And the BLUE RIBBON goes to (drum roll please)...

My mother, Linda J. Faulkner, the world's greatest arstist that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting as well as the great fortune to study under has completed the first in a series of family portraits! May I have the pleasure of introducing you to...

"American Condo"!

Now that the intoduction has been made please take a moment to soak it in folks...

Have you REALLY soaked it in or are you still reading? That's what I thought. I'll give you a moment!

Okay, now that you have truly soaked in every detail and nuance, here are the proud owners and models of said Wonder Portrait!

If you don't get it, then let me help give you a little nudge...

"American Gothic"

I think that this concept is just fabulous. I can't wait for the second in the series! Which one of us will it be and as which famous painting? Send in your votes folks!

Linda, please take a HUGE bow and accept this award! You deserve it!

Christmas Eve and Thoughts of Home...

I think sadly that my overly cheerful holiday spirit, and giddieness (is that even a word?) wore off a few days ago. I have really been struggling to find Classic Holiday Christmas Shows on tv. It's bumming me out that I can't even settle in on the couch wrapped in a blanket and watch The Nutcracker Ballet on PBS like I did as a kid. Can someone tell me when did they take it off the air? Aw, how time flies and cherished things just fall by the wayside. I am finding myself sitting here on my couch on Christmas Eve working on my blog as I envision my loved ones all snuggled together in my Aunt's home eating Ham and the famous Awsome Potatoes! Ariel you know if I was there that we would be fighting over the last spoonful! Not sure who would win but it would be a bloody battle for sure!

Instead of any Christmas movies on the tv The Bear and I are watching Monty Python's Holy Grail. That movie never fails to give me belly laughs no matter how many times you watch it.

So my lovelies, each and everyone of you have a Wonderfully Merry Merry Christmas Eve. Raise a glass of Nog and toast to all the loved ones near and far.

Enjoy these photos from my mother. They are from Quail Hollow State Park. I just couldn't resist throwing up a photo of Casper the wonder snow dog.

Merry Merry! I hope Santa visits you all tonight and brings you exactly what you wish for.

Far Away Loved Ones and a Christmas Train...

As promised here are some more photos that my mother has sent me. Again here are my lovely Grandparents along with the Bear and I. My mother took this lovely photo of us while the Bear and I were in Ohio for Thanksgiving. Aren't we sucha cute group? Well as my mother was discussing one evening with my grandparents about putting up their Christmas decorations, she suggested to my Grandfather that he get a train for under the tree. Well he thought long and hard about it, did some research and low and behold there is now a train in the family! See, here's proof!

I'm just sorry that I can not be there to see it in person. This is the first year that the Bear and I are not traveling home to Ohio for Christmas.

Enjoy that train my lovelies!

Photos by Mom!!

Okay, here's the thing. I sometimes go home for a visit and take tons of pictures and sometimes I seem to even forget that I own a camera because I'm so busy having fun with family and friends. Well we went home to Ohio for Turkey Day and it seemed to be one of those I forgot about the camera visits. Thankfully my oh so wonderful mother had her camera out at every chance. Therefore I have enlisted her to pass along her photos. She is slowly sending me some pictures that I will keep adding to my blog here. So for now here are two pictures she took while I was home.
Of course you will no doubt recognise this couple. No the Bear is not tipsy, he's just a little squinty due to the flash. He's not used to such fansy camera equipment!Here are my lovely grandparents. I just love this picture. My grandmother rarely smiles in pictures so this is just a treasure of a photo for me. I just had to share them with the worls. Aren't then the cutest?

I promise I will post more photos from the holiday as they are passed on to me. I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey day and that Christmas is even better!

Saturday Night Supper Club...

Okay, due to the Holiday I have been slack in posting. I have kept these wonderful new friends of mine secret for too long now. Here below are S on the left and J on the right. These are my two fabulous new friends. We all met through a local book club that I have previously mentioned I joined. Through lots of emails and light luncheons we have all discovered that we LOVE food. Yep, so much so that we felt the need to gather and cook dinner. S very graciously offered up his home for us gals to take over and cook with him. Both J and I have apartments that have NO counter space for chopping more than one carrot at a time so we were grateful to have a lovely open kitchen to move about in.

We had SOO MUCH FUN! We sat around, drank hot yummy cinnamon water, while stealing bits of chicken while S wasn't looking! I think he cause us once or twice though. We aren't very good sneaks.

Here is our spread. Isn't it so yummy looking? We had the most scrumptious chicken veggie soup (friends make everything taste better), tomatoes with salt and olive oil, zuccini chips, toasted baguette with cheese and I made a from scratch apple pie for dessert. Yep, that's even pie crust from scratch!

We all had so much fun chatting the evening away that we are gathering again this Saturday to bake cookies, play with the icing and eat pizza. It's gonna be great! When was the last time you laughed with friends?

Strolling Along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park

Last weekend The Bear, Beanie and I took a leisurely stroll along the canal. The leaves have peaked so there was definately a feeling of winter being just around the corner.It seems that no matter where we go we always find a mushroom!

It's amazing how thin those boats are. That guys butt was wider than the boat!

At the end of our little stroll was a lock. It's really old but you could definately appreciate the mechanics of it all. All in all it was a very nice little afternoon. This canal runs along the Clara Barton Parkway by Georgetown University.

Have any of you been out taking in the fall weather before it all goes to crap and turns into winter?

Banshee Reeks, The Little Orange Man and the Sharing of a Nut...

Last weekend The Bear, Beanie and myself all went for a stroll at one of our favorite haunts, Banshee Reeks State Park. It's a lovely old farm that we enjoy roaming around on it's many trails. There was plenty of color to soak in and my camera was out almost the entire time as fall produces my favorite colors, orange and lime green!

Here we are as we paused from strolling down the path to document our visit! Aw, what a cute couple you say? I agree!

As I was walking these leaves caught my eye. They not only are huge but seemed to be cuddling next to one another for saftey. Nature is a hard place to made a home.

A leaf the size of your head you say? No, it can't be, you must exaggerating! Well, I happen to have proof right here!

As we were hoping down the bunny trail something bright orange caught my peepers. Why it's a little man with a walking stick. I wonder if he's lost, or if he thinks I may be lost. I paused to ask him directions but he just stood there frozen as if frightened. So I just quietly backaway and proceeded to hop in the direction I had been hopping. Poor fella, hope he found his way home.

The Bear is always pausing to show me new and interesting things in the woods. He's great at tree identification and what kind of nuts are on the ground to eat. I will be the first to pick him for my team if ever anyone tells me that I will soon be stranded in the woods and I can only take one person with me. Well baby, The Bear is that person. I know with his MacGyver skills we will make it through anything. Here he is after finding some walnuts along the path. He kelt down and with a large rock bashed open the nuts and of course like the gentleman he is graciously offered me the first one. It was so delicious. You truely can't buy that in a grocery store.

You may notice a little black and white head at the bottom of the picture there. Well Beanie never misses a chance to learn a new skill and The Bear never misses and oportunity to educate the next generation! If we were to get stranded in the woods, believe me, Beanie would have to learn to pull her weight somehow!

A Homework Assignment that ended in Tears!

Okay, most of you are now realizing that I am indeed a slow reader. I mean a snail could probably circle the earth before I finished this book but the good news is that I did indeed finish it. The Bear is always teasing me because normally when it comes to books I have ADD and never seem to finish them. In most cases it's not that I wasn't enjoying the book or that it wasn't well written, it's simply that my brain is able to move on to something else and never feel guilt or remorse for having abandoned the characters. Maybe I need therapy to better learn how to treat my literary relationships. I love them and leave them so easily. Don't judge me! Really I'm a good person! After recently joining a local book club I have been determined to finish what ever book I start. I am proud to report that last evening I finished Owen Meany! Yay! Now I feel the need to give an honest report of this book. I have encountered many people who give either John Irving in general or this book in particular a glowing review. Therefore I really had high hopes and dove right in. I am here to report simply that reading this book felt a little like a homework assignment. I was compelled to read on to see what happend but I never found myself getting though a daily chore quicker so that I could return to it as I did with "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". However, that said, when the end finally came I found myself in tears, reaching for a tissue and thinking that all 548 pages just may have been worth it after all.

With the well creased book in my lap, the last page turned and tears in my eyes, I sat there wondering just how long the mourning period is for a book. Do I have to wait a day before moving on to the next book or do i just jump right in? I think I may have to write Dear Abby on this one.

Stupid Stabbing, An ER Visit and the Hot Dog that caused it all...

Some of you may have heard about my unfortunate Stupid Stabbing Incident last thursday. Yep I was home alone and began my day as usual, feeding the dog and giving her allergy meds in pieces of Hot Dog. Well I ended up Violently Stabbing myself in the left hand with the knife while trying to open the package. It was one of those violent stabbings where the knife didn't stop till it hit bone! Yeah there was lots of blood. Now when it's someone else's blood I am totally cool and can take charge of the situation. But in the case of my own blood I imediately get dizzy and pass out. Not good when you are home alone. Luckily I was able to get to the sink and rinse it out while kneeling on the floor. I called my mother and she talked me through getting it bandaged and she stayed on the line while I drove myself to the ER. Now you may be saying to yourself, not really a good idea at this point to talk on the cell and drive but hey, you weren't there. A girl needs her mommy in times like these! She wanted to make sure I didn't pass out while on the way. Here is proof of just how very pathetic I can be! I just had to snap a pic of myself as proof to all my loved ones of my sad incident. Thankfully the ER was very empty. I barely got this pic taken before my name was called. They probably thought I was a loony. I guess that's why they asked me "Are you a danger to yourself? Is your home environment safe for you?" Well it is when I'm not busy stabbing myself. I don't think she thought that was very funny!

I sat alone on the bed waiting to be seen. I did have the fore thought to bring a book along with me. I never leave home without one. For those of you who are paying attention, yes it's been almost a month now and I'm not finished with John Irving. but hey, cut me some slack it is almost 600 pages! Here is a very bad pic of the hole I made. I reported that my pain was a Solid 7 on the pain scale! GIVE ME PAIN MEDS! I'm such a wuss.Here is a picture of the knife, the hotdog and my ER bracelet along with my antibiotics so I don't get an infection! Luckily I stabbed myself with a CLEAN knife BEFORE it had Hot dog on it! Atleast I have that to be thankful for.Here is my hand as it looks today. I took the bandage off and just need a bandaid I think. The scar will be almost invisible and I think I'll heal quite nicely. Just no door knobs or opening jars for a while.

Don't you just feel sorry for me? I thought so. In lou of donations to any charities on my behalf we are excepting card of sympathy!

Thank you to all of you out there who have called to check on my over the last few days. My recovery wouldn't have nearly as complete without all of you!

The "PURCHASE NOW" button has been pushed! It's official, I'm goin to Ireland!

Well last weekend while out walking Weiner the Wonder Dog I picked up the Sunday paper which I almost never do. While fliping through the pages of the travel section this is what I found. It might as well have read "Rachel, here's you ticket"! I couldn't belive it. I just couldn't pass this up. I looked over at The Bear and declared "I'm goin to Ireland"! He just smiled and said "Happy Birthday babe". How cool is that?
Here are the two Fabulous people I will be traveling to see in Feb. My best gal pal E who 3 1/2yrs ago left me here all alone in the states for the Fabulous D! These two are wonderfully remarkeable people who I just can't wait to travel 7hrs by plane to see! Woo Hoo, Kiltimaugh here I come.
Also while there here is the Mac Daddy Mini I'll get to ride in. I can't wait to sit in the passenger seat on the Wrong Side of the car! Yippie!
Also I hope to get to ride on the back of E's hog. She says she's asking for the seat for christmas so fingers crossed that I get the privilage of riding in the B&*ch seat! E, I can't wait to have the wind in my hair while seeing the sights around town!
You just can't go wrong with this kind of Birthday present, can you?

Day at the Beach!

For those of you unfamiliar with Weiner the Wonder Dog...here she is at her FIRST EVER beach visit. Saturday Brian had an all day class on Maryland Boundary Law (yeah I know but he LOVES that stuff) in Ocean City. So, of course Weiner and I decided to tag along and spend the day relaxing and enjoying the sights. She had a wonderful time smelling all of the new and exciting smells and trying to figure out just how to run up a sand dune. I'm not sure she ever really figured out why the ground moved beneath her feet as she tried to climb. Really funny watching her figure that out!
She wanted to know if we could stay there forever. I think she gets that from her father, he LOVES the water and salty ocean air.
Since we spend most of our time indoors and in a basement apartment to boot we don't get much sun. So to make sure that we didn't get sunburnt even on this beautiful October day Weiner and I spent our time under an umbrella. The weather could not have been more perfect. Clear blue skies, 70's in the sun, breezy and cool in our man made shade. Oh how relaxing.
These are some of the treasures that we came across during the afternoon.
Nothing sums up our day more than this picture. It was so nice to just sit relax and kick off the shoes and dig our toes into the cool sand. Nope, it wasn't warm enough even to get the sand warm. All in all you couldn't ask for anything more and I think even Weiner the Wonder Dog would agree. Well I guess she did ask to move there. Maybe someday Weiner my babe.

World's Greatest Birthday Card from my Biggest Fan!

Yesterday I recieved in the mail the single greatest birthday card I could ever have hoped for. Back in my hometown of North Canton Ohio, there is a very special little girl that I just adore. I send her little letters and postcards in the mail and the occasional t-shirt that I've painted on. Well she made this oh so special card just for me. I was informed by her most wonderful mom that Kayleigh picked out the construction paper color herself and all the crayon colors as well. It was quite the serious art project that I as a fellow artist can totally appreciate.
I will forever cherish this handmade card as long as I live. It just goes to show you that making something yourself for someone you love is well worth the time. This treasure literally brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much Kayleigh. You will forever have a special place in my heart! Hugs!

Better One...or Two? How about now?

Yesterday I had my first ever eye exam. I have never needed glasses and prided myself on being The Bear's long range eyes. For example when we are driving down the road he'll see a sign for something of interest and quickly turn to me and ask "What did that say?" Well most of the time I'll have caught a glimps of it and distractively (is that a word?) replay what the sign stated while looking out the opposite window at what ever else caught my eye at the time. Ok, I'm rambling here. Anyways, over the last year I had noticed that I was holding things a tich farther away to read them. Example: why in the world do they make the labels on pain reliever bottles so that only microscopic amoebae can read them? Well, to make an already long story slightly shorter, I got a very thorough eye exam including dilating my eyes so that I looked like a HUGE pot smoker. Making The Bear breakout into belly laughs whenever I looked over at him. Well after the exam I ended up with RX reading glasses. I hadn't really realized just how fuzzy the words had gotten over the years. WOW! It's like a miracle! I could read for over a hour today without a headache or neck strain! Aren't these the cutest glasses ever? One of my two favorite colors is Lime Green! Yay! The other color as you no doubt are asking, is Orange.
Now I can finish A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY with ease!
Here's a look at me The Bean with my new glasses. I think they look pretty snazy! What do you think? Is it just me or did my IQ just go up?

Slimy Slugs and Slug Slime

The other night while letting The Wee go out for a potty break I discovered this little or not so little guy/gal. I had to go grab my camera to capture this amazing creature! Also I knew no one would belive it's size so I grabbed this match box to show you perspective! Neat huh? I'm sure that my flashlight and the flash from my camera must have totally confused him/her into thinking that the world was coming to and end. Imagine some giant thing standing over you and throwing your world into blinding light!
I followed it along it's slow but steady escape out into the yard. What an amazing creature. It still amazes us, all the creatures that we encounter here in the city from our little apartment porch.
What little creatures have you encountered in your neck of the woods?

Moleskine's Day Out!

While at back home in Ohio for a my visit, the wonderful Moleskiner's took a day to have a creative adventure! The day started out at a wonderful coffee shop in Canton Ohio called Muggswigz! Some time ago my friend Barb gave me some fresh roasted coffee from here and I have been craving it ever since. I just had to go there and get some more to bring back with me. Here is a picture of my oh so yummy spiced latte. Oh the creamy goodness! Here is a picture that Barb took of my mother and I enjoying our drinks. I with my latte and my mum with her Jasmine tea which she let me taste and oh how delicious it was. You must go check out Muggswigz.
Here is the wonderful Barb taking time over our coffee and muffins to actually pull out her Moleskine and sketch the tea pot. It seems to me that for some reason Barb is the only one to pull out her Moleskine and do any sketching that day. Hmmm, note to self, be more like Barb!In the bathroom at Muggswigz I made an awsome discovery! For all of you fellow art/color/coffee lovers out there isn't this thing just the greatest? Where can I get one? It's a color wheel of taste. How cool does that sound?

After Muggswigz we went down to New Philly and wandered around the largest Antique mall I have ever been to. I just LOVE this place! I now totally regret not getting this dress. I LOVED it and never should have passed it up. Oh well, maybe next time. Okay, here's the back story...I had been told about this plastic inflateable stool with the tackiest flowers inside. Well what do you know, it was still there when we went! It's the greatest tackiest thing I have ever seen. I just LOVED it. No one however remembered it being so expensive, the tag currently reads $75. I was so upset. I would have loved to have bought it just for the story alone and made all my friends share it. It could have spent the rest of it's life traveling from house to house, making fun stories all along the way. Thank you Barb for ever so carefully sitting on it to give the world perspective on the greatest little stool alive!
Here is a close-up of the wonderful stool. I just think it's ever so adorable. If anyone wants to go in together to get this for me as a house warming gift I will squeal with glee!
After hours and hours of wandering around the antique mall we of course had worked up an appetite. So we wandered into a little cafe for some nourishment. This was the cutest little place. The photo above their heads is of a man who looks like Einstein surrounded by pigeons! It was totally out of place since ALL the other pictures that were hanging were posters. We took it as some sort of sign that we sat under it as Bruce (in the picture below) raises pigeons! Does anyone notice that yet again, Barb is the only one sketching? Boy she makes us look like slackers! Keep up the good work Barb!
After filling our tummies we had more energy and wandered over to a used book store which we never seem to keep out of. This place was so neat inside. I just love little places with tons of character don't you?Here's the group again! They always find the nature section and fight for position to find the best books. But it's all in fun because they always end up sharing what they find anyways! Part of the bookstore used to be an icecream parlor. I can not express just how much I loved the colors in this room. Do you think The Bear will let me paint our house like this? Fingers crossed!Here's the children's section. Oh what a feast for the eyes eh?
And here we are full circle back to coffee again. Don't you just love a great day with great friends? Nothing can be better than that.