art and yosemite

while biking around yosemite, i stumbled on an art education center full of painting supplies and advertising free daily art workshops. each week a different artist would be there to teach a class, the week we were there it was watercolors. looking back, i wish i would have taken a class, but we were so engrossed in hiking/biking and checking everything out i couldnt get organized enough to go. i did, however buy some acrylic paints and a few canvases, with the goal of doing a painting from a special spot near our camp. i found the only brushes available were watercolor brushes and the paints were more like watercolor paints... flimsy brushes and this quick drying water based paint in 100 degree dry mountain weather, quite a challenge! plus i had no easel and had to use a makeshift picnic table. what did work was the view, fantastic! the kids were nearby splashing in the water and i had a string of nice people stopping to say hello and chat. it felt good to just tackle a painting from beginning to end, even as the paint dried out too fast, the colors werent quite right and the brushes too wiggly.

along with the art education center is the ansel adams museum, a great place for inspiration. i was lucky enough to catch an auction being held to raise money for a group that organizes local artists. i was hoping to bid on something, but the budget didnt allow. i am so glad chris and the girls hung out with me to watch, the auction was casual and fun. it felt good to be a part of something purely creative, i was inspired by all the paintings and the artists seemed happy to be there. i bought a few prints from an artist i particularly liked, her work is bright and i love her brushstrokes and technique. she has a blog and maybe someday i can take a workshop with her. someday! ahhhh to have the life of an artist and paint all day in such a beautiful place.


one of the prints i bought, love it so! those clouds!

my kind of housekeeping

what a cool name, never thought i would say that but it just fits. the tour of housekeeping camp:

yosemite, what took me so long?

we are back from a much needed vacation at yosemite. all i can say is WOW!!! for years i have heard all about yosemite, living in california it is relatively close by. i have good friends who have invited us every august to camp with them and year after year we couldnt coordinate a trip. in january, after returning from colorado, i just reserved a housekeeping cabin at yosemite for august. i had no idea what to expect or what the housekeeping cabins would be like, there are very few pictures of them out there that i could find. this month has been so hectic, i barely had time to pack and left everything for chris (who did an amazing job getting it together, good boy scout that he is). i thought august would be crazy busy but found it wasnt, i guess everyone wants to see the waterfalls (i seriously didnt realize the waterfalls would be dried up in august, thats typical me when it comes to planning!) even without the waterfalls, yosemite is the most beautiful place i have ever seen, it blows away any mountain destination i have visited. 

i had no idea how the layout of yosemite valley was, that it is actually a valley with cliffs all around. it is organized in the most fantastic way, you can park your car for the entire week and use the free bus shuttle to see every site. bike trails are abundant and well connected. its the perfect place for families because you can move around so easily. 

there are meadows and rock cliffs, wild flowers and super tall pine trees, oaks and aspen trees. even in summer it was bright green and lush, hot as hell with a cool river to splash in (we took lots of afternoon dips)


the staff at the park keeps it clean, the buses come and go like clockwork, there are shops and casual places to eat (ice-cream!) and at the housekeeping cabins we had showers (they even give you a clean towel to use!) and a laundromat (loved this since we ran out of socks quickly). there is just too much to post all in one go so i will do this yosemite trip in several parts... these are just a few of the many views around the valley.

where am i?

sorry no picture, i am at work (working hard, you see?) and work computers dont cut and paste, darn it! so here is an info only post, boring i know.

anyways,

i get asked a lot, how do you do so much? (funny because i wrote a post about an hour ago, posted it for 5 minutes then deleted and started over, i doubt anyone saw it but if you did, this is round 2) anyways, back to the question of how i do so much. the answer is (besides my being crazy) is that i dont say no when i should and i try to squeeze in the things i would rather be doing between the things i should be doing or have made a promise to do. when i have down time i am always thinking of something to do to get ahead of it all. add in work, kids, playtime, school, house responsibilities (ugh!) art endeavors, crafting, reading, blogging, sewing and running my camp fire group, busy busy busy. i promise i do just sit and hang with my kids and family, i really really do! 

when i attempted to write this post the first time, i listed all the things i have done this month in an attmept to organize myself, check the list and see whats left to do. after writing it all out, hitting the delete button felt oh so good! who cares what i have done and whats left to do? it has been a crazy busy summer, but i have had a great time with it all, made a few family traditions (bike riding, concerts in the park), finally got a pool to cool off in, made time for friends and family. really packed it in.

so, as i head on into september with two wildly different vacations coming, i am ready to go, to just take off! i will be in and out as time permits, i may be busy or i may not. next post some pictures, i promise.

out of towners

from the seashore to the mountains, visiting with family.

camp blur to the finish

wild sock award winner


singing "where have all the flowers gone" talk about a flashback to my childhood!


its good being the cook


cheese biscuits on a stick, yum!








we survived a night out under the stars (and thunder, lightning and drizzle to boot)





donuts for breakfast


another great week of camp shiwaka! i need a week off to recover!

Camp Shiwaka, day 2

mock tacos, "goblin seeing"  necklaces, fish prints... what a day!

see you all tomorrow!

camp shiwaka, deja vu!

time sure flies, here is day one of camp:

well i am exhausted! whew!