Scotland 2014

This year we went to Scotland again, this time I brought the girls along to help with my mom. I have never taken a tour before but I thought it would be a great way for us to get around and see more with less stress for my mom (and myself). Wow, was I right! Not only did it feel luxurious to be whisked around like royalty on a fancy bus, but it was actually a great deal. Most dinners and all breakfasts were included, plus every place we visited or event we attended was included as well. After counting in all that driving around and hotel costs for four, I didn't feel that financial hemorrhage I usually feel on these trips. We aren't big shoppers so most of my spending money goes toward "doing stuff" which was all included in the tour. I was glad we had seen Edinburgh on our trip last year because the tour was light on seeing many of the sights, it did add more commentary and general info though which was awesome. I find when I travel on my own, I often miss out on the history and what I would call "book work" so I might see some amazing things but I rarely learn many of the details. I have had many ups and downs with the self guided tours you rent (like at a museum or historic place) so I often avoid them. On a tour though, as you drive between destinations, your tour guide will prep you for the next place and I really LOVE that!

 here we are heading out of LAX, seems like just yesterday! We love New Zealand airlines.

so here we are our first few days in london, we always spend a few days acclimating to the time zone. our tour started day 4 so we headed up to Glasgow on a Virgin Atlantic train, excellent service and the gorgeous views out the window

 Sheep farm visit

 Stirling Castle

 Stirling Castle

One of our first big adventures was a visit to Stirling Castle, it was amazing. We learned how much of Scotland was shaped by glaciers so there are many of these craggy hills with sharp cliffs on three sides that make it a great place to put a castle. Down the fourth side is usually a "tail" that allows easy passage up to the top.

 Glencoe was my personal favorite place, green green green!!

So much green and blue skies full of white clouds, oh and the purple heather everywhere! we loved our tour guide Gavin, the best!!

A highlight for all of us was a sheepdog demonstration with puppies of all ages running around

Something we would never have experienced without a tour, so grateful!

out and about on another day, Pitlochry, lovely place and i found the john muir museum and a few local artists to check out like Liz Green!
that's it for today, will post more soooon!

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!