Paper and Threads

Henry and Sydney went to meet their new brother on Wednesday.  Callum James was born Tuesday at 7:38 AM - 4 lbs 14 oz - and 6 weeks early.  Fortunately, he was absolutely fine right from birth and both breathed and fed well.  We are all very relieved.  There was just no way that this baby was going to wait until his due date!  The plan now is for Mommy and baby to come home tomorrow.  Then we can celebrate sister Sydney's birthday (no one told her it was yesterday) and Christmas.  One of their uncles and aunts are flying in on Saturday - fog conditions permitting so we look forward to a wonderful family Christmas celebration far from home.

 This was Sydney at Christmas in 2004 and then 2005.  She started life even smaller - 3 lb 13 oz and was discharged from the NICU at dinnertime 12/24/2004.

Posted by Shirley at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

My daughter and I both must have known subconsciously that our schedule would be changing completely this Christmas.  She set up the baby's room one day before being hospitalized and wrapped all of the presents.  I finished all of the gift sewing before going to Orlando on a 6 day business trip.  That made our change in plans possible - but still not ideal. 

Things are still stably unstable - and she is so disappointed and bored to be in the hospital instead of enjoying the wonderful decorations and festive activities of London.  Meanwhile we're having a great time with Henry and Sydney.  I loved arriving to her Christmas tree and Poinsettia plants and sketched them for my daily sketch on Saturday (12/16).  I'm testing a photo of the sketchbook page, instead of a scan to see if this will be a temporary solution to my lack of a scanner.  The colors seem grayed out. 

Posted by Shirley at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our Christmas holiday in London began 1 week earlier than expected.  My daughter was hospitalized with possible premature delivery and we came as soon as we could to help with Henry (age 3 1/2) and Sydney (who will turn 2 on Wed).  We barely had time to finish the Christmas cards and pack the night we received the call.  It is the first time that I didn't do the weekly EDM challenge in months. 

London looks beautiful with all of the Christmas decorations and holiday shoppers.  It is wonderful being with grandchildren and I hope to post some London photos instead of sketches over the next 3 weeks because I don't have access to a scanner.  Here is the first photo of the group,

                      Sydney who will be 2 on 12/20                  Henry who is 3 !/2

Posted by Shirley at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We cleared our apartment of desserts and sweets after Thanksgiving, so I brought home a candy from the candy dish in our Department office.  I am struggling to learn more about painting reflections and thought that the cellophane wrapper would be a huge challenge.  Fortunately, no one can see how poorly I achieved the desired effect in this scan.  I brought home a second piece yesterday and tried Jana's Mask-it trick, but that wasn't any better. 

I leave in an hour for a 6 day business trip without my laptop, and now realize how much I enjoy my daily review of the EDM group site.  I'll have lots to catch up with when I return.

Posted by Shirley at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last Sunday I explored Bryant Park, the space behind the New York Public Library.  A free skating rink and 100 artisan Christmas shops were set up in the park and Christmas decorations were everywhere.  The sky was clear and the late afternoon sun was on the Empire State building and the Chrysler Building.  I sketched and painted both of them, and tonight collaged the wreath that I painted last week on both buildings.  However, I'm not proficient enough in Photoshop to do it digitally, so I cut out the wreath, used restickable glue (like post-it notes) and put the wreath on each building before scanning.

Our family Christmas card each year is a Manhattan holiday design - next year I might be able to make my own. 

Posted by Shirley at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)