Beauty In All Its Glory

There a quite a few paintings I have felt faint from looking at, but there is only one where I have felt that I fell into a whirlpool and was lost. Last year Los Angeles Museum of Art had a show of Klimpt paintings. This was right after the suit with Austria was settled and the family once again gained custody of the painting. I went to see the show with my darling niece and my son. We were able to go on a day when it was for members only. I prefer that because there are fewer people to come between you and the artwork.
We walked in and there it was. The glory of the work was overwhelming. I don't know if I breathed or not. The impact was glorious. This is my favorite work of art. I lose myself in the mystery and passion that Klimpt showed for this woman. The work is so sensual that it pulsates. It is glorious!
Now imagine my delight and surprise when I received this Christmas card!!!!!

Talk About Fun!

I have not had this kind of fun since I was 9 years old. Truly, I had forgotten how much fun it was to make doll clothes. This is like taking time out of life. It is like sinking into a hot tub with a good book. I had so much fun.
Since I am always at a loss what to do for my sweet granddaughter, I rely on her mother. On Saturday my daughter-in-law told me that Lucy had been asking her to make doll clothes for her precious baby doll. My daughter-in-law is Always extremely busy, between work and home life, she had no spare time to do this. I gladly accepted the request.
When my sister and I were tweenies ( eight years and ten years), there was a very popular doll called a Vogue Doll. It was not a storybook doll and it wasn't a baby doll. It was some where in between. It came with a dress and that's it. We decided that we would make more clothes. We would go up to Sprouse-Ritz (a five and dime store) and ask the lady to cut four inches of this fabric and four inches of another fabric. When I think of the patience that woman had with two young girls, I am grateful and try to pass that patience on. I learned so much about sewing from making doll clothes and gradually moved on to clothes for me. So, I forgot the fun and freedom of making these small bits of cloth into little dresses.
Lucy will now have a few changes and night wear for her favorite doll. And I had fun doing it, which is the absolute bonus of it all.
I wish you all the fun I had with the doll clothes in your labors to give the best.
Merry Christmas

Feliz Navidad

My sister and I always liked frogs. Our dear Nana told us stories about Annabelle and the Golden Ball and a frog plays a major part of it. We liked how spoiled Annabelle was and how smart the frog was. "Nana, tell us about Annabelle again". How we loved that story.
Then we moved to "across the bay" and there was a creek near our house. We would walk up to the creek with our next door neighbor children. We would all have glass jars to catch polliwogs. When we came home from the creek, we would make a habitat for the polliwogs and over the weeks would watch them turn into little tiny frogs.
Frogs were our friends. They were not frightening.
So, one Christmas after another, my sister made frogs the theme of her Christmas cards. Oh, how it enjoyed the anticipation of seeing what she would do next.
Merry Christmas everyone.

I Would Like One Too!

If I try real hard to be good, do you think Santa Claus will give me a pony?
I rememeber asking that of my mother but it wasn't a pony. It was a cat or kitten. I was to young to realize that my parents were not cat people. I had to wait until I was older to have my very own kitten. But that is what I really wanted when I was little.
What did you want when you were little?

My Winter Grosgrain Purse

Over the weekend, my computer decided to have a thorough house cleaning. They do have a mind of their own and they are pricey to keep happy. On Saturday afternoon, my computer crashed. I was trying to post the photos of this purse and whamo!!!!!!!
I spent two hours on the telephone trying to handle this problem. The fellow then had to quit for the day (or early morning as he was in the Philippines). We made arrangements for him to call me yesterday morning at 7:30 AM. Then there was another two hours on the telephone while the new installation took place. Then after our call ended, I spent the rest of the day installing the programs that make life workable on the computer.
What is the worst is that I lost so many of my blogs that I like to visit. I am now going to other people's blogs and stealing. Oh, woe is me, a petty thief and right before Christmas.
I was not able to download my photos of my new purse until this morning. and here it is. I call it "Winter Grosgrain". The pocket on the inside reflects the pattern on the outside. There is a medallion of a Chinese phoenix carved in sage green Jade.
I am much relieved to back in the everyday world of workaday Monday.
Happy Monday!

Chair Stealers

Here I was, coffee cup in one hand and book in the other, walking into the living room to read. I walk over to my favorite chair and two little "people" blink up at me. Could I really throw them out and sit down or should I find another chair?
Sorry to tell all, but I gently lifted them out and sat down.
It is not the most comfortable chair for them, is it?

It's a Willie Dixon Christmas

This Christmas card was given to me by my sister. This cat looks just like my Willie Dixon, who was 17 years old in June.
He is a darling and very, very dear. I got him from a pet store and two days later he became very ill. I thought he had died and did not have the courage to take him to the vet and hear the cruel fact that he left so soon. So, my son took him and the vet said, after giving him and injection said "Well, give him this paste. Offer it every hour and give him good water as well and maybe he will live". Little Willie lost all of his hair and looked very funny. But slowly he started to regain his health. Because of his hairless condition, I would put him in my smock. I would open the front of it and hike it up to form a pouch and I would carry him like that for an hour or more. He would stay warm and feel the love. It took him a long time to recover from his early problems and he is still very allergic to fleas but for the most part, he is fine.
Oh Sweet Willie, you have my heart.

Please Meet Shaw

I found a new friend for Frida. Frida doesn't know if she really, really wants this. Frida is a very friendly dog and adored Simon. And she has been lonely without a dog friend.

I went on line and looked for a friend. I found this fellow a few miles from me. I made an appointment to see him and then when I saw him, I realized that he really needed a home.

They told me that they found him on the streets. From the look of him, he had been on the street a long time. He is thin and needs weight. He must have been on the street during the summer months because the flies have eaten off the top of his ears. It is not pretty and because of that, I felt that he might have a hard time finding a home. Other than his ears, he is absolutely handsome. He has a potential of about 100 pounds but he is not that now. He is bigger than Frida but very thin. He will be fun to feed. He is not trained, so I will have to work on that as well.

So far, he is a love and Frida, I sure, will love him.

My Favorite Christmas Card

Since we are now officially in the Christmas season, I will break out in Julie Andrew's elegant rendition of "These Are a Few of Favorite Things".
This is my "all time" favorite Christmas card. My Mother was a very good artist. She could pick up a brush and just wow the socks off a person, especially me.

One Christmas, my father and I prepared these pieces of wood for about 15 special people. My Mother painted them. Then I sprayed them with clear varnish and assembled them. It was definitely a group project but it still remains that my father and I were only the working elves.

Because I was there, I got to choose what I consider the best and this is it. I think that all babies need to be a little plumb, just like my baby was. And this one personified what I think babies should be and I loved it. I do not put it away after Christmas but enjoy it all year long. This was painted by my Mother about 35 years ago and it still remains lovely in my eyes.