Its almost Thanksgiving and the holidays are already in full swing. I am actually doing well.. I love the cinnamon apple and nutmeg smells and honestly I don't even mind when the stores start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. I say..."The longer the season, the better!"
I am hosting Thanksgiving this year and I am very excited! I love fixing my specialty side dishes. The menu consists of brussel sprouts with caramelized onions and toasted pistachios, Kambuku squash layered with turnip greens and abborio rice and then of course the oldies but goodies, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole for my brother in law.
I'm planning our Christmas vacation and it looks like we will be heading north hopefully to snow. Getting in touch with nature, visiting caverns, waterfalls and staying in a cabin will be the highlights. We may go all the way to Dollywood, but that is still up in the air. Most children want to go to Orlando, but Osric is a child of adventure and insists that we explore the world around us.
I have been completely inspired lately. From sewing napkins and holiday curtains (to replace the sheet that has been hanging in the living room window for ahhh I'd say about a year now
:-), sketching portraits to give to family for Christmas, painting surreal images and cooking delish goodies, I am in heaven! I have so many plans for the future, but it would seem that when I feel well I always get a bit overzealous with my ambitions.
I plan on submitting a poem I penned to a literary magazine. I'm hoping to get a full spread that includes the art that accompanies the piece. It is a surreal recount of my stay in the asylum and it really nails the ambiance of the place. Its a matter of figuring out what magazine would be best suited for the subject matter and of course publishes both poems and art in one place. Also, I found a gallery in New Orleans that I think would be a perfect place to display and sell my art. Once I am finished with the series of faces I am painting I plan on taking them, but I'm pretty sure it will be an easy pitch. The pieces are perfect for this gallery and they have several unknown artists, so obviously they are not apposed to new talent.
Hubby and I spent the day in New Orleans right before Halloween. There was this exceptional haunted house set up in an old mortuary (from the 1800's), and I simply had to go. The coolest thing was they gave you VIP tickets if you gave blood... fabulous idea and made the experience even more "ghoulish", not to mention being ushered to the front of the line was quite the first class treatment! I've been anemic for a long time now despite massive consumption of iron supplements, so alas only hubby gave blood. Major disappointment since I envisioned that it was for the infamous vampires of New Orleans.. Yes, I know that is a bit silly, but a girl can dream!
