the blue muse

Today I am over at Vision & Verb

with some thoughts on life in the country.

Tired this evening, but the good kind of tired, the kind that comes from a job well done, a job completed, the hard part behind you, the enjoying the fruits of your labor ahead.

The gray days of autumn are here, those limbo days that fall in-between the oranges and the golds and the reds and the cool blues and sparkling whites that will come soon, with winter.

But even the grayest of days carries bits of color in its pocket, there is this golden sunset, the silhouette of those last few leaves holding on for dear life. These are the bits to hold onto.

Inside, I sit by a fire that mirrors these colors, orange and black, blue and yellow. The colors of tired, the colors of dusk, the colors of content.

Tired this evening, yes.

But also, grateful.

Alive.

We have a big show this weekend, and a big show next weekend, so this time it will be a double giveaway that takes us through both shows!

This sunflower necklace will go to one lucky winner.

There is a different pattern on the reverse as you can see in this photo:

The pendant is handmade from precious metal clay, all other metal is sterling. It measures 18.5 inches long, with a 2 inch extender chain. The pendant itself measures 3/4 inches across, and is a $49.95 value.

A second lucky winner will receive their choice of a print from
my fine art photography shop on etsy.

HOW TO ENTER:

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post.

To make it a little more fun, tell me what you will be
most thankful for this Thanksgiving!
(but any comment will get you entered)

ADDED BONUS:

For an extra chance at winning, follow me on twitter or facebook and
tweet or post about the giveaway for an additional entry. Just come back here and leave an additional comment to let me know that you have done so, and you will be entered twice.

And for one extra chance to win, visit the new etsy site and come back here to tell me which print you would choose if you win!

This giveaway will be up until midnight on Monday, November 22nd.
I will announce the winner Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010.

GOOD LUCK!

::     ::     ::

If you are in the area this weekend, be sure to stop by and say hello:

Christkindl Market

Grounds of the Granger Homestead, Main Street, Canandaigua, NY

Booth 59
November 12th •  1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
November 13th • 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
November 14th • 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

i don’t always know where i am going

but when i get there

i know exactly where i am

at my center is a pebble of hope

balanced on the precipice of morning

smoothed by the ocean that is life

curved in the shape of wonder

Whew! Just popping in for a quick hello, lots of work to get done this Saturday as I finish getting ready for our three-day show next weekend.

I feel like I am running around like a madwoman, never sitting still for very long. I have lots of new pieces to finish up, but I am getting close, I am seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel…

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, that extra hour of sleep
always comes in handy doesn’t it?

I will be announcing a giveaway sometime this week, it’s going to be
a big one to get us through these two big shows coming up.

Happy Saturday!

Up before the sun this morning, which isn’t that hard to do these days as autumn moves through the landscape. November is a month that will go by in a blur, and my goal for this month is just to get through each day.

That may sound dramatic, but I know that if I don’t take that approach, the overwhelm will make me cower. So I wake up each morning and I think only about the day that I am in, and how far I can get along the path mapped out before me.

My head is down these days, as it must be, nose to the grindstone, producing, accomplishing, preparing. Still, I am trying to remind myself to look up, to take something in each day that is memorable, beautiful, wonder-filled. I know I won’t always make it to that place, but every so often would be nice.

For the next week at least I will be working around the clock, working except for when I’m sleeping or eating. I know this week, I have been here before, and I am trying not to let it loom over me like a mountain that cannot be conquered. Instead, I am trying to focus on the path around me. Trying to notice the pretty leaf that has fallen at my toes, the pattern of sunlight through the trees, the sound of hungry birds singing.

I am trying to remember to breathe.

I’ll be up before the sun each day, up long after it sets each night.

But, indeed, the sun always rises again,

even over the tallest of mountains.

Today I am over at Vision & Verb,

trying to figure out which way to go.

Won’t you come by and give me directions?

sometimes, it’s the little things

that make me smile.

I bought this little pumpkin head last year,
and something about his face just makes me grin.

This weekend has been busy and productive,
33 new necklaces and 29 new pairs of earrings.

My etsy shop for my images is up and running, here.
I don’t have very many images loaded yet, but will be
adding them as quickly as as I can. If there is  a particular image
that you are interested in, just let me know and
I will get it listed right away.

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween!

Let me know if you spot the Great Pumpkin…

On a bush filled with rose hips and very few leaves,

I found this one cluster of bloom.

A tenacious rose refusing to give in to autumn,

Like a smile that fills a whole room.

::     ::     ::

I am busy working away getting ready for our final shows of the year,
the next few weeks will be crazy!
But that also means there will be a giveaway, so stay tuned…

Happy Friday!