getting ready for christmas

we had our first snow fall here in the central part of maine on sunday. I always forget how beautiful everything is covered in a layer of white. It never fails to get me in the holiday spirit. I went in to work for a few hours to cover lunches and managed this great shot of one of the local hot spots for ethnic foods.





yesterday was spent in front of the sewing machine, working on those gifts that somehow get saved for the very last minute. as always, bozley was very helpful!








He was my official product tester for the day. i would say they are boz tested and approved, wouldn't you?

inspired by project 365

as the title suggests, i have recently been inspired by a few people to do Project 365. For those of you who aren't familiar, Project 365 involves taking pictures on a daily basis and posting the best one for that day (usually on a site like flickr) so that others can comment on them and possibly give you advise on how to improve the photo. The goal is to continually improve on your skills as a photographer.

My dilemma is this: I have a very short attention span. Tackling a project that is an entire year long is beyond my capabilities. So, I've decided to modify project 365 into a project 30 of sorts that I've deemed "30 days." The first set: 30 days of holiday. Feel free to head on over there and leave some comments if you wish.

I hope you all are enjoying your holiday season. Stay safe!

Sorry

about being MIA for so long. We have been really busy around here. But let me catch you up.

The middle of October saw Phil & I at our very first craft fair. The weeks leading up to it proved to be quite stressful but it was well worth it. We learned a lot about what to do, what not to do, and what people want in general. We even made a little money! When all was said and done, it was a great experience and I will definitely be at it again next fall.



To add to our stress level, Phil & I are in the middle of buying a house. Our offer was accepted just a few days before the above craft fair. So we have been busy ever since with the inspections and the bank and the other realtor. What a process! I'm glad that Phil has taken care of the majority of it. We actually have an appointment with our realtors tonight to talk about the next steps. Wish us luck...

In the meantime, we have a teething puppy on our hands and I am attempting to get Christmas gifts made. The goal is to make all our gifts this year, excepting the nieces and nephews (what 5 year old wants a hat and mittens?!?) so they are getting toys of some sort.

Here's Bozley enjoying his first ice cube. It's amazing how calm he was once I gave it to him ... that is until he finished it. Then he was back to chewing on my chair. And yes. That's my cutting mat he's on. He just loves to help mama when she's working!



Speaking of helping the next couple show just how helpful he was...





This morning, when I got out of the shower, I found this:




Bozley is laying on top of the clothes I just took off in order to get in the shower. Apparently, they were warmer than the floor, so he just helped himself!

Well, it's off to the realtor's for now. I will do my best to update more frequently, especially as we head into the holiday season. Have a great week everyone! We'll be seeing you soon...

ahh the joy that is bozley...

Phil & I met last night after work for dinner. After, I had to run an errand, so Phil headed home to check on Miko and Bozley. When I got home, I opened the front door to this:



Oh yes. Bozley managed to find some rolls of paper towel to shred while we were gone. That's right. Rolls plural. There were at least two partial rolls all over the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. When Phil brought Boz back in from going to the bathroom (which he didn't do) he attempted to tell him how naughty he had been.



This of course had no impact on Bozley. He just looked up at daddy and thought he was playing. When we finally made it into the kitchen we found another disaster, which I did not get a picture of. Replace all that paper towel with pee & poop and you get the idea (no wonder he wouldn't go when Phil took him out!). It took us at least an hour to get the place cleaned up. I made sure to clean up the spots in the kitchen with vinegar water but it wasn't enough. So Phil got out the mop and ended up mopping the entire apartment while I held Bozley in order to keep him from attacking the mop.



After we finally got into bed, Phil & I couldn't help but laugh. Who can be mad at a face like this?

one week later

the poor puppy still does not have a name. he's doing very well, though. as you can see above, he's definitely made himself at home! He and Miko seem to have reached an agreement as well. It took the puppy a few times to get it, but Miko had no problem putting him in his place. Now you'd think they've always lived together...



On a different note, my website is now up and running! My Fall 2008 Collection of earrings is all up and ready for purchase. My two current bags are being put up as they are finished (which will hopefully be at least every other day). Thanks to everyone for all of your support in this ... I wouldn't be doing without your encouragement. I'll keep you posted.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

our newest addition!

We've been very busy in the Jackson household. Between working 40 hours a week and starting my own business, I seem to have very little time these days to blog. I do, however, want to introduce you to our newest member of the family!



How can you not love a face like that!! Unfortunately he doesn't have a name yet :o( this is only the second day we've had him. But he'll have one soon. He's already a mama's boy, following me around the house and whining to be held at every possible moment.



He soon discovered that he likes our bed better than his own and when I brought him to bed with me this morning at 6am, he slept sounder than he has his whole life, I think! His favorite spot: right in the middle of daddy's pillow!

A new favorite spot was discovered today. I was on the computer trying to make an order for twisted weave and he whined to be picked up. I put him in my lap and about 5 seconds later, here he was...



...on the pullout keyboard drawer. Another 5 seconds he was out like a light!



As I write this now, he's in the same spot, sleeping soundly, happy and content to be near his mama. I'm sure many more blogs will follow, showing the cuteness that is my poopy dog. Stay tuned...

it's been forever,

i know. things have just been crazy busy around here. It seems as though I'm being pulled in a million different directions lately. SO, sorry for the lack of posting!

I am currently in the middle of getting things ready for the opening of the Olsen's Orchard. (thanks Emily!) I am super excited about showing and selling my work at the orchard this season. What an opportunity for one who creates for no one but themselves! To think that others look at my work and want a piece of it ... a piece of me, really. It's huge! I'm still quite shocked.

On a different note, this summer has completely flown by! Can you believe September is just around the corner!? In an attempt to savor it a little longer, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of the summer. I hope you enjoy them. Have a great weekend!

The Shop is Open!!

That's right! My shop is finally open. I've only been able to post 4 different pair of earrings, so far. But it's a start! You can check it out here. Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far!

morning in the big city

I had to be in Portland this morning at 8am. This means that I had to leave the house no later than 7am. I wasn't entirely sure what traffic would be like so early, so I left a little early. This gave me plenty of time to snap a few photos of the big city just as it was waking for the day. To my surprise, Monument square was turning into a farmers market. Everything was so beautiful, and looked so yummy! I was limited on time so I wasn't able to get any more than one photo of the market. Maybe I'll give myself more time on my next trip.









You'll notice that all of the photos have been altered except for the market photo. I've recently discovered Picnik.com and I am LOVING it. Check it out, but make sure you have time to play ... it's addicting!

What a long day

As the title suggests, I had quite the day today. For some reason, I was running about five minutes late this morning. I was supposed to make a couple appointments for Phil this morning before I left but I ran out of time and so had to do on my way to work. So I got to work late, was there for two hours, and then had to travel up to our mother-ship store in Boothbay Harbor to drop off orders and "shop" their inventory for our store in Freeport.

The Boothbay store is THREE floors. The Boothbay store has NO air conditioner! Can you guess what floor inventory is on?? That's right ... the third floor. It was so hot up there. I spent about three hours going through product and selecting things for restocking. Needless to say, I left there with an enormous headache.

I did take a few minutes to go down by the water and was able to snap these photos:







It really was beautiful there and I wish I'd had more time to explore. Maybe I'll go back for a visit on my own time instead of company time. Although I started the day rushed, and am ending the day with a headache, I'm definitely glad I took the time to enjoy some of the beauty of the day. I hope everyone had a good day. Take time to enjoy the week!

Tumbledown

Phil & I took Alyson and Kelby to Tumbledown yesterday. We had a great time, although you wouldn't know it by this picture:



We made a few pit-stops along the way up:



And Kelby practiced his rock-climbing skills:



It was such a beautiful day, we were able to get these pictures at the top:







After the long, hard climb it was nice to sit by the lake at the top and enjoy lunch.





Our lunch was ended quickly by some torrential down pours that lasted all the way down the mountain. By the time we reached the car, we were all soaked through, underwear included! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this as we didn't want to get the cameras wet. But take my word for it, wet doesn't even begin to describe it! I'll leave you with this tikki man we saw along the trail. Enjoy your week!

I know, I know!

It's been forever! I'm sorry. Things have been crazy around here since Phil got back from his trip on the Comfort. It seems like we have been going non-stop yet I'm not sure what we've done. Weird, I know.

Let's get you back up to speed! I had to work the 4th but Phil was able to visit his family up in Farmington. Here you'll see a few pictures of Fred's blueberry bushes and a picture of our nephew, Jonathan.







I joined up with the crew for fireworks in Augusta. And then back to Chris and Wendy's for some fun with Mason and the rest.





I'll post a little later about our hike up Tumbledown. For now, Phil needs the computer. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!