Slowly she begins to type…

Hello, m’dears!
 
I can’t count the times I’ve looked at this empty Open Diary entry screen and felt too overwhelmed to even begin writing about all the This’s and That’s going on in our lives since the beginning of June. Sheesh! We’ve had very fun This’s, wonderful That’s, and all is well in our busy little world.
 
Of course I know the best way to begin writing is simply to do so…but still, during my late night unwinding times, I would stare at the screen too exhausted to start, and then just click out and go read what all of you were doing and thinking.
 
So now it is January and my frantic September through December whirlwind is over. I have my tea (Nettle, rather than Chai today), Chloe the poodle is curled at my feet, and I have a day of very few commitments before me.
Perhaps if I start with our latest news and go backwards, I will actually post an entry! (Seven. Months. Later. Auuuggghh!) 
 
We have an interim daughter! Lesya is a delightful 15 year old exchange student from the Ukraine. There were some difficult circumstances within her original host family, and so she is finishing her year in the US with Don and me. We are thrilled–to say the least! She is extremely bright, very articulate and totally adorable. I’ve known her for some time, as she was on my costume crew for our fall production of “Cats”. (I know, I know…there’s a LOT for me to show and tell) It’s a very natural fit for all of us. Lesya is very artistic—loves jewelry making, pottery, photography and painting—so I imagine we will spend quite a bit of time in my sudio. She just moved in on Sunday and says she already feels “right”. *happy sigh*
 
All three boys were home in January. Because of their jobs they were unable to get home for Christmas proper—so we just delayed everything and celebrated Christmas a couple weeks ago. Kept the tree up, played Christmas music, had Christmas cookies, opened gifts…the whole thing. ‘Twas wonderful. My twin sons Ian and Trevor flew in together from Seattle and showed up at the airport dressed identically! Goofy guys! First time in their lives they’ve done that, and they fooled even me!
 

 
Lots of laughter–and with Trevor, our built-in chef, lots of great food! We got the guys pizza-making tools this year—including bamboo pizza peals, cutting boards and rolling pins, the backs of which Don artfully/playfully decorated with a wood-burning tool. (That familiar scent sure brought back childhood memories of my brother’s woodburning kit!)
 

 
They had a pizza making workshop and Don, the self-proclaimed “King of Pizza” showed them the how-to’s. Trevor has always wanted to throw pizza dough in the air—which he did quite well. He had to do this on his knees, however, as he is so tall and our kitchen ceiling so low! Charlie now claims that knowing how to make pizza from scratch is a total chick-magnet. Women love a man who cooks!
 
Anyway…lots of precious time with these wonderful young men. They’ve kept in touch with many of their childhood friends—who, at times, we helped raise—and it was great to see many of those guys again. *Poof!* They are ALL suddenly young men! Amazing, this fleeting lifetime.
 
In December, our house is turned upside down for the first two weeks when I host a holiday arts and crafts show. We clear out furniture, take art down from the walls and open it up for about 11 different vendors (of my choosing..as I get to be the judge and jury of this particular show. Heh!) It’s always such fun to spend time with all the artists and the steady flow of customers and friends. This year one of the artists who joined us makes delightful dolls from found objects. We commissioned her to make a clock to sit on the windowsill of our bathroom—and this is the whimsical result.
 

 
Christmas for Don and me was very low-key and stress-less. We spent Christmas Eve at a friend’s wonderful noisy gathering, but left early to come home to hold hands and watch Christmas movies. Christmas day we went to another friends house for dinner and were entertained all evening long by their daughters—two of our favorite little girls, who had endless varieties of songs and dance numbers. It was perfect. (And then we came home to hold hands and watch more Christmas movies.)
 
And then, (because I did not call Dallandrah and mention I had free time), I finally got a chance to paint the dining room. Hee! Because the ceilings in our rooms are "coved" and there is no distinct line between ceiling and wall, I brought the ceiling color down into the all the corners of the walls in slightly different designs. I do have fun, don’t I? 🙂
 
<img height="400" alt="" hspace="10" width="300" src="http://pics.opendiary.com/C100974//Diningroom2.jpg&#8221; />
 
So that’s got to be it for an entry now. I will come back and post photos of our last big shows—“Cats” (with our own costume designs—NOT airbrushed spandex and fur. *whew* ) and costume-heavy “Servant of Two Masters”
And our whirlwind trip to Seattle (where we got to spend time with two of our boys and have [a far too short] dinner with a favorite OD couple.) *grins smugly* And maybe a little about the International Theatre Convention, and family visits and and and…..maybe it won’t take me so long next time! 
 
:)xoAdagio