Christmas Movie

On Christmas eve we rented The Apartment a charming movie and great period piece (1960) with Shirley Maclain and Jack Lemmon. We've come a long way baby.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/12/29/arts/1194835382663/critics-picks-the-apartment.html?th&emc=th

Reap What You Sew

This is a cool project by San Francisco artist Michael Blaine.

http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=5030

Merry Christmas

This picture was from the Feast of the Winter Solstice last year...it was canceled this year due to ice and snow.
One of my favorite things about the Feast is making these sparkly headdresses.


Ho Ho HO



More is more where Santas are concerned


Cory in her red Christmas cape and Kelly in her festive hat.

Kelly and Cory came over for Christmas dinner looking like colorful elves. We drove in the mushy snow drifts to look at Christmas lights and decorations.

Sunny memories

Needed a change from complaining about the snow so here are some pictures from sunnier times.

Cabin Fever

Lavender in the snow
We're now on our fourth storm in the last week. The news from "Stormtracker" is bleak. The streets are treacherous paths of ice and broken arms and smashed fenders are the theme of the day. I want to be able to get in my car and drive.

Took a walk the other day in the snow when it was still new and fresh and saw some enterprising young artists out making things....snow fences and such.


Snow Cones - Art Installation



Snow Brick Wall

The builder and his brick maker.




John, Monica and Gwen came over for a walk to Cafe Rozella on Saturday.




Ah winter. You are beautiful in the blue light.

Exciting Day at Work!

This was the view out my window today at work. Two buses slid down an icy hill into the embankment overlooking I-5. One came down first, then the second bus came down and hit the first bus pushing it further over the embankment. Three of my co-workers saw the whole drama unfold...and the kids who were in the bus pushed out the emergency windows and jumped out. Yikes! No one was killed or severely hurt and that's a miracle. Needless to say, not a lot of work was done and lots of looking out the window was.

Three Eyed Christmas Angel Kitty

This is my Christmas card for 2008. I used EZ cut rubber to carve the image and purple speedball ink. It's a fun process to fold and tear the paper, print the cards and send them out. I love getting cards in the mail this time (and every time) of year.

Winter Wonderland

Thursday was a snow day around West Seattle. The streets were treacherous and the snow was deep so I headed off with my camera to visit a neighbor and take pictures.

Here's what I found....

Highland Park Playfield up the street from my house.


Apple tree in Monica and John's back yard...still had apples on it.

My little Christmas cottage!


Snow Cat

Monica and Gwen chill out


Monica and John's new doggie, Gwen




Little Franklin rocks out! Neighbors across the street Billy and little Franklin. He could be a Gerber baby.

Fun with Lipstick

Speaking of the Museum of Contemporary Craft, they have a great exhibit on right now called Manufacture: the Conspicuous Transformation of Everyday Objects . This piece by Livia Marin was a favorite.

Mandy Greer's Show at BAM

This fall artist Mandy Greer had a show at the Bellevue Art Museum called Dare Alla Luce. Her work uses crochet and beadwork in exciting new ways. This show will be opening at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland in January. Don't miss it! Here are some highlights from the show.

Crocheted Red Gown

Stag with pearl encrusted horns.




Interesting rear view with sequins!

December Sunset

I started a new job this week in the South Lake Union neighborhood. One of the perks of my place of employment is the stellar view from the cafeteria. This was taken about 4:40 PM today right at sunset. Can you see the Christmas tree on the top of the Space Needle?

Tea Shop

We were in the International District last weekend to have ramen at Samarai Noodle (highly recommended) and stopped in to buy some tea. Lydia warmed our cups and invited us to sit. It's quite a ritual, the art of drinking tea with friends, and must not be rushed. We settled on Oolong, mild, yet good up to five times steeping it.
Lydia's dog helped her entertain us.

Lydia makes tea for us.


A piece of cake is next door to the tea shop...great neon.

A Trip to Portland

I just got home from three fun-filled nights and days in Portland. It's such a vibrant and interesting town in which to wander. Here's some of what I saw: a horse of a different color, a clown who knows my friend kelly,
bike racks at Powell's Books with quotations on them, a rose garden, the Bagdad cafe and the youth hostel in the NW neighborhood where I stayed. The hostel hasprivate rooms which are cheap and comfortable as well as dorm rooms and a communal kitchen where you can cook to save money on meals. It's an easy walk to the Pearl district from their location on no 18th and Glisan.



Extremo the clown

Sixties throwback couple stroll at the Saturday market.


Bike racks at Powell's books



Lux in the Pearl..a lighting paradise.


Cargo, an over the top, great, import store in the Pearl district.


Cup and Saucer cafe in the Hawthorne neighborhood

The Bagdad Theatre on Hawthorne.
The Rose Garden in Washington Park. It was sunny day.

Whore Moans poster

Seen on the street on Capitol Hill. I love the name of the band....

Blow Baby Blow!

Steve's birthday was celebrated with a Red Velvet cake and cupcakes. There was a lot of firepower because there were 57 candles. The cake turned out well, how could it fail with all that butter, cream cheese and red dye #2?!

He couldn't blow out all the candles with one breath...it was pretty smoky in the room after they were all out.