End of A Year

Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. Like every year for the past 4 or 5 I will watch the ball come down in Times Square at exactly 9 pm my time. I'll watch it on my computer thru Earthcam and I'll be very nostalgic, especially seeing the crowd of revelers. You see, I spent the first 36 years of my life in that area and although I love California I sometimes miss the east coast a LOT!

Tomorrow people will start camping out along the Rose Parade route in Pasadena, CA. How they manage to survive this is beyond me but they do it and they all seem to enjoy it. I've lived here over 30 years and have never seen the Rose Parade in person. The sad part to all of this is that it marks an end in time. End of the year and end of yet another season of good will. I miss that as people settle back into their work and their businesses and into their day to day worries again. This holiday season will soon be only a memory - the lights will go out, the decorations will come down and the worries people shoved aside temporarily will come trudging back to weigh heavily on their shoulders again.

If only we could bottle up this feeling of good will and give everyone a teaspoon full each morning.....

I'm going to make a prediction. I feel good about 2010 and I think its going to be a year where a lot of folks will enjoy a turnaround....at least that is my hope

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Grannygoodpaint

Grannygoodpaint's Memories of Christmas

"Where's Santa"

I remember the days when our family was large and most of us were pretty young. Mom started cooking for the holiday three days before. Her and dad would go to Mulberry Street in Newark NJ to buy chickens and produce and nuts and cookies.

I would help mom make what she called "ribbons". These were made from thin puff pastry she made from scratch then she would cut them into ribbons, make them into bows and toss them in hot oil. They immediately puffed up and became golden brown. It was my job to fan the large pot of oil to keep it from going over and to take out the ribbons when they were done. Mom would place the ribbons in a large box lined with wax paper. Then she would drizzle honey all over them and powdered sugar. What a treat!

Christmas Eve was "fish night". Mom would fry tiny smelts that had been dredged in flour salt and pepper. They were SO good! She served them with salad and spaghetti and salad. Christmas Day was chicken and ravioli and antipasto - the ravioli was made days before hand, dried a bit then frozen. OMG - I can taste them right now and never ever tasted the likes of them since.

We had a tree, such as it was, that was so full of tinsel and ornaments and lights that you couldn't see it was pretty sparse. Everybody brought gifts to put under the tree. Christmas Day people came and went....neighbors and friends and the table was set ALL day.

One year when I was still quite young, the local carpenter came on Christmas Eve with a folding artist's table for me. It was to be a big surprise. When he came in the door with it and saw the large table set and everyone eating and laughing he burst into tears. Mom put her arms around him and hugged him. He said it brought back memories of when he was young and still had a large family.

These days, not much of my family is left. Mom and dad passed on many years ago and mostly on this holiday it is now just my son and me. I cannot help but remember the old days and now I understand exactly why that carpenter burst into tears. Be thankful for what you have, enjoy your family and enjoy the holiday!

My painting for today is called "Where's Santa"

Happy Holiday Season - Good Luck Online Sellers

In my mind there's a feeling of snow in the air and a fresh scent from the pines and the trees have shed their leaves and are settled down for their Winter nap. Well, that's in my mind anyway...having spent the first half of my life in the northeast. Here, we almost hit 90 degrees on Thanksgiving Day. :-)

In spite of the warm climate I love this time of year. In the past 10 or so years I was so super busy at this time of year....rushing around packing and shipping out items...trying to keep billing straight, seemed like I was always at the post office...knew them all by first name. I remember days when I was up long hours trying to keep everything straight. These days (yawn) I spend long hours watching TV or Netflix and walking or exercising. Days are not busy anymore...just like most small sellers on Ebay our days are filled with time to spare. One wonders how much this loss of traffic and loss of buyers costs Ebay. Does anyone have figures on it? I know they have figures on Amazon and their amazing third quarter profits but does anyone keep track of the loss of revenue at Ebay?

I did see many Ebay TV ads yesterday and hope it helps the small sellers this year. One can only hope. As for me...my mind is set toward the holidays and the happy feeling among people during the holiday season. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and enjoys every day of it.

My image for today is actually a glass pendant made from my painting "Santa Gave Me This".

Happy Holidays to One and All!

Keeping it light today. I want to once again tell you about a favorite website of mine. Its called Rate My Drawings (www.ratemydrawings.com). I've been addicted to this website for months now - so much so that I've accumulated almost 140 digital paintings there. This is a great site for everyone. Come and doodle - bring the kids and let them play too. I highly recommend it.

Here's a link to an example on Rate My Drawings. Its a Christmas card for everyone and you can actually watch me draw and paint it by watching the pencil movements. If art interests you then this is the site for you!

Christmas Card

One more thing of grave importance. Our country is in a recession - this means that after the holidays stores, businesses, factories will be laying off people big-time! People will be losing their homes along with their income. We can ALL help cure the economy...simply go out and BUY something. Your purchases help drive the economy and keep others working! If you have a stable income and you feel safe this coming year then I urge you to help others by simply shopping and buying as usual and not putting off that special something you've been meaning to buy. It means the world to ALL of us!

Like it or Not - We're in the Holiday Shopping Season

"Christmas Stocking Kittens"
2 1/2 X 3 1/2" ACEO

Yep - I walked into Walmart yesterday and saw trees and ornaments and listened to carols playing throughout the store. The season is upon us and take a clue from the 8,000 pound giant in the room - Walmart is poised to not only survive this quarter but to profit from it! Those of us who sell had better begin ramping our business toward the season and more than ever toward satisfying our customers. I think all of us can take a lesson from Ebay in what happens when you do not respect your customers! In my own small way I've already started getting into the season by painting ACEO's of christmas and snowmen and nostalgia. As an active artist I am blatantly seasonal and take advantage of the holidays and also of the trends. Unfortunately, I rarely get to paint what I want to but instead am geared towards the customers wants - whether it be tied to a season or something the customer comissions. I think every seller needs to be aware - some more than others - of the current trends and season in order to help their sales along. In any event, I wish every one of you good sales....and for buyers I wish great bargains. Buying and selling will help this economy more than anything else. Keep circulating money so that jobs can survive and in doing so all of us will prosper :-)

Happy Sunday.

My painting today is one of the many Christmas ACEO's on my website. For those unaware, ACEO's are 2 1/2 X 3 1/2" handpainted artists cards. Highly collectible.

Feeling Nostalgic....Memories

"Autumn Path"

I lived my first 30 or so years in New Jersey, 31 years ago I moved to Southern California. At first it was a novelty ...really only two seasons here, Spring and Summer though the locals like to say we have four seasons, Spring, Summer, Earthquakes and Fires....or something to that effect :-) Long about this time of year I think back to New Jersey and how the leaves would be ablaze on the trees and the mornings and evenings were definitely nippy. Another month and the real cold would start to set in. Then came Thanksgiving and the family would gather together at our parents house. It was always so cold outside and so toasty warm in mom's big kitchen. Then came Winter and Christmas and we'd gather again all bringing our gifts to share. I remember one Christmas Eve a man came delivering something that was ordered from a store. He came into the kitchen and saw us all gathered around the table and a tear fell from his eye. He looked at mom and said "this brings back memories." I had no idea what he was talking about....now I do. My parents are long gone, siblings spread to other states and now, when I realize the weather in New Jersey is changing and the holidays are closing in I can't help but remember and feel nostalgic and to really really miss something that I used to simply take for granted...

My painting for today is Autumn Path. It sold a couple of years ago.