Snow Day

Today was one of those Winter days where the snow blankets the ground and tucks one in the silence only fresh snowflakes bring.

We all overslept.

I awoke in Violet’s bed, Sage pleasantly snoring above Violet and me in his lofted bed, the alarm clock near my and Adam’s bed crowing. Adam had fallen asleep at the computer wheel last night, and woke up on the couch in the wonderful “oh shit! I’ve overslept” mode that no one wants to find themselves in.

He wouldn’t be driving Sage to school today. I looked outside at the steady falling snow, and thought, “Neither am I.”

When I was six months pregnant with Violet I was in a bad car accident about a mile from our house. On my way to a prenatal appointment, feeling secure in my four wheel drive car, I headed down the snowy county road to town. Going only about 35 miles per hour, I was “sucked” down into the ditch and hit an extremely large oak tree head on. The airbag went off, my car was totaled and I have since suffered “panic attacks” driving in the snow. Not good when you live in Minnesota. Meanwhile, I have a love/hate relationship with that white precipitation. I love watching it fall whist listening to Rufus Wainwright and baking cookies, sipping spiked egg-nog, and playing board games with the kids. I love walking in the woods near our house on a fresh snow day, enveloping myself in the quiet and reflecting on what is really valuable in my life. I love a white Christmas. I love how the snow masks all the shit I neglected to clean up in the yard. But, I hate hate hate driving in ANY kind of snow.

I’m a big wimp.

I have too many people in my life that need me to take risks when it comes to safety, and so today, Sage and Violet stayed home with Mom. A little bit of an impromptu “snow day.”

It was lovely. One of those days that I think will have a lasting impression on Sage, and yet I can’t fast forward to know what he’ll really value from his childhood. However, I remember days when my parents took me out of my normal schedule and took me to “the big city” to see a play, or go to a museum and those moments are cherished treasures.

Sage started his snow day by playing outside for over an hour. I decided that television would not be an option until the school day had finished. So, I asked him if he would like to learn to knit today. A few weeks ago he had asked me, and of course this warmed my heart. Sage is a fast learner. He decided he didn’t want to learn by making squares, or a scarf, and that what he really was interested in was making a hat. Since I learned to knit “in the round” making a hat as my very first project whilst studying in Scotland for a semester, I thought it would make sense that he learn this way too. We looked through my stash and he picked out some lovely purple wool Grandma Jayne brought back from Canada. It’s a nice 4 ply worsted weight yarn that won’t fray while he learns, is soft on his hands, and he it’s not too dark so he can see what he’s doing. He is a natural. Honestly, I can’t believe how easily he has picked this up and it’s wonderful to see him quiet and still and focused. Tonight he was knitting while watching a movie, knitting while listening to bedtime stories, and he asked me if he could knit in the car on the way to school. The apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Violet cracks me up. The temperature has hovered around the teens for the last couple of days, and we never keep our thermostat over 64 degrees, and yet she is running around in summer dresses and bikinis. She is my little furnace. I’ve started putting some Christmas decorations up, and the stockings have been “hung with care in hopes of St. Nick…” Violet is always looking for new “accessories” and is a big fan of knee high socks.

Posh’s potty training reminds me of my old days as a smoker, taking seven minute breaks every two hours or so. During those cigarette breaks ideas mingled with smoke rings. Now, I still find my thoughts wondering as I follow Posh looking for yellow snow and poopy piles. Meanwhile, I’m taken back to the days I would freeze my ass off just for one more drag. Sometimes I yearn for that “heat grate” outside the St. Olaf student center. It would be nice to sit down and wait for her to do “her business.” Last week I brought a beer to have with my “cigarette.”

She’s way cuter than a cigarette, smells better, and is good for my health, so I’ll put up with the cold and watch her “go potty” until she gets it down. Lately, she only has poopy accidents, and honestly after having a great dane, picking up turd the size of Lincoln Log really isn’t a big deal.

On Saturday we were able to have a brief, but lovely visit with my good friend Pam, her almost 4 year old son Emmett, and Pam’s amazing mother Debbie. Pam’s visits are always too short. Adam states my feelings exactly every time we say goodbye, “It’s a shame you live so far away from each other.”

Pam is my favorite person to knit for. I was dying to give her a sweater I had knit for her from a 1962 issue of Vogue Knitting. I think I started knitting this for her last March. Everyone who saw the color and the pattern looked at me cross-ways. No one trusted that it would work out, but I had faith and I think that the color x the pattern = modern meets vintage.

I’m not so good at finishing my projects, hello common knitting problem, and so the pockets weren’t totally done, but Pam’s mom is a retired Home Economics teacher and she said she’d sew them for me. Yay!

I had to have Adam snap a picture of the two of us together.

Emmett also modeled the sweater I knit him for his third birthday. He looked damn adorable, as you can see below. For both sweaters I used my favorite Merino wool from Uraguay, Malibrigo.

I haven’t been knitting lately, even Adam has noticed my lack of yarn…I’ve been reading! Imagine that?! I just finished Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams. I absolutely loved it!!! Now, because I’m kind of dog obsessed I’m reading John Katz’s Good Dog.

I think I may have to try and knit while I read, Posh needs a sweater. ‘Cause baby, it’s cold outside.

 

Spice Girl

Look out world the Sparks’ Family has it’s own Spice Girl and she’s rocking the Casbah!Introducing Picosa’s Posh Panache, or Posh, Poshy, Poopy, Posh Puppy, Little Girl, Honey, these are just some of the names we are calling the newest member of our family!I picked up Posh on Tuesday from the wonderful Char Renslow, to whom I am forever grateful. She is part of an amazing trio of breeders who are dedicated to the integrity of the breed. They really love their dogs and are unselfishly honest, committed, and put the best interest of this incredible breed first.I thought it would be fun to include some pictures of Posh’s parents.This is her “playful” mommy, Ch. Picosa’s Simply Irresistible “Godiva.”This is her daddy, Ch. Jefe’s Reason to Rumba “Rico”I contacted Char way back in July about meeting a Havanese ” in the flesh” and attending one of the Open Houses she, (along with Carol Krueger of Jefe Havanese and Mary Ellen Vickery of Deja Havanese) hosts each month. Char emailed me with an invitation to attend their next information night held on a Sunday night in August.I barely made it to that Open House. I left late, as usual, and got lost on my way. I think I walked in with 15 minutes or so left. My hosts were awesome and I think I stayed, along with others, for maybe an hour or so? You can read about it in my previous post, Have to Have a Havanese, if you are really aching for the details…Anyway, I remember noticing a little brindle puppy Char’s eleven year old son was playing “fetch” with. She looked to be about ten weeks old or less, but Char told us that she was on the small side and that she was really about three months old. She was adorable. I tried to get a picture of her, and she was just having too much fun, the picture turned out totally blurry. I felt a connection with her right away. I even remember thinking, “Well, of course the breeder is keeping her for herself to show, move on Amy.”Fast forward a month and a half or so.Violet becomes obsessed with this book:Everyday Violet tells me, matter-of-factly, she wants a posh puppy.I receive a letter from the breeders that they are expecting two litters in early fall. At this time I send in my deposit money for a puppy, but write a note saying I’ll wait until the October litter is ready to go home (sometime in late December). At this time, I was interested in either a show co-own agreement, or a pet adoption, I just wanted the “right” dog for our family and was open.Skip ahead another month. I check my Google mail account, which I rarely open. There is a letter from Char. “Do I want to pass up both litters? Am I still interested in a show dog commitment? If so, would I like to meet her little show potential girl Posh?”My heart skips a beat.Did I really read “Posh?” Instantly, I think about Violet’s request and I know exactly which puppy Char is talking about. Meanwhile, I’m working at Buffalo Books and Coffee. I look up into the Children’s Literature section, and what do I see? You guessed it. So, I felt I had to buy the book. Intuition scene one.The following weekend, I round up the family and we head up to Ham Lake (about an hour and forty minutes) for another Open House to re-meet Posh and some of Char and Mary Ellen’s newest pups. Of course, the little ones are darlings and they climb all over Sage and Violet. However, it’s Posh who steals all of our hearts that night. Since the last time I saw her she has blossomed into such a beautiful sweet girl. She is a Gold Brindle, and I think her coat will forever change and surprise us. It reminds me of knitting with Noro fiber, you really never know what color will come next, and that is one of the main reasons so many of us are addicted to knitting with it. The surprise element is intriguing. And, as with the Noro, the feeling of Posh’s fur is absolutely amazing, like a whisper, almost like feathers, and yet so much softer.Here are some baby pictures of Posh that Char has sent me where you can really see how much her color has changed already. Don’t be confused by her name, at that time she was a “Godiva candy” baby called Taffy.Taffy aka Posh, was born in May of 2007, on the same day our beloved border collie, Beauty died. When I found this out, I just knew in my heart that she was supposed to be part of our family. Here is a picture of our Beauty girl. April 1997-May 2007. She has gone over the “Rainbow Bridge,” and will always hold such a special place in the hearts of the humans who knew her.I didn’t find this out until we had arrived home from the Open House. Adam and I were pouring of the details of her co-ownership agreement when I noticed the day Posh was born and the hairs on my neck rose. Meanwhile, a week of agonizing over some of the details of being in a show commitment, I had the crappiest reality biting moment. I had to tell Char that while we loved Posh, we just couldn’t commit 100 percent to being in the show arrangement. I knew this really had to be a decision that everyone was on board for. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done, because I was already so in love with this dog. I put my faith in God that things would work out the way they were supposed to.In the end, or the beginning for me and Posh, Char unselfishly decided that it would be in Posh’s best interest not to breed her, as she is a smaller Hav and therefore runs the risk of C-section, etc… Consequently, it wouldn’t make much sense to show her in a Conformation ring if she wasn’t going to breed her.The next question from Char was when could I pick her up?I wanted to bolt out the door, the minute I read those words. I had to remind myself that I had waited this long, I could wait a couple of days. So, I puppy proofed. I cleaned, I shopped, I rested, I prepped the kids, I obsessed. And, finally, Tuesday arrived.I left the house, feeling prepared, my empty Pet Fly carrier bag in tow. The carrier ended up being too small, and of course I took off all the tags…So, she rode next to me in the front. She was lovely.When we got home, I don’t think she knew what to think of Otto. In fact, I’m pretty sure she didn’t know he was a dog at first. After a couple of hours they were fine together. Now, it’s like they’ve always been friends, they’re so comfortable.Here is a funny height comparison of rears:She’s doing great on the potty training, sleeps really well in her crate, is EXTREMELY picky about her food, has some work to do on walking on a leash (she likes to do a crappy flop), has already learned how to sit, had her first bath here at house today, and I am totally in love (as is the rest of the family)And, so, I now go to bed. Here are a few more Posh pics. Victoria Beckham eat your heart out!

 

Reverence

I am so fortunate and blessed to have amazing people in my life.

One of the coolest women in my life is my best friend, Pamela DiMauro. Pam is an incredible person that I met at the St. Olaf Ice Cream Social. I was completely disenchanted with “Camp Olaf,” as I called it and thought I would never meet anyone I could connect with. I started making small talk with Pam at the Social, and she says to me, “I need a beer.”

We’ve been best friends ever since.

This woman has taught me so much about life, and because she is an artist she has mainly taught me to look at my world differently. I can’t look at plant without looking at its shadow, the sky without seeing something more than space, or an insect without noticing deliberate, intricate, patterns.

Not only a successful printmaker living in New Mexico in her fabulously “touched by Pam” historical home, Pam is a mother to Emmett, almost 4 years old, a wife, and one of the best letter/poetry/story writers I personally know. I’ve kept every letter she’s ever written, they are magical.

Pam’s newest exhibition, Reverence-Etchings, opened this past weekend at the New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The exhibition runs through December 1st. I feel especially honored for a piece about Marigolds that was inspired by me. The piece is titled, The Beautiful Allergy.

Pam was also televised making her art. Her you can see the step by step process of her print making, which I stole of the HGTV website. Tee hee hee! I have the print that you see featured in the demonstration. I traded her a little llama shrug/sleeve/sweater thing. It looks lovely on her. The last picture is of the finished print, which I have proudly hung in the heart of my home, the dining room.

Pam you’re the best. I am so absolutely proud of you.

As an intaglio printmaker, I am inspired by the surrounding environment, the weather, and that which grows on the land.  truly fictitious. I employ various perspectives simultaneously in my images to create believable, magical realms.

Intaglio or copper plate etching lends itself beautifully to my purposes. It is an extremely sensitive medium that enables me to capture in minute detail what I believe to be most important. For me, creating an image in copper formally establishes its realness and renders it everlasting, as if set in stone. I see landscape as a tool for expressing human emotion, and intaglio printing allows me to devote attention to the significance of every expressive detail.