Lost Aussie on the loose

Merry Everything to One and All

Not much else to say really, except I hope this Holiday Season brings you Joy and Laughter and the gifts you most need.
Wishing you all the best, from our Home to Yours...

xoxo

Simply Snowy

Often at this time of year you will find me posting blog pictures of balmy blue skies and hot sunny sand-scapes, snapped off the coast of Western Australia.  This time the pictures hail from the North Shore of Long Island, where snow drifts meets the beach and frigid temperatures turn your fingers blue in the time that it takes to snap the picture.  Lovely nonetheless!  No photoshopping required, as sometimes the images speak eloquently all by themselves!

Our blessing this Holiday Season is a visit from the oldest of our four sons, Ryan and his wife Iris.  Ryan's time with us is precious as it will not be long before he heads back to Afghanistan with his EOD unit in January - so a memorable time is definitely in order.

The pair have have enjoyed tripping into the City, some time exploring the Island and tomorrow we head into NYC to "do" MOMA and catch a performance with the Blue Man Group which should be fun.

I am also hoping to meet up with an Aussie Art friend - Megan tomorrow as well.

Given all the to-'ing and fro-'ing that we have been doing of late, and the fact that folk will be coming and going on Christmas Day, we decided to have our 'fancy' dinner a little early and enjoyed our home cooked Christmas meal tonight.  The menu included a (very nontraditional) Roast Lamb, served with crispy potatoes, roasted fennel and red pepper ratatouille, fresh steamed broccoli, gravy and mint sauce.  We washed that all down with a very fine Mollydooker Goosebumps Shiraz and added gluttony to the last of the year's sins by feasting on homemade New York Cheese Cake and fresh whipped cream for dessert.

Now I just need to figure out what I can possibly squeeze into to wear tomorrow!

Oh and the kicker for the day - sitting in my studio fiddling about, waiting for the lamb to roast, DH comes in and says...."well I guess that's your first failed cheesecake huh? "

"What" I cry, "what is the problem?"
"Well it's sitting in the laundry and all fallen down"
"Well, it's sitting in the laundry because it's the coolest room in the house and I WANT the cheescake to cool down and YES, it's supposed to FALL down from the 8" that it was in the oven - hot air rises and it will cool down, fall down and become dense and yummy as it cools"
"Oh - thank goodness for that" he said!

(and ate two pieces ((when it was cool))  hehe)

Digging Out

Well if you read (or listen) to the news you will probably know that the north east of the US got walloped by a massive snow storm this weekend.  We were lucky enough to escape with a "MERE" 14Inches of white stuff, but believe me, when we were shoveling it all and snow blowing the driveway this morning, that was QUITe enough!
It took about three hours to clear our steep, long and winding driveway - on a positive note - I've found that shoveling snow can be quite meditative in the cold crisp air and I think I can skip running on the treadmill for a few days!

And - The Hot and Cold Of It

Hard to believe there is 70 degrees difference  in the temperature between New York and Perth - but that's what the Google weather man is telling me.

In a few hours time we have to trek to Newark Airport to collect our Family visitors from Florida,  who will be with us for Christmas.
Not quite sure how this adventure will go as they are predicting a major snow storm for the Tri-State area tomorrow, accompanied by a Blizzard warning and a prediction of 12 to 14 inches of snow!  Joy oh Joy (not)!

I guess the upside is that because of the below freezing temps we seem likely to have a "White Christmas" which is always postcard'y perfect!

Stay tuned for some nice "WHITE" pictures!

xoxo

The Short (and Tall) of It

I bid farewell to the boys (again)today.  They jumped on (yet another) jet plane and headed off to the UK where they will spend Christmas with family in Scotland before testing out the slopes in Turin, Italy for a spot of skiiing.

I can't complain as they have spent several of the last Christmases with us and we have enjoyed a wonderful  and very special ten days together.  Given the difficult time they have had over the last month it was nice to see them relax, let their defenses down and just "BE" at peace.

Although not too much time has passed since I was with them in Perth, it does seem as if they grow centimeters at a time between hugs!  As evidenced by the photos, I am definitely the "Little Person" in the house now - they are even taller than DH!

Fortunately I only have to wait about three weeks until I meet up with them again in Oz.  It will be time to hide away from the New York winter for a bit and let them enjoy the rest of their summer vacation with their friends in the sunshine downunder!

Until then, they will be on my mind and, as always, ...tucked firmly in my heart.

I'll leave you with a quote by Washington Irving, which seemed rather apropos for today and an altered photo of a rather 'frozen rose'.

Angels On High

Not much time for art at the moment as all my attention is focused on making the most of the days that I have with the boys and getting them ready for the next leg of their "Summer" vacation in the northern hemisphere. 

I have several pieces that I need to get ready for gallery submissions and exhibitions for next year, the Angel, being one of them, has evolved over several days and a few late night minutes snatched when I can.
Not my usual work habit, but that's OK as being "Mom" is more important than anything else right now!

Dumbo Colour

Today we braved the torrential rains along the LIE in order to meet up with my friend Aggie and check out the Winter Pop-Up Market in Brooklyn.  There was plenty of eye candy in the way of old and retro clothing, some horrendously over-priced ephemera and antiques, but nothing much in the way of the usual funky designers that I have come to expect when visiting their Summer Market.

Nevertheless, we spent a fun hour chatting and browsing - whilst the boys hid away in Starbucks, thoroughly disgusted at being dragged out in the dreadful weather - teenagers, what can I say?

We may have to try and check out the "Gifted" market in Manhattan at some stage before the Holiday Season ends

- that could be fun!

xoxox

Postcards from New York

The boys and I tripped into the City yesterday - bundled in gloves, hats, coats and scarves as it was darned chilly! 

We had a great time  - David got a fancy haircut from my 'cute' stylist "Kike"(pronounced Ki Kay).  We cruised around the shops, checked out the Christmas windows at Tinsel Traders, headed downtown a bit to a great Bar-be-que joint - Blue Smoke - for lunch, caught the 6 Train Uptown to browse around the Apple Store and fulfilled a few Christmas wishes. Next we nipped into FAO Schwartz to buy a few gifts for 'the cousins' in the UK.  After that we rounded out the day by cruising down Madison Avenue, buying the odd, trendy must have item for #1son, snapped pics along the way and finally stopped at Rockefeller Plaza to see "the Tree"  - which to me seems lovelier and lovelier each year!
Last but not least we grabbed DH from his office on Park Ave and headed to TAO for dinner - which was totally scrumptious, as always!

And you would be right if you guessed that we snoozed all the way home!  Anyway, here are a few pics from the day out!  I loved Tinsel Trader's gorgeous white peace display!

xoxox

One For The Birds

It's snowing outside and cold enough that I daresay there will be a blanket of white when I wake up in the morning.  Just the sort of inspiration needed for creating a picture of chilly little birds huddled on a winter branch. 

Ive experimenting tonight with some of the techniques that I have been learning in Misty's class and even though I am still most comfortable sketching and painting with pixels rather than charcoal or paint, I have garnered quite a bit of useful learning in the class.

I guess it does not really matter what your preferred medium is, there are some art 'rules' that are applicable across the board!

And I apologise if I owe you an email (or two), I'm a little behind in that department - Mom chores are front and center for the moment :-)

xoxo

A Christmas'y Looking Card

 Well the Otero 2009 Christmas Card is finally unveiled.  I teetered between artsy, ethereal designs, and various other compositions and in the end decided that this year I wanted something "Merry, Red and Bright".

I combined some Christmassy background material with a few other vector graphics that I cooked up, clipped them all to some Holly Jolly text and shaped the words into a tree - added a few other bits and pieces that I had handy in the digital toolbox and Voila - there you have it!

If you would like one to appear in a mailbox near you, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email with your snaily address and I'll be happy to oblige!

On another BRIGHT note, I have my men, small and large back home, safe and sound.  They've been sleeping (and eating) copious amounts but its wonderful to be back in the kitchen baking and cooking up a storm as well as getting all the hugs and long conversations that we need to catch up on.

I have to laugh, as they are probably the only two boys in the New York playing cricket in the middle of winter on a Tennis Court!  Gotta love thinking 'outside' the box (or net - as the case may be)!