'Tis the Season

For a visit from the Easter Chicken!!!



This morning when I arrived at work I found this sweet little box of soft, pastelly eggs waiting for me on my desk. A "cube neighbor" had arrived just before me and I was sure she'd brought the gift.

"Courtney! Do you have chickens in your yard??"

She looked at me like I was a little wacko.
Ok. It wasn't Courtney...........but she reminded me Amy and her kids have chickens.
Of course!!! Amy confirmed it, fresh little Easter eggs straight from her hen house and aren't they just the CUTEST things you've ever seen!!!!

Thanks Amy!!!!

Almost done..........

Graduating on May 8, Mama's crawlin' out from under her rock....



..and coming out of her shell!!

Today's the day I took my final stand against winter. I took down the Christmas cards from the back of my front door. It snowed last night, it's melted off the driveway and walks already; it's warm. The first official day of spring is upon us after a long, harsh winter.



I'm not complaining. I love the snow, whether it's raging against my windshield carried by a strong wind or, like in this little video clip I made standing next to the woods a month or so ago, falling soft and silent.



Bring on the tulips.

Fun Weekend

Fun to break up this long winter with a weekend visit to the coast.
Saw the ocean as I flew in but that really wasn't the point of the visit.
My granddaughter just turned six and I flew out to give her some hugs!

Favorite project of the weekend: throwing around some flour in Mom's kitchen!


Thanks Mom, for being so cool about the big mess!!!




Sneaking a few licks and tastes along the way.........

And hanging out playing Barbie cut-outs all afternoon when we were done.
"Grandma, 'tend you were the girl in the blue dress and 'tend I was the one in the pink and you said I looked pretty and you wanted to go to the mall."

These days paper dolls are magnetic dolls and we 'tended off and on all weekend....going to the mall, wearing princess outfits, talking about getting our hair done and going to the beach . Her Barbies have a 3-story dream house. With an elevator. Prettttttty cool.

We played with all her toys.
She has a couple of those battery-powered hamster things that everyone was nuts about at Christmas. They were kind of neat.



But nothing is neater than just hanging out with my favorite 6-year old in the whole world, chatting about life in general and making memories.

Winter Keeps Stringing us Along....

My friend Janell and I decided we needed to find a way to while away the lingering winter hours, as long as it appears winter is going to last....well....forever.
We ain't bucklin' to no weather blues, not on your life. We decided we needed a project and we both wanted to learn to knit.

We spent Saturday with a lovely group of knitting enthusiasts. Their promise (and challenge) was to send us home with a knitted washcloth created by our own hands.
Sounds easy enough, doesn't it??? Ohhhhhhh you non-knitters, trust me, this is no easy task. You can lead a girl to needles and a ball of yarn but it doesn't mean she'll spontaneously know how to knit. Ohhhh man, I am here to tell you it's not as easy as it looks.

The fun part is buying needles and choosing yarn. The colors inspired us with all kinds of ideas for knitted projects. Visions of sweaters and caps and blankets danced in our heads.

Now we learn.
Not bad for a beginner, although it's a bit of a twisted start.

All the while eyeing a finished project,
knowing by the end of the day we should be looking at something
sort of like this. It's a knitted washcloth.

Pretty colors, Deb......but the skilled knitter can tell you something isn't quite right here.

I don't care. It's pretty and I made it.

I shall call it "BOOKMARK".

Janell, a much younger student than myself and infinitely clearer of mind,
picks up on the stitches very quickly. Clearly she is going to be a knitting prodigy with blue-ribbon sweaters hanging at the State Fair later this summer.

See what I mean? Her knitting is uniform and lovely.
Even her little book-marky thing is straight and sensible.

Like a perfectly appointed half-a-doily that will sit beneath a fine and beautiful plant.

Despite an absence of natural knitting ability I intend to persevere and will be practicing on this washcloth/coaster as long as it takes. Straighter lines and looser knit is my goal.

I shall call it "Barbie Blanket" so someday my little granddaughter can say to her little girl, "Oh, that's really old. Your Grandma Debbie made that for me when I was your age." At the rate I am presently knitting, I best get busy or I'll be giving it to her for her high school graduation.

Snow Courtesy: Knowing the Local Rules

I got in enough trouble driving the streets of Philadelphia in past years, I don't even try anymore. After spending a fortune on parking violation fines, it's cheaper to just take cabs around the city.

The City of Brotherly Love had about 2 feet of snow on the ground last week when I was scheduled to fly in. The snow and high winds delayed our flights a bit but the runways and tarmac were nice and clean by the time we touched down. Notsomuch Center City where the old walk-ups and commerical buildings are tucked into the city blocks like crayons into a 16-pack crayola box ~ it's a tight fit with bumper to bumper on-street parking in the neighorhoods and no where to push all that snow. When the ploughs come down car-lined streets to clear them they pile snow up against the cars which are already buried, creating a icy mountain range that line the sidewalks.

To say it would take hours to dig out one car from the range after that big of a storm is no exagerration. It takes hours and hours of back-breaking shoveling. Shoveling is hard work in my part of the country too but we've got lots of space for the piles of snow. So it was interesting to learn about a local courtesy that is recognized in Philadelphia, one that is important enough that the mayor was on the 11PM news Friday night, reminding everyone while it's not law..............



IF you spend hours digging your car out from the snow where you park on the street in the neighborhood where you live, the space you cleared belongs to you. When you are finished shoveling you pull your car into the street, grab whatever is handy and place it in the cleared parking spot to save it. I saw kitchen chairs, a ladder and a lawn chair "holding" parking spaces this weekend.




Due to the record-breaking amount of snow they're receiving in Philly and the level of frustration that is building in folks as they deal with it, the mayor wanted to remind everyone to play nice. It's not a law, but it's a commonly recognized and honored courtesy the city expects residents to respect: you if shovel a space, it's yours. (I'd add....if your neighbor shovels out your space, you owe him a pan of lasagne per month for life or carnal favors on demand, whichever he prefers. Remember, that's over 2 feet of snow, folks. A plate of cookies isn't gonna cut it this time.)

Good system. I like it.
When I flew out on Thursday of last week, I forgot to put my ice scraper and broom back in the trunk of my car when I loaded up my suitcases. After 5 days of snow and ice on the top level of the airport parking ramp this past week, I had to dig out my car with an empty cassette tape box, a rolled-up Lands End catalog and a frozen bottle of my favorite Berry-flavored Propel. I surely coulda used a good neighbor with a broom this morning.

Full Moon Tonight

Wolf moon, it's called. First full moon of the year. Bright and pretty. And man ohhh man is it cold out there. Brrrrrr.

Hammy Delivers

Never much liked cartoons when I was a kid but mornings when Betty Lou would tell Katrina to open the curtains, shut off the lights and say a "tahh-dahhhh"..........well, I loved those trips to the riverbank.

Before you: perfect box-lunch dessert. You can unwrap your Twinkie and freeze it, deep-fry it, slice it, smash it or just stuff the whole thing in your mouth at once. It is golden-caked perfection with a ooey-gooey creamy filling. Nummers!!!!!!



More than just the perfect packaged lunch-box dessert, the spongy cream-filled Twinkie is versatile, too! It's a mass-produced pastry of great historical stature with many important credits to it's name..............

Knocking Tyson on his butt in the 2nd round.
(What???!!! You missed that on the sports page????)

TwinkieHenge, a popular tourist attraction and ancient pagan burial ground where many-a-Gumby was sacrificed to the Claymation gods.

Gaining in popularity, the Twinkie baby bag which provides a nice, warm snuggly place for the wee ones to rest....not to mention a really groovy experience for their widdy biddy toes in all that creamy filling in there.

So you might think there couldn't possibly be another use for a Twinkie, might'nt you?? You would be wrong. Behold, yet another practical application for the gold and spongy, cream-filled Twinkie.....today I opened my mailbox to find a cardboard box, shipped from the East as a belated holiday wish. The box was pretty much smashed. When I cut past the layers of packing tape, here is what I found inside........


Cute, huh? Little chocolate snowmen marched straight out of the box to melt in my mouth and remind me why I love the holidays. And a big stack of Twinkies all taped together. Taped to the top and sides of the Twinkie bundle were Little Debbie cut-outs, clipped from a pastry box......get it, I'm Debbie......they say Little Debbie........I don't have freckles but you get the ideer......anyway, I thought now how FUN is this!!! Chocolate and Twinkies, what a fun gift!!!

So I picked up the bundle of Twinkies and yknow what????

The Twinkies were actually PACKING. That's why they were all taped together. When I picked up the little bundle, I realized they were packed around a neat little gift box wrapped up inside them. The Twinkies were pretty much smashed...........but the little gift box was safe and sound, arriving without so much as a scratch. And inside??

These awesomely cool, artsy, hugging salt and pepper shakers. Hugging........get it? My very dear friend was sending me a Christmas hug along with my favorite treats.

I feel nice and hugged, that's for sure.
Thanks JB.

The Continuing Assualt

Winter continues to have her way with us. Can't say that I am complaining, though. I'm really not. The cold air, snow and ice make me feel all homey and snuggly. I cook. I bake. I light the candles, sip a little whatever........this is what four-seasons is all about. I love it.

Ohhhhh, I'll be darn glad to see the sun whenever it decides to shine again. But for now....well, even as I'm teetering along on the sidewalk just trying to make my way into the grocery store for that critical gallon of milk I find the artistry of this winter to be absolutely exquisite. I couldn't get out of my car to photograph the amazing two days of giant frost we enjoyed last week without risking life and limb with all the drifted snow that remains piled everywhere but the ice storm that followed glazed the ordinary objects of my little daily world into a fine gallery of icy art.

Waffle ice, now how cool is that??

Smart birdies having packed off to warmer climes many long months ago......

My favorite drive-thru is frozen solid........

but the Grande Vanilla Hot Chocolate extra-hot is still steamy and perfect.

Favorite Quotes of the Day

Sshhhhhhh!!!!

I'm 50-some years old, plenty old enough to have learned. Still I have to admit it's devastated me a bit to find out people don't keep confidences. I guess my buddy was right when he suggested I take off my rose-colored glasses and start living in the real world like everyone else. Yeahhh, I guess it's time, huh.

Favorite quote to help me remember next time I get a wild idea to trust someone.....anyone.......with a confidence:

Three can keep a secret if two are dead.

Benjamin Franklin

Love Mongolia

If you've been around me for any time at all you know I love Mongolia, love reading about the nomadic tribes and their way of life. They have an amazing and ancient kinship with nature and animals. This is one of my favorite videos, a five-minute glimpse into the art of Mongolian falconry.




So cool.

On the Road Again

To complicate last weeks travel plans I have some kinda weird inner-ear / sinus thing going on. When I roll over in bed my head sort of spins and it feels like my brain is siphoning over into the other half of my head. Decongestants help but for the past couple of weeks I feel just a little wobbly most of the time, like I just got off a merry-go-round, like I might tip over to the left....or right....at any moment when I'm walking around.

In a tippy world where my head is spinning like that sad little Exorcist chickie it further complicates matters when everything around me is...slightly askew. I'll show you what I mean, but first consider this.......I come from a land where everything is pretty much blocked off in nice little squares. The streets in my city are laid out in a grid, like a neat and tidy checkerboard. The buildings are pretty much up and down............this side of this building is perfectly up-and-down-parallel with that side of that building. Even way out in the country all the farm fields are neat and tidy, laid out in mile-by-mile squares making our 99 counties look like a perfectly stitched patchwork quilt from the window of an airplane at 30,000 feet.

I'm an artist, it's not that everything has to be squared-up ordinary to appeal to me. I'm just sayin' my world lines up pretty nice in front of my eyes most days in a way that makes proportional sense.

Take one tippy-head chick with an overstuffed suitcase, point her in the direction of an airport with a ticket for Atlanta and you've got a recipe for complete, mind-numbing vertigo.

The terminal.
I try not to look up.

Moving sidewalk.
Moving walls.

Moving neon.

Hold. On. With. Both. Hands.

Don't look down.
Or sideways.

And that was just the airport.


The hotel is 50 floors.
For a girl that doesn't like heights those are just
50 opportunities for one to go plummeting to an untimely death
while rummaging in ones purse for the room key.

Wasn't kidding.
Not a square corner in the place.

245 steps and two elevator rides from the front desk to
my room at the verry end of this hallway.

One entire wall of my room was glass and I swear to you the floor was slightly tilted toward those windows ~ untimely death via a middle-of-the-night stumble in the wrong direction. Tough to sleep when you're worried you're going to end up 50-floors down on the pavement in your nightie if you need to get up and pee.

So I didn't. I just took my decongestants, slipped under these covers with the remote control, kept the curtains closed the whole time and pretended my room was on the first floor.

Even when I'm feeling a little dizzy in the head, I recognize a good thing when I see it.
A six-pillow week is generally gonna be a pretty great week.

This winter's snow is no big news. Not if you live where it snows, anyway.
It started after Thanksgiving and it's been coming down in a nice, big way ever since.

My office is on the second floor of the design/production studio where I work.
Floor to roof windows line an entire wall of the building providing natural light for artists that work on the floor beneath those hanging lights.



The view out the window is pretty darn magic in any season but in the winter as gently falling snow frosts the branches of the oak trees that are older than my great-grandparents, it will take a girls breath away. Every now and then when I get the urge to whine about something work-related, I look up from my computer and stare out those big windows. Debbie, old girl.....I say to myself.....so you want to trade this for a telemarketing cubicle in a big ol' office somewhere??????


By the time the first snowstorm stopped, it was deep. Really deep.

No way I was getting out of the garage for a day or two.
Only one thing for a girl to do and it's what I do every time it snows...........

I cook and bake!!!!

Dilly Casserole Bread. Rising Nicely. The aromatic smells of dill with a slight hint of onion and yeast rising in my house reminds me of when my mom would bake during the holidays when I was just a kid. Soooooo good!!!

Silent as the snowy winter is outside there is always evidence of snoopy little visitors who continue to poke around the place regardless of the weather.

Eventually the sun shines and it starts to melt.
Mind you, today it's 12 degrees outside.......yes TWELVE FULL DEGREES. At this rate it's going to take a long time for all this snow to melt. Before it has a chance, we'll probably get more. I don't care. I LOVE this winter and all the snow!!!

Through the wind and the sleet and the frigid temperatures, stubborn garden buddies persevere, peeking out from beneath the melting blanket in hopes that spring is around the corner.

The dripping continues, hinting tomorrow might....just might.....be warmer.

Nahhh, not so much. Winter's just begun to wrap her long fingers around our neighborhoods.

Put a pot of water on the stove for tea, unfold the afghans and stack up some winter books and movies. Spring will come. Later. Much, much later.