Getting Ready for Christmas in Mars.
Where else can you find a 40 foot Christmas tree
ready for lights and balls and tinsel and a star…
next to a spaceship and across from Mars Bank
in town square?
There’s no place like home
in Mars, PA…
where celebrating Christmas
is “out of this world!”
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Ceilng Light, Omni William Penn, Pittsburgh, PA
When I look into your eyes,
I see your heart…
and that is where
the beauty is.
It’s deep in your soul.
It’s past the superficial.
When I look into your eyes
nothing else matters.
I wonder what you see
when you look into mine.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Chandelier at Omni William Penn Ballroom, Pittsburgh, PA – 11/2017
Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was at a meeting this week at the beautiful Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. The Omni is a gorgeous historical classic that was built in 1915 and hailed as the “Grandest Hotel in the Nation” when it opened in 1916.
During a tour in preparation for an upcoming conference I’ll be part of, I couldn’t help but snap a picture of one of the gorgeous chandeliers that hangs in the ballroom. I thought of all of the galas and weddings and celebrations that took place under their sparkling light. I thought of all the love that was shared…. all the victories celebrated… all the accomplishments recognized. And the chandeliers became more significant. They represented over 100 years of “light.”
May we all shine as bright.
May we all be the light.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Snowy Red Ford Truck with Christmas Wreath on Front Watercolor 11×14
Red Truck Christmas.
I can think of a few peeps who would love a new red truck for Christmas (one is the guy I’ve been living with for the past 35 years!).
But he already has one, and it was the model for my latest Christmas watercolor painting.
When I painted my previous classic red truck carrying a Christmas tree, my red truck man informed me since it was a Chevy, I needed to paint a Ford too.
So here it is.
It was fun to paint it this past Sunday afternoon en plein air. Sunny and 77 degrees F outside in late October painting Christmas snow! Gotta love it!
This painting makes great prints and cute cards for Ford truck lovers.
They will be available in our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy Shop, at Berry Vine Gifts, and at the Mars Fall Craft Show on November 18th.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Winter Wonderland Christmas Tree Watercolor 10×13
A Winter Wonderland Christmas Tree.
Because every week needs
a little sprinkle of Christmas.
I am having so much fun creating some holiday art.
You see, our little McKinneyX2Designs business is participating in the
Mars Holiday Craft Show that is only one month away!
It is one of the biggest holiday craft shows in the area
with hundreds of crafters and artisans selling their
handmade items in both the Mars Middle School and Mars High School
with a shuttle bus that transports shoppers between both venues.
We will be at the Mars High School on Saturday, November 18th
from 10-4 with Colleen’s beautiful rustic pallet signs and decor
and some of my watercolor art.
If you can’t make it to this fun event, you can always visit our ETSY shop
or stop by Berry Vine Gifts in Bradfordwoods, PA.
Wherever you find us,
we will be sprinkling a little bit of Christmas!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree Watercolor – 11×14 – 140lb Fabriano Artistico
Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree.
Is anybody else starting to think about Christmas?
When my boys were young, I loved getting ready for the Christmas holiday. I would often start playing Christmas music in October… much to Hubby’s dismay.
We prepared letters to Santa, and I shopped and put carts full of toys on “lay-away” months ahead of winter.
My best friend and I went to craft shows and stores and bought santas and snowmen and other holiday decorations, as well as things to make decorations – often while pushing strollers and carrying diaper bags.
I would prepare for “Sammy” the elf to make his arrival at our house and plan out his adventures each night when the boys went to bed to surprise them in the morning.
I created homemade Christmas cards for the boys to color (and later they drew them) to send to friends and family.
I stocked up on sugar and flour and baking supplies when they were on sale and collected festive tins to make hundreds of cookies and dozens of sweet breads and nut rolls to share with friends and neighbors.
As the boys got older, the excitement of Christmas dimmed a bit. We still enjoyed it, but the excitement leading up to it was not the same as when they were young and the magic existed.
But now….. I’m a grandma! And that just makes me absolutely giddy for Christmas again!
And since my daughter-in-law, Colleen, and I have created our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy shop and have started also selling our art at a local gift shop, Berry Vine Gifts, it is so fun to get excited about preparing for Christmas again. And it seems there are others like me out there, because holiday cards and paintings have already sold!
So I’m having fun creating Christmas and holiday art… like this classic red truck with a Christmas tree. Doesn’t it just make you so nostalgic about Christmas?
So even though we are still experiencing 80 degree Autumn days, I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. It’s so fun to dream!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Autumn Leaf on the Lawn – October, 2017 – Mars, PA
Things to leave…
Your mark on the world.
Your worries behind.
The door open.
Well enough alone.
Hurtful, unhealthy relationships.
Your sparkle on the world!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
A Woohoo Journey.
I was talking to a friend the other day
whose family just returned from their annual weekend amusement park vacation.
It made me think about how many “rides”…. how many difficult situations… how many journeys…
I closed my eyes and waited until it was over.
Instead of enjoying the ride… Instead of appreciating the journey,
and shouting “Woohoo!”
Roller Coasters…
literally and figuratively.
I think of all the things I missed….
just waiting to get to the end – the destination.
No more!
No more closing my eyes and waiting.
Eyes are now wide open.
I am watching. I am appreciating. I am enjoying the journey!
(Just please don’t hold me to this on the Thunderbolt at Kennywood!)
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s… Birdly!
Hubby and I made a little visit this past weekend to the National Aviary located in our beautiful city of Pittsburgh.
It’s pretty awesome having America’s only independent indoor nonprofit zoo dedicated exclusively to birds in our own “backyard” with a diverse collection of more than 500 birds representing more than 150 species from around the world, many of them threatened or endangered in the wild.
And guess what? We’ve never visited it before this past weekend!
Bird lovers that we have become….. meet some of our new friends.
I wish I could remember their names and species, but maybe some of you are better at identifying. I simply found them fascinating and beautiful.
The eagle took my breath away.
But wait….. what is this rare bird?
It’s Hubby as a virtual reality eagle flying over New York City on BIRDLY!
Have you ever dreamed of flying like a bird? BIRDLY has made that possible, and we were able to experience it on our recent visit.
The exhilarating flight simulation experience allows you to fly like a bird while lying on the simulator chest down, flapping your arms using hinged wings, and controlling your direction and speed while a fan simulates headwinds. Motors and actuators tilt and dip your body in response. The sensory-motor coupling essentially tricks the brain, so between the motion, wind, sound and visuals, you are effectively flying!
For me it was exciting and terrifying at the same time. Biggest ninny poo poo of all time, I am deathly afraid of heights. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. It is clearly safe, and oh what a feeling of freedom it was!
So yep – got to experience flying like a bird this past weekend! I’d say that’s a check off the ole’ bucket list for sure! Hubby was so busy telling me how to flap my wings, he didn’t think to take a picture. Does that surprise anyone that knows him!?!?
He really was trying to help me as I was…. [ahem]… let’s say the “most vocal” of all the flyers that afternoon…
If you get a chance, do visit the National Aviary and take a flight on Birdly where you can “Fly Like an Eagle.”
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Early Morning Front Yard – Mars, PA – June, 2017
Morning is worth waking up to…
When the warmth of the sun casts its golden magic,
and the shadows of the awakening trees begin dancing.
The cool dew is refreshingly invigorating on bare feet in the grass,
and the light breeze of the night still lingers.
The chirping birds are rejoicing, drenched with enthusiasm,
soaring and fluttering with the butterflies and the bees.
Steaming dark roast coffee is poured and inhaled,
lightened with Italian sweet cream, and then sipped with pleasure.
Sleepy, swollen eyes begrudgingly awaken and brighten.
It’s time to embrace the unending number of possibilities of a brand new day.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
If being in the second half of life means Sunday mornings are even more glorious than Saturday nights, I’ll take it!
the creative life in between 