It's been two years since we lost Apricot, but it's hard not to remember how wonderful a pet she was! She thought she was a people-- cuddling the kids like a mother cat or being my baby. She loved everyone who came to the house and showed her loving.
Do you ever like to sit in a busy public place and watch the people go by? I think that is one of Craig's favorite things to do! We sat in front of the Met in NYC one time and just watched all the different people walk past us. I always feel kind of embarressed because it isn't polite to stare at people. But it is interesting... which brings me to this website that I've had the link to (over there on the right of my blog) but didn't know whether to say anything about it (guilty pleasure?). It is called the Satorialist and it is written by Scott Schuman who has been in the fashion industry for years and saw how designers use inspiration off the street all the time. He constantly posts photos of people he sees, several times a day, from NYC, Milan, Paris and any great fashion city you can think of. It is fun to look...sometimes they are decked out, sometimes not, and sometimes just downright eccentric! And they are all ages. I find that I love to look at men's clothing ensembles. Dressing Craig is one of my favorite things to do and he always gives me full credit. (I dress him way better than myself!) People think he's trying to make an excuse for something when he says "My wife dresses me." But he's just giving credit where credit is due! And he loves the things too...especially that purple striped bow tie!!! Clothing is definately the area where people express their creativity most often (or fail to!). Bon ensemble!
I haven't seen any art lately... at least not art by me! Yes, this is a problem. And yes, this will have to change considering my blog says that it is about my studio and the work that I do. Tomorrow I teach, but after that, I should be able to do something. If you never read the book Seen Art? it is really fun and covers the different art at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. We actually got it before one of our trips to NYC and after we visited MOMA, the kids remembered seeing the art in the book. Definately a way to travel if you don't live as close to the Big Apple like we do.
So ask me again next week: "Seen ART???"
I just saw this posted on Cream Puffs in Venice Blog: Red velvet cupcakes! I immediately thought of Marv (Craig's Dad) and will have to try to remember to find a recipe to make this on his birthday. He's the only one I know who's favorite cake is Red Velvet! This cupcake fits nicely with my red theme. Hmmm. Maybe I should celebrate red food regularly: red cranberry orange muffins, red raspberry apple cobbler... the list could be endless! Now I'm hungry. Off to see about dinner!
After my bicycle email conversation with Cincinnati Caroline, I find this wonderful fabric from FreeSpirit Quilting Fabrics: "Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries" by Heather Ross. (She is an illustrator, turned fabric designer...hmmmm...there's a great idea!). Who couldn't love those banana seat bikes with those handlebars that you didn't have to bend over to reach. And, as C pointed out to me, the "sissy bar" that I never had! Of course the above bikes do not have the sissy bar... which leads me to the conclusion that it was a Toledo fad and we true Cincinnatians did not follow that trendy way. Might I add that I did have a white basket with 3 different colored daisies on it, plastic mind you. Very cool and very useful at the same time. No one ever said I wasn't a pragmatic girl... form follows function, yada yada yada.
"Best of Show"
"Zipper Mouth" ?
It almost got away...
MY ALTER EGO
We got more snow last night and today! This is a photo of our new home. You really find out how long the driveway is when you have to shovel it!
They actually thought it was fun. 
After shoveling, we took a little nature hike up the hill in back to track animals. We saw places where the deer have been nibbling at the bark. You can see the back of our house in this photo...
This is 7-8 hours of preparation work... yikes! Maybe I spend way too much time on lessons, but I can't imagine doing anything less than 100%. It turned out well and I think they had fun... some will never put "fun" and "math" in the same sentence!!
Jonathan, Emma and Cecelia doing a probability dice game... these are some of "my" kids...love them!! Below are more kids working at different stations. Caroline and Nathaniel are playing money bingo...
with Denmark! Who knew? Red, red, red everywhere! And the Danish...well, who couldn't like a country that's people share a name with a pastry...yum! So maybe this will be added to my list of places to visit in my lifetime! I have always loved the design aesthetic of that region up to Sweden and Norway-- bright, crisp colors paired with white-- happy, dramatic. These photos above were just posted to Liselotte's website today. I think we would be friends if I spoke Danish (though it appears she speaks English). Sorry to keep snagging other people's photos, but I haven't had time to take any good ones myself and I haven't had a chance to work on my own projects for a couple weeks. I think curtains are next on the list...
