysterically  as they rolled around on the grassy area about 2 feet below the top of the wall.  Devils.

The rest of the visit was lovely, albeit less dramatic. The cousins had great fun and the grown ups did a lot of eating and laughing and a bit of gardening too.

Spring Break

Well it has been a fun & busy week. Last Friday we all got in the car and headed south. I have wanted to visit Savannah, GA for a long time so we did, stopping in Charleston on the way down and back. It was a wonderful trip. Lots of good food and ghosts.

Almost impossible to make a decision at LuLu’s Chocolate Bar.

Never too soon to check out colleges right? Yikes.

I grew up near a cemetary and have always found them to be very serene places. This one above is in Savannah.

But this has to be my all time favorite graveyard.  It is at the Unitarian Church in Charleston.  We took a fantastic ghost tour and so got to visit it at night. More pictures on flickr. I can’t wait to go back and visit during the day sometime!

Then it was home again, home again in time for the bunny. As is our tradition, on Easter we gardened and in the evening we toasted peeps over an outdoor fire. That’s really the best way to eat them in my opinion. Sure,  you could make a peep-nut butter sandwich, which is much like a fluffernutter. I do enjoy those (once a year)  but really the best way is toasted. Beware with little kids though, the peeps get really hot,  but after cooling off a bit the sugar coating gets crunchy, sorta like a marshmallow brulee, if you will. If you aren’t fond of eating them then, by all means, make a diorama.  I absolutely adore this year’s winner of “Peeps Show” the Washington Post contest: NightPeeps by Melissa Harvey, Arlington.

The girls are back at school today and David is back at work.  All that’s left is the hardboiled eggs and a very quiet house. Now I’d better get back to work… : )

xoxo

Happy Valentines Day!

What a wonderful weekend…

Friends came up from Texas and down from New York for the big event. It was so great to see them over the weekend and catch up after way too many years.  And many thanks to my friend Cris for hosting such a fantastic inauguration brunch here in Baltimore. She so graciously provided champagne, yummy food and a big box of tissues for us to pass around while we watched the historic ceremony. What a speech….what a happy day.

2009!

Happy New Year, my dears!