Bluebird Zen

Yesterday, I was one lucky lady to be walking with my camera just as this beautiful Western Bluebird created this lovely scene! I snatched a shot just in time. This is the cropped version to get a better view of the Bluebird. I was very proud of myself, patting myself on the back :)

Here is the original shot of the bird, with the magnificent view in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Fast Forward to today, while looking at my Facebook Pages Feed, I see a local "Business" using my extraordinary photograph (the cropped version), saying this Bluebird was at their establishment, with no mention of me at all.  I've had images of mine stolen before, and it does bother me.  Give me the credit at least!!!

So I decided I needed to at least claim these photos as my own right here before they possibly spread more. Unfortunately, the one stolen didn't have my watermark on it.  Live and Learn... AGAIN.

Still loving and proud of my photo though!

heartbreak again

recurrence.....

Grandma Turns 90!

I am pretty lucky to have not one, but both of my Grandmas turn 90 this year!

So my mom's mother just had her 90th birthday this weekend. This woman has everything she could possibly need, so I have to say she may be the hardest woman to find a present for. So my mother suggested I do a rendering of this famous photo. My Grandma has always loved this, as many from her generation I'm sure have. It always reminds her of her husband (who died in a car accident when my mom was only 18 months old... very traumatic). Raymond was also a sailor in WWII.

Anyway, there ya have it.

Drowning in You

I started this painting a couple of weeks ago. Its title is "Drowning In You". I'm drowning in love, reaching for the light. It was inspired by Grateful Dead's "Black-Throated Wind". Well, that and my own life. Drowning is never healthy.

Mind Your Own Business!

This is a reoccurring theme in my life. Usually it is a result of my loved ones looking out for me, thinking they are helping by butting into my life somehow.... done out of love.

This time though I have been VIOLATED!! I was stalked, why, that's a true mystery!!! I was stalked and something was found out about me, something taken out of context, something this person knew nothing about the sick circumstances that resulted in this thing.... This person butted herself into my life, messed with me directly, and did damage to my life. This thing found out about me was not a big mystery. The point is though, this person STALKED me, then butted into my Life!! This is a messed up feeling to have!! She said she found out this little bit of gossip about me by "clicking around my blog"... that's a down right lie!! She had to search me to find this juicy thing about me. Why do you care about your friend from 30+ years ago, from a lifetime ago, to go and stalk his friend?? Sounds really weird to me.


So next time you get all nosey and stalk someone, you should keep to yourself. You really don't know what kind of shit you can start!!! MIND YOUR OWN F-IN BUSINESS!!

Thank you Z & K Antiques for the Nosey Game image, which I found on Pinterest!

Oh, and by the way, I'm not a mystery, really don't have secrets, not that I keep from the people I love most at least. There's no dirt that you can find that my lover wouldn't know about me, so you're wasting your time if you try to dig around.

New Year, New Me???

I'd love to say I could be happy in this New Year.

I'm in love, but it's not good.

This drawing is a result of the toxic relationship brought on by alcoholism.

I've neglected my blog for too long, instead doing online journaling on Facebook. Well Facebook is too exposed also. Too many people that I really don't want to know my business. So I'm coming back here, no one that I really know reads this, well maybe a couple, and I can deal with them. If they want to research me, then I guess they can know the true me.

This is a doodle I did while drowning in the middle of someone's alcohol abuse. Someone that has said they would stop drinking and the hurt that goes with it, for too long now. I would love to be happy with him, but don't know if it's possible for this booze love affair to end.

There you have it, there's a real juicy bit of info about me.

A Little Story About Perseverance

This is a recent piece of art done by my son. I hope the recent line of events will encourage him to get on his blog and start updating again!........

I've been living in my little mountain town for nearly 23 years. One of the draw backs of this life in the jewel of a forest, is the life for a teenager. K-8 is pretty good with the small community. Everybody knows everyone and keeps an eye out for the kids. The school is wonderful with excellent teachers and a large group of volunteers, myself included. This is how our smARTS Program was developed... with concerned parents getting involved and making more art present in the school It's been a big passion for me for the past 9 years.

My son is now in 8th grade. He's been at the little sheltered school from Kindergarten through 8th grade. What happens after 8th grade in this town? Well the nearest public high school is almost 30 miles down the mountain road, in the not so quaint and neighboring town. When my son started kindergarten, that's when I began my fret over what would happen to him once he hit high school. Not only is this school in another town and a whole other environment, the kids are on the bus before 6 am, sometimes being ridden through terrible weather conditions of ice and snow. It's a lot of time being taken to and from school. Not to mention the very large school where after being in this safe community can be overwhelming for some kids. I do have friends whose kids have attended this large school off the hill. They all insist that it's been a great experience, so long as your kid gets in with the good crowd. I, on the other hand, have hated the thought of my kid so far away on a daily basis, as well as the things I've mentioned.

One of the alternatives to this school is either homeschooling, which definitely has been something I've considered, although I'm really not much into that. I've also actually considered moving. The other option is the extremely expensive private arts academy here in my own little town. This is a very prestigious school with talented students from all around the world who are gifted in all aspects of the arts, both visual and performance. I knew I, in no way, could afford the tuition for this school, it rivals many universities in price. But I had to try.

So the time came, this last February to apply for the art school. My son had to create a portfolio with at least 10 pieces and write an essay. I had to fill out an extensive financial application, write a letter of need, and whine and moan for help (ha ha!). We got the tedious application completed for the February 1st deadline. I bitched and moaned and fretted and worried to my friends and loved ones. I knew my kid had the talent and the excellent grades so that he would be accepted, but the financial part?? I was feeling pretty glum about it. Some kids would be accepted completely with a free scholarship, because one of their parents worked there. Some of these kids, I'm sorry to say, have barely tried to get good grades, or even be creative in anyway, yet they'd get in with a free ride. My kid on the other hand, is very creative, tries very hard in school, really wanted to go to this school, as much as I wanted him to. It just didn't seem fair to me. I felt my kid would be unable to attend, purely because his parents are not well off-financially. Plus, I had heard stories from other locals whose kids applied in the past. They would tell me how the school would give them a partial scholarship, but this still wasn't possible for the parents to handle. Thus their kids were bussed down to the enormous high school down under. It just all seemed impossible to me, and I often sat and worried myself sick over the future.

Two weeks ago was the day that they were to announce to us whether my kid could attend this special school. The email came, late in the day, but on the day it was suppose to happen. My son and I read it together. We both could not believe our eyes as we read the amount of scholarship they were going to give my kid!!! How could this be??? My eyes literally filled with tears. This is not how I've heard of it happening before. I thought at the best I'd be having to beg and plead with them and wheel and deal to get them to give more. No, they gave a very generous amount right off, It was as if it were a miracle! It seemed it was like the perfect storm. My kid had talent, brains, excellent teacher recommendations. His portfolio was superb, I was told. He did it with his own hard work. All this and maybe because of his dad having health problems, and being nearly poverty stricken, all these things lined up and an amazing scholarship was given. All my worries for most of his life were over. I do need to come up with some money to pay his tuition, but it's not the amount I had dreaded. It's a very doable thing now.

My moral of this story is to not give up. Don't let what has happened to other people stop you from trying. Each situation is unique. You just don't know until you try. And most importantly remember that hard work can very well pay off. If you want something bad enough and truly try, good things might actually happen for you!

I'm still an emotional wreck over all of this. And yes, I'm still on the verge of tears when I talk about it. It's a fantastic feeling for sure!!

Give Thanks!

I'm giving Thanks! Thanks for my family and friends; cozy-cramped cottage with the lovely surroundings; a nice (sometimes too) comfortable community; the rain that extinguished our fire danger (even if temporary); my colorfully simple meal; fairly good health with no asthma attacks in almost a year; my brilliant, friendly and adorable son; the opportunity to be able to improve my art and business. Oh, let's not forget a soon to be new President!! Just a few of many things to be grateful for!

Here's my traditionally slightly unusual Thanksgiving Feast. Clockwise from top left... Vegan "roast"; roasted roots of yams, carrots, potatoes and onion; Indian maize with ceyenne and cumin; mashed potatoes (pretty traditional, yet new for me); spinach (just for some green...weird?); slightly over-browned rolls; and my favorite cranberries and apples cooked on the woodstove all day (luckily cold and rainy!) Plus yummy tahini dip with veggies and chips for appetizers, and 2 types of pie of dessert. All this, but probably most stuffed from the beers I had. Yes, I've must have beer on Thanksgiving, just like the pilgrims, of course!

I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving Feast! What are you thankful for? Please do tell!

UPDATE.... I just heard on the news that "97% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving." Can this really be true? Are vegetarians really less than 3% of the population? What about the people who don't like turkey? Eat ham instead? Or just don't have any Thanksgiving dinner? This is bound to make the vegetarian percentage even smaller. How can this be? No wonder I always feel like such an unusual person, I'm very rare indeed!!

A Turkey-Less Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a spectacular Thanksgiving! Mine was enjoyable, in it's own, humbly-unique way. I'm a bit of an unconventionalist and Thanksgiving is right up there at the top of the list.

First I thought I'd share with you my favorite part of the meal... the cranberries. When I was growing up it seemed cranberries were always the weird glop from the can. I didn't care for them much. Then I grew up and started making my own, the old fashioned way. I also started cooking them on my wood stove years ago when I only had a hot plate and toaster oven. (Difficult times in the kitchen!) I loved the smell and the old way so much, I continue it to this day.



I add orange juice, apples, maple syrup, and sugar. And let it simmer for quite a while, OOh, it smells so good! And pretty too!



I've learned through the years to make the cranberries early so that they can cool before dinner. They don't taste as tart, and I just think they're better cold.



Here's the rest of my some what odd meal. It's vegetarian, and actually this part is vegan. (We also eat some tahini dip earlier in the day and that has yogurt in it). The roast is pretty good even though you turkey eaters will probably think it's so unusual! It's made with tofu, lentils, quinoa, rice, nuts, oatmeal, celery, onions, garlic and spices. It's kind of like a stuffing with protein. It's probably the most work of all the meal.

Instead of mashed potatoes we have a mixed roasted roots ensemble. Then you get your yams and potatoes all in one. Some simple corn in honor of the Indians at the first Thanksgiving. Why I serve spinach, I don't know, just needed some green. And also in honor of the pilgrims... Beer! That's probably the most filling of all!

Top that off with your more traditional pumpkin and cherry pie (with whipped cream) and coffee. YUM YUM!

And what am I thankful for? Family, Friends, Health and Home and yes all of you lovelies able to read and post a comment here on my blog. Enjoy your Holidays!!

In the OC

We went on our first mini-trip of the summer... down to the OC. I got a new camera and I'm so jazzed! I've had my oldie for 7 years, and it's such a dino. It worked good for me when no other would work with my old computer, but I was so ready for this smaller, faster, and higher quality camera. I had a fabulous time trying it out!!!

First we spent the day with my mom, sis and nephews, including the 18 month old twins. Makes for an entertaining, yet extra sandy day. Such cutie-pies!!


After that we went to eat at one of my favorite places to eat, The Gypsy Den. We usually go to the one in Santa Ana, in the Artist Village. A good day to go is on the first Saturday, monthly, for the Santa Ana Art Walk.


Before I left my mom's I had to get some pix of her garden. Here we have The Tiki Room, created by Grandma and boys.


My mom really knows how to create a delightful garden. This is one of her ponds.


She's lucky to have such beautiful water lilies blooming. And I'm lucky to have a new camera to take such lovely shots!!

A Decade of Motherhood

I'm amazed that my son turned 10! It's so cliche, but they do grow up so fast! I'm very proud of my friendly, creative, intelligent, sweet boy! If you've got the time, and interest, go to his blog Creep-A-Zoid Art and comment to be entered in his give away in honor of his birthday.



We already had the party for his friends a couple of days ago. So on the actual birthday we like to have a fairly relaxing day together and go out and enjoy nature in some way. We took a little hike. It was a little hot in the sun, but the sky was very blue and there was a nice little breeze. Although you can see the result of our drought. More dead trees.



Just a small amount of smog when you looked out over towards the city.



Even with the drought, you can still enjoy a little green in the creek areas. The smell is as lovely as ever, and there's still a tiny bit of water flowing in this creek.

After our day hiking, we went off the hill for dinner and a movie. An enjoyable day in honor of 10 busy, happy years!

I've Been Tagged!!

Yes, I have been tagged by the lovely Sandra Eileen - Artisan Jewelry. How nice that she thought of me!

I'm to do a little write up about myself. So tough to sit and contemplate yourself!

The Rules:

--List seven random facts/habits about yourself
--Choose another seven bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog
--Leave your seven tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.



1. My favorite thing to do is go on a road trip and do some art in my Travel Journals. I love getting an ice mocha at an independent coffee house and sitting a bit to doodle. This pix is a journal entry from my last summer's trip.
2. I'm NOT a morning person.
3. I absolutely love swimming. I need more places to be able to do this.
4. Despite it's being overly commercialized, and is brain washing our children - I love Disneyland, and most all things Disney.
5. I'm a big fan of old music. All decades really, but especially 20's and 30's jazz or country.
6. I live in a funky old house but have one of the best yards around.
7. As a kid I usually had different interests than my friends. When my friends loved Leif Garrett, Andy Gibb, and Scott Baio, my hero was Grizzly Adams! This is the trash can I've had since then.



Now I must go and tag 7 more bloggers...

The oh so sweet SamIAm Creations
The ever so witty mrs. kwitty
The most gracious gardenpainterart
The very kooky handbag maker - cArried AwAy
The oh so rare and fun RetroAttic
The most charming fluffyflowers
The ever so talented redheadart

Thank you ladies!

Illustration Friday - Green

This week's IF Challenge is "green." A somewhat easy challenge in that a lot of ideas come to my head. But not so easy to narrow down. I decided to just do a doodle in my little journal (6.5x4.5 inches). When I think of green the main thing that screams at me is a message about saving the planet. Yes, I am, and always have been, a tree hugger. I can't stand the idea of the loss of a species on account of human foolishness. I hate the thought of nature being paved over and no longer available for future generations to enjoy. Let alone the fact of the weather patterns changing and having no water on account of massive drought -which is very likely to happen out here in California. All these things terrify me and I wish for a new administration to help move our country in a better direction toward a more Green way of living.

Sometimes I've just got to doodle, and not try to make some kind of "masterpiece" - not that my art is any thing nearly close to a masterpiece! When I'm not creating something to try to sell, I usually do some kind of doodling. All in the hopes of a new brilliant idea to be born that will one day make it into a creation that is saleable. This is the first I've shared a journal entry with the web viewer. This is a little flashback to my younger days -just a hodgepodge of ideas thrown onto a page. It was very fun, and it's nice to not be pressured and to just doodle.

Happy Easter!

We spent part of our Easter out in nature. We usually go on a hike on Easter, and most any holiday when we're in town. I find being out in the beautiful woods is the best place to feel closer to God.



This is an ancient manzanita. One of the largest I've seen. Such beauty, even after it's death.



The marine layer was thick today. You could still see the mountaintops through the clouds. Clouds, yet still a lovely Easter Day. Hope yours was wonderful, too!

Jenny's Vintage Kitchen Swap - 2007

I participated in the lovely Jenny's Vintage Kitchen Swap last month. I love anything vintage, and my entire house is basically filled with old stuff, except for my electronics. But vintage kitchen has got to be my favorite. I like my kitchen to look very cheerful. Maybe it's a way to try to make myself seem like I'm an old fashioned housewife who makes lots of homemade bread and other goodies, and always has an extensive, healthy meal at hand. Which I'm not! But it's nice to dream! So I decided to join in on the fun with the other wonderful girls and get myself a swap partner, and hopefully be able to send something her way that she would enjoy.


This is the package sent from Melissa out on the Jersey Shore all the way out here to California. Very Spring-like in it's packaging!


This is the oh, so fun, collection of goodies sent to me from my swap partner. How much fun to open and find the surprises! There's an old tin box, vintage inspired yellow bowls (so very cheery and always needed!), a muffin tray that I can always use for sorting my supplies, a very old pie tin, very quaint recipe cards with an adorable crochet flower, three vintage inspired cookie cutters (some that I don't have-amazingly!), and my son's favorite - a goody bag of yummy Easter chocolates (those didn't last long). What fabulous stuff! Thanks so much Melissa! It was so wonderful meeting you!


I love this sweet tin box the most! I have an extensive tin box collection. I'd rather store all of my supplies in an adorably-old tin box, than a new plastic box with no personality. No matter how many I get, I can always find something to put inside of them. So I put my collection of tiny boxes inside this cute one from Melissa!


Phoebus really liked the leftover tissue in the box from Melissa! What a cozy bed!


These are the goodies that I sent to Melissa. She collects Mexican floral batea trays and I wanted to get her one. I know I have one floating around in my shed or somewhere lost in my house. I looked, but no luck. Just couldn't find it. I was bummed about that. Instead, I decided to paint my own batea-inspired little plaque. I like how it turned out. I hope she had as much fun in this swap as I did! And thank you, Jenny, for organizing the fun event. Hope to do it again!

Back Home

I'm back home after a few days down at my mom's house. Then a day at my sister's. I'm not ready to post any art today, but I had to get something on to this blog. It had been too long. So I had to show a nice picture from my mom's garden this past weekend. A wonderful thing about Orange County, California is you can have a great garden year round. My mom's garden is a little bit of wilderness in the middle of suburbia. A little bit of paradise amongst the concrete jungle. My camera was malfunctioning so this was the only shot taken while down in OC. I couldn't get any pictures of my twin 16 month old nephews. I spent 24 hours with those little guys and what a joy that was. A busy, exhausting JOY!

I grew up mainly in Orange County until I was 21. Then I moved out to the mountains. I don't think I could ever live there again, but I do enjoy the lush, jungle-like gardens that grow there.

Sweet Scent of Violets

The delicately tiny violets are blooming at my house. They are so cute, and have a very subtle sweet scent. I've got a few varieties. These are the two that have made their appearance. I know that I just posted a bit about my garden. I think I'm so looking forward to the warm months, and the flowers are starting to bloom, so I feel the urge to take some photos of them. I've also got a painting in the works and hopefully tomorrow I can post that.

Now on to photography. Many have probably seen that I don't always take the best pictures. I just can't get the lighting right all the time. I always hear that the best pictures are taken in indirect lighting - like on an overcast day. Well, the first picture was taken in the shade, the second was obviously taken with some sun shining on the flower. I think the sunny one looks better, I guess. But does it caputure the true colors? For now I'll just continue trying to get the best photo that I can, and maybe I'll master photography some day!

Studio Friday - Let's Face It!

The subject for Studio Friday this week is "Let's Face It!" ...whatever 'it' is. What have you been procrastinating about and dragging your heels to do?

This is the story of my life. So to find just one topic was the challenge.

I've been putting off cleaning my desk, but not just my desk, the shelf above my desk. My cats have been in the house a lot this winter and they've made a mess of it. It's one of their favorite places to sit and look out the window, safe from the dog. Well, they really thrashed it with their clumsiness. I've also been meaning to paint the shelf, any color. I had to use some old acrylic I had. Not sure if it's the BEST color, but it was available. I even had some Christmas lights that needed to be taken down, how pathetic!

I couldn't reveal how bad it looked without an after-shot to go with it! And now looking at the after-shot I wonder... Did it change at all??!!! Still pretty cluttered (the result of a small house and way too much stuff!), but I do think the paint helped to cheer it up a bit. And definately not my favorite chore, but worthwhile in the end!

Lots of Snow and Blue Skies

The sun finally popped out from behind the clouds around noon.



This is a street near my house. My dirt road wasn't plowed, so that made for some difficulties.



Some difficulties, yet such a gorgeous scene!

Made My Day!

I got an email today from someone who bought my painting this weekend on Etsy. She said,

"It was really my 2 1/2 year old daughter who picked this out - I was browsing Etsy and she shrieked out "The cat! Ha-woah-ween cat! Yay!" and I was sold. Originally I was thinking of this for my little crafty corner but I get a feeling it will end up in her room."

I thought that was the cutest thing, and it really made my day. I had just gotten back from an awkward meeting, and I was happy to come home to that email. And yes, it made my day!

I always get a kick out of it when a kid likes my art. They are very honest. My art ususally does appeal to children. Maybe more than adults, I don't know! I guess I think like a kid. They can also get so amazed with the simplest thing. It can boost your ego, sometimes when it's really needed!