We framed, we sang, we overed…

Shew! What a crazy past few days! We spent the majority of last week preparing for the Thanksgiving Weekend/Christmas Open House at the store, and cut, painted, and framed like mad. The weekend turned out to be very busy… lots of people bustling about in the store, but still with a very festive mood. Hudson’s isn’t your typical Black Friday push and shove atmosphere. Kate and Sara sang their little hearts out, and I even got to join them ocassionally! They took quite a few orders for their Christmas CD, and it is “on the presses” as of today! If anyone is interested in purchasing one, just e-mail me… they are $10 each, plus shipping.

We finally got the “Peace” cutting finished… I was really happy with the way it turned out…

And I’m adding some Christmas pictures to the gallery, so check them out!

All in all, we overed the weekend pretty well. “Overed” by the way, is a Sussex County term meaning you got through something with no major problems. We over a lot of things here.

Today involved quite a few errands, and one very sad task. We had to put down Nannie, the last of the goats that Nana Anne gave the girls. Caprine arthritis ran in their family, and each one slowly was affected by it. She began showing signs of being paralyzed yesterday, and today she couldn’t move at all. We still have one goat left… little April, who was given to us by another person and who also is our alarm clock. (There is no such thing as sleeping in with April around! She makes up for her small size with her not-so-small voice!) She doesn’t seem to be too upset or lonely so far. Perhaps the chickens will be enough company for her.

Okay, the day is still young, and I have plenty to do, so off I go!

Exciting Weekend!

Hi All!

Just wanted to share with you that Kate and her sidekick S. were able to finish recording their Christmas CD this past weekend! They did about two-thirds of it a week or so ago, and Saturday night they recorded the last few songs. This morning, Kate and the gentleman that did the recording worked on editing it with some really neat software, and they have the music part of it ready for reproduction! Here’s a picture of the girls singing…

Can you tell how cold it was in the chapel? Several hours of Brrrr….

It was worth freezing, though, because the accoustics in there are incredible! The sound tech elevated microphones into the vaulted ceiling area to catch the reverberations swirling around up there. The girls are hoping to have the CD ready very soon, and have been working like mad to get the graphics and technical stuff completed.

And I’m working like mad to get Christmas pictures finished for this coming weekend. Our store’s Open House is this Friday & Saturday, and we’ll be burning the midnight oil until then! A few works in progress…

Heavy Frost?

It’s looking like winter weather at the store… at least on my shoes! Jo & Kate will understand this post best. Every year, at this time, my shoes, often my very favorite ones, have a heavy coating of frost. It’s a little difficult to see, but for all it’s worth…

We like things glitzy at the store. That usually involves me, a can of spray adhesive, and lots of glitter, mica, and this very fine opalescent powdery fairy dusty sort of stuff. My shoes often get in the line of fire. We like to call this potent mixture “Hudson Dust.” And, I’m pretty sure, that if Mom & I were ever x-rayed this time of year, they’d probably put us into some sort of nuclear decontamination chamber, because I think on film we would sparkle. The floor, upstairs and down, has a permanent coating of this frost-like substance, our lunch is often a little glitzy, and even poor little Jack was sparkling within a day of his entrance into this world!

Oh well, we love it, and our motto is “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”

Hey, ski resorts can make the fake stuff when there’s a shortage of the real stuff, so why not us!

Rainy Tuesday…

We’re having a wonderfully rainy Tuesday here. I know that sounds crazy, but I have always loved rainy days. They are creative days for me. Sunny days are beautiful and joyful, but one always wants to be outside, or going somewhere, or spring cleaning, or something rather industrious on sunny days. Rainy days make me feel like reading, planning, sipping tea, or doing art. I guess I feel less guilty about indulging in such pleasures when the weather is being uncooperative. Snow days are even better, because hot chocolate is added into the mix.

This morning, besides letting our maids do the laundry (as in the washer & dryer) and zipping through basic daily chores, Kate and I have been very creative. She’s working on a long-term much time needed sewing project while watching Wives & Daughters, and I’ve been working on a colored pencil drawing. I’ve got quite a few books on working with colored pencils, and Chris & Kate gave me the ultimate colored pencil set for my birthday last August, but this is the first actual piece I’ve been brave enough to start. So far, so good… though I’m trying not to get my hopes up!

This past Sunday evening, Kate & Sara got their first shot (at least for Kate) at recording! They managed to record several acapella Christmas carols in a local historic chapel, and the acoustics were incredible! They’re planning on another session or two, but just getting over the hurdle of that first session and all the jitters that go along with it was a BIG step for them. I got to sneak in on one song… it was a round, and needed just a little more depth and length. (A rectangular round?) Dear old mom had a little trouble jumping in on a moment’s notice. They had to record it several times because of my, um, help.

But… it was fun!

I think we’re going to brave the weather this afternoon and head to a fabric store to stock up on supplies! One can never have too much fabric.