It was really wonderful to be off for 4 days! I got a chance to spend almost all of my time with my family. We had a really nice Thanksgiving, although Mom was very much missed at the table Thursday night. On Friday, my family had its annual golf tournament, in memory of my niece, Katie, whose foundation just keeps growing each year and does so many terrific things for many folks. This year, there were over 130 golfers and the banquet room where we had dinner was wall-t0-wall with guests. Thanksgiving is an especially important and special time of year in my family. It reminds all of us about what is important in life: our health, family, and friends, and by God's good graces, we are able to enjoy another year of all that is dear to us. In between dinner and the tournament, I managed to do more "spring cleaning" and put our Christmas tree up, stockings and all! Putting the tree up during Thanksgiving weekend is a tradition in our household, just like hosting Christmas dinner is. I am contemplating having a few of my closest girlfriends over for a holiday luncheon so that we can get together (very, very long overdue!). If I do this, I think I am going to have to plan fast and squeeze in a day there mid-December. We shall see... I am SO grateful for so many blessings: my health, job, the many friends I have (too many to mention, but who are ALWAYS willing to lend a hand), family, and my dear husband. Every day, I make sure to tell Mike how lucky I am to have him and how each day for the last 29 years, has been a gift. When I get a breather, I am going to make some new art. In the meantime, I am going to keep making mail art like the piece above.

Group 1 is made up of text and patterned stamps. Group 2 consists of mostly faces and some bird and butterfly stamps.

I have been cleaning like crazy for the last few days and am itching to get rid of more of my art supplies. Not only do I not have the huge house like I did in the past, but with my crazy work schedule, it doesn't leave me too much time to do anything else, especially make art. So, I am selling off some of my rubber stamp collection. I am selling these stamps in groups. Some of the stamps are new and others are gently used. I take very, very good care of my supplies, so even the gently used have only been minimally used. The price is $30.00 for the 1st group and $50.00 for the 2nd one, including shipping. The 1st group consists of 2 new and 14 used stamps. Group 2 consists of 1o new and 9 used stamps; this group has larger sized stamps and is well worth the price. These would make a great gift for that artistic friend. Also, I still have a few of my collage packs left. If you are interested, drop me a note @ millan0206@yahoo.com.

Today was an incredibly tough day! So, I decided to write about some things that are dear to me: sunrises and poetry. Yesterday, L.K. Ludwig, http://www.gryphonsfeather.typepad.com/, challenged all of us to write about poetry and add a photo, so here is my contribution to her "Shared Words" challenge. The photo is from 1 of my visits to Hawaii. I took this photo from the balcony of our hotel room, right as the sun was about to rise. The island is Kauai. It was a spectacular moment that I am sure I didn't fully capture in this shot. The following poem is 1 of my favorites, if not favorite, poem:

"Nothing Gold Can Stay"

by

Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay.

During the Veteran's Day weekend, we got away and went to San Diego for the long, holiday weekend. Because I have been working a lot of extra hours that include evenings and Saturdays lately, I have managed to accumulate several "comp" days, so for Veteran's Day weekend, I got a 4-day weekend! I have NEVER worked so hard in my life for these "comp" days! Growing up, every free moment I had, I was at the beach. To say I LOVE water is truly underestimating my love of the beach and ocean. While staying in San Diego, we stayed at a resort, with the bay literally in our backyard. The first couple of days, the weather was gorgeous, but our last day, it turned quite windy and cloudy. I took these shots right after breakfast, before the skies turned dark. Then, my husband and I drove into 'old San Diego' and explored the shops in the area. In my next post, I will share some of my finds...

What a historical, wonderful, and magical moment Tuesday night was! My husband and I were whooping it up all evening! I LOVE this background, "Change Can Happen". If there are folks out there who doubt how they CAN change the world for the better, what an inspiration Barack Obama is to so many people all over the world. All of us have the power to make this world a better one. No more excuses! One of the most important aspects of this election is that it encouraged people from all walks of life to go out and vote. And for those who have felt alienated and disenfranchised by the political process over the years, their voices were heard, and those voices were loud! Congratulations, President Obama and Vice President, Biden! As Sam Cooke once said, "A change is gonna come."

Today is a very important and historical day. Whatever you party affiliation is, go out and vote if you haven't already done so. No matter what problems our country is facing today or how much I disagree with the politics of our current administration, I will NEVER give up my right to vote! Our country is still a great one for many, many reasons. All of us are very fortunate that we are able to exercise our right to vote in free elections and that we can enjoy freedom of speech.

El dia de los muertos is 1 of my favorite holidays, right behind Valentine's Day. As always, there is NEVER enough hours in a day. I started working on some dia de los muertos artwork, and although I started several coffins over a month ago, I only managed to get 2 of the 6 completed before today. So, the other 4 will be a little late! Anyway, here are 2 of the pieces I did complete. I bought several plain, wooden boxes and made them coffins, then I decorated the top part (the lid) of the coffin. Inside each box is a clay calavera that depicts that person to the t! I bought the calaveras at the Folk Tree, http://www.folktree.com/, then once the coffins were finished, I glued the calaveras into their new homes. Because I haven't finished the other 4 coffins, I won't give it away and say who got the first 2 or who will be getting the others!

Feliz dia de los muertos, the Day of the Dead. On November 2, the Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico. It is the day that we commemorate and celebrate the lives of family members and friends who have died. We celebrate their lives with altars, flowers, their favorite foods, pumpkin seeds, candles, and mementos from their lives. There are several places around town today that are offering wonderful activities for adults and children. Here are 3 of my favorite places to visit on a dia de los muertos:

1. Self-Help Graphics, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles

3802 E. Cesar Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles

2. The Folk Tree, in Pasadena

217 S. Fair Oaks, Pasadena

3. Olvera Street, in downtown Los Angeles

845 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles

Best thing about all 3: the price. All are free! There are wonderful, nearby places to grab a pan dulce and champurrado or cup of coffee, at Olvera Street and Self-Help Graphics, or lunch, at El Mercado, which is on 1st Street, in the center of Boyle Heights. I have been sick all weekend with a stupid cold and I know if I felt 100%, I would be heading to Olvera Street right now.

I spent all day cleaning and sorting all of my art supplies and ephemera. Now that we live in a smaller house, I really feel all the extra stuff we have, particularly what the things in my studio. So, slowly, I am getting rid of anything I don't use. I have made-up 10 collage packs; 5 of the packs have a Latin theme to them. The others are 2 Asian, 1 India, 1 birds, and 1 old-fashioned packs. The packs include collage colored images, decorative papers, stickers, ribbons, found objects, and a rubber stamp that coincides with the theme. These packets are pretty stuffed! I am selling each pack for $45, which includes shipping. If you are interested in purchasing a packet or have any questions, please email me at millan0206@yahoo.com. Thanks.