...the coming year.

This year seems to have flown by, probably from me working so much. Maybe that's a good thing since it was rather uneventful...and I ended up alone again.

I didn't blog a lot either mainly because I haven't created much art in 2013.

Keeping up the blogging tradition though, here are all of my posts from the past year.

Those of you who are new to my blog, or the regulars who may have missed something, can now go back and see what I was up to these last twelve months.

Here you go!

January:

(1-5-13) MORE fun with cats!
(1-9-13) Wordless Wednesday - Abandoned work gloves (near Delano Ct. and Roosevelt Rd.)
(1-16-13) ...with somebody who loves me.
(1-19-13) Our store had a baby!
(1-20-13) Workout Cake!
(1-22-13) Four!
(1-27-13) A beautiful kind of loneliness.

February:

(2-1-13) Better days ahead.
(2-6-13) Wordless Wednesday - Love in the snow (along Canal Street - South Loop)
(2-14-13) Ambassador of love.
(2-20-13) Wordless Wednesday - S. Pellegrino (along Roosevelt Rd.)
(2-21-13) I hope it changes.
(2-28-13) "You won't know until you try."

March:

(3-5-13) Kid's art!
(3-13-13) Suffer a little longer.
(3-17-13) St. Patrick's Bling!
(3-24-13) Gone too soon.
(3-27-13) Wordless Wednesday - Forgive and Forget (Near the corner of Aberdeen and Lake Street in the West Loop)

April:

(4-3-13) Wordless Wednesday - Abandoned clothes along Roosevelt Road Bridge
(4-10-13) Grey wearing brown.
(4-21-13) Life getting in the way.
(4-30-13) Just another day.

May:

(5-12-13) Forgetting Seattle.
(5-19-13) Rescued!
(5-29-13) At peace.

June:

(6-7-13) Goodbye, Goodbye.
(6-12-13) You keep me hangin' on.
(6-22-13) Poor thing.

July:

(7-2-13) Target audience.
(7-4-13) Red, white, and blue!
(7-15-13) Love evaporating.....
(7-30-13) Heartbreak flowers.....

August:

(8-11-13) ...and again.
(8-13-13) A return to art. (Owl - Step 1 - Drawing)
(8-21-13) Wordless Wednesday - Abandoned woman's clothes along Roosevelt Road Bridge
(8-25-13) Owl - Step 2 - Reworked drawing
(8-29-13) Just another day at work.

September:

(9-4-13) Wordless Wednesday - Remembering "The Kelpies" of Museum Campus (sculptures recently removed)
(9-10-13) Owl - Step 3 - Underpainting
(9-22-13) Renewing my faith in work.
(9-25-13) Wordless Wednesday - Southeast Side of the city along Brainard Ave. (bench since removed)
(9-27-13) Owl - Step 4 - Anticipation

October:

(10-3-13) Owl - Step 5 - Panic and Save!
(10-6-13) Keep smiling.
(10-23-13) (Oh) what I wouldn't do.

November:

(11-9-13) Battle-Hymn
(11-19-13) The return of Bow Boy!
(11-29-13) Extension!

December:

(12-11-13) The Bow Brigade!
(12-21-13) Grateful.
(12-25-13) Happy Holidays to everyone!!
(12-31-13) ...the coming year.

Looking forward, I hope 2014 will be a year of good change, creativity, and love in my life. And may it be amazing for all of you too!

This Mail Art postcard recently sent to me by Ria sums it up perfectly.....

I'll end this blogpost by passing on the message she wrote to me:

"May the magic of the holiday season stay with you throughout the coming year."

Happy Holidays to everyone!!

It seemed the perfect thing to share with all of your this Christmas Day.

Blogging friend, Randy, mailed me yet another amazing ornament he made. This time it's of a turtle and it joins the others on my family's Christmas Tree.

Masterfully sewn!

Attention to detail and care and a lot of love went into this handmade work of art.

And isn't that what this time of year should be about?

Thanks once again, Randy, and Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Grateful.

I had to take the "L" into the city for work this afternoon.

Among the usual crazies and oddballs that occupy every train car, one rider stood out among the rest.

He was dressed in bright orange clothing and wedged into a large motorized wheelchair.

From all the wheelchair's mechanical accoutrements, I got the impression he's had a rough life.

In a raucous voice, I heard bits and pieces of his phone call. He mentioned going to physical therapy and rehabilitation but was also reassuring the person on the other end of the line.

"You gotta be grateful for what you got," he said.

It struck me to hear that from someone disabled, who clearly has been without for a long time. That even during hardships there are things we must be thankful for.

And during the rest of that train ride I contemplated my own life.

I feel alone most times, often tired from work, and not in the best living situation yet I'm blessed in certain ways.

I get along really well with all of my coworkers at both jobs, I have my health, and a roof over my head.

So even though life is far from where I'd like it to be, today was a good reminder to still be grateful.

The Bow Brigade!

An event planner contacted the arts-and-crafts store I work at and wanted some bows made.

And by some I mean over 2,000!!

It was the largest order we've ever had.....the customer paid $11,000!!!

A huge boon for our store, management didn't want to turn it down.

But many of my coworkers are crafty types and we were up for the challenge.

About eight of us spent most of our shifts making bow after bow. We sent out three installments of 750 bows over the past couple weeks.

Some of my handmade bows.

The event planner specifically wanted red and blue. She was planning a party for two HUGE corporations and the bows were to be toppers for the holiday presents.

A lot of measuring and twisting of ribbon ensued.

Through cramped hands and long, monotonous days, we kept in good spirits.

It was nice--and dare I say fun--coming together as a small group and making "bow history" happen.

I'd always start by saying, "It's bow time!" and proudly referred to us as the Bow Brigade.

Today, the last of the custom order gets picked up. I can say I'm soooo over bow-making at the moment yet a part of me will miss it.

"Who knows," one of my coworkers said, "maybe she'll do business with us in the future and want a whole bunch more bows made."

If so, Bow Boy and the rest of the Bow Brigade will be ready!