Your tax dollars at work

Work up at 5ish on Monday morning to the sound of multiple transformers blowing. Oddly enough I didn't actually hear the tree fall. I guess all of the power and phone lines must have broken the big tree's fall. This looks like a quiet residential street but let me assure you there were a LOT of cranky commuters on Monday when they couldn't drive too fast across their favorite cut through street! Lots of muttering, cursing and detouring to get to work! Many thanks to Debby & Howard who provided auxiliary power to the assorted laptops and cel phones on the street. Kudos to Dominion power who had the tree cleared and three to power poles installed and switched back on by 9pm that night. They were working steady through all of the onlookers distracting entreaties. We all gave a "hip, hip, hooray" to celebrate the fact we had heat (and refrigeration!) for the night...

Life is disjointed. And so at the moment is my latest project! My latest art doll's inspiration piece was a beautifully embroidered appliqued fingertip towel that seemed better suited as a fancy bodice than to hang unused (because it is far to pretty to actually use) in some one's bathroom. Stay tuned to see how she progresses.

It takes time.

My sister Robin (known to all far & wide as the left side of my brain) gave me a Amaryllis on Christmas Day. I think hers is about to bloom but as you see mine is poking along. It will get there, eventually. I get impatient and then I think of the fact that I have daffodils in my yard into April, tulips until May or June and azaleas until summer. I guess there are some advantages to living on the shady side of the street but I don't always see them when I am impatient for thing (plants, flowers, events) to happen.

I guess it's like my innate disability to do almost anything physically right the first time. I took tennis lessons one time and my teacher told me delicately that I had "poor muscle memory" meaning it took a looooooooooonnnnnngggggg time for my body to "remember" how to do something "correctly" (in this case, poor man, swing a racket). It's hard for me to try new things because it takes SO much effort, especially when I am comparing myself to others. I need to remember even the things I AM good at now it took me a long time when I first started to get up to speed. Why is this a topic of thought this am? Maybe when my phone got stolen I just bought a new version of the same one I had before. Maybe because I got a new laptop and and all I have done in 4 days is take it out of the box and look at it because I don't want to be tortured by new technology. I seem to forget that it will save me time in the long run if I learn how to do it right in the short run. I can hear my mom's voice saying that in my head. Of course she was talking about scrubbing the bathtub (do kids even have chores anymore?). Of course I am lucky, I can call Mom and get more advice whenever I want. In the last week my friends Janet, Beth & Jodi all lost their fathers. Time to remember what they taught us. All my regards-

It's not unusual (well, maybe a little).

So our (young) friend Mark is turning 40 and decides to throw himself a costume party. The theme was come as your favorite rock star. The birthday boy dressed up as Tom Jones, complete with chest hair, swivel hips and various under garment purportedly thrown at him. Not surprisingly my husband Bob was Elvis.

That's me on the left dressed like Kate Pierson from the B52's. Now if only I could sing like Kate I'd be all set!

My weekend was capped off by taking a truck load of girl scouts down to the Lazy Susan Dinner Theater in Wood bridge. We had a blast critiquing the time warp 60's decor but the production (of Agatha Christie's Spider Web) was first rate. The leading lady in particular was superb! How was YOUR weekend?

A New Year, A New Day

Some people might have started their New Year's Resolutions on January 1st but to me the year started today, yes, kiddies "Back to School Monday"! Of course I was going to write some pithy comments this morning but I was too busy trying to find a lost pack of invoices that slipped between a box and a bag. Argh. That is six hours I will never get back! There was much rejoicing when the book was found but my luck didn't hold for long. One of my aforementioned beautiful children neglected to lock my vehicle when we went into an eye doctor appointment and when I came out my mobile phone was gone. Argh! Trying to be zen about it but if I only have your mobile number don't expect to ever hear from me again as all of my numbers are gone. Yeah, yeah I know there are back-up systems, yeah, yeah I only learned how to actually program numbers INTO my phone three years ago. Yes, my name is Theresa and I am technically challenged.

One thing I am actually NOT challenged about it making chili. With Bob being the former chef AND him thoroughly enjoying cooking in what I call "showtime situations" (translation: any time people stand around and ooh & aah) I usually leave it to him! But on New Year's Day AKA January's FIRSTfriday in store Stifel & Capra celebration we decided to be open during the day and serve carb & proteins heavy food to wash down the prior evening's festivities. Turkey & turkey sausage 5 bean with water chestnuts chili for me, the infamous pulled pork BBQ multi bean spicy combo for Bob. As Bob makes some of the best pulled pork on the East Coast I figured his would be the ringer but I held my own or was maybe a little ahead in the voting by the end of the afternoon!

Looking back at the photos in this post I see a lot the beauty of nature, that love o' mine and the chopped up mess that is life!
The lovely sunset shot was taken on the way home from one of the most inspirational memorial services I have ever attended. My former roommate Peter lost his brother to an unexpected heart attack the week before Christmas. Doug was only 46, in good health and left behind a wife, three kids and a huge loving family. As a Christian I have been told that one should live their life like there is no tomorrow, that you need to be ready for and have faith in the big plan. My continued prayers for healing go out to the Moog clan and I've added living so someone misses me when I am gone to my resolutions for 2010.

Merry Christmas!

If I were actually IN Virginia I could post lovely shots of our foot plus and stillcoming snow fall. But instead I am in Connecticut hanging out waiting for the festivities to begin. 50 year anniversary of the Stifel family reunion. My only concern is getting home now.

I haven't been posting for various reasons. The store has been busy,yes. Getting ready for the holidays myself,yes. But more important things have been happening. Birth of a beautiful(early) baby across the way. Mom& son are doing fine. Illness and sicknesses. Unexpected loss of a dear friend's brother. Kind of puts things in perspective, yes?

Say thanks for all of the blessings in your life. Good friends, a roof over your head, food in your belly and family to care. Be well. Merry Christmas.

5 minutes to say come to FIRSTfriday!

FirstFriday IS tonight and we have lots cooking (see details at right). I have been busy executing comissions like this handsome hound and I actually even tried something new. I turned this pile o' supplies into sparkly snowmen. I feel so crafty! Come see them in person tonight from 5 to 8pm, raise a snowy toast and work on your list!

Slacker Blogger returns to report on Falls Church Arts at the Market!

"Disclipline" is from the slacker: to dis, as in "not quite get around to", even though "you know it is important "and your friends and family tell you to "get on it". Well, I am back reporting with lots of info because I have missed so much in the past couple of weeks...

Barb Cram, wonder woman of Falls Church City, got the blessing for Falls Church arts to take space in the highly regarded Falls Church Farmer's Market. The Market features artisan dairy and meat products along with produce so I think our one of a kind artisans fit right in! Out inaugral Saturday was this last weekend and it was not the prettiest day to begin the season. But the mist and drizzle did not deter out stawalt crew of Cathy Summers (and her lovely daughter), Beth Loftis and Angela Williams from presenting and educating the market crowd of just a small sampling of what Falls Church Arts has to offer.

The crowd was very receptive, everyone made their booth fee and we are looking forward to seeing you next Saturday if you are at the Market. The Falls Church Farmer's Market is just 2 blocks from Stifel & Capra up Little Falls Street on the City Hall Grounds and runs from 8am to noon.

There's another one next Thursday!

Deborah Conn's Watercolor Monotype class is in full swing this fall! The ladies had a GREAT time last evening experimenting with the different pencils, crayons, paints and collage materials that produce different effects every time that the plates get cranked through Debby's printing press.

We have set up the class as a self contained workshop as with today's busy schedule's we find it hard for most people to commit to a series of classes. Yes, believe it or not after 21/2 hours you actually leave with multiple pieces of art. Pretty exciting! Want to join the fun? Debby is hosting another class this coming Thursday, November 5th at 7pm. The workshop is $60. Email me at Theresa@StifelAndCapra.com to register.

Happy 90th birthday Uncle Gene!

You know you love someone when you are willing to take ten hours to drive 360 miles. I have just mentally recovered from the ordeal of northbound 95 to get to Uncle Gene's 90th birthday party in suburban Connecticut! In hindsight it was worth it because the storm we drove up in passed through faster than predicted so it didn't rain on our back yard picnic and proverbial parade. My friend Ted wasn't so lucky this past weekend. His birthday oyster roast started at three and I think that was when the rain was the heaviest. Bleh. But you know rain is not going to deter birthday revelers so it didn't hurt anyone's spirits. (at least not the folks that wore good sturdy shoes!

I am feeling good about how the shop looks right now. Went through and did a BIG "put things on sale, rearrange the furniture, and put out tons of new merchandise" all the while trying to clear the decks a bit so we can start thinking about holiday merchandise. Frighteningly enough it IS that time of year. My first year in business I didn't put Christmas items out until after Thanksgiving and if one more person said to me " Oh I wished I had seen that a month ago I would have bought it..." So this year I am feeling frisky and we will have extended shopping hours starting November 1st. So if you are around town, pop in. You can amuse yourself watching me wrestle little white lights....

Mary Ann Graham - Santas and more!

I am so excited! One of my favorite crafters from the guild I belong to http://www.nvhg.org/ MaryAnn Graham is doing a one day craft show at the shop TOMORROW Saturday the 16th. Of course that said, she is almost finished setting up right now! So sneak on over on your lunch hour and this all of the beautiful things Mary Ann makes. She does original papermache and painting ornaments as well as lovely glass ornaments. The glass ones (no pic yet) are quite unique. Mary ann hand marbleizes paper and then cuts it into tiny mosaic pieces which she then hand applies to the glass orbs, hard to describe but beautiful to see! So please do!

the case of the two Nancys

Ever searched for your name on the Internet and realized that you are not he only person on the planet with your name? Such was the case when Nancy Carter first approached me about representing her at Stifel & Capra. We had a nice chat, then I went to what I thought was her web site and was confused because she lived in a far away state and I only have local folks in the shop. Why was I thinking this was an option? Well, to make a long story short, turns out that there are at least TWO artistic Nancy Carters in the country. They are both talented but "my" Nancy paints scened of where-I-will-be-if-I-hit-the-lottery. You guessed it, the beach! Nancy works in pastel and this pic does NOT do her works justice, take a close look next time you are in.
We are on a roll in the kitschy mid century ceramic department these days! All kinds of fun things. I mean after all, who doesn't need lop-eared bunny salt & pepper shakers?

Quite the Event!

October's FIRSTfriday was perennial favorite Ann Carney's initiation into the chaos that is FIRSTfriday of Falls Church. Of course it was spiced up by the second annual it's "almost Halloween so we have to do something" wearing of the hats. We let Ann get away with an elegant felt & satin number while Betsy (my favorite treasure hunter) and I went a little more untraditional route... Thank you to everybody who came out to meet Ann. I think she felt a bit like a rock star with her Falls Church fans coming in just to see her!

Speaking both of jewelry AND Halloween, Joan Fedora brought in absolutely hysterical seasonal jewelry. She even made me a pair of blue faced witch earrings!

Thank you also for those that have been wondering where the heck I have been because of the lack of blog entries over the last two weeks. I have been suffering from complications from a long ago neck injury. The short version of the story is if I hold my arms a certain way they go numb. What way is that? The position where one would be driving, sewing, writing, typing...

I tried to cut back where I could but it seemed like everything just suffered and a whole lot just didn't get done. Sounds like a clue that I am supposed to be taking better care of myself. Can you relate?

So step one, slow down and watch the ergonomics, two, I guess it is back to therapy and three it's time to return to yoga. The tragedy is all of my repetitive motion issues are completely related to my creative process. Why couldn't cleaning house cause me pain? I'd be happy to outsource that one!

What's wrong with these pictures?

All these things shouldn't work, but somehow they do! Our neighhbor Julie brought us the most awesome arrangement of homegrown dahlias and (YUM!) Swiss Chard after I told her how much my hubby Bob loved chard.

Smoking 126 pounds of pork and 10 pounds of chicken in the pouring down rain shouldn't work either but somehow monsoons make for tender pork BBQ!

A one legged guy lighting fireworks? That shouldn't be either but I have given up trying to stop Bob. His doctor did tell hime to resume his "usual activities" but I think he meant exercising though....