Hello from Sunday night!

Well, welcome year of the horse! I have high hopes for you. Not only have I just bought a cheesy 1956 paperback western called,"Thirty Notches" by Brad Ward. (gotta love those macho names), but I also painted this little painting of three horses to celebrate you.I love threes, don't you? For me it represents all sorts of wonderful groupings: R, C and me, my three children, my three cats. Does anyone remember that Schoolhouse Rocks little vignette "Three is a magic number"? It rather is, isn't it? Ok, I just had to link to the Blind Melon version now that we're adults. :DThis little painting started life as a left-over art card. I used a purple-ish vintage wrapping paper that then I wasn't crazy about and so I painted the horses over it with acrylics. Then I wasn't happy about the chalky, blocky look of the acrylics so painted over that whole painted and collaged mess with my oils. Ahh, that's better. Soft, misty, blended colours. Horses coming form on high down to Earth for the lunar year. So GONG XI FA CAI everyone!Outside the few early snowdrops have opened. Those precious few immediately were brought inside and put into one of the little ink bottles I bought at the car boot sale. I could hardly wait. I'm sure my neighbours thought me strange peering down into the shade garden every day, (seventeen times/day) checking on them. There are hundreds coming but these six first ones are just so very welcome. As I write this they are beside me and later will be moved to my side of the bed. They have a soft, gentle fragrance and I don't want to miss a moment with my first garden flowers of the year.Today I had it in mind to organise and cull my overflowing book collection. So I dove into the library and then the arduous task of deciding which books to actually let go of began. The thing is that sometimes I don't remember that I have the book and have to put it aside to read thru it to decide whether it's a keeper or not. Some books I've completely forgotten about, like this lovely 1941  "A Choice of Kipling's Verses Made By T.S. Eliot", and then read it over lunch completely forgetting that I actually set out to clean up the library. But with a thousand books in the house...well...I do understand and appreciate that I really don't need two copies of several Simon Winchester or Diane Ackerman books...even if I love them to pieces, and so get on with the task.So, in the end I enlisted Chloe's help going thru the books and took about one hundred books to Dalyce at our most favourite Booklovers used book store. If you're anywhere within fifty miles of the Lower Mainland, it would so be worth your while to come visit.Mind you, the minute we drop off books we're buying new ones. And by the way, Dalyce gives a credit for books brought in, which applies to books being bought. How can you go wrong? Anyway, if you come, let me know when and I'll meet you. :DSo back home now with a few of new books and looking forward to cuddling up with a soft, warm blanket, my snowdrops and books. The empty bags are waiting to be filled up with more books to bring to Booklovers, (except this one, which seems to have been expropriated by Morgan), and in a day or two the library will be organised and orderly. (then I'll take a photo to show you.)Sharing with The Dedicated House for make it pretty Monday