Sweet Story

Gary has been buying me flowers at this adorable little flower shop, Rosies and Posies, for most of our relationship. He has become friendly with the owner and she is always concerned about his health. He figured out that flowers came come to the door so the other day he sent me this beautiful bouquet. The delivery man also had a dozen white roses from the owner to Gary. Special little surprises like this go a very long way in making us happy. If you are downtown San Jose or ordering flowers over the phone (408-293-3773) give this place a try. She does a great job and certainly has a heart. It is in the middle of the open space by the ACT theater. Both vases are filled with beauty.

I have tried to stay away from using this as a diary but I haven't done anything creative besides knit lately. FYI- my tumor was benign and there is nothing to worry about, Thank God. My health and well being is mandatory for our lives right now and I am doing the best that I can to stay mentally and emotionally fit. I admit I have not been to the gym since before we got married but I have the rest of it right. I have wrapped myself up with a wonderful support system and love all of you very much. Last Saturday I went to SF to have lunch with Glenn and to my surprise Gregg took the day off to play with us. I felt honored that Gregg took the time for me and Gary loves seeing me come home from my natural habitat all refreshed.

Our lives are all about being together and taking care of each other. For me that means doing everything I can to keep Gary well cared for, safe, etc. Gary takes care of me by continuing to keep my heart overflowing with love. He is very good at doing his part and I believe I am doing a very good job on my end. Things have been very tough lately but we continue to treat each other with the utmost of respect and it goes a long way. I spent most of my adult life trying to preserve my space and now that I have the right guy I can't get enough of him. We both lived such big lives before we found each other and now we need very little outside of each other. This has been the most difficult thing I have ever experienced but I am happy most of the time and truly understand how to live one day at a time. It is actually the easier path.

Hard to believe it is the holiday season again. In some ways last Christmas feels like it was yesterday and in others it feels like it was a century ago. I can't thank our friends and family enough for all that you do for us. Neither Gary or I are good at asking for help but we are continually being taken care of in many different ways and I am grateful for all of you on this journey with us. I doubt we will surface much over the holidays but you are in our hearts.

XOXOXO

Luxury of the Beach

Today is an overcast day at the beach. The sun peaks through a bit every once in a while but for a change I prefer the clouds.

I have been completely uninspired for a while. I did not want to use my creative blog a diary but for now I would have nothing else to write about. There is so much stress in our life that sometimes even knitting does not inspire me.

All the stresses in our life are right here right now. About a month ago Gary began being unable to walk on his own. We thought it was the meds he was on but now we know that is not it. They have scanned him from head to toe and haven't found anything. These mystery illnesses are harder to take than what ever known problem is thrown at us. On top of that I go in for surgery to have the tumor removed from my breast next Tuesday. We are both disappointed that Gary can not be my primary caretaker. I am completely burnt out from being my usual way too independent self and trying to everything for both of us. Today is a wonderful day sitting here next to my napping husband while I stare at the ocean.

I fantasize lately about two days at a Spa but for now that is not possible it is just a good fantasy. My perfectionism is improving as once upon a time I would have made myself create to have something to prove that I was okay. The best thing I can creative right now is gentle self care and getting the right help for both of us. What I need right now is a small piece of support from each of our friends and family.

Think of me next Tuesday while I am under the knife and hopefully all will turn out well so I will once again have inspiration to create.

Fall Sweaters

I love summer weather but winter clothes. I just finished this jacket and the weather appears to be moving in the direction of being able to actually wear it. The color in the photo came pretty close to the actual color which is in between a periwinkle blue and lavender. I have a great pair of gold Dolce & Gabbanna pants (in my wardrobe forever) athat have a small amount of this color in it. Gary and I might have to venture out of the house for more than a Doctor's visit soon.

Things continue to be hairy in our medical world. After a grueling week of waiting, I have an appointment with a Surgeon tomorrow about a biopsy. The only thing that hasn't made the wait seem long and slow is my husband's ongoing saga. This week-end was the closest I have come to losing it but today things are better and the new chemo is working as evidenced by the outside tumors showing major shrinkage. Soon we will see the insides again but the Oncologist has assured us the chemo is working on the inside as well.

Today we are having a luxurious, lazy day on the bed with our two equally lazy cats. Food in the fridge so no need to get out of our PJ's. We love the calm after what has been a long bumpy ride.

As everyone else is napping I am taking a break from my knitting to write. Not too much to write about but it feels nice to check in. Hope all of our friends and family are also enjoying a wonderful day.

Give us a break!

Yesterday I was in the grocery store and my phone rang. I thought it was one of Gary's Doctors but this time it was for me. I was told I needed to come in immediately for an ultrasound as a follow up to a recent mammogram. I was a wreck and in the middle of all of Gary's health issues the last thing I wanted to tell my husband was that I needed an immediate ultrasound. My father was at our house when I told him so I not only worried my husband, I worried my already worried parents.

I went in today and still am not sure what is wrong. They are not sure either but I will talk to my Dr. as soon as the dust settles. We can't even imagine our lives with both of us sick. It does not look like it is too much to worry about but we won't be OK until they do a biopsy. Thank God we are so much in love as our lives are so stressful, our love gets us through.

This is a photo of a jacket that I am almost done with. It is very heavy and it is 100 degrees out so it seems like an odd project to be working on. I have wanted to knit this jacket since I saw it in Vogue knitting. I love big needles. A project like this only takes a few weeks.

I will let you know when we get any news. For now we are resting and trying to get centered again.

Birthday Party and More

It is hard to believe Gary's Birthday Party was almost two weeks ago. A lot has gone on since then with Gary's health. Since this is my creative blog and I am unable to create Gary back to perfect health I won't say too much about it other than we have been tested and presented with a lot of big challenges. You can contact me for more details but I want to keep my blog upbeat and about mt creativity. Being creative has never been more important to me as it helps keep me stable on a very rocky ride.

We had a mix of Gary's and my friends who after a relatively short time have become our friends. Since we were still planning on going to Italy the theme was Italian and each place mat was hand painted with a different city we were planning on visiting. I'm sure you have figured out by now that we are not going. Gary's health is our main priority and we need to be here to get him healthy. The food was a five course Italian meal (if you count the birthday cake) and a signature Italian cocktail. We all had a wonderful time and we have a lot of Virgo friends so it was a celebration for many. Our Virgo Alexis was unable to travel due to her recent spine surgery but she was there with is in spirit.I love planning parties and doing the work. Having a theme made it especially fun.

I don't talk about my cats much but this is Bart. Besides being beautiful, he is the most loving mommies boy you could ever meet. He is sitting on top of two of my current knitting projects. He has a sister Prue. She is in the for the food and is quite naughty a lot of the time lately. We love her just as much, her strong point is her ability to entertain us with her constant antics. She is a typical cat that does not believe in people rules. She is warm in a suck up sort of way and quite beautiful also. She has Gary wrapped around her sweet little paw. They both give us so much love and joy. The really help us with our healing process.

This is the latest sweater I made for Gary. I made a sweater for my father in this yarn and will make this sweater again for Gary in blue as soon as the yarn arrives. I have never enjoyed knitting a particular yarn as much as this one and Gary loves this sweater. If it were colder out he would be wearing it every day. I am currently making myself a heavy pale lavender jacket that is both fun and fast on a very large needle.

I have not painted for quite a few weeks now but with the trip canceled I will be starting on my mural soon. I have a lot of nervous energy right now and Gary spends most of his time in bed so knitting is the perfect creative outlet right now. Also we have been spending a lot of time in the chemo ward and I can't drag my paints there.

I make sure I get out and see my friends on a regular basis. I had a wonderful two hour lunch at the Fairmont yesterday with my amazing friend Evelyn. She gave me the coolest bracelet right off her wrist which warmed my heart immensely. She is leaving for a weeks vacation tomorrow and I will miss her a lot. She has walked a similar path to the one I am currently on and always knows exactly what I need.

Amidst the fear and chaos we continue to stay grateful for the goodness in our lives. We are so lucky that we can spend all of our time together. I could not bear leaving Gary everyday to go to work. Our friends all understand that we aren't good at asking for help so they think of ways to make our life easier without us having to ask. Someone is always ready to stay with Gary when I need to go out. It is a relief for me and good for Gary to see and hear someone other than myself. Roy, Mark Sanchez, Evelyn, Julie, Glenn, Bill, my parents (who showed up with a wheelchair for Gary the day he needed it) are the first ones that come to mind. We couldn't pick a better set of friends. Sorry if I left anyone out. I am a bit scatter brained right now. Also I would not be able to create if I wasn't able to get some time alone every once in a while. We love all of you and all the rest of our friends that do their fair share also. We are blessed. Nothing makes Gary happier than to see me creating. He is so proud of me and I call him my muse. Guess I got off the track a bit but I have a lot swirling around in my little brain right now.

I wish I could promise to post more regularly. Fortunately I know I should be writing at times but get too wrapped up in projects and that is a good thing.

Many thanks to all our friends and family just for loving us.

Still painting

I haven't figured out how to turn the flash off on my camera so taking pictured of art is not as clean as I would like. I finished this about a week ago and then went on a fury rehanging, patching and painting the walls and playing decorator in our house.

Lately I have been busy with lots of projects as always. Tomorrow is Gary's birthday so I am planning a party with an Italian theme since we will be leaving for Italy in about 2 1/2 weeks. I will have a lot to post this week, Hopefully I will take the time to write.

I will say that this blog has been a sporadic project but it has kept me busy creating. I am better at follow through on my other projects.

As many of you know, Gary's cancer has been in the forefront lately. Thankfully I can distract myself with Art. When he first went through radiation I took an abstract painting class. I did nothing with it for a while but it came to me later. Hopefully the effects of my watercolor class will hit me soon. I really want to finish my children's book. The instructor gave me a few great tips.

Life here is a bit stressful but filled with love and as much happiness as possible. Hope all my friends are well.

Near Perfect Day

This is my work area at our beach house. It is at this wall window looking out at the ocean. Almost too beautiful to do anything but stare out at the beach.

Yesterday I spent most of the day working on a large abstract and then we drove out to our beach house. We haven't been here much the summer so to wake up here today was spectacular. It was supposed to rain last night but it did not and we had a beautiful sunny morning. After our coffee we walked on the beach and always stop at the spot on the beach where we got married. Gary mentioned how lucky we are to be able to return to the spot we got married at whenever we want.

We came home and I began working on the layout of our wall. I am doing the drawing in watercolor pencils, one of my favorite mediums. I worked for hours and then we decided to go blading/biking.

For those of you that know Pajaro Dunes, it has an amazing beach, unique arcitechture and great wildflowers. Not as entertaining as our bike/blades last week on Venice Beach but certainly a lot more peaceful. The weather was great, not too hot or too cold, lots of fresh air. Buying new rollerblades this year was one of the best purchases I have made with possibly the exception of Christian Louboutins. It's a tie and hard to compare.

I have wanted a specific personalized license plate for almost ten years and have not gotten around to ordering them. I tried to get my plate an Art plate but was not able to. It came to me that I might be able to get it on a regular personalized plate and hurray, I found it. In the excitement of playing on the DMV website Gary decided he wanted plates also so we ordered his and then the website would not let me go back and order mine. Looks like I will have to deal directly with the DMV and that is the only reason today is only nearly perfect.

Tonight we are going to eat at The Whole Enchilada. I have been thinking about their wonderful food since we left our house to come out here yesterday.

Being at the beach after not coming here for a while is one of those things that makes one think, why don't we do this more often? I am actually looking forward to rainy days here in the winter. The light is always great at the big window and I can create away while sitting almost on the ocean. Today Gary was puttering around the house which made my heart happy. At home I am always the busy one so it is nice to see him so happy here.

Newest project idea

Ever since we moved into our condo I have loved everything about it except our bedroom. It is a large room and feels a bit like it is missing something. A few things have come together to give me the idea of painting a fresco on the wall behind our bed. A combination of planning our trip to Italy, seeing some fun but funky wallpaper on a friend's wall, looking for something large to work on and Art Knowledge News have lead me to deciding to take on this large and exciting project.

I saw this Henri Rousseau painting in May and think it will be a great template for the wall. Luckily my husband loves the image also. I was worried that agreeing on a large wall idea might be a challange. The other challange is the window in the middle off the wall. I am sure the basics of this can be worked around the window. Sorry but I doubt I will start it before our trip so it will be long forgotten by anyone outside of our house by the time it is done.

I went to the city for a dinner last night and finally had a chance to go to Britex to buy lining material for my knit/crochet/beaded dress. Everytime I see it I am bothered that is was so much work and not finished. I think it will be beautiful when I can finally wear it.

Next week we are having our flat screen Tv's attached to the walls. I decided I needed finality to the furniture arrangement in the rooms with TVs. Today I got to move furniture around and I am very happy. I can't believe we have lived here a year.

Tomorrow I am going to paint a mug for Gary. I love painting ceramic pieces. If I had a lot of room I would have painted ceramics all over the place. Guess they are better left as gifts.

Before and After

Desk Before Tea Set Design Finished Tea Set

Once again my blog has been put on a back burner. Again it is not for a lack of creating. Just lazy and busy and focused elsewhere. My friend Alexis asked me to paint a tea set for her to give as a baby present. I had in mind something formal and could not get myself going. Once it was decided that we wanted whimical I jumped on it with passion and excitement. I am currently taking a watercolor class without a lot of excitement which shows me how much I need to be motivated to create and then I always default to knitting, probably because it is the easiest outlet for me.

I love the bright colors and not shown in the photo is a good luck charm painted on the inside bottom of each piece. I love painting ceramic pieces. My sister-in-law, Marci made me an amazing lime green super mug with a pink poodle theme so of course Gary needs his own custom mug. High on my list of to do projects. Just like his sweaters he has input and then we work out what he wants along with what I want to do and we are a great team. He is a wonderful muse, fan and critic. I always value his input even though he doesn't want to interfere with my creative process. I have not been too excited to paint watercolors but like most things I do I figure things out myself making up my own rules. Watercolors are unforgiving and not meant to be painted too far outside the basics so this class has been wonderful to help make things easier and help to do things in the right order instead of what I want to do, limiting myself in the end.

I want to practice my watercoloring as we are going to Italy in October and it would be great if I could take my paints and capture things live rather than from a photo. I am very excited about our trip and know there will be artist beauty every where. Most of my photos are of people I love. I am not wild about scenery that I have not experienced myself. The two exceptions are both of the Alexis'. LA Alexis is an amazing photographer and San Diego Alexis posts the most wonderful blog photos on her blog, a lot of them nostalgic.

So we are off to a trip to visit LA Alexis and hopefully will be able to squeeze in

This is the only painting that I have sold but wish I still had. It was the second painting I did after not having painted for about 25 years. I will be taking an involuntary break from painting for about a week. Yesterday I had an accident in the kitchen. A 8" butcher knife slipped out of my hand and landed on my foot slicing a deep laceration in my two smaller toes. I was home alone and sat on the kitchen floor for about 30 minutes trying to stop the bleeding and cleaning up the blood as to not scar Gary when we walked seeing me on the floor with the knife and blood everywhere. When Gary returned home he dragged me to the Emergency room with a fair amount of resistance. I figured the bleeding had stopped so we were done. He decided the cuts were too deep to ignore. Luckily stitches have been replaced with glue so the most painful part of the trip was the tetanus shot. Not so in the middle of the night when I woke up in intense pain. I am supposed to be off my feet for five to seven days. Today I am in the mood to be stationery, lets see how long it lasts. The good news is I will probably be close to having my dress done with the exception of the lining by the time I am mobile again. We have a new rule that should have been implemented a long time ago, no cooking while barefoot.

The other bad part of this is that we had started rollerblading and biking together an activity that we were really enjoying. We were to go to the trail as soon as Gary got home. This will be on hold for a while.
I will do my best to write during my resting period and keep you all informed about my recovery.

Finished

Today I hung the painting that kicked off my blog. It isn't a great photo but I am proud to show it off! I am about to start a watercolor class so I don't want to begin a new painting but it feels odd to have nothing on my easel and to have my paints cleaned up. Lately I have been getting a lot of positive feedback about my artistic talents and it feels nice. Gary and I rearranged the other paintings in the living room and it is fun to have a fresh look. I love to knit but I get a different pleasure out of painting and I thank my husband for encouraging me to paint.

I have my watercolors and watercolor pencils all set up on my big drafting table. I have some reading to do but will start doing some more work on the illustrations on my childrens book. Both my mother and our friend Alexis had some material sent about writing and illustrating my book. Always something to work on, always something to be excited about.

I have about 5" of knitting and it will be time to put my dress together. The last 5" feels like a long stretch and I am very excited about putting it together. It is one of the more interesting projects I have done and I have been knitting for 36 years. It won't be too long now until I can show you that project. Wish there were more hours in the day.

The other big project that I have been neglecting is the major semi-precious stone necklace I started a few months ago. I am at a stand still as I need to learn a few things before I can finish. There is always something to look at around here. I thank all of you for your support.

Two years

Yesterday we realized that it was the two year anniversary of our first date. We are both very romantic so it is odd that we almost missed it. As many of you know our first date was a week in the Azores. It seems like a lot longer than two years since we had our first date and first kiss. How romantic was this for a first date? I had always heard that a couple should get to know each other before they got romantically involved but I had never done that before. Looks like it paid off. The Azores are absolutely beautiful. The lakes behind us in this photo have a romantic yet tragic story about a princess and peasant that fell in love with each other. Each lake represents the tears of each of them as they could not be together.

Gary arrived in the Azores first and found me this beautiful waterfall. We had an amazing one week kick off to an amazing life together. Starting off this way has made all that life has thrown us a lot easier to take. Ups and downs together bring us closer all the time. We are blessed and so grateful that we can appreciate it. Our life has been a mixed bag of great travel, hospitals and cozy home life together. I wouldn't trade away one second of it.

Two years later and Gary's health is holding and looking to continually improve. We have learned to live in the moment and it is an easy way to live.

Hope you have a Happy 4th of July.

Never a dull moment

I have sat on a few animal sculptures in my time and have never given any thought to what the artist would think about it. Anyway, this is in Coure D'Alene. I am in bed recuperating from some nasty Periodontal work, just the beginning unfortunately. Looks like I have a long haul in front of me. I also have a lingering bad infection in my mouth that would explain my lack of energy and motivation to go to the gym. The moose statue ties into my dental work as I needed a cheery image for today.

I almost finished the painting I have been working on. I painted before I let for the dentist yesterday and now all it needs is a coat of gloss medium on it and I am finished. Good timing as I begin a watercolor class soon. Guess I get to knit to my hearts content until my painting class starts. There is a difference of opinion about knitting at my house. My husband sees it as something I just do and a lessor art form than painting. He sort of changed his mind when I was treated like a returning Rock Star at Tricoter, but that will fade soon and he will nudge me to paint. He is also right as it takes less creativity to knit but what does it really matter as long as I am doing something. And today I will be in bed so knitting is not as messy as paint in the bedroom.
I have a happy kitty on each side of me. What more could I ask for.

Home again

Today is filled with laundry and readjusting and smiles and pet love. Two weeks on the road seemed like a long time but it was a wonderful trip. Each part was so very different from coast to city to a lovely visit with my cousin to a race home from Yellowstone. We both knew when we were ready to go. We had the good fortune of seeing Ole Faithful blow (without a wait) and then a race back to civilization. We have traveled a lot in our relationship and it is always a fun adventure as we travel so well together. We took lots of pics which you may be seeing for awhile.

This guy looks like he is laughing, probably at the stupid tourists.

I had the opportunity to visit Tricoter, my favorite knitting store. Too bad it is in Seattle. Brought back lime green silk yarn with silver beads attached. This will be a fun project to create but for now I am ready to go back and paint. After the trip sinks in I believe I have a nature painting in me. For today I am about to hit the paints on an almost completed abstract. I got the confirmation in the mail for a watercolor class I will beginning soon. A dear friend of mine is taking ceramics at the same time so we can car pool and inspire each other for 5 weeks.

We visited eight states and most of what we saw was beautiful. We were above 6000' for the majority of the trip. Other than the ocean most of the gorgeous land is at the higher elevations. Beauty aside four days in Seattle confirms the depths of my city girl.

We played the license plate game and found all fifty states in under 24 hours. Gary was talking about where to go next before I could think of another trip but driving through Tahoe has me ready for summer. For today I am grateful to be home and relax, put my life back in order and spoil my pets. Home is always a great place to visit.

Further East

We are currently at my cousin Mimi's place about 30 miles up a canyon from Bozeman. Do not trust your GPS in the country as it tried to take us as the crow flies. In our weary from driving state we followed the GPS up a dirt road about 10 miles until we ran into a locked gate and finally figured out that something was amiss. We had been cracking jokes about no plumbing and no mail. Silly us. My cousin had a good laugh as something was watching out for us and we had cell coverage to find out where in the world we were. Back down the dirt road and on our way to this beautiful place. A nasty cold has been following us so we layed low today and will go to Yellowstone tomorrow.

This painting was in a restaurant in Seattle. It reminded Gary of a painting I did that is currently hanging over his desk. I choice this photo from Seattle as we saw so many friends and I did not want to look like I was playing favorites by showing only one of our gracious friends. Every part of this trip has been a different type of adventure so I can not say what has been my favorite. I will say it was wonderful to see so many people in WA.

As much fun as we are having traveling in the car makes the trip seem a lot longer and it seems like we have been gone a long time. We also lost a friend and a few relatives while we are away. Sad news isn't fun from the road. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the departed.

We are looking forward to a new adventure tomorrow and then heading home. We are thinking of renting a motor home in the near future for another adventure.

The Great Northwest

We left on our road trip yesterday and here is the view from our hotel. The upper Oregon coast is one of my favorite parts of the west and here we are resting and glad to be out of the car. Since our first date as most of you know was a week in the Azores, we figured out we are good traveling companions from the get go. One year of marriage and we are still like we were on our first date.
We are planning on visiting a friend on the Olympic Peninsula, a few days with friends in Seattle and then off to Montana to see my cousin. All of this is very exciting for me and I have a chance to show off my amazing husband to more people. I will keep you posted with news and photos along the way. We left without a true plan nor any reservations, a good ole fashion road trip.

We had oysters in Arcata last night. I don't think I have eaten any oysters since I moved back from the Northwest. They were grilled and quit tasty. Today we stopped and bought homemade pie, a memory of Gary's: Marionberry, Chocolate cream and the fav, Banana Cream. Healthy eating from the road.
Since my blog is about creating, I have been knitting and crocheting when I am the passenger. I brought watercolor pencils so I plan on doing some drawing inspired by the beautiful scenery. Who knows what I will come up with.
Updates and photos will keep you along with us on our trip.

Time Flies

Last week-end I decided to make chocolate eclairs. It was a large undertaking but well worth it. They were delicious. Generally when I am painting, beading or working on another intense project I am not too interested in the kitchen but these I could not resist.

I am about 95 % finished painting the large abstract. I have been working on it for quite some time and I am still enjoying the process (bright colors and palatte knives). I am not always happy about the way paintings look in photographs but there could be a photo soon. First we are doing a two week road trip so don't expect to see anything in the very near future. You will most likely be reading about our travels if we have easy Internet connections along the way.

I am also happily working on my knit/crochet dress. I am adding and changing the pattern as I go along. Looking forward to showing this one to you (and really excited to wear it).

This is my cousin Nancy and her husband Mike cutting the cake at their 40th Wedding Anniversary. We flew down to San Diego to celebrate with family and friends, four generations, a wonderful time. With age I am realizing more and more the value of family and long term friendships. I had a great time with so many of our family that was there and missed family that could not attend. And of course always the company of my wonderful husband.
Hopefully you will hear from me again while we are on the road. I don't remember the last time I did a car trip and I am getting excited about our adventure. I am even willing to trade my Christian Louboutin's in short term for REI hiking boots.

No Longer Newlyweds

These are the bowls I painted at Tahoe. It is very decadent to eat a small portion of food in a large bowl. The insides are decorated also. Thank goodness I don't know where to do this locally as we would have painted ceramics every where. I want color in my kitchen but not overkill.

Yesterday was our one year Anniversary. Time flies, we have been out of town, busy and never got around to making plans. I decided since we spend all of our time together it would be fun to go out to dinner with a few friends. It was a very special evening. I no longer like large groups. A round table with 8 is the most I can take. Anyway some people that are very dear to us came and celebrated with us. It was a perfect day.

Lately I have been painting a lot and thinking about the creative people that inspire me. I spent a long time checking out creative blogs from people I know and being impressed with what they are doing. For now this is the longest painting streak I have been on for some time now and want to keep my blog simple and mainly a tool to keep me accountable.

Today is Memorial Day and I thought a lot about people I have lost. When I was younger it was just another three day week-end. Hope today was memorable to you.

Home Sweet Home

On my last entry I had a photo of a day at the beach. Here we are a few weeks later with snow at Tahoe. We read the weather report but still packed rollerblades, bikes, bathing suits. I found it to be the most relaxing vacation to date. Lots of fires and kisses. We stayed indoors most of the time but my sister-in-law Marci turned me on to painting ceramics. I made a few bowls for us and a plate as a gift. I was totally into it and it was pointed out that I get totally into anything creative.

We were without Internet for a week and believe me this was a challenge. I do have a blackberry but it has it's limitations like trying to type with 54 yr old eyes and adult size fingers. At least it kept us in the loop. We spent 3 hours one day using someone else's WiFi to catch up on business. Since we will never get Jetson flying cars then give us universal WiFi that works even as we are in motion.

I have been knitting and painting and happily doing lots of fun things lately. I am half finished with my masterpiece dress and 3/4 done with my current painting. Here are some fun baby hats I made for a friend expecting twins. I am grateful that there are not enough hours in a day for me.

Tomorrow is our one year Anniversary. We still have no plans which works for us. We spend all of our time together and have been spoiled with home cooking and other friends cooking. We had thought about reciting our vows at the beach but then we rented our beach house for the week-end. Now we think we want to spend it with friends instead of a romantic restaurant dinner. I will keep you posted on our plans.

We love to travel and so far haven't missed our international expeditions. The Dr. grounded us from leaving the country so we are trying road trips. We are going to the WA and MT in a few weeks, should be fun. For now we are glad to be home from the unexpected winter trip in our own bed with our clingy pets. Home Sweet Home.

Now that I have Internet access again I will try and post more often. It's that not enough hours in a day thing. Have a wonderful Memorial Day Week-end. We send out love and good thoughts for those we have all have lost.

I'm back

Writing my blog, painting and other creative outlets are like going to the gym. Once I get out of the habit it is hard to get back into it again but once I start again I can't believe I stopped. My hisband wishes I would get this about the gym, in good time.

I have been painting a lot the last few days and realize that painting has a very calming effect on me. Life has been a bit crazy lately with family. The newest family news is that my parents returned from Europe not as I had expected to see them, my father looked beat and my mother was in a wheelchair. Today they put her in the hospital for lung problems. I take things like health for granted which is odd since my husband has cancer. Denial, something I know a lot about.



Anyway back to a happy subject- Art. My friend (and Man of Honor) Bill and I went to see the new Oakland Museum last week. It was a fun outin but I'm not raving about the museum. There were some good abstracts which I appreciated as my current painting project is a large abstract. This is an interesting piece (see above). I will leave the subject alone as I am very opinionated about art and like politics will keep my thoughts to myself. My cousin thought my blog was political and had not looked at it. She now knows it is safe to read.

Again like the gym, we stayed at our beach house a few weeks ago and wondered why we never go there anymore. As most of you know we got married on this beach there almost a year ago. It was beautiful and there were baby seals on the beach until stupid people walked up to them and scared them away. We are going to Tahoe soon. I am grateful for all the natural beauty around us. Next month we are going to Seattle and Montana. Even more natural beauty.

I bought new rollerblades. A few years ago I bought blades with massive wheels for maximum speed. Unfortunately the large wheels positioned the brake so that I was never able to use it and haven't bladed much for a few years. I love my new blades and am excited to have a new physical activity just in time for the spring that may never happen.

I am happy to let you know that in my absence there has not been a lack of creativity. Starting this blog has helped keep me creatively active. Creating is a lot more important than I realize sometimes. For today I am remembering.

Various ramblings

Today I baked banana nut bread. I have a dream kitchen with gadgets to do most anything, my favorite being my pink KitchenAid mixer. I haven't been in much of a cooking mood lately so playing in my kitchen got me excited about all my tools. Good tools really do make a difference.








My favorite contemporary painter is Brian Rutenberg. Here is a link to his paintings: http://www.forumgallery.com/2005/e_rutenberg.html

Check them out and let me know what you think.
















Years ago my friend Andy gave me a custom pink radio flyer. I would pull it a block from my home to my gallery with odd contents and wearing 4" heels. When I moved back to CA I did not have a need to pull a wagon so I decided to plant in it. It was over a month ago that I planted and now this rain and never ending winter makes it hard to remember the actual planting.














Yesterday my parents and another couple left for Europe. They travel a lot so it was no big deal but today I felt their absence. This has never happened before so it was a bit eerie. Could just be that I am a lot more sensitive since Gary got sick. They actually were adorable, all dressed up, pulling their own luggage. They are 80 ish but look and act a lot younger. Yesterday they seemed like a combo of 70 and 5. I hope they are having a great time.



Tomorrow is chemo day. Say a prayer for Gary. He is excited to go kill some more cancer cells.



I am done with my crochet lessons. I have been knitting for about 35 years but never learned to crochet so typical of Laurie I pick a very hard first project. I have mastered the pattern so now it is practice time. Practice is something I rarely do, I am more of a jump in without much thought and GO. It will take practice to practice.

Warm, Wonderful Sunday

Today has been a special day for me. I got to hang out with a friend I have known most of my life but don't see too often. I realize we have even more in common now in our 50's than we did at 7, 13, 40. It warms my heart like today's 80 degree sun. Also, someone new to show off my wonderful husband to.

Even though I have been absent from my blog for a while, I am still creating. I had a lot of real life things to do this week like support Gary through a bone scan and meet his new Oncologist. (Yuck.) I thought that when I started my blog, admitted I has painting etc. that I would be able to create away to my heart's content. I dislike being an adult at times and yet I am proud of myself for having a positive impact on someone else's life.

Wednesday was so cold and rainy that it really affected me. Hard to believe I lived in Seattle for so long. I have had enough winter so I really appreciate the summer like weather, being outside, getting some exercise. I've had a pot of spaghetti sauce cooking for 24 hours. My timing looks a little off.

I mentioned that my current painting looks like my old knitting. These are examples of both. Knitting needles in my hands feel so natural, surrounding myself with paint uplifts me in a way that my other creative outlets do not. I am looking forward to finishing this painting and seeing what comes next.

April 20th

This sweater on my handsome husband Gary is a finished project! It is knitted in a yarn called Lima that I heard and read about but had no idea how amazing it felt until I worked with it. It is

leaving to go to my father tomorrow before it is too late as someone is already attached to it. (He will get his own soon.)

Today I spent a lot of time painting. I even left for a meeting in my paint clothes and a bit of yellow paint in my hair. Gary told me just to put on a few diamonds and I would look fine.

He likes me messy from paint.

My signature color has been pink for as long as I can remember. Wake up in a pink room sometime and you will understand it's beauty. My 50th birthday theme was pink poodles, our wedding was pretty much planned around a pair of hot pink Christian Louboutin shoes. We were married on the beach so it took some planning. Lately I have been very attracted to green. (I apologize for the fuzzy photo.) I have more tubes of green paint than any other color. We painted our living room a wonderful shade of green.

A little knitting and crocheting and I am done for the day.

Day Two

In being honest about my projects yesterday, I came across a few more. One is an ongoing illustration book I started writing to show my husband exactly what I love about him. I move it from my desk to his when I have made an entry in it. I draw with my favorite watercolor pencils. Probably not often enough considering what a wonder guy he is.


The other is the children's book I wrote about 10 years ago. After I finished the story,I decided to do the illustrating myself (see below). I got about 75% of the drawings finished and then on the shelf it went with it's group of unfinished friends.


Our friend Alexis from LA (we have two) was even kind enough to send me information on how to publish a children's book. Both of them are super creative and an inspiration to me. Add the blog, which my friend Bob lovingly pointed out was a project and I think that makes six major projects. One thing I can say about this is I am never bored.



This morning I painted for about three hours. It felt great. I also realized that my current painting looks like my old knitting. (I will upload a picture of both as my painting gets closer to being finished). I was feeling great and afterwards I was getting adult things done ,then we went to met the new Oncologist. I am not too happy about him and all my creative energy went away. I didn't even want to write and it's only day two. I feel better already.


In 1998 I did Julia Cameron's "The Artist Way". I would recommend this to anyone whether you think you are creative or not. It was a life changing experience even though I took it too far and went into the Art business. Lesson learned. I wasn't a fan of abstract painting until I came to realize that painting abstracts is much harder than representational. When Gary went through his first round of radiation, I was devastated and decided to take an abstraction class to do something for myself. It was frustrating and challenging and when the class was over I quit painting but I am up on the horse again.



I plan to work on a few things each day. I am looking forward to some knitting tonight and then seeing what I am passionate about tomorrow. One thing I am not passionate about is discovering more projects but I doubt there are too many hiding in there now.

Day One

Last week my husband and my father were having lunch together. My husband was talking about how I was getting ready to paint again and it was discussed that I was good at starting projects but not great at finishing, they gave me a 95%. I was not too happy about this and on that day only had two main projects in the works (that I was aware of) a sweater I was knitting for my father and a necklace I started about a month ago. Since then I have finished the sweater, started a knitting/crochet project that involve lessons and started a painting.

Today I took a break from my painting to go to the art supply store. I love color and it is apparent in everything I wear or create. I always believe that GOD or whomever runs the Universe will add more colors for me and they will be waiting at the paint store when I get there. What I discovered instead (still bought 6 tubes of paint) was that if I was to go through my cupboards and supply boxes, I would find a lot of unfinished projects and that I only finish the ones I love. The a 95% would be too generous of a score but don't tell them that. I am a compulsive knitter. Over the years my knitting has changed from textile art to comfort, compulsive knitting and I realize I knit so I don't have to do anything that pushes me creatively. Hence the blog. If I share with others what I am doing and hold myself accountable, I will hopefully stay in this creative state of mind, finish the three projects you see here and then who knows what else. As my friends, I am asking for you to help nudge me.

XOXO

Laurie