Sidetracked Artist

The first part of 2012 seemed to move so slowly.   Or maybe it just dragged along because I find the weather here during winter and most of spring to be so miserable.   The seemingly never ending cold, rainy weather results in way too much time spent indoors, for me at least, as I have so little cold tolerance now.   I used to enjoy skiing and sledding, but now I experience cold as pain, and even when bundled up from head to toe, being out in cold weather is a painful experience.   Fortunately, this will likely be our last winter here in Bellingham . As I mentioned earlier this year, Fred’s employer will be closing their facility here sometime during the first part of 2013.   He doesn’t have another job lined up yet.   I’m hoping he’ll be able get a job somewhere near where our families live in California .   It would be so nice to see everyone more often and for our daughter to have a closer relationship with loved ones.   Not knowin...

Every moment of light and dark is a miracle. Walt Whitman Winter Solstice:   the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere; the first day of winter. Today in Bellingham , sunrise is at 8:01AM and sunset is at 4:16PM, giving us just a little over eight hours of daylight.   But during most days now, daylight is not all that light. At this time of year, we usually have clouds and rain, so daylight is more of a dim light, frequently more like twilight than daylight. My family does not celebrate the winter solstice other than to acknowledge that winter is officially here, even though the weather has been winter-like for quite awhile.   Personally, I always rejoice a little inside just knowing that the days will be getting longer.   However, we surround ourselves with lights at this time of year in honor of Christmas.   Laura and Bryan decorate the yard with lights and deck the house with lighted garlands throughout.   The Christma...

  Happy December 1st!   Here is a sheet of Christmas gift tags for you to download and print.   Enjoy!   Cindy 

My digital image shop at Etsy, Sidetracked Artist , has reached 400 sales today! Thank you to everyone who has helped me reach this milestone. Cindy

Fred and I recently visited the lovely Butchart Gardens .   We started our mini-vacation in Anacortes where we (and our car) boarded a ferry headed to Vancouver Island , Canada .   Sunlight reflected off the ocean as we cruised by the tree covered San Juan islands .   Upon entering Canada and answering the border officer’s usual question of why we were there, we learned that Butchart Gardens would be having a fireworks show that night.   We weren’t planning to go to the gardens until the next day, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to see their fireworks.   The show was amazing! Too bad I left my camera at the motel and had to rely on my cell phone for photos. We spent the next morning walking, resting on the many benches throughout the gardens, then walking some more as we enjoyed their incredibly beautiful gardens.   We enjoyed the Italian garden, Japanese garden, and a large rose garden.   We saw some of the roses we grew in Medford , as ...

Bellingham ’s ban on non-reusable plastic grocery bags begins today.   Paper grocery bags are available at the check-out counter, but they cost 5 cents each.   We have a variety of reusable grocery bags that we’ve collected over the past few years, but I, for one, am not in the regular habit of using them. I’m not opposed to reusable bags.   I’m just not good at remembering to take them back out to the car.   And I’m especially bad at remembering to take them with me into the store. Also, there have been numerous incidents of food-borne illness associated with reusable grocery bags, but I would guess this would only be a problem if the bags aren’t washed between uses.   Unfortunately, not all of our bags are machine washable. This lovely reusable shopping tote probably wouldn’t do well in the washing machine, so it will only be used for non-food items. Fortunately, we have several bags that hold up well with regular machine washing and drying, like th...

This year's garden is well on it's way.  We've enjoyed many delicious salads this year, but it's too early to harvest much else here in Bellingham.  It's been said that summer in northwest Washington state doesn't really begin until July 5, and for the few years we've lived here that has been true.  We have a much shorder growing season here than any other place I've lived, but that doesn't stop me from trying to grow fresh vegetables for my family.  You can read more about why I grow food here . This year I have lettuce, green onions, zucchini, tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, shelling beans, and pole beans.  Potatoes?  My grandfather is probably rolling over in his grave, wondering, "Didn't we raise her better than to waste good land growing potatoes when you can buy a whole sack of them cheap at the store?" I love potatoes!  And of course I can buy them at the store, but I especially like those long, skinny fingerling potatoes, a...