Mar31Art

Rainy morning, turned into a beautiful afternoon.  Happy Easter everyone.. hope you all had a bit of sunshine today.

Mar30Art

Got flowers to plant tomorrow afternoon, some impatiens and begonias... and jasmine.
Ever globbed up a brush with masking fluid?  Try some 'Goo Gone' on it... worked to restore a brush I thought I'd ruined... a tip I got from an Anne Abgott tape and tape and tried out today... and it works.

Mar29Art

Had to work today, for the past 5 years I got Good Friday off... so a bit bummed that I had to work today.  

Tonight I finished watching the third season of Downton Abbey... OMG what a horrid way to end a season.  We here in the USA won't get to watch season 4 until a year after the show is aired in England.  Thanks Winna and Debo for getting me hooked on this show... it is a good one.

I used to make lampwork beads, had to give it up because of my back... but I still love the beads and from time to time I go on Etsy or eBay and buy a bead or 2 or 3 that catch my eye.  These darling owls an artist posted on Facebook last week and I had to have them. Bonus that they were already earrings so I didn't have to do that myself.

Mar28Art

Went to the debate tonight, it was very well done.  Moderator did a great job as did the candidates.  Run off election will be Tuesday.
I'm tired ... gonna feed dogs and make it a night.

Mar27Art

Meeting tonight to put stamps and labels on 400 plus invitations for our county convention in April.  Lots of hands made short work of the task...
Turns out I'll be going to a debate tomorrow night... election will be next Tuesday for the Republican run off.  Last chance to hear what they have to say for themselves before casting a vote.

Mar26Art

Spent some time this evening shreading the stack of mail that can't just be thrown out.  We do take it to the recycle at the library with our cardboard boxes... but I wondered tonight looking at the volume of it... could it be used for kitty litter?  I may save some and see what the cat thinks about the idea... I wonder if anyone else has tried this or not?

Mar25Art

Ron LOVES Peeps... if he only eats one they aren't that bad for him... so when the peeps appear in the stores I always get some for him... yellow marshmallows...
Very windy and cool today, 40 mph wind really makes 50 something feel colder than it is.

Mar24Art

How about a tall skinny elephant to face my giraffe in the book?
Raining so much the yard is full of water the dog's are doing the back stroke.  The trees are LOVING it though, my dogwood tree is starting to bloom, and I noticed the trees along the highway have those bright yellow green Spring leaves replacing the gray bare look with a symphony of shades of green.

Mar23Art

This format feels so tall and skinny now... bare with me while I adjust...
Rainy and gray and COLD... that 66 didn't happen.. I do not believe it got past 55 today... teach me to use the morning forecast for my page LOL

Book 21 - Title Page

The title page for a new journal... back to a portrait format and light weight paper... very different from what I've been using the last 6 months or so...

Mar22Art

Back to a portrait hand*book journal... after about 3 landscape watercolor journals in a row... this format seems cramped and the paper hostile to my washes... hopefully I'll be back in the swing of it...
Stingrays won their last home game tonight 5 - 1... they have 3 more games on the road and then their season may or may not be over... they are on the bubble and haven't clinched a spot in the play offs yet... they played tonight like they are serious... if they keep that up... they'll be playing hockey a little longer this year.

Mar21Art

Right on time my yellow paint that was on back order arrived today.  I love this quote Ellen and I are alike, I can remember what month my friends and families birthdays are... but the exact day usually escapes me.  I'm always late with presents... my girl friend Carol's birthday is the end of January... the painting I'm still working on in March is her birthday present.   My husband remembers my birthday and everyone else's too and reminds me to wish people happy birthday on Facebook.... speaking of Facebook... that does make it a little easier to at least give a message to people on the actual day... if I keep an eye on it during the month I know they were born... October for my husband and grand daughter Laurel, July for grandson Joseph and December for my daughter and grand daughter Ashton... the list goes on and on... I do admire people that remember these things.

Mar20Art

Today would be my grandmother 'Hello's birthday... she and I always shared a birthday cake.. my mother's mother... Katie Belle Blackmon... her friends called her Kitty... her grandchildren called her Hello.  She took me on many trips and I spent many summers at the swimming pool where she worked... how cool it was to spend all day at the swimming pool as a kid.  Fond memories... she's been gone over 30 years... I think of her often but especially on March 20th... first day of Spring and my grandmother's birthday.
Drew the watch my husband gave me for my birthday... it has 28 Swarovski crystals arranged like a color wheel around the face... I LOVE it.

Mar19Art

Election today... and it looks like Mark Sanford and either Larry Grooms or Curtis Bostick will be in a run off... well I was TOTALLY wrong about this one.. big time.  I'm not in that Congressional district anymore... Jim Clyburn is my Congressman now... big sigh... I live in a neighborhood that was gerry mandered out of district 1 and into 6 ... I am not happy with the change... but they didn't ask my opinion about it.
So my friend Michele in South Africa posted this on Facebook this morning (not the daisies the quote)... and I liked it a lot and shared it on Facebook.... and decided to share it here too... something we should all pause and think about.

Mar18Art

Long day today... raining for about 1/2 my trip to Columbia this morning... thankfully the sun was out the whole way home to Charleston tonight.  Didn't get to work on my painting tonight... I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow, or Wednesday at the latest.  It's coming along nicely... I hope my girl friend in Atlanta likes it.

Mar17Art

Happy St. Patrick's Day... I'm decked out in my green beer earrings, shamrock green bracelet, and a green polo shirt... so kiss me I'm Irish today :-)

Mar16Art

My grandmother and mother always called these flowers jonquils... most people call them daffodils... in keeping with family tradition... I still call them jonquils. Mine have not bloomed this year, and I'm beginning to think they aren't going to, so I found a picture of some and used that to draw these.

Mar15Art

Beware the Ides of March... Caesar should have listened... alas his friend Senator Brutus did him in... rulers haven't put much trust in Senators since then.

Mar14Art

Along with that paint I didn't need, I had to have one more mop... I only have one mop big enough for my kitchen floor... but for small pieces of paper I have ... well I spy with my eyes right now... 4 sitting on my desk, 2 more are resting in the bathroom on my brush rack to dry...  maybe I should take a photo of my brush drying rack.

Mar13Art

A new pope elected today... Pope Francis is from Argentina, the first non-European pope ever.  He sounds like a very humble, simple man... just what the church needs right now I pray he'll be a successful pope... even if I'm not a Catholic.
Treated myself to a few colors of Dr. Phil Martin's liquid watercolor (no I did not NEED them...but the want was there and my birthday is next week...so).  The color is VERY intense...even with water added.  Unfortunately, the 2 yellows I ordered are on back order... and well I can't paint without yellow.

Mar12Art

Bright green lizard on the front porch this afternoon... displaying his red throat, hoping to attract a girl lizard. I did not see the target of his displays and when he noticed me he took off into the azalea bushes. 
The quote is for my redheaded grand daughter Ashton... a gorgeous redhead she is.

Mar11Art

Time change kicking my BUTT today... don't get me wrong I LOVE daylight savings time.... especially in the Spring and Summer, when I can get outside after work and actually have the sun up.  This first day though... man it is tough getting up so early and my sleep clock isn't reset to the new bedtime either.

Mar10Art

Put together club newsletter this morning, went to a Sunday hockey game at 3pm (we won in a shoot out)... then ribs at Chilis for dinner.
My little screen cleaning elephant atop my monitor was the model tonight.

Mar09Art

Love is in the air around here... the male cardinal is courting the female... I think she is warming up to his advances... I believe they are nesting in the live oak tree in our backyard...
Hockey tonight our team won 3 to 0 our goalie's 8th shut out this season... off to bed.

Mar08Art

All geared up to go to a hockey game, ate dinner, walked all the dogs... put my hockey outfit on, along with my hockey ear rings and bag packed with my blanket and binoculars... went to the packet where the tickets are stored... oops... no game tonight... it's tomorrow night :-(  Feeling the fool... right now.

Mar07Art

I love Mexican food, and I love Cool Ranch Doritos, so I had to try the Taco Bell Cool Ranch tacos... way better than their usual tacos... not as good as 'real' Mexican food but quite good for fast food.

Mar06Art

Tried making a seed bead covered Easter Egg today... burnt my fingers with the hot glue... and used WAY too much which when dry made the egg look awful.  So I think I'll stick to watercolors ... at least I don't burn myself when I mess up a painting.  I have a lot of respect for people who can do these eggs... it's a LOT harder to do than it looks.

Mar05Art

Goofy weather, cold one day, warm the next, the pollen is driving Ron crazy, it'll be torturing me soon.
Found these 'mini' rolos this weekend... as diabetics Ron and I are very careful about sugar and eating stuff that's bad for us... portion control is one way to have a treat from time to time.  These little chocolates are perfect two of these aren't that bad sugar or calorie wise... and oh so delicious.

Mar04Art

Our maple tree is covered in reddish pink seed pods... from a distance it is very pretty, up close it is an annoyance, it dumps these on my car, and they are all over the yard, along with baby maple trees in my flower beds that have to be pulled up.   However, the tree does provide nice shade for the cars in the drive way in the summer, and my mocking bird likes to perch in the tree and sing... so I like my maple tree except for a couple of weeks in the Spring.

Mar03Art

I know my friends and family living in truly cold places won't understand how very cold 52 is to someone like me.  If it gets below 60 I'm cold... and today was really cold.
I was inspired today by some beaded eggs a friend made, so a trip to Michaels for seed beads and styrofoam eggs and I'm ready to try making some beaded eggs for Easter.  Here's the link to those eggs Julia made... www.flickr.com/photos/40623811@N03/8523759634/

Mar02Art

Attended a dinner party tonight at the Citadel, meeting those young men gives me hope for the future... such strong, polite, intelligent young men.  They looked grand in their dress uniforms.  The dinner was a fund raiser to send some of them to the CPAC conference later on this month.... looked like a great turn out in support of these young men.

Mar01Art

Just got in from the hockey game, Stingrays won in a shoot out 2 to 1 against the Ft. Wayne Indiana team.  Noticed my potted hyacinths are about 4 inches tall today, no visible flower buds yet, which may be good because I think we're getting a cold snap this weekend.