Christmas Cards - Take 2

Here are a few more Christmas cards I have completed. This year for some reason it has been more fun and I have had less "scrapper's block" while creating. Maybe because I did not put any pressure on myself. I just began with the purpose of having fun and that...gasp...translated into stress-free fun?!?! It has worked out so well I plan to use this system again next year at the holidays! ;)

Christmas Cards - Take 1

It is that time of the year where we sing carols, bake yummy cookies (while getting to not feel bad at all for eating them) and we mail greetings to friends and family. Christmas cards are just about to go in the mail  here and I thought I would share some of them. 

Rushing

There is a blog over on Tumblr that I follow and read each day.  Some days it makes me smile, some days tear up or still yet on others laugh.  This was posted a few days ago and I cannot help myself but share it.  This made me laugh because it is so very true.  I am a lover of Christmas yet I do enjoy the holiday that is all about family and friends (and all that really good food!).  I dislike that we humans rush it and seem to focus on the the hurry to Christmas and really the wrong aspects of Christmas.  We are not rushing to enjoy family.  We are not even rushing to remember the reason for the holiday in the first place, the birth of Christ.  Instead we rush to buy more and more.  So this seems to fit how I feel with a big dose of humor. 

Busy Scrapdesk

Although I have been busy I have managed to find a few minutes here and there over the past couple of weeks to work at my scrapdesk.  Here is what I have been working on.

Musical Morning

I have been busy, busy lately and music is something that makes the work go quicker as well as easier.  I saw Matthew Mayfield live in Birmingham last February and became an instant fan.  He has a new video for one of my favorite songs, Fire Escape.  He has also done a wonderful thing and made some of his music free in honor of it.  You can download Now Your Free his newest CD at the following link, http://www.mediafire.com/?648cs3qr899s643


 

Matthew covered this song when I saw him live and in my very humblest of fan opinions it was better than original.  I like the original however I LOVE his voice with the lyrics and wish I had an MP3 copy I could listen to anywhere. 

Lovely Northwest Evening

Summer arrived late and with fall looming for most of the country our weather has just gotten perfect.  Warm days in the mid to low 70s filled with sunshine.  The Olympic Peninsula is the place to be right now.

This evening the sunset was simply lovely so much color lighting the sky.

I was also able to capture so of the lights as the sun has set as the water is so calm and there are no clouds or marine layer on the water this evening.

This is one of the Holland America ships bound for Alaska.  At night they seem to sparkle as they go by and tonight with the calm water just made the reflections even better.

The large tankers in the harbor keep things bright as well.

On the clear nights like tonight the lights of Victoria are a highlight of the view too.



A baby of any kind is just adorable!

Baby birds?  Cute.  Baby horses?  Cute.  Seriously, babies of just about any critter on the planet? Cute.  Last night is was a fawn.  The fawn is getting old enough that the spots are begining to fade yet the cute factor is still there.  This was the first time the four year old Mama deer has brought her fawn into the yard in the evening for apples.  The fawn was much more interested in the tender leaves of the maple trees though.

Tree Topping and NOAA

Caught this use for a crane yesterday...Tree topping.

And one of the ships in the NOAA fleet was in the harbor yesterday.

Seattle (in less than three minutes!)

Ran across this video set to Owl City's song "Hello Seattle".  In less than three minutes you will see the highlights of the area.  If you are local it is fun to pick out what you know as it flies by and if you aren't it is just neat to see.  (I remember back to when this place wasn't home.)

Deep Blue Something

This past weekend I was thrilled to see an old CD in a friends collection.  It is one of my favorites, Home, and it is by a band called Deep Blue Something.  Its another Texas band that I adore like Jackopierce.  Interesting enough they broke up just like Jackopierce and have been back together since 2007. 

Home had a hit on it called Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I love the movie and adore the song.  Here is a link in case you don't recall it or would like to revisit this precious gem.  http://youtu.be/1ClCpfeIELw

One of my very favorite tracks from the CD is the title track, Home.  It reminds me of being young in Texas with close friends.  It also reminds me that home is a place in our hearts not a place on the map.