Sunday, July 25, 2010

Done!


I'm finally finsihed with this painting.  I'm planning to give it to a friend as a birthday gift since it's a photo of him taken in Charlottesville.  I hope he likes it.  I'm not a portrait artist so the face is just a hint of details.  I do like the way this turned out. 

I have to travel again next week for work, but at least I'm going to a fun place.  The seminar we're going to is in Las Vegas!  I've never been there, but I hear they have penny slots.  That's my pace for gambling - - yeah!  I figure I play a long time on $100 by playing pennies.  Who knows maybe I'll even win and come out ahead?

The weather here in northern Virginia has been icky, hot and humid.  We had a very short thunderstorm today that cooled things down.  I know it's going to be hot in the desert (not looking forward to the heat), and I'm hoping that by the time I get back on Friday that the temps will have cooled down some here.  Thanks for reading my blog!!  Everybody stay safe and well!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

What I'm Working On



I've been thinking about this painting for a while.  It's based on a photo that I have.  I just thought it was a great composition.  As you can see I'm just starting, so we'll see how it turns out. 

Monday, July 5, 2010

Hitchhikers

I had to drive down to NC to do some training at the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune in the middle of June.  The drive down was pretty and thankfully uneventful.  I spent the week there, staying with my daughter in New Bern.  So I actually got to combine work with pleasure.  The days were spent at the seminar, but I got to spend the evenings with my grandkids and my daughter and her husband in their beautiful home.  The weather was steamy; and not being much of a hot weather person, I pretty much felt like I was melting.  I headed back home on Friday afternoon after a doctor's appointment took longer than I had planned.  I didn't get back on the road until almost 4 p.m.  I was hoping to leave no later than 2:30.  But as doctor's offices go, he was delayed and I needed bloodwork and, well, that's just how it turned out.

I was on a roll, baby, headed back to northern Virginia where I hoped the temperature would be cooler or at least less steamy.  I was singing out loud with my ipod shuffle and had passed the rest stop about 15 miles back when suddenly I felt a little squirmy in my tummy.  Oh no!  I looked for a sign for the nearest rest stop -- 37 miles!!  Are you kidding me?!  There was nothing else to do but get off at the closest exit.  I drove for about 5 miles looking for a drive through McDonald's, a gas station, anything.  But I was in the boonies, and there was nothing around but woods, woods, farms, and more woods.  There was nothing I could do but stop.  It was an emergency.  Thank goodness I always have kleenex due to my allergies.   I left my car running since the temps were in the hundreds and I wanted to make a quick getaway.  

I found what looked like easy access to the woods.  I pulled way off the road.  Now that I think back on it, I should have pulled off even farther, into the tall grass that lined the road that led into the woods.  I traipsed through the tall grass, pushing it down with my feet as best I could.  There were brambles and thorny bushes in there too.  I made my way into the woods, not too far in because I wanted to keep sight of my car, but far enough where I knew I wasn't visible from the road.  I took care of my personal, all the while praying, Dear Lord, please don't let a snake bite me in the a**.  Eureka!  A minute or two later, I was headed back through the tall grass towards my car, none the worse for wear.  So I thought.

Of course, I felt a little itchy from the grass.  When I got home I checked for ticks (they really creep me out) and thank goodness, I didn't find any.  But the next morning, I had suspicious red bumps starting to rise on various parts of my body.  At first I thought they were just the inevitable noseeum bug bites.  But by the time I got home from work that evening, I realized I had picked up some hitchhikers on my foray into the woods.  I had chigger bites (SOB!) *everywhere*!  I put some hydrocortisone cream on them and tried not to scratch but you know how itchy they are.  I probably scratched in my sleep without evening knowing it.  AND to top it all off, I did find a tick. . . a little, tiny, seed tick right on my left knee.  What kind of self-respecting tick would attach itself to a knee, I ask you?  Actually, I was grateful because it was easy to pull off without leaving the mouth parts embedded in my leg.

As for the hitchhikers, they're pretty much gone now.  I never believed in picking up hitchhikers anyway.

Sunday, July 4, 2010


My first attempt at an impressionist painting.  It's not my composition.  I plagiarized it from an art instruction book I have.  But I think it turned out well, and I'm pretty happy with it.  

Life has been better lately.  I've realized, thanks to the help of some friends, that we don't have control over some things and aren't responsible for outcomes that we can't control. Hope you all have a wonderful 4th!  I've missed being here, and I wanted to say thank you all for visiting and leaving your wonderful comments.  They mean so much to me.