Happy Mother's Day!

We celebrated Mother's Day a day early this year with a brunch at our house. It was a beautiful day and the tulips were still in bloom, though they have seen better days. Bandit really enjoys having Grandma come to visit. As soon as everyone gathers at the table, he heads over to her chair and plops himself down right next to her.

Nothing says "high class" at a Mother's Day brunch like a dog licking yogurt parfait out of a crystal goblet.

Spring has arrived. I've already started buying new flowers to put in the gardens even though the last frost date is probably several weeks away.
My nephew turns four this month. Dan and I gave him an inflatable basketball hoop. It's a little big- I keep forgetting to check the age levels on the toy packages, but it was a hit with the "older children".
My sister made the mistake of asking Ben what kind of cake he wanted (in our family, "what kind of cake" usually does not refer to flavor- it means how do you want it decorated). He's really into crocodiles, but apparently he is also developing an interest in ants. Never one to back down from a creative challenge, my sister incorporated both in her cake design. I'm thinking of asking her to make my birthday cake next year. So Dawn, I'd like Johnny Depp on a pirate ship in the middle of the ocean. Oh, and see if you can work in a gardening theme, too- I'm really into perennials.

Almost a snow day

We ALMOST had a snow day today. We ended up delayed for two hours, which I should have been grateful for. But how could I not be just a little jealous that he gets to do THIS all day?

Super Bowl Sunday

We have a special tradition for Super Bowl Sunday. Since neither one of us likes to watch sports (or even be in a room where a game is on in the background!), we like to spend that evening trying out a new restaurant. Preferably a restaurant that doesn't have a TV. So this year, after a quick hike in the upper section of Buttermilk Falls, we tried out The Moosewood Cafe in Ithaca. It was a bit of a drive, but really worth it. Our friends Megan and Andy joined us this year. For the first time in the eleven or twelve years we've been doing this, we had to wait for a table. Usually restaurants are practically empty during the Super Bowl, but not this one. But the wait wasn't long and they had lots of great cookbooks to look through in the gift shop. It was French Cuisine night and they had French onion soup, which I love. BUT French onion soup is traditionally made with beef broth and I was pretty sure that Moosewood was a vegetarian restaurant. So I asked the waitress if there was beef broth in the soup . She gasped and covered her mouth and looked completely horrified. "Oh, no! We would NEVER serve beef broth. It's completely vegetarian. It can be made vegan, if you want." Hee hee!!! I have a new favorite restaurant. The soup was amazing. So was everything else we ordered. Well, except maybe the carrot /beet/ginger juice, but guess who ordered that? And we were all dumb enough to try it.

Spittin' image!

Here is Engine's wire sculpture for the auction. The cat sculpture beside it is something I picked up in Cocoa Village in Florida. Can you see the resemblance? Except usually Engine looks happier, like the sculpture. I don't think he was too thrilled about being interrupted from his cleaning. I think the whole school where I teach was ready for a snowday today and the weather ended up cooperating! There's a steady rain of ice falling from the clouds right now and I just finished the dishes, two loads of laundry and some work in the studio. I'm feeling a little more caught up now. Fortunately, I got the artwork for the SANS auction wired and dropped off yesterday so I don't have to go driving around in this beautiful mess. Bandit got a LONG walk today so he is no longer wearing his "Saddest Dog in the World" face...

Studio Helpers

Engine and I have been busy getting ready for the SANS art auction, so I thought I would post some photos of what's been going on in the studio over the past few weeks.
Engine's wire sculpture is all finished, so he is helping me with my painting.
Bandit helped out earlier in the day. In the bottom photo, we are both deep in thought about what I should paint. I'm thinking something with a cat. He thinks the cereal I'm eating would be a very interesting subject.