Working Through Pain

Lost in Translation (collage)
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

New work is coming faster these days. But I won't be online much as a result, and for a number of reasons. Not this week at least. I need some serious online detox time and today I kept them off all day until tonight because I wanted to scan this in and upload some photos. Expect this piece in my Etsy Shop soon enough once I get more pictures taken of it in the morning. Side shots and the like since it is a dimensional piece.

But I certainly kept myself busy. Today was a sad day, the last day seeing the woman who has been our visiting mother for the past seven months. She was linked up with me through this great program and has been coming over for an hour once a week for months now. But all good things must end, or so they say. And this is no exception. There are actually pretty strict rules in the program for her to now sever all ties. She can't contact me but she did give me her email address so I can write and send pictures. Also, because I started the program so late she is looking into being able to come back for a visit in the future.

I cried while she was here and then put blee on my back, put on some sunglasses and went out to meet a friend for coffee. I drowned my sorrows in a totally decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte and Chocolate Creme Cheese muffin. Eeeep! Not going to do that again. Until I do.

Got groceries, came home, put blee down for a short nap. The nap was short but I still managed to make this piece in the meantime. It consists of pages from an old french/english dictionary collaged with one of my woodblock prints onto stretched canvas.

Then I baked Sunrise Muffins. If you ask nicely maybe I will post the recipe. They are very tasty and pretty healthy too. My baking powder and soda are both expired so they didn't rise as much as they should, but they were still good. And will be better next time!



I'm sad. Looking at the pictures I took of them make me sad. But they are also precious. Blee is going to miss her. I think Maeby will too.

mmmmm Autumn

Twin Goddesses in Fall
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

My favorite season is here. And to celebrate fall please feel free to take 15% off any pieces in Etsy Shop with a fall theme. If they have Fall or Autumn in the title is what I mean. Just put "fall" in the notes to seller and I will send you a revised invoice.

Monday night and Tuesday were kind of a wash for me. I planned on blogging on Monday night but I got tired. Then I slept in. Monday was spent packaging up some orders and getting them mailed while running some errands.

Today I went to Cambridge with a friend via T to go to this clothing exchange to trade in some of the clothes blee has outgrown for some gently used correctly sized clothes for fall. This along with the few basics Jon and I purchased over the weekend and the $100 Gap gift card we are waiting on should cover us for all of the fall and a good part of the winter. Especially if her growth continues to be slower like it has been.

There are a few of the outfits she has worn this past season that I can't part with just yet and have put into a box for maybe another baby girl someday.

My Visiting Mom comes for the second to last time on Wednesday and I am looking forward to seeing her, but so sad that she will be leaving our lives soon. She has been a real blessing to me and Alex during these past months. I know all good things have to come to an end, especially when they are scheduled too. But I am very sad about this.

Going to go read some of the new chapter of "The Artist's Way" and go to bed. Goodnight and good morning. Or good whenever you happen to stumble upon this posting.

An Exercise is Color

Delicate
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Good night and good morning. I am off to bed as soon as I post this. Blogging before bed seems to be the best time for me.

In case you missed it yesterday I am running a Studio Sale in my Etsy Shop in honor of spring cleaning. Clean up my studio and clean up my shop to make room for new pieces like this one and of course plenty of collages and other fresh goodies. Nothing is over $50 so if you have been coveting a piece for awhile it is worth checking out.





This is the piece that I was going for when I printed so many weeks ago. But the blue from prior printings kept tainting the white. Nothing I did could get it out completely. So I ended up with my lunch bags and other goodies. My idea was to do layers of white and add tiny bits of color each layer to come up with a very subtle and I think beautiful piece. It was a lot harder than it sounds. But I am happy with the result. The digital image can't measure up to the original even more than my other pieces.

I've decided that some good goals for me to set is to try to print (Gocco, monotype or relief), cut paper for collages, intensively draw and make collage(s) at least once a week. If I do the minimum and only do one of each that leaves me with three free days. This seems very doable to me. Productive, yet sane and fairly low pressure. I will still try my best to sketch and document my sketches daily but I want one day a week where I do nothing artistically but draw. I think it is also getting to be about time for me to think about starting a new woodblock carving. It has been awhile.

Thank You!

stamping thank you cards
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

For being so wonderful. Please bear with me while I deal with a teething baby that fusses all day and doesn't sleep well at night. I'm trying hard to keep up with everything and am struggling. Right now my online activities including blogging, Etsy and blog reading are suffering the most. Since I end up wearing her most of the day I generally need to keep moving. I try to catch up on reading blogs at night but am often too fried to comment. I'm a bit of a lurker these days.

I don't know how I pulled it off but I managed to not only print out some thank you cards but I also finally Gocco printed some Moleskines. Sketchbook and graph paper. Didn't intend to do graph paper but Jon got some by mistake and I didn't notice until it was too late. All done while wearing miss blee! except for the new stamp I carved





I hope tonight goes better than last night and that Tuesday is better than Monday. Ugh!

I've also done my first week of cloth diapering during the day. Jon is the night shift so for now this is weekday only but it is going pretty well. It is a lot easier than I thought it would be.

daily themes

theme for the day - Day 1
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

I've started doing these from cards that I wrote and put in an empty drawer. At night I shuffle them up and pick two. Then when I sit down to do some art I keep them in mind. We'll see how it goes. I didn't have much time for art yesterday so all I ended up from these suggestions was this simple sketch, but it was good to get back to my daily sketching.

Today I have:
Change Tools
Read a Page from the Closest Book (that would be Eat, Shoots and Leaves



My birthday ended up better than I thought it would be when I woke up feeling horrible to bad weather early yesterday. Before I knew it the skies had cleared and it was a beautiful spring day for me. And since Jon had the day off we were able to enjoy it together with our daughter. And that is all I need.

We've been in Boston for five years now so I know winter is not over, but I do think it is safe for me to hope that we will have more good days than bad.

Now to show off some recently listed reproductions from my mLeeRedux. I'm working to keep both that and mLee fresh this week.

Last Minute

Purple Locks
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Tomorrow is the last day to order for Christmas in the US and expect it to arrive by Christmas using 1st Class mail. Pickup is at 1pm so they must be placed no later than noon to give me time to package and get to the Post Box. Priority upgrades available.

It wasn't easy to find the energy, but once blee went down yesterday I printed until my 11pm cutoff (roughly). It is hard because she no longer wants to take naps during the day. If I am lucky she will go down just long enough for me to shower in one and eat in another. That's it. Mostly she just wants to be played with and held constantly.

While I love this close bonding it is tiring. But I insisted on working and now I have a pile of pieces to scan in and a bit of a mess in my studio.

Other than maybe some paper cutting during down time no art today other than scanning and cleaning. Mostly I want to focus on her and cleaning up the house when I can. I can actually do quite a bit around the house while wearing her, especially with the Moby Wrap. But I don't know what was wrong with me but yesterday I kept messing it up.

These three pieces will go up in my shop today. I have gotten into a habit of setting seven things that I need to do above all else each day, switching one in and replacing it with something different daily. For example since I printed yesterday that won't be on my list today. I think keeping as much of a routine as I can is important to my health. That includes going to bed before midnight every night. I shoot for 11 but have a hard time making it. For me it isn't just about getting a good amount of sleep but sticking to a schedule or my brain goes haywire.

Knowing When to Stop

Winter Light Shines on Ginkgo Leaves
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

That I need a break. I won't be posting on this blog this week. I will only upload things to Flickr or list on Etsy if I am really feeling like it. But right now I need to get away from these things for awhile as I am not doing too well. It is horribly cold and icy outside. Like this image but not s pretty. I'm feeling very down combined with blee having a major growth spurt that is just killing us. She is back to waking up every hour to two hours hungry and suddenly that milk I had backed up in the freezer is getting drained. But sometimes she wakes up screaming only to eat a tiny bit and then fall asleep. And she will not sleep in her crib.



Now is not the time for me to be worrying about blogs and Etsy but to rest and take care of myself. My beautiful washi paper arrived the other day and I have been playing with that but am trying not to pressure myself to get new work out so quickly.

She's screaming again. Have a great week.

Art Cards are back!

The Smell of Pine - ACEO
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

As well as many other small works. With more on their way.

I've had a lot of fun working on these smaller pieces lately and I think it really shows in the results. I updated my Flickr set this morning so everything should be in there now even if it hasn't made it onto Etsy yet.

It feels great being able to finally use this pine block again. It is one of the last blocks that I carved prior to having the baby and I was only able to print it for a limited time and then I couldn't print from mid July through the end of October. And I was completely out of pieces using this motif.

I needed to take a break from blogging, Etsy and just about everything yesterday after taking blee out on her first T ride. It did not start out well as our line was shut down due to something happening down the street the trolley trains and buses travel down. It didn't look like it was going to clear up anytime soon so we walked to the much farther underground line. Jon was late for work and I was late for my mother's group. The first group meeting since before summer! But it was such a beautiful day out we all enjoyed it and blee came back completely tuckered out as did I. She ended up passing out at five and not waking up until midnight. And she still did fairly well last night until around six in the morning.

And I think I may be coming down with something. I feel a bit like I got hit by a bus

Friday Feature

Yes! I am an artist!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

First things first.

Matt from mincing mockingbird is awesome and makes magnets so tempting that I had to buy a six pack of them because I just couldn't settle on one or two. And I make my own magnets so this is quite a feat. It is hard to pick a favorite, but the one pictured here certainly makes me giggle in an inside arty joke kind of way.

I could totally picture this shop as an Etsy featured seller shop. Great unique products, photos and hilarious listings combined with perfect feedback.

And I do smell nice!

-

So much is going on all the time that there is no way that I can record it all, even if I had more time for blogging. My moods vary tremendously lately from tons of positive productive energy to a pretty deep sadness. I have so much weighing on my mind and pulling me all over all the time. It is too early to say what today will be.

And I miss my little sister something fierce. I hope when she is older her parents will let her come out to stay with us by herself. We would have so much fun and I know that blee would enjoy an extended period of quality time with her auntie Sara.



This is what a two month old 14lb 4oz baby in the 99th percentile for her weight looks like all bundled up ready to brave the outside. I am very happy for the hoodie since hats never fit her right and make her cry and scream when I try getting them on her huge head (which for the record grew yet another inch).

I have a carving to work on, the one pictured here actually. And tonight I may pick up some linoleum at Dick Blick because I am feeling daring. I need to root around here and see if I can find the western style printmaking paper I know I should have, or if I need to buy some of that too.

Price Increase

new work in a drawer
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Yup, it is coming and happening. I'm in the process of re-evaluating how I price and almost everything has to go up. I just need to figure out how much would make me happy and settle on that. Expect these to be in effect starting in early November.

My time has become more precious to me. This weekend I have been able to produce a lot of work and now I am exhausted completely.

Yet I know that my work is nowhere near done, just the enjoyable part. Now I have to scan everything in then open it in Photoshop, crop it, make a high resolution version to back up and a low resolution version for uploading and listing. Have I ever mentioned how slowly Photoshop runs when I am working with massive Tiff files? And how much I detest working with the program? Well, it does and I do. As I stare into my drawer full of new prints I am overwhelmed because I know how much work it is going to take to get this stuff out of the drawer for people to see. There could easily be fifty or sixty pieces here, not including the ACEOs.

One great thing out of all of them I only had two or three failures! That is a pretty good ratio.

Friday Favorites!

Art Cards from today
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

From yesterdays printing session. Here are some of the strongest art cards I have made in awhile. Sure, they might induce an acid flashback in some but I love the colors. Not really what I had in my head but that is half the fun! I never can anticipate exactly what I am going to end up with. Expect these and more working their way into my shop in the next few weeks.

I didn't finish anything large yesterday but I have more small to midsized pieces and still plenty cooking. But I totally exhausted myself both physically and mentally. By the time Jon came home my back and feet were killing me and my brain was pretty fried. At least I had company while I worked other than blee. She's great and all but a friend of mine that does contract work from home brought over lunch and parked himself and his laptop in my glider chair and worked with me. I often feel so isolated from people so I think this was good for me. We had a good time and plan on being "co-workers" again sometime soon. Both of us were able to get a lot done I think. I managed to juggle blee, art and an important phone call successfully but ended up hurting for it in the end.

Some good things are happening. Change is in the wind.

And with that goodnight or good morning because I have been dumb yet again and stayed up much too late. I wish it was the weekend already.

Photography and Photoshop skills

Square Art Magnet Set
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

(or lack of them)

Monday! What a long weekend it was for me. Not terrible, but with some difficult moments for sure. Hope others fared better than I did.

Due to having my sets broken up by selling them individually at the Open Studios a few weekends ago I have needed to retake some square magnet photos. Heck, who am I kidding I have been needing to take photos of all sorts of products like these for ages. And yesterday I finally had a sunny day where I had time and my camera battery was actually not dead when I went to take them. I got magnets and mirrorsand quite a few shots. But still not everything.

For awhile I was trying to be like Kate And take pictures in my inexpensive light tent and then use Photoshop to give them a pure white background. I could do a fairly good job, but not even close to what she seems to do with ease. I've decided that spending the time fighting with my slow running copy of Photoshop Elements to get inferior photos could be better spent elsewhere. Like creating new work! Or quality time with my daughter and husband. Lots of things are better than Photoshop. Goes to prove that I was right not to listen to people that tried to push me into studying Graphic Design because there were lots of jobs (mid 90's) so it was practical. Guess what, lots of people listened to that advice.

So here I am with photos using my original backdrop, wood! It is much easier and I like how it looks and how it reinforces that these are made from actual woodblock prints and are not printed out from a computer.

The blee is sleeping and I have finished my morning tea and Wallaby yogurt, time for me to shower or something productive.

Don't Let Her Fool You

Seven Weeks
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

She's no angel today. Blee was an absolute nightmare this morning starting around 5am and going until 11am (colic?) screaming and crying inconsolably but she is so worn out for it she has been down ever since. Thank heavens for that because it was killing us! Nothing like this has ever happened with her before, actually she has been getting better and better sleeping at night and then bam this happened. I sure do hope it isn't a sign of things to come.

Thanks for all the support on Friday. It helped a lot and meant even more to me. I will probably say more later but I need to get back to cleaning my studio while I still can. If I hadn't started feeling better I don't know how I would have been able to cope with this morning. Also, she hasn't needed even an ounce of formula since the soap incident on Wednesday. And I don't expect her to need any today. Hurrah!

In other news I my Photoshop challenged self actually made myself a snappy banner and changed the layout of my blog to go with it. I really am quite proud of it.

I also did something similar to my shop banner. While I really liked my old one I had it for over a year and felt that it was a time for a change. Had been itching for it for awhile. Now this begs the question, should I update my avatar? I have changed it around a bit in the past but nothing ever stuck. Thoughts?

New Work Wednesday

Pinecones in Fall
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Good morning bloggers and blog readers! I'm up early because I was able to get sleep last night and can therefor take care of things like this. I'm going to try putting up new work every Wednesday and see how that goes.







This being the blog entry that always follows the creation of new work. And that happened yesterday. On Monday I tore a bunch of fresh paper, all that I had left actually as well as some half completed pieces until I had a huge pile to work with. Then I got inspired and started carving more new blocks! But instead of postponing printing yet again I used what freetime I had yesterday to print on the half finished pieces and therefor finish them off. It was much easier for me than to start from scratch and getting these pieces done was quite satisfying in its own right.

Most of these pieces have been uploaded onto Flickr already and will be moving into my shop over the next week. Meanwhile I will use my time to carve my latest ideas.

I have an appointment with the doctor and need to bring blee with me, along with dropping by the Post Office across the street to mail a few things. This is my first time going out with her alone without having the option of calling Jon and being picked up if she starts freaking out. I will be walking, it is only ten to fifteen minutes. Probably about the same as driving between dealing with possible traffic and parking combined with getting her in and out of the car. The thing is I don't like to drive, it makes me nervous and I haven't driven since we left Ohio nearly five years ago. It didn't help that my license expired just as we moved here and I had a very difficult time getting one here since I never seemed to have to proper documentation. And I can tell you how much I enjoy spending a day at the RMV (our version of the DMV)! Do I just walked around with an expired Ohio license with my maiden name on it for years. Since I wasn't driving it wasn't much of an issue. I only got a proper Massachusetts license this February. Mid-pregnancy I started talking about the possibility of taking short drives to make certain little trips easier but I have yet to do anything other than move the car to a safe spot on some Mondays because of street cleaning. I may hate driving but I hate an $80 ticket and possibly towing more.

I better start getting ready and do things now before the beast awakes and starts up with the demands. It is kind of chilly out today so I will need to bundle her up good. Thankfully she loves bumpy rides so the sidewalks of Boston please her just as the roads do.

Moo + Cute Foreheads = Brilliant Promo

Del appreciates mLee!
Originally uploaded by foftychel

Lets swap and put them on our cuties. As you can see babies, children, pets, even boyfriends are all game here! oooh sticky!

Even before she was born when I first ordered my stickers months ago somebody suggested I pop one on her forehead to use as promo and if she happened to be bald then I would have even more real estate.

Sadly she was born with plenty of hair.

New Business Ideas

Reproductions
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Hi guys and thanks for all the well wishes I have received. I'm alive and on the road to recovery. But am almost always tired and at least a bit run down. In fact, I bet I will have to stop and start writing this blog entry a number of times before being able to finish it because I always have a million things to do, most of them involving the hippo. At five weeks her sleeping habits are changing and we are adjusting to them and only starting to get the hang of them. I hear her fussing a lot during the day and run to check on her only to find her asleep. I've learned to detect what cries need immediate attention and what ones don't.

Heroes was on TV, saved onto our Tivo and commercial free after we got home from running errands. No matter how Monday goes, and how tired I am at the end, I will not put off watching Heroes until another day. We were up to late watching it, but it was worth it!







With much blood sweat and tears I managed to finish carving that block that I started working on eons ago and I think it turned out great. I finished it on Saturday and as I was going to bed asked myself if I should work on printing it Sunday or do some small blocks over the week and save the printing for next weekend. Giving myself a break since I am still ill. Well blee nixed any plans of doing anything on Sunday. She was a nightmare baby. Neither one of us got a single thing done unless you count Jon eating a burrito and me getting photo mailers for an order.

The simple fact is that it is harder for me to produce less work now and that is likely to remain unchanged for a very long time. I don't have massive amounts of new work coming out anymore, but when I do I think it is top notch and getting better. I think the work from my last printing sessions back in July was some of my best, and it selling out quickly proves that. It is time for me to raise my prices. Just on future work, I will not be going back to my old pieces and raising them. I won't decide my new price structure until I actually print and am looking at the new work.

To counter the price increase I am going to be offering more reproductions in my shop so that more people will be able to collect my work. I will continue to only offer pieces that have not only sold but have sold rather quickly, or were personal favorites. I even have two pieces framed
and hanging in my studio because I missed looking at them when they sold. I like them a lot, but my focus is going to remain on originals.

Oh, Jon and my fifth wedding anniversary is tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to do something. Our favorite restaurant is pretty family friendly so we might go there. And as a real treat I am having somebody over to clean on Thursday! I am thinking I will stay in my studio with the baby and do some work and tend to her while the woman does her magic on the place.

Blubber Butt

whoops!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Look at what I let happen to my cat! He isn't svelte any longer that is for sure! The only difference in his life between the time the first photo was taken and the second was the dog. Who he loathes. And she eats his food whenever she gets the chance. I am wondering if when he is able to get to it he totally pigs out. Maybe we should put the baby gate on the door to the laundryroom where his food is kept back up. We would elevate it just enough for him to get under. But with the amount of laundry we do lately taking that thing down all the time would be such a pain.

He is cuter fat anyhow!

Some changes are going to be happening in my shop to go along with the changes in my life. Not closing it down or anything like that, just adjusting my business model a bit. Working out the details now, will try to post more about it on Monday.

I'm still ill and taking antibiotics four times a day and eating yogurt to counter the possible negative effects of the antibiotics killing my good bacteria along with the bad. Plus I love my kangaroo yogurt! Jon and I have both become addicted to having it every morning with some granola mixed in. He even picked up some Stoneyfield farms yogurt at Costco because it was cheap and ate one and wanted to toss them all out. All normal fruit yogurt is ruined for us now.

Happy weekend to everybody!

----------------
Now playing: Low - Immune
via FoxyTunes

Weekend Update

Cityscape Ginkgo Leaves ACEO
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Tonight blee turns four weeks old! She'll be a month in just a few days!

Jon's parents arrived Thursday night and his mother just about squealed with delight when she saw the little one. She is quite smitten with the (not so) wee one. She is the mother of two boys so having a little girl to coo over and dress up is something she really enjoys. In fact Alexandra is the first girl born into the Swinghammer family in fifty years.

They watched her on Friday while I prepared for the Open Studios and got orders together. They can't get enough of holding her and I am happy to get some help. Then they watched her most of yesterday while I was doing the Open Studios but brought her to see me once, and then Jon came alone with her once while they did the Sam Adams brewery tour. The event went very well and I more than made up what I put into it and it was actually less stressful than last year. Plus I got to see some people from last year and catch up with them. Blee is not the only new baby, but she is the freshest! It went so well that we decided to leave my table, chair and easel and do a half day there today. Really most of the buyers don't come out until after lunch, it is mostly browsing before that time. His parents are out touring Boston so why the heck not? We can either watch her at home and make no money or watch her their and make money. And by starting late we were able to get a decent amount of sleep. Mmmm nothing like sleeping in until 8:30!

During one of blee's visits to my setup our pediatrician actually stopped by my table and checked out my work. He didn't know I was an artist and I didn't know he lived in the area. He looked her over as she slept peacefully in her stroller and said she looked great. But we are still going to get a more official checkup next month.

I think this card sold yesterday, but I honestly am not sure and need to go through my stock tonight to make sure that everything that sold has been taken off of Etsy. As I suspected the magnets of all sizes were a big hit because they are a great impulse purchase, but I sold a good amount of art too. Combined with the significant wholesale order at a price that pleased both me and the buyer September has been a shockingly good month for me. And nearly all of the success snuck in at the end of the month. I'm trying to remember last year but I think it may have been very similar, though this summer June- August was much better than last summer.

Now my shop is feeling very empty, having under 100 items for the first time this year. I can't remember the last time I had so few items. Now I am really feeling the desire to make some new work. It could use some fresh pieces for sure! Not that my old work is bad but all the pieces using my latest designs (butterfly, dragonfly and pinecones) are all completely sold out.

Hope the weekend has been positive for everybody and that you are all enjoying nice weather like we are here in Boston. It really turned out to be a great weekend for the inlaws to visit. They leave tomorrow but will be back for Thanksgiving.

My First Day alone

Summer Sea
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Good Monday morning to everybody. Seems that I am down to blogging only once or twice a week at this point, but considering I have a three week old I think that is pretty good!

Yesterday I was hoping to get the big crazy block finished, but that didn't work out but at least I did make progress and if blee behaves on our fist weekday alone together I should be able to get it down. I am feeling fairly well rested.

While I don't have anything new (yet) I do have this newly listed older piece from July. I was feeling so sick at the end of the pregnancy that I never got to listing a bunch of things. Since I am doing the big art fair the JP Open Studios on Saturday and Sunday this week may be the last week to buy some of my pieces. Last year I sold quite a bit of work. My shop will be technically open since I really don't have time to put over one hundred pieces into edit mode, but it will be shut down all weekend since I am bringing everything to the event. Please refrain from purchasing on those days unless you are willing to accept that the piece may not be available and the order will have to be canceled.

I also have a possible wholesale order in the works and that spurs me on to make new work as soon as possible. If blee goes down early tonight, tomorrow or Wednesday and stays down I may have to treat myself to a printing session. That would be fantastic. That way not only would I have new pieces to bring to the art show but also offer the wholesale person first.

Speaking of blee that kid is growing like crazy. She's a total fatty! This morning in under three hours she has downed ten ounces of milk. She's getting so big that she is difficult for me to hold, she could easily be pushing ten pounds at this point. And her head has grown a lot too. I would post a picture but the little beast is sleeping and I don't want to do anything that has even a chance of waking her. She's probably want to eat yet again. I'm having the hardest time keeping up with her appetite. But rest assured she is the cutest fatty ever with darling rolls all over her body and a nice Buddha belly.

Jon is about to leave for work for the first time since the birth. I have been very lucky to have him here full time the first week, part time working from home the second and full time working from home last week. On Saturday I handled most of her care for an extended period of time so while I am nervous I should be okay.

He is certainly going to miss her.

His parents get here Thursday night. His mother is going to be even more smitten with her when she meets here. They will be here on her month birthday. They grow up so fast!

My Hope

New Print Pile!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

I haven't printed since the 31st of July and I am itching to soon. And I think this week may be the week for me, though probably not until Friday or the weekend. That is when Jon's parents will be here and they can help us with the baby. While she is a very good baby it is hard to find the hours that I need to print. Carving is something that I can pick up and put down at any time during the process. Printing is a little more difficult. Not impossible but I really don't want to get ink on my baby! So having enough time to clean up is pretty important to me. I might start wearing disposable gloves except my hands get so hot in them I really dislike them. Instead I have always used barrier cream which makes washing up pretty easy.

My hands are already so dry, especially my fingertips from all the hand washing and hand sanitizing I have been doing with the baby. While normally I am not really on the anti bacterial bandwagon since I do think it may lead to problems in the long run with the bacteria that can stand up to it. But with the baby it is different. When the baby went down for awhile I put on my best hand moisturizer but still my fingertips feel dry and rough. A side effect of having a baby that I never imagined. I am a printmaker and work with my hands and ink yet I have always managed to have nice hands and nails despite that, possibly because I don't use a chemical solvent.

Blee has been a wonderful baby these two weeks. We've had moments of great difficulty for us here and there but we learned from our mistakes (such as me drinking a latte bad bad no no!) and have learned what she likes. What she likes more than anything is us. Being close to us is very important to her, she is so snuggly that sometimes the best way to calm her and get her to sleep is to lie with her next to you. Sometimes Jon simply puts her in the co-sleeper on the sofa next to him while he watches TV or whatever and she's happy sleeping next to her daddy. I also learned the trick of letting her sleep on her tummy on my chest until she falls into a deep sleep then I am able to carry her over to her bassinet and put her to sleep on her back.

I hope all is well and that this week will be a good week for us and for everybody I know. I know that I have been in a bit of a cocoon lately but I do try and catch up with people when I can. Speaking of catching up I have a couple of emails that I should reply to.