And the winner is...

[timing disclaimer]
Well my friends, today my internet provider and I have heartily disagreed on what constitutes "high speed internet."  Apparently Mr. Internet is still on winter holiday, and doing business only via his smart phone between pinã coladas on a beach somewhere that is most certainly NOT in my house.  So here it is, high time for dinner (tamale pie to ward off the December chill) and I finally have a little video to share...

*****
I honestly think this has been the richest giveaway contest in the history of UmberDove: reading through all the celebrations your lives has upped the anti on the incredible sense of community I feel in the bloggy world.  It has given me cause to remember joys I'd not consciously celebrated and revel in the shared experienced we have (and by "we" I really do mean me and YOU).  I've had a perma-grin settled on my cheeks every time I've opened my laptop.

I'd like to host a giant tea/booze party and invite you all over for fresh guacamole, persimmon cookies, and oreo truffles just so I could sit and hear the stories pouring from your lips.

I loved it.

Really LOVED it.

So without further ado, here we have the winner-winner...

In case you have not watched the bit of silliness above, the absolute random winner of the Dwell Stone Giveaway is...

NANCY*MCKAY

Nancy, my friend, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-hooo!  I'll have this beauty fluttering cross country right to your door step!
And to everyone else who commented, thank you from the upper right chamber of my beating heart for sharing with me!

*****
All that said,
I'm back to my own winter holiday and way too many pieces of toffee!  I've family in town through the weekend so I'll be largely off the interwebs and enjoying their company until next week soooooooo...

See you then and
HAPPY 2011!

A quick extension of the GIVEAWAY!

Good Tuesday to you Post-Holiday Birds!

A very quick note to say I've had to postpone the official declaration of a winner in the CELEBRATION GIVEAWAY until tomorrow, Wednesday December 29th.  That said, if you've not left a comment entering yourself and sharing what you're celebrating, then hustle those little mousey-pointer-fingers down the computer screen and leave me a comment (as I'm extending the deadline until midnight tonight)!

Alrighty?

Supah Tighty.

- Umber -

A Date for an Update

Dwelling Stone No. 1
(reserved)

Dwelling Stone No. 2
(reserved)

Rudy Russet Feather Sea Stone
(reserved)

Stone Whitetail Antlers
(reserved)

These next two are part of my "The Physicality of Words" Series, taken very directly from one of my best loved phrases, a phrase I continually cling to, a phrase I wear like a mantra, a phrase for which there is no tidy English translation from the original Vietnamese (so please forgive my bumbling explaination). 

Buong Xa Di

"Exhale the negativity within you, which hinders the Spirit, in order to make room for creative growth"

(I love you Ti)

Now honestly, have you ever heard such a beautiful, hopeful phrase in all your years?  One of these days I plan to wear it low along my left arm, to be reminded with every movement of every brush, every flick of the wrist to exhale.

Exhale Stone No. 1
(reserved)

Exhale Stone No. 2

These pieces and a few others will be winding their way into the Shop-a-roo tomorrow morning, Monday December 20th, around 11:00 PST.  Each of these sea stones are available as Reserves, if one belongs to you, just drop me an Etsy convo right here.  

In other news, I had a delicious date with my BC last night, part of our own celebration for the end of chemotherapy.  I swilled a gin martini with a lime twist and got tipsy under the twinkling Christmas lights of 153 year old building with my man.  

Woke up this morning, felt fabulous.

How was your weekend?

GIVEAWAY of Celebrations and thoughts on Dwelling

Well first things first.

I'm here, in my local laundry mat (which I love, I should mention) and apparently, Saturday night is Abba Night.  It rocks my socks (every last pair) and makes me want to pop a huge bowl of popcorn and watch Mama Mia for the bazillionth time.

Ok, now more Important things second.

You know that giveaway I keep mentioning, dangling from the pitch of my long limbs like a tasty treat?  LET'S DO IT NOW!

This stone, which is no small token - over six inches in length, is for you.  

She is dear to me.

I'll just say that for starters.

I've been thinking, meditating, reminding myself constantly of late on Dwelling.  In the long lifetime that this last year has been, there have been too many moments where something in me sprinted ahead of my present time, to every last (and often worst) possibility, dragging my head in places it never belonged.  I think it is in our very human nature to dream, but the antithesis to that is our nature to worry.  We have these built-in mechanisms for brilliant reasons, to protect us, to help us plan for the future, to propel us forward on our individual paths and the grand highway that is mankind.

But flying into the future is not always healthy for our hearts.  Sometimes we forget that we are where we are, right now, right here.  And this place, where our soles rest on the ground and our lungs pull in air is exactly where we need to be.  To dwell in the present.  To see the true nature of what surrounds us in the current second.  To be present with our bodies, our hearts, our laughter, our tears.

I say these things to you as no expert on the matter.  Rather, I paint these words because I need my hands to spell out a physical reminder.  Again and again, and no doubt, I'll need to again in the future.  Which means to me, that I'm not the only one craving that reminder.

So.

We strive to Dwell.

Here and Now.

Ok.

Giveaway Rules?

This time it's as simple as can be: just leave a comment below telling me ONE thing in your life you're celebrating right now.  I'm going to be a stickler on it, no celebration, no entry!  Entries close at midnight PST on Monday December 27th 2010 (after I return from celebrating Christmas!).  I'll announce the winner on Tuesday December 28th.

***

Now.  It's time for me to wiggle my nose like Mary Poppins and watch the laundry fold itself then settle into place on best behavior.

Ship Shape!

Sketchbook Writings

Somedays I just chat in my sketchbook, keeping a record of sorts.  Today was one of those kind of days.

- From my sketchbook writings, December 16th, 2010 -

Today the sea offered up a veritable smorgasbord of color and texture, along with a fine grit of salt to line my lips.  I felt like the month of April was vacationing on the coastline, taking a break from anywhere that utters the words "deep freeze," so I gladly traded out my jacket for a pashmina, stripped off my gloves, rolled up my sleeves and bade it please, please warm my skinny forearms.  The sea stone cache was so grand that two exceptional things happened: 1) A trip to the car was required, as I was dragging a fully laden bag, only to empty it to the floorboards and walk directly back to the shoreline for more. 2) The second bag, filled to bursting, gave up on this life and loosed itself from the shoulder strap in a huge tumble of noise and chaos.  How great is a haul that breaks the back (or strap) of the bag that carried it?  I take this as a sign of overwhelming bounty, absolutely topped off with fresh material.  I want to lodge my soul firmly in this place, to line my thoughts with a tapestry woven from seaweed and sword ferns.

***

I adore this tiny cafe, in this tiny town, nearly airplane sized but with a heart of pure gold.  As I sit scratching away in this book of mine, the bubbly barista in the enviable stockings pronounces to a [traveling] patron that they have no paper togo cups, reason being that he has now stepped into the land of tree-huggers and would he like to purchase a mason jar for his coffee.  I'm quite content in this land, drinking my tea from a well-used hunk of ceramic, nibbling on a homemade lemon bar, my mood matching the sunshine splashed up the walls.  I sip more maté and contemplate taking home a raw, vegan cinnamon roll made by someone up the lane named Joe.  I just feel good.  Which is the most simplistic set of words to describe the state of my heart, the color of the light pouring from my sternum, the downy wings I'm pretty sure are sprouting from my spine.  

**********

Home.

I'm thinking about Dwelling.  

I have new work to show you.

I have a new piece almost ready to reveal.

Did I mention I'm painting it for you?

In celebration, in a giveaway

because there is SO much in my life worth celebrating.

(yep. More on that tomorrow after my final post-chemo appointments)

Oh yeah, this funky beat is what I'm sliding my brushes to today. 

"Wont wont wont ba da ta da"

(this is exactly the sound coming out of my mouth)

(also I shake my shoulders with some SOUL when I chair dance)

mmmmmuah!

- Umber