Merry Christmas To All

 I wish everyone a very Happy Holiday Seasons and the best New Year ever....
My Christmas Cactus is getting ready to burst into bloom again this year,too!!! I painted this a year or two ago....
The first time ever this year we are traveling for the holiday, so I will see you back here early next year.... bye for now....

Now November

         The once White book shelf transformed

A painting I did of the beach at Fred Howard Park

New art piece is almost finished and I must still apply a varnish before finding a spot to place it..... This one has been fun to paint ,but feels like it is taking forever ....
Now, what is with this record heat we are having this whole week ,93 degrees,Really Tampa?????? W.T.F. .... This is November Right???
We had a great time celebrating Wy's birthday.. We went to Tarpon Springs ,to the beach at Fred Howard Park,and the beach called sunset beach,And then to lunch  at Captain Jacks ..  It was hot but we had a great breeze coming off the water...Yummy food ,great friends and a beautiful day...Who could ask for more?

Small Changes

  The New Tree Wall...
 Mission Accomplished...
I have been wanting to get Amy's trees re-framed and up on the wall for a very long time and I am very happy to have been able to do that yesterday.
I am so pleased with how they look..
It really dressed up this dining room wall....Don't you think???
Thank You Amy for this beautiful work....
They look way better in person I can tell you...

End Of The Month

                    Lakeshore Paintings Hung

White Book Shelf

                                 art piece coming

4x4

                         Atelier sample
 The Lakeshore pictures are in place and I am really enjoying keeping the memories alive as we move to the new and different time in our lives...
The little white book shelf under the window is now being transformed into a new piece of art, starting with a coat of black paint...
And then there is this... a four by four that this lady had no idea was so big or so heavy when I found it for a bargain price at the local Sally....Now that it is in place and filled, and I am thrilled with it....
Also this will be the first time Wy and I have ever lived in a neighborhood and we are very excited about having our first experience with Trick or Treaters...
I have to work until 6:30 so Wy has to start without me but it should be great fun....
At work we were ask to take part in an art contest to get new work into the bucket...All the artists that work at P.W.A.T.  in all the different states,are involved ,and I can not wait to see who's work gets picked..
We at our studio put in so many different and wonderful ideas, that I know they are going to have a hard time choosing the winners... It has sure helped to reawakened the creativity and interest around our place....
Yesterday was the first pet portrait class that I did not teach in the five years I have worked there, and the very first time one of the students I once help to teach many years ago, came to paint her pet..I did get to say hello and she has grown into a very lovely young lady.... and she did a great job on the painting...I am so glad to get to reconnect....
Atelier paint company sent me a sample kit of a new paint concept to test three ways. The two colors ,blue and white and a solution that slows the drying time... This is what I did with them, The moon in the middle was just using that paint . The clouds I used the drying solution and The stars, I let it dry and then went back in to rewet the surface and was able to smoothly blend to repaint the background so that you can not tell it... very good product test.... and I love the new paint...
The days are just flying by and here we are nearing the end of another month.....
Wishing everyone Happy Days....

Home

 Slowly but surely this house is feeling like home...
We are ,of course, filling every little nook and cranny with the stuff of life as we know it...
It has already been said more then once ,that it looks like we have been here for years...
That is what we needed it to be like to make it feel like ours...
Mission accomplished...
All of my Lakeshore paintings have now been framed,as of yesterday, and are now waiting for me to group them and hang them.... Any minute now I will get to that...
The weather here is supposed to get just a bit cooler for this weekend with 69 and 70 as the lows and 83 highs  sounds good to me.....
Okay now it is time to get busy  much to do yet....
Hope all are well....This mid-week....

Settling In

WOW, We are finally saying good by to the old homestead and starting to downsize to fit into a new life ...
Change is always a little hard at first , but getting on board with it is helping me to see it is long past due.....
A big Thank You goes out to my girls and their families for all the help and support they have been to us during this huge transition.... We love you all , More then words can express and we are aware this has not been easy for you guys either....
 We are finally starting to settle in to the "Mini Ragg's Ranch" and hopefully it will soon feel like home...
Okay now onward and upward we go....

   

rain

Wow I am impressed, with the amount and strength of the rain we have had in the last two weeks...It got harder and worse each day each hour...
I think it is contributing to the migraine  I am fighting now....
Water water everywhere...
I was unable to get to work tonight and not feeling up to the fight...
It has finally stopped...Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!!
THE SUN IS OUT ,SO HOPEFULLY THE YARD WILL START TO DRY OUT...
The bugs are bigger and biting harder since all the rains came....
Anyway it's onward and upward as we begin to clean out and get rid of stuff to prepare for the next phase of our life...
Big changes coming very soon it looks like...
Hope all are well and no one has floated away .....

I

Where has it gone?

How has this summer just flown past me???
Time is going by too fast....
Time fly's when you are having fun....It is so true...
I had the best visit with family in the northwest, I miss you guy's so much....
I can not believe it is over and we are on to other things already...
But very happy too, that Wy is six weeks out from the second hip replacement and sees a big improvement...
Thanks to all who helped to keep him company while I was gone....and fed him so well....
He finished physical therapy yesterday and says a great big Thank You Joli for taking such great care of him, and to Achieve home health for hooking them up.....

46th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary My Love!!!!!
It is so hard to imagine that we have been married for 46 years now....
It has gone by too fast...
 Wy, I love you!!!!
We were just babies and grew up together,and have been more then blessed the whole of our life's journey together....And with such great family and friends...
May we have many more happy years together....

Recovering

 I am teaching the fish on June 21st.... Come paint this ceramic fish with me....



   Wy's  starting the recovery process now and, slowly but surely he will be back on his feet...
Thank You to all the wonderful people who have been helping and supporting us as we go through these trying times and head out the other side....
There is, after all ,light at the end of this tunnel....
Now that we are home I am keeping busy while he is at rest, doing some prep for the up coming classes... See examples above
I am still upset about people using our yard as their dump...But am trying to flap my wings and move on from it....
Here we are to Saturday, my favorite day, so hope you all have a good one....

Home Again Home Again...

                       First night painting

              I was trying to hide my double chin

                   We did a very nice job

                     Home is good to see

I am home and back to full working days...
but off today so no plans yet, maybe just a day of rest...We shall see
I took many pictures with my new phone,while I was away,and tried to post daily, but alas,I did not know how so .....
Anyway I had a ball and painted lots of pictures while there....
much fun was had by all...
The weather was beautiful as well, which helped too....
It was sure nice to meet Beth and have such a nice experience,sharing time and space with her....Great person...
We are now ready for the next step at home which is Wy's second hip, coming up on Tuesday...Please keep him thoughts....
Ok on with this day ...All the best to you for a good weekend....

Off to see Head Quarters

I am off on a new adventure today...Going to get trained...

I am very excited to be given this chance to meet all the fine folks that make the magic happen back on the home front...

The starting point of "Painting With A Twist." 

Four full days of painting and fraternizing with the head honchos and all the other people that make this well oiled machine run so well....

I am so happy to be a part of all of this....

I wish you all a very good week....

Down by the water side , added to Etsy

 

I am really trying to get more art work into my Etsy shop.

I have started adding some of the paintings from my "Down By The Waterside" collection today. Yesterday it was the paintings from my "Fruits of my Labor "collection..so if you get a chance, stop by to visit my shop...

Work has been very busy, which you already know, I think is a very good thing...I spent ten hour there on Mother's Day,with back to back,to back, sold out classes...much chaos but much fun and a wonderful time was had by all....

Must fly now, many things to get finished before heading out to work...

Hope this finds all well and happy....

Etsy shop

  Two more added....


I finally was able to get my Etsy shop up and running again .
I hope you will stop by and take a look... slowly but surely I will get more paintings added to this site ,so please keep checking from time to time to get to see all the new addition as they go up.
I have to run now, too many tubs of slaw today to dally, so I hope you have a happy Saturday....