Christmas carols

I've been singing Christmas carols to my son before bed lately, and one of our favorites is Away in a Manger. I know the first verse by heart but I have trouble with the second and third verses, so I've just looked up the words to remind myself. I've been singing the British version of it which I find easier since it's a bit lower. Here is a nice recording of it. I also like the look of this Christmas Carols CD which has good reviews, one which says it has no drama, theatricals or show-boating, which quite a few in our current collection seem to have.

(Picture via Strawberrysweetdream)

The scent of pine

Don't you just love the scent of pine? We bought a real Christmas tree last weekend and every time I come down the stairs the scent of pine hits me. It smells so Christmassy and amazing. It has inspired me to try a few family Christmas cookie recipes. Now if I could just save them until Christmas! I'm having a real problem with the macaroons. Tomorrow evening I'm going to try making this garland for our tree. I think it's just what it needs.

(Photo via KristyWes)

Busy little bee

I've been very busy today redesigning and coding (mainly with Dreamweaver) my portfolio website. I'm learning a bit more HTML as I go. It's very slow going. A few websites I've found that were helpful:

http://www.slideshare.net/maxdesign/line-height
http://www.squidoo.com/csstext
http://www.webmonkey.com/

I'll share the finished product when it's ready.

In other news we've discovered that our front garden is infested by a weed called Horsetail or Equisetum Arvense. Here are some things we can do if we want to be rid of it... none of the options sound easy.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=257
http://www.allotment.org.uk/articles/Weeds_and_What_to_do.php

An argument for blogging

Why blog?

Because I type faster than I write and I often have trouble reading my own writing.

So that my family, who live much too far away, will still know my random (and deeply profound) thoughts.

Because keeping a journal is important for a number of reasons, especially for an artist, and a lot of my inspiration these days comes via the internet. It's so easy to copy and paste. I will, however, have to keep a physical sketchbook.

Some time ago I read on someone's blog that she had lost everything on her computer when her hard drive had failed, including all of her photos. She was very thankful that she at least had her blog with the pictures she has posted to it.

A day in May

Back from my trip to the beautiful and slightly eerie Pacific Northwest and I am inspired. I am also jobless, as of the end of April. This could be an interesting combination. Photos to follow...

Today I had delicious ice cream with a friend who told me that her brother was particularly small as a young child and so his mother taught him to hold his arm straight up whenever he crossed the street (after looking both ways, of course). That way people in cars might be able to see him. It also reinforced the idea that the street is not an extension of the sidewalk. He did that until he was six. Isn't that adorable? I'm going to try and teach my son to do that too. I think I might also try making my own ice cream, although I'm pretty certain it won't end up tasting as good as the stuff I had today...