Eastern Utah
EMAIL ME AT: mgypsy97 at aol dot com

Monday, December 26, 2016

The Day After

I had a wonderful Christmas and hope everyone out there did too.  Of course there was pandemonium, especially when it came to opening the gifts, but everyone enjoys it.

I think I mentioned receiving a couple of boxes from my son and dil in NY; one box contained flannel pajamas which I've been wearing for a week because it's so cold in my house.  The other was a beautiful heather colored 2-piece outfit that I saved to wear Christmas Day.  (Click to enlarge)



When I talked to my son on the phone he asked how I liked the pajamas, and I told him I'd been wearing them for the past week.  He said, "But how do you like the other pajamas?"   The other pajamas, I'm wearing them all day today!  I didn't realize they were pj's, but they were the warmest and most comfiest things I've had on in a long time.   Last night I even climbed in bed with them on (I felt fully dressed, somehow), but got too warm so I put on the other pjs.

From my Secret Santa, my dil Sarah, I got a beautiful huge art set that contains all different mediums, even oil paints and oil pastels.  She also included a number of canvasses of two different sizes, so I'm all set.  I am itching to start watching Rob Ross again and try working with oils, but need to wait for better weather so I can paint outdoors or at least open all the windows.  Ross uses odorless paint thinner to clean the brushes, but maybe something less toxic has come along, and if you know of such a thing please let me know.

Barney, you've mentioned using oil pastels, so I will probably have some questions for you when I start to use them. 

It's hard to believe that one year ago I received tickets for the trip to Alaska with Sarah and Joe, and Sarah's Aunt Pam took us to the painting class that jogged something in me to take up a truly fun and satisfying hobby.    I'm enjoying it more every day and hope it continues to be so rewarding.  

I was up early and got two loads of laundry washed, taken across the street and dried, and folded and put away by about 10 am!   I'm glad that's done although I still have sheets and towels to do one of these days.

It's kind of nice to have a blank slate today and just relax.  As usual though, I'm hungry and don't know if I'm up to making a full meal at 1pm or trying to find something to snack on.    

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the holiday week, ending up on New Year's.  If you'd have asked me about 2017 twenty or thirty years ago I would have said I probably wouldn't last that long, but here I am!

 

12 comments:

  1. I be here when you need me. Remember that oil pastels are meant to be smeared around and not a drawing medium like a pencil or crayon.

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    1. That will be difficult for me to do - I will constantly be wanting to clean my fingers! (My mother will be watching!) Thanks for the link to the beginners' guide, which is where I will start.

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    2. Clean fingers, you will find, are essential to good oil pastel art.

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    3. And I just read the part in the Beginner's Guide to keep paper towels or rags with you to keep your fingers clean!

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  2. Your family sure does know how to buy perfect gifts for you. So glad you are enjoying them all.

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    1. It's amazing that for as many people involved in the exchange, each person gets a truly personal gift, something that will make them happy! I drove Jeannie around in the dark one evening gathering the components for the gift she got her cousin Stephanie: a gift card for a manicure; an envelope with a tip for the manicurist; a gift card for lunch at a nearby restaurant; dessert from a special local ice cream parlor, and I am sure there were a couple more I'm forgetting. I went to two places for the gifts I got my niece, Katy. Buying the gifts is half the fun, and then watching them being opened is the icing on the cake!

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  3. I sure like that purple outfit whether they are pj's or to wear out like you did. I thought it was really nice and never would have thought they were pj's. It was a wonderful Christmas this year.

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    1. It was one of the best, but then each year is one of the best! You can't believe how warm and comfortable those "pj's" were, and I think I'm going to wear them out often.

      I hope your Christmas with family was just as good, and wish you all the best in the coming new year. Can you believe it will soon be 2017?

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  4. Sure am glad that you had a good Christmas. After we get into the New Year, we can get back to normal until the next holiday. That would Valentine's Day, which is also my birthday. Being born on Valentine's Day is where I get all my charm. . . (grin).

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    1. That is why Mrs. Diz thinks you are a sweetheart of a guy!

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  5. That's a nice picture of you beside the Christmas tree.

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    1. Thank you very much. And who would guess I'm wearing pajamas!

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