R.I.P. sweet Sunspot. You were truly the cutest Cocker Spaniel mix who ever lived, and the best fetcher, too.

Here’s my new puppy, now 8.5 weeks old. Her name is Ginger. She’s a Polish Lowland Sheepdog (an AKC designated rare breed!) and completely silly. When she grows up, her fur will hang over her eyes. So absurd.

Here she is ready to play.

So far she is very weird:
1. She is afraid of the dark.
2. She likes chewing my arm.
3. She will sit still and watch as I do yoga–what dog does that?!
4. She thinks grass is high enough to hide her.

I’ll update as she does more strange things and as her fur gets longer and longer and longer.

I bought a Brother cs6000i, which has 60 stitches, including overlocking and button holes. Then I went to the fabric store and got started.

At first, I tried making something from a pattern, but I quickly decided patterns were too much trouble and wouldn’t fit right. Instead, I’ve been making my own patterns using muslin, pins and a well-marked dress form. It’s the ultimate creative challenge because it has to be wearable and stylish as well as well-constructed. Each garment is a cool puzzle to figure out.

Here are a few things I’ve made this month:

A denim jacket (because it still gets chilly at night in spring in Colorado).

A pink sundress.

A seersucker shirt.

I *love* this new hobby. It’s so much fun to dream up an outfit then bring it to life. I’ll post more pics as I go!

Twenty minutes later, this:

Fog is rare here! And kinda creepy.

Plus, working downtown is awesome. Having a view of these two churches almost makes it feel like I work in Europe. I wonder if there will be chimes?

and

Unfortunately, there’s a Quizno’s in the building. Gah! So tempting. I’m not sure my brought-from-home maple walnut oatmeal can compete with a yummy tomato and cheddar sub.

Movies
In other news, the husband and I went to see Wolfman. We both liked it. It’s well-done, and the acting is great, and it has the perfect foggy, creepy gothic feel. Del Toro is great. Recommended to fans of such.

My prints in the fresh snow:

Blue mountains:

Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice:

(So stupid.)

1. I bought a bunch of lamps. It’s sooo nice to have BRIGHT LIGHT in my offices and bedroom.

2. I rearranged my basement to accommodate more drawing and painting time. I’m working on a colored pencil of a couple hugging in front of the Eiffel Tower in the rain. I’m drawing wet pavement! It’s more exciting than it sounds.

3. I came up with a new workout/yoga schedule to fit with my new hours…

Yoga stuff
Here’s my favorite yoga site. I love the pictures and quick explanations of all the poses.

However, I’m using this guy’s videos right now. He rocks the casbah for realz. Plus, he has a super-cool accent.

Piano
I’m working up a Chopin Prelude. (The Raindrop!) I love the melody and how it moves to the bass in the middle section, but I’m having trouble voicing the big chords. You play, say, four notes at once, and one of the middle ones has to be louder than the others. And! You have to shape a bunch of the middle notes into a smooth phrase.

Last but not least, Waterdog.

Lake Sekrit is frozen over now! Pebbles thinks it’s appropriate to go walking on it.

A Panorama

And here’s a sunset pic from October

That’s all for now. I hope everyone’s having a great weekend!

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
When I bought this book, I didn’t expect to discover a new 1984 or Handmaid’s Tale, but I did! It’s about a society in which people with no children and no super-valuable job become “dispensible” at age 50. (Unmarried artists and writers are prime candidates.) It’s disturbing, sad and brilliantly done, the sort of story that lingers. I think it’s important and the sort of book everyone should read, but be warned, it’s difficult to take.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
I don’t read much YA, but these convinced me I should. The Book Thief is about a German girl who hides a Jew in her basement during WWII. It’s told from the point-of-view of Death. (So cool.) Life As We Knew It follows a family through an apocalypse and then a post-apocalyptic world. Yet, it’s a small, personal story. Very well done. *recommends*

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
This sequel to Oryx and Crake occurs during the same timeline but follows different characters. A couple of the important people and events from Oryx and Crake show up along the way. I LOVE Atwood’s writing. I love her ideas. I love how she holds everything back until the very end yet somehow keeps me reading. I love that her characters are so real and flawed. She’s dark, yet hopeful.

So, yeah, I loved this book. I recommend reading Oryx and Crake first, though.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
I hadn’t read any Dan Brown before this, I merely saw the movies. I really enjoyed the movies, but I didn’t think I’d enjoy the books. I was wrong! Brown may use too-familiar plot conventions and a cliche here and there, but man oh man, his books make me *think* (and I like to think!) This one involves noetics, the Masons and Washington D.C. I read quickly and enjoyed every second.

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
*happy sigh* I adore Sarah Dunant. This story is set in a convent and is told by an alchemist nun (unusual, I suspect). It’s also about an unwilling nun being sold to the convent and how she deals with losing the love of her life. It’s a beautiful, sad and ironic story about love and religion, and it’s great historical fiction. Highly, highly recommended.

I’m totally going to post more often now. You’ll see.