Foxfire Daily: Worktable

 Fox's work today: some crystals, a chunk of raw (unpolished) amber, some painted bone bits, an ear cuff, and a delicate little labradorite pendant. Still practicing the basket-weaving technique. Better photos coming, I promise!

And a Wyrmling Interlude... the 2-yr-old decides it's time to practice her color words with Mommy's pens. This is what homeschooling looks like for an artist.

Studio News: The life and times, chapter 2

First off, the happy things...

The dragonette is crawling, working on walking, clapping her hands, improving her little baby vocabulary, and has "mama" and "dada" down pat. And she hates sleep, both naps and nighttime. She still thinks books are for chewing on instead of reading from. Music and dancing are her favorite things, followed closely by things she can chew on (read: everything else). She's starting to share our meals, when there's something mushy enough for her to masticate.... 

Dragon's had a job offer... well, two, technically... and they're jobs he can work at the same time. The catch: they're in Greensboro and we're currently staying in Albemarle. That's an hour and a half (or so) drive away, for those of you unfamiliar with the area. Oh, the irony.

So the door closes, the window opens... and it's out of reach with no ladder in sight.  Nothing works out. Anybody know a way we can live in Greensboro long enough for this job opportunity to go through?  Or, if someone here in the area (I think we'd even take something within a state or so's distance... hint hint nudge nudge to my family in VA) have any leads on a place to live and/or a job possibility...

It's an interesting place to be in, when (literally) the only thing one has is one's partner. All Dragon and I have is each other, and our little wyrmling. Well, ok, we have a car, and clothes and stuff. But, with no job and no place to live that isn't granted us by someone else's grace... well, that's not my idea of a way to live. We've got very few allies. My mom is the only one who really seems to care anymore. Everyone else is either unable or unwilling to help... or has outright turned their backs on us.

We wanted a better life for ourselves, each other, and the little ones... and we ended up with nothing and no way to change that.

We're open to ideas, at this point. (Hint: this is where you chime in...)

Studio News: The Life and Times...

First off, Happy New Year!

Secondly, we still need some prayers and good wishes. Things have not yet settled down to any semblance of "good" or "right." I still don't have any workspace. My materials and tools are all in storage still. And Dragon's dad is still driving us nuts. We need lots and lots of good vibes sent our way.

On a happier note, I got to spend Christmas with my two elder daughters (both of them bright and beautiful just like their baby sister) Who also got to meet their baby sister for the first time - long story. It was a good Christmas despite my mom's side of the family. And a couple other things. Anyways... the Wyrmling is sitting up on her own now, as of just a few days ago. And working on standing. She's not even 5 months old yet.

We are so in trouble.

<3 Fox

Studio News: Gypsy Life

So in the past 6 months, Dragon and I have lived 3 different places, two of which have been in NC. For those of you unaware, we moved in with Dragon's dad several weeks ago, because our previous living arrangements were less than ideal.  The hope was that this would be better.

Well, it is and it isn't. Dragon and I get to share a room here, which we couldn't in Kernersville (funny story - ask me about it later).  We have our own personal, private space.  And we aren't getting preached at every time the father-in-law is home.

And while these are huge perks, there are downsides.  I have no place to work, which means no new pretties from your favorite internet Fox.  We're about am hour farther away from my family than we were, whilst still being smack dab in the midst of Dragon's family drama. Never a dull moment.  Funny part is, we just found out from the employment security commission that there's a job back in Kernersville that would probably be just about perfect for my Dragon. Gofigure, huh?

On a better and brighter note - the mini-dragon is rolling over, starting to sit up, trying to crawl, and howling furiously in frustration when she can't make it work right.  She headbutts her daddy and laughs about it.  Her favorite chew toys are daddy's knuckles. (total daddy's girl, if you couldn't guess)  At almost four months old, she is hitting milestones that shouldn't occur until 6 months.  She still sleeps on me, and wakes up at least twice during the night wanting a snack.... voracious little dragonspawn that she is.

Dragon and I are spending a lot of time in various nerdy pursuits in between his family's outbursts and his job hunting - namely coming up with creative ways for two people to play D&D. In the meantime, I'm missing my WoW something awful, especially with the new expansion coming out soon.

Anyways, more coming soon - with nothing at hand but to twiddle my thumbs and take care of the dragonspawn, I'll have to start teaching myself how to really be a blogger. Or something. Maybe I'll start writing again; I've got a couple dozen stories sitting around on my hard drive that I never finished, and I know at least one person that's dying for the final chapters of a couple of them....

=^-_-^=

Studio News: The Journey as of Today...

This is Moira, our 1-month-old baby girl. She's a total daddy's girl already - way ahead of the curve and snarky to boot. Yes, a 1-mo old infant can be snarky. She's holding her head up all by herself, working on sitting up by herself and rolling over (yes, already!).  I am in so much trouble (again).

Our home life is interesting, and definitely not what we'd like it to be.  We were recently forced to move from FL to NC, in with Dragon's folks (who are now separated, with his mom having moved out - we are stuck in the house with his stepdad, which is a curious ordeal in and of itself).  The car decided to die after we got here, first needing a new battery, then overheating if it's driven for more than 5 minutes, which we still haven't managed to resolve, thanks to discovering (after we'd replaced the radiator) that any repair we do is probably going to be ridiculously expensive.  (the car's a 2000 Cadillac Catera and not worth much) There's a lot to do, lot needing done that we can't do because of the car. Dragon's looking for a job but it's pretty much academic without a way to get anywhere.

In spite of all that (and the fact that Dragon's stepdad is less than easy to get along with), we're still in a pretty good way. I'm amazed at how I can look at my life now and know that if I never have more than what's "enough" I'll be content, because I love my Dragon and I love my girls, and as long as our needs are met, then that's good enough for me.  There are things I'd like to have, ideals I'd like my life to live up to, but if they never do, I'll have no regrets so long as my family is taken care of.

That's not something a lot of people can say.

Studio News: Announcement

Some of you know, but a major portion of you don't...

Fox and Dragon had our first baby Aug 7, 3:53 AM.  She was 7lb, 13oz, 20 & 3/4 in. long, and her name is Moira Jeannette. She is strong, healthy, has a voracious appetite, and is incredibly alert for a newborn. Dragon is positively beside himself being a new daddy.  I don't think I've ever seen him smile this much, or heard so many giggles out of his mouth... especially when the little dragonspawn latched onto daddy's nose and started suckling.

Many blessings, much love, and all the Light-

Fox, Dragon, and the brand-new Wyrmling.