Sorry I haven't updated my blog in MONTHS.
Here's the scoop on what's kept me so distracted...

-We bought the house and property behind us. My husband is completely gutting the house ( it's an awful mess) to turn into the Jones Handmade Goods studio here in Maxeys. Exciting!
-Baby Charlotte arrived a little early and we've been enjoying her immensely. I'll post a photo of her cuteness.
-My mother died on Halloween after a year long battle with brain cancer. (Sigh)
-And now, the holidays, hooray (sarcasm infused, in case you couldn't tell).

I know excuses, excuses, but check back after the New Year and hopefully I'll have my jazzy back and new artwork to share and chat about. Until then...xoxo, Monica

our darling girl

We had to say goodbye last Wednesday to our oldest girl, Briana our sweet black lab.

But rather than share my weeping and wailing over her departure, I want remember a time a while back when she made me laugh. She was a quirky dog.

I left her alone for 15 minutes to go to the post office and when I returned there was a trail of white powder from the front door, through the house, back to the kitchen, where I found this - see photo.

At first, I flipped out as any mother would do upon seeing a bag of white powder busted open on her kitchen floor. Could it be poison? Has Briana developed a taste for poison? Does she have a drug habit we were never aware of?

Upon further invesigation I realized that our 15 year old arthritic dog had removed an entire bag of flour from a shelf in the pantry, dragged it to her bed, and went to town on it. She had flour caked in her nose holes and gumming up her mouth = truly gross, but hysterical.

Thanks for your love and devotion, and for never failing to surprise us. Until we meet again...

special pink kitty cup

I recently filled an order for an old high school friend Joanna McNally for her mother Julie.
Her mother loves cats and her favorite color is pink.
I also put her initials in a crown on the back. How sweet, right?

The cup is wheel thrown and painted porcelain fired to Cone 6.

set of rabbit cups

These are a set of 6 rabbit cups. Didn't they turn out sweet?

An Unusual Request

I traveled to Richmond, VA. last weekend with my neighbor friend Maureento visit her Aunt Sis.
While there, my artistic services were requested to paint a shamrock on Aunt Sis' funeral box
(a wooden box that will hold her ashes when she dies).
How unusual, right? But I was certainly honored to be asked.
Especially for such a spunky cute gal like Aunt Sis. She is a delight.

Above is Aunt Sis in the middle, her neices Maureen from Maxeys on the left
and Maureen's sister Rita Anne from Maryland on the right.

The box itself is an antique (pine I think).
She said she would just stick some shamrock decals on it,
but don't you think it's more special being painted?

See how cute she is?
She said, "It's so pretty! I can't wait to get in there!".

Mother's Day golf

Jones golfers, originally uploaded by joneshandmadegoods.

We all met up at Cedar Creek in Loganville for some Mother's Day golf per Linda's request. Baby Naiya stole the show and we all had a big fun time.

my poor cat's tail

I had to share these pictures of my darling cat Bela with you. She and the other cats have been going outside during the day, and something (another cat, a chipmunk, ?) bit her on the tail! Her tail swelled up and she developed a fever. She had to go see the vet and this is what they did to her...
At first she was very self-conscious about her poodle-cut condition, and whipped her tail about like it was chasing her.She has to stay inside until all her pink medicine is gone. The other cats have been teasing her relentlessly.
Ted simply wouldn't leave her alone when she came home from the vet. Sniffing and investigating her hurt tail obsessively. I had to shut him out the dining room and this made him sad.

Festival Fun

First, thanks so much to all the friends who came out to the Inman Park Festival this past weekend. And hello to all the new friends I made and I'll definitely be returning next year - with baby in tow! What a fun time Inman Park was, fellow vendors, I recommend this one!

Next, get ready for a double doozy as this coming up weekend (May 2 and 3) is SOUTHWORKS at Ocaf in Watkinsville.

It's from 10 am to 5 pm Sat. and Sun.
There will be over 60 artists, live music, food, and free kid's art activities.

Ocaf always puts on a worthwhile, quality event and I have a huge soft spot for them, as this is where I also teach my children's clay classes.
A lot of artists who were at the Ocaf Holiday Market will be returning - - like friends featured in my Dec. Holiday Market blog post Elizabeth D'Angelo and Joanna Stecker = awesome!

There's also 2 really neat exhibits in the gallery worth investigating.
Come on out and find the perfect Mother's Day gift and expect to have a super fun time too!

Sunday - a photo montage

Today is Sunday,
and here is a photo montage of the activities that unfolded here at home in Maxeys.
I had some work to do gathering wood out of the woodpile to paint on.
And I kept seeing things worth a snapshot. Enjoy...

First, here is a picture of what my husband has done to our backyard.
His favorite thing to do right now is move earth around.
At least there's no grass to mow.

I went to the woodpile to gather some boards to paint on, Frida joined me.

Next to the woodpile, there was the sweetest little violet growing all by itself.

I walked the property line and in a muddy spot I saw lots of footprints.
Lots of cat and dog ones, but also little raccoon prints.
They have little hands like ours!Next to the raccoon prints is a wisteria patch along the fence line.

It only looks beautiful this time of the year.
I wish you could smell the delicate sweet fragrance through this photo.

By then I had gathered up my wood and
got to work on sawing it into paintable pieces.

I noticed these buzzards watching me,
hoping I would mortally injure myself so they could swoop in and have supper.

But as you can see, I was wearing all the proper safety protection -
gloves, respirator, and goggles - no injuries were sustained, sorry buzzards.
I get into my power tools.

Are you ready for some Festival Fun?!?

April 25 and 26, 2009 11am - 6pm

here's the link to the festival website

I will be there selling my wares along with a whole

bunch of other great artists.

It's going to be a beautiful, super fun weekend!!

for maddie

I read a blog on Fridays called Inverse Candlelight, and she had a photo of this darling little girl posted. And she caught my eye because she's just so darn cute! Then I read further and discovered that last week this little girl unexpectedly - died. And I haven't been able to think about much else since. Her name was Madeline Alice Spohr -Maddie- and her mama Heather is a hysterical master blogger who has been chronicling her and her husband Mike's experiences at www.thespohrsaremultiplying.com with a difficult pregnancy, 3 month premature baby, and the joy and happiness they experienced being her parents.

Then quite unexpectedly last week - gone.
I cry now as I type.

Perhaps it's my "condition" or the fact that Maddie and my niece Naiya are about the same age, but this family's story has really hit me hard and deep.
If you'd like to help them somehow, you can donate to the March of Dimes in honor of Maddie here or contribute to a fund to help Heather and Mike here .

my darling mother-in-law

My mother-in-law Linda Jones sent a note in the mail

and I wanted to share it with you because,

well, it made me cry like a baby.

She wrote,

"You can kiss your family and friends goodbye

and put miles between you,

but at the same time you carry them with you

in your heart, your mind, your stomach,

because you do not just live in a world,

but a world lives in you."

Masters Memories

The Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National is coming up soon.
My husband and I were lucky enough to get invited to go the the practice rounds last year, and I thought I'd share my favorite photos I snapped while we were there.


The one above is Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player putting. Jamie was freaking out to see them in person. Look at the sea of people in the background. Madness.


The one above is the greens at Augusta National. One day my lawn shall look like this. Even the snacks, drinks, and beer at the Masters were super awesome (and cheap, believe it or not, $1 sandwiches, $1 beers, and special commemorative cups to boot!)

The one above is a sweet, candid shot of Jim Furyk fixing his daughter's ponytail (that's a bow in his mouth). Which reminds me that famous pro-golfers are regular folks too.

Spring! Thank God You're Here...

Ted sniffs a flower. He's such a good boy.

He's going to try out for the Maxeys soccer team this spring.
He just needs to learn not to pop the ball

My most favorite camellia bush in our yard. Have you ever seen such beauty?

Ted loves this Camellia too.
I recommend camellias, they come out in bloom in January and stay pretty through spring and require very little maintenance for such beauty.

The cats have been kicked out. They seem to be adjusting well.
However, Rose Petal refuses to leave the deck.

Handled Cups are Here!

Introducing, the latest members of the Jones Handmade Goods family - handled cups! Isn't this one sweet? Jamie took me for a ride in his John Boat and that's where this image comes from... I have several listed in my Etsy shop and if you want to hold them in your hands, stop by the Krimson Kafe in Watkinsville as I have a large selection of them there as well. And you simply must get lunch too to keep your nutrition up!

pre-planning

A tender reminder
that Valentine's Day is one month away.
Wouldn't your sweetie love a cup or card
with "rabbits in love" telling them
how much you adore them?
Click here to buy one of these items
and many more at my shop

Farewell President Bush...

Farewell President Bush...
Thanks for everything. Here's my #1 favorite photo of you and a friend.
100% respect buddy and fellow rabbit lover.