This is going to be a short entry, but I figured I’d better post SOMEthing before I fall into the non-blogging mode and then give it up for another year.  LOL  I haven’t managed to post for the past few days…where does the time go?  I have been busy…Saturday, I made sushi…lots of it.  Sunday was our city’s annual Japanese Potluck, so I usually make sushi or manapua for the dinner.  After the potluck on Sunday, we drove our son back to college in a neighboring town.  It still qualifies as “neighboring” because it’s only a little over 2 hours away from us, but when you’re tired and have a full stomach of fabulous Japanese food, driving for 2 hours is the last thing you really want to do.  And then, we had to drive back home.  …sigh…  However, the boy is back at college and has begun his second semester of his Freshman year, so all is right with the world.  Monday…Monday is a blur.  Tuesday…another blur.  We did go to dinner with a friend and then ran into Michael’s afterwards to purchase another cake pan and some cardboard cake rounds for our daughter who is building a tiered birthday cake for a friend.  My, oh, my!  What a production!  Wednesday…I wish it was a blur.  What it was was a frustrating day until about 3 pm when I was FINALLY able to pick up a paint brush and work on a commissioned repaint!  Wednesday until 3 was one of those days when I should have just gone back to bed….a day of little things that go wrong or askew and eat up time by the mouthfuls.  My heart was racing.  My blood pressure was soaring.  My tongue was sharp.  (Sorry, dh and daughter!)  And it wasn’t until I was able to jump in the shower at about 2 pm that I was able to take deep breaths and repent of my poor behavior and count my blessings.  Counting my blessings in the midst of a “woe is me” pity party IS my New Year’s resolution after all!  After I was able to begin painting, the day improved by leaps and bounds.  Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful artistic gift!  I will continue to nurture it as best I can.  And that leads me to the title of today’s entry….   Did I say this was going to be a short entry????  LOLNext time…What’s In A Name?

Upon Reflection…  I paint tiny, teensy light reflection points in the irises of my doll eyes.  Yes, I PAINT them.  I have heard of others who do not and describe at length how the reflection is a result of light on a built up lens created by layers of sealer/varnish.  Okay.  That’s an option.  I choose to paint them.  And in my photos…especially indoor photos…the light reflects off the single layer of varnish on my irises and creates additional reflective dots which gives the eyes extra sparkle.  It doesn’t take a thick build up of varnish to reflect light.  In outdoor photos…taken on our covered deck…there are no additional reflective spots because the light is indirect.  So…I prefer to paint on reflective spots so that the eyes will always have that little sparkle.  To me, the light in the eyes indicates life, and I like my creations to imitate life as closely as possible.  I don’t always get it right.  For a perfectionist like myself, it’s almost impossible to be completely satisfied with my work.  I always feel it could be better, and I’m always striving to that end.  So, yes, I paint the white dots on the irises.  Faux pas?  You decide.