Merry Christmas!

JOY TO THE WORLD!

Christmas hearts.

On my tree....

Cloudy with a chance of divorce.

Sorry for my absence from the blog, but my life has been turned upside down. I try to keep my little September Tea upbeat, but lately I can't seem to find much of anything positive to post. I am officially divorced today after 23 years of marriage. It was me who asked for the divorce, but only after exhausting  fruitless time and energy to make it work. I believe we will remain friends, mostly because of the children. It is time to move on and I am ready for whatever the next phase of life holds for me. And actually, I'm rather excited about this next phase, not really sure what it'll bring, but I have some ideas and it's gonna be great!
So with that bit of personal news, I'm regaining some perspective, getting back to blogging and hoping to catch some Christmas spirit.  xo

Holiday cards.

I was stressing about my holiday cards and the fact that I haven't made anything yet. But while I was searching for ideas I came across a whole stash of cards, some my own design, some store bought. I think I have plenty! Sigh-of-relief....one less thing on my to-do list! Now comes all the signing and addressing. I think I'll put the Pandora holiday station on, make a cup of hot chocolate and get started.  xo

Book club.

Our book club met on Monday night for a holiday gathering and all but two of the 14 of us were able to make it. What a lovely evening as we shared book recommendations, really good food and Luanne's special pomegranate cocktails! But the best part of the evening was sitting by the fire and taking turns reading aloud from Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory." I'm grateful for these friends and the wonderful memory!

Wednesday words.

Garlic Parmesan Knots.

My sister made these delicious rolls for Thanksgiving dinner. They were so good!

I'm going to try them next time I have a crowd over.

She found the recipe at PictureTheRecipe.com. Here's the link.

Puzzle!

Here is my puzzle for the holidays! I found it at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth and had to figure out how to get it home in my carry-on (no checked bags)....

helps to have a really big purse. 

I love Modigliani and I love puzzles! 

heart stones.

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

Lazy Saturday morning.

My to-do list is a mile long and I'm avoiding all of it at the moment.

Or let's say I'm getting inspiration for all I need to do!

Emma Bridgewater mug from my friend, Bonnie, who knows me very well.

"Happiness is a cup of tea & a new magazine."

Happy December 1st!

Friday exposure.

The Nov/Dec issue of Selvedge arrived yesterday. I love these prints by artist Rinne Allen! Not only are they beautiful, they remind me of summer and sunlight, something that is seriously lacking in the Pacific NW right now. Happy Friday!

Good book.

This was my favorite book that I read on vacation.  If you get a chance, it's good!

Words for Wednesday.

JFK

One last post from Dallas. I was there for the 49th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. So while we were downtown visiting the art museum we stopped by Dealey Plaza (2nd photo). Three shots were fired from the sixth floor of the Book Depository building in this first photo. It's a very somber place with nothing more than an X on the street where the President lost his life, and a small museum in the Book Depository building.

Texas landscapes.

I saw some beautiful wide open spaces while in Texas!

Wishing I was still there and not heading back to work this morning.

Happy Monday!

Fort Worth.

I also saw two of the many museums in Fort Worth, the Kimbell and the Amon Carter. Here are a few pieces I could take photos of...

A Guatemalan vessel from the Early Classic period, 250-600 AD (above).

"The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs" by Georges de La Tour, circa 1630 (above).

A Matisse (above) and a Miró (below).

This one was my favorite of the day. A Landscape in wood by George Morrison, 1967.

The Kimbell ArtMuseum was designed by architect Louis Kahn and it was the last of his work he ever saw completed. It's just an amazing building.

And the Amon Carter Museum of American Art is just as beautiful. They had an exhibition, "To See as Artists See...American Art from the Phillips Collection" and they have eight photographs from Seattle photographer, Edward Curtis in their permanent collection. The latter was especially nice after seeing Tim Egan speak about his book on Curtis just a couple of weeks ago.

Dallas Museum of Art

I just got back from a week in Dallas! I got to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her family, and with my dad who was also visiting. I had sunny 70-degree days while they were having record rainfall at home in the Pacific NW. I took a few walks, read a few books, got hooked on BBC's "Sherlock," saw a few football games, the new James Bond movie, and a few museums.....in other words, I relaxed. Here are a few pics from the Dallas Museum of Art. Photos were not allowed except of permanent collection paintings or sculpture, so I can't show you the fabulous Posters of Paris, but they were amazing!

The café with a fabulous Rauschenberg collage/painting and Chihuly glass in the window.

One from one of my favorites, Modigliani...

Outside, a beautiful courtyard (looked like Paris) and the entrance.

Morning walk.

Election Day.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Sunday crafting.

Making cards from recycled tea wrappers...

and cutting out lots of letters for Thanksgiving mobiles...

Eagle Harbor.

I took a little trip into Seattle this week and snapped this pic as the ferry departed Eagle Harbor. The trees are so beautiful right now. I got lucky and missed the raindrops that day, not so lucky today. And I'm off to work on a Saturday!

Enjoy the extra hour of sleep tonight!  I know I sure will.

Remember...

Reusable bags.

A plastic bag ban goes into effect today in our little town. Here are some ideas for reusable ones. I have a couple like this first one...they're great because they fold up and fit in your purse so easily! The other bags I tend to forget to bring with me.

And by the way, Happy November!