A bright frosty day

Here around Seattle, it's beautiful, sunny and frigid as it usually gets when the clouds clear on winter days. I love warm, balmy days so I usually stay inside on days like this and just enjoy the bright sun from my windows. But, my good friend Sharyn Sowell inspired me today, as she always does, with her gorgeous blog post. I went outside with my cameras and captured the frosty crystals on my herbs, the majestic snowcapped Olympics and the sweet little chickadees in my yard. Such simple things that bring so much beauty to an ordinary day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The big storm is over here and the snow is still on the ground. It's warmed way up to 29 degrees! We had 60 mph winds here, but never lost power which was somewhat of a miracle. So here it is Thanksgiving and I'm feeling so much gratitude this year.  So thankful for my family, especially my beautiful girls, my dear friends and their endless kindness and support, being able to continue doing the work I love so much, my health and so much more.  I found this wonderful quote the other day and wanted to share it, along with the November painting from my "Bless This Garden" 2010 Time Factory calendar.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. 

It turns what we have into enough, and more. 

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, 

confusion into clarity.... 

It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, 

the unexpected into perfect timing, 

and mistakes into important events. 

Gratitude makes sense of our past, 

brings peace for today and 

creates a vision for tomorrow.

                                                                                - Melodie Beattie

                                                                  ©Jane Shasky 2010

HELLO winter!

We've been blasted for the last few days with that bitter arctic air blowing down from the north, it seems like winter has arrived overnight. And, this morning, I awoke to a blanket of white and it's still coming down. The birds are everywhere...house finches with their bright red feathers, dark eyed juncos and the spotted towhees...all sharing the sunflower seeds with the little brown squirrel who is always in the feeders. As soon as it slows down, I'll be out taking photos for snowy paintings.

backyard snowy wonderland

love this moss

house finches at my kitchen window

that brown squirrel

the last rose of autumn

Scotti loves sledding, lookout Lilli!

Backyard friends

So, a few days ago I was walking out to my studio and noticed a little nuthatch nibbling on the sunflower seeds at one of my bird feeders. I quickly dashed to get my camera, and believe it or not, he was still there when I returned. He continued to just sit there, not noticing me, until I got within a few feet and took these amazing photos! 

Artist Signing

I'll be doing my first ever artist signing this Saturday, November 6th at Hearts and Homespun, in downtown Poulsbo (WA) from noon to 3 pm. This wonderful gift shop has been selling country style items for almost 24 years and has carried LANG products since the mid 80's. I've bought my LANG calendars there for years, so to have them carry my own calendars is so exciting.  Along with the calendars, "Birds in the Garden" and "Herb Garden" my mugs will also be for sale. If you're in the area, stop by and say hi!

Christmas in October

Yesterday I received a very large box from the UPS man.  Jenna asked, "Mom, did you order a small child?"...nope, it was my samples from Keller Charles for my brand new collection "Snow Friends". Keller Charles melamine products are some of the best in the country and I'm so thrilled with what they've done with my snowman and chickadees.  You can find the entire line of products at Lang.com.

there are trays of all sizes, plates, napkins and tins for those Christmas cookies!

Indian summer days

Here in the Pacific Northwest, summer goes by all too quickly. It's here for a short time and then gone before you can even get warm. So I cherish these Indian summer days when the sun is warm, the breezes fresh and cool, and the light so gorgeous.

morning rays streaming thru the trees

morning dew like glassy beads stringing a web 

fog blanketing Hood Canal

firey red sunflowers

amazing sunsets paint the evening sky

Herb Garden!

I've had the most beautiful little herb garden this summer. It was filled with wonderful scents, from heavenly lemon verbena to pineapple mint and sweet lavender, in shades of lush green, bright blues and soft purples.  As summer fades, I have so much inspiration to begin my next "Herb Garden" calendar for LANG - believe it or not, 2013!  My 2011 calendar is available in stores now, along with my "Seeds of Friendship" collection of mugs, cards, recipe albums, and other great kitchen items.

my LANG Seeds of Friendship products displayed at the Seattle Gift Show

parsley, thyme, marjoram and lavender

gorgeous blue borage

Lilli loves to 'help'

morning dew on the parsley

hiking the spit

I have wanted to hike Dungeness Spit all summer. Yesterday, my friend LaRayne and I made it all the way to the Lighthouse, a round trip of 11 miles! It's the longest natural sandspit in the world and at the end is one of the oldest lighthouses in Washington, built in 1857.  It was the most beautiful, warm, Indian summer day, with views to Canada, the San Juan Islands and the towering Olympic mountains.  I will let my pics speak for themselves.....

we started out through the forest

a half mile through the trees and the sound of waves crashing on the shore calls...

wildflowers blooming in the sun and sea air

the gulls were perched on driftwood everywhere

only 2 more miles to go! the sea was almost tropical

5 miles out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca IS serenity!

a peaceful way of life for the lightkeepers who rent the house

I made it!

the view from the top is absolutely breathtaking!

hiking back to reality, the sun sets over the Olympics. what an amazing day.

and heavenly Napa Valley....

After a day in downtown San Francisco, we headed up to Napa Valley. I had no idea how beautiful it would be, it was a gorgeous, warm day, high 80's.  The best vineyard was V. Sattui, where we ordered amazing sandwiches from their Italian deli and sat under the oak, olive and eucalyptus trees.  Ok, so this is what heaven feels like!

are we in Italy now?!

heavenly picnic under the massive oak and eucalyptus trees

the olive trees were so beautiful...I'm thinking future painting

after a cool summer, grapes still on the vines

beautiful autumn leaves