I'm settling into my apartment, routine, and new studio space (a.k.a. my dining area) here in Tucson. The apartments where we're living are quiet, have nice scenery, and lots of patio space to enjoy fresh air and sunsets (my favorite!). I've discovered a multi-use path that crosses nearby, and have been enjoying starting my days along the Cañada del Oro Wash, admiring the desert plant and animal life that call it home. The quails, roadrunners, and hummingbirds are some of my personal favorites. I never thought I would be intrigued by birds, but they are so different from those we saw back home in Louisville. Or, maybe I'm just getting old.

Last month, I talked about being excited by the opportunity to make some larger pieces of art, and a commission helped me deliver on that promise already. I was honored to help commemorate one of the most special moments in a friend's life, the day she got engaged on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. I sure hope that her fiancé is wowed by her thoughtful and creative Christmas gift. I certainly stressed enough over it!

I also rolled out a new product - variety packs of blank greeting cards. I have currently two "themes" - my Teressa's Trek cards are landscapes from my adventures over the past year, and my Reverse Mermaid cards feature those whimsical friends I recently began dreaming up. They are all professionally printed on high-quality paper that makes them closely resemble the originals. I'm very pleased with the work that the printing company did on these. I also whipped up a special custom design for a friend to use for her Christmas cards this year. I love it when people come to me with their fun and creative ideas.

I sure hope that all my friends out there had a fantastic Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a peaceful holiday season. It should be pretty low-key for us here, considering we still know pretty much no one in the area. For our Thanksgiving, I was super excited to find an authentic Chinese restaurant serving up piles of dumplings near the University of Arizona (go eat at China Pasta House now), and those were a perfect substitute for turkey in my opinion. Later in the day, I made empañadas. It was a day of stuffing ourselves with stuffed foods. How fitting! 

Unfortunately, with the number of gift commissions featured on my art wrap-up this month (7 of the 9), I am a little afraid to share this post very widely and spoil any surprises. I guess I'll hit the "publish" button and hope someone out there in cyber land finds it and reads it. :-) 

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