WET

The ground is so wet here that we have mushrooms every where... I took many, many pictures of them because there are so many different variety's... holy smoke I have never seen so many in one yard before... granted this a big yard ,but.... w-o-w  I am impressed.....
Yesterday was a very good Saturday...Thank You, Thank You!! I worked S.O.S. and we had two people come to work on their paintings, they both expressed how nice they thought it was to have the place to themselves to finish little touches...
I was able to pre-paint The Blue Butterfly for next Friday's class...
I am almost finished with the new book club book and I really like this one...
The Beach Trees by Karen White. It's a must read ..to me anyway....
It's going to be a scorcher today, it was 82 when I got up at 5:45A.M. and the sun is beating down.... That should take care of some of the water standing in our yard.. It won't take long....

Have a very nice Sunday y'all

Quiet...

 It is way too quiet here now.. The birds took flight yesterday A.M. and there is nothing coming from the fireplace now.... They left early this year.
It Poured and poured all night thursday night and all day friday...We had huge puddles in the yard, but it has already all soaked in....
Thank You Pat for coming to my class last night I had so much fun ,please tell Grace thanks to for me.. you both did a great job and I can't wait to see your pictures on facebook....
Today is s.o.s. class so I will have to wrap this up quick and get ready to go... I hope everyone has a great Saturday!!!!!

After The Holiday

And a wonderful day it was!!!
I finished up a lot of little chores I had started, Made a punch bowl cake to take to the Bar-B-Que.. and started working on adding color to the first sketch in the book.
Thank You ,Wallace and Val... Wy and I enjoyed everything, and your home is so comfortable and beautiful,Thank you for including us... The food and seeing so many old friends was great, it was a very nice evening....[ We will send pictures]
The play ,Friday Night was very funny and good, you all did a great job... I am glad to hear that the crowds picked up for the rest of the weekend..
Tonight is our book club meeting and the book is" The Other Wes Moore". I am looking forward to discussing it and eating at Marcello's.. Yum!!!
I have now gotten four sketches in the book, but only one started with color, so there is still that...

 There were many birthdays this weekend so Many Happy Returns to you all....and its back to some sort of routine for this short week... Everyone have a good one, and I will be back here again soon....

July

 

 Holy Smokes, am I behind or what??  
I just don't know where the time goes!!!!
It has been busy around here.. Last night at P.W.A.T. we had" The Working Women Of Tampa Bay" , and they had a fund raiser for childhood cancer," One Voice" ... They each got to paint one to three, 3x3 small canvasses {35people} with three different pictures to choose from, and it was great fun . Leslie and Marvin provided lots of good food, a wine tasting and it was a big hit with everyone. Talk about organized chaos, and a wonderful time was had by all !!!!
We also had the first Paint your own Pet over the weekend and had a good turnout for that.. The artists draw the picture you send in and then you come in and paint it... they turned out great.. We have another date set for it in July and it's already almost full...
Jalyn left yesterday for jobs up north, for an undisclosed number of days and she will be missed...
The girls are getting together today to go to the movies.. that should be fun.. first time in a long time for that....
Amy and Eric and friends have a play opening tonight.." Bedfull of Foreigners ", at Carrollwood Players and this is a funny one.. yall' come now, ya hear!!!
We have been invited to a Bar B Que on Monday and that should be a nice day , no rain expected and good company...
I also recieved my sketchbook 2012 so I have some work to get started on...
 Jenn and Andy headed for Watkins Glenn for a Phish concret this weekend and its close enough that they get to visit family as well .. have a great trip you guys...
Happy Fourth Yall' be safe!!!!

Monday Morning

 

I do know this is Tuesday but.....On Monday Morning
 I got to do a children's class for the first time at P.W.A.T. and it was great... The kids all did a wonderful job of making the painting their own and the results ,Well see for your self... Artists in the making....  What a nice way to start the week off....
We had a pretty quiet Fathers day, than at 7:00 p.m. We met Amy, Eric ,Chris and Allen Jalyn,Wy and I, at Sunset Grill for a very nice dinner...Thank You!! Thank You!! Amy and Eric....
It has been Hot- Hot- Hot..Here and the pool has been a life saver for us.. How did we get so lucky???
Thank you also, Amy and Eric for you and your friends  coming to paint with me on Friday night ..Everyone was very creative with their Beach Houses ... and we had great fun with the second line ...Thank you Leslie for that...
Today is the first day of summer but we have been feeling it for months now...
Isn't that the original reason we lived in Florida??/ I guess but... It's getting hotter all the time...Air conditioning   Yeah!!! any way It's mid-month, Who would have thought?? 
On with this one, Hope yours is going well......

Birthday Fun

It was a Birthday week around here this week and we had some fun with it....
Mom's was on Monday but Teresa, Deb ,Mom and I went on Sunday to Lowery Park with a bucket of KFC and all the fixens for a picnic and sat out under the trees ,by the river and enjoyed the sounds of nature, people having fun and the company of each other.. then it was off to Bo's  for an ice cream cone to cool us off... Very Nice Day!!!
Tuesday Evening we celebrated Jalyn's birthday ,Amy and Eric came for dinner, Pork chops in the crock pot, yummy and tender... Then an early evening swim in the pool. and then cake....
Yesterday Wy had to have another tooth pulled, after it broke off on Sunday, That went well and he is doing well... I went to prepaint" Beach House" for Friday nights class..
Amy and Jalyn went to the zoo for the day and then went to dinner with friends....
We Had a very nice, badly needed rain to finish off the evening and went to bed at midnight to the flashes of lighting and the sounds of thunder.. We needed it so , it was almost music to the ears....

Tampa Bay At Night

I am pretty excited to get to teach this one to a full house tonight... It is an original by Tobey, and is a great painting of Tampa....
 I am also very excited that Jenn got to go see the sketchbooks that Teresa and I did for Art House 2011 ,on display in Seattle for only three days before they move to another part of the country... She really enjoyed getting to see them, and others....
Teresa and I are going to try to see them in Winter Park on July 29th, 30th or 31st.. We shall  see!!!! Should be fun..... I sent for the Art House 2012 sketchbook yesterday, and am looking foreward to it's arrival very soon, so I can once again get started ....
Well it's Saturday morning, and you guys know that that means so for now ,I have to wrap this up and get moving... Have a great day all....

Catching Up....

Summer is here even if not by the calendar...
 Jalyn got home, after being gone a month,Welcome Home!!!!
 We had Amy and Eric over and had a very nice dinner last night... I  put a roast in the crock pot by 8:00 A.M. and than went to do a bank and store run, at 1:00 I went to do a prepaint at P.W.A.T., and was back home at five...At 6:30 we sat down to a yummy dinner and good company, very nice evening![ This is Amy's last week of school for this year.] Eric has now started training for his new job...
There are now some small tomato's visible on my plants and I cant wait until time to pick them... something else to look forward to....
 I had another very busy, interesting and good weekend last weekend and am hoping this next one will be as good...
Mom and I took her new puppy "Willy" to get fixed and come to find out, he is a Great Dane...going to be a big fellow!! He is so cute, and now we know that there are two large dogs in their household....anyway he is doing well and back to has little boy ways..... [He gets up on the couch behind Debbie, and pulls her pony tail]
Wy and I had a fire in the yard and picked up all the limbs this week ,as well as,worked on spreading some of the  huge pile of mulch ,that the tree guys left us.. So, tired and a bit sore, but Life Is Good!!!!!!!
I am so enjoying the blog and pictures from John and Jeanette's Great Adventures... Keep Up the good work,keeping in touch... You are missed!!!
Jenn is feeling pretty good these days, and Andy is enjoying his new position in the company and his new office... Both are excited about the baby coming !! As are we....
Y'all have a good rest of the week now...now that you are caught up on things around here that is....

Fly By

Holy Smoke, this week just flew by.... Happy Memorial Day to all, and a Huge Thank You to all who have served, and are serving, this great country of ours!!!!!!!!!
It has been a busy week and as Jenn's parents we are very excited to become grandparents on the 1st. of next year!!!
I have been doing a lot of transplanting, both of vegetables and of the potted plants I brought back from North Carolina.... and in getting so hot out there, I have now been in the pool for the first time this year, Yeah!!!!!!!!
I have 16 tomato bushes in the ground, plus 6 large pots full on the pool deck. I have one pot of lettuce, one pot full of collards, I know its not the season for those but.... and I have one pot of cantaloupe... so far so good... we shall see how it all goes ... I forsee giving many veggies away in the very near future.... Any Takers Just let me know.......
I was very happy to be able to take part in the St. Pete Spring Fling On Saturday, and be able to hang and show some of my work, as well as see some of the other artist's work.. very nice work too, I might add.....
Included in the day was a work shop for we artists , and it was fun to get to meet Eric Patrick, one of the main painters for P.W.A.T. and he is now the new owner of the Miami store, opening June 1st. He brought along a training video that he made, and I was very happy to get to see it ... It was very helpful... Thank You Eric and Leslie and Marvin for including us in this day!!!!!!

Full Steam Ahead

Yesterday was a very busy, long day, and a good one. Thank You!!
 We started with breakfast, and it was Jamie ,Linda and I at Mimis..
Bookclub at 1:30 at Macaroni Grill , 9 of us showed for "Heads you  Lose", and we were there until after 4:30, and then it was off to work for me to teach the "my secret Beach" picture... Thank You Becky for your help there...  We had six people and they all did a very nice job....Imagine my surprise when I looked through the window while teaching the class and I see Linda and Tom driving by and smiling and waving at me!!! A  very nice surprise!!1 Hope your dinner was good!!!!
Anyway the boss has ask me to teach the family fun day today so its off I go, in a bit to do that... Should be fun!!! I hope everyone enjoys this beautiful Sunday....

Home Again, Home Again ,Jig Etc...

We made it home safe and sound again yesterday..Thank You,[ for lining the road with angels]....
 We awoke  this A.M.to a cool 58 degrees,
W O W!!!!! Go Tampa!!!
It was a great 18 days and over too quick, but we are back and refresh, ready to get back to routine... I didn't know what to expect with my little garden ,since I didn't ask anyone to water, but everything looks pretty good and the tomato plants are better then knee high....The yard looks good, not to many limbs down and the grass has not gotten too high...

The Picture is of a nest of five baby, Carolina Wrens ,that we watched and took pictures of everyday until Sunday morning when I got to watch mom encourage each one out of that nest and watch them fly away.. What a nice way to get in touch with nature....
I wish everyone a very nice day....

Good Morning World

Wow... How could it be that we are already starting our second and last week in North Carolina??? Where did the first one go??
The wedding of Taylor and Caleb Hoover was the most beautiful I have been to in a long while ,Thank You for including us in your joyful day....Even the weather cooperated and it was sunny and warm with a light breeze...WOW!! Breath taking ,the views and the bride and groom....
As soon as we arrived, we were home again , It is so wonderful to have two places that are home upon Arrival...How did we become so lucky???
Mothers Day was another warm, sunny, beautiful day and Thank You for all the blessings..
One thing I have not mentioned here before is my disease, Scleroderma, but because I have counted my blessings for so many things here , it was brought to my attention that
I had not mentioned how grateful I am for the recovery I have been receiving for this awful disease...This is true, but I have been doing so well for so long now that I have pretty much forgotten I even have it... Thank You !!! Thank You!!!
Thank You also to The Road Back Web sight for all your help and information, you are the reason I am doing so well.. This is long over due ,Thanking you guys>>> keep up the good work....
Ya'll have a good day now ya hear!!!

Happy Easter All

It has been another busy week and all went well!! Thank You!!
I have still not been feeling great so, we are not really celebrating Easter with the usual food, family, friends, and hoopla, but I still wish everyone a good one... Thank goodness we got together with everyone last weekend so we didn't miss out completely....I painted Friday night with nine people attending, "The whimsical Tree" and there was lots of creativity with this one... good job guys..... and now I have a few days off before I do a double sift on Thursday...
I guess I better be get things together so we can go to N.C. on Sunday...lots of chores and catching up to do first though.... anyway on with this beautiful, although hot day....

Fly Away Home

I am trying not to be sad about Jenn's going home today.... We had a wonderful visit...Thank You!! Thank You!!
I also want to say Thank You to everyone who showed up last night to paint with me for the" Palms at the Beach" We had 17 people and they all did a great job.... Thanks,to Becky, my lovely assistant ,without whom,the night would not have gone as smoothly....
We had more good news when Deb called yesterday to say she will get to continue working through the summer this year, which is not usually the case. Someone is looking out for her too. Thank you !!
Much to get done today before we take Jenn to the airport to fly away home, so for now... Have a great day all........

Fast Forward

Here we are to Tuesday already. WOW!!! We have had a very busy and productive week...
On Friday night I taught the" Tampa U." painting and we had 6 people sign up.. Two of which work in admissions there, so that was fun, and all did well....
Saturday was book club meeting at Jill's and everything was done up right and a wonderful time was had by all... Thank You Jill !!!!
Sunday was Jenn's private party at pwat and we had 13 people paint the" Starry Tree "and we all had a ball there... then it was out to our house to visit and eat.. It was old home week ,seeing everyone together again and adding new people to the mix as well... great times....
Tonight I teach my original "Three Palms on the Beach "and already have four singed up for it...
 Tomorrow Jenn goes back to Seattle and I am not ready to think about that ....
All this week  I have been very dizzy and nauseated... Whats That all about ???
Anyway hope all are well and have a very good week....

Jenn's home!!

All is right in my world right now and I am so Happy to have her here safe and sound.... The family, minus one, had dinner together last night,[Eric you were missed] Fried chicken and white rice and gravy..Yummy!!! and I am so grateful to have everyone together again for even a short time... Thank You!! Thank You!!!
We are back to lower humidity and 61 degrees and I am thankful for that too!!! It feels so nice ,to have the windows open and be able to here the birds morning songs....
It will be a busy fast week but a good one.... and I hope that's true for all of you guys too!!!!  bye for now ....

Sign of April

I now know for sure it"s April.... The birds are back in the fireplace, refreshing their nest.... all is right with Lakeshore again......
It"s Monday and we are preparing for Jenn"s arrival tomorrow,  and can"t wait to see her, It"s been to long.....
We did get to 93 yesterday and did finally have to turn on the air conditioner, at 4:00 p.m. ...It was 83 in the house and going up fast...
Saturday night was a lot of fun , we ended up having 16 people to paint" The Blue Shutters" and they all did well!!!! Thank You Becky for your assistance... we finished on time and everyone seemed very pleased....
This Friday night and next Tuesday night I am supposed to paint my two original paintings, if we get some people signed up... I guess we shall see... anyway I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with that.....
Amy is tyring to put the yearbook to bed this week , the deadline is fast approaching and she is well on the way to finished, and one more big job will have been checked off her list....
Anyway, on to Monday... hope everyone has a great week.....

Here comes the heat

Today starts the first of a week of the temp.'s being between 88 and 90... ugh!! I wasn't ready yet for that....
Wy and I did however, get the limbs burned finally yesterday , before I went to the doctor,[Good Check up] Thank You !! Thank You !!! and then went to prepaint" The Blue Shutters"... busy, productive day.....I am painting that on Saturday and already have 10 people signed up for it... It is a good one and I enjoyed doing the prepaint of it....
Jenn is coming to visit for a week on Tuesday coming up, and I can't wait.... She is having a private party at p.w.a.t. on the 17th of April so if anyone wants to join in just let me or her know....
Here we are to Friday and what's up for today? I do not know, we shall see!!!! hope you all have a great Friday....

Another Storm...

The bad weather is going to start by 7:00 a.m. so I want to get this up before it gets here...
Sunday we got the limbs up but not burned...I went to moms for a visit. Wy and I then met all the people from the St. Pete store at the Blue Parrot, and we had a wonderful time listening to the musician and watching the people  dance and sing, while we had Margarita's and munchies.It so so nice to get to meet and socialize with all of them...
Monday wy and I were in the garage most of the day , changing the belt on the mower... it was not fun, but necessary and the job is finished and the the mower works fine again... Thank You!! Thank You!!
I have got to get busy soon to do a prepaint for tomorrow night, "Sail Away" and it looks like fun...
Jenn picked a painting for her private party ,on Sunday the 17th. and it's called "The Starry Tree". If anyone out there wants to join us then, let me or her know and we will give you the pass word to sign up...
I am going to wrap this up now ,before the rummbling starts...
 stay safe everyone....

Sunday, Sunday

Gotta love this day... I have had a very busy week, Prepainted Wednesday, Worked Thursday night [ in the storms], Then again Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday night.... Wow!! Yet again I am pooped but very happy...
We had the cutest couple last night, The husband surprised his wife, brought her out of their home town of Cape Coral, to Tampa and then to our studio and she had never even heard of it before and had never painted.... It was their 2nd. anniversary, What a great guy... She loved it!!!!
I have got to cut this short because we have to get out and pick up the big limbs from the yard and get a fire going before the winds pick up...
 bye for now....

How Could This Be??

Is it possible that this is again the last day of another month gone by?
We are having the worst storms... It started last night at 5:00p.m. and has gotten worse and worse... We are supposed to have them straight through until tomorrow morning... We have lots of water standing in the yard now....
Yesterday Jalyn got on the roof and cleaned out our gutters, just before the rains started!!! The Gutter Goddess!!!! Thank You !!Thank You!!
The female turkey is in the yard again today.. we have not seen her since the last really bad storms we had about a year ago... Welcome back...

I went to prepaint yesterday, the" Funky Chandelier" and it went  fine.. I have that class tonight... Anyway on with this rainy day!!!

LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN

I wrote a very nice[in my opinion] blog this a.m. with all kinds of interesting things that I did on my Saturday, then I added pictures .. right in the middle of all that we had a power outage or two, no three, each lasting only a few minutes, but causing the pictures not to load correctly.
Wy so kindly came to help and somehow deleted the whole bloomin thing...
oh well, I will try again.
Saturday ,I started off with breakfast at Mimi's with Jamie , very nice start to the day, Then off to get gas and to the grocery store...home to put stuff away and then  off to Jamie's for book club.The book was "Ella Minnow Pea" by Mark Dunn... Jamie had everything dressed in the alphabet and looking good. A weenie roast was the choice of food and it was yummy!!! Thank You Jamie!! I was very excited to get to meet Brady, and to spend a bit of time with Carter and Peighton Too!!!
At 4:00p.m. I was at work to do a private party of 13 people and we painted" The Cobbelstone Walk" and a great job was done by all....Home by 9:30 p.m. and pooped but happy....
 Today Mom called to say ,come over and see the new puppy she and Deb got yesterday and so I did and Willy is a very mellow fellow and very cute...
That just about says it all  ,so hope you have a very nice evening, bye for now....

Catching Up

 So much to say, so little time....
 Thursday, after my class was cancelled, I worked my tail off outside with wy, until 1:00 then went to p.w.a.t. to prepaint.,while I was there I was offered the teaching of the other class that was on for Thursday, so I stayed and taught that instead.... We had 11 people with a range of from 13 years old to 90 years old... We had a great time....
Now on to yesterday, Friday,  Jalyn was working at the  St. Pete Grand Prix, so Wy and I decided to go to it and get to see it and her.... It was another beautiful day , nice cool breeze.... Thank You!!! Thank You!!! A wonderful time was had by all....
On Wednesday I repotted all my little seedlings that have come up and ,then went to visit my Mom...
Today is another busy one, Breakfast with the girls, book club at 2:00 and work at 4:00.. wow!! Time does fly when your having fun...
 I wish you all the best Saturday ever !!!