on top of the world

when my brother
visited
we decided
to go to
the
m a t t e r h o r n ...

i have been there
once before.



last time
i went there
we took
a train from
zermatt
to gornergrat
3090 m / 10,138 ft
(map here).

this time
we took
a gondola
to klein matterhorn.
3885 m / 12,746 ft.



it is
the highest point
you can get to
by gondola
in europe.

thin air.
bright light.
staggering peaks.
and so so much blue.

you feel like
you are
on top of the world.



xo

w.i.p.

i have been
absent
{missed you}
because
i am preparing
for a talk
i am giving
in san diego
next sunday.
i don't
have my data
for the talk yet
so...
i am
a wee bit
stressed out...

but,
as
my labmate says,
most things
done
in this world
are done
"last minute."

i am also
ambitiously
trying
to get
some birthday
socks
for my brothers





and
a sweater



for a secret
xmas present
recipient

all done
in the next
few weeks...

in my family
we only give
one present
to
one person
each year.
we do this
because
we were all
so overwhelmed
the holiday
consumption
and decided
to try to
redefine
christmas
for the next
generation
(mainly
my baby nephew).

instead
we each do
a performance
for the family
on christmas eve.
my brother
and i are
putting
together
our
2nd
shadow puppet
show.
we took
the house down
last year
with our
performance
of
the mariner's revenge.
(check out
a little bit
of our dc
re-performance
here).

we took
about 24 hours
to put it together...
we were cutting
shadow puppets
until right before
the performance.

knowing
my brother
and i...
i suspect
it won't be
too much better
this year.

have you
invented
any special
holiday
traditions?

. . . . .

i have
finished
a batch of
purses
for
velouria
this week...
all with
a forest theme...
here are
2 of them:






have a good
thursday...
xo

monday eyecandy . . . give-away™

i am feeling
short
on words
today...
but i wanted
to share
with you
a little bit
about
the past
few days...

i finished
some more
purses:

{detail here}


{detail here}

my brother
came to town

we went
gallery hopping




lastly
a little
sketch
i made
when in
a long lecture
today.


the other day
i heard on npr
that people
who multitask
store information
in their brain
in a different way...
i think that
i concentrate better
when i sketch.

. . . . .

remember
the old
monday
give-away™?

it's back!
i found
these
2 vintage
vera pillowcases
this weekend
in my stuff
and thought
maybe one
of you might
like them...




remember to
comment
then
email me!
please
check
the guidelines
and
please pay
shipping.

have a lovely
evening.
xo

running on empty

sorry
to have been
MIA
this past week...
it wasn't
a planned absence...
i have just
been
running
running
running
on
empty.



research
projects
to be finished,
orders to get out,
and
then there's
everything else...

i am always
running behind.
i am
{shamefully}
the
kind of person
that is
starting
when i should be
finishing,
leaving
when i should
be arriving...
this is
something i am
trying to change...
putting much less
on my plate.
i wonder...
will i ever
be able
to change
after so
many years?

. . . . .

in the last week...

1.
blogging time
was taken up
by updating
my brother's artsite.
i love that
he sends me
polaroids

so i can
make sure
to get
his paintings
right side up
{the perils
of being an
abstract painter}...

2.
an amazing
and
unexpected
package from
sweet lisa

with the
long-awaited
jess hutch
pattern book
{robots here i come}!
thank you
so so much
lisa!

3.
more
purses
almost the last)
going out the door
as presents
and
orders.
yet another
little factory
in the "loft"

and some almost
completed ones

i am just
not happy
with the pear

so i am redoing
the leaf & button...

4.

some collages
that will be in
my etsy shop
soon
and i may
print some
polaroids
as well...

5.
my brother
johnny
arrives on saturday
and i plan
to rope him
into helping me
with
making birds
before
he leaves
to penland
for a 2 month course
in ironworking...
i am so so
excited
that my brother
is moving
to
the east coast!!!
he will move
to NYC
after penland
and
i will get to see
him all the time.
i am thrilled.
really.

6.
i am back in
the genetics lab
trying
desperately
to gather some data
for a talk in a few weeks.
last minute of course-
long story.

7.
i hope to show you
the finished purses
that are off to
velouria
(the other ones
sold out-hooray!),
a few weekend drawings
and
polaroids
of course.

hope all is well
with all of you...
xo