It's January in Cleveland, so that means lots of snow. Last weekend it was below zero(F) for a couple days, which meant a bitter cold wind would sneak down my parka and make me shiver. I bundle up when i go out, so I'm not usually bothered overmuch by the cold, but when the thermometer gets to that level, it gets a bit much. Though I like winter usually, I could never live in Alaska or somewhere where it is super cold. This week, it has mostly snowed in the evening and through the night and is clear during the day time, which is convenient for going out. Sometimes it gets warm enough that the snow starts getting slushy & icicles form. There's one on the corner of the apartment building that is nearly 2 feet long. It's beautiful when the sun hits it.
When I was doing my Christmas shopping at a nearby mall, there was a kiosk near Santa's throne, which had merchandise from indigenous people around the world. I found an animal hat that fit me,from Nepal, with a wolf face on it. These hats are mainly worn by toddlers, but this winter I've seen many adults wearing them, featuring tigers, lions, bears, even a moose with wide antlers. Evidently, they're the latest in eccentric chic. For once, I'm fashionable.
My sister refuses to let me wear it when I'm out with her, she would be too embarrassed. She just has no sense of fun, sometimes. Tsk, tsk.

This is the last painting completed in 2010, titled "Key Reef", with species native to the Florida Keys. It's acrylic on a canvas panel, 24"x12" and framed in silver metal. I'd never done a reef that size, but the long horizontal format worked well for the top of the reef setting. Along with corals & sponges, there are bank butterflyfish, a spotfin hogfish, sharp-nosed puffer, 2 blue chromis and a cherubfish. The most fun part was the purple sponges on the left, doing all those interwoven ridges with the various shades was pleasing.
The picture sold at my last craft show of the season "Christmas in the Barn", a week after I finished it. A middle-aged couple bought it, earlier they'd showed me photos of their dog on their cell phone, so I know they like animals. Selling that picture made a good show even better and was a great way to end the year.

This week I've been trying to get the holiday decorations put away. My arthritis has been hurting a lot, as well as some headaches, so it's been a slow process. I've got everything down, finally, but now I must get the storage boxes out of 2 different closets & pack them away. Hopefully, I'll do that within the next week.
One of the easier tasks is taking the cards off the door where I display them. Each year there gets to be fewer cards as people economize. I enjoy ecards, but still favor the old-fashioned paper cards that I can keep. This year I got about 20 snail mail cards, plus a few Christmas letters without cards. It was enough to fill up the door nicely, as you can see in the picture.
As I mentioned last month, my sister got me a large nutcracker riding a hobby horse (picture below) that I placed under the tree. I measured it & it's 18 inches tall! It's well made and looks quite magical. I'm really happy to have it and wrapped it carefully in bubble wrap for storage.
The house always looks so blah after taking down the decorations, that it takes awhile to readjust. All that hard work just to make things boring looking. At least the work to put everything up is worth it, as things are bright & festive.