BJP Mandalas

I am very excited to share my September-December mandalas with you! I had a difficult time starting, but once I found my groove, I just took off. These are in descending order, from December to September.

December: I received an email from the online catalog, See Jane Run. The figure was a pink ribbon. But I saw energy, gold, and purple.


November: Peace Mandala. I want to grow peace, which is reflected in my garden of peace.

October: This mandala was inspired by a bush in my neighbor's yard. Just as I was about to take a picture of the bush, my neighbor came out of her gate and surprised me. She says it's not actually a "nice" bush, that it has lots of thorns in it. But she agreed that the colors were lovely.

September: I was getting nowhere with my bead embroidery. Finally, I decided to bead a blank slate. Imagine my surprise when a little color creeped in, and some circles, and...it looks like a winter sunset...you just never know where the beads will take you.

From Sun to Snow

One week we're in Cancun, the next back at home and a major snowstorm. At least one of our son's is home, plus we acquired a snowblower this year (finally).

I just came back from a week in Cancun, Mexico. I was hoping the bright colors and beautiful water would inspire me, but I found Cancun very depressing. In the past, when I've gone to Mexico, I've gone further south and have been exposed to a more traditional Mexico. Cancun is just hotels and shopping, it could be anywhere on a nice beach. But that's where my husband had a conference and that's where I went, too. I love the turquoise water seen in this photo, and the fine white sandy beach. I couldn't do any beading because it was so windy, the beads would have flown all over the beach. I was able to see some beading, though, in the shops, and I admired the patterns and colors used. I bought a few pieces, a necklace and a few bracelets, hoping to somewhat support the women who make them.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Both boys came home, slept a lot, studied a lot, saw their friends. Here they are at various computers around the house - Sam on top studying for his law school tests, and Jason below, probably doing something on Matlab.

Unfortunately, on their way to pick up Sam's girlfriend, just a short drive away, they were rear-ended and the rear of the car is totaled. It was snowing out and slippery, and the car behind them was going too fast and couldn't stop. Luckily everyone was fine, and that's the main thing I care about.