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The Season of Magic

/ Jodi / 50 Comments
sammy-the-elf

Sammy the Elf – the Magic of Christmas

Long before the Official “Elf on the Shelf” was marketed (and got a bit out of control – but dang!  Why didn’t I think to market it!?!), our family had an heirloom elf who came to visit during the magical month of December.

Sammy (we knew his name because it was written on his shirt) came to visit and watch over our boys to assure they were being good and deserving of Christmas gifts from Santa.  He would move around the house every night, and the boys had so much fun waking up each morning trying to find him and see what he might have been up to the night before.

Sammy always left with Santa on his sleigh after Santa brought the boys’ gifts on Christmas eve, and he didn’t return until the following December 1st.

One important thing about Sammy was that he could not be touched by human hands – never – ever –  or he would lose his “magic.”   The boys never dared touch him.  (He came with a note from Santa the first year telling us so.)

Though our Christmas tree has become a smaller, themed, and artificial version of the live cut trees of years past loaded with sentimental and handmade ornaments, the one thing I still put on our tree is Sammy.

Our boys still often reminisce when they see him, laughing at how they believed so strongly in him and his magic – yet still almost afraid to touch him…

Sammy is an heirloom Christmas “decoration” that was my Grandma’s, so I especially cherish him.  She had what seemed like dozens of these tiny toy elves all over her home doing silly things at Christmas.   She was such a character and had a great sense of humor, so her elves would be hanging from curtain rods and peeking over picture frames and sitting cross armed and legged in the strangest of places.

And then, it seemed for many years, these elves were impossible to find (especially when friends’ kids wanted an elf like Sammy!) – until “Elf on a Shelf” became the rage.

Our sweet Sammy is worn and thread-bare in many places, but he will always have a place of honor on our tree and in our home in December.

He reminds me of the magic of the season.
The magic of Christmas.
The magic of children and believing.
The magic of family memories –
my children and my own childhood.

It is indeed
the season of Magic!

Happy December!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge:  It’s Not this Time of Year Without

Carolyn Comes to Mars: Blogger Friends Meet Up

/ Jodi / 31 Comments
brad-and-carolyn-spaceship-mars

Brad and Carolyn, Mars PA Town Square at the Spaceship

One of the joys of blogging is the friendships developed with other bloggers.

Carolyn (aka JoyRoses who writes at Nuggets of Gold) is a friend I “met” about two years ago via the blogging world on WordPress when we both enrolled in Writing101 – a month-long challenge that offered writing prompts and a community of blogging students to encourage each other.

Well… yesterday Carolyn came to Mars to meet in person.  What a joy it was to give her a real hug, take her (and chauffeur/hubby, Brad) to get their photo taken in Mars at the spaceship, and get them souvenir Mars T-shirts to wear on the unseasonably warm and sunny October Sunday.

Charlie was equally excited to meet Carolyn (and Brad)!  He could hardly contain himself and kept jumping up on their laps wanting to give them kisses.

charlie-and-carolyn-and-brad

Charlie welcoming Carolyn and Brad to Mars

Carolyn and Brad had never visited Pittsburgh either, so a brief tour was in order including a trip up the Monongahela Incline to get a bird’s eye view of our beautiful city.

monongahela-incline

Monongahela Incline, Pittsburgh, PA

While waiting in line, we met two friendly gents who came all the way from Germany to see a Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots football game.  For real!  What fun we had chatting with them.  And of course, we had to get a picture, so our kind hubbies took photos of us with Tom and Nils the day before Tom’s 32nd birthday as they celebrated a lifelong friendship, and we all celebrated life and new friendships.

tom-jodi-nils-carolyn

Tom, Jodi, Nils, Carolyn – Grandview Avenue Mt Washington overlooking Pittsburgh

Of course I made cookies for our guests, but I was a bit stumped to learn last minute that between the two of them – I had to consider gluten free and vegetarian.  Yikes!   Thank goodness I had one amazing gluten-free cookie recipe in my repertoire, and thankfully my Kicked Up Chewy Peanut Butter Cinnamon Chip Cookies were a hit.

While in town, Carolyn’s hubby mentioned a restaurant a friend recommended – The Church Brew Works.  It is a fun place where the owners actually converted an old Catholic Church into a restaurant/micro-brewery, so we decided to take them there.    The most breathtaking element of the amazing atmosphere and architecture of this restaurant/brewpub is the position of the brew house on the altar.  Because the altar was built as a centerpiece of the church, the steel and copper tanks gleaming in the celestial blue backdrop are nothing less than captivating.  We had an amazing meal that delighted  everyone’s dietary needs.

brad-and-carolyn-church-brew-works

Brad and Carolyn at the Altar at The Church Brew Works

It was a lovely day, and a lovely meet-up of blogging friends.  And of course I sent them home with some extra cookies for the ride.

Thanks for the visit Carolyn and Brad.  We will remember it fondly and cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Seeing the Weeping in the Willow Tree

/ Jodi / 40 Comments
weeping-willow-conneaut-lake-october-9-2016

Weeping Willow Tree, Conneaut Lake, October 2016

When the physical things of this world
blur and fade through the lens of our eyes,

A different kind of vision
grows stronger and clearer…

The ability to see the weeping
in the leaves of the willow tree,

The arms that extend and embrace
in its branches,

The foundation that centers and steadies
in its strong, solid trunk.

The weeping willow
is crystal clear

in our heart
and soul
and mind.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Classics

/ Jodi / 43 Comments

red-chevelle

Things that are Classic…
a short list…

Red sports cars, Red Woolrich flannel, Red lipstick
Converse tennis shoes, Peep toe pumps, Timberland Boots
Ray ban sunglasses, Blue blazers, Black dresses
Levi’s jeans, Heather grey hoodies, crisp white cotton shirts
Cashmere, Herringbone, Houndstooth
Diamonds, Pearls, Mood rings
Chanel, Armani, Dior
Aerosmith, Beatles, Elton John
Chocolate chip cookies, Apple pie, Birthday cake
Champagne, Martinis, Cabernet Sauvignon
Monet, Picasso, Van Gough
Kindness, Honor, Grace
Smiles, Hugs, I love you’s

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

#Nostalgia
#Local

 

 

Autumn Glow

/ Jodi / 38 Comments

september-sunset-mars-pa

Autumn Glow September Sunset, Mars, PA 9/26/16

The Autumn Glow

Thick, heavy clouds part briefly
revealing glimpses of glimmering gold

and twinkling sapphire skies
above the emerald carpeted lawn

sprinkled with the first fallen leaves
that will soon crunch beneath our feet

as we walk the familiar lane…
on a sweet September sunset.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Quest

Sprinkled with a Dash of Melancholoy

/ Jodi / 59 Comments

Morning Ride Home Fog 1

It’s that time of year…
that bittersweet time.

You can just feel it…
There’s a  nip in the air.

You can hear it…
The crickets croon.

You can smell it…
Drying leaves and withering grass.

There’s that knot in the stomach…
not sure if it’s nervous or excited.

It’s an ending…
but it is also a beginning.

Carefree days are left behind…
Structured schedules begin.

It’s brand new shoes…
and choosing just the right first day outfit.

It’s shiny new binders…
and backpacks with lots of compartments.

It’s one-subject and three-subject and five-subject
multi-colored spiral notebooks.

It’s freshly sharpened pencils…
and pens in red, and blue and black.

It’s fresh new crayons and assorted colored pencils…
and highlighters in neon shades of yellow and pink and green.

It’s the anticipation of seeing old friends
and the hope of meeting new ones.

It’s new teachers, new subjects, new classrooms…
It’s squeaky clean blackboards with fresh sticks of chalk.

It’s time to secretly pass notes
with important messages

like “Do you like me? Yes or No
Circle One”

It’s waiting with the neighbors at the bus stop
and sharing seats times three.

And then growing old enough
to be too cool for the bus.

It’s apples for teachers
and pictures with bus drivers.

It’s back to school time –
Can you feel it in the air?

And even though it’s been
quite a few years

since I sent my boys off
with ambivalent feelings of sadness and pride

and even more since it was me as that little girl
with butterflies of anticipation, fear, and excitement

I still get that feeling
this time of year.

Sweet joyful memories…
sprinkled with a dash of melancholy.

I can’t be the only one
that feels this way.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Daily Prompt:  Learning

Rocket Pear to Ground Control: “Ready for Take Off”

/ Jodi / 36 Comments

rocket pear taking off

Are you ready for this adventure called “Today?”

Make it magical…
Make it creative…

Be imaginative…
Be silly…

Gain inspiration from whatever comes your way.
Have Fun!

Cherish the moments.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

I could have been bummed about that blurry leaf in the bottom left of this photo I took the other day on a walk getting in the way of allowing this to be a “perfect” pear photo, but instead, I had to laugh.  What I somehow crazily saw was silly – a pear rocket ship firing up for take off with a big puff of steam behind it.  Now isn’t that a more FUN way to look at it?!  

 

Pink Flamingo

/ Jodi / 65 Comments
Pink Flamingo Watercolor 8x10

Pink Flamingo Watercolor 8×10

Happy #DrawABirdDay!

On the 8th day of every month, many of my fellow artistic blogging friends and I enjoy sharing our drawings and paintings of birds.  Thanks Laura at CreateArtEveryDay for hosting!

I painted this pink flamingo a week or so ago and have been saving it to share for today.  I have to admit, I think this is my favorite watercolor painting I’ve done to date.

And I have to thank Laura again for calling my attention to a tutorial on the Artist Network done by one of my favorite watercolor artists, Jean Haines, who inspired this flamingo.

I just couldn’t wait to see what it looked like framed.  Doesn’t it make such a difference to see it matted and framed?

pink flamingo 2 original watercolor 8x10 matted and framed to 11x14

Pink Flamingo in Watercolor -8×10 matted and framed 11×14

I also thought it would make beautiful note cards, so I printed some up for our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy shop.

pink flamingo 2 watercolor card set

Pink Flamingo Watercolor Card Set

I love pink….
I love birds….
I love watercolor…
So creating this painting was pure joy for me.

Wishing you a day filled with joy and love and moments to cherish!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Paint

Brown Eyed (or Black or Purple Eyed!) Susan

/ Jodi / 54 Comments
Brown Eyed Susan Watercolor 5x7

Brown Eyed Susan Impressionistic Watercolor 5 x 7

Work and life have been very busy and exciting around here.

And even though it is all good, sometimes the busyness can be stressful.

When I need or want to unwind, I have truly found peace and joy in watercolor painting.

A year ago, I would have told you I enjoyed it, but I sometimes found it stressful as I wanted to be so good and realized what a truly challenging medium watercolor is.

About a year and a half into this new artistic love and hobby, I can truly say I now enjoy it for what it brings to me…  The way it relaxes me watching the water and paint flow and mix and mingle…  The joy in creating something completely unique and original…

And I no longer stress over perfection (well – most of the time!).  I am an artist (finally calling myself that!) who finds more joy in painting than sketching, so drawing before painting is tedious to me.  I can’t wait to get to the paint, so I would so much rather just skip the sketching stage.  Don’t get me wrong, though…  I GREATLY admire those that can sketch and draw creating almost exact likenesses to objects!  I marvel and appreciate it so much!

I now realize I want to create things for my own joy…  my own impression…. my own interpretation… and if someone else likes it – good.  If not, that is okay too.   I  have developed my own little style, and though I will never be Vincent Van Gogh, I enjoy my painting.

So here’s one of my latest – a simple study of a single brown-eyed susan – Jodi’d up with a purple center, loose strokes and a few splatters!

Here was the photo I took of the flower from our front yard garden.  As you can see,  I didn’t try to replicate it exactly as is, but used it as a reference to create my impression or interpretation from.

brown eyed susan flower

I rather like this one, and I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like framed.

brown eyed susan watercolor 5x7 matted and framed to 8x10

I think I’ll add this one to our McKinneyX2Designs Etsy shop.  I love it as a print and think it will make lovely greeting/note cards too.  It still amazes me that people have bought my original artwork, prints and cards.  Every time the “ding” of the cash register alerts me that someone has bought something from our Etsy shop, I get so excited to see what they liked.  Whether it was a beautiful rustic sign or piece of home decor made by my daughter-in-law and partner in artistic fun, Colleen, or a piece of artwork or set of cards that I created, it is such an honor, and I feel such joy.

brown eyed susan watercolor card set

Tomorrow I am going to be sharing what I think might be my very favorite painting I have done to date.  I am excited to share it.  You may or may not like it, but that’s okay.  Thanks for traveling along this journey with me…. cherishing the moments… at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Paint

The Other Side

/ Jodi / 57 Comments
dogwood blossoms looking up

Dogwood Tree Blossom, The Other Side, Mars, PA

As you stretch and reach
and open yourself

to the sunshine
after the rain

I admire your beauty
from underneath

And wonder if its really much different
on the other side?

 

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge:  Earth