Under The Weather - A Little Overdue.

Without getting into all of the details, let's just say that the holiday season was filled to the brim with house-guests, fun, and all of the trimmings. After the first of the year, we even had this brilliant bout of weather. 

 

Sean and I spent one early evening walking around the property, collecting neat items to bring home and taking photos.

I also managed to get my first tick...don't worry, folks, I won't traumatize you with any photos of that experience. I have a boyfriend and a couple of friends that will probably forever remember what a gigantic baby I became when I realized exactly what was attached to me. All of these years I've lived on the east coast, roaming the woods, attending bonfires, camping, etc...I guess it had to happen sooner or later. I just hope it doesn't happen again any time soon.

Ick.

Our beautifully warm weather was quickly followed by a monster of a storm. By 4 o'clock pm on a Thursday, I had lost power at the house and the inches were piling up. Around 5, Sean was able to leave work and attempt the drive home. It didn't take long for him to get stuck "somewhere" on the highway and for me to lose cell phone signal and enter into a state of panic. Things looked something like this outside:

 

Hours later, I was bundled on the couch with my cats and a hurricane lamp when I heard footsteps outside and the jingling of keys at the front door. Even in a foot of snow, Sean had managed to get about a half mile from the house before the Ruby Sue decided she'd rather spend the night in a ditch than go any further. So, he trudged the last half mile up the mountain while coyotes yipped somewhere off in the darkness (seriously). I don't know that I've ever been so damn happy to see someone.

The house was without power until the following Sunday. We were able to dig out the car the next day (with little damage) and drive back into town. We're lucky to have a close friend just down the road who had power, so we were able to pack up the kitty cats and camp out for the weekend in a house with heat and running water. Once the snow had finally stopped and the sun had come out, things were actually quite beautiful.

 

 The yard the following morning.

 

 The poor little Forester.

 Our snowy mountain + tree on the power line.

One of the cute little rental cabins down below our house.

The whole experience was, well, just that: an experience. A generator is now high on the list of "must-haves" for this year. We love the seclusion of our property, but would prefer that we don't have a repeat of a power outage any time soon. Heat and running water are pretty amazing!

I have several irons in the fire currently when it comes to work and hope to have new pieces finished and posted soon. 

Until then!

 ~K.

Handpainted Matryoshka.

These figures were tough to paint due to their size, but I was pretty happy with the end result. I bought the wooden dolls unfinished and then used acrylic paint to transform them into stylized little creatures. I'd like to make another attempt at this project but with larger figures next time (If I recall correctly, the smallest doll in this set was around an inch tall). Hard on the eyes and the hands.