Still, we had a good time at our very nice airport. Daniel got to use one of the very nice massage chairs, we has some delicious coffee and then got to visit with some good friends we hadn't seen in a while, which was a great surprise!
Tomorrow we are heading to New Mexico, where we lived for ten years before moving to Savannah - from high desert to the ocean. As we are getting all of our things ready to take and the house in order for our house sitter, who takes care of Winslow and Ramses, I keep thinking about this upcoming vacation in a place that still feels like home to us.
I am looking forward to:
I'll be posting from the road and hope to take you all along with us on this trip to The Land of Enchantment!
Ok, I've been holding out on you. I finished her a while ago and didn't post her right away because she turned out so sweet. Not that I have anything against sweet paintings, but they don't usually flow from my paint brush. My women normally look a little more serious and even a bit gritty. This lovely lady looks like she's about to break into song with little birds appearing as the background chorus.
Remember my friend Beth's birthday? Well, I did this painting for her and can now show her to all of you. It went through many different stages. Her face always stayed the same although her eyes changed color a couple of times. The background went from colorful and bright to dark to what it is now. And her hair went from straight down to being windswept to one side to sort of floating around her.
As promised a few pictures Daniel took in our garden over the weekend. I wish we could accurately convey they regal magnificence of this ten-foot high sunflower. At first it stood tall and proud and now it is bowing down as the sunflower seeds grow bigger. Every day, I marvel at its perfection!
This was one of our smaller sunflowers with tiny little bees collecting pollen.
I love this close-up of a gorgeous zinnia - it looks like tiny flowers within a flower. Isn't nature amazing?!
Our castor beans are doing well - such interesting looking plants all around.
The pretty flowers of the Mexican petunia bloom for only one day, but new buds open every day during the warm season. The hotter and more direct the sunlight, the better!
Here a few pretty flowers of a butterfly vine, which seeded itself and is so pretty that we can't get rid of it.
A few pretty flowers around our fountain.
This is one of our planted flower pots and it's looking really pretty. It had some self-seeded Asian basil and we added a few things.
This is the time of year when our garden is starting to look really tired from the heat, although this year we are noticing that all the rain we've had has helped plants look better longer. How does your garden grow these days?
Yesterday, we both needed some art supplies, so we decided to make a morning of it starting with a coffee (and our books) at our favorite cafe in Savannah. I was so glad I had taken the camera with me. The grand live oak trees are so magnificent and beckon me every time to take their picture.
I loved the assortment of glass bottles and containers inside the cafe. The photo is slightly out of focus, but I still liked the way it looked. (Click on any of the photos to see them larger.)
I saw this little soda dispenser at a new antique mall we discovered.
On the way back to the car, Daniel thought we should take a look at a new hotel that opened right on the river with a rooftop bar. What a place and just look at that view! We'll definitely go there one evening when the weather is a little cooler.
I loved the driftwood sculptures that were actually lights (I think).
And the chandeliers were all made from oyster shells - usually I don't like that too much, but in that setting they looked really modern and the design was great!
Thanks for strolling along with us! Tomorrow, I'll have some more stunning photos Daniel took in our garden today. Plus, I am working on some more art and will have something to show soon!!
... is my dear friend Beth's birthday! Beth and I worked together for only three months some 15 years ago and during those short months we became fast friends. Even now, after all this time, we touch base with each other very regularly, share in our lives and adventures, and are always able to uplift each other.
I know that Beth is happiest at the beach, so I included a couple of pictures we took here on Tybee Island when Beth was visiting a couple of years ago.
A few exciting things have been happening in the last couple of days, so you are getting a mishmash of things today. Today, I found out through a comment someone left me on my last post that my entry into Illustration Friday was chosen as the Pick of the Week for this week. How did this happen?! Totally unexpected and making me feel so proud! Thanks for all the congratulatory comments I've already received from you!!
The other day there was so much talk about Etsy treasuries on Twitter that I decided to try to put one together. You can click on the picture to see it larger. I really love the color combination, but I didn't realize I included two pieces from the same seller and forgot to include one of my own. Made me laugh! It was great fun though and I can't wait to try it again! I'd include the link, except that it will be expired by the time I post this...
This is how it really looked - bright and sunny and colorful. I loved the underside of the butterfly.
No words needed on this one!
When I went outside the other day I saw that our gardenia bush had two flowers on it! I cut one off and made a little bouquet I could enjoy inside. Our flowers are starting to look pretty tired and hot these days, but I was still able to find a few nice ones!
These were leftover from my birthday flowers our friend and neighbor brought over. I love zinnias and even like them when they already look slightly worn.
I pulled off the petals at the end and am drying them for seeds for next year. As I was looking at the petals, I noticed the pretty plate I have them on and thought I'd take a couple of pictures to show you. It reminds me of the plates I used to have as a kid. I was a very finicky eater when I was little (wouldn't know it now...) and my mom would get me plates with pictures on them that I could uncover as I ate what was on them. I don't know if it worked, but I always liked the plates...
Another plate we are using to dry a few shallots from our garden.
And last but not least a picture of Winslow and Ramses having a sweet moment.
Wishing you many sweet moments today and going into the weekend! I love how you visit my blog and keep visiting and commenting even if I don't make it to your blogs for a couple of days. You are just wonderful, and I promise I'll visit you all in the next couple of days!!
A sudden breeze and she found herself wrapped in a strand of her silken hair
Whew! It's been a busy day running errands and now I feel like I want to take a nap! But instead, I thought I'd show you my latest painting.
...Mary of The Fresh Notes. Mary started blogging around the same time I did, and I was immediately drawn to her fresh style and writing! In her blog she shares about life, love and cooking!! It seems like we are growing up together in blogland and I am happy that my lovely lady is heading her way!
Between 2001 and 2005 we spent numerous vacations in Oaxaca, Mexico, a paradise for artists and lovers of folk art. We have friends in Oaxaca who own an art school, where Daniel would teach watercolor painting or children's book illustration. And of course we'd combine that with a vacation! On every one of our trips we were accompanied by friends and family and always had the best time!
At first I was nervous about going to Mexico, because while I speak English, German and some French, I don't speak Spanish, but I've never felt safer and more welcomed anywhere than I felt in Oaxaca.
We discovered the colorful clay figures by the Aguilar sisters on our first visit to Oaxaca and fell in love with Josefina's work. On each of our trips, we would travel to their village of Ocotlan de Morelos (it was also home to the amazing artist Rudolfo Morales) and bring home a few more of her colorful creations. On our last trip, Daniel even had Josefina do a special order for us of the two nuns...
The whole extended Aguilar family lives together in a very humble home and everyone makes clay figures, each in their own style.
Daniel took this last picture on our third or fourth trip to Oaxaca, this time over Christmas. I am sitting in front of a creche with fairly large figures created by the Aguilar family!
We brought back many different pieces of folk art from Oaxaca and if you are interested, I'll share some with you from time to time...
Well, not exactly... On the night of my birthday, we were all set to go out to dinner, when suddenly a storm broke loose, lightning struck somewhere close by and we lost our electricity. So, instead of going out, we decided to have a romantic evening at home.
We lit candles, took a pork tenderloin we had in the fridge, cut it up into squares, and marinated it in a delicious (fast becoming our favorite) red pepper marinade. Later we put it on skewers with some onions and red peppers, grilled it, and ate it by candlelight. Delicious!
Later I thought I'd try to take some photos and these are the only ones where you can see anything. The one above and below are clay figures we brought back from our numerous trips to Oaxaca, Mexico. I'll show you more of them in tomorrow's post - they are so fun!
This next picture surprised me when I looked at it. It's a photo of my mother when she wasn't much older than I am now (on the left is another one of the clay figures). Actually, she passed away not long after this was taken. Strange to think how young she was - it didn't seem that way to me when I was in my early 20's. Our perspective changes as we grow older, doesn't it?
What struck me most about this wonderful, romantic evening, was how very quiet it is in the house when the power is out. Made me realize how much noise there still is even when the TV and radio are off. And without it, it felt very peaceful - for a while, at least, then I was ready for the air conditioning to kick back on...
