This so does not resemble any view I have outside my windows today - another wintry blast came through beginning sometime during the night. A good day to snuggle inside and forget about what is out there! I prepared this time - groceries, new coffee, magazines, books, movies, a few new art supplies, nail polishes, etc - so I have all kinds of stuff to cocoon with. So much so I could probably stay in here a good month. (If I were only so lucky wish in that case I could just hibernate until spring '~)

However - taa-dah!! I finally have made a career plan and starting next week will be studying in a dental assistant program until May. I have done alot of soul-searching and experimenting the last nearly four years since my divorce what with moving from Ohio to North Carolina, working at a couple part-time jobs, and when I came back home to Michigan decided to give myself time to really once and for all figure things out - good gawd it is scary never having worked much in 25+ years. This coming week marks my one year anniversary being here (where oh where does the time go??), most things in order as far as I can control, so -- on with the show!

And as I sit here drinking said coffee out of my (still) snowman mug I've been perusing some blogs today and came across this idea of Danny Seo's for storing ribbon. Well, I have much, much (much?!!) more than this which is all in drawers now. Got to thinking, wouldn't one of those retractable clotheslines work great for that purpose? As soon as I can get out of here I'm going to go buy one and try it out. And the possibilities of those empty drawers... simple pleasures, here!

isn't he cool?!

A long-distance hug of a postcard from Marie,

way down under, arrived today - miss you!!

life is just strange.

hearts on the brain ~ think it more wearing them on my sleeve!?!!

Have had fun today playing around with making the wool felt flowers, something new. Definitely will be doing more of these.

happy valentine's day

"May all your hours in sweetest bliss be spent,

crowned with friendship, happiness, content".

love to all ~ Mary

charms for a cause

I participated in a valentine charm swap through ArtErratica, and just got a sneak peek of the charms I will be receiving made by a great group of wonderful artists - they are fabulous (mine the red glass heart on the upper left-hand side of this photo). Melissa McCobb Hubbell has assembled all the charms onto a bracelet which is NOW being sold on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220081583929, with all profits from this auction to be donated to Meganaid to help Patti Gibbons' daughter Megan, a very brave young woman who served in the Army in the war in Iraq, in her fight against cancer. The bracelet will come packaged in a small altered heart shaped candy box, and will include all the tags, etc that were attached to the pieces, with a complete list of artists involved included.

oh, the things you can do ~

in under five minutes while on the phone!

who knew...

...I'd be living in a winter wonderland again when I bought this car over two years ago?!! And today a dead battery, sigh.

**news flash**news flash**news flash**news flash**news flash**

Even you don't drive it on a given day, start and run it in subzero temperatures.

(many days I feel I shouldn't be allowed to live on my own).

a little love

Today's art, so far!

I may never get out of here!! Apparently there's been 17 inches of snow which fell, blew and drifted about since friday. Everything still closed today, including all the area colleges. It's going to take forever and a day just to clear the driveway, yet at -4 degrees it isn't going to be done right this moment!

****It took over two hours this afternoon to do my not very big driveway, but it's done, whew. It was heavy, it was cold, and I am exhausted - I think I am almost getting too old for this! (~9:09pm)

I like to mail the boys a gift card or two at this time of year for stuff like gas, fast food, music and/or bookstores, movie theatre, etc. This time around I will slip them into these pocket cards I just whipped up.

art + chocolates

...what could be better?!! These certainly are beautiful, "artisanal chocolates" by Maribel Lieberman. The ultimate, I'd have to say.

my forever valentines

Thought as the boys are both in their twenties now, the girlfriends might like seeing them "back in the day" - made one for Holly and one for Mandy, and one of each for me!

what's outside my window

I hope I don't bore with all these weather stories. Although I lived in Ohio for 13 years before going to North Carolina (where I heard there was a rare dusting of snow friday), and we had snowy winters, they weren't like this, and I seem to have had a selective memory in what I lived with most of my life! Western Michigan gets lake effect weather, it comes off Lake Michigan, and sometimes with a vengance. Today we are in a blizzard warning, lots of blowing and drifting - imagine freezing cold confectioners sugar blowing around, it is fine and icy and at times, blinding.

But I am all warm and cozy, per my most usual '~), occasionally glancing out the windows to watch the storm. I picked up half a pound of chocolate fudge coffee yesterday at Herman's Boys, a coffee emporium in Rockford, and brewed up a pot this morning I am still working on. I've been making valentines and starting to assemble a mini-scrapbook my sisters and I will attempt to put together on -- sisters -- (mine to be the "prototype"). I'm doing laundry so the dryer humming, have piles of books and magazines to peruse (and OMG, check out this one, Suz did a fabulous job with her new book), stacks of quilts, a warm puppy, two movies from Netflix - and lots of cookies (and can always bake more)! I added a turtleneck under my favorite pjs, have on warm fuzzy socks with my favorite slippers. I will ride out this winter the best way I know how!

Happy Birthday Carla!!!

Happy birthday down in Louisiana!!

Enjoy ~ xoxo Mary

This one's for all my friends in warm places -

if you think the grass is always greener... well, I say be happy in your own backyard!

(and in looking for the silver lining - at least I've been getting a workout every day).

- xoxo M

always in my heart

Today would have been my mom's 72nd birthday.

She is missed and thought of every day.