Advent Day Nine, 2011

Advent Calendar Day Nine, Q. Cassetti 2010The greatest gift you will ever receive will never be found under a Christmas tree. It is far too valuable to be stored in any other place but in the depths of your heart.

Anonymous 

Haven’t been too chatty. Sorry. Just trying to get as much done during the day with work and the holiday fun. My little down time yesterday was committed to driving Alex and also stamping my mountain of holiday cards. Its been slowly winnowing down and I am delighted that Ms. Mandy stops by and is helping me knock the piles of paper down through her culling, opening, sorting and recycling. There is so much hope I have for a clean/ clear approach to the the new year. I would love that for the business and for my peace of mind. I would love a moment of tranquillity before we launch into year 12.

Rob is pedal to the metal. Between presentations, people and parties, we get a little view of him…but he is running. Alex is singing holiday songs at two concerts next week. Sandwiched in between all of that is a “bring your wife” holiday dinner (Mrs. Cassetti, here)— I guess I will have to brush my hair, defurr myself and crawl out from under the bed where I love to hide. I so do not like having to be civilized and pleasant. I prefer to be sullen, unseen and angry—and moving to join the real people is energy incorporated.

Top: Andy Warhol illustrations, Bottom: supergraphics for the Mary Boone Gallery, Art Basel MiamiNow that we are back from our master blaster time in the art world, I am reflecting on all that I saw. There was a complete exhibit/display of Warhol early sketches (shoes, etc). all framed complete with the printer’s marks and registration marks still applied. Those sketches were sooooo sweet, charming and whimsical…showing such sweet heart that made these happy sketches with clear and happy colorways. Floor to ceiling illustration. If there were printer’s marks on these images, I think this means that they were reproduced—and if they were reproduced, this art became illustration…images that sold fashion. And, there were tons of them hung gallery/salon style from the top of the wall to the floor. Chock a block Andy. Plus, behind these images were step and repeat pattern of a tinted line self portrait of Andy Warhol. The exterior of this gallery was a step and repeat pattern of yellow and black (big dot patterns) on a blue-ish purple ground….that screamed ANDY. Other galleries, like the Mary Boone Gallery shown to the left, created solid walls on the outside of their exhibit space, using those walls for word art, or big graphics. The sheer size and commercialism of this exhibitry…almost corporate in the application was very exciting and very inspiring. There was an artist who screenprinted big corrugate panels (with neon ink) with a funky woodgrain pattern that he hung on the wall and built out his picture frames and shelves to make a bigger statement beyond the content in the frame.I need to find a big scale screenprinter….along with large scale paper laser cutter.

Time is speeding by. Later.

Advent Day Seven, 2011

Scherenschnitte for Advent Day Seven, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink“Somehow, not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart’s possessing
Returns to you glad.”

John Greenleaf Whittier, The Joy You Give

Noodling.

Phantom from Friends with You, Miami, FLI went downstairs this morning and found that some furry friend had stolen the turkey breast (cooked and frozen from Thanksgiving) and taken it somewhere. I found the wrappers but the carcass is no where to be seen. Turkey Burgler. You never know where the meat will end up. She hides things like little bags of dried milk behind pillows in the living room or odd groceries in the spare bedrooms. One Christmas she snuggled up with a stick of butter in her black watch plaid fleece dog bed (complete and never even nibbled). No, the bird was not in the standard places. No wonder Shady was so blissfully happy and a tad thirsty this morning when she greeted me. She has more bounce in her step than the double pork roast fest she had earlier in her life with us. She has been slinking around in her guilt…but its pretty funny despite it all. The cats are oblivious but they could be party to these antics once Shady does the big deed of the grab. We will all need to keep our eyes peeled for the bones. I guess we are not having leftovers for dinner.

The inflatable above is part of an adorable installation by Friends With You. Friends With You had a sweet little space covered in polka dots on a white ground, with a big white inflatable, snowman type creature. Alex noticed someone coming out of a hidden door which we went through to see more art, things to buy, and the corporate offices of the Miami Friends With You (complete with their terrific collections of toys and collectables). Check out their work and ideas. They are a bright team with a lot of good ideas and even better methodologies to bring attention to their work, fuse art with commerce and license. Smart and sweet.

Detail Aleoop.com Decorated Mini Coopers, Art Miami, Q. Cassetti, 12/03/2011Miami seems to be a great incubator for the fusion of art and advertising. Remember the slew of decorated Mini Coopers in front of Art Miami? What about the decorated trucks promoting Coconut Water (big deal down there) and handing out samples to all that strolled by? There were the girls in pink wigs and matching clothes promoting having your hair blown out “a catwalk quality blowout” with pink buttons and a funny tagline. There were trucks filled with real coconuts to promote some other coconut flavored products. Where art melds with commerce is where interesting things happen. We are not talking the zone Warhol lives in…where art imitates brand…it is more that the brand becomes art. Curious.

Krampusnacht is tonight!

Krampus, Q. Cassetti, 2010, pen and inkKrampus is the dark companion of St. Nicholas, the traditional European winter gift-bringer who rewards good children each year on December 6. The kindly old Saint leaves the task of punishing bad children to a hell-bound counterpart known by many names across the continent — Knecht Ruprecht, Certa, Perchten, Black Peter, Schmutzli, Pelznickel, Klaubauf, and Krampus. Usually seen as a classic devil with horns, cloven hooves and monstrous tongue, but can also be spotted as a sinister gentleman dressed in black or a hairy man-beast. Krampus punishes the naughty children, swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them in baskets to a fiery place below.

KRAMPUSNACHT (NIGHT OF KRAMPUS)

 Krampus is celebrated on Krampusnacht, which takes place on the eve of St. Nicholas’ Day. In Austria, Northern Italy and other parts of Europe, party-goers masquerade as devils, wild-men, and witches to participate in Krampuslauf (Krampus Run). Intoxicated and bearing torches, costumed devils caper and carouse through the streets terrifying child and adult alike. Krampusnacht is increasingly being celebrated in other parts of Europe such as Finland and France, as well as in many American cities.

More on Krampus:

Krampus.com

Wiki on Krampus

Krampus illustrations on old postcards

 

 

Advent Day Five

 

Scherinschnitte 8, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink“Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent’s intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope. The purpose of the Church’s year is continually to rehearse her great history of memories, to awaken the heart’s memory so that it can discern the star of hope.…

It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.”

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Seek That Which Is Above,1986

 

happy chat

We had a full day of artfairs yesterday. We started the show with going up to the Deauviille to see the period interiors and spaces. The Deauville was the hotel the Beatles stayed in during their visit to Miami--and it was fun to go see it with Alex. The wind was high so we went outside onto the beach to hear the rattling palm trees and see the brilliant choppy sea. Then, back in the car to park down on South Beach to experience Aqua, a smaller and one of my more favorite venues. Aqua is a traditional Miami hotel that has been emptied of all the furniture, and each little room becomes a gallery so you can go from room to room seeing work from all over the states from the up and comers that are carried in these smaller venues. There is always something tremendous to see, with this time being no exception. First off, there is a gallery that was specializing in these stunningly large and lush photos of real dolls with quotes from owners of these creatures. Poignant and sad. Another gallery had around a hundred teensy little decorated cakes to complement these hazy gorgeous paintings of teacups and teapots. There was an artist who copied old portraits and then superimposed appropriate text messages to complement the feeling of the painting or the expression on the subject's face. OMG and all that. GLORIOUS.

We then took the shuttle up to the Miami Convention Center to take in Art Basel and Design Miami. It was a kid in the candy shop with Alex. He looooooved it all. No one was sleeping. Lots of picture taking and inquisitiveness. We were beyond delighted with his joy of learning and discovey during this short time we have together. High points were: the woven leather furniture model led on historic forms at Fendi,all sets of cool uses of laser cutting, more sequins and glitter, weird and scary uses of hair, lots of collage, lots of type, machine sewing, portraits sewn on a sewing machines. Surprisingly, the big work, the museum level masters were not in abundance this year. Newer, fresher work and also more affordable work packed the halls. Not a lot of political work-- mainly pretty stuff.

Perrier had Shepard Fairey create an image to promote their water that they splashed on water coolers and pillows they placed in resting spots for the tired show goers who gulped down cold Perrier to their delight. Miami opened a mural gallery to showcase muralists, graffiti artists and branded superstars like Fairey. Plus there were openings, video showings and live music everywhere. Alex and I stopped by the Dior boutique where they were promoting a new collection of handbags with neon stitching-- so they were promoting the color, a pattern like a camo with trays of champagne, free neon manicures, a 44 monitor show, and ambient music with a beautiful DJ. They had a food truck covered in the camo style pattern handing out teensie little croissants and coffee. It was really fun.

quick update.

It was a big day at the satellite fairs yesterday.Art Miami, Red Dot, Design Miami and Pulse shows. We started at Art Miami which was the best of the day. Here we were, strolling galleries in this enormous tent covering over a city block with extraordinary work from all over the world in an area 2 years ago was a bombed out section of town. Now, it is populated with cool new apartments, restaurants, shops and my new favorite type of Miami store, the blow shops. What is a blow shop? It's a place one goes to get your hair blown out and styled. The one opening by Art Miami extolled their services by claiming " you can't blo yourself". Catchy? Right?

There were a ton of mini coopers parked in front of Art Miami and Red Dot promoting allioop.com. Each mini was totally wrapped in a graphic skin featuring different artists. Wonderful-- along with a ton of performers sandwiched in between the cars doing their respective thing from singing to dancing to circus tricks. And all of this before we got to the art.

Highlights and trends: kinetic art, digital art inspired by art, game design inspired digital art, huge über realistic portraits, huge all sequinned canvases, work inspired by European court decorative art. My mind is reeling. Alex loved it all and we both shot zillions of pictures of all the things we loved and were inspired by. Talk about two totally different collections!

Palm city

After two quick hours on the plane, Alex and I met Rob in the baggage claim at Ft. Lauderdale. We were thrilled to see him and be in the land of palm trees, soft air and crashing surf. We zipped into Miami proper and had a great dinner at one of our favorites, Garcias. We were seated immediately and soon had a yellowtail fish (complete), crisp and delicious in front of us for dinner. Three cats licking their chops, and every tiny bone each yellowfish provided. Sublime (along with he bowls of limes and the beautiful gratis whitefish salad that is a treat.

Then Rob took us on a little situational drive--seeing the New World Center for The New World Symphony designed by Frank Gehry--a modest and thoughtful structure with lilttle Gerhy twists and details to adore. The best was the entry with a perfect little park designed for people to sit and gather and view the same show inside on an enormous projection screen on the facade of the building. Take note, enormous projections are everywhere here...and fine resolution with spaces to accomodate gatherings. EVERYWHERE. He then took us to see the coolest parking garage in the entire universe. Hertzog and De Meuron's club cum parking garage illluminates the night with an open structure that accomodates cars, the owner's penthouse and a "red velvet rope" exclusivity that communicates cuspy, cool and the place to be. I will post a link as soon as I can. Alex couldn't handle it and was excitedly noticing all that grabbed him about these buildings-- what a charge for all of us. We will be retuning in daylight.

We drove by the hip new Standard Hotel on the Venetian causeway and the W to see that yes, the world of the Kardashians exists--down to the shiny black Escalades that are commonly used as taxi cabs. The gorgeous people were out last night...walking in the most extrodinarily high heels--tight jeans and copious amounts of botox and lip work. Younger women with the same faces and long hair with much older, semi hostile looking older men who have had work too. Funny how they all look the same. Frightening.

We got to our cute little hotel, Circa 39, and put our bags down. Then, out to see the block and put our feet in the warm ocean a block away and admire the stars, manmade and those beyond.

En Route

We left early this morning, arriving at 5 am at the airport to find out that we could not board without Alex having a picture ID. So, we were rescheduled for a bit later today. We went home, got the ID, drank some coffee and tried one more time. Two, in this case, was the charm. Let's not underplay the state of confusion Shady found herself in.

Alex and I chatted it up, played some scrabble and then found ourselves in the ever changing Philadelphia airport for lunch. Lots of laughs over my absolutely favorite airline publication, "Sky Mall"--and the stuff like the pooch pad, the wristband holder for cell phones, and the pedicure padded sandals in panther print. A mother and son icebreaker. More chatting over iced teas and yummy food and now Alex is power charging his notebook while gabbing on the phone to confirm the boy on the go he poses. We visited the Bose store to admire the technology that we would adore for Christmas from the superfine headphones to the most excellent wifi radio.

We both eavesdropped over our neighbor to the back, a man with "the pipeline" who had lived in Scranton, in Bingamton, Elmira, and Corning. A fracker. We both felt sorry for the guy who was pouring out his heart to his seatmate-- wife and baby in Houston,no jobs in Houston, and the last time he was home (April) and wife visiting in September. But, he is not welcome here to take our gas, destroy our landscape, pollute our water and leave the area raped, destroyed and dead without our approval or invitation. And did I mention, take jobs away from NY State. He was going home, with his paycheck to Texas. I wish he would stay.

Oy.

Scrabbling

Detail from fabric designed by William MorrisWow. Closing down on the list. Finishing up a 20 pp. book with custom graphics and a search for imagery. Tons of type styling (closing up line spaces, smaller capital letters, tabs and whatnot). Finally am riding this horse…and though she is bucking a bit, I am staying on.

I am back moving my pen on watercolor paper (divine!) getting ready for the Advent season of a picture a day. Maybe holidaypictures, maybe seasonal pictures. The only thing I know is that the pictures will be ink on watercolor paper. Great! I have a few loaded to pop up on the web while we are away so I can start in style and not have to catch up with myself. Let me know what you think. The Swiss Scherenschnitte is strong in this mix.

Will need to pack tonight. Phone and ipad are charged. Cameras are charged. Memory sticks are emptied.  Am on a very very early flight tomorrow am. to connect in Philadelphia to go to Miami and points south. Big question is to check or not to check our luggage. I am thinking gate checking…but it depends on what Alex wants to do. Once we decide that, then we can print our tickets this evening. Art Basel Miami will be in full swing with Rob doing the business things today and yesterday—so tomorrow we can see art, see shows, see the crowds, learn something new. I am feeling so stale that this will be a balm (or at least I hope).

Then we can launch into the two weeks of holidays with pickups, parties, birthdays, people and projects. Yikes. Hang on. December 26th is my favorite day of the year. Am looking forward to the peace (and naps?). Wow.

Advent Day Four, 2011

Scherenschnitte, Advent Day Four 2011, Q. Cassetti, pen and ink, colored in Adobe Photoshop CS5“We thank you for this place in which we dwell,
for the love that unites us, 
for the peace accorded us this day,
for the hope with which we expect the morrow,
for the work, the health, the food
and bright skies which make our lives delightful for our friends in all parts of the earth.”


Robert Louis Stevenson
from A Christmas Prayer 

Advent Calendar Day Three, 2011

Scherenschnitte 4, Advent Day Three, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink on watercolor paper“Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not the expensive gifts that call for time and money. We can communicate this joy simply: with a smile, a kind gesture, a little help, forgiveness. And the joy we give will certainly come back to us.…Let us pray that this presence of the liberating joy of God shines forth in our lives.”


Pope Benedict XVI (12/2005)

Advent Day Two, 2011

Scherenschnitte 3, Advent Day Two, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink on watercolor paper “Advent is the perfect time to clear and prepare the Way. Advent is a winter training camp for those who desire peace. By reflection and prayer, by reading and meditation, we can make our hearts a place where a blessing of peace would desire to abide and where the birth of the Prince of Peace might take place.”


Edward Hays
A Pilgrim’s Almanac

Spinning Plates.

Scherenschnitte 3, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkWild wrapping and drawing. All the plates are spinning. And, just as things start whomping up, my computer decides to go finicky in the email department. Jeez.

There are pubs to be corrected. Pubs to be laid out. I love the work these days—because production methods drive the design. So many publications I am working on these days are output to pdf or even (god forbid) word docs that are sent to individuals to output to their little pokey desk printers. Will our local offset printers become rarer and rarer with this type of work just being printed locally—and the idea of bleeds and delicate tints thrown out the window with the blunt tool of the cheap desk printer. Will excellent printing go the way of jobbing out typesetting (with all the kerning and proofing that the old typesetters used to do)? Is the graphic designer now just going to be the technology arbetor?

As you can see, I am bitten by the land of scherenschnitte…only my ink version of it. There are many miles in these pix, and they will evolve as my advent project in black and white—with maybe a half dozen of them in color. I like taking this up again as the images are a bit better designed…and I can bring animals and flora into the images to make it more mine. However, I love these Swiss trees, and want to imprint it on my brain and hand. Squirrels, raccoons, bear and deer. Leaping cats and daffodils. The little Swiss cottages need to change to Greek Revival farm houses with fences and chimneys. Someone commented on the Home Sweet Home images wanted to know why the windows were light versus dark… worth looking into. Maybe some musical instruments too?

I got 4 boxes out yesterday with another 3 filled, wrapped and addressed (ready to go). I dawdled with this stuff until around nine last night. I only need brown paper to get the other significant things out. And then, cards…and chez Camp presents. Need to get going. December is two and a half quick weeks. Yikes.

Cyber Monday with my Etsy stuff (we knocked 25% off everything) yielded someone buying a stack of tattoos. Jeez. I did mine with Etsy (something for Kitty and something for a resident of Camp Camp this summer). The dachshund card, however, is blowing out this year. We are selling multiple packs of cards at a clip. Also, big Cyber news, Fat quarters on Spoonflower is a great price (twofers) this week. Could be cool if I had a minute to spare. I want to make some Qillos pillows.

Ready....Go!

Scherenschnitte 2, Q. Cassetti. 2011. pen and inkRob got up and out very very early. He is off to points south with new trousers and a presentation in hand. I know he is going to do a great job and the world at Musecon will love him. He looked very de rigeur in the new duds. I hope he has some fun!

I am getting some packages out today. A few more tomorrow. Would love to have the bulk out before we split this week. So as we rush into December (which is already gone to my thinking)—I can take a bit of heat off my back.  Holiday cards may need a bit more time. My list is needing a bit of refinement. I  need to think about what I need to wear to a fancier holiday dinner (as the Missus)—that I have been requested to attend. Oy. Hate that. I need to keep in mind that R’s rule of look for me is to remember I am an artist—and there is a different set of requirement for we artists…. but oy.

There is a landslide of project work needing attention. It is that time of the year. Right? End of budgets, end of time to get the promised work done to make the hoped for bonuses. We are the bonus making machine. Time to dive deep…and see what we can do to move things ahead.

American Illustration (AI AP) Show and Spectrum has just sent out a notice as a call for entries. I guess I didn’t get anything into the Society of Illustrators (NY) this year. Still waiting for Society of Illustrators (LA), and Creative Quarterly. I am hopeful…but you never know what hits. I have been beyond blessed in projects and promotion this year, so I should reflect on all the wonders from 2011. I have been so lucky. The shows do not drive me to draw, but the pleasure does. If I can get recognition for moving my pen, so be it. If not, it shouldnt slow my in the least bit.

New week on the horizon

scherenschnitte1. Q. Cassetti, pen and ink, 2011Old week coming to a close. Since we spoke last, I have cooked up a storm, visited with people, shopped in Corning and in Waterloo, searched for shoes, and tried to sleep in between. We have had visitors from both sides of the family and lots of wonderful time with our dear girl and darling boy.

So the cooking started late Wednesday afternoon in prep for Kitty’s arrival. It was dinner and a few little things. She arrived around ten at the bus station—so Rob and I went to get her. She came home and ate a phenomenal amount of food…talking and chatting, laughing and opinionizing. Delightful. But it got late and we all had to put our heads down. Alex had friends over, so they listened to music and watched movies (which they always do).

Thursday, it was up and early. We had a dinner to put on the table, “wheels up” by 4. Everything was defrosted. The brined breasts washed, the salad compiled, the maple walnut layer cake iced and decorated. Table was set. Placecards made and placed. All went without a hitch. New refinements to this year’s even were: 1) preheat the premade gravy in advance. Use the hand/emersion blender to froth up before serving. You can add a bit more parsley at that time to freshen things up; 2) Second type of cranberry. I make the raw orange/cranberry/bit of sugar in the food processer so its chunky kind. This year I mulled some cider (about 3 c. cider, 1 seeded orange cut in  half (put 4 cloves in each half (skin side), squeeze the juice into the cider, 2 cinnamon sticks…and boil.) then, I put 2 bags of fresh cranberries into the cider (you can sweeten/ I didnt) and let them pop… What with the pectin in the fruit, it makes a lovely change and alternative to the raw stuff); and 3) prior to the early gravy making with the early stock making (turkey legs and wings from t he cheap parts section of the turkey aisle at the store)—make a TON as you do use it). Stock is key to Thanksgiving. I should have put a number at each placesetting to force people to change partners at dessert…and need to remember this for the next festa. Only downside to the party was that a family member was out of line with his behavior which soured the event for me. Better planning in the future to manage this behavior is needed. Nice thing is that this misbehavior is consistent. It was silly me to expect better. Next time.

I fully engaged the boneyard moments after the Thanksgiving festivities were winding down. The full carcass of the 19 lb. organic, natural, loved turkey, and Mr. Purdue’s fresh natural breast were boiled away after roasting to yield me three enormous containers of stock for the next Turkey fest after the 25th of December. Plans are in place to have a family party of kids and their friends for more of the same…We will see.

Eddys and Cassettis, November 25, 2011Friday, my brother Tom, his wife, Jenny and three wonderful kids came to visit on the way home to Boston. It was great to see them, albeit a bit short as we were just beginning to get warmed up.  They arrived in an enormous truck, something Hagrid from Harry Potter might have driven, the “Raptor” with my nephew who has grown to way over 6’ tall and the girls lovely and chatty. I loved seeing them. What a treat. So we had pizza and gabbed and laughed. I said wicked things to prompt them to join in, but they were so well bred, they snickered but didnt take the bait the way team Cassetti always does. The day was gorgeous…vernal with green grass, bright orange sunlight and a blue sky. It was November in SoCal, not Central New York. But we will take these blessings as they come…hoarding them as jewels. Rob and I did a quick strategic strike at the Black Friday Corning Museum of Glass sale. It was remarkable by 3 p.m. how much merchandise had been cleared out of the museum and the big auditorium with the big ticket items. I bought some drinking glasses, some glass jewelry and a few presents to add to mypile….for a great price. The big things they had were a huge selection of Waterford drinking glasses, example of Iittala Toikka Birdstumblers, wine and water glasses, a huge selection of Riedel glasses, and a huge selection of the Iittala Toikka Birds at very good prices. Everything was 20% off across the board with deeper savings throughout the boutiques. It was amazing…and hopefully it will all bode well for the Museum of Glass financially. High class stuff for good prices is hard to beat and next weekend is the fabulous Studio Sale which I recommend anyone in the area to make a visit for. Well worth the trip. We will not be here, so listen…and you will hear my teeth gnashing from down south! Go and hit the dollar table…the interesting experimental drinking glasses will make your morning orange juice something to celebrate or at least, notice. Latticino spun plates and bowls, some lovely cast glass….and so on. Too fun. All one offs.

We bought new dancing shoes for Kitty and a plaid shirt for Alex at TJMaxx to their delight. Kitty was giddy with her new shoes…for contradancing and the costume shop (her new reference points). Alex, as usual, was “hitting it” and working on the new look for Fall Winter Alexstyle. We are going to take some pix for fun and put in an application for Ford Models for  A. He wants to do it, and I can take the shots…why not? The worst thing would be that nothing would happen. No change from today, right? And in the tradition of our house, you should try and try and try. You never know.

Today, we went to the Waterloo outlets to get pants for Rob. This week is Art Basel Miami and Design Miami. Rob will be speaking at Musecon on Tuesday and doing some business/ meetings this week until  A. and I show up on Thursday and Friday to take in some art and happenings. So we needed to get some things so that Rob could look like the grown up he is. Costuming is complete. Now for the packing for him (Florida and Manhattan, from swimwear to formal wear…sounds almost Miss America-sh). He has lots of work in front of him, but if things happen postively, 2012 will be far more interesting (and diverse/complicated).

The sky is paynes gray grading to cream to light pink to paynes grey again. We have had some spectacular sunrises and sunsets in the past few SoCal days. It would be great for things to quiet down a bit so I can put some ink down and then settle in for an hour or so of Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie (who I have loved from his other biographies, particularly that of Nicholas and Alexandra). But just time with my pens would be lovely.

I hope you gave thanks with friends and family…surrounded by the people that get you revved up and going. I love this holiday of gratitude. We should have more of them. The count the blessings holidays. I am thankful we just have the one we have…but a monthly one would be great too. There will be lots to talk about in the next week. Stay tuned!