My Christmas Card to You...

Here's this year's Christmas photo thanks to Andy's photo magic:)

Merry Christmas!

I'm a bit quirky sometimes. As a teenager one of my favorite feelings was that of melancholy.  I still love tragic ballads but have learned to move past them!  So bear with me on this letter.  There is a hint of tragedy but I hope to leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling!

There have been many years in the recent past when I haven't sent out cards.  The first time I stopped was because I was so sad I couldn't bring myself to write about my year.  A long term marriage was breaking up and it colored the way I looked at everything in a negative way.  The next year I was actually happier but I didn't know how to explain the new family configuration.  It took me a long time to extricate my new life from my old and I couldn't make sense of it myself much less put it in a quick family newsletter!  

December 30 last year my divorce was final.  I didn't really think the "official" decree would make much of a difference. I'd been on my own effectively for five years.  Of course it did.  The psychological impact of being truly on my own was very powerful.  I was glad I'd taken my time with the divorce because that did mitigate the shock. But wow, I was free. 

I couldn't just let the day pass without noting it so I hosted a "Transitions Party."  (As far as I know I've coined that particular title.  Clever:)  The focus was not on marriage or ex-bashing but on positive movement forward.  I didn't even tell everyone who was invited what the meaning behind the name of the party was.  I had friends come to the studio for a pot luck, was lucky enough to find a great musician (Matt Zeltzer) and we just had a great party.  

This year I've accomplished lots of stuff...if you want a recap of the "things" you can look back in the blog:)

 But the thing I focus on now is how to create joy in my life.  I'm not just talking about happiness, although that is important.  I'm talking about the deep, contented and uplifted feeling that lies in the center of my being when I pay attention.  I take time as I move through each day to be grateful.  I meditate.  I spend time outdoors and with people I love.  I give myself permission to take adventures, to add pleasant events to my days and I try to have at least one good belly laugh a day!  I send good thoughts out to people I see throughout my day.  THIS stuff makes a difference.  These things are the true accomplishments.

I live in a beautiful place.  I have an amazing studio where I work alongside loving, caring and talented artists who make a difference in the world.  I'm surrounded by other people who are grateful for their lives.  My children love me dearly and want me to be a regular part of their lives.  I fill my days with things I love: movement, good food, good friends, useful work and much more.  

In the meantime, I'm sitting in the middle of the traditional Christmas mess writing this, going through old photos and getting ready for the last few errands.  Reflection is one of the best parts of the holidays.  Tonight I'll enjoy a Christmas Eve service and special time with my children.  I'm a very fortunate woman and I've crafted an amazing life.  

If you are reading this you are most likely a friend and I want you to know just how grateful I am for you.  I believe thoughts create our world even when we simply hold them within ourselves so I appreciate being invited into yours.  Know that this little note contains my love and best wishes for you.  

Always, Mary-Gail

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

traditional gaelic blessing

Laura and me 14 (!) years ago

Andy's first Christmas

Laura's second Christmas.  All she wanted was candy but she looks
like she loved the doll her grandmother gave her.   I was very fond of the Lite-Brite.

Andy's last Christmas as an only child.  We didn't think we could have another child who could come close to being as amazing as he until we met Laura!

This one just fills my heart with joy.  I can still feel that little cheek!

Aren't they cute?

My Life in Yarn

My Life in Yarn

Boot Toppers, from"Gifted" by Mags Kandis, copyright 2010

There's something about the process of knitting that connects us. It's a communal craft.  When I take a project somewhere I become instantly approachable.  Children want to touch the yarn and adults always seem to either have fond memories of a family member knitting or they want to try it themselves.  Sitting in a coffee shop with a project  instantly attracts people.  I'd recommend it for anyone feeling a little isolated.  You won't lack for company very long!  You may even end up with an informal knitting circle and a whole new group of friends. 

Craftsmanship is critical to a finished product but my mother also taught me one of my personal tenants of belief.  The beauty of handwork is in its imperfection. I love this concept and I value it in my own art.  Be sure to keep it in mind with this project.  The little balls I make are very irregular and hang a bit unevenly off the garland.  I tie a knot at the top of each bobble to make it hang better.  Even spacing and careful placement when you hang it will give it a bit of polish.

The knitting tradition is strong in my family. Mom taught me to knit when I was nine in Minnesota.  It's a very practical thing up there but I didn't return to it until I started a family.  It was fun making little sweaters and booties while I waited for my first child to be born. I quit for a number of years, but  once the kids got older I got into the habit of  pulling out the yarn around Thanksgiving and tucking it away sometime at the end of January.  It's a comfort when the nights are long.  They don't usually get too chilly here in California but we're pretty spoiled. Everyone enjoys cashmere, right?

I remember my Irish grandmother, Elizabeth Dunn Green, sitting with yards of creamy wool knitting dozens of fisherman's knit sweaters for her seven children and their spouses. They were a prolific bunch.  My family of six was considered small.  Several of my  cousins grew up in families of eight to ten so she stayed busy with that for decades. 

The jury is out on when and why Aran sweaters became popular.  This article speculates that the sweaters and the stories of long lost fishermen behind them may have been popularized by women in Ireland who wanted to commercialize their craft.  I say go sisters!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aran_jumper 

My mini-stash

My other grandmother, Sheila White Nickelsen, left me her knitting needles when she died.  They were a treasure for many years.  Last Christmas I gave them to my daughter Laura.  Grandma Nickelsen knitted beautiful Christmas stockings for me and my siblings when we were children and I was happy to continue the tradition for my own little family.

I'm in a very busy time of life as a self-employed artist and businesswoman so I thought I was finished with the needles for a while.  It's turned out that years of a cyclical habit are hard to break.  I've gone back to my yarn stash to make a few little goodies for gift-giving.  It's more satisfying than going to a mall and gives me some needed down time.  

Here's a fast and pretty pattern you can use to deck your halls!

Bobble Garland

As a treat I thought I'd leave you with directions for a simple bobble garland that is actually crocheted.  Here's a photo of a couple of the finished pieces hung in my living room.  They are quite charming and easy to make.

Yarn bobble garland

Start with a medium weight yarn and a crochet hook that is sized to work with it.  The yarn I chose is a medium weight wool.  To figure out the size hook you need look at the chart on the side of the information sleeve which will look something like this:  

The hook symbol to right shows the size hook (H-8, 5mm) recommended 
for use with the yarn.  Ask a salesperson for help with reading the label if
you need it.  Don't be afraid to ask a fellow shopper for suggestions. If they 
don't know or want to shop on their own just be sensitive to that!  

Start by making a simple chain of about five stitches.  Join those into a circle. The links below will help with some important basics:  http://crochet.about.com/od/learntocrochet/ss/Chain_Stitch.htm

http://crochet.about.com/od/crochetstitches/ss/join-with-a-slip-stitch-to-form-a-ring.htm

Then I start working into the stitches of the circle.  It quickly becomes a knotted up ball.  This is good.  It's probably messy unless you really know what you're doing.  For the rest of us, just keep looping back into the ball until it's the size you want and there aren't large loops hanging off of it.  If there are, just wrap some yarn around it and secure it with another loop from the hook.  

Pat yourself on the back and imagine being a little nine year old learning under the watchful eyes of a patient craftswoman.  Channel the words,  "The beauty of handwork is in its imperfections" and enjoy. If it's really "bad" you can always just hang the tangle of yarn!  If someone asks just tell them it's a postmodern installation.  It deals with the concept of traditional methods of homemaking and the modern woman.  Ha!  Take that!

For this chain I left an 18" length of yarn to begin and worked so that there are 10" between bobbles.  You'll need about 6-8" of yarn to work into each ball so leave 18" between each ball before you work your way down the chain.  

Sample of finished garland

For another way to do this, use 100% wool and construct the very messy bobbles. Cut them free from the chain.  Wash them in hot water and be sure they are agitated (moved around, not annoyed...) while they are in the water.  That's what actually causes the wool to felt.  Dry them in the dryer and you'll have little felted balls.  You can stitch them to a length of yarn with a tapestry needle.  You'll get a similar effect.  It looks very pretty garlanded as I show in my photo or wrapped around a small tree.  Enjoy your down time and go back to read the last paragraph from a very literal perspective for a huge laugh!   I won't even begin to try and edit that one.  Finis! Joyeux Noel! 

The King Family Running Tradition

King Family Team!

Andy "Claus"

We have a family tradition of doing road races which began in August about three years ago.  My daughter, Laura, was home for a quick visit right before the county fair.  She managed to convince her brother, Andy, to join her for a fun run the fair had published online.  I pretty much decided they were crazy and I'd rather sleep than get up at 6 AM to go run.

Fast forward to 5:30 AM race day. I heard them getting ready in the kitchen and couldn't stand to miss out.  We were about fifteen minutes late due to my last minute decision, but managed to get to the starting point with plenty of time to spare.  Or so we thought!

This year's team without Laura, our captain.

Team Captain:  Laura King

The race was
scheduled to start on Main Street in Ventura right across from the mission.  There wasn't anyone there.  We rushed  a mile or two down the road to another possible starting point.  Maybe we misunderstood the actual address.  Hmmm, no race.  Well, we decided to do what anyone else would and double checked our information.  The date was correct, the location was accurate.  Woah!  We were one year late.

Thus the tradition of the King Family Run was started.  We can just SAY we did our annual race, any race.  This doesn't have to make sense... If we're a year late we can pretend we've already run and go straight to breakfast!

Fast forward back to this year.  Laura chose our Christmas event which was the Holly Jolly Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K race. We got there on time!

 Laura did the 1/2 Marathon while Andy, Bo and I did the 5K.  Bo is one of Laura's sorority sisters from the University of Washington. Bo's first race was awesome.  Andy placed second in his age group and I placed sixth in mine.  If I run for the next decade or two I am a slam dunk for first place in my age group!

I wish I could just publish this photo in my blog, but in the interest of protecting another artist's copyright here's a link to see me finishing the run.  If you dig around on the site you can find the rest of us too.  They did a nice job with these.  I'll post more links later if anyone expresses an interest.

http://santabarbarapix.net/media.details.php?mediaID=MDc4NjIzNGE0NzkyNDUy#.UM7LwKVAs22

Warning! Reading this could bore you to tears:) or I've just put on my Big Boots

“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.” 

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

I love these boots.  This is their fourth winter season so they are old friends.  You know the kind, they're broken in and comfortable.  There are a few scuffs that give them character but all they need is a little bit of extra tlc every year to make them as good as new.  Last week I decided it was time to brush them off for an adventure so I took them to my local shoe repair shop and then to Palm Springs.

Indulge me as I take a trip down memory lane.  I started out in the business world fresh out of college with The Dial Corporation and later with Proctor and Gamble.  That first job was tough! I sold canned meat and soap in northwest Florida, south Alabama and southern Mississippi.  I was one of two women in the New Orleans region.  I quickly moved to P&G where I worked in their Patient Care Products division out of Dallas. I sold incontinent briefs to nursing homes.  My demo kit was lots of fun at parties!  That was in the 80's. The Dallas-Ft. Worth area was pretty exciting back then and I learned a lot about why P&G is such a well respected company.

Here I am making my first basket!

I met my former husband in Dallas and stopped working for about three years when my son, Andy, was born. After my daughter, Laura, was born at UNC Chapel Hill in 1990 I stumbled across the Longaberger Basket Company. It's a family owned company based in Ohio that sells handmade baskets using a direct sales model.  I loved the product and was looking for something I could do part time while I was raising my children.  I remember taking a walk with one of my neighbors while I was thinking about joining Longaberger and feeling very anxious!  It turned out to be a good decision.  I did that for ten years before returning to school to study art and interior design.

Fast forward...to California in 2001 when I started to paint. Within a year I had amassed enough paintings to have a show and established myself here in California as an artist.  Of course, I still have the joy of doing that full time.

Painting in Morro Bay, CA  Still pretty happy!

Rewind to that walk to Palm Springs;)  I attended a wealth management conference there sponsored by a company called Peak Potentials.  It was exciting to learn more about investments and budgeting and to hear about various opportunities from leading business  experts such as Bill Walsh, Courtney Smith, Alex Mandossian and Keith Cunningham.

I love where I am in my career but want to expand it and tap back into my business experience.  I've decided to start training with Bill Walsh http://www.ipowerteam.com.  I'll bring my experience in art and creativity to the business world and will work with him and his team on how to do that.  So that's under wraps while I develop it but I wanted to share the next step in the journey!

It's always funny to see how clearly one choice leads to another in retrospect.  It's far from clear when taking the first step.  So, my goal is to create, teach and enjoy my life! Let's see where this one takes me!

In the words of Anais Nin, "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."