Christmas Stuff

I'm working on a couple of Christmas things. The gingerbread house will have a mouse.
The pictures on the left are of mica putz houses. I didn't know their name until last year. One of my grandmothers had a nativity scene under the tree. My other grandmother had putz houses. I really want some but I don't know if I want to spend the money. These are reproductions on Etsy. There are originals out there, but being cardboard, they show signs of wear and tear. There are directions for making them on the internet. I've got the mica. I probably won't make them, though. I made a nativity set several years ago but I don't put it out because I don't like it anymore.

Nice Surprise While Cooking

Thanksgiving Eve

I'm spending the day cooking what I can for tomorrow. It'll be just the five of us. It's been years since we've had Thanksgiving with extended family.That's what happens when you live so far up north.I do all the cooking and the family does the dishes after the meal. I rest. It's a sweet deal.
I got sidetracked shopping on Etsy this morning. I realized that it's less than a month till Christmas and I had not done a thing about it.
This is a picture I came across of a cake. Well done! I suppose they had to take some license with the wings.
Time to go back to the kitchen before I get sidetracked by clay or computer.

Guinea Pig Wearing Mouse Ears

I was putting photos away and I came across this picture of Dudley. I had made a statue of him sitting on the pillow a while back. I sold it to someone in Great Britain whose mother had lost a guinea pig named Dudley. Dudley sitting on the pillow had been my screensaver. It gives me hope that that picture is somewhere around.
Dudley is proof that any pet can be loving and personable if you handle them enough. He loved us. He had happy noises and a happy dance. I miss him.
I think I'll make a dragon today.

Christmas Bunnny

I really shouldn't put this on Etsy. I'm certain that it's copyrighted. I'll decide about that tomorrow. Maybe it'll be a Christmas present.
I love getting notes on the internet from people who like my work. I don't get out much(especially when it's freezing) so it's like I have invisible friends.

Saturday Fairy

I think I've made five other Bone Fairies and several various skeletons. You'd think I would be able to make them faster because I've had lots of practice, but that isn't so. I always seem to encounter a new problem with the fairy and she takes longer than she should. I'm almost done. I will take the rest of the day off, I think.

Again

The worms and flamingos sold right away. I'm going to take the advice given to me years ago and concentrate on a few pieces (at least for awhile). I wish remaking a piece would be easier. The way I work doesn't lend itself to molds.
I should have written my titles down. There is a pretty complete list on Etsy, but there were some that I pulled off or didn't put there in the first place. I wiped out a bunch of older pictures.
Molly and I will see"Twilight"together this weekend if her boyfriend doesn't want to.
Jim went back to work today.
Now, back to work for me.

Flamingos & Worms

I am remaking two of my favorites. I took the last can of worms to Greece and gave it to Georgios. It was probably a mistake, since it didn't seem to translate into any Greek sayings. Oh, well.
I sent my donkey and elephant to Switzerland today. I was surprised about that one because it is so American. I was happy to sell not just that but four pieces to the same person.
Happy day.

Truman's Toes and the Toads

Truman went to the vet for an eighty-one dollar bandage and pedicure. Turns out that Cassidy attempted to cut his toenails. It was a disaster. When I took Truman in for his very first nail clipping I could hear him in the back room, screaming like a banshee. No one nipped his quick then. He eventually got better about it, but this will be a major setback. I could hear him in that same back room yesterday whimpering twenty different ways.
Here's the toads.
I can't open my email.
Alex, how do I fix that?

Sad Truman

When I went into the living room this morning Truman was laying there with bloody footprints all over. It seems that he pulled a toenail. I get all woozy with blood, so I can't look at it closely. I've been meaning to have his nails clipped because I can't do it myself. I worry too much about cutting to the quick and having them bleed. Stupid. He'll go to the vet in an hour to have them fix what I should have taken care of.
Then I'll make toads.

Politically Correct Bear

Pleasant way to spend Saturday night, Making bears. I thought it was very visual, but I'm not sure of it's name. Lots of puns come to mind, but I don't think so.
I just checked the news. Al Franken is closing in on Norm Coleman in a very close race. Just goes to show that votes count.
I hope Franken wins.
Shoot me.

Get a Dog

"If you want a friend in Washington,"said Harry Truman," get a dog."
It seems that presidents are obliged to get a dog. It looks like every president in the last hundred years had one. Clinton went to the White House with a cat, but eventually he got a dog, too.
Obama promised his daughters one in his acceptance speech. Bush's Scottie, Barney, bit a reporter the other day. Big news.
I love dogs. I'm guessing that a dog softens and humanizes the presidents image. Great photo ops.
That's fine with me.
I'm making a dog in a white house. I don't know what breed the first dog will be so I'll wing it.

Twilight in Minnesota

Outside is just about dead. Snow is just around the corner.
I picked up Molly's copy of "Twilight" because I needed something to read in the waiting room. I was hoping it would be like"Harry Potter", which I started to read a few years ago when I was desperate for a book and I'd bought them for Molly. I'm not in the habit of reading children's books but the Harry Potter books delighted me. I was at about page 100 and Molly asked me if I liked it. I said that it was too romantic for my taste. Molly said that it gets a lot more romantic later on. Damn! I think I'm done.

November 4

Voting reminds me of going to church. It's something I only do every few years, people are pleasant and I feel so virtuous afterward.
Like church, I wonder if my small voice really counts, but I suppose it is enough that I did it.

All Souls Day

We went to see Cassidy play on Halloween. He is harder to photograph than Truman. When he's playing he moves around A LOT.
I was going to make some skeletons today but I wasn't in the mood. Each skeleton is made of almost fifty pieces of clay. I would like to come up with a faster way of doing things someday. Sigh.
This promises to be an interesting week.