Hello, My Name Is Mike

Hello, My name is Mike

 This is Mike. He is a rescue cat from my parents front porch.  At the time Mother fed the dropped off and feral cats on the back porch and this sweet one was bullied and not allowed to eat. After much discussion (we already had 3 cats) we brought him home and have shared our love ever since.  On Sunday he was doing his level best to help me with taxes and I must say he did an excellent job.  We have them completed and ready to turn in, on time, which is tomorrow.  I am quite sure they would not have been finished without his sweet purring to keep us going.

 Icicles have been known to kill people,

you know!

We are in the throws of an ice storm, well, the backside of it, anyway.  We got our first round on Monday and a little more weather thrown in on Wednesday.   Added to that is waking up to 4 degrees this morning and going even lower tonight.  Whew!  The forecast is not so pleasant for Friday night as well.

 We are hoping our Japanese Maple, which we planted as a sapling, will pull through with minimal damage. But, I can say that we are a lot better off than many in the Northeast.  I do not know how they are able to survive getting food, going to work, etc. No area can be prepared for such a blast of winter.  My heart goes out to all who are dealing with such extremes.

With taxes and trying to stay ahead of the weather, I have not been able to get my hands into any artwork this week but if we get more winter Friday night I hope to be in and playing Saturday!

Stay warm!
Hilari

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day

I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day.  It was never one of my highlighted moments during my dating days.  It always seemed to hit during the dry spells or around a big breakup.  But being married for almost 24 years, it is probably about time to let it go.  The good thing is there will be half price chocolate tomorrow!!

This young lady is happily posing for her picture, showing off her Valentine's roses she received from her sweetheart.  She doesn't care that they are made of metal or that her book is covered with black and white roses.  She can see only love through her eyes.  Oh, new idea...something about rose colored glasses...hum...

On Saturday, I will be leading the project for our book making club.  I have my project picked out and somewhat put together, so my evenings this week will center around the details.  That and taxes.  As I write this, I am putting off gathering my tax info and delving in.  Since we own our own business it is somewhat daunting, but after 20 years of doing them, like Valentine's Day, I should just let it go and get to them.  Neither taxes nor Valentine's has killed me yet.

Here's to jumping in!

Hilari

Be Your True Self

For Christmas 2013 husband gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card and Saturday was the perfect day to use it.  I found a new book on book binding and one by the street artist Banksy.  While standing in line I found this book gift card holder and thought the sentiment lent itself to one of my girls. She must have felt the same because she worked up quickly.

My book creating club, KBAG, has been asked to show our work at the Fountain City Art Center in March.   It is always great to see a collection of our work presented because not only does it showcase the talent in our group but also the differences in our creative style.  The new girl is going to be shown along with Comic book reader and another new one, the Swinger.

When I get stressed I clean and yesterday was a full blown day of throwith away mode.  This time the studio got the much needed overhaul.  Today I'm in recovery mode which consists of chocolate and hot mint tea.  All will be better tomorrow.

Enjoy the sunshine today,
Hilari