New Year's Call

Hello there! Some of you may be busy doing last minute tasks before the year ends so you don't end up doing the same task everyday. We have a tradition to finish all our household chores like laundry before the year ends so we are not stuck with doing them all year. Uhm... let me tell you, it does not work. I have been doing laundry since I was a teenager. Ah, the new washer was installed at noon today. The old washer conked out, could not handle two teenagers. Hopefully this one lasts more than ten years.

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We are invited to a New Year's Eve party tonight. I am on call (see photo) on an auspicious day - holiday eve, end of month, end of year, full moon, blue moon, blue balls. I am on call until 8:00 o'clock AM tomorrow morning. See how hard I work? I have to multitask when I am on call. I have enough provisions though (see box of chocolates). I am getting old. I can't tolerate more than one, one piece, not one box. I talked to my friend at noon today while I was still at work eating lunch consisting of Italian Sour Cream cake and a cup of tea. They just finished their New Year's celebration in the Philippines. I chatted with my sister in New Jersey, she was doing last minute laundry.

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We are having our family pictures taken tonight. There will be fireworks and a lot of food over at my friend's house down the street. Our house is a refuge once again to another teenager who is having difficulty with her family. I don't get it. It's New Year's Eve. I am not an expert Mom but for heaven's sakes, no teenager ought to be stranded anywhere tonight but their own home which hopefully is a refuge. It's easy for me to say now. American teenagers are difficult.

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Okay I need to think of something lofty, because it is new year's eve. I should be introspective, think about my journey to self discovery and fulfillment, self-actualization, etc. etc. etc. but right now I just want my pager to be quiet. (crossing fingers). What level of human need is that? Self preservation? Okay, I'll take that. Tomorrow I will be lofty after our New Year's celebration. I planned on having seafood dinner like things that crawl and swim and turn orange when cooked.

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Okay I am being facetious and irreverent. What else is new? Seriously, thank you for all the smiles and laughter, even the tears and sorrow, the pain and anxiety, the jokes, the soothing words, inspiration, comfort, love, caring, all the gifts. I thank my angels for looking out for me and the people I love. I love all of you, yes you know who you are.

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Happy New Year!

Read!

A weekend spent in reading...

Pages from the book Tales Told In Holland

Copyright, 1926 by

The Book House for Children

(click on images to enlarge)

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A page from My Book House, The Treasure Chest

Copyright 1920, 1928, 1936, 1937

by Oliver Beupre Miller

The illustration above was made by the great classic children's book illustrator Willy Pogany, a page from a biography book Called the Golden Age of Children's Book Illustration

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A page from the facsimile edition of the Dent Edition of 1909 Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory, containing the complete Caxton Text, over one thousand examples of Aubrey Beardsley's llustrations and designs, and ten illustrations omitted from the first edition.

Ces And Her Dishes

Christmas is over. At least Christmas dinner. I hope the spirit does not fade away. What a blessed, beautiful and happy Christmas celebration we had, despite my thoughts heavy with several of my friends' suffering and losses in so many ways. Our friend raised his glass to give thanks for a good year and everyone joined in, yet I know that he struggled and had difficulty. I guess in the end you count your blessings and not your losses.

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I was sick on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I could not stay in bed as much as I wanted to because I invited guests for Christmas dinner.

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I used my Spode Blue Room dishes. I had fun setting the places because each plate had a different pattern. I have not played with my dishes for a long time, so it was wonderful to be able to mix and match sets, colors and styles. Sometimes I think that setting a table sets the mood for dinner except in our case, there was too much laughter. I think that if we are ever invited to a formal dinner my company and I may get kicked out for having too much fun. We had our neighbors, friends and my brother-in-law's family over for dinner and I think everyone had a wonderful time. Do you know how to spot a dish lover or collector at a restaurant? She is the one who raises the plates to look at the undersides for the markings.

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Throughout the dinner preparations, the house was filled with the aroma of cooking. At one point my daughter came into the kitchen, gave me a hug and a quick rub on my back and said "Mom, you are the best cook." This is before she tasted anything.

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In the past, I used to get stressed out over the preparations. These days the only thing that irritates me is not being able to open jars. I had to bring a jar of honey to the bedroom, awakened my husband and asked him to open the jar. Those grip pads don't help. My wrist is is still recovering from pain. I think I have finally mastered the art of cooking for a party without the stress and hassle. Throughout the preparation, I cleaned and washed the utensils and dishes and so by the time the table was set, the kitchen was clean. It also helps to have older children, they helped and The Viking always checked in to see what he can do. I also think it had to do with my guest list. Our friends are like family, not a lot of frills, just a lot of fun.

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I like the quiet time after everyone left. I like to sit in my chair and prop my feet on an ottoman, look around, think and read an old book. I found a treasure trove of children's books printed between 1920 and 1930. In the past I liked the stories but having been exposed to many illustrators this year, I started paying attention to the drawings. Oh my gosh! These books were illustrated by some of the great classic children's books illustrators. I will share with you next time.

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What were my favorite presents this year? I had them all year long - my family, my husband, my children, my work, my friends at work and my dearest blog friends and my beloved friend who pushed my creative buttons and propped me up to catch the light of the moon and the rays of the sun. Thank you Santa Claus!

Last three photos: This is what I see when I sit in my chair and these are the books that are on my reading table right now.

Merry Christmas!!!

We tend to overdo Christmas around here. Not the kind where people can see or that can be publicly displayed. We do it in a way where my children, who, when they were young delighted in so many presents and wondered what Santa Claus will give them, throughout the years have changed as they grow up. My children did not give me a list any longer. Instead they asked what we would like to receive. My son, who counted his presents in the past, was so concerned whether he got the best gift for his sister and for his ...ugh, I can't say this one...the girl he likes.

They thought of others, their friends. They rendered community services by caroling in rest homes and best of all, I did not have a difficult time telling them what to do. Now, I wish it was Christmas everyday, but the truth is, after Christmas, the world will be back to the way it is until next December.

My favorite part of Christmas of course is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and being a Christian. I often wondered what would have happened to my birth country had the Spaniards, though they were imperialistic in the treatment of the indigenous people, introduced Christianity. Had they arrived 100 years later, I probably won't be blogging today and I will be a most subservient and unknown woman. For Christmas, I am most grateful.

I love the colors, the smells and the sound of Christmas. Even the clutter is colorful. I am sick today, with flu-like symptoms, but I have a dinner to prepare. It's 9:00AM and everyone is still asleep. I have been up four hours ago enjoying my favorite time of the day - the dawn.

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends. May the spirit of the season infuse you with happiness and joy that will last a lifetime and may the new year bring peace and prosperity.

For those of you who may have been so busy with the Christmas preparations, the US Congress gave the American people a fruitcake last night. However, this is the kind of fruitcake you can't throw or give away, we are stuck with it - socialized medicine. And you thought managed care was bad.

Merry Christmas!

May your holidays be filled with joy, love and peace,

May your FPOTs never run out of ideas,

May your carpal tunnels never be blocked,

May the bats in your stomach fry when the bells ring,

May your epsilons and grand epsilons grow up

to be beautiful and handsome,

strong and brave,

May your soldier boy come home safely and stay,

May your Alice be in Wonderland and remain beautiful and lovely,

May your Madi love you madly,

May your roses bloom in the hot austral sun,

May your journals capture your fiery intensity,

May your one man-shows be many,

May your poems rhyme with grace and chime with passion,

May your muffins be mostly tops,

May your hair remain perfectly beautiful,

May your book be published,

May your boss be overcome with kindness and generosity,

May the stitches in your dolls never break,

May your buttons never be pushed,

May your house be filled with love,

May you get overwhelmed with contracts and job offers,

May your cameras keep on capturing beauty,

May your studios keep on creating miracles,

May your knitting needles create more lovely scarves,

May your calligraphy nibs never split,

May your pets be happy and healthy,

May your DHs remain supportive, loving and true,

May your parents be well and happy,

May your acorns grow,

May you get well soon,

May cancer be a thing in the past.

May your everydays be filled with joy, love and peace.

May God bless you and keep you safe.

Amen.

Thank you dear friends!

Merry Christmas, My Dearest Friend Renee

Renee With Serenading Love Birds On Her Crown To Chase The Bats Away

Pigment ink on 9"x12" Bristol Board. The Love Birds: Marie S., Linda Cardina, Bella Sinclair, Ces, Deborah the Poet, Manon Doyle, Sarah, Silke Powers, Diana Evans, Allegra Smith. Arija, Tessa Edwards, Baino and Pam (Yoborobo). You may still join the Love Bird serenade. Please let me know.

Ces: Knock! Knock!
Renee: Who’s there?
Ces: Love.
Renee: Love who?
Ces: Love bird!
Renee: Oh it’s you!
Ces: Yes it’s me.
Renee: Honest to God Ces, you are a kook! You need a spanking.
Ces: Please, please spank me!
Renee: I see that I do not need to spank you because it will not be a punishment but a gift.
Ces: I have a gift for you. Here it is. I hope you like it.


Yesterday I had a very difficult day. It’s one of those days when I am confident that things will work and my testing goes smoothly. I made a change, a small change to a massive rule module that has been my life, my bread and butter for the past six months. It has over 1,600 lines. Some items are hard-coded and it is like searching for a needle in a haystack. I go through several eyeglasses switches, and eye lubricants to augment my prescribed ophthalmic emulsion. My eyes become very dry. I have abdominal pains from stress and anxiety and the hairs on the right side of my head have turned grey. Yesterday I came to work wearing two different shoes, black on the left and brown on the right. Seems like an awful situation. I am not complaining because I love my work. I am also not complaining because there is nothing to complain about. For starters, the flying objects in my stomach are butterflies, they are not bats.

My beloved friend Renee has bats. She is not well, she has great discomfort, yet unless she says so, you would never know. She has conditions. Aside from cancer, she has this condition characterized by great enthusiasm for life; the ability to give wise counsel, to listen, to make merry, to cuss, characterized by massive doses of honesty and the great capacity to love.

I am dedicating my rule module to Renee. I am dedicating my Christmas celebration to Renee. I am dedicating this drawing to Renee. Look very closely my dearest sisterfriend. Each miniature squiggle was borne with a prayer of hope for your well-being and comfort; each line was borne with a prayer of thanks for the happiness and joy you give me; the shaded spaces were borne with a peace offering to drive the bats away.

I brought along my lovebird friends, perched on your crown. I do not want you to get sick from my singing so I brought along my friends so they can drown me out and together we sing a melody of love. Merry Christmas, my dearest friend.

Illustration Friday - Undone

Undone

9"x12" Pigment ink and graphite pencil on Bristol board. I started drawing this image for "Undone" yesterday. I had a story in mind and it was very detailed involving machetes and swords so I left out those chapters and decided to post Chapter 8 below. Of course, the rest of the chapters are still inside my brain.

Chapter 8

One afternoon, for some unmentioned reason, she walked barefoot to the top of the hill overlooking the sea. She loved and hated that spot. It offered a beautiful view of the sea but the water below was black, silent and she knew it was deep. Sometimes she imagined voices taunting her to jump and she would shudder at the thought.

She sat on the base of the mahogany tree which was her favorite spot. That afternoon she brought with her a favorite book, leather bound and gold edged Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth set in Palatino, which she has read hundreds of times. She also brought with her several ivory linen stationery papers, a black envelope and her Waterman gold-nibbed fountain pen with its gold filigreed barrel. All these fit in a resealable plastic bag which she also brought.

She meticulously reread the letter she wrote, making sure she made no typographical or grammatical errors. She was calm and unhurried. When she was satisfied she looked out into the sea. She stood up, looked back into the valley where her house stood among the trees and rolling hills. She knelt, folded the letter and sealed it inside the black linen envelope. She hesitated and for a moment could not decide whether to insert the letter on the chapter when the heroine was working in the field and had labor pains, gave birth and immediately returned to work or the chapter where after giving birth to another child she realized it was just another mouth to feed so the child miraculously died after a healthy cry. She chose one. She sealed everything in the resealable plastic bag with written instructions to the housekeeper. She set the bag aside and got up once more.

She looked back once again into the valley then walked towards the edge of the cliff. She closed her eyes and finally accepted the taunting dares from below.

The Pachyderm Loving Numismatist

The Young Numismatist Meets Elie The Elephant

2.3"x3.5" ATC-sized Bristol Board on 8"x10" mat.

One day I read this comment on my blog: "Hi Ces!!! How are you!!! Ces I don't know how I can to Ask you, but... - can you send one little drawing with elephant, on my adress!!!??? :)"

Yes I can but I may not. I did not know this blogger and I usually do not follow through with requests from strangers. I found out the young blogger is a 17 year old male and a numismatist. I thought the name sounded female so I decided to forget the comment when he turned out to be a male. However a friend convinced me that it is okay for boys and young men to like elephants and she was amused that he was bold enough to ask. So thank my friend for convincing me and just for you, Elie is giving you a dime, though it's glued to the drawing so if you really want the dime, I will send you an extra one, if you say please, and send me your address. I am also sending you coins and a matted drawing of a quercus falcata since I think you are a special kind of nut. I hope these will reach you safely.

Anomie

Anomie

Pigment ink and graphite pencil on 11"x14" Bristol Board.

Here’s a word for you: Anomie or Anomy - social instability and alienation caused by the erosion of norms and values. Just think about that.

I think I finished the drawing. This was a pleasant experience despite the fact that what I portrayed may stir some painful and negative emotions. Let me let you in on a secret. When I draw some things or paint some things that stir unpleasant sensations I have learned to use a crutch – my dearest Bella Sinclair's beloved pachyderms. I found out that Bella is not the only one who loves elephants – my dearest Arija and my dearest Deborah do too. Imagine those three wonderful women. What else can I ask? That perhaps all of my dearest friends love elephants. They are beautiful creatures - intelligent, fiercely loyal, protective, strong, and altruistic.

Ah! Wait! Wait! My dearest lovely sisterfriend Manon Doyle loves elephants and guess who else loves elephants? My beloved sisters! Yes! All of them but most especially my sister Leah, the smartest, brightest, kindest and gentlest of all.

This drawing, I have my own interpretation. You may have your own but please let me share this with you - sometimes we lose sight and get thrown off our core. We tend to dig deeper and push further, perhaps in the hope of tackling the issue, reclaiming our balance and stabilizing ourselves. I have learned it’s not always the best thing to do. Sometimes it is best to step away, walk away, and get detached. Step back farther, farther, look in the horizon, you may find what you lost or what you are searching. Calmly, quietly it’s there, peacefully waiting…

Illustration Friday - Hatch

HATCH

Hatch, batch, latch, snatch, match, catch, thatch, satchel...

Pigment ink on 11"x14" Bristol Board

I always wanted to paint or draw something like what my favorite male artist Heironymus Bosch did of this man. I first saw that when I was fifteen years old and I was mesmerized - oh the details! The details! When I saw the theme for illustration Friday I was reading the weekend journal of The Wall Street Journal and it featured an article titled "Homeland Insecurity". I thought I'd draw a Trojan horse but of course my ever changing and non-stop brain just picked it up from there. Here is my tribute to my favorite male painter Heironymus Bosch. My drawing is not finished yet but I have to go to the mall. I don't want to go...Why does Christmas have to involve shopping? For the finished drawing please check here: http://cesandherdishes.blogspot.com/2009/12/anomie.html

Misadventure?

Okay, who planned this trip? The girl is too young. The animals are too small to help. Only Elie seems to know what she's doing...and why is the little girl wearing a polka dotted bikini bottom? Doesn't she know it's winter...and why is she wearing flipflops? Did Ilaga lose his digits when he was caught in the mousetrap? Somebody save this party. Where are they anyway?

Break

Elie and her entourage are going to take a break for a while. Little Ces is coughing and sneezing, Piggy may have swine flu, Ma-es may have bird flu, Snowflake has rabbit's foot disease and Ilaga is caught in a mouse trap.

P.S.

To all my blog friends who give me awards and cute little buttons to adorn my blog, I appreciate the gesture and the recognition. However, I am making my blog more user friendly to those who do mobile blogging and just in case your computer may not have all the horses and elephants to power it up. The sidebar takes a long time to upload so I am moving all the awards to a post linked from the sidebar picture. It will be my awards vault. I am also reducing my main page to 5 posts. I may even decrease it depending on the length of the current post. Thanks to all of you who have appreciated me throughout the years.