Father/daughter painters

I have posted before about how my father taught me to paint, how I took several art classes in college and felt intimidated by my instructors. My confidence was pretty much destroyed and how my dad said the right thing at the right time and I spent several years painting almost daily with him. He was (and is) an amazing teacher and I wish he would paint again but understand he has no interest right now, it's just something you have to be "in the mood" to do. Oil painting is messy and can be a chore to set up, to go through the motions of sketching and filling in, feeling the mood and trying to get it "just right," knowing when to stop and then a big clean up job after. On my days off, it seems I have so many other "things" to do I have a hard time committing to that 3 or 4 hours of time needed to complete a painting yet I OBSESS over wanting to do it. Crazy! Right now the weather is in the 90's and I need to paint outside, not the best situation so I probably won't get out there again until after the Scotland trip.

For a few years now, since my grandfather passed away, we have been clearing out his house and a large painting of my dads was unearthed, literally dug out from the garage in a state of major disrepair. He says he painted it maybe age 13 or 15 with a Picasso/Cubist influence. I see it and immediately beg everyone to please let me have it, please! Of course it's got mold on the back, a hole right through, painted on some kind of particle board and isn't even finished. Hmmm.... perfect! Let's just say everyone looked at me like I was crazy and it became MINE! I thought I might tackle the job myself but was lucky enough to find a local frame shop run by a young artist who took the project on. She spent weeks cleaning it, drying it out, varnishing it and then framing it. I have mixed feelings when I look at it now, a mix of "love it" and a "what was I thinking?" too. To me art is a very personal thing. I never thought of myself as someone who really liked abstract art, I find some of it so simple and boring BUT even though this painting is strange it speaks to me and makes me think. I enjoy following the lines and colors around, it has movement and interest. I really have no idea what a professional art critic would say, love it or hate it? Who knows but if it's hanging in my house, I want something that catches my eye and makes me sigh and this sure does! 

When I told my dad about the project he immediately said, "I hope you didn't waste too much money on it!" shhhhh... I won't tell but I hope he likes it (he hasn't seen it yet) I admit I am nervous because in the past he has felt some of his work was "god awful" in his words and I know I am biased because he is my father so we'll see. It has been a really wonderful experience to finally have a few of my dad's paintings, I find myself gazing at them and stopping for a moment here and there to take in the details. Something is coming full circle for me, finally feeling confident in what I paint and what I want to put on my walls and how I feel about the experience I shared with my dad many years ago. Feels good!

Sept 2013

Getting ready for a two week trip with my mom to London (ahem) and Scotland (yay!!) This Sept travel tradition has been wonderful for my mom, who is dealing with mild dementia and I have enjoyed the process of researching/planning with her throughout the year. Wishing we could bring the rest of the family along, but it is so expensive even with just the two of us. Last year we added Paris to the mix and somewhere in the middle of all the steps and cobblestones, my mom threw her cane away and started hoofing it for real. Something changed in her for the better and I am happy to say she is still moving around easily. Originally we had signed up for a tour but it fell through (not enough people signed up for that week and I couldn't switch work around to go a different week) so we pieced a short trip up to Scotland from London ourselves. I think we will have a blast no matter what, we always find a way to laugh and amaze ourselves and get lost and then found. Traveling with a parent as a middle aged "kid" (yes I guess I am!) has it's quirks, for one I sometimes snap at my mom like she is one of my kids and then realize, oops! I am the kid, she is the mom (she lets me know by just one look) but hey, I am in "mom mode" and it's hard to switch back and forth sometimes. I will post on the blog if I can during the trip, when traveling with my mom we tend to turn in early and I get tons of uninterupted reading/computer time. Hoping to get this blog put into book form (I have only the first 6 months of it so far) but what a task that will be! Every year I wonder if this will be the last and then panic all will be lost somehow. We'll see...

It's been hot hot hot here! Several dips a day into this pool has made all the difference in the world, not sure how we survived without it before. No AC in our rancho (no roof insulation either) = roast out!



tweenager in the house, how did that happen?



a cat who is pushing the limits of age, very much loved and doted on. I have become obsessed with a few blogs lately: rachel eats and yellow house. I read this book (late to the party as usual) so am back-reading the blog. I really really really loved the book, the writing was so easy and down to earth. I read so many books and don't always know why one book rubs me the wrong way and another is so refreshing. I loved Molly's book, I savored every page and can't wait for her new book to come out. Berlin Kitchen felt very similar and comfortable (I was thrilled when the author Luisa commented on my instagram photo of her book, I'm such a dork!) anyways! I am continuing to work out at the local cross fit (for the over 40 crew) and hoping to keep chipping away at losing weight, feeling better. Loving instagram and of course, facebook keeps me busy too. I sense a shift in what interests me these days, not so interested in parenting/kid/baby blogs and more into travel/food/art blogs. I have been in "gut out and get rid of" mode trying to get out from under all the fabric and clutter I have hoarded for years. Getting back into painting has been on my mind constantly, so hard to just get out and do it! sigh... ok so stay tuned for a few more posts, trying to get back in to "it" but not sure what I want to say.

Middleton Place vacation wrap up

so just a few more tidbits from our north carolina, south carolina, georgia and florida trip. i really felt it went off without a hitch and i am thinking back to how lovely all that green was. california is so brown, especially in the summer and i miss that daily rain shower we got in florida, so refreshing!

this is a favorite shot from Middleton Place (man, it was beyond gorgeous!) the kids are looking for gators and off in the distance other family members shout they saw one: lizzie is darting around to go see for herself (action shots like this are my absolute favorite kind of photo)



a house on the property that has been restored to it's original condition



we squeezed every inch of daylight out of this sunset




and a tree to swoon over






i really loved this photo, we are waiting for a table at the restaurant in the resort we stayed in at disneyworld. it was such a sweet moment of kids and adults chatting about their day



i love this shot of liz, waiting for the monorail



gorgeous florida skies

we had two extra days in orlando and picked this hotel last minute because it had the number one best pool, yep it did! we swam and floated on that lazy river for hours, beating the heat and enjoyed afternoon naps. such a luxury. that's it for now! coming up, a trip to scotland!!

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Day 4: The Many Faces of the South

Disney world 2013

even though i grew up near disneyland, i somehow missed the "collecting pins on a lanyard" tradition. i have seen people with them around their necks, but really didnt know what all the hype was about. let's just say collecting and trading pins was one of the highlights of the whole disneyworld experience for my kids and their cousins. i am so glad chris jumped in day one and bought everyone a lanyard and a starter "kit" of pins because it kept the kids happy and excited for the remaining week as they searched for new pins and picked up a few here and there each day. for the little kids it became a great way to motivate them to go on some of the scarier rides, they would earn a pin if they were willing to try. funny how some kids are scared to death of certain rides but not others, i am sure there could be a major discussion on the parenting styles of getting your kid on a ride they dont want to go on (to force or not to force?). how many times did a kid cry on a ride only to exclaim, " let's do it again!!" at the end? hmmmm.....











more photos coming soon...

Summer 2013

first up North Carolina: Topsail Island! i have been trying to plan an OBX beach house rental trip for years, i was pleasantly surprised by Topsail Island (we stayed with family and daytripped to the beach but i could imagine first hand how a future trip will play out). our family lives in Sneads Ferry, just a mile or so away from the beach, so jealous!

and miles and miles of wetlands!


yep, we finally did it. disneyworld. hmmmm. where to start? having grown up down the street from disneyland, i have to say that disneyworld was always some kind of dreamy far far away type place i would never ever see, too far and too expensive, not worth it. as a kid though, EVERYONE wanted to go to disneyworld, it was epic!! such a mystery though, even when i researched it online, i couldnt really grasp what it was going to be like? when we went to eurodisney (in paris) i remember it feeling like a tinier, edited disneyland. very cool, but not as big and just slightly "off" like you were in a dream or twilight episode. for some reason i had a hard time with the disneyworld website, it confused me and i didnt know if it was one big campus linked by, i dont know, trains or trolleys? why did people say to "stay on site" what did that mean? lucky for me, my sister in law is in the military and she booked us rooms at "shades of green" a resort hotel "on campus" so to speak. once we arrived there and drove into what is the "disneyworld campus" i could see how it was organized. basically it is four parks with roads and large patches of green space between each. there is epcot, the animal park, hollywood disney studios and magic kingdom. for those of you familiar with disneyland here is the comparison: magic kingdom is everything you have seen in disneyland (pirates of the carribean, small world, space mountain etc), the animal park is like a wild animal park with a few roller coasters and areas for little kids to ride smaller rides (it is dinosaur themed), epcot is like a tour of the world and future (similar to california adventure with some of the same rides) and the disney studios is like the hollywood studio area of california adventure. ok, so this is what my opinion is: it is nice to be able to tackle each park one day on a 4 day hopper pass BUT in about 5 hours you basically have seen all the major rides and attractions, leaving you with hours and hours of shopping time. no thanks. all four parks have massive areas of shopping which annoyed me to death. oh and downtown disney? yep, another HUGE shopping area to waste more money. Magic Kingdom was laid out much like disneyland but edited and smaller, just like the euro disney. no matterhorn and things like the small world ride were not housed in the elaborate building with facade you expect to see. it was similar (and adjacent to) the peter pan ride. ok, so yes we had a blast and yes we managed those fast passes to reduce our wait times, but i could have done with a little less shopping. i am sure really hardcore disney fans want to buy everything mickey mouse they can get, but i just wasnt into it. during our disney week we spent one day at the kennedy space center, worth every penny. it was so well done and we saw lots of foreigners from all over the world enjoying themselves. i was so proud of how well it was organized and how they shuttled you around to different displays all over the center. the information was presented in a very creative and innovative way that inspired me to think about the space past and future in a way i havent in a long time if ever. if you are doing a whole week in orlando, by all means break up the disneyworld time with a tour of the kennedy space center, you wont be disappointed!!







i was expecting heat but i'll tell you, in august it was hot hot hot! our trip started in north carolina (flying into raleigh) with a few days at the beach. we then took a drive down to "middleton place" in south carolina and another quick stop in savannah before landing in orlando for a week at disneyworld. middleton place was a wonderful surprise as it is a working plantation/farm which showcases local fresh food in it's restaurant. just walking the grounds was amazing and we spent most of our time there just walking around. i first read about the place in a sue monk kidd book (love it when something i read about finds it's way into a trip).

middleton place, south carolina: big thumbs up!!








i'll post some more pictures soon.

Sleep away camp: Wintaka time!!

My kids just returned from "sleep away camp", this is Emily's 6th year and Lizzies 3rd. I find it interesting how many of my friends are too scared to send their kids to camp, worried that something horrible might happen. Having gone to camp every summer since I was going into third grade, I couldn't wait to send my kids. I don't look forward to them being away, not at all, but I enjoy giving them this most magical opportunity. It is an amazing gift to give your kids a camp experience, I know personally that camp was one of the most important experiences of my life. It gave me an independence I never would have had without it. Here are a few things I have learned about sleep away camp:

1) Kids are forced to work out their squabbles. You can't get away from your bunkmates, you are together 24/7 for a week. If there is an argument, you must face it and work it out. This is something that doesn't happen at home with your school friends. You don't get to go home, talk with your folks, find a new friend etc etc. You work it out. What a great life skill! The roller coaster of being friends, getting on each others nerves, bickering, working it out and being best friends again brings kids closer together in a week than in years of going to school together. I remember truly "loving" my camp friends on a very deep level, which I still have today! School friends, not as deep.

2) Kids learn to be away from their parents, that it's ok to miss them. A whole week away seems like a long long time to kids and I think it's important for them to trust other adults to care for them. I also like that other adults are disciplining them and teaching them new things. It takes a village to raise a kid, I truly believe that! (It's also good for parents to let their kids go a tiny bit too, so hard sometimes!!)

3) Kids learn to follow a schedule, to do their daily activities (like brushing teeth, brushing hair, getting dressed) on their own. They follow the routine which includes meals, activities, getting ready for bed, sleeping... managing their time in a way they don't have to at home. I remember becoming very aware of how long an hour activity is, the time it took to walk down the hill to the lodge, being aware of the dinner bell ringing, watching the sun go down and knowing how much daylight was left. There is something about camp, without parents around, that teaches a kid to pay attention to details they take for granted at home.

4) Kids will look up to their counselors and want to be like them intensely. I remember falling in love with my counselors and I just could not wait to be one too! This is a totally different feeling than loving your parents. It is magical and more effective than being told "this is what you should do when you grow up." They see their counselor up there singing and they want to do that too. It is powerful stuff even though it seems so simple.

5) Last, sleep away camp FEELS so much more exciting than it really is. It is safe, organized and pretty routine, but to a kid it's like a trip to the moon. 

heading to camp, so excited!!






Returning from camp energized and happy, priceless!

Summer 2013

Where have i been? yikes! Another year of Camp Shiwaka has passed, this is the 7th year my first Camp Fire group has attended camp together with me as leader (actually one year I lead the Rocket Cats... but we were still all together). Next year my girls will be Day Camp Aides, wow! Where has the time gone? Each Spring we sign up again for the following year and I was so happy that all my girls signed up again for yet ANOTHER year!! Here are some highlights:

there was a science fiction theme this year... my favorite ever!



crazy time machine making (i love free form "make anything from a pile of crap" crafts for kids)



every day the kids do a challenge course that promotes team work and getting along in a group



we spent a lot of time cooking this year, out doing all the years past: a few items we tried were "shrimp and couscous hobo packets" and "real pizza" (we made homemade dough with a rise x 2!)



"pancake cake" via jamie oliver and pinterest for breakfast (with donuts and bacon too of course)






sleeping under the stars
and our

camp shiwaka sign photo tradition







a glimpse of my littlest having fun too



so another year down, about 4 more to go with my younger group now... looking forward to some quality camp time with them. i think it makes a difference all that sweating and dirt together.



we finally made it up to the cabin after a 4 month break (working weekends is making it hard to get up there)



even if it's a bit wacky, i am glad they are still playing with "toys"



happy 4th of july! we spent it riding to the beach, swimming in our "pool" and cooking over the fire...here's to checking in more regularly!