i’m not in a celebrating-the-holidays mood.  losing my sister in october and losing my father-in-law in february did not leave me in a party mood. our thanksgiving here was a quiet meal with my parents, my brother, and my nephew. (my husband lawrence was with his mother.)  it was quiet, peaceful, and simple.  we also had a small cake for my mom; that day was also her 79th birthday.

lawrence and i did visit Huntington Library again a couple of weeks ago. (read my other post about the gorgeous library and botanical gardens here.) this visit was more about just clearing our heads and getting some exercise, so i was not concerned about taking too many photographs…

(i love how lawrence’s shadow looks in this photo!)

we watched some ducks for a while…

bridge in the japanese garden…

so – not many pictures to share this time, but we enjoyed the day.  we even finally had lunch in the tea room: garlic shrimp spring rolls with jasmine tea.  it was delicious!

i haven’t been painting as much as i should be, but i did start up again.  funny thing – even though i don’t feeling much in the holiday spirit, i have been painting ornaments for my Etsy art shop – and enjoying it!

i added a pretty metal heart charm on sheer ribbon around the birds’ necks…

if you’d like to see what i’ve been adding to my Etsy shop, please check it out – hopefully you’ll find some holiday gifts you can check off your list! ♥