As we ring in the new, I wish everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful new year.

Thank you for visiting my blog this past year.

Travel safely and enjoy your day!

Ladami Designs

Eileen's Attic

Pipe Emma

Artybugboston

Artist made gifts that I received....

I received some wonderful artist made gifts this year and wanted to share some of them with you. It has been so overcast, I have not been able to get the best photos but I did give it a try. You can click on the photos to make them larger and see more details.

The bracelet is in sterling silver with crystal and marble beads. The designer is also my daughter. Her work is beautiful and usually much more ornate than this but she knows my taste. I am a bracelet lover and I only wear earth colors so she knows exactly what I like to wear.

Ike Putney made the camel for me for Christmas but she made the raggedy doll for me earlier this year. I love these! The camel's head turns and he is so cute! I have him near the computer. Ike has some very cute traditional doll patterns at her site and she is a frequent contributor to Soft Dolls and Animals Magazine where she writes a column.

Eileen's owls were a big hit this year. The birds are just as cute. I will be hanging them up permanently after I dissemble holiday decor after New Year's. I have other wondrous things Eileen has made over the years, too. She is really a wonderful needle worker. Sometime I will have to show the doll she made me years ago. We share a love of dolls and doll clothes.

That paper doll with her coupons, ATC cards, dolls and Kathy Z hand bag is yours truly! See my Yorkie? My friend Carole and I were taking a walk one day when she snapped the photo. Pretty clever! She made the pin and the book, too. Every page in the book has a message, is embellished, and is work of art. Sometimes she sells these books on eBay...but they are priceless.

The weather has turned colder and winter has returned. Today I am off to IKEA which is not very far from here. It's the best place to walk around in cold weather and also a fun place to have lunch.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my gifts by talented artists/artisans.

Enjoy the day whatver the weather and wherever you go!

Santa precariously flying over the dam

Schooner at dock in Mystic

Mystic lighthouse

The Charles W. Morgan Whaling Ship

Picturesque Tugboat

Sixty degrees in December....

A weekend ago, we had a foot of snow fall. This weekend it was 60 degrees and the snow melted. We had a a lot of fog, too. We changed our travel plans and drove out from under the fog. Around here, we say "fog eats snow" and it did. These photos were taken in Mystic, CT, and in Putnam, CT. I love the Santa precariously dangling over the water! If you click on the photos, you can see larger versions.

The Charles W. Morgan is the last wooden whaler. It is really hard to imagine this magnificent boat in search of whales. In the summer, it is a schooner sailing out of Mystic Seaport. It is the only surviving wooden whale ship from the 1800s American fleet. My husband grew up a few blocks away from where the Morgan sat for years and years in disrepair. Mystic Seaport has undertaken its complete restoration.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is over. From a lovely family holiday celebration to the Vermont mountains to the seaport in Mystic...a wonderful weekend. In a few days, it will be another long weekend. In the meantime, I have much catching up to do around here, thank you notes to write, and other assorted chores.

Enjoy the day....and, hopefully, you can catch up, too!

Fogged in....

view from the deck in the middle of town. Looks like the Maine woods but is actually southern CT. We have changed travel plans since the visibility is nearly zero. Unseasonably warm weather on tap for the rest of the day.

Enjoy the day, whatever the weather!

Postcards from Vermont......

Enjoy your day!

We wish you a
Merry
Christmas!

Holiday spirit, Arctic days.....

It is 12 degrees here this morning and there is a lot of snow out there. The wind is howling and the wind chill factor was well below zero earlier when I visited the garbage can by the side of the house. We don't have a garage, so our cars and the garbage cans are exposed to the winter elements and frequently buried under snow.

Mr. Dollz goes to work in the dark and comes home in the dark during the winter. He works in an office without windows. It's no wonder we like to roam New England on the weekends and in the daylight! (It will be a little lighter every day now that we have passed the Solstice.)

How are your holiday plans firming up? Any problems with transportation? I have friends who have relatives stranded in mid-west in airports for two days now.

We are enjoying an extremely simple holiday season without parties, without formal entertaining, and without stress. Everybody we know is down-scaling festivities this year for one reason or another.

Everything I planned to make or do is done and now I am just enjoying the sights and sounds of the season.

My friend who manages a food bank in another town told me the other day that they have 128 families picking up food for Christmas week. The norm was 20 families per year in a town of a population of 17,000. Very sobering, indeed.

Still, there is an abundance of holiday spirit in the air. Most of the homes in town have Christmas lights and they are wonderful against the snow. Very, very magical!

Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating it.... and Happy Kwanzaa, too.

I plan to pop in here at least one more time before Christmas....but for now,

enjoy your day!

Santa by Mary

Black Cat by Mary

Becassine by Mary

Remembering Mary

My dear Internet friend, Mary Vlasak, passed away last year in Australia on December 23. For eight years we had corresponded daily and often more than that. Over the years we exchanged gifts and she gifted me many special dolls. She was a porcelain, cloth and polymer doll artist and she was a true delight to know. You can see something else she made here. She had many friends that she made on the Internet she was fond of, and she touched many doll makers.

At the holidays, we celebrate great joy, but we also remember those who have left us. I am sure everyone who reads this has known these feelings. There can be a bittersweet quality to these feelings. We each feel them in our own way.

Today, I celebrate my friendship with Mary and her inspiration. Mary was not one for ever feeling sad. She had a terminal illness for more than a decade....and she never complained. Her darling husband died not long before she did. They were married for fifty years and they had a most creative and interesting life. Ollie was a joy, too.

Smiling but sad, I remember Mary.

The more it snowed...

the more it kept on snowing. We ended up with about 10 inches of snow. It sleeted and rained on top of it, so it doesn't look quite as pretty as this photo taken in front of our home. The snow really is lovely when it first starts falling. There is a certain silence to it.

Here is today's forecast:

Snow...mixing with or changing to rain...freezing rain or sleet in the afternoon. Total snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches. Blustery with highs in the mid 30s. East winds 10 to 15 mph...becoming south 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.

The not-so-much-fun clean up looked like this. It would be very difficult and dangerous to try to move snow so heavy without a snow blower.

Those wind gusts this afternoon will prohibit a lot of outdoor activities. But, if the roads are not bad, it could be a real boon to indoor activities such as shopping in malls. We did venture out yesterday to grocery shop and the stores were quiet.

We assumed the shoppers had already been there to buy large quantities of milk and bread. That's a running joke here. The grocery stores get mobbed before a storm and the parking lots are chaotic. It is like some sort of tribal custom to hunt and gather milk and bread just before a storm. (Don't tell anybody, but I have never run out to buy bread and/or milk before a storm. Does this make me a bad person?!)

Not sure where this day will take will take us. Plans change quickly in this kind of weather. It's a good reminder of nature's whims and the enormity of its influence. It is frightening to think of melting glaciers and powerful storms that might occur in the future. Dealing with what we have at the moment seems a big enough task as it is.

Whatever you choose to do today, I hope your day is safe and warm. Enjoy your day!

Lots of snow...

It is still quite dark outside, but I can see lots of snow out the window. I am thinking maybe 8 inches or more. The snow storm is not over, however. It will turn to rain and ice and then turn back to snow again later today. It started in the afternoon yesterday and just kept on snowing. (Every time it snows I think of Winnie the Pooh..."the more it snows, the more it keeps on snowing....tiddly pom.")

For retailers who are already struggling in my area, these huge storms cannot be welcome. Normally, we don't see too much snow around here until January. It has been a decade since we had a white Christmas here. When I was younger, we had abundant snow throughout December. The past decade it has been too warm to snow. Well, it is very pretty, but it will ruin plans for weddings, shopping, parties, etc. The airports from Chicago to New England were closed yesterday. Today will be a massive shoveling out and there will be fender benders for sure.

I occupied myself with making a few things yesterday. One of them is the paper pennant/banner. They are all over the Internet these days and I have seen many beautiful pennants in books as well. A pattern really isn't necessary. Just cut diamond shapes from any paper and fold them and glue. Leave space at the top to thread them on ribbon or string and add beads and decorations if you want too. This is a tiny one--the "flags" are only two inches or so. You can also just make triangles, punch hole in the top and string them, too.

Today we will dig out. I plan on making soup in the crock pot and creating a gift for a friend. She is also a paper artist and we exchange paper items every week. That is why I made the pennant above. We are also exchanging art dolls and I have sketched mine but not sewn it yet.

Have a lovely day today. I have so few readers, I am not sure who I am speaking to and where you might live. But, some of you must have winter weather. So, I say travel safely, stay warm and enjoy the day!

A cautionary tale....

I wasn't really going to blog today but I felt I should honor my own commitment to this cautionary tale.

Yesterday I walked up to the post office--three long blocks straight up hill.

When I arrived there, I held the door for an elderly and somewhat disabled man with a cane. He sort of propped the door open for a man behind him carrying a shopping bag.

"Thank you, " said the younger man.

"Don't thank me, thank her....I could not get the door open."

As I walked down the steps to the lobby, the second man shoved past me, brushing my coat as he went by. He rushed to get ahead of us in line! I was totally annoyed and surprised by this. He turned around and gave me a big smile as if to say, "look what I did!"

I said to him, " do know what the Internet is? Do you know what a blog is?"

"Oh, yes!" he replied with great enthusiasm.

"Good...because I have one, and tomorrow you will be in it...for running ahead of me and this gentleman in line after I held the door for you. That is just amazing to me!"

Well, of course, other people heard it and there was some snickering. I then stepped out of line and let several people in front of me since I didn't want to stand next to such an obnoxious individual.

I heard him tell somebody that he was " really in a hurry." Maybe he was hoping others would let HIM get in front of them. I wonder what he though the rest of us were? Chopped liver? I really do not normally encounter ungentlemanly like behavior in my life. If this grinch had apologized--or even said he was in a hurry--or asked to go ahead--it would have been far better, in my opinion. I normally don't allow people to get to me in lines, either. Whenever anybody asks me to go ahead in a grocery store, I think it is fine if they only have a few things. I must be getting old.

So, that is my tale. On the way out, I stopped to put money in the Salvation Army kettle. The retired guys who were volunteering were so different than the person in a hurry.

One of them ran over to open the door for an elderly woman. I just hoped for the best for that person as she went down the stairs. I hoped that nobody would knock her down to get ahead of her in line.

Big snow storm on the way today. Hope that you have a good day and that you encounter only polite individuals!

(click to make photo larger)

Another Journal Page...

This past fall I started a project with Mrs. Staggs. The project ended a while ago, but I had a few more pages left in my big journal. My intention was (and is) to end the journal at the end of the year. It turned out to be more of a scrapbook that a journal although it actually is a record of fall into winter, 2008.

This page is composed of photos of my dolls and prints of artwork that I have done. I already had this holiday themed background paper which is a riot of color and print. There are some purchased stickers, cardboard buttons and ribbons there, too.

I would like to print off the appropriate blog pages and insert them into the journal and perhaps write a little something at the bottom of the page. This will be a good winter project.

Speaking of winter, we have a storm coming our way tomorrow. We haven't had a white Christmas in many years but perhaps we will this year. It usually doesn't snow in our area very much until late January and then it snows through March!

Enjoy your day!

Santa's helpers....

Too bad they really can't sew! I bought them at auction last year. Made with silk stockinette and velveteen, they are probably from the 40's or 50's and are a cheerful pair even though they are not much help at all! They do like to pose and are sitting on some of my vintage toy sewing machines.

The packages are finally all done and mailed. Just in the nick of time! We woke up to ice today.

I do want to say thanks to the faithful who sign my blog. I really appreciate it! And if you are doing anything special at your own blog, let me know. Eileen has some cool photos at her blog with some pretty Christmas tree photos. You might want to visit Mrs. Stagg's pretty blog, too.

It is still dark outside. My poor husband has a long commute. I am most grateful to be here in the warmth of this house and sipping coffee and visiting with you. I am listening to a holiday album of Nat King Cole and Dean Martin. Very nostalgic as I was child in the 50's.

I am off to make some holiday art. Enjoy your day!

Little pink houses....

Okay, I admit that I strayed and bought a red house.

My intention was to collect only pink houses. I have branched out to red because it looks so good with the pink houses. I bought a pink bottle brush tree this year, too. The entire mantel is filled with houses and trees now. If you want to see the ultimate Putz site, go here.

Only one more box to wrap and send and I am done with mailing. I have sent out ten boxes, several big envelopes, and about 80 cards. Have spent far too much time in the post office! But, I must say that it has been fun. Our post is office is a pleasant place, even with long lines, and people seem to be in pretty good spirits in line.

How are you faring with holiday things-to-do? No matter what holiday one celebrates, there is always preparation and thought involved.

It was 60 degrees her yesterday but today it will be sleeting in a few hours. I intend to work on a few special gifts today. I was a Christmas party all day yesterday and at an auction last night. My house could use some attention. Perhaps some housework and laundry might happen today.....but maybe not.

Enjoy your day!

Beautiful but dangerous...

These photos were taken in Massachusetts. You can click on the photos to make them larger. How beautiful it looks but how much damage this ice storm caused!

My camera could not really capture the prism-like quality of the ice which encased everything. It was as if iridescent glitter danced on the surface of the ice...fiery opals reflected in the sun...as if the world had turned into a crystal palace.

Hopefully, the power will be restored soon, because there are thousands of people with no electricity, phones, or water. The road were not totally cleared so we didn't progress very far north.

Tomorrow it will be in the 50's and unusually warm in parts of New England.The trees will snap back into position as temperatures warm up. That will not be much consolation to those who have severe storm damage from this beautiful but dangerous storm.

Christmas is coming....

and the dolls are participating, too. Wee Patsy is visiting the little cloth dolls that I made years ago. They are made from the Edith Flack Ackley pattern for doll houses. See that little one in the chair? She is made from one of the Ackley books, too--she is really a square of fabric knotted to make a doll. The doll house is really a CD holder bought at a craft store. I painted it many colors and have some Depression era doll furniture in it.

We are going out on the road soon. The open road is calling and we think we will visit the Berkshires, weather permitting.

Enjoy your weekend.!

Christmas is not so far away.

Finally feeling a bit caught up here and less pressure to get things made to sell or give and just enjoy the sights and sounds of the season. It will be over in a blink and I annually find myself wishing that I had enjoyed it just a little longer. Remember when we were children? The wonder seemed to spread out before us endlessly until the big day arrived.

Do you have certain music or movies that you are traditions for you? I suspect we all have many. I love the movie "The Bishop's Wife" with David Niven, Loretta Young and Cary Grant at his most charming! I will watch this movie many times this season.

As for music, Ottmar Liebert's "Poet's and Angels" is my favorite Christmas music but we often listen to the goofy Leon Redbone Christmas Album, too. Leon croons away "a la Bing Crosby." Gotta love it! Last year we discovered Over the Rhine and their Christmas album, "Snow Angels" which is bluesy, haunting, uplifting, all at the same time. Of course, traditional music makes it way through the house, too.

Above is a tree had in my kitchen last year and other years. Those are my Bleuettes and some vintage characters that I collect. I used this photo of a Christmas card for some special doll collector friends.

You might have guessed that we have eclectic taste here and we don't always celebrate in the most traditional manner though we do maintain some traditions. This year I didn't put up a tree but decorated a Norfolk pine. (One year, when I found myslef suddenly single and quite broke, I decorated an avocado tree with a string of lights I bought for 50 cents in a drugstore. It was splendid tree in its time.)

We are staying simple in these complex times. I like to bring out different things each year and rotate them but bringing out less and less these days.

Time for more coffee and a little music and then I must start the day. A few more packages to mail and then I am done with mailing.

Enjoy your day!

Just a one more thing....

While vising NYC he other day, I stopped in to Tinsel Trading Company. I had been there last summer and new that the store would be moving soon. One would just have to wonder if such a wonderful ambiance could be recreated in a different venue. Not to worry! The new place has all the same charm and all the same vintage trims, ribbons, goodies that have made this store the favorite of Martha Stewart.

The owner, Marcia Ceppos, is as gracious and helpful as ever. I only wish I had more time (and money!) to spend that day. Above you will see some of the trims I purchased. Most are vintage. Tinsel Trading Co. is featured in the new magazine "Where Women Create" and you can see the old store photos in the article.

This woman needs to get creating early today....

enjoy your day!

A few more photos....

A Lord and Taylor window....Times Square....and a statue of William Cullen Bryant in Bryant Park. You may have seen in this blog that we frequently visit his huge summer home in Cummington, MA. Behind the skating rink and the pavilions with the hand crafters in them, I found Mr. Bryant decorated for the holidays. It is very ironic. When I was growing up, everyone learned about Bryant and the famous poem, "To a Waterfowl." I wonder how many people who visit the park know who Bryant was?

I am off to start another busy day. I hope that you enjoy your day however you spend it today!

Postcards from NYC....

Window shopping! Bryant Park! Roses in December near the skating rink in Bryant Park. All part of a shopping day in the city.

NYC was mobbed with shoppers and the wind was gusting to 25 mph. The show at Radio City Music Hall exceeded my expectations by a thousand percent. I loved it! I felt like a child again and filled with wonder. Wearing 3-D glasses, it felt like Santa was flying over the audience. The special effects are really over the top!

A trip to NYC has really revived my holiday spirit. I could feel my eyes tear up at the show as I remembered shows from holidays past and events and people in my life. Some of those people are gone now, but one can still carry memories in one's heart.

More images to follow soon. Have a busy day ahead and must get going early today, but I will be thinking a lot about sights and sounds of the city today. Enjoy your Monday!