DEAR FEBRUARY,
SO LONG.

LOVE, BETH

(last day of my job today
i haven't cried yet.
i don't think it's sunk in?
it was a good run!)




xo

wine, canvas and A BABY!!!

when the local community ed classes book came in the mail

right after Christmas- i went straight to the arts pages, hoping for a class

that would spark my interest- give me something to look forward to, give me a will

to live this cold, long winter. for the first time ever, they were

offering one of the wine and canvas classes that have become

so popular around here.

the teacher was someone i knew from a favorite occasional sale

and the painting was one i thought would be fun to take to the lodge.

my original painting partner couldn't make it due to a

rescheduling of the class- but i was sooo excited when Rosie

said she'd fill the chair next to me and paint her little heart out too.

this is the teacher's finished canvas. * she's a professional.

when we walked in, i was relieved to see that the children had

been roughly sketched out on each of our canvases.

rose didn't come alone. she's preggos with her second baby. very pregnant

in fact. she is the cutest pregnant person~ seriously! baby gildor is

due in about 3 days.

rose is momma to my little friend henry.

he's starred on my blog more than once.

i can't wait to have the chance to photograph

their new baby now too.

so here's teacher suzanne theisfield beginning the instructions.

if you ever take one of these classes i'd suggest you eat first. 

once things get crackalackin it's GO time. if you even 

stop to take a sip of your wine or pop you could get 

left in the dust. you paint for about 2.5 hours and

when you have no clue what you're doing, you need to

do what they tell you~when they tell you or they're on

to the next step.

this is serious business~

so here's rose's painting starting to take shape

and mine...almost done

i could have kept tweeking and working on my painting

for a quite a while longer- but class time was over and so we

had to wash our brushes and call it a night.

rose reported the next day that henry

"loved" his momma's art work.

 next winter rose will have two little kiddos to

bundle up, haul outside and help her make snowmen.

just like our paintings.

:  )

P.S. I HAVE A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

I WROTE THIS BLOG POST THIS MORNING AND THIS

AFTERNOON ROSE HAD HER BABY!

THE GILDORS NOW HAVE TWO LITTLE BOYS~

HENRY IS A BIG BROTHER...

I AM SO THRILLED FOR THEM!

these are my nieces...

aren't they cute?

we had a family gathering on sunday. 

we got to see our newest addition and we celebrated jessie's birthday. 

(it's not till march- but we won't all be together then).

this girl......what can i say? she's nothing if not

 goofy. she makes a lot of silly noises, she likes to scare people.

she giggles a lot and meows like a cat instead of answering you.

she works in a group home with special needs adults.

she loves her clients and i've heard they love her.

the world is a better place because of people like jessie.

her silly-sally personality is perfect for this job. i could not do what she does.

ashley and jess are the same age and they've grown up together...making messes

that drove their mothers crazy and bonding. silly silly funsters. 

this is isie...she's 7 and she's just precious

we spent the day at matt and ashley's.

they are new parents.

(matt loves to hug and kiss his girl)

as a result of all that hugging and kissing they

produced this incredible little boy.

i showed you photos of him when he was a week old- 

look at him now!!!

my brother's first grandchild. barrett

barrett was born with the most luxurious head of hair---and it just keeps growing.

it's about 3 inches down his neck! who ever heard of a 14 week old

who could have a haircut. 

(not that they're planning on one anytime soon~ it's adorable)

Bear looks so much like his daddy, but we see his momma in him too.

his eyes are so dark, they look black.

it was just as fun to watch someone else hold him as it was to hold him...

when someone else held him, i could talk to him and see him really well.

he's just super good natured and smiley- even though

he'd been in the ER this week with RSV.

poor baby.

those cheeks~his eyelashes....dreamy

it was a wonderful day. 

the roads were horrible and it took us an extra hour to make the 2 hour trip

but it was worth it. i would have practically found myself a husky to 

pull me in a sled i was so excited to see the fam.

xo,

mush

i'm at it again, so if you're tired of

my winter pictures....then you'll want to

go find something else to look at~

: )

today it's all about the little critters

that feed on our deck.

we have entertainment right outside our window all day long

both here and up north at the lodge.

how blessed are we?

duke sits inside at the patio door much of the day-his body frozen....watching the

rabbits, squirrels and birds on the deck~most likely dreaming up

daring chases he'd do, if someone with opposable thumbs would  just. open. the. door.

we're leaving in a few minutes to celebrate Christmas with my family in 

atwater. it's long overdue and i cannot wait to see my three little

great nieces and nephew.

my camera is packed. KIDS PHOTOS COMING!!!!

xo

the view out my window last night~

last night there was a magical, spellbinding snowstorm here

in the twin cities. i took a few photos when i got home from

work (like the one above) and then more later.

the photos are weird and beautiful i think.

in most of these i wasn't using a flash.

looking up thru the top of the deck

my bird feeders

i think my snowman now looks like a REAL snow-man....see his

head behind the metal arbor that's right in front? see his scarf and

ear and he's facing left?

kinda spooky.

in the depth of winter, i learned i had within me
an eternal summer.
                                                            albert camus


xo, beth

i don't really like to cook- but

i do like to bake.

i think it's the creative side of me.

when i was lots younger, (but a mom)

i took a wilton cake decorating class.

it was several weeks long and resulted

in me producing some cakes i was

pretty darn proud of.

i learned how to make those

frosting roses i'd always admired.

exactly 25 years later my

daughter took a similar class.

wilton. cakes. decorating tips and food dyes.

there's just something so rewarding about

creating food so beautiful that you don't

even want to eat it!

umm, no i did not make this cupcake- maybe i will

attempt it though in a couple weeks when i am

"retired". 

**********

friend/boss (boss for 10 more days, then just friend) annie is getting

married in may. when i heard that a florist quoted her

app. $4000 for her flowers i said i would

do them for her... she's having a big wedding and together

we're going to make over 30 of these for the tables.

this was a trial run. she loves garden roses, hydrangeas,

dusty miller, ranunculus...girl after my own heart.

i'm also doing the reception flowers for a cousin in june-

maybe this will be my next career? 

it's how i started out afterall...

hmmm, photography? floral design? handmade art?

help me out girls and boys...

i'd like to be self employed again- (i'll never have

another boss/job that can compare to what i've had with 

annie marie photography).

maybe i'll do all three.

maybe i'll get ordained too and offer

full service weddings. 

hahahahahaha

cool wedding photo.

guess not a lot of us have

access to an airplane just for

photos though right?

well, that was just some random wednesday thoughts.

just so thrilled to be able to upload photos again that

i am posting midweek.

my book club is coming to my casa tonight,

i'm off to vacuum the floor.

blessings~

xo, b.