I Miss You

I miss you Momma...10 years ago today I watched you take your last breath.  I love you and miss you terribly.

Loss of a Friend

 

My dear sweet Daddy had some very sad news yesterday.  On Sunday's about 10:30 in the morning, every Sunday, he gets in his little car and drives out to his oldest friends house to visit.  He and Jay were best buds in high school and Jay has a twin sister, Kay, he goes to visit Jay but Kay comes to bring them lunch and to give Daddy his kiss!  Jay is married to Helen.  Jay and Helen were also dear friends of my Momma and Daddy.  Anyway, Helen had a massive heart attack yesterday about the time that Daddy goes to visit.  I don't know if he was there because I only had a message from him.  I didn't call back because he can't hear but will today.  He called all three of us, Bro, Sis and me but only talked to Sis and she said what happened.  You could tell on the message that he is torn up for a lot of reasons but one is because tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of Momma passing.  Breaks my heart for him and Jay and their family.

NOTE:  Edited this after I just talked to him...yes he was there but said there was nothing he could do.  So sad and hard on him and Jay.

Sunshine, Painting and Friends

Good morning all.  A beautiful Sunday morning it is.  I could have slept in but alas that was not to be.  I was up and awake at five this morning.  It is frustrating to not be able to sleep in anymore but the good thing is that I am a morning person now.  Had a visitor outside the bathroom window peeking in at me.  He's still a baby.

We headed to the cabin Friday afternoon for an evening of chitter-chatter with friends and a good meal.  Up Saturday and a quick gab session and coffee with Harri next door but back in town for The Hubby.  His dance people were bringing in a professional for some extra lessons and he didn't want to miss out on that.  I was fine with it and spent the afternoon and evening enjoying the backyard in my air-chair, a good book and cold glass of iced tea.  Life is grand!  

Friday evening was dinner at Clancy's of which consisted of yummy BBQ!  It was a nice easy evening of visiting, a few gin and tonics and a wonderful snapshot of shadows and beauty in her cabin.  I think I will have to try and paint this one for sure.  I've already painted one from a snapshot I took from her kitchen window.  Her cabin is just darling and has been featured in one of Charles Faudree's decorating books a few years ago, since he designed the inside.

Art has been fun lately as I'm working on a very intense realism topiary from a photo I took on the trip to Moss Mountain Farm and Marlsgate Plantation a month ago.  It has been so much fun but to loosen up I've also been doing some mixed media with watercolor, pen and markers.  Fun stuff and selling a bit too.  If you notice on the right side of my blog there is a link to Daily Paintworks.  I've been a member of that website for over a year but had not been able to navigate or find the time to navigate it to add my paintings to sell.  Well, this past week I finally did it and now have an avenue for people to see some of my work and SELL!  It's cool because I can link it to Facebook and the third day they actually picked one of mine to feature on their page!!!!  So very excited about that.  I haven't sold any yet on the page but I'm sure I will.  I definitely get a lot of traffic on my page now!  

Tuesday evening was also a night out with friends, Bev and Kelly.  We have season tickets to the Broadway show at the PAC with them now and makes a nice evening of dinner and a show with friends.  It was 42nd Street which The Hubby was not too much of a fan of.  I loved it.  We had dinner at Wild Fork and of course I had to snap a photo of the table.  

Always looking for a painting aren't I.  

Summer is going by way too fast for me.  I know everyone is HATING the heat but I LOVE IT!!! I love the sunshine, the warmth the warm glow that I see when I am out there.  I love summer and I'm sorry we are having a heat wave but hey, IT'S SUMMER!  I go outside and sit and just soak up the heat.  It's healing for me.  

Have a great day, week!

Weekend with Snicklefritz

 Life this weekend is with a 3-1/2 year old and their black lab and it couldn't be better.  Snicklefritz's mommy and daddy aka B&B2 are attending Woodyfest in Okemah, in that celebration and to celebrate 10 years of when they first met.  We have had a fantastic time and I'm sure they have too.  Snicklefritz loves to spend time in my room with my art supplies and I love to share.  I painted, watercolor and colored pencil this little gem and she fell in love with it.  She asked if she could take it home and I said, "Certainly!"  I attended a bachelorette party on Thursday and took pics of some of the flowers that abounded and this was one.  

We've only had one tiny spat and it was at dinner time after NOT having a nap.  She started to go full-tilt unwound when I ACCIDENTALLY took the straw off her chocolate milk her parents brought her.  Wow, I immediately looked her in the eyes and said, "We DO NOT allow whining like that in Granny's house." Man, she welled up and put her hands over her eyes and tears were a flowing but not sobbing.  I think I hit a nerve and it did not escalate at all.  I hugged her, told her I was sorry about her straw and that it was an accident, that I didn't know.  She was okay after that.  She finished the straw process, ate her meal and was a delight after that.  WHEW!  

Thursday Thoughts

Good Thursday morning all.

Man when I finally do get some rest I can NOT wake up.  On Monday night I drifted off to sleep and within 30 minutes I was awake for three hours so my total sleep time was about three hours.  UGH!  This meant painting day (Tuesday) I was a  bit sluggish but I managed to make it without a nap and not really feel tired.  This morning, I woke up, or at least tried to wake up, at regular time.  I just could NOT get my eyes open at 4:45.  I finally made myself wake up at 6:30 just as The Hubby was leaving.  I decided it was ponytail day and wash my face day even though I have a bachelorette party to attend tonight.  It's a pool party so I'm good.  

Last night was book club but just as I was getting ready to leave B2 sent me a text asking if I saw on Facebook about a daughter of a friend on mine, that is in our book club.  NO I DID NOT!  Egads, I knew Donna was not coming but assumed she was not coming because she was at her daughter's to play with the brand new granddaughter.  Well, she was not coming because she HAS to babysit.  Her daughter, Jacq is having her first chemo today.  WHAT WHAT WHAT.  Oh no no no no no.  Jackie was one of our youngest best friends in high school, her mother, my friend was her government teacher and now book club friend.  Anyway J was pregnant, due in May but in March was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Friends she was 7 months pregnant.  Anyway, I guess they did nothing until May, after the baby came when it was upgraded to stage 2 and today, July 14 she starts chemotherapy, with a 2 month old baby.  Oh my heart aches for them all.  She did say that prognosis is good and as I did some reading on the diagnosis there have been some major steps to have a good outcome with it.  I hope so and will keep the positive thoughts going on for Donna, Jackie and sweet Cora.  

Birthday Pic's...Finally

Finally, the photographer has gotten us the family pictures from my birthday "DAY."  It was such a full and fun day.  The photos were taken at the house my father pretty much grew up in that is now a hospice office.  We then went to my Daddy's and that house is where my mother grew up and we grew up so tons of memories and family history by the locations alone.  Enjoy.

B & B2, Snicklefritz and Mondo

Daddy and siblings

Awwwww

My fabulous beautiful fantastic wonderful girls

 

 

 

Boy we had fun!

Tears

STOP IT....JUST STOP IT!!!!!!!!!

Life in June and Beyond

Oh gosh, what can I say, "I'VE BEEN BUSY," and that's the reason I have 

been AWOL here on Jill of All Trades. 

Of course I have been painting with this sweet little one finished finally last week.  It's The Hubby's cousin's son's daughter, 2nd or 3rd or 4th cousin, something like that.  Anyway, he has a small family so we are all kind of close.  The girl is named Lillian and I so totally missed making her a baby blanket and the sweetie is 3 I think and now they're going to have a son.  CRAP...so I decided to paint her picture and send a baby blanket for him.  They don't know yet so MUM's the word!

Also, while painting the extensive realist topiary painting I have to take a break to create some of these with my watercolors, pens, and markers.  Such fun and a huge hit.  Hmmmmm, thinking of changing my focus, really I am...

Oh, and last Monday I had a physical and boy was I scared.  For the past 2-3 years now, since I have been on blood pressure meds my BP has been high when I go in.  Makes me even more anxious to know that it's going to happen.  Usually it goes down when we chat and especially when we talk about the art.  Well, this time he said it was FREAKING FANTASTIC!  I was so over the moon happy.  I guess the eating differently has really made the difference.  Kind of fallen off the wagon this past month and have GOT to get back in the game but I think it is showing in this picture, don't you! 

On top of birthday partying this month I also attended a Friday bash for the classes of 1970-1979.  It was actually hosted by my brothers class of 1976.  It was fun plus my class had a cookout which was kind of mehhhh.  My heart was not into that one for sure. 

Also, on the calendar was a sweet backyard wedding of our old good good dear friends son.  I knew them before they even got married and now their youngest was getting hitched.  He had a scare a couple of weeks before when after, AFTER the big bike race, Tulsa Tough, when he and his then fiance' were riding their bikes home down 15th street and stopped alongside the road, later in the evening, he was run down by a hit and run driver.  Poor Sarah was there, saw it and thought he was dead.  Luckily a bunch of bruises, cuts, stitches, a couple broken bones but nothing life threatening.  STUPID DRIVER!!!! 

I've also been a reading fool yet again.  Well, there's nothing on television during the summer so I have my nose deep in my books.  I'm already up to I think 38 or 39 since January 1.  Check out my read list to the right.  I've read some good ones lately.  Elin Hilderbrand's latest is great along with Mary Kay Andrews.  

Voting was also on the agenda for the month of June.  I VOTED and was proud to be the first in my precinct.  

So now onward to July and looking forward to the youngest to come back for a visit along with her guy.  Then next up will be EEEEKKKKKK our trip to Rome!  Can't lie, I'm a bit nervous and excited.  Just need to get the world to stop being bad and naughty please.