Dec31Art

Rays beat the Elmira Ny team tonight, 2-0… this Saturday Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blo Fish will sing the national anthem at the game… don't want to miss that. We're home from the game at 9pm, broke into the champagne seriously doubt we'll be awake for the New Year at midnight… but Happy New Year everyone.

Dec30Art

Only one more day of 2013 left… been a long day today… and I have to work tomorrow… and work of my goals for 2014… or resolutions as some people call them :-)

Dec29Art

Remember the old riddle?  What is black and white and red all over?  A Newspaper… was the answer.  The real question is why was the riddle bouncing around in my head all day?  These days it isn't true anymore, most people don't read newspapers, they get their news from the TV or the internet, some even get their news from the Comedy Channel (who could have seen that coming?).  Anyway, I drew a zebra (or part of one)… and added a touch of red.  2013 is winding down, faster and faster…. we have our champaign in the refrigerator, to toast in the new year.

Dec28Art

Rays shut out the Wheeling Nailers… great game tonight. Dinner before the game with our friends Dave and Laura, they went to Vegas over Christmas so we haven't seen them in a while.

Dec27Art

Some days I feel like all I do is let dogs, in and out of the house.  In a way I'm thankful for the break from my computer (I work at home on the computer), but I do wish they'd coordinate their trips in and out better.

Dec26Art

Ron made a crockpot full of chili for us today…. it was very good.  I helped I chopped up an onion for it, and praised the cook :-)  Christmas is over, back to work for me tomorrow, Ron has the day off tomorrow.

Dec25Art

Merry Christmas everyone… 

Dec24Art

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Dec23Art

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Fear not…. fear not… for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy… 

I still love the King James version of the bible.. it is the bible I read as a child and the one I prefer even today when there are lots of different 'modern' versions… this version is so soothing and the words so musical to my ear anyway.

Brenda Schmitz's Christmas Wish

I don't usually post videos on my blog but this Christmas wish is special… get your box of kleenex ready…… if this doesn't touch your heart, you don't have one.

Dec22Art

We got our Christmas turkey today, and did a random act of kindness giving hockey tickets to a young lady who expressed an interest in seeing a hockey game.  My stomach is bothering me tonight… not sure what caused this… yuk.

Dec21Art

Stingrays won tonight 3 - 2 against Gwinnett tonight.  Fun game tonight… surprised to find the construction company building an office behind our house ...no more swamp :-( with lights on and pile drivers engaged at 10:30pm at night.  Bad enough they start at 7am, and the noise scares Gracie so much she refuses to go in the back yard… but now they are out there in the middle of the night.

Dec20Art

Ron took a CrockPot full of his homemade chili to work today for a covered disk lunch.  The chili was a hit with his co-workers, he brought home an empty CrockPot,  if I want chili I'll have to get him to make some more next week.  I think I'm ready for Christmas now, may want to pick up a turkey to roast.  Still can't decide if I want to do that or buy another ham.

Dec19Art

The Russian Ballet is here in Charleston doing the Nutcracker this Christmas.  When I was a little girl, a very little girl I was in the nutcracker once… I was little enough I don't remember much about it.

Dec18Art

When I was a child there was no such thing as an 'Elf on the Shelf', in fact I finally Googled it to find out what people were talking about.  It sounds like a fun way for parents and children to enjoy the magic of Christmas more than just on Christmas day.  Santa's helpers in his North Pole toy shop were always elves, so I guess that's where someone got the idea for the Elf on the Shelf tradition.

Dec17Art

Today my oldest grand daughter is 17 years old… she is an amazing young woman.  She reminds me of her mother at that age (she of course does NOT want to hear that).  Happy birthday Ashton, your grandma loves you very much.

Dec16Art

Certain Christmas Movies must be seen every year  'A Charlie Brown Christmas', 'White Christmas', 'Miracle of 34th Street', 'It's a Wonderful Life'… just to name a few of my favorites.

Dec15Art

Stingrays lost 3 - 2 to the Greenville SC team, it was a good game, our excuse is the team lost 6 players this week.  The good news is, they were called up to play in the league above, it's what all these young players are working/playing here for, a chance to move up to the big league.  Makes it tough to do without 6 of your best players. I have a busy day with lots of meetings scheduled tomorrow.. so I'm off to bed early tonight.

Dec14Art

Tonight we toss our teddy bears on the ice when the Stingrays score their first goal.  This morning I ordered Ron's present, can't pick it up from the store until Wednesday… still need to do something for my Mother…. what do you get the woman who has everything?

Dec13Art

Friday the 13th is almost over, and so far no bad luck has befallen me and my family.  Deck the halls with boughs of holly… wonder why people did this?  Maybe  the red berries on holly in December, but holly is a pretty nasty plant to deal with.  Thorny branches, and the leaves can prick you too… not something I'd be wanting to cut and bring into my house back when this practice began, and frankly not something I'm willing to do now.

Dec12Art

Just a gingerbread man, no words… I have nothing yet to add to the page and I can't think of anything… so for now it's blank.

Dec11Art

We went to O'Charlie's tonight for the Wednesday night free pie… love their yeast rolls too.  Christmas is just 14 days away… wow… where did the year go?

Dec10Art

Gray rainy day here in Charleston, still warm though, had to run the A/C today.  Got a call from my girl friend Carol in Atlanta, we've been friends since high school… she called to tell me she has breast cancer.  We talked a lot about it she'll be going in for surgery soon, no date yet… for the believers out there my friend could use your prayers now, and put a word in for her doctors too while you're at it… and thanks everyone I believe in the power of prayer.

Dec09Art

Christmas Charleston Harbor Cruise was tonight, lots of good food, and fun with friends.  It was very foggy tonight but our captain dealt  with it very professionally.  I'm tired and ready for bed now.

Dec08Art

I wanted to change my facebook page banner, so I did these poinsettias today.  We are getting a huge change in the weather here, rained last night, gray and foggy today.  Airplanes coming in to land, can be heard, not seen until they are practically on the ground.  We live very close to the airport, so we listen to and watch airplanes a lot, it was kind of spooky not being able to see them.

Dec07Art

Pearl Harbor Day, was the defining day in history for Americans of my father's generation.  Not many survivors from WWII around these days,  Ron's father passed before we met, my Dad passed about 10 years ago.  His Dad fought in the Pacific theater, my Dad was on the beaches in Normandy on "D-Day".  I don't know James Metcalf, but his picture on the internet at a memorial service in Pearl Harbor caught my eye today.  It's a shame I don't do people very well, but I had to try.

Dec06Art

Snowmen, lots of cold weather and snow for my grand-daughters this Christmas, but none for me :-)  That's just fine with me.  So warm today I pulled my flip flops back out and wore them today.   The cold weather blowing into the mid-west from Canada won't come to us until next Monday or Tuesday if it comes at all.  Got a bit of online Christmas shopping done today,  had a great idea for my husband, and darn if a box arrived today and he'd bought the item for himself.  It is so hard to buy him something, because if he wants it, he buys it… I'm afraid I'm the same way so how can I complain.

Dec05Art

It was a Saturday afternoon, I had spaghetti for lunch (not a good choice when you're delivering a baby in a couple of hours).  She weighed 7.7 ounces and was 20 inches long… red hair, blue eyes my baby girl.  She has two baby girls of her own;  these days she is living up near Chicago…brrr, snow on her birthday.  Happy birthday JeAnna… I love you.

Dec04Art

When I was young, my cousin Barbara Baker and I would spend time with our Aunt Rose and Uncle Bob at their mountain cabin in near Blue Ridge Georgia.  I remember singing this song in the car as we rode over the mountain roads to get there.  It was quite the adventure, the cabin had a fabulous all the way around porch, no indoor plumbing just an actual two hole outhouse.  We got water from a well and boiled it in one of those huge black cauldron's (like they picture with witches at Halloween) first went in the whites, to wash, then colors, which we hung on the line to dry after wringing them out in the wringer.  Finally, Uncle Bob would wedge the cauldron off the fire and Barbara and I would bathe in the left over water.  I do cherish the memories of those simple times and fun with my cousin.

Dec03Art

Last night Ron, put the left over ham bone in a stock pot along with other secret ingredients.  Couple of hours later into the crock pot with bean mixture, chopped onion and tomato… to stew for 24 hours.  Tonight we had the best home made soup ever… I'm so lucky to have a husband that loves to cook.

Dec02Art

You better watch out, you better not pout…. that pouting thing was my favorite form of protest as a child and my mother I do believe really liked this 'better not pout' song and sang it a LOT to me.

Dec01Art

We spent most of the day today participating in the Toys for Tots motorcycle rally sponsored by ABATE.  It was a lot of fun, we found out the weak points in our cold weather riding gear.  My knees got very cold, so Ron bought me some leather chaps for Christmas.  I got him some good leather gloves and a new pair of boots.  We have a teddy bear toss coming soon at the hockey game and our Christmas dinner cruise next week, more toys for kids.  Happy times.

36th Annual ABATE Toy Run

That's Me with Mickie and Minnie Mouse riding on Ron's Harley parked beside my Honda Silver Wing.

Another shot of Ron,  we were there early, but ended up in the middle back of the  pack… the line of motorcycles moving down the road was awesome… wish I could have gotten a picture of everyone… I need a helmet camera… maybe Santa will get me one, already have chaps on my list, my knees REALLY got cold today.

Ron below with Minnie and Mickie Mouse who rode on his Harley during the ride.

Rudolf the Red Nosed Harly

Some people went all out decorating their bikes for the Toy for Tots ride today.

Nov30Art

If you've ever wondered about ordering pens from http://jetpens.com let my last order be an example.  I ordered the Zig markers along with some white gel pens on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning I got the notice my order was shipping… today my order arrived.  I could not ask for faster service especially since I did not pay extra for expedited shipping. I LOVE the uniball Signo white gel pen… nice rich white.  I also tried the cheaper Sakura gelly roll white pen… it is ok… but the uni-ball is definitely worth the extra money.

Nov29Art

We avoided the stores and any place too close to a mall today.  I don't like crowds and reports of fights in a local Wal-Mart over some music CD was enough to keep me home today.  It has warmed up a little, but is still cold here.  We need to buy some toys for toys for tots events we are attending… so tomorrow we'll shop a little, hopefully the frenzy will be over by then.

Nov28Art Happy Thanksgiving

The only thing missing today was the smell of turkey roasting in the oven.  I do love the smell of a turkey.  The ham was good, and we'll enjoy it, but I do believe I'll be cooking a turkey in a few weeks for Christmas.  Got birthday gifts ordered for JeAnna and the grand daughters… finally, been bugging them for weeks to decide.

Nov27Art

Taking the easy way this Thanksgiving, having a ham, I'll bake potatoes and make some vegetables, and pop a pecan pie in the oven and we'll call it dinner.  We haven't both had this much time off at the same time, since we got married… and we have absolutely nothing planned.

Nov26Art

Beau is the oldest at 16, his son Jeb is next oldest at 13 years old, then Gracie is now 11 years old and Dixie… the Lab who showed up pregnant in our yard January 2008 is probably 7 or 8 years old now.  Someone recently asked me when I was going to get a puppy, and while I'd love to have a puppy… no way I'm bringing a puppy into this house full of incontinent old dogs.  How can I housebreak a puppy when all the old dogs have forgotten their training?  So no puppies for me for a while… a very long while I hope.  I'm thankful for my old dogs, we've had many fine years together.  I'm thankful for my husband who indulges my need for dogs, lots of dogs.

Nov25Art

Cartoon dogs are NOT SUPPOSED to die, Pluto and Marmaduke are over 40 years old and so is Snoopy… so this killing of Brian is shocking.  Maybe I'm overly sensitive about this because my real life breathing dogs are all over 10 years old and the oldest Beau is 16… real dogs die, but cartoon dogs can live forever… so WHY would anyone kill a cartoon dog?  It's just wrong on so many levels… and while the producers probably won't miss me one bit, I will NEVER watch the show again.

Nov24Art

Ever have one of those days that just flies by, and you sit down to catch your breath and realize it's time to make coffee and go to bed.  Winter always seems more frantic to me, with the darkness falling so early in the evening… I feel like the day is over and I've gotten nothing accomplished.  BOOM… it is COLD… below freezing tonight, turned the ceramic heater on for the bird and may pull another blanket out of the closet… that's what I get for bragging to my daughter in Chicago about our 80 degree weather… at least it won't snow and this will be over in a day or so (I hope).  Gotta find my wool pants to wear to work tomorrow.

Nov23Art

Assignment in my new book 'Drawing from Within', is to draw hands, pages and pages of hands.  I must admit I haven't done the first assignment which was to draw people, I'm not around people much as I work at home alone with my dogs rarely leave the house except to get the mail.  I am really enjoying reading this book and the hand exercise is easy… well I can draw my own hand, not very well but the book's premise is that if I do it enough I'll get better at it..  I know it's been slow, but I do see that my little daily drawings have gotten better over the years.  Granted I can still turn out a stinker on any given day.

Nov22Art

Another continuous line drawing, this time of my left hand, and my wedding ring. I still love our wedding rings, with sailboats on the ocean cast in the gold.
All week tv has been full of shows about President Kennedy's assassination, I was in the 7th grade in the library when the principal came in to tell us the President had been shot and they were sending us all home.  My mother came and picked me up from school and we drove to Northside High School to pick up my older brother Gene, I remember it was a Friday and all the church bells in Atlanta were ringing, it was very spooky and quiet.  We were glued to the tv, which stayed on the news for 3 days.  Back then there were only the 3 networks ABC, NBC, and CBS… no cable, no CNN, no 24 hour coverage… but they covered this non stop. The entire nation mourned Kennedy's passing much as they mourned the people killed in the twin towers on 9/11/2001/. Sad that the only time we can mend our differences is when tragedy strikes.

Nov21Art

We have a huge sugar maple tree in our front yard.  It is actually a survivor of hurricane Hugo, so it is a tough old tree.  It has blanketed our yard with yellow, orange, red and brown leaves, and yet it isn't bare, so no need to rake them up yet.  Got another book today 'Drawing from Within' by Nick Meglin,  I've only read the first chapter, and the first assignment will be a tough one, since I never have drawn people much… only way to improve is to do it right?

This is a letter idea from my lettering book, she used the round scraps from a hole punch.  The only hole punch I have is heart shaped so, I punched holes in red, pink and white paper, glued to a black sheet.  Turned out pretty cool looking I think.

Nov20Art

Got one of the books I ordered from Amazon today, 'Creative Lettering' some really creative stuff in this book, and I'm planning to try some of them very soon… maybe tomorrow.

Nov19Art

I got this eraser at Barnes and Noble a few years ago… couldn't decide what to draw today when this bright red Rhino caught my eye.  Really hectic day at work today, trying to wrap things up so that I can enjoy Thanksgiving next week.

Nov18Art

We went to Parson Jack's Bar and Grill for dinner, I LOVE their pizza, Ron loves their French Dip… moon rise over the trees on our way home caught my eye as we crossed the river… such a gorgeous pinky/orange color.  Not really sure if what we saw was a real 'harvest moon' or not, but what else could you call such a sight?