HoHoDooDa- December 31

We did it.  Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri and I managed to do a doodle a day for the month of December. Well, almost for me. A few days skipped here and there, but given the frenetic pace of the season, I’m pretty proud. And now it’s time to rip everything holiday down and stuff it away for next year. That’s what’s done in this house, as I am firmly in the camp of “once the holidays are over, decorations are just depressing.” You can leave them up, but I will judge you. A few years ago hubby had to go to a conference immediately following Christmas, and left me in the grips of the flu and a 102 degree fever. I answered his evening call and somehow he knew. “You’re not taking down the Christmas decorations are you?” “I just want to get it done.” I replied weakly, hallucinating visions of sugar plums. Ever since, my mantra regarding the removal of all things evergreen and shiny the weekend following has been “I just want to get it done.”

While I don’t plan to try and come up with a doodle every day from now on, I am hopeful that I have started a new habit of sketching a bit in the evening before bed. I think I’ve got two or three sketches from HoHoDooDa I’d like to expand upon and that makes it more than worthwhile for me.

I will close with a wish for 2012 to move everyone down the road a little closer to their dreams.

HoHoDooDa- December 22

I’m trying to do this on my ipad, since I am without a scanner for the immediate future. It seemed every car on the road today was brimming with holiday cheer. I felt like I was trapped in Santa’s sleigh circa 1975, but that had more to do with hubby’s roadtrip playlist than the season.
Please check out more HoHoDooDa with Linda Silvestri and Marion Eldridge!

HoHoDooDa- December 21

One of the traditional holiday decor items of my childhood was a plastic candelabra with orange bulbs. Each window of our house got one and it was my sister ‘s and my job to run around turning them on at dusk and then off before bed. Every Christmas Eve, we were allowed to leave our candelabra on during the night. As a neurotic child prone to insomnia, I loved this. The warm orange glow in my room was the bonfire that kept back the scary creatures of the night that were for sure lurking just beyond its glow, ready to spring.

I’m a neurotic adult now, prone to insomnia, and have to keep my bedroom pitch black or sleep eludes me. But tonight, this winter solstice night, I will keep the glow of the tree lights burning, my own ancient bonfire holding back the darkness.

Please be sure to check out more HoHoDooDa with Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri.

HoHoDooDa- December 18

It appears the Two Turtle Doves got lost on their way to the party. I can relate.

Please be sure to check out more HoHoDooDa fun with Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri

HoHoDooDa- December 15

It’s the thought that counts…mostly.

For more HoHoDooDa fun please check out Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri

HoHoDooDa- December 14

Our household was always a “wrapping paper saver” house. None of this tearing into gifts. First off that was greedy, second that paper was so pretty we were going to re-use it. Everyone took their turn at opening a present, and we would carefully slide our fingers under the one sliver of tape my mom had sealed the ruler-sharp folds with. Never mind that my parents always hit the after-Christmas wrapping paper sale down at the card and gift shop in German Village, and stocked up on pretty paper for the next year. I feel certain that my inheritance includes, along with a gazillion slides and the twenty bottles of dish washing soap on the shelf in the basement, a closet full of pretty, neatly folded and minimally tape-scarred wrapping paper.

For more HoHoDooDa fun please check out Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri

HoHoDooDa-December 13

I recently entered into a debate on the merits of fruitcake. There seemed to be two camps: those who had only ever had bad fruitcake and hated it, and those who rhapsodized on and on about the divine confections they had known, full of fruit and nuts and rum. I was in the latter. My grandfather had a recipe that was mostly nuts, a bit of candied fruit, and just enough butter and flour to hold it together. He would transfer the baked cakes to metal cookie tins, and they would spend the next six weeks atop the washing machine being soaked in rum. As soon as the cakes had absorbed all the liquid, they were re-filled. As you can imagine these were heady treats indeed.

For more HoHoDooDa fun please check out Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri

HoHoDooDa- December 11

Marion got me thinking about Santa. Apparently, my version has long hippie braids and an ENORMOUS fanny.

For more HoHoDooDa fun please check out Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri

HoHoDooDa-December 10

This was going to be a night scene, but it’s late and my hand is tired…so it’s now daytime. In the winter. With no discernible light source…

For more HoHoDooDa fun please check out Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri

HoHoDooDa- December 9

More dog related hijinks for December 9. My unreliable canine companions are the go-to subject when I need a quick idea. Coming up with an idea or seven each day for this month of holiday themed doodles hasn’t been difficult, but coming up with one I can execute in an hour or less has proved a challenge. As I suspected, I am not a doodler, which is weird because I’m one of those twitchy types who finds a half hour sitcom testing the outer most limits of my attention span. One would think I’d be all about quick and jaunty, but noooo. When it comes to my art, I am ponderous and anal and require planning and thinking and then some more planning. HoHoDooDa has really brought this to light, and I’m thinking it is something I need to work on at least moderating.

For some more spontaneous doodles, please check out Marion Eldridge and Linda Silvestri!