Lost Aussie on the loose

Ding Dong Bells

A rather belated Merry Christmas to all my Blog readers and best wishes for the New Year to come.
I've been somewhat preoccupied with my houseful of guests, away for a few days of skiing and now busy with all the 'touristy' things that out-of-towners want to see!...nevermind keeping everyone happy, fed and clean in the interim!

I'd like to wish each and every one of you who pop by this spot - ALL THE BEST FOR 2009!  Your readership gives me much to be grateful for, your kind words and comments always appreciated, each and every one a gift in it's own right!  May you each find JOY, PEACE and LOVE in the coming year....

xoxoxo

 After the snow and rain of the last few days, the sun managed to peek out from behind the clouds today and offered up a little light show through the trees and into the wood behind our house.
There was even a touch of blue sky to boot!
It was a glorious spectacle as the trees truly did seem to glow in the late afternoon sky!

You can see the larger picture here on Flickr

Amongst the other snaps that I grabbed was one of the neighbours woodpile.  I just loved all the textures and variations in the log circles.  Good for some abstract geometrical digital thingymybob at some point no doubt - and of course I suppose it would make for a cozy wood fire too!

Let it Snow, let it Snow, let it Snow...

The first group of Family visitors have arrived from Australia this week and were thrilled to be treated to a good dolloping of fluffy white stuff.  It was not long before they were all outside swathed in coats and scarves, braving the cold for snow ball fights and snowmen building.
My brother-in-law even traded out his usual lawnmowing skills and manned the snowblower for a while so that we could clear the driveway.  Rather a redundant effort as it was soon covered by a further 3" of snow, but a great effort none-the-less.

Sorting out our Holiday plans, feeding and entertaining is keeping me busy and for those few of you who have written in the last week and I have not replied, I apologise and will hopefully catch up on mail this weekend!

Stop, Look and Listen

Very hard to do right now, but I think I should try my best.

All sorts of people pulling me in a myriad of directions....the trick is who to listen to, and not necessarily the LOUDEST voice!

Kaleidoscope Krazy & A Call for Care

Not much time for creating ART of great intent at the moment as life is busy with the boys, preparing for Christmas and the influx of 5 more guests to fill the house, in no fewer than 5 days time.

While I am frantically trying to get everything ready and 'just so', the boys have been outside playing CRICKET on the tennis court - yes in the freezing cold weather and rain to boot, however it seems that if you are 15 & 16 you don't mind being rosey cheeked and chilly so long as you can fling a ball back and forth!  The joys of Youth, I suppose!

Between chores, all I've manged to do is mail off a stash more Christmas cards, get ready another parcel to send to Ryan over in Afghanistan and 'fiddle' with some pics in Photoshop using my Kaleidoscope tool...which is quite good fun!

BTW...if any of you are interested in sending HUNGRY SOLDIERS a care package, I'd be delighted to pass on an address for you...just leave a comment or email me!
Last time we spoke to Ryan it was nearly TWO days since they had any proper food to eat!!!  Even as an Australian I am embarrassed that American soldiers do not get fed well when they are on active duty.
It doesn't matter if all you can send is a Kashi bar or two and a jolly Christmas Card, his troop will be most appreciative, I can assure you!
(and the postage is the same as US local rates and trust me, you can fit a whole lot of love (and food) into those flat rate boxes!)

I'll leave you with a few more photos that have been duly Kaleidoscoped...kind of fun really!
The last one, believe it or not, is a photo of Abe Lincoln!

ciao for now

Rather Topical

I was hunting down images to create a fun art piece for the Blog tonight when I came upon this image and decided that really it said it ALL.....
can't really add much to this can you?  And considering it was published in 1918..you gotta wonder!

May the Taxpayer weep!

A Wonderful Weekend

We headed off to the airport on Saturday to collect my BIG Chicks, their second solo trip around the world, which this time, thankfully went off without a hitch.  They arrived off a new Airbus 380 which seems to take a country age to disgorge, and apart from a LONG wait for them to exit from baggage claim was not too bad!
Coming from 30+C temps it was a shock for them to wake up the next day to 4" of glistening white stuff!  However, the tennis court has been duly 'plowed' and they have been outside playing cricket for all of the sunny hours since!

I am like a Mamma in Hog Heaven, cooking breakfasts, baking buns, cakes and roasting dinners - which is why the poor olde blog has been somewhat neglected...sorry folks!  It's just so delightful to have the boys here and be able to pamper them like no-one but Mum does!

 

I did have a nice little surprise on Sunday...after being out and about, came home and checked the answering machine to find that I had WON a prize at a local art show.  An Award of Excellence, no less and Second Prize at the Member's Show for the Long Island Art League.

I'd submitted another of my encaustic pieces and the Judge was very complimentary about the painting, which, as you can imagine left me feeling VERY pleased.

Aside from a nice Certificate of Excellence, I was also presented with a fat little check which was quite the icing on the proverbial cake!

I don't think I could have wished for a more wonderful weekend!

The Long Arm of Love

My Grandma has been long gone from this world but to this day, manages to reach out with her loving touch each year when it comes time to make my Christmas Cake.  (A very heavy and rich concoction that most UK and Australian readers will be familiar with.)  Usually made a month or two in advance of eating, dosed with a good quantity of rum or whiskey and most often layered with marzipan before icing and decorating with a little Christmas landscape.

She first sent me her recipe when I was a 'mere' teenager...faithfully typed out on her old typewriter, along with several other favourites that I had requested.  The flimsy sheets are to this day, taped safely inside one of the first cook books I ever owned.  I've since scanned them and filed them away electronically for preservation but it's to the cook book that I turn each time I go to make my cake.  I just hope she's watching and knows that each and every time the batter is mixed and the cake cooked well and slowly, that it's eaten with love and appreciation and thoughts of her in mind!

And speaking of love from afar...it was with much surprise and gratitude that we received flowers delivered for Thanksgiving last week from my friend Nancy in Canada.  The blooms are still so beautiful and rich and I can't thank you enough for the lovely thought!

From this...to That...

Take one small picture of a Robin (garnered off the internet), two scoops of Photoshop, mix gently with three to four layers of blending modes, add one cup of hand painting and a quarter cup of sketch outlines.
Run an action for painterly effect and a drop or two of hand tweaking, a layer mask or two and you should expect to see a bird that is well done, pleasingly coloured and impressive to the eye....
Manipulate it a little further, copy and paste, add some hand drawn lines and VOILA.....

A little birdie pageant, ready to print on a Christmas Card!

PS- If I have your address, then there is probably one one the mail.  If I don't and you would like a LOST AUSSIE Christmas Card then feel free to leave a comment and  email me with your address and I will happily send one your way!

Beads, Baubles & Bits

I'm working a little bit behind the "8 ball" to get some 'stuff' together for my friends Cathy and Deryn who are coming out with a super dooper Jewelery Zine early next year.
Since I don't make jewelery (haha) I agreed to make some "Window Bling" for their Zine (and hopefully won't get my toes cut off for mentioning it on my Blog!)...anyways you are only seeing snippets here, just to prove that I can actually DO something other than weild my pen over my tablet!  I've spent a happy day piecing together beads and wire with some vintage crystals AND if you are interested to know more then you will just have to stay tuned and check out the details when the ZINE is published....how fun!  I'm sure they will let you know when it's out and about!

AND, just not to ruin the standard of 'normal programming' I did mess around a little in Photoshop tonight and will post the pick below.

It's weird, I was trolling through my files earlier and notice that in 2008 I've created WAY less art than in well....maybe the last two or three years.  Not sure why.
Is it that life is so much busier here in NYC than in other places that we have lived, or the fact that DH is home many more days of the year than previously and I have less nights to myself?  Don't know.
I do know that I play with my camera way more than I used to and call those Pics ART...
On the upside, I've SOLD way more art in galleries and online than I have in my whole life...
Things to ponder and wonder about I guess....