Shaking It Off

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I took a week off but I'm back at it today. I painted all day and it felt great. At Christmas time I always get emotional. I reflect on the year, the past, on people, it all swirls around in my head, like a black & white film that's turned to a foggy sienna color, it makes me feel a little gloomy, but the fog is lifting, I'm shaking it off and now getting excited about the new year, a new chapter.

One of my gifts for Christmas was a DVD my dad made for us, a video collage of our family growing up & pieces of my childhood. *It was in color* I laughed and I cried. I cried some more. I could hardly talk to my Dad when thanking him without my voice cracking. It was so thoughtful a gift and truthfully he's not famous for being so thoughtful. Under that rough & gruff exterior is a big loving heart though. My younger brother Eddie is gone now and it was so good to see him but it made me miss him terribly. Eddie had no idea how much he was loved. Do any of us really? I don't think so. To quote a line in the movie Pretty Woman, "the bad stuff is always easier to believe". Watching it made me realize how very lucky & privileged I have been. I am. I've have been blessed to travel to so many beautiful places, some never get to do that, and I've met so many great people, heard so much great music. It also made me realize that even though I hate having my picture taken that I really should try to get better about that. Grin & bear it.

My husband picked up 4 paintings from a gallery today for me which I will be listing for sale but not sure where yet. My camera is broken and I may have giclees made of them, which are more expensive but worth the extra money. I needed a new camera but it was really an inconvenience breaking down now. All my Christmas pictures are on there and honestly I have no idea how to get the memory card out to save them. The paintings I started today are small so I will be able to scan them to list them but the paintings from the gallery are large.

A big thank you goes out to Ellen Morrow for featuring me in her beautiful Etsy Treasury! Check out her fabulous colorful art!