Crud

I'm having one of those days.

This is the last day of rehearsal for Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Dylan is sick. That means he misses going around to the elementary schools with the rest of the cast this afternoon, and maybe rehearsal tonight. He will be going to the doctor later today. Arrgh.

Because he was up at 3 or so this morning, so was I which means I'm short on sleep and not in such a good mood.

I will be very glad when this is all over!

Update: Dylan has a sinus infection. Got antibiotics and he's resting at home. Out of school tomorrow, still resting, then on with the show tomorrow night. Hoo-boy.

Blow, blow thou winter wind

A few more photos of fall-sliding-into-winter garden plants.

This is some cranesbill in my mother's garden. In fact, all these photos were taken at my parents' house.


I think this is Japanese spirea.


I spied these bright red berries hiding among the asparagus fronds.



This is Brooke, a young Thanksgiving guest at my Mom & Dad's house yesterday.

The Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Come into my garden...

...or what's left of it this late in the year. Actually it has been quite mild during the day, but the nights are pretty nippy.

The old geranium still has a few valiant buds.


Ivy is one of my very favorites.


This is Fuzzy, trying to look like a potted plant. He's not nearly so circumspect as Jules' cat Basil, I'm sure.

Friday

In lieu of the costume photos which (ahem) were not taken last night, contrary to plan, I'm posting another shot of the red creeper from yesterday. Color isn't as good, but I like the massing of the leaves.



Thanks to everyone who reads this blog, and especially those who comment in e-mails or blog posts. I appreciate it a lot. Have a great weekend.

Red creeper

I think my friend and fellow blogger Jules is influencing me. She has a great camera setup and is married to a more or less professional photographer (whose work is also wonderful, by the way) and regularly posts gorgeous photos, a lot of which are taken in her own garden. Her blog is at thecompulsiveworrier.blogspot.com.

This isn't in my garden, but when I was on an early morning trip to the grocery store to buy milk for breakfast this morning I spied this gorgeous red creeper on the wall of a nearby building. I stopped later on my way to work and snapped some photos. I will undoubtedly be making headlines soon as the weird lady who stops in the middle of town and takes pictures of things no one else is interested in. I think I can deal with that.

I hope to be putting people into costumes at BCPE rehearsal tonight and have some photos to post tomorrow.

And now for something completely different...

...at least from what I've been doing lately. Actually, I did this awhile back but just uncovered it when digging through the stuff on my work table. I have no idea what this will eventually become, but I like it. Click on it for a detailed closeup.

Orange & gold

This comes under the heading of taking beauty where you find it. One of my co-workers noticed this bright orange volunteer tree growing up inside a large fir tree outside the office. It was hardly visible until it turned color. The contrast is beautiful, I think.

Friday cat blogging

What is it with cats, anyway? Tiger was apparently protesting the fact that his water dish was empty. He doesn't technically fit in it anymore, and later I found him draped across the dish. Cats are so wonderfully strange.



I am currently costuming our community theatre's production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" and have been spending a lot of time outfitting the cast. For the last several years I have costumed most of the shows MCT has staged and Dylan is actually in this one, so I got tagged. So far, so good. I'll post photos of some of the kids in costume next week, hopefully. Have a great weekend everybody, and thanks to all of you who have visited my blog at the suggestion of my Gallery friends.

One last photo for today...

I neglected to put this photo in the last post and I really wanted to show it to you all. This is a favorite piece of mine by Michaela Groeblacher, who I'm also pleased to say is my friend. I love the shape, the colors, and the wonderful use of a combination of German and English to make the artist's point. Happily for me, and thanks to my old German prof Dr. Jan Van Asselt, I can just about translate it.

Holiday Open House at VAAM Gallery

The Gallery at VAAM is all decked out in Christmas finery. The hanging committee of Shin Hee Chin, Elizabeth Liljegren, and Betty Jo Houchen have really outdone themselves in showing off the artwork to tremendous advantage. It is gorgeous in there.

In the center of it all is the Christmas tree, decorated with handmade wax ornaments byLiz Liljegren and wheat weavings by Felice Goering.

A lovely tableau featuring work by David Brock and handpainted china by Anne Albright.


We are very fortunate to be featuring work by two artists new to the Gallery at VAAM, clay artist Debra Ringler (work above) and glass artist Rick Garnett, whose blue bowl is below.
More of Rick's glass work, along with some of my hand dyed silk scarves.
More goodies under the tree...
...and more lovely stuff by Michaela Groeblacher, Michael Chrislip, and Yours Truly.
I will post more photos of the "Christmas Gallery" in the future.

It's Saturday Morning

A quick post before I do my stint at The Gallery at VAAM today. It's our holiday open house so I will be presiding over hot coffee and cider and hopefully selling early Christmas gifts.

I was doing some grocery shopping yesterday and the produce section was so colorful I took a couple of shots.



These apples are what grabbed my eye.


I will take photos of The Gallery in its Christmas finery and post them soon.