THOU SHALT NOT WHINE

courtesy of http://www.kristinemays.etsy.com/

So here they are, my New Years Resolutions. Number one on the list and probably the hardest to make public is
1 THOU SHALT NOT WHINE. It will be a hard one since I am quite a perfectionist and a doer so really get pissed off when people don't have initiative to make things happen and just show up for the show.

2 I SHALL LOVE MYSELF AND TAKE GOOD CARE OF MYSELF as in go and get that foot massage I've always wanted, get my toe nails done, get a facial once in a while, go to the hairdresser to dye my hair rather than do it myself, eat well, exercise more and think of caring for myself first. I tend to do everything for my children and significant other and then feel sorry for myself because I'm not reaping any of the benefits.

3 I SHALL NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT number 2.

4 Focus on the Chile plan, draw lots of pictures of how I want my loft to be and make lists of possible restaurant/store area at the front including my best recipes for cooking.

5 GO TO CHILE this year no matter what

6 Continue ridding myself of clutter, craft supplies I will probably never get around to using and selling lots of the knick knacks I have that really serve me no purpose but to gather dust. Easier said than done.

ABOVE all to LOVE and Respect my CREATOR and all the wonder he has created, especially all my worldwide friends on FLICKR, ETSY and ZNE.

Looking Back at the Year

As I look back at the year and just in case I feel I didn't accomplish enough, here are a few of the finished products.

Pastel de Choclo

Page from unknown Magazine

Page from unknown Magazine
Originally uploaded by peregrine blue

As chaotic as Christmas can be, it also slowly brings us back to the essentials. I can finally gather my thoughts and choose to bake brownies, go for a long walk, light the fireplace and watch an oldie, read some of those magazines i never have time to read, commit to some of those recipes and begin an inventory of the year.

Yes, there will be resolutions, not many but four or five. Most importantly it will be to focus in order to stick to them. How else can that dream deferred begin to unfurl?

Melancholy envelopes me when I stop to think of Chile. So so so many memories of that country I only began to touch on the surface. I will make an inventory of dreams to accomplish there too.

Wrapping up the year I choose to sing. Sing, "When I was 51, it was a very good year".

A Scent of Cinnamon and Cloves

November and December have been a frenzy. The year moves at a fairly normal pace until after Thanksgiving, my favorite day of the year. We lit the fireplace and family gathered at the Hughes' all love and warmth and simplicity. I don't know what happens after that; the whole ambiance in the air changes to frenzy. As much as I have vowed not to fall victim to the Christmas season, I always do. Yet, I can't just switch the lights off and skip the season altogether.

At least my lists are reasonable this year and Christmas cards were mailed on time. Funny thing, as I shop for sons and lovers, I always end up with a thing or two for myself that I've been craving. I guess I can get away with it by telling myself that is "lo
v ing myself" or taking care of "numero uno". ATC Collection over the years

Originally uploaded by peregrine blueAnd so, these framed ATCS are a product of years of collecting. I gave myself permission to buy the most expensive shadowbox to give them the respect they deserve. I was lucky to find Album Cover frames on sale so grabbed 3 of those too and framed my Jethro Tull and Joni Mitchell covers and ordered a classic Cream album to complete the third. I think Album Covers make the coolest artwork. There are some awesome covers over the years. I will take pictures of these later and include them here.

I have been working around the clock, too, fulfilling custom orders for etsy customers all over the world. Knitted three children's sweaters in chocolate, red and moss green shipping to Canada and made all sorts of neck warmers and cuffs too.

The house now smells of Cloves and Cinnamon and the mixer awaits the ingredients for homemade fudge and cookies, and we are in earnest for the 14th. Christmas Carol Concert at Padre Serra Catholic Church
As long as we keep the meaning of Christmas in focus, all should alright.

So much beauty out there in the world

So much beauty out there in the world
Originally uploaded by PEREGRINEBLUE

The cure to Mediocrity is Curiosity; there is no cure for Curiosity. Adicta a Flickr donde encuentro miles y miles de maravillas. He decidido imprimir algunas paginas y hacer un diario de vida en vivo para dejarlo como recuerdo a mis hijos, nietos, amigos. Y un libro de poesias para amigos en el mundo con poemas de artistas que quizas nunca habrian encontrado.

Inspiration

*
Originally uploaded by Izabella~

Flickr=Inspiration for me. I have made sooooooo many wonderful friends around the world. The ATC pictured here is by Izabella. I have freinds now in England, Scotland, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Chile, Turkey and ofcourse Venice, USA. Each one with their own personal and unique talents, each with their own way of seeing life, each with something to say and eager to share it with the rest of the world. I feel so blessed to have all these great souls rendezvous-ing with me.

ONCE

Just fell in love with the Indie movie "Once" and the two singers are amazing, especially Marketa. The song "If you want me, Satisfy me" portrays Marketa's soul to perfection. Walking to the store in her pyjamas with her muffies to buy batteries in order to hear the music and sing to it....ahhhhhh. EVERYONE must see this movie; the story as well as the music are beautiful.

Hopefully we have all had a love like this; I know I have and it was definitely ONCE.

Childhood Memories

I find myself wanting to regress to my childhood fantasies. As I little girl I had a large windowsill in our London flat which I converted into a house for my trolls. I used to make chests of drawers with matchboxes and beds out of the larger ones. With the curtains drawn, they had their own little world in there with a much better view than I did at night since they could see the moon and stars. I dreamt of living in a tree house or in a giant toadstool converted to house surrounded by nature and befriending animals. Maybe it was all those Ladybug books my mother used to read to me when I was sick or my falling in love with The Wind in the Willows which Claudio and Paula took us to see. Mummy and I used to sew together on days off from school since I was a sickly child and still remember this blue corduroy mouse we put together with a shoe lace as the tail. It is one of my favorite childhood memories. It was non-stop for me making my own toys, doll houses and furniture after watching her sew on the machine and knit my brother and I matching sweaters. I remember also spending hours brushing my dolls' hair and making all sorts of buns on them and was bitterly sad when our dog Sebastian chewed off one of my dolls' feet. I proceeded to make some red knitted boots for her so you couldn't tell she was maimed.

So it's no wonder I made this felt and crochet gnome house today. Now all I need is one of Jo's Fairy Cakes.

Searching for decorating ideas

I found this spectacular website today in England with the most beautiful decorator items http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/ . Ofcourse I was led there by the roses, Kit Kathston, and then wandered off to the artwork section and sculptures. It's really time for me to restock on cardigans and skirts and a decent pair of boots, but no, I always end up in the decorating department. I must be firm. I do not need any more stuff. But for those of you who do, take a look a few I saved in my wishlist.

COFF COFF COFF

A few photos of what I saw in the sky during the California wildfires being that I live over 40 miles from Malibu.

Saturday visiting my brother in Topanga Canyon

Tyler, Martin and AndreaAndrea's fresh picked veggies and fountain and homegrown pumpkins

Headed to Topanga Canyon yesterday to visit Martin, Andrea and Tyler. The winds that are now devastating Malibu had not picked up yet and the day was beautiful. Made lunch for Tyler and Martin (Shrimp Alfredo Pasta and strawberries from the Farmer's Market) and then headed up the drive to Andrea's house where she was tending to her vegetable garden and pruning an old plum tree. Hard to believe that today the sky is dark and ominous looking with over five wildfires in the area.

Celestitas

Celestitas 2
Originally uploaded by Chiquilla Malcriada!

Need I say more? Yet.........forget me not!

For Tomorrow May Rain So I'll Follow the Sun

So much going on these days. I have discovered this amazing artist from Portugal who works with crochet and felt and embellishes her pieces with vintage plastic kitsch. Her name is Maria Kjo; I discovered her on Flickr. She inspired me so much that I altered a black velvet bolero jacket by crocheting layered cuffs and in bell bottom shape and hand sewing them to the sleeves. I am now working on a very thin detail for the collar to bring the piece together.

Also just devouring Eric Clapton (I wish literally since I have had an aching crush on him for eons), actually his autobiography I ran to buy on Saturday and found the last copy in the store. I just can't put it down. I love the black and white portrait on the dust jacket; you can feel his eyes. There I go devouring him again. It seems strange how one can platonically be in love with someone you don't even know but somehow know you have some connection with. Well anyone who has heard him sing Old Love tell me if I'm imagining things. I can think of only two other blues songs that touch me as much: Gary Moore's Parisian Walkways and Still Got the Blues for You.

Also happy I got a custom order from Spain for one of my doll's beds. I made it in red this time also with a handknit crochet border blanket and alphabet comforter in red and white.

NEW DIRECTIONS

September was spent mainly cleaning out closets and taking inventory of what is really important in my life and (Huichol Sun) where I would like to go from here. Costa Rica for one and then a two or three month trip to Chile to visit my Mother and all my friends: Paty Alonso Marambio, Titi, Paulina and Armando, Petra, Anita, Tania, Jenny, Alfredo and Maria Esther, Mariela and my Nanny, Rosita and her husband Beto. So much nostalgia- for Vichuquen and Frutillar, the scent of eucalyptus and the dirt roads in the south.

My art, too, mutating to a truer expression of myself. I have just fallen in love with fabric art and textile art and have returned to embroidery joining a knitting group in Camarillo that meets twice a month at Palermo Coffee Shop. I am determinded to strive for excellence. Too many years of financial pressure made me create for the market rather than what I really liked and I am now focused on taking the time to find time to make larger pieces and frame them professionally. I have found so much inspiration on Flickr where there are thousands of works by similar artists to draw from. Cannot believe the talent out there.

ZNE has also injected new energy into its netwrok thanks to Chelise and friendships have arisen out of the ashes. I joined a Raw Art forum in hopes of talking about how we work with objects non-vintage or store bought to begin a piece.

Tatiana & Jon Baja, Mexico when they were little

Tatiana & Jon Baja, Mexico when they were little
Originally uploaded by PEREGRINEBLUE

Just dug up this old black and white photo of Gigio and Cookie (Jon and Tatiana) taken back in the late 80's on a trip we took to La Mision, Baja California, Mexico.