Crazy Bike

I snapped a pitcure of this home made, instseresting, crazy looking bike parked outside today. I love seeing things that are unusual and hand crafted like this. It had tapestry fabric in two different patterns on the seat. There was another metal seat attached in the front, so it was a two seater. The handel bars were every wide apart and high, like a motor cycle.

The year in review: 2010

1. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Author: Jenny Blake) I think it would be a good idea to invest most of my time in learning everything I can about raising a hearing and visually impaired child. Next, to invest time in creating similar parenting styles with my husband. Focus on the people in my life who care about us the most, who want the best for our family, who help me become a better person then I am now. Forget about the rest. I should take some time to relax and read a book now and then and let my creative side out sometimes.

2. How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year? (Author: Tara Hunt) I didn’t travel many places this year and mostly stayed home due to strict financial reasons. It’s such a contrast to 2009, since I went to Disneyland and also to Carlsbad, CA., to the beach and Sea World all on summer break. In 2011 I would like to travel to St. Lewis, MO and see LUDO perform in their home town and visit some friends that live there. I have been there before and looked at the all the tourist stuff, but I think the city is very interesting and would enjoy visiting all the arts they have.


3. Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why? (Author: Becca Wilcott) Kat would be my choice of another name. Kat is short, keeps the first three letters of my name intact, is cute and much less complex then Kathleen I suppose.

4. What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead? (Author: Kate Inglis) The moment I got to take my new baby home from the hospital after he was born. Even though we have many struggles to go through with him, it feels like it is going to be alright when I hold him. I will live my life and try to enjoy every moment I have with him because it is a gift.

5. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you. (Author: Tracey Clark)




At this moment it would have to be this shot of myself. I took it with my cell phone to try to capture the new color of my hair, but this auburn/gold/red color is proving more difficult to capture on film then I thought. It is an amazing shade in person, but in photos the lighting can change the way it looks dramatically. It best reveals that I am in a new place in my life. My eyes are open now and I will not and can not go back and my red hair reflects this aspect of my life. I think I look a bit spunky in this shot.

Reindeer Doodle

I created this little reindeer Christmas doodle to help me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

So far this year I have managed to get a few Christmas cards sent out. I still have a few packages to send off, so I hope those will make it to their destinations on time. This year it is not our focus to give many gifts, but to remember family and friends and the reason for the Christmas season, the birth of Jesus.

I have really enjoyed seeing all the Christmas trees decorated in so many unique and beautiful styles this year. I enjoy seeing all the Christmas lights at night. The neighbors on our street have really done a great job putting out their decorations and lighting up the evenings. Best wishes to all!

LUDO Doodles

I created these little drawings and doodles of the band LUDO last night. I had a fun time making them with a digital doodle program called Bamboo Doodlescape. I find it usually frustraiting to try to draw with a mouse, but for doodles it worked out ok. I would much rather use a pencil when I draw. I think I could actually use some more doodles or drawings in my blog more often. It might be fun to express ideas through drawing rather then words. Best of all I feel good that I actually did something creative today.

The History of My Little Blog.

We are all a bit mad here....

I feel that some readers of this blog may be wondering how I came up with my theme and why I often refer to "Alice in Wonderland", "Through the Looking Glass" or about the mysterious characters of Luna or Raven Spinner . I wrote a nice introduction when I trasferred my old blog into this site in June of 2009, just as we were shutting down our madteapartyafternoon.com web site. If you would like to read about this event, here is a link to my earlier blog about it:

Clink here to follow my link.

My blog has morphed into this creative outlet for me now. I find that most times I discuss books, movies, and music on my facebook, but my blog is more about creative projects I am working on or events I have been to or seen lately.

Botanical Gardens and Butterfly Exibit.

We spent a lovely afternoon at the Tucson Botanical Gardens last week. The best part of the gardens is by far the exotic butterfly exhibit. Walking into a heated tropical room full of amazing butterflies is like walking into another world. They have entry rooms and exit rooms to make sure the butterflies do not land on you and then escape the exhibit into the environment. It can be kind of amusing to have these voulteers who cary around dusters and fluff you down every now and then. I have never been "dusted" before. I wonder if this is how furniture feels?

The butterfly room kind of reminds me of a large fancy green house. There are many exotic plants and pools of fish and lush vegetation all around. The butterflies are just everywhere and sometimes they do land on you. Our baby loved seeing the butterflies flying above him and feeling their wings brush his legs when they landed on him. Our oldest son could not stand still when the butterflies tried to land on him. It was quite humorous to watch him jump to the side and laugh in delight. He also liked watching the fish. The room is quite warm and they do let you leave to cool off and then come back in later. The butterflies are from all over the world and are quite large and rare. Outside the exhibit you can see where they cultivate the cocoons and caterpillars before they transform into butterflies. The exibit is very educational and I was happy to share it with my family.

A gift of beautiful flowers.

I couldn't help but post a picture of these flowers. My husband was awarded these after a recital in which he performed on October 10th, 2010. They smell devine and are very pretty. I wish that they could talk. I'd imagine I would feel very much like Alice then....