Tater Tot has his laser beams pointed at you and Farley is pure warmth. Pure amber. These are the boy beasties. I love them.
I’m just in from the studio for a quick snack and a cup of tea. I’m setting diamonds today! It’s kind of terrifying.
The Beast & The Baby Beast
January 7, 2012 by
On Going Home
January 4, 2012 by
The thing is, when you cross the prairies, you can see the cities and large towns sometimes one hundred kilometers before you reach them. They announce their presence by emitting a wide, peach glow into the night sky. There’s nothing to block the light, even when your vehicle rolls across gently undulating plains. The city glow remains, gently beckoning all road weary travelers. When I was young, my family took long trips out to BC and Alberta. The driving distances were eternal. I remember my dad sipping on endless cups of Tim Horton’s coffee while the car played CBC radio late into the night. I remember wishing for the glow of Saskatoon to play on the horizon. Oh how I prayed for the eventual twinkle of that prairie city slowly spreading out across the great plains, sprouting forth out of the night under great green bands of aurora borealis like the wheat, flax and canola spring out of the furrowed earth. I remember my back aching from sitting in the car for so long, my sisters and I drowsy and all chattered out, my fingertips cold from scratching messages and pictures in the frost on the inside of the windows that the car defrost could never quite eliminate.
This time, when crossing Saskatchewan, I found myself feeling all these things again. Our windows in the truck weren’t frosted over and I pressed my forehead against the glass to look out at the sky, star watching and night gawking. We had Tim Horton’s coffee cups in our hands that we had picked up in Swift Current before we turned North onto highway 4. Rosetown came and went. I found myself straining to see that pale city glow spread against the sky, the glow that has always told me that home isn’t far. I found myself looking, in earnest, for the glow of the City of Bridges. When I finally saw Saskatoon pooling against the black of the prairies, I sat back in my seat and let a sense of home wash over my heart and soul.
We crossed the city slowly, I didn’t take the fast route down Circle Drive, but made my way downtown, across 2nd Avenue, past the Bessborough Hotel, and took the scenic route along the riverbank, beneath the elm trees that embrace the road down by the train bridge, around the slow curves that bend with the Mewassin, alongside my prairie river and its poplar laced banks until I found myself in the North end of the city and pulling the truck to a stop in front of my parents’ house.
Christmas was wonderful. Homecoming was sweet. My nephew is the cutest thing ever. My sisters are beautiful and bright. The skating was fine, so fine. The horses breathed white. The owls were gifts.
I’d have loved to stay in Canada for another week but duty called in Idaho so we made our way home. We rolled across Saskatchewan and then Montana. There were owls, eagles, mule deer, antelope, a meeting with a friend in Big Sky, heinous sheet ice through greater West Yellowstone and past the Idaho border and then the sudden emergence onto the upper Snake River Plain. When we coasted into Pocatello, I had that sense of homecoming. Again. And it was good — good to be home and in the arms of the Rockies again.
The Playlist
January 3, 2012 by
Some of you asked me to share the music I included on “Songs for Wintering” — here’s the playlist! Enjoy!
We Have A Winner
January 1, 2012 by
First off, Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful time with friends and family last night while you bid farewell to the old year and welcomed in the new. We spent the night with our dogs in the Yogo Hotel in Lewistown, Montana — somewhere between Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and Pocatello, Idaho. Tres romantique! But I digress. This evening, I mean to inform you of the winner of the 2011 Christmas Tree Contest. It was a close contest, and no wonder, the images were hilarious, sweet, profound, captivating, beautiful and wonderfully unique, as usual. We thank you all, again, for your entries as well as your votes.
Without further delay, the winner of the 2011 Christmas Tree Photo Contest is:
Baby’s First Christmas — Spokane, Washington, USA
Runners up are:
With Their Eyes All A Glow — Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Country Christmas — Winthrop, Washington, USA
Wrapped In Light — Milton, West Virginia, USA (so tender and beautiful…)
Thank you all, once again, for helping to make the Christmas season a beautiful one, as you always do.
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I’ll pop by again tomorrow to regale you with tales from our trip home to the Great White North and I’ll share a handful of spiffy images of snowy owls and an action shot of my sister and I landing side-by-side triple axles whilst ice skating (whattttt?).
I missed you all. I hope you are well.
xx
Christmas Tree Photo Contest 2011
December 21, 2011 by
And so! The fourth annual Christmas Tree Photo Contest begins!
Thank you to everyone who submitted a photograph this year, and in years past. This contest is becoming a truly lovely tradition and it makes our hearts feel merry. This years images are wonderful and we appreciate very much the time you took (and take) to be part of this little community. The photographs come from all over the world and there are some that are sure to make you smile! So, without further delay, here are the contest rules:
1. Only one vote is allowed per person!
2. You may not vote for your own tree photograph, whether it represents an individual or family submission — we feel this goes against the spirit of this little contest. We do not enforce this rule and thank you for being honorable.
3. Have fun and be blessed.
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We’ll be closing this contest on January 1, 2012 and tallying votes as soon as we can — the image that garners the most votes is the image that wins.
This years winner will receive an “I Love Your Soul” zippered and hooded sweatshirt in any preferred size as well as a bountiful Christmas package from Mister Plume and I! Get a load of that coziness!
Have yourself a gorgeous little Christmas with family and friends and thank you, always, for being in my world and making this year special and unforgettable — as you always do.
Love, Jillian
PS A massive and resounding thank you to RW who spent nearly two days in front of a computer preparing this contest for us. Don’t you love that man to smithereens? I do.
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Monkey Tree
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me/two paper cranes in a fig tree -- Canada
Babes and Crackers -- Chicago, IL
A tale of Christmas Trimmings -- Richmond, Virginia
Oh Long Dong Silver -- Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
Ugly Mug, Pretty Tree -- Lawrence, KS
Oh Tannenbaum -- Marienplatz in old Munich, deepest Bavaria...South of Germany
With Their Eyes All A Glow -- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Rolling Rock Tree -- (JEEPERS BOYS! That's a bit of beer!)
Dreaming of a White (First) Christmas -- Westminster, Colorado
Sing It -- Winnipeg, Mb, Canada
The Ballerina's Tree -- Florida
Sweet Pea -- Seattle, WA
My Favorite Tree -- Calexico, CA
Merry Fishmas -- Missoula, MT
Spirit Tree -- San Antonio, Texas
Effervesce -- Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Frosty's Delight -- Wheeling, WV
Oh Lord, please don't let the boy pull the tree over!! -- Virden, Manitoba ,Canada
The Golden Tree's Littlest Fawn -- Ontario, Canada
Tree Hugger -- Pawtucket, RI
Owl Star -- Portland, OR
By The Light of the Fire -- Audubon, PA
The Ten Footer
Buddha And The Tree -- Oakland, FL
Canadian Cabin Christmas -- Gooderham, Ontario, Canada
Magic. Cat. Magnet -- Longmont, Colorado
Ocean Hues Christmas Tree -- Matawan, NJ
First Christmas at the Bachelorette Pad -- Idaho Falls, ID
Pot of Gold Tree -- Villa Park, IL
The Big Branch -- Mallorca, Balearic islands, Catalan Countries
Mistletoe Threshold to the Christmas Tree -- Boston, MA
Dark Green Needled Memories -- Eltham, Victoria, Australia
Light Lead the Way -- Vancouver, BC, Canada
Baby's First Christmas -- Spokane, Washington
Knitting by Treelight -- Vancouver Island, BC
A Welcome Home -- Joliet, IL
Linus -- Charleston, SC
Momma, how about this tree? -- Milwaukee, WI
Country Christmas! -- Winthrop, WA (What a handsome smokejumper!)
Tinker Bell Meets Vicious Rex -- Sutton, AK
Elderly-Lady-went-Berserkers-in-Jewelry-Box -- Nr. Kongerslev, Jutland, Denmark
A Sassy Christmas -- Bloomfield, NY
The Grinch that Stole Christmas With His Trusty "Reindeer" -- Detroit, MI
Fiberlicious
The Helper
Christmas Kindling -- South Wales, UK
Cozy Tree -- Portland, Oregon
All Dressed Up -- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
BC - Because We're Cute -- Bakersfield, CA (LOOK AT OUR DARLING LITTLE NEPHEWS!!! Kisskiss!)
Christmas in the Cube -- Portland, OR
Old Time Christmas -- Webster, NY
Colorado Christmas -- Colorado
Light It Up Pink!
You Can Almost See the Halo -- Longmont, Colorado
Christmas 2011 -- Chilliwack, BC - Canada
Christmas As The Oaks
O Come Let Us Adore Him -- Pittsfield, MA
Parker's Tree, The Remembrance Tree -- Woodstock, Illinois
Weenie and the Wee Man Wish you a Merry Christmas (photo taken by Tyler Wright 8 years old and weenie staging by mom) -- Parker, AZ
Shaloha X-mas -- Oahu, HI
The Key Is Our Light -- Tampa, Florida
Eyes on the Prize -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Wrapped In Light -- Milton, WV
Proof that an Elephant can Hide behind a Christmas Tree -- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada