Winter in the Midwest

There's precious little charm to be had in slushy, goopey ice/snow, but that is often what you get for winter in the lower Midwest. And it feels like home to me.

Daily photo: 1/31/08

Life is stressful.

And I won't say that evenings like these make it all melt away--because that would be a lie, but they help.

Daily photo: 1/30/08

More vibrating grooming tools

Toothbrush, or some kind of fancy sports car? You tell me.

Who among us is really so lazy that they can't move the floss between their teeth? It's called "the hummingbird."

Rainy Day-Photo Journal

It's 54 degrees (F) right now (9 a.m.)--but the temperature will be dropping all day. I guess it really is January, even in Southern Illinois.

Blank Canvas(es)

6 new oval bowls--waiting to be patterned!

Morning Routine

My daily breakfast: a bowl of oatmeal and glass of milk. I made the mug several years ago, and the spoon. The bowl I got at Uncommon Objects in Austin, TX--maybe the coolest antique store I've ever been to, though when it comes to volume, nothing beats The Heart of Ohio Antique Center near Springfield, OH.

Home again, home again...

Back to good 'ol Illinois. 1/27/08

Out with the girls in St. Louis

Celebrating my birthday in STL at the Royale.
1/26/08

A lazy birthday on the couch

From 1/25/08.

My New Year

It is the eve of my 27th birthday and for me, this always seems like the time to make resolutions about the coming year. So, I am resolving to keep a photo journal for one year starting today. I will take one photo per day of something I did and post it here--that's the theory, anyway.

This morning I worked at the Co-op and set out samples, a job I particularly enjoy. These are the yogurt samples. They were Brown Cow apricot mango.

I get it now.

I guess, up to this point in my life, I had only eaten low-fat or fat-free yogurt. Consequently, I always wondered why yogurt was supposed to be such a treat, one that some people felt was 'indulgent.'
Well, now I work at a fancy grocery store--one that has lots of samples--and I've discovered that the secret is the fat! With fat, yogurt is delicious! I can't get enough of it. Gimmee that rich, creamy, smooth and indulgent yogurt, please. Now, I understand.

Art Guilt

If I learned one thing in my 7 1/2 years of academic art training, it was to feel guilty about any moment of any day that I did not devote to the creation or conception of a "real" work of art.

While I have been making things since I left grad school and moved to Southern Illinois this past summer, I have not actually worked on much of what I would call my "art," until now.

So here it is. Proof that I have at least marginally continued the train of art-making I began in grad school. The white part is a vibrating tool intended for exfoliating one's face and I have loosely attached onto it the butt-ends of bright green toothbrushes. I have plans for more of these "rattles" since the new wave in grooming tools seems to be vibration--even in shaving razors...An idea which actually kind of horrifies me.

A looong winter's break.

I've been a terrible blogger for the past several weeks--but I have at least been busy. I knit both the smaller striped stockings for our cats this year and added the 'C' and 'N' to our stockings, which I knit a couple years ago. Other than that, there's been lots of driving--to Texas and back (over 2000 miles in 9 days) and lots of extra Holiday hours at the Neighborhood Grocery Co-op where I now work part-time.

While I had a good time, I'm glad the holidays have passed and I'm ready to get back to my normal routine.

Here's hoping the New Year brings lots of good new things for everyone!!