Getting ready for Christmas

I'm trying to get more Christmas items in my Etsy shop. Although I'm a little late, as usual! Really organized people have been onto Christmas items far longer.

These cards were printed from my stamp that I designed and carved. They were printed with acrylic paint and dusted with fine fairy dust.

This design is a sassy little elf. She's all ready for her party, martini in hand. I love how retro she is. I'm big into all things "Retro Christmas!"

The colors are not your traditional Christmas colors. That's how I usually make my Christmas cards.

Those of you that receive a physical Christmas card from me may recognize this as my 2006 design. I've been creating a new Christmas card design for 17 years now. This elf was the second time that I made them from a hand carved stamp. Usually they have been copies. I better get busy and think up this year's. I wonder if I'll ever run out of ideas?

Here they are in my Etsy shop.

Etsy Pick-O-The-Week - KeriRounding

These felted brooches are purty-purty! They are created by KeriRounding over on Etsy. These little anenomes would surely look alive perched on your clothes!


They are made with "a mixture of wet and needle felting techniques." They are not your average looking brooch, and the colors are quite stunning! Go to kerirounding.com for more!

Theme of Consciousness-TOC-World

My drawing for TOC this week was a little hokey! But it's pretty fun, and light also, so I like it.

Jim Ladd and Theme Of Consciousness started streaming this past Friday. In honor of Jim finally going world wide, the theme was "world," of course. Anyone who enjoys free-form rock and roll should listen to Jim. They only allow him to stream on Fridays, 8pm-1am (Pacific Time). He's on 95.5 KLOS.

I just love any theme/challenge to try and think up and create a piece of art to match. Some might be clever, others are just fun.

Vintage Record Cover Box

I started making these upcycled record cover boxes a few years ago to uniquely wrap any gift that would fit into them. Last year I started offering them for sale. And I'm happy to have even more to choose from this year.

This cover is particularly special, in my opinion. Brad first told me it was "Father Knows Best." I wasn't sure. But after reading the back cover I discovered it was the "Donna Reed Show" family. I didn't recognize Donna Reed. I know Donna Reed best as Mary from one of my most favorite movies, "It's A Wonderful Life." This photo is her in 1964. But I thought that made this cover even more fabulous!

I collect these records all year, well I always collect records of all sorts and have for over 20 years now. I use only records that are beyond their use for music, either because of damage, or just plain boring, and insignificant. But the images on old records are simply too much fun to let go to waste sitting in a stack. So I love to give them a new life.

Once I started selling these boxes I started coating them with layers of acrylic medium and a final glossy varnish. The covers can get pretty brittle with age, and these coatings make the box more sturdy. I also add a piece of matching decorative paper for the bottom of the box.

They look so lovely just tied with ribbon sitting under your tree. They are a great way to hold your cards, stationery, or other little trinket items. They fit in perfectly with any vintage inspired Christmas decor. They are just so cute!

I've got some for sale in the Christmas section of my Etsy shop, now.

Art Lesson - Foreshortening - Self Portraits

This is a good lesson to do with fifth graders. I did this lesson with my son's class a couple of weeks ago.

First I attempted to describe to them what foreshortening was. I was mainly trying to just introduce the word to them. I had an example of a drawing using foreshortening. I showed them my example first, and asked them who might see this view. I was pleased when they said an ant. Then we did the drawing together. First shoes, hands, head and body. We talked about the patterns on their shoes. They could try to simplifiy their shoes, or make up their own pattern. I talked about the details of the hands a little. We discussed breifly the basic porportions of a face... the eyes half way down the head, etc. I had them personalize their clothing and hair and maybe to add a hat. We drew in pencil first, then outlined in black markers. Finally they colored in with crayons. If they had time, I encouraged them to color the back ground, trying to make it a contrasting color. A background color really makes the design pop. Drawing the body was a little hard for some kids, so I was needed to help with that a little. It was a perfect lesson for fifth grade, not sure if I'd go much younger. It took the whole hour, with only a couple not finishing the project. That was perfect.
I like how Wesley (above) and DS (below) drew Mr. Toast and friends on their shirt. Even my son advertises for Etsy sellers!

I get my art lesson ideas from a lot of different sources. Sometimes they magically pop in my head. A lot of times just looking at adult art gives me an idea for a kid version. Other times I search books, and the web. This lesson came from theartkids. They have a lot of really good art lessons for kids.

Etsy Pick-O-The-Week - elsita

I'm amazed with this paper sculpture created by elsita! It is quite stunning, as is everything in this shop on Etsy!


Along with the paper sculptures, you'll find very charming toys both of the 3D variety, as well as 2D paper dolls. If you ever watch the sold items on Etsy's Time Machine 2, you've probably seen some of elsita's work fly by. Her work is of such fine quality, it's just no wonder. You'll also find her original and prints of her very adorable illustrations. She also makes jewlelry, clothing, bags, needlework and books. A very sweet shop, indeed. And an added bonus, that I always enjoy, elsita has a very enjoyable blog as well. If you haven't yet discovered elsita, then by all means you should go check out her shop NOW!

Theme of Consciousness-TOC-Ride

Tonights TOC theme was "ride". I made a lot of requests with a lot of them being "cowboyish." Near the end of the show, Jim played one of my requests, and I even got the credit for it. It was "Me and My Uncle" by the Grateful Dead. He was playing a very cowboyish set, so I hammed it up. During the Dead song, I commented "Yee-Haw" on Jim's Myspace page. So when Jim came back to announce who had made the requests he said "Me and My Uncle was requested by Saffron on MySpace... Yee Haw!" That was pretty funny! I knew being corny would get some kind of notice! Not sure if my humble, drawing addition to the comments was noticed or not. But I do like the little cowgirl ridin her pony!

The good news is Jim Ladd's show will start streaming next Friday. I'll be sure to post the link when it's available. He'll only be streaming on Friday's because of some weird laws that keep him from completely being himself while streaming. I take it, since Friday is all requests, he's found a loop hole to jump through, and bypass this restraint. So that will be cool. Although it could be late for you out on the East Coast since he's on from 8 pm - 1 am, Pacific time!

Happy Halloween!

Amazing! I got this posted before midnite! My life is too busy right now, so I'm sorry that I haven't been up on things lately. On top of the hectic schedule, there's also the image issues that blogspot's been having lately. I hope those probs are over.

We had a fun time down town for the annual Halloween Parade and Carnival. Wesley was Frankenstein, I was a very purple wizardess, and Brad was creepy with an arrow through his forehead (yuck). My house is a COMPLETE mess, with the puzzle-of-a-closet completely tore apart. On account of getting my costume together pretty last minute. My costume from 7 years ago, Mary Poppins, had to change... couldn't find my Mary hat. Oh well, there was another M.P. in town this year. So my unique wizard did fine, and it was the first time I had worn this lovely purple dress from the thrift store. I also had THE tallest hat in town on, one that I had made for Wesley when he was "Dark Magician" from Yu-Gi-Oh, back in first grade.


It was a very lovely evening, and quite balmy, well, at least until about 7 pm. The trees seemed to have changed color early this year. The oaks are past their prime, and have changed from orange to brown, ready to finish with their dropping of the leaves. And everything is still quite ready for rain.

Enjoy your All Hallows Eve! What's left of it!

NibbleFest-Shadows

Here's my October entry for NibbleFest. The theme is "Shadows".

Is this kittie Naughty or Nice? Its evil side seems to be showing itself.

This is an original acrylic ACEO (2.5x3.5 inches).

-SOLD-

I've been preoccupied with thoughts of fire this week, as most in Southern California. I feel for all the people affected, and since I too live in a fire-prone forest, my mind has been filled with intense worry. I feel so very blessed that our mountain is not on fire this year, and I say that as I knock on wood. A minor thing that happened as a result of the weather, we were with out power for 30 hours. That is challenging! But again I say how blessed and lucky we are at this time.

So because of the circumstances I'm a little behind. I hope to have my Etsy Pick-O-The-Week up tomorrow. The rest of my week is crazy-busy, so if you don't see it up on Thursday, then you can find it here probably on Monday. Some times wednesdays are so busy, and I was lucky to get this little painting done!

Hang in there So Cal, and I'm praying for rain!! Oh, and a gentle rain, not mud-slide-causing rain!

Theme of Consciousness-TOC-Questions

The theme for TOC this week was any song with a "question" in the TITLE. That was challenging to come up with a drawing to go with the theme. But I did come up with this. I wanted to get this posted when Jim played one of the many "who do you love" songs. I even had a feeling he'd do a set with a variety of them, and I was right. Luckily he did these songs later in the night, so I was able to get the pix on during the second one, The Doors version. I like that one and the Quicksilver Messenger Service versions a lot. I would've posted it during the first song, but so many hang ups kept going on. You name it, it malfunctioned. It's so frustrating when I'm in a hurry and dumb little things go wrong with the computer!!

Anyway this is just a simple little doodle that I love to do on a Friday night. No pressure to sell, just have fun and be imaginative.

Evidence of Fall

OH, Yay! My images are able to be uploaded! Well at least some of them!

It is a beautiful time in Autumn, in the mountains. This is a pine forest, so we have mainly trees that don't change colors. But there is still quite a bit of color-changing happening. And that makes for a lovely scene, everywhere you go.



I took some shots last week while out in about around town. There are many cute, quaint cabins all aglow with their colorful trees.



I really need one of these extra vibrant Japanese Maples.

Soon I'll take a photo of my own yard on display.

No PHOTOS

I've been all ready to post some Autumn colors. But so, so sadly Blogger seems to be having difficulties. I can't upload photos at this time. Hopefully they fix it soon, because I really don't like these postings without photos!

Paper Clay Halloween Figures with Greeting Card

I had too much fun making these little characters out of paper clay! They're little "action figures" with moveable arms and legs. And as an added bonus I've listed them on Etsy with a somewhat matching greeting card.

The cat is a little goofy, while this pumpkin is a bit more serious.

And slightly demonic and creepy... here's a Halloween devil...

There's also a reproduction print being used for one of the cards. A painting from 3 years ago. This guy is out "Hitchin' and Trickin'!"

If you like them, then by all means go to the Halloween section of my shop on Etsy!

Etsy Pick-O-The-Week - babastudioPrague

Look at this ever-so-wonderful Esty shop that I just found over the weekend! How hard to find a favorite thing in this shop. In honor of Halloween I chose this eerie loveliness..."beautifully vampiric" print which is on this fabulous bag!

babastudioPrague is a most unique shop with fantastic limited edition prints, some of which are printed on wonderful cotton and silk shoulder bags, totes, and wristlets. Plus their lovely images are being made into a tarot deck featuring the delightful Bohemian Cats. The Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot is a wonderful place to look at all the cats as tarot images.




The shop owners describe this shop best... "At "baba studio" we love old stories, strange symbols, fragments of images... We're surrounded in Prague by art and architecture of the Baroque, Rococco, Victorian and Art Nouveau eras."

"The Knight of Wands is a Siberian cat from Moscow (now living in Prague). As one of our friends said on seeing his portrait, 'If that cat was a guy I'd go out with him!'" (taken from their description of this handsome hero.)

I have to agree. And he does remind me of my own Phoebus.

If you are mainly interested in their cats, it looks like they are starting a new Etsy shop exclusively cat-like...BohemianCats. Both shops are equally wonderful, and if you're looking to buy me something, I'd love anything there!

And go to the blog, it's also very enjoyable!

In the Treasury... BnR!!

That's right I'm in the Treasury. It's no easy feat. I was in there before, but it's been quite a while. I guess you've got to be known, or somehow seen through the thousands of other sellers.

Unfortunately the person who is the curator of this treasury doesn't say if you need to buy that actual item, or any from that shop. I personally would've chosen a different item of mine. Something more likely to sell. Not that I don't like this art box, it's just that's it's the only one I've got, and I've never sold one. Just not my most popular item. I wasn't even sure I would renew it when it's time was up.

Buy and Replace is a good way to get some exposure though. And that's what it's all about. Being seen, somehow! So that's me, the third one down on the left. See that treasury here. It's up until Wednesday, 7am. Buy something and be featured in it's place. Well at least I got a Christmas present out of it! SSShhhhh!

Edit... I guess I was wrong. The little box ended up selling in no time. :)

Theme of Consciousness-TOC-Roll

Last night was Jim Ladd's Theme of Consciousness Friday with the theme of "Roll." So I doodled a little ditty, and this is the result. I love the pressureless feeling of just doodling for fun. But since I wanted to post it on Jim's Myspace page, well, that added the pressure back into doodling! And since my day was so busy with an art lesson, a meeting, and a long, but fun, school event, this was just all I could pull together.

I did the "Pattern Turtles" art lesson with a class of kindergartners. This is now an annual art lesson for kindergartners. Well the highlight of the day was when one talkative little boy asked me what my phone number was! It was just so hysterical, and definetely a highlight of the day. That and seeing my son sing "Happy Together" with his 5th grade class, with much of the class all decked out in 60s finery, including my son with his blue John Lennon glasses. What a joy!

Button Sampler on Note Card

I've finally finished this little project that I've had in the works for a month! I had these little buttons made during my comings and goings this summer. Then I had to draw a little design to go with the buttons, and made that drawing into a card. Just a small, simple little note card (invitation sized).

It's a sampler of some of the many women that I enjoy painting so much. Four different eras of women... 1) The modern pink-haired, punk girl with apple-"Forbidden." 2) The ever so elegant original Gibson Girl, "Evelyn Nesbit." 3) The sad-eyed flapper girl, "Pretty in Pink." 4) The lovely "Citrus Goddess" with her hair of lemon, limes and oranges.

Four little flower lovelies, all in a row. The words written across the card read "In a field of many flowers, you're the one I pick."

It's a card and gift all in one... All ready to give, or receive!

They're for sale in the shop on Etsy.

Theme of Consciousness-TOC-Rock

If you live out in Southern California you have probably heard of Jim Ladd at some point in your life. Jim is a legendary disc jockey on FM radio and has been for, I don't know, 35+ years. I know I first listened to him on KMET in the early 80's as a teenager. A high school boyfriend of mine turned me on to him. Jim is very anti-establishment, and is all about free form radio. Now I really don't enjoy listening to a lot of commercial LA radio, but I do enjoy listening to Jim! He's not afraid to play whatever he wants, not the usual formula for the radio station he's on. There are a lot more songs out there than the few "hits" most radio stations play, and Jim's willing to play them!

So on Friday nights he turns the airwaves over to the listening audience. It's called "Theme of Consciousness." Each week there's a different theme and he only plays requests that fit that theme from 9pm to 1am. Not only does he take calls, but now he's on myspace and people request from there. What is really cool is people post some amazing pictures relating to the theme and songs on myspace as well. So I started joining in posting some pictures a few weeks ago. Well... this week I posted this little doodle that took me 5 minutes to whip out. Shortly after posting it, Jim came on air and gave me a shout out, along with the 6 or so other regular posters of fabulous artwork and graphics. I'm so amazed with these people and their database of images. They are so clever, and extremely quick at posting these pictures. I'm very humbled with my little drawing up against their masses of images! But mine was thought up on the spot, out of my own head, simply drawing with a pen in my journal.

You can find him on 95.5 KLOS from 8pm-1am (Pacific Time), Monday thru Friday. And those of you not in So Cal, I think they are now streaming. And definetely go to Jim's Myspace page to check it out on Friday nights!

Etsy Pick-O-The-Week - bayousalvage

This week's POW is bayousalvage. I found this shop while perusing the forums on Etsy. I first loved the garden angels made of salvage of all sorts from New Orleans. How enchanting! I love this particular angel pictured here. As I searched further I realized I also love the one of a kind cuffs and upcycled clothing. I like this shop a lot because of the wonderfully recycled items. The unique items found here are very interesting. And here is where you'll find their blog.

NibbleFest - RETRO

I'm back from a long absence from NibbleFest... Which is the best "contest" on eBAY! At least that I know of.

This month's theme is "Retro". What's more retro than a swingin couple groovin with the turntable?!

I like to paint designs like this. Just imagination, color and fun. Not really a masterpiece, but an interesting design still. Retro all the way.

This is an ACEO (2.5x3.5 inches) original, acrylic painting. I was late in getting it done, so I'll have to put it on a 3 day auction (so that it ends on the 27th... NFAC rules). I'm a procrastinator, but I do usually get things done by some kind of deadline. So I'll be back tomorrow to add the link to the auction. For now you can look at the other NibbleFest Entries. There's bound to be something I like there with such a fun theme!

I've listed it and you can find it here.

Illustration Friday - Wedding

"Hey, Little Sister what have you done?... It's a nice day to start again, it's a nice day for a white wedding."

This week's IF is "Wedding." Yayy! I'm finally particpating in IF again. It's been a while. I've either been gone, or just had no time, or probably no ideas. There have been some tough themes lately. I was glad to hear "wedding" was the theme, cuz I could actually come up with something.

What? Well, my untraditional sister all gussied up in her wedding finery! Untraditional, yet beautiful none the less!

This is an ACEO (2.5x3.5 inches) painted in acrylic. It's in my shop over on Etsy, now!

Etsy Pick-O-The-Week - clayflower22

I'm getting back on schedule and posting my POW on it's regular day, Wednesday. My blog is going into shock from all the attention!

This week's Pick-O-The-Week is clayflower22. In this shop you'll find a unique collection of head vases, or pots. I've always loved the old glamour girl head vases! I'm still kicking myself for not buying one years ago for only $10 at the thrift store. At the time it seemed expensive, now it's a deal.

Back to the POW! These head vases are made from French, English and American antique dolls. How lovely! I'm really not sure how they're made, but they are quite charming. And reasonably priced, well at least for now! They would look right at home sitting on a shelf somewhere in my house!

Been Crochetin'

I'm feel Autumn is coming soon. Sure it's still pretty hot up here in the mountains, but we could have our first coldish night any time. So I've been wanting to crochet. I like to crochet, but not too much in the summer. But it feels good sometimes to do something that doesn't take a lot of thinking. Sure I've got to pay attention to stiches, to make sure I have a matching pair. But basically, it doesn't take much energy, just patience.

You can see some that I've made over on Etsy right now.

9-11... six years later

All I have to say on this day is... How very sad I am for the many losses of life. How I'm so very sorry for the many children who lost a parent, as I'm sorry for all who lost a loved one. And how very sad that people can have so much hate in them to do such a horrific thing. It's all been said before, but lives on in our hearts, forever.

Through it all I still pray for peace. For Earth... For all.

I did this painting following 9-11-01.

Etsy Pick-O-The-Week - FantasticToys

So sorry to be a little late on this week's POW! But look at the little cuties I've found in the very adorable shop - FantasticToys. As stated in the shop announcement, "Here you'll find lovely fawns and forest critters along with cute lit'l buggers." And that is the very truth! I think these little creatures are so cute, and how I want one! The Hoot Owls have to be my favorites, but there are many other cuties to choose from. What adds to the fun is the FantasticToys website. Here you'll find more dolls, puppets, and paper toys. I found more things to love there, like a charming frog, giraffe, and many other dolls. Very high quality creations!

Back To School

We've made it through the first week of school. Many changes have made for an unsettled mom, but I'm working through them. Change can be good, sometimes.

Ahh, to have little Miss Goody Two Shoes for a teacher! With her pet raven, pigeon along with the dog, Jumper, who keeps anyone from entering or leaving without the lovely teacher's permission.

But like so many women, she gives up her career for a man. Oh, and lives happily ever after... of course!

Etsy Pick-O-The-Week - AFanicifulTwist

I've neglected my Etsy Pick-O-The-Week for most of the summer. But I'm all vacationed-out, and ready for a POW!

This week I'm featuring an artist whos work I found earlier in the summer. AFancifulTwist has originals, prints, and some very whimsical clay pieces. I love the colors, compositions, and graceful lines in these illustrations. Very beautiful stuff! And her blog is superb, and has become one of my regular places to visit.

New Pocket Mirror

Life has been very busy since returning from the beautiful Northern California. I'll share more soon, but for now I finally added my pocket mirrors to the shop on Etsy.

They come with a little organza bag to help protect it.

They're made from a painting that I did last year. I've got some other new items that I'll bring out soon. I liked this previous NibbleFest entry for "Gnarled Trees."

Another Trip!

We're leaving on another trip. Not as far this time, but don't expect to hear from me until after August 21. It's been a while since we've been to the bay area, and I'm so looking forward to it! As usual, my time is running out, so I've just found an older painting I did of my dog, Ziggy. He's all grown up now, almost 2.

Why did I choose Ziggy? Well, he's going on vacation with us, and whenever a huge dog is with you on a road trip, well it pretty much takes over a lot of your thoughts!! I've got my list of all the beaches that allow dogs, and we'll be camping, so I think we'll do ok!

Look for me after the 21, and do enjoy the remaining moments of your summer!

Beautiful BUGS!!

Today, at my mom's, we had a most interesting visitor. And how lucky was I to capture the extreme, intricate, beauty of this dragonfly! If you create a beautiful, natural setting you can have these lovelies visit you, too!... even in Orange County! What's funny is it kept returning back to this EXACT same spot, as if it wanted me to get it's picture!



Here's another gorgeous character that I was so fortunate to capture, digitally. This guy was found on our walk, at my Grandma's, way deep in the heart of Texas. Outside Austin.

And sorry for the BAD QUALITY of this last photo...



This much scarier bug (scorpion) fell down from the ceiling in the spare room at my Grandmas. Luckily I saw it land, because as you can see, it's EXACTLY the color of the carpet!! It wouldn't stand still long enough for a better pix, And Wesley soon killed it. CREEPY!!

Obligations

I guess I should be happy that I've got plans. But I really only want to stay home, after my long trip in July. I've got obligations, so I'll leave my peaceful little mountain home for a couple of days.



I've been doing a lot work on my house. Clean sweeping, spring cleaning (in summer), organizing. I'll have pix of my revamped kitchen soon. Because of the revamping, I'm able to use my juicer much easier than the space-challenged kitchen allowed before. I usually make a combo of apple-carrott with other veggies. Look at the gorgeous colors that beets, carrotts, pears, and apples make...



Yummy! So earthy, with hints of dirt! (Beets!)

Veggie Across America

Hello, My Dears...

You may have figured, or not, that we ran into some difficulties with the connection to the internet with the laptop. It was a little disappointing, but we took it in stride and had an adventurous time anyhow!

My Dad is vegan, and I'm vegetarian, so we went to restaurants with a veggie flare across the country. I'm going to give a little review of the ones we went to.

In Flagstaff, Arizona we ate at the New Frontiers Natural Market, at the deli. My Dad loved the Cashew-Tomatoe soup. I enjoyed the tofu patty. They had a good variety of prepared salads and eating outside was nice since there were some clouds, and it wasn't too hot.

We ate at an Indian restaurant called Gopuram, in Oklahoma City. Indian food is always so full of exotic flavor, and this restaurant had lots of vegetarian dishes, and the service was excellent. They gave us special treatment, and we had an interesting conversation.

My favorite place that we ate had to be Rosetta's Kitchen in Asheville, North Carolina. We had some awesome vegan nachos, and I had wonderful veggie burger. Not the average frozen patty sort of burger. I loved the atmosphere of this place the best of all the places we ate. It's very old-school hippie. Not your new-age, clean-and-simple-lines, type of place. More artsy, funky, colorful and kick-back style. I really like the colorful murals in the balcony eating area. Asheville is just the best town!!

This is a pix of the ultra cool "balcony" area...



Our stop in Memphis, Tennessess was a little different. It ended up being a bar called RP Tracks that must just try to have a little bit of everything for every type of person. They did have vegan nachos, but it was pretty much just some BBQ-Sauce-Tofu with chips. My veggie burger was run-of-the-mill. The waitress was ultra-sweet and helpful though.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas we ate at the fairly new Greenhouse Grill. This place had terrific service from a friendly guy (maybe the owner/manager?) The Greenhouse Grill was very clean, and the food was excellent, and had a bit of gourmet quality. Wesley said that it was the best food that he had on the trip. Wow, that's saying a lot!!

Another cool experience was in Dallas at the Cosmic Cafe. This place was decorated so great. Lots of influences from India, with colorful murals, and interesting items. Bursting with energy, and color and the waitresses were very nice. My only complaint about this place is I think they need a little bit of kid food. Pretty exotic, and kind of spicy stuff. Although Wesley did love the samosas appetizer that we had.

Even the parking area is groovy...



We didn't eat in Austin this year, but I know I love to eat at Mother's Cafe. I'm sure there are other great places to eat in that town.

Our last restaurant that we ate at was in Tucson called Lovin Spoonfuls. Cute name! This place is all vegan. We ate lunch there, and I'm wondering if they have an entirely different menu for dinner. We had sandwiches, and some kind of yummy fake-chicken nuggets. I loved the carrot salad that was an option for your side order with the sandwich. Another spot with excellent service. And it must be pretty popular in the desert town, it was packed!

Of course while traveling you can usually find a Whole Foods, Wild Oats. or Greenlife in a major city. It's nice to get a break from your usual roadside, Interstate-Gas-Station food and eat some quality food, and truly experience the veggie side of America!!

Check out Happycow.net for some other restaurants that serve vegetarian/vegan food. It can be an adventure.

You can expect to see me updating my blog more regularly, well, at least for a couple of weeks until my next trip!!

Yay! It seems to work! (except I can't seem to get a title on my page...I miss my Mac!!) Day one of our trip with my Dad, we got to Gallup, New Mexico. We stopped to eat at a natural foods store in Flagstaff. I've never stopped in that town, and I'm glad I got to see it this time. It's very nice, and the historical downtown is so awesome!

We went to see a couple of haunted places that Wesley had read about in book about the Haunted places of Route 66. This is the Riordan Mansion. How beautiful, enormous, and rustic. I guess there's ghosts there that like to play pool. We were there after hours, so we couldn't go on the tour. Save that for next time.

Sorry, I'm a little rushed, AGAIN. We've got to get on the road.

2008 DIARY - Goin on a trip!!

This is my entry for Fantazya's 2008 journal. I'm so rushed right now that that's all I can say. I'll update this soon. I'm going on a trip over to North Carolina, and if all works out with my Dad's laptop, I'll be able to update my blog from the road!!

If you don't hear from me soon, then look for me after July 24.

Much love!!

Happy 4th of July! Etsy Bloggers Street Team/Etsy Sellers Pick-O-The-Week - folkit

Happy 4th of July to all you Americans, or any who celebrate this day. We enjoyed the town a little, then had a relaxing day at home, in the seemingly-record-breaking heat. I hope all of you Southern California friends out there are staying cool! When it's 95 degrees at 6200 feet elevation, you know it's a sizzler!!

I'm now part of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team! There are a lot of Etsy sellers who blog, and they are fun to find, and read! The Street Team has it's first theme this week... "Orange for Etsy." To me the color orange is very cheerful and I love it in paintings. I'm combining my Pick-O-The-Week with the theme. So I was searching for something orange on Etsy using the "colors" search method. I never really understand just how this thing works. And I still think it doesn't come up with a lot of items. It did however bring me to my featured artist of the week... folkit. Dan C Pop Outsider Folk Art has a lot of original paintings and I notice quite a bit of orange being used. More importantly, this art is so vibrant, and has such a sense of humor, that I was instantly drawn to it. I love this cat, what you see is actually a crop, the whole piece is 5.5 x 23", and on recycled wood - always desirable to me. I love this Outsider Art!! And he has a blog. Good stuff!!

So again I say - stay cool out there!