Days Off

Sunday was a peaceful day and I got a bit of house work finished, plus the prepaint for"Ciao Time". I can't wait for this one ,it is so cute... I cut out 6 stencils for it..[ "Oh, Ye Of Little Faith"] I just want everyone to be comfortable that it won't be too hard a painting to do, so a little help might be appreciated....Anyway if you like it as much as I do, come do it with me.....
This morning I took a picture of the beautiful morning clouds in the sky, and it wasn't until I got it loaded on kodak easy share, that I discovered the rainbow in it.. What a nice surprise.... way to start the day.....
I picked the first dozen grape tomatoes from my pool side garden and can't wait to taste them... yummm......Two Roma's too!!
I am off to see Dr. Germain this afternoon for my regular check, all is well...
Thank You Jamie, for the Pack and Play, I am very excited to get to use it some time soon....
Amy and Wy should be home tomorrow night and I can't wait to see them ...Have a safe trip.. Please Line the road with angels....
Well that's it for now, It was a very busy and very good week... Thank You!!!! Thank You!!!

Feast or

How is it Friday already???
I was lucky enough this week to get to work every night but Monday,[ no class held] and twice this Saturday,[s.o.s.].. It was great to get to assist both Nava and Tobey, and get to see how they each do things... Thank You!! Thank You!!
Last night I taught "Treasure Island Sunset" and tonight I am teaching "New York, New York" Saturday night it's" A Stroll at Night2 "...Busy, Busy Busy!!!! But in a good way!!!!
Jenn and Andy are headed for the Gorge for phish this weekend, I hope they have a great time....
Amy and wy are showing[ Beyonce] [I do not know how you spell it]around North Carolina and taking photos as they go.....fun...
I am finally going to get to pick my first tomato this weekend, it's been a struggle ,what with all the rain and heat.. I lost just about all the 21 plants that were in the ground, but the one's in pots on the pool deck are doing well and turning red...Thank You!!!! Thank You!!!! I can't wait for that first bite of a home grown.....
I did two sketches while waiting to get my mammogram at 7:30 a.m. yesterday, so I will work on adding color to those today...
Best I get busy, so, have a good weekend all...

Another Month Gone...

 WOW... Here we are to August... I guess we will probably sail through it too!!!!
Teresa and I had a great time looking at every one's sketchbooks at The Full Sail University in Winter Park, and what a nice school that is ....
The Art House Co=Op had everything organize so well, and it all went so smoothly it made it a pleasure to be able to see many peoples works...
 Thank You Teresa for doing so much research ahead of time to get us ready to see  many more books....
We were both  honored to be included among so many talented people.. What a nice experience it was to get to see them..
Sunday we had paint your own Pet Portraits at P.W.A.T. and it went very well.. They have done it enough times in St. Pete to be able to help us with a time schedule and with four Teachers having 6 people each, it was a good class and all the paintings turned out great.Thank You !!! Thank You!!!!
 I hear from Wy and Amy that all is going well in North Carolina ,and it is just as hot there ,but they are having a good time visiting and sightseeing....
Jenn is still getting much cooler weather in Seattle and she is getting some sketching done in her 2012 sketch book....She is also feeling pretty good and is happy to have her hubby back from his recent trip to Florida...
I am heading to mom's and then to work to prepaint for Thursday night's Treasure Island Sunset..
Hope everyone has a good rest of the week... bye for now.....

It Sure Is Quiet Around Here !

I do believe this is the very first time this has been the case... I sure hope all are doing well.. I am...
Today Teresa and I are going to Winter Park to see the sketchbooks from the Art House Co-Op project 2011... that should be fun....
This week has again been a busy one. I have gotten two doctor visits out of the way...Thank You!! Thank You!!  and all went well...Just one more in two weeks and that's checked off the list....
Teresa and I did the Sketch Crawl on Saturday, heading for Ballast Point Pier, but it was so ,so Hot- we ended up doing sketches of a huge oak tree in the yard of Kojak's BAR-B -Que...Oh well, maybe when it cools down a bit we will go back to the pier. We had Bar-b-Que for dinner..No surprise there I guess.....
Tuesday night we had good crowds for the two painting classes.. I had 16 people for "The Three Poppies" and Becky had 17 for" Looking Up."
I have also done 12 sketches for this Sunday's Paint Your Pet class.. Pre-painted the picture for Saturday night's class,did two sketches in the 2012 sketchbook,added color to the Kojak sketch and done a little sewing.. I am not bored to say the least ,but I am having fun.....
Well time to get moving ,Hope everyone has a great weekend.. Bye for now!!

Busy, busy

I have had a busy week already and its only Wednesday....It started off early Monday morning with a class of 16 at ten A.M. and we painted "The Silly Gold Fishy", and everyone did a great job too!!! When I got home I was able to get two of the pet portraits sketched on canvass...
Monday evening we met Amy and Eric at Honeys to have dinner, and they had a live band playing.. Very nice... that band is there every Monday night 7-11 p.m.[They are good .]
Tuesday morning I watered the garden, If you can imagine that, four days of no rain and 94 degrees has taken its toll, after three weeks of them almost drowning....
 Then I was able to get two more pet portraits sketched, before heading to P.W.A.T. to assist Tobey with" Moonlite Cherry Bloosoms." She had 27 people for this one and they all turned out beautifully....
Today I hope to get the house straighted up a bit, Andy is coming for a visit..
I am also hoping to get two more pet portraits sketched.. before going to work to teach my creation," Palms At The Beach"...
I am off to Mom's tomorrow, and then working Friday night doing "Cobblestone Walk".
I talked to Jenn last night and she was so happy to get to spend a little time with John and Jeanette, wandering throught Pike's Market and visiting, showing them her neck of the woods......
Amy has not been feeling her best so it was off to the doctor for her yesterday.. Turns out to be ( Ass-ma) as I like to say... hope you feel better soon...
That's about enough for now.. hope you all have a great week...

Wrap up of yesterday

I had a very nice day yesterday..Thank You ! Thank You!!!
A great breakfast and visit with Pat and Linda, after which we headed to Hallmark for their ornament kick off... I was able to get Amy a" Sprite Fairy" for her car, and deliver it too!! Yeah!! I had been looking for one for a while...
We had a very successful painting class last night...Thank You Charles for your assistance...Everyone had fun and all the new artists did a great job on their paintings....
Charles is just back from studying in Paris, and it's nice to have him back...
I finished the book club book and really enjoyed it.. now I am reading Michael J. Fox's book "Always Looking Up" and it's good too... I also just finished Barbara Walters' Auditions" and It really brought back memories.....Very good Too....I am really loving the Nook!!! Who would have thought.....
Well welcome to Sunday.. A day of rest??
 I am watching the U.S.A. World Soccer Match ,but what else I do not know ...Have a great day....
I am having real trouble getting the pictures to show up instead of the tiny little boxes ,you can't even see, to click on to get the pictures.. so sorry, something changed.. I never used to have any problem, but now it is everyday.. I put them in ,take them  out.. I don't know why!!!!!!

Mid July

Here we are to Saturday again and I am looking forward to the breakfast club.... I had to miss it last week for S.O.S., so .....
I did a prepaint yesterday A.M. for tonights class, called Attitude.. It's a good one... We already have 15 people signed up, should be fun....
I now have 5 completed sketches in the new book... Yeah!!!!!
Jenn has two completed and sent me pictures, Very nicely done....
Amy called to say a huge tree from the neighbors yard landed in her yard, and Thank You ,it did no real damage... Startled her though..and now a mess to clean up....
It's still wet and hot here and taking it's toll on my tomato plants.. I still haven't gotten one to eat, the wet has damaged the plants, not dead thought so I still hold out hope... of course, you guys know me ,always the optimist....

Well it's time for me to wrap this up and head out for the day... have a nice one ,all.....

Ox Tail

Okay, Okay, When I am wrong I say I am.... They were very good!! Thank You Amy!! It was a very new experience for us and some times we need to shake things up a bit.....You were right also when you said they would put you right to sleep, I was asleep after only ten minutes in the lazyboy...... however when I awoke 20 minutes later I could not get back to it until after one... that's what a little nap will do for you....
Wy and I did yard work yesterday , picking up all the limbs and tree trunks that had fallen, from all the wind and wet weather we have had lately..We had a fire to burn it all ,It was entirely to hot and humid for that kind of work, but it had to be done and now we are glad we did... I am thinking it was worth all the aches and pains?????
 When I got to work on monday morning at 9:00 A,M. and got everything set up and waited, It turns out class had been cancelled... Oh,Well!!!
 Tonight I am teaching" Looking Up" and I have been so looking forward to this one, it should be fun.....
U.S.A. womens soccer game today, Amy is having us over to watch it this morning, it should be another good one...  any way you guys all have a good one .....

Nature....

One of the young deer just came straight up to the den window and looked in at me.... What a thrill!!!! Those babies sure grew up fast.. This one is beautiful.... She is still wandering around the yard,,,, What a sight!
We went to Honeys yesterday to meet up with Amy and watch the women's soccer match against Brazil... U.S.A. won at the very last second and it was exciting to watch.....
Wy and I had cauliflower pizza from Anthony's last night and it was great...Yummy!!!!!

I am off to teach a teen class this morning so perhaps I will get to write more later, but if not enjoy your day and I hope you get a bit of nature today too!!!!

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!!!