Tuesday, January 31, 2012

 I finally remembered to get a photo of the wire-wrapped cabochon from the class we took on Saturday. The cab is one that David's dad, Buzz, made - he collected rocks and gems and had the saws and polishing equipment to work them. We have a large box full, and I am glad to find some uses for them. The wire-wrapping is fun, and has many possibilities.
I was taking the photo out on the railing of the deck, and of course the kitties came along, too. Apollo is playing around one of the posts. He always runs along the railing and scares me to death!

Monday, January 30, 2012

 Went to a birthday party tonight at the AFK Tavern in Everett. Andrew is 28! On the cake is a copy of a drawing he made.
 Andrew's friend, Cara, and Cory watch as he unwraps his gifts - his fiancee, Heather, put the party together, getting the hats and having the cake made. That blurry arm holding the phone on the left is her.
 Cory, Loren, Tommy, Jon's ear and Andrew.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

View from the ferry - gray water, gray sky, gray day.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Carol and I took a jewelry class today in Bellevue. It was to learn a wire-wrapped bail around a cabochon. We each had some stones that we brought, although you could also purchase them at the store. Above is Carol's agate, with the completed wrap. I can't believe I didn't get a photo of mine yet - I just ran out of time, but will have a pic soon.
 Char was our teacher, and we were the only two students, so we all had a good time!
 Char brought all the tools for us to use, and this grabber-thingy was my favorite! We used it to decoratively twist the wire, and I want one!

Friday, January 27, 2012

 It's an ice flower with an alder-cone center. Actually, it's a mud puddle in the driveway with the overnight ice coating.
The swamp water is always moving, so it has to be much colder before it will skim over. A little bit of sun brightens the root-beer water.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012

Tookers was enjoying a bit of sunshine through the windows, playing with whatever came within reach, whether it was the camera strap or his hind foot.


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

 Between the snow melt and several days of pouring rain, the swamp has filled up. Today we have a little bit of sun here and there, so I took a quick hike through the woods to assess the wind damage. Nothing major that I came across, just the normal amount of branches down. Many trees near the swamp tipping a bit, though, with the saturated ground.
Poor little mushrooms in the lawn got bent over under the snow - but they're trying to straighten up!!
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2012 
A little photo book I made for a friend's birthday! Cover is paper with lines on it, with a dried maple leaf glued down, and tissue glued over it to protect it a bit.
The pages are accordion folded.

Monday, January 23, 2012

 Whoa! What is that bright light??? Between the rain and snow, the sun hasn't even peeked out for over a week, so it was very unexpected this morning! Even got the kitties to come outside, although the grass is apparently too wet! Poor Apollo!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Didn't get outside, but got several project done indoors on this rainy day. This is a little box woven with paper strips - I wanted something for my bedside table to hold pens, my reading glasses, and little bits of whatever. It came out kind of cute, and will certainly do the job. I also made a book for a birthday gift for one of my "kids" - just some photos from a camping trip in 1999. And, I finished my pages for the next Photo Art Journal, and will get them sent off this week - a whole week ahead of schedule!! So, a good day.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Well, the snow is just about gone up here, but down the hill, where it's a little colder, there is still quite a bit. At least the driveway is clear!
 Haven't had a nice Tookers portrait for a while.
 Cris sent me a silk scarf that she dyed with eucalyptus leaves, and Tookers liked the smell. He had quite the wrestling match, but I'm never sure if he's after the object or his tail! 

Friday, January 20, 2012

 And the thaw begins . . .
 snow is coming off the trees and
slowly subsiding in the rain. It feels so cold, it doesn't seem possible to be melting. A light mist hovers over the lawn.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

 Cory and I hiked up to the top of Goss Ridge Road to see the view over Freeland to the Sound and the Olympics beyond. More snow clouds . . .
 He did a lot of sliding on the road, which had ice under the packed snow.
 The alpacas were huddled under the cedar tree.
And, yes, that is almost 8" on my deck railing.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012


Got a few more inches of snow today, and it is colder, so things are starting to freeze up. The paved roads are packed snow, so not much is moving out there. And if it starts to rain tomorrow, as forecast, things will be very messy. 
 But I got a nice walk in this afternoon. The ice on the pond is still weird and slushy,
 even a bird sank into the mess! Lucky he has wings!
Tookers might be wishing for wings just about now, too! But he was a trooper, and stayed out with me for a while.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

 Well, after several days of everyone else getting snow, we finally got ours. About 4"-6" in the morning. So I hit the woods as soon as it stopped.
 Our driveway is under there somewhere!
 The last birch leaf.
 It wasn't quite freezing, so the pond was covered in a mushy layer of mottled slush.
 Tookers wasn't sure about it!


Monday, January 16, 2012

 Cara and I forced ourselves to get out and take a walk - it is cold out there! But, we still don't have any snow, although everywhere else in the area does! Anyway, we came upon this old chicken coop, which had trees fallen on it, and brush and bramble growing over it. Lots of lichen.

PHOTO BOOKS!!  FREE GIVEAWAY!!

You know I have been experimenting with various photo books, and I am always on the lookout for more information and great deals.

So I was glad to find this great site, Photo Book Girl,  and she's offering an exciting giveaway - a year's worth of photo books - one for each month! As I would LOVE to win something like that, here is her webpage:  MyPicTales Giveaway 2012. (But don't enter - it would lessen my chances!!!)   :)

http://www.photobookgirl.com/blog/mypictales-giveaway-2012

Sunday, January 15, 2012

No photo today - being lazy and playing on the computer, since it's so cold, wet and nasty outdoors!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

My first blood orange - seedless mandarin, even! I had no idea they were SO red, and the taste is reddishly unique, too! A good day to stay inside with new food.

Outside, though, is another story. It has been rain/snow-ing all day, cold and wet. We didn't get any that stayed, but even 10 miles away got several inches. Other places got much more, apparently! We got lucky this time, but I'm sure winter isn't done with us yet!

Friday, January 13, 2012

 Well, tonight's sunset is much more spectacular than last night's! But, again, I was a bit late getting out there. The white area is actually blue sky - it was a hole in the clouds, and looked very odd.
This is what we woke up to - frozen water in the bird bath. It never really got all melted - the day was sunny but not very warm.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

 Although it was nice and sunny today, I didn't get outside with my camera until almost too late! I wish I had been about 10 minutes earlier to capture this muted sunset - there was only a hint of color, which faded even as I watched.
But I went for a power walk down the road, to see what all the digging was about earlier. For some reason, they dug a big hole and put these bunker-things in. I guess we'll eventually find out why - just get to deal with the mess every time I go in or out!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

 After weeks of cloudy weather, it is clearing at night, which means frost! Although it had melted off my car by the time I needed to leave, there were still some areas in the shade. This field was lovely.