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Monday, December 19, 2016

I Still Haven't Made It To The Post Office...

...and after the THREE HOUR ordeal last night trying to do a stupid mail merge so I could print address labels, I'm half afraid to even get in the car this morning!  Well, and that won't be until after I seal the envelopes - and now I'm having a Seinfeld flashback :-o.

Most years have some "issue".  Either the design is hard to come up with, the painting takes forever, we can't come up with a name, the story on the back doesn't flow, we can't get the colors to print to our satisfaction OR the post office runs out of the stamps I want...  This year the only thing that's gone smoothly is the stamps.  After they ran out of holiday stamps last year, I bought early this year...and that's probably where the trouble started.  The ole Christmas card jinx ;-).

*     *     *     *    *

We are rapidly running out of winter scenes - skating, sleighing, sledding, caroling, decorating barns and trees, knitting sweaters, baking cookies, snowman building, snowball fighting, live nativity play...  Eating Christmas dinner seemed like a perfect choice, especially for this year.

With so many of our flock getting up there in years, we are now special feeding 13 of the "old guys".  How on earth did cute little Keebs get old?  Ewen McTeagle is going to be 10?!?  Jester is 17!  We also feed the two lambs separately.  Dinner time is, um, exciting, with everyone fighting for a spot at their respective troughs.

Okay, so that's a cute idea.  There could be a main "table", a "kids table", Ford and Jester at the, what, "grandparents table"?  Uh oh, so now we have yet another problem.  For the story on the back, is it kids table?  Kid's table?  Kids' table?  Seriously?!?  A grammar dilemma?  Grammar guides were consulted.  Online searches were made.  Phone calls to grammar police were made.  

It was rapidly approaching the end of a Very Long Day at the print shop and we were not going home empty handed.  There was no solid consensus so we finally went minimalist (no apostrophes anywhere) and are now just waiting for a grammar judge to hand down a verdict.  

Wait, let's back up to the painting problem part (see, even this blog post is becoming an ordeal!).  As usual, I sketched the card out pretty quickly and was pretty happy with the layout.  I should have stopped there.  I then spent/lost an entire day (basically) screwing up the background...that I Paint The Same Way Every Year.  Sigh...

I'd been feeling bad about the new kids always hogging the cards lately so a design featuring the classics was perfect...until I painted everyone in...and somehow lost Buddy.  What the heck!?!  Can't do the card without Buddy.  Okay, B. Willard's been in several cards.  I'll trade him out.  

Wait...

I can't bring myself take B. Willard out...

By this point I've put so much paint on the canvas that I had to Sand It All Off...and start over. 

I need to start this whole blog post over!  Or move some paragraphs around like a hard puzzle.  It's going together as well as the card did ;-o.  Actually, I really need to go out and feed (because every day is Christmas here ;-), so I'm just going to wrap this up with the finished card and everyone can pretend it all went smoothly...but I might seal those envelopes with a wet sponge just in case ;-).

Merry Christmas!

Oh for crying out loud!  I'm trying to scan the back of the card and the scanner won't turn on! :-o

Let's try this again.

Merry Christmas!!!

Sigh...  Now I'm getting this error.   www.blogger.com’s server DNS address could not be found.

Okay, let's try this One. Last. Time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  





18 comments:

Cheryl West said...

It is a beautiful card as always right down to the hanging bird feeder. You may never speak to me again but I have to ask, where is Eli? Did he stay in the barn?
Merry, Merry Christmas to all at Equinox Farm!

Michelle said...

Well, it all makes for a good story for US! hee! Love the card as usual. Yes, how DID Keebs get "old"? He and Graham were the new kids at the table when Brian and I visited! Of course, Brian is 6'1" and driving now....

thecrazysheeplady said...

I stewed about that for a good while. It's all even more complicated than the small amount I shared above :-o. Thought there were too many animals already fit on there even though Eli and Claire Bear haven't made the card in forever and Eli would NEVER be out in the snow... I'll have to include the heated condo if I want to put him on next year ;-D.

thecrazysheeplady said...

That is plain crazy!

Anonymous said...

A scene for next year...Christmas in July. Just saying.

Diane

I need orange said...

Love this. Chuckled to see Maisie eating the decorations, and then again when I saw Tillie with a box of Cheerios, under the table.

Once upon a time, we opened a box of Cheez-its when coming home from the grocery. As we carried in all the stuff, I set that box down, open, on the floor. (I know, right? How dumb....) Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Buzz (another tri-colored Pembroke corgi) picking up the box by one tab, and trotting away with it. Not burying his muzzle in it right there; taking it elsewhere, more out of sight of the humans....... :-)

"Best day ever!"

Except I caught up, and cruelly and unfairly confiscated the box. :-)

Lori Skoog said...

Sara, Sara, Sara! After all that! The card is positively gorgeous!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Why not a Christmas Dinner! I thought it was a perfect card...well done. How about an Ice Hockey Game...with some of the oldsters Curling. There is Ice Fishing and snow parades with sleighs, there are 5K races...how about I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!! Snowmobile races, and cross country skiing, and skijoring and skijourning (behind a horse)...staying warm is always an option:)

Lady Fi said...

Cute scene! And wishing you a lovely Christmas holiday!

thecrazysheeplady said...

Okay, while curling is one of my favorite Olympic events to watch, this is KY and no one has even HEARD of it here haha :-D. I've toyed with it several times though. Maybe the oldsters could be using the kids as stones. I have a sleigh idea for next year and at some point I'd like to try a night scene with lights. Staying warm though is a fun idea though actually. Or what about everyone asleep in the barn at night waiting for Santa? Guess we are still in this!

thecrazysheeplady said...

I love the taking it somewhere else trick. Corgis... They KNOW they are being naughty ;-D.

thecrazysheeplady said...

Thanks Lori!

Lisa Smith said...

Oh Sara, I must confess, the moment I scrolled down and saw this year's delightful card, Comby literally jumped off the screen to me! Thank you, thank you for giving him a space of prominence on your painting! Hmmm...I guess to some it would seem that Betsy has the better spot, but I think Comby's placement is perfect. It reminds me of so very many scenic photos you've taken of him out walking in the snow with you. Such a faithful companion, and his handsome orange-colored coat displayed against the bright, white snow has created such lovely shots.

As I felt guilty for a moment, looking only for Comby at first glance, I quickly realized there is so much love to go around for all of the residents of Punkin's Patch!

It's a truly delightful card, as always! I just wish it wasn't fraught with those pesky last minute challenges for you so that you could calmly enjoy the whole creative process from beginning to end.... Perhaps an office assistant for "Special Creative Projects Involving Paper Instead of Yarn"? But then, could those last minute "technical difficulties" actually be an integral part of the creative processprocess after all?

Thank you for sharing your amazing world with us, Christmas after Christmas. It's hard not to get emotional when remembering those sweet residents of Punkin's Patch who are no longer with you, but then I think they are still there, watching over each year's Christmas and saying "Thank you, Sara and Saint Tim....it really was a wonderful life."

Please give Comby some love from me, and thank you for another Christmas card to enjoy!

sophy0075 said...

"Maisie's eating something she shouldn't" Now *that's* a "rare" event! - not. ROFL. Well, good health and happiness to all and sundry, including the harried artist :) And may God bless all of you this Christmas and in this coming year.

(Ok. I'm a grammar nerd. It's "the kids's table" if you are writing about plural possessive. I actually read Strunk & White for fun when I was a kid, along with Charlotte's Web.)

LannieK said...

It came out just perfect! 🎄🐈

Terry and Linda said...

I love it! I have all your cards from the beginning and they are an important and treasured part of my Christmas decor. Also, I've been following you for a very long time now. This Grandma (me) can remember when your lots of your Oldesters Sheeps were just lambs!

Love you, Sara!

And

Merry Christmas!

Linda

Lisa W said...

Perfect! I love ALL the different ideas for upcoming cards. Ice fishing and sledding do put ideas into my head - some of the hungrier sheep are ice fishing over in the pond, while others sled down the hill, the rest are drinking a hot beverage by the fire, wearing their handknit sweaters :-) POSTER SIZE. Because I still like my earlier idea of including *everybody* next year. Better get started now!

Lorraine said...

Did I miss PPPP?

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