Day 11 of 31 day Blog Challenge; All Aboard

Kansas City Missouri Train Station 

This is my favorite photo.  Taken on a train ride home to Michigan.

see you tomorrow.

31 day Blog Challenge Day 10 - Holy Crapola!!!!

A Single Tear

I have posted this painting before, in fact immediately after it was painted in 2015.  I looked at it with fresh eyes on Saturday night and went Holy Crapola!!!!! I painted that.  What made me have this thought?  I was looking at some paintings on Facebook and thought how beautiful they were and wished I could paint something like that.  I looked up at the painting over my chair in the living room and did a double take.  I HAD painted a painting like that.  I had dug deep and found this painting lurking side.

I was amazed and at the same time a little ticked.  Amazed because I get the same feeling today that I did in September of 2015 and ticked because once again I wished for something I have already done and not really appreciated.  This photo makes it look bright; however, hanging on the wall it is haunting.  The lighting in the room makes the face recede significantly so you see it faintly in this black fog.  I really think that as the paint cured over time (man, I sound professional here) the painting darkened which is the effect I wanted.

When I first started this journey I would not display my work, now it is hanging on my walls.  All I can say is Holy Crapola, Batman.

see you tomorrow.

31 day Blog Challenge Day 9: One last look

Goodbye Christmas Village

Today the final vestiges of my Christmas Village came down.  Two months and one week of the beautiful life will be but a memory tomorrow.  Everything is stored away and the floor has been vacuumed.  I was truly sad to see it go; but new year, new things to do.

Feeling recharged and energized today.  Fell asleep yesterday about 6:00 pm and pretty much slept straight through until 4:30 am this morning.  This is going to be a busy week, I have a meeting of some type everyday until Friday.  I am also prepping for a class that I have to teach at church on Sunday Morning.  But, I have promised myself that I am still going to make time for some art even if it only 15 minutes.

Preparing for Paint Mojo

Christmas Tree Village has been replaced by a 30x40 canvas that I plan to work on during the Paint Mojo Class which will be taught by Tracy Verdugo.  I think I am going to work on a few smaller canvases; but this one which I have named Carter, will be my main focus, not so much to finish but to have as a visual representation of things I have learned and adjusted to make my own.

Starting Jane Davenport's free class tomorrow.  Should be fun.

see you tomorrow.

31 Day Blog Challenge: Day 8: Purple Bandages

Sheer Beauty

Before I begin my story, I wanted to show this photo taken July 2016 on Bainbridge Island, Washington at Wacky Nut Farms.  The flowers, and I do not know the name of them, caught my attention and took my breath away.

Now to Purple Bandages....Today was Blood donation day at my church, St. Thomas More Catholic Community.  Twice a year we have blood drives and I try to participate.  In fact, I have been donating blood for over 30 years.  In that time period, I have had a big problem or at least I am a big problem for the technicians.  It is hard to find my veins.  I have had this problem my entire life whether it giving blood or just having blood tests drawn.  My veins are small and they do not want to cooperate.

So, today after completing my questionnaire, I was taken to the chair to get set up.  "what arm would you like to use?'  Normal question and my standard answer is "it does not matter, whichever one you can find a vein is the one to use?"  I have an uncanny knack of knowing who will be successful and who will be a bust.  My first technician while extremely nice was a bust.  We tried the left arm,  needle in arm and vein was found; blood started flowing very slowly and it was hurting.  My sweet friend tried to wiggle the needle to get a better flow; not a really good idea.  So one of the chief technicians was called (normal for me--get the big guns).  He looked the right arm,  probed for a few seconds and found a small vein.  Eureka!!!!!  With purple pressure bandage on left arm, we proceed to get the flow going fast and furious from the right arm.  Once completed, we decided that purple pressure bandage was perfect for the right arm so that I could be fashionably coordinated.  Keep these bandages on for at least 4 hours and no heavy lifting for the rest of the day.

I forgot that I was scheduled to be an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister today at the noon Mass.  Uh oh, really supposed to go home eat and rest.  Oops!!!  So I started praying, "Lord, please let me make it through this mass without getting dizzy or fainting."  I was really concerned; but he answered my prayers.  Made it through Mass, cooked dinner and am now laying down typing this missive.

Bandages removed,  left arm a little bruised, right arm perfect.  Someone in need of blood will be helped and that is all that matters really.

see you tomorrow.