Answering a question

For my commenter, Judi, no, I do not have a camera yet... I have one right now that I borrowed. I've been making really good use of it and enjoying it tremendously. I hate knowing I have to give it back soon! ;(

A walk in the woods

Today, I planned a day trip for the boys and I to go to Prescott, AZ. I invited my mom to go with us and we had such a fun day. It was cool, peaceful, quiet, relaxing, and there were moments of laughter that were unlike any I have had in months as we did a story round. It was a really wonderful day and very much needed. These are glimpses of our day.

What to do...

My boys are on fall break this week so things change a bit for me. I could not go to Bible study this morning because there's no one to watch the boys. I'm trying to figure out what I will do today. I look around and see unfinished things .... piles of papers that need to be organized and put in my new filing system, an art table the I need to finish cleaning off, a box of items to list in my etsy store, laundry to be done, things to prepare for my kid's art class I teach tomorrow which will require a run to the store, well... and the list goes on.

Here is altered composition notebook/ journal I just finished this week. It is a gift item ordered by a friend for a friend.
The recipient loves the desert and these colors so I used one of my photographs taken at the Botanical garden. I love this photograph! And I love these colors!

I'm thinking of driving my boys up to a lake in Prescott on Thursday. It's going to warm up here over the next couple of days and I think it would be nice to just hang out in cooler weather by a lake, romp through the woods, have a picnic, and it only takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to drive there. I haven't been in over a year and it's calling me. I can do some painting. ;)

Bob

Love Bob's "racing stripes". Bob is Sam's kitten who is now almost 6 months old. He's quite a character with the most expressive tail. He kinda' keeps craziness stirred up amongst the three furry boys. During the day, he finds the highest place in the house to sleep during the day, which is on top of a box in my shelving unit.. puts him about a foot from the ceiling! The past three nights, I have been able to sleep with my bedroom door closed since they have left me alone with no foot biting and Bob has become a bed buddy. I've nicknamed him 'MooBob' because he resembles a cow with his marking. But it's the white racing stripes up the back of his ears that I really love.

Guess where I went today....

Can you tell? I spent the morning at the Desert Botanical Gardens, one of my most favorite places! I took pictures (have 76 good ones), painted in my journal, ate lunch under a shady cottonwood tree, and had peaceful, quiet time to myself. It was heavenly! Here are some of my favorite shots of the day:
This was my first shot of the day upon my arrival around 8:45 yesterday morning.


I love finding little surprised.. a different variety of cacti growing in the crevices of a sajuaro!

A very rare sight here in the valley but, I understand there are two pair of Cardinals that live at the garden now!
I was very pleasantly surprised to find several cactus blooming this time of year!
And some that I photographed in spring now have fruit. I love the rich contrast of color against the pale green.
There were also several reptile out roaming about but only two that posed for me.
And then there's the evidence of a reptile... way cool. The shed skin feels like thin, fragile paper.
kinda' looks like bubble wrap! hehehe!
love this little guy... he was only a couple inches long sitting in the water. I was thrilled he didn't hop away.
Then, there's the trees. LOVE the tree bark! And it is evident that fall is hear beneath the cottonwood trees.




And then, there are the Monarchs. They were fluttering everywhere in the wild but the garden also had an exhibit where I got some good shots. Don't you love their polka dots?




I'm not sure what this plant is but I love the colors, shape, and textures.

And finally, here are the two journal pages I managed to get painted while I was there. I'm a slow painter, seriously. The one on the left took me a while but since I wasn't "on the clock", I didn't pay attention to time. I got lost in the process. The second one I did in about 20 minutes because it was almost time for me to leave to pick up my kids at school and I was determines to get in at least two paintings for the morning.


And that's a wrap! Hope you've enjoyed the show!
I'll be heading over there again a lot in the near future now that it's cooling off!

What a week!

Well, last Friday, Max woke with flu-like symptoms running fever. He did not get to back to school until Tuesday, when Sam then came down with the same virus! I have been trapped at home for a week now. However, I have used the time well, I think. I got a lot of things cleaned out an organized and have gotten a few projects done. I was commissioned to make a gift journal and finished it yesterday. Here it is:



The recipient loves the sea thus the scripture passage and color palette. On the inside, I added this little vinyl pocket of sand with her name and a single pearl buried in sand.

I also pulled out the art doll I started in Katie Kendrick's class over TWO years ago! YIKES! I finished her today and put her up for sale in my Etsy store. I hope she finds a happy, new home soon.


I also made two more special order dolls for the same buyer who ordered the last ones. I got those and the little tomato costume shipped off today.

Tomorrow, I'll finally have both boys back in school for the day then they'll be back out for not only the weekend, but all of next week! It is their fall break. This weekend, I'll be working on another special gift order and then have more projects I want to complete. I'm trying to get some things made to sell while still trying to reorganize and clean things out in my apartment. I still one one mess art table that needs my attention badly!

I look forward to a morning walk tomorrow after dropping the boys off. The temperatures have been so amazing, I can't wait to have some time out in the crisp morning air! I've been keeping windows open all day and it's been wonderful!