holiday shopping guide

Amazon.com Gift Certificates

Accessory Alamode (New Jersey) creates handcrafted, Limited Edition Artisan Jewelry designs, vintage collage altered art charm pendants, hand-stamped personalized pieces, bridal party jewelry, bookmarks & key chains. A truly unique artisan offering personalized creations with custom orders.
http://accessoryalamode.etsy.com/

Angelic Guidance Session with Allison Oster (San Diego, CA). Allison is a brilliant intuitive who taps into the angelic realm to bring you messages from your guides and angels. She’s highly respected and incredibly gifted. Gift certificates available for phone or in-person sessions.
http://www.allisonoster.com/

Block Party Press (Maryland) creates beautiful ceramic pendants, photo holders, rings and even the most unique Zen rock garden you’ll ever set eyes on! The Zen rock garden can be found under Miscellaneous section of her shop. Custom orders available.
http://blockpartypress.etsy.com/

Bubble Dog’s (New Jersey) store is full of bright, colorful retro bags, wallets and zippered pouches – all designed and constructed by her. Super cute for the bag purveyor in your life.
http://bubbledog.etsy.com

Carla Sonheim’s shop features her adorable paintings, prints and transfers. These are playful works that would be perfect for children’s rooms or even just that space in your office or home where you could use some whimsy and light.
http://carlasonheim.etsy.com

Destiny Designer by Eileen Joyce (Los Angeles, CA). Eileen has created an incredible day planner that truly helps you connect with your highest self each day. The layout is brilliant – the left page asks you to consider what is truly important for the day, asking you to consider what you’ll need to Be and Do in order to Have what you want. The right page begins your day at 7am and with 30 minute increments goes to 10:30pm. There is plenty of room to list your appointments and activities.
eileenjoyce@verizon.net 310-235-1076

Fairy Tale Fibers (Portland – ME or OR?) creates the most adorable fairy and elf hats. Hand created from 100% recycled wool, yet soft as cotton. One of these hats is on my wish list for the next time we move somewhere the temperature dips below 50.
http://fairytalefibers.etsy.com/

The Funky Felter (Kansas City) specializes in felted wool creations such as scarves, wraps, purses, bags, jewelry and even holiday décor.
http://thefunkyfelter.etsy.com/

Into The Blystic by Elis Cooke (Ontario) boasts magnificent handmade journals, collages and paintings that absolutely inspire and dazzle me to no end. I can not put into words the beauty and depth of her work.
http://intotheblystic.etsy.com

Lauren Smash (Oakland, CA) is one of my favorite Etsy crafters. She hand sews the most adorable fleece stuffed animals – from her winter reindeer and snowmen to puppies, bears and dolls. Custom orders available.
http://laurensmash.etsy.com/

Summer Sea Herbs (Western MA) offers a variety of organically grown herbal products – herbal teas, flower essences, smokeless smudge, incense, journey pouches, and more! For those on a magical journey, this beautiful shop has plenty to offer.
http://summersea.etsy.com/


See more of my Etsy.com favorites.

post-turkey jitters

two station wagons parked near the cliffs. both rocking out. in the first, a woman rocking out to 80s music - she was there an hour ago when we walked by. in the wagon behind her, a man playing guitar. both alone, both in cars, both rocking out.

two hours earlier, two families at the beach. everyone wearing white shirts and jeans. two photographers, one with each family. one family is on one side of the rocks. the other, on the other side. photos here and there. everyone is so fake, so happy and joyful - except the teen girls, who are miserable yet secretly love having their photo taken. i see one look around at the local boys to see if they are watching her pose.

field trip today. cabrillo monument (pronounced cab-ree-oh). whale watching will be fantastic here in winter during migration. today, we only view the boats and light house. beautiful nostalgia covers this hilltop, along with the dead.

pretty peacocks

Looking through the Gump's catalogue and I'm entranced by their Peacock Christmas Tree. Shimmers and sparkles! I highly suggest clicking the image to zoom for additional views and then zooming all the way in for the best looksee.

i do not heart my neighbor

our upstairs neighbor makes me crazy.

he is loud, careless, clumsy, and keeps strange hours. therefore, he has come to be quite a thorn in my side.

with his big black Ford truck, little red face and pompous know-it-all attitude.

you never know when he'll arrive home (2pm or 2am), stomping about, slamming drawers and doors. or when he'll be on the phone with debi, his ex-wife, screaming at her about money. or on the phone, which apparently is directly over our sleeping area.

he makes and receives calls at all hours - this morning i was awoken before 5:30am to him making a phone call. the loud buzz of his voice echoing through the floor.

when i could take it no longer, around 6am, i went upstairs and knocked on his door. he didn't answer, but he did get off the phone... for 20 minutes. just long enough for me to crawl back into bed and think i might be going back to sleep.

i want him to be more thoughtful and quiet. i want him to leave debi alone and stay out of other people's business so i can stay out of his. i want him to shut up. i want him to go away.

a day of reading

today was a reading day. i didn't know that was the kind of day it would be, but it was.

i read in my pajamas. i read while i ate spinach salad with yummy bacon for lunch. i read while drinking chai (still in my pajamas). i put some shorts and a t-shirt on and read up at The Cliffs while the sunshine warmed my face and legs. I read and read and read.

now i shall shower so i am clean for my pizza date with my lovebird.

i double heart etsy

If you haven't heard of Etsy.com, and even if you have, you simply must see this adorably awesome animation made by ALSO

ps. im making and posting more and more stuff all the time! tiny watercolor paintings, cool wallets, and ive been thinking of branching out into bookmarks. whaddya think?

Art Show to Benefit Visual AIDS

If you happen to be in NYC December 2nd and 3rd, I encourage you to attend
Visual AIDS Postcards From the Edge Benefit, hosted by Sikkema Jenkins & Co. 530 West 22nd Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues).

Not only will you see (and be able to buy) over 1000 original postcard sized pieces of art from established and emerging artists, but one of them will be mine! Can you find it? It's like where's Waldo, only you have no idea what Waldo looks like! Because it's a "hidden name" exhibit where buyers won't know who created the postcard they buy until they've already bought it, I'll post a photo a few days after the completion of benefit.

Donations, proceeds, and money from Postcards From the Edge will benefit Visual AIDS.

tragedy strikes with an iron foot

i am so sad.
after removing our giant spider's web, it decided to leave.
on it's way out of the building with suitcase in tow, our upstairs neighbor (a clumsy and noisy recently divorced man who we know way too much about due to the necessity of open windows) came down stairs at the beckoning of some female voice and... well, the interaction sounded something like this:

female voice: "oh my god! have you seen this spider? come down here and see this! it's the biggest spider ive ever seen!"

evil neighbor voice: "want me to come kill it?"

female voice: "no, just come look at it!"

queue neighbor's clunky footsteps down the stairs.

female voice: "can you believe this? it's huge!"

queue loud slap of manly shoe hitting concrete and destroying innocent spider.
pan out to lifeless body left in the desolate hallway.

in the evening DB and I took it up to the cliffs for a simple, quiet ceremonial goodbye. although we were terrified of the spider we knew it had no ill intentions. it was as if a powerful soul left our presence.

meanwhile, i am left to wonder what on earth is wrong with people? what is the point of killing something that isn't in your way, harming you, or even threatening? what is it about humans that we kill for sport, for the thrill and joy of being so powerful to destroy life? dear mister president, can you and your buddy dick answer these questions for me and my dearly departed spider-friend?

the great spider relocation project

i am mad as hell.

about two weeks ago this gigantic spider moved into the hallway of our building. now, i know you're thinking that it's probably the size of a ladybug - but even DB says it's the biggest spider he's ever seen outside of a museum or fish tank. i concur - it's got a body the size of a large rock. clearly, this new occupant has caused some considerable anxiety for me.

the spider took up residence in the hallway, between our mailbox and our apartment door. we can see it from our bathroom window, we can see it when we stick our heads out our door and look down the hallway toward the mailboxes, and we can see it from the street.

my first thought was that it's too big to kill. it would be like killing a puppy - absolutely unthinkable. it probably has feelings and children and grandparents, not to mention a whole lot of blood and guts.

so, to avoid the spider, we started leaving out the back. this lasted for a few days until laziness overcame our fear of being ambushed by a spider the size of a rock. we could see that it was staying over to one side of the hallway and had built it's web there, so i decided to just sprint under the creature. i mean, it would have to really be after me, intentionally calculating my speed and location to drop on me. no problem, i figured, i can live with a giant spider, as long as it doesn't come inside.

as you can imagine, looking out my bathroom window and seeing a giant spider is not what i call relaxing. especially since none of our windows are truly sealed - so really, it could sneak in at any time. in fact, it might and we just don't know it. anyway, tired of running down the hallway at the risk of our neighbors catching me in flight, my next step was to begin bargaining with the spider.

"so, here's the deal. im a little uncomfortable with your location. i know you have every right to live here, and im not going to ask you to leave. but i would love to offer you, what i think, is a better location in the building. where you're at now, there is a lot of traffic and it's a bit breezy. that might be good for catching bugs, but i think there is a better place."

pointing down the hall toward the back of the building, i continue. "see that corner over there? that's the bike rack. barely anyone uses that corner at all, and it's much better shielded from the wind - yet it looks like it might just have more bug traffic. it could really be a prime spot. im not telling you that you have to go. im just bringing your attention to what might be a better deal. you don't have to decide now. just think it over."

next i started pondering what the lesson was in all of this. is it time to release this fear of spiders? am i just supposed to kill the damn thing? am i supposed to let it live and live in the hallway and just make due? what is this about? still uncertain of the lesson, i asked the faeries and angels to help the spider move over to the the bike rack area. intentioning has worked for all kinds of things ive wanted, naturally, it made sense that i could manifest a spider migration if i really wanted to. alas, that was nearly a week ago and it hasn't budged.

i think ive done a great job with this situation. the spider has stayed put, yet stayed near the wall - totally manageable for me. until yesterday.

yesterday it started moving around in it's web while we are trying to run under it. and today when i went to check the mail, the damn thing was smack in the center of the hallway. i can't run under a giant spider that is in the MIDDLE of the hallway! it has to be to one side or the other. and it's not like it was in the middle of the hallway all secure in it's web. it was kind of floating and dangling there from the light fixture. so, it's not like i could even just get over it and run.

so, in order to check the damn mail, which is less than 10 feet from my front door, i had to go out the back of the building, around to the front, and up the stairs - then back around to my apartment. and i did so, mumbling angrily about the spider.

so, yes. im mad as hell at this spider. im angry that it is dangling from the middle of my hallway when it knows im not willing to kill it. im angry that it refused my offer of a possibly better location. im angry that this awful bit of nature has taken up residence outside of my home and that i have to accommodate it's choice and compromise my own personal comfort.

and yes, i am completely aware that i have gone mad. im trying to keep in mind that the spider is not intentionally pissing me off. and that it's just hanging out doing it's spider thing. and i know, it's not the spider's fault that im afraid of it. it didn't make me afraid. then again, i don't recalling choosing this phobia either.

i don't want the spider dead. i want it to move elsewhere. it's too big for any human to attempt moving it. jesus, it's too big to even attempt to kill it. but if it doesn't move we either have to live with it or call the landlord and ask them to spray. dear mister president, at what point does a life become expendable? at what point is enough enough? at what point does my comfort as a human become more important than a spider's right to live in a hallway?

i don't want all the living creatures around the building to die! i don't want to be a murderer - i want to be life affirming! and really, i want someone to relocate this spider to a splendid spider paradise that isn't outside my apartment.

time changes every thing

so the time change is really messing me up.
and by all accounts, it really truly shouldn't make such a difference. i mean, we just changed a clock we didn't actually change time.

yet my body is all up in arms.

im not sleeping well, exhausted, hungry all the damn time or not hungry at all, and im confused as hell when it gets dark at 5:30pm.

for the love of god, its only a one hour difference in when we get up, eat, and go places! the ACTUAL time is still the SAME, we just call it something else!

maybe i should make a piece of art as a tribute to this insane situation.

"You're not going crazy. You're going sane in a crazy world!"
~The Tick