taking some time off...

I've been pretty proud of myself that I've managed to somehow keep coming up with ideas for the Blog on a regular basis, bearing the current state of my life right now. That being said, I'm going to be taking a little time off.

I don't really talk about my personal life much on the blog. I really didn't want my blog to be too much about that, because I'm a very private & sensitive person when it comes to my personal life, and besides my blog is about art and creativity.

So, here is my attempt to let people into my life, just a little bit. Over the Summer my Dad was diagnosed with stage 3 - esophageal cancer, and to say that is has pretty much consumed my life since then is a complete understatement. It has been my whole world. It's as though, Summer and Fall didn't even exist. I'm in a complete fog, despite my usual happy outward appearance. I'm an only child and having a parent with a life-threatening illness, is well... horrible, and worse than I could have ever imagined. Luckily, though I have a super-fabulous, husband & Mom that are both there every step of the way. Anyway, I'm taking the time off from the blog because my Dad is going to be undergoing some pretty rough & lengthy surgery tomorrow -- with about 2 weeks of recovery time in the hospital bearing things go well. If not, then that means my Dad is in the hospital for Christmas. A huge bummer, but it's all about positive thoughts and prayers right now.

Christmas is by far one of my favorite holidays -- but this year, yeah not so much. Since we were married, we have a tradition of going to a family-owned tree farm in Dexter, MI to chop down our own tree and a fresh wreath. Then that evening my parents would come over for dinner and we'd all decorate the tree (well, Mom and I decorate and Dad and Jeff supervise). All the same, it's a lovely tradition of time well spent with my family & husband that I cherish. I love rummaging thru the Christmas storage boxes and looking at all of our memories of Christmases past. However, this year my heart isn't into it. I still wanted something to decorate with, because I do think having some decorations up, lifts our spirits a bit. We have a small 4' pre-lit tree that I used for an art show to display ornaments, and I decided, this year, that's all I could deal with. I did purchase some more lights (pretty pearly, iridescent and some snow-finish type bulbs), as the tree was pre-lit, but I love a bright, well-lit tree. I also purchased some smaller ornaments, because this tree is quite smaller than our typical tree. The tree decorations are white & silver -- normally I'm all about a traditional tree with ornaments from our past and multi-color lights. This one is still pretty, but it's not the same.

Yesterday we decided that we would still get a fresh wreath from the tree farm, to maintain some kind of family tradition and perhaps get into the Christmas spirit if even just for a few hours. So, we took the trek out to Dexter. It was really nice, seeing all of the children bundled up with their parents. Everyone scurried about looking for the perfect tree. Inside the big barn is where the wreaths are, so we went inside to look around. Typically I get a boxwood wreath, with the most-perfect tiny, round leaves. I have them make a red, satin bow, but this year, nothing seems to be traditional, so I chose a different one with mixed greenery & little white-bluish berries, and couldn't be happier. It smells wonderful and the ribbon is more of a deeper garnet, red with metallic finishes. I do miss the aroma of the live tree. I may have to get an evergreen candle for the living room.

If time permits, between hospital visits and some ideas strike me, I'll post when I can. For the people that have been reading my blog, thanks so much and I'll be back. If I'm not back before Christmas I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season! I pray for peace, good health and happiness for all.