Happy New Year!

I almost forgot to share this bit of art with you. It was for a "12 Days of Christmas" ornament swap, and I had "A partridge in a pear tree". My ornament was not opened until Dec 23rd, by which time we were already in New York. So finally, here it is:

It is made from a laminate sample, using molding paste, a rubber stamp, and paint. The bird is made from shrink plastic. I was pleased with how they turned out. Below are all the pieces I did. There were 14 of us in the swap, but we made it work! All the ornaments were just beautiful. I will have to take photos and share them with you.

So here it is, New Year's Eve and tomorrow we have to begin to remember to write "2009". It hardly seems possible. We usually stay up until midnight, but don't do much to celebrate. We talked about heading to downtown Raleigh for the First Night festivities, but as the weather is supposed to drop to the 20s and the winds are gusting quite strong, and I have a raging head cold that not even the best of meds seem to be able to conquer, we are staying home tonight, and I probably won't stay up.

In Raleigh (The City of Oaks) we have a copper acorn sculpture that is hoisted into the air and "dropped" at midnight. You can see a photo of it at our local news channel's website. It is tradition in the southern United States to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck in the New Year. As I grew up in the north, I haven't bought into that one yet. How do you celebrate where you live?