grand council fire

this year my older camp fire group made their indian gowns, it was amazing to see these girls reach this milestone together. i started this blog originally to document my attempt at being a camp fire leader, who knew i would end up being the leader of two groups! i can't say it has been easy, but i sure have learned a lot about people (and myself), some good some not so good. it's moments like these that make it all worth it for sure!

wo he lo!

in plein air

after several years of busy busy schedule and where do i fit in my painting... i finally found a local teacher who held workshops on my actual day off for several months in a row AND was affordable! the stars aligned for this one, seriously, because not only did i need to find a way to practice, i needed to learn from someone who paints in a style similar to mine (and a style i actually like) with the added bonus of being nice enough not to intimidate me but also stern enough to push me through. i can't explain why painting is such a struggle for me and such a pleasure, but this time around i was happy to see that ALL my fellow painters made the same unsure and nit picky comments about their own work too. maybe it's part of the process, you don't want to be to cocky or proud or something. strange! so here are a few of my attempts:

the main thing i have learned is that big shapes go in first, ALL the big shapes before you add details. in the past i would block in large shapes but might get carried away with some details before adding the sky or something else and then something was off and i wouldn't know what. i have slowed way down and focused on getting the foreground, middle ground and background put in accurately (in value) and then put in the fun stuff. most of my workshop paintings are really not finished, but to me they are correct and as done as they need to be.

i really love the beach scenes best and plan on continuing to work on palm trees, rocks and waves during the summer when our teacher takes some time off. i finally got my garage somewhat cleared out so i can set up my easel and practice inside. i would love to try painting some of the scenes from our italy trip, a large italian scene would be fantastic to look at day in and day out. i've had a lot of positive feedback from friends and family which has really inspired me! since i started this blog, my life has continued to evolve as i revisit my past and pursue new interests. i can't believe my oldest starts high school next year, the same high school i went to! how did that happen? gotta hang on tight for this ride, seriously!

back at it

so i thought i would give this another try... as much as i loved typepad, i just don't blog enough to justify the cost each year. hopefully i will find some time to keep this updated. right now i am back at my painting... found a wonderful teacher and feeling so inspired!

some future local wetlands i plan on painting really soon. i will pop back in soon with a few of my recent attempts. it's good to be back!

2014

so to say i am disappointed by this major downgrade look of my blog is an understatement... this green choice is all the free typepad offers so i am working on a solution. not sure what it will be but this is really horrid. stay tuned!

2014.... whoa what happened to this blog!

Happy New Year!

Ocotillo Wells and someone turned TEN! So you may have noticed a BIG CHANGE in my blog... I had no idea it would turn into the green pumpkin when I canceled my pro account, I thought it might lose some bells and whistles but this is horrid! I'll have to fix this later, no time at the moment and not sure I want to continue on this bumpy blog ride any longer. Seems I go through this every New Years.

Whoops! where did October go?

So I made it through another fab trip with my mom, Edinburgh and Glasgow were amazing! I do wish we could have taken that tour we originally signed up for but we still managed to see and do a lot. We used the heck out of those hop on/hop off buses. I can't say enough about how well they run in Scotland. I remember using the London buses a ton as well. It helps get you around to all the sites and the view from the top deck is always good. I will post more about our trip later (probably six months later, ha ha!) Here is a shot of my mom in London visitng Zeus the cat we see every year we stay at this studio apartment:

So another busy October has passed. While away my family found a new puppy for us, my mom and I watched on the "puppy cam" from Scotland and became smitten immediately!



I've got a thing for black dogs I think






puppy teeth, watch out!!



first trip to the beach and puppy school



and a few October traditions:



Camp Fire carnival



and a little pre trick or treat party at our pad



November here we come!

Miss Maggie

I've had a really rough week, even though I had found the time to load up a few posts that automatically posted... in the real world we have had a minor tragedy strike. Upon returning from our Florida trip we found our dog Maggie had lost some weight (not so unusual but still noted) and after a few days she began coughing with a runny nose. We took her to the vet as a family and during a very light-hearted visit, was given antibiotics for what was most likely "kennel cough." I have had several dogs get kennel cough before, Maggie never has even though she has been kenneled many times over her 3 years with us. Her cough and runny nose were gone within a week but she stopped taking her meds, which I assumed was just her "catching on" to our pill hiding in the food. Since her symptoms were gone, I continued to give her the pills with a hit or miss on actually getting them down. School started up, schedules got busy, we had visitors and Labor Day bar b ques, looking back now it is so easy to see that Maggie wasn't her normal self. On top of everything, it has been in the 90's for weeks on end here, just blazing hot. We are in and out of our little pool all day and into the evening too. After about three days of Maggie not eating much if at all and our "come on maggie, snap out of it" conversations with her she became weak and lethargic enough for me to make the call to the vet. They gave us the next appointment which was the next evening. Here is where all the should of, could of, beat myself up over and over part comes in. I said Ok to the robot on the phone, hosed the dog off assessed her wet nose, fresh poop and pee nearby and went back to my lazy day off. That night during our normal craziness (fans in all the rooms at full speed, attempts to cool ourselves down, rush to get everything ready for the following day of work and school) Maggie refused to go into her kennel which led to a wrestling match (sadly we laughed about this at the time) to get her settled in for the night. I did not sleep well, the heat was annoying and something about Maggie was nagging at me. I said to myself, if she isn't her normal self in the morning I will skip work and take her in. Unfortunately she died sometime during the night. All I can say now, a little over a week later is that her dying was never on the table. It wasn't even the tiniest thought in any of our minds. She was a young, pit/lab mix with a shiny coat and clear eyes, a strong "i love you" bark and wagging tail. She could pull chris around the block on his bike for hours and was the healthiest animal i have ever been around in my life. Big lessons learned here, big time priority straightening conversations and quiet reflective momments had by all. This was a really traumatic event and i am hoping that the eye opening experience we have all had will endure, without the scary nervous dread of death part that we have all felt too. 

I have lost many dogs but all to old age, losing a pet at 3 years old in the prime of her life and blaming myself for just letting it happen has been a nose dive into guilt, regret and grief i have never experienced before. To say i have cried would be an understatement, having a pet means they NEED you and it isn't ok to just do your thing while they may be suffering. I know that having never experienced anything like this i had no idea it could happen, it was tragic and unexpected. I also know now what a huge responsibility having a pet is, that it shouldn't be taken for granted and that their needs should be on the table along with yours. I never knew how much i loved my dog and how important she was to our family. That she was a MEMBER of the family yet not given as much consideration as the rest of us. Lastly, I remember crying for her to wake up and to realize she was gone. Such a final, hopeless, "can't be fixed" moment I will never forget.