Weekend Fun and Inspiration

We finally ran off to the cabin for some down time, much needed down time.  I love taking photos while we are driving there but I must contend with a photo through the windshield as he doesn't slow down much for me to capture anything.   

I think I do a pretty good job though, enough that they inspire me to paint.  

I think this photo is my favorite from the drive and yesterday I flew off to the studio to capture it.  I haven't been in the studio for nearly two weeks and it was so time I played in paint.  I really didn't get much done because Linda came in and I haven't talked or seen her for nearly a month.  This studio thing is kind of okay because I have time alone there and she does, BUT, I do miss us chatting. 

Home for lunch I pulled up in our driveway and just had to capture the beauty of our house and the flag for Flag Day!

It is started and trust me it is tiny but if I am to sell some more on the 4th of July weekend at the cabin, well tiny sells quickly.  This one is only a 5x7 and I plan on doing it bigger at some point.  Guess you call this a study as a lot of artists do. 

Diet update...well, the weekend I kind of ATE stuff I shouldn't but that's okay once in awhile.  The scale is up 2...RATS!  It's funny how hard it is to get off but how easy it piles back on and so quickly.  DAMN FAT!

Never-Ending Meal Planning

This pandemic thing has amped up my grocery shopping and cooking life like no other.  First of all I feel like I am CONSTANTLY thinking about food.  It's mostly because I don't go inside a store so I have to order and then pick up my groceries, sometimes I have them delivered.  What this means is that I'm in a never-ending meal planning mode.  Yesterday I cleaned out my deep freezer and tossed out most of the bottom of the freezer.  Hated to throw out corn on the cob but it clearly had freezer burn.  I just needed to assess my "stores" in there.  Lo and behold I did find a final fruitcake which we delved into this morning.  There was also a bag of huge blackberries that were good so I made a blackberry cobbler and apple pie because we had guests last night.  I haven't made a good pie in awhile.  

This morning I'm again meal planning, shopping for the week.  I'm having my book club on Wednesday night and the next Wednesday night my birthday girls.  They are small groups, very small and we will dine on our patio with heater going if needed.  It's just time to see them all.  I decided to cook a pot of veggie soup one evening and chili for the next.  I also have to plan on meals that are pretty quick for The Hubby because he goes to dance classes/lessons 2-3 nights a week and needs to be out of the house fairly fast.  All this going on I'm also still working at the office a bit and dealing with my Daddy's house-estate and all that is involved in that.  I've not spent a lot of time at the house this week.  I did go on Sunday and Wednesday to hopefully gather up the last of his stuff to have Salvation Army take it all away on Wednesday.  

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!

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!