My 2010 Weekly Planner

I just finished and self-published a book from a company called "Blurb." I should get my copies in the mail tomorrow! There is something very seductive about having something you created in print. And, whether it is a blog or a book, it is very exciting!

This is the link if you would like an abbreviated preview: http://www.blurb.com/books/1033500

Hope you enjoy it!

First Winter Project Completed!

$3.00 yard sale lamp - painted
$14.00 Target lamp shade - painted
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Satisfaction: Priceless!

This project was so much fun. The white lampshade had to be reverse painted so that the white decorative spaces would remain transparent. A lot of hours to paint this freehand, but I love the result!

On to the next winter project!

Squirrel Bombing

Here is a group of friends in the Pyrennes on a trip we took to Spain a couple of years ago.

Nature isn't Natural

I had to add this photo to yesterday's post. I didn't even see the features in this bizarre orchid until I downloaded my camera.

Sunday in the Gardens

I spent an early Sunday morning at the Daniel Stowe Gardens in Belmont, NC. The day was a bit rainy and gray but not enough to detract from the beautiful gardens. The flowering plants were a bit past their prime, but the assortment of greenery was spectacular.

In my amateur gardening endeavors, I seem to always make the mistake of just wanting to plant those flashy, in-your-face, high drama flowers. And one or two of those are fine. More than that and it starts to scream at you. This garden had a subtle mix of greens - ferns, bushes, trees, ground cover, water plants. And they all had wonderful textures that you had to touch.

This makes me long for a garden again.

An Artist's Artist

Painting by Lori Keith Robinson

I was having coffee and talking with my friend, Susan, this morning. As most of our conversations progress, we spend a lot of our time together talking about art — how to create it, who our favorite artists are and why.
This lead me to think about a current favorite painter of mine... Lori Keith Robinson. I first saw her paintings when I was in Savannah, GA. It was a few years ago and I was down visiting the town, the shops, the restaurants. But, even more than that, I was getting an "ocean fix." This desire hits me on a regular basis... and the only thing to do is to get in the car and drive to the coast. I stay on Tybee Island... a wonderful family-oriented beach area with great little cottages, an unspoiled beach and delicious seafood. I love the pace of life there. And to get there from Savannah involves driving through about 12 miles of tidal marshland. Right through the grasses and wildlife and gorgeous vistas.
And these views are what inspire Ms. Robinson. The colors in her palette and the evocative motion of her brush strokes remind me of sunsets and the winds through the marsh grass.
As I was saying, I first saw her work when I was strolling through Savannah in the City Market area. I was passing an art gallery, Chroma Gallery, when I glanced in the window and saw a painting so wonderfully colorful, so beautiful that it stopped me cold. I just stood on the sidewalk and stared at this wonderful work of art. I floated into the gallery and saw that there were several of her paintings on display. I also saw that they were priced well beyond what I could justify spending for art... but one day... I will have one of her paintings and it will have the place of honor in my home. It will be displayed somewhere I can sit and look and dream. Until then, I make sure to visit her paintings whenever I am in the area.
I am posting a photo of one of her paintings. Please check out her website: lorikeithrobinson.com & from www.chromaartgallery.com Please stop in and enjoy!

Sunday Morning Ramblings

I love Sunday mornings. I either get to sleep late or I go for walks in the park with friends or, like this morning, I get one of the best treats of all... I go for an early morning book run to Barnes & Noble, then head over to Panerra and get a coffee and croissant and sit and read the new book that I just purchased. Early Sunday mornings are the best time to get out and around in Greenville. You can sit in relative obscurity and quiet because the vast majority of our good citizens are attending their, on average, 2 1/2 hours of church services. This leaves the town open for the rest of us heathens to enjoy our quiet morning... a religious experience in and of itself. But, warning... you MUST vacate before 11:00 am because all the restaurants and shops are suddenly full of men, women and children dressed in their decidedly preppy, church-going finest. All women are tastefully attired in skirts with a hemline at their ankles and all men are wearing a uniform of khaki pants and blue oxford shirts with a blue blazer. The children are similarly attired... just smaller versions of their parents. This army must be avoided at all costs or else you forfeit the almost zen-like mood that you have managed to achieve.

This morning, I won. I had to purchase a book for our next book club meeting... A Confederacy of Dunces. I am into the second chapter now. It is one of my daughter's favorite books, so I was eager to read it.

Speaking of my daughter... She is really brilliant and bitingly funny. I think she has a bright future in front of her (says the proud mother!). Anyway, she was telling me a bit about some correspondence in which she was involved. It seems there is a test that she administers... to see if someone can use the word "schadenfreude" in casual conversation. (Meaning: "taking pleasure in the misfortune of others"). Well, this wonderful German word is our password for acceptance... if you know it, you get points. If you can use it, you get more points... and if you can pronounce it correctly... ding, ding, ding! Jackpot! So, my question was... how did they pronounce it? Quite well, apparently. She said at least they didn't pronounce it "Shootenfruity"... at which point we both went off into gales of laughter. I said the definition of this is "taking pleasure in the mispronunciation by others". We both thought this was hilarious! (Yes, we are nerds.)

So, ramble, ramble... perhaps I shouldn't have indulged in the third cup of coffee, lol!