snow

Red Truck Christmas

/ Jodi / 41 Comments

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

Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree

/ Jodi / 52 Comments
Classic Red Truck with Christmas Tree Watercolor - 11x14 - 140lb Fabriano Artistico

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

Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature!

/ Jodi / 49 Comments

Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature!

Alright….
who tried to slip
Mother Nature
some Chiffon margarine
in place of butter?

Woke up early this morning
knowing it was coming…
the weather people
kept telling us.

But to see daffodils blooming
and tree buds bursting
in a haze of green
against a blue sky
and warm, sunny breeze
just yesterday…

and wake up to this –
albeit splendid beauty-
this morning…

Someone had to have tried to
fool Mother Nature!

 

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Black and White

/ Jodi / 32 Comments
snowy-front-yard-black-and-white-0117

snowy front yard in FULL COLOR

“The world is black, the world is white
It turns by day and then by night”*

Nature
inspiring
Nurture.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

* Three Dog Night, 1972 – first recorded by Peter Seeger, 1956

 

A little birdie told me…

/ Jodi / 31 Comments

goldfinch-winter-010617

Goldfinch – Winter – Mars, PA 01-06-17

A little birdie told me…

When you love what you have,
you have everything you need.

 
(Oh to be so pretty AND so smart!!  😉)

(author unknown)

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Empty Bench

/ Jodi / 30 Comments

snowy-lake-and-bench-mars-pa-december-2016

The Empty Bench.

Make room…
in your heart,
in your soul,
in your home,
in your life.

Fill it with…
love,
acceptance,
warmth,
peace.

#RealMeaningofChristmas

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

December Snow

/ Jodi / 32 Comments
front-yard-and-driveway-morning-after-snow-december-2016

Front Yard, Mars, PA December, 2016

December snow
is the brightest snow.

It makes the sky bluer
and tree trunks browner.

December snow cleanses the earth
and also the soul.

It evokes memories
and fills us with anticipation.

December snow…
I love your Christmas spirit.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Rule of Life

/ Jodi / 26 Comments

female-cardinal-in-the-snow-december-2016

“Those of us
who are warm and dry
and safe and well-fed
must show up for those
who are cold and wet
and endangered and hungry.
That’s a rule of life.
Every ethical and religious and spiritual
tradition in the world
agrees on that rule.”

-Elizabeth Gilbert
thecompassioncollective.org

The true spirit of the season is not in simply buying gifts,
but in giving and doing what we can for those in need.

 

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#RealMeaningofChristmas

 

Just Be

/ Jodi / 34 Comments
snowy-pine-way-winter

Snowy Pine Tree Way, Mars, PA – December, 2016

Just be…

whatever it is
you were meant to be.

Just be.

During this time of year, so many of us push ourselves beyond what any human is capable of doing.
Others suffer with stinging depression because their life is not like the “Hallmark” Christmas card or movie.
Remember to just be…
It’s okay…
It is actually more than okay!
It is what you are meant to be.
Let it go – let it be – and just be.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Spring in Mars

/ Jodi / 45 Comments

japonica snow

Spring in Mars
is a little confused.

The beautiful Japonica
that yesterday looked like
it was playing the harmonica

now thinks it is time
to celebrate Hanukkah
with Veronica
and drink a gin and tonica!

Just a little silliness
to cherish the moments
that nature throws our way
each and every day.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS – How many words can you think of that rhyme with Japonica ?