WOYWW! Happy Halloween!

It's WOYWW!  Hooray!  Play at Julia's blog http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/.  

So I finally (after 3 years) finished Gary's costume!  He's a greyhound bus of course!  This was my craft project for the week :)  I am a greyhound bus driver.   Ruby is jealous that she doesn't have a costume...maybe next year, Ruby.  I won't be able to comment on too many desks this week as I have to go have the dentist fill some cavities.  Boo!


Happy Halloween and WOYWW!

Watercolor Landscapes with a Water Feature

So here are my submissions for a "fat book" swap on ATCsforALL.   These are 4x4" on rough watercolor paper.  It's the first time I tried using the handmade 320gsm, recycled cotton rag paper from Art Outfitters. At least, I think that's what I used...I lost the label for the paper!  I liked the end result a lot, but I got frustrated at first because it felt like I had to pound the pigment (Sakura koi watercolors)  in with a TON of water.  The outlines were done with micron pen.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love, love, love my Sakura Koi Pocket Field Sketch Box watercolors?  Seriously, this little box is perfect for my ATCs and I just love the colors.   If they made a giant version of this little box, I'd purchase it in a heart beat.  I've found that I like the pans of watercolors better than the tubes.  Actually I love all of Sakura's products that I've tried...the watercolors, micron markers, gelly roll pens, souffle pens... Enough rambling!  Here are my fat pages:

This is a painting of sunset at Eagle Bluffs.  Eagle bluffs is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  Hubby and I try to go at least once a month to just soak the peace and quiet.

This is the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (I think). 

This is from a picture I took in the Grand Tetons

Driving back to Yellowstone after visiting the Grand Tetons...there was a stream with a mirror like reflection right at dusk.  It was so serene. 


Peace and Love, y'all!

WOYWW #177

It's WOYWW!  Hooray!  Play at Julia's blog http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/. 



So I wish I had some fabulous, artistic project on my desk.   But I don't.  So instead...here's a picture of fabulous cards I've recieved in the past week or so from others.




Here's my desk!   It's got stuff for swapping and mailing out ATCs, a favorite hymn of mine with a fall leaf on top, mcdonald's monopoly pieces (we didn't win), and my watercolors.  Maybe tomorrow I can do some painting!

 

Speaking of feeling grateful...  Hubby and I are almost back to normal after the car accident a couple of weeks ago.  The insurance declared our car (pictures are couple posts ago) a total loss and cut us a check.  Luckily we were able to find a suitable replacement vehicle in our price range. 

So here it is.... our new (ie, used and hail damaged) HHR!   Hopefully the dogs will really love riding in the cargo area.  AND...hopefully we'll have this car when we start our family! 

Peace and Love, y'all!

Good bye Weekend, hello Monday

Oh boy.  Tomorrow is the dreaded Monday.  Hopefully this will be a great week, and I'll be able to really and truly help some animals (and their connected people).    Last week was rough.  I wish I could simply treat animals for free, but I can't and expect to stay in business to continue to help animals.  *sigh* 


This weekend we didn't get to go to the Razorback game as planned, but we caught up on laundry and sleep.  AND I did cards for a swap.  I really didn't have much interest in partcipating in the Cthulhu Madness swap, but when I saw only 2 people had signed up I had to sign up.  I've totally been there as a host when you're wondering whether you'll have enough members to actually swap cards.  As long as the other 2 players send in cards and the host makes cards too, everyone who plays will get cards from 3 different artists.  I'd say my Cthulhu's aren't spreading madness and mayhem, but they are simply enjoying their free time away from the daily grind.  



In other news, I'm almost back to normal after the car accident.  Chase is still sore, but he's going back to the doctor tomorrow.  I figure he had a concussion that night, and it's going to take some time for him to bounce back to normal.  It doesn't help that both of us are constantly stressed at work.  I love being a veterinarian, but letting owners take their animals out of my clinic when they need treatment is so hard.  So far the best remedy has been an old Methodist hymnal I checked out from the library.  As I crank out the familiar tunes on the piano, God speaks to my heart.  There's a bigger picture, and someday we'll be in a place where there's no more suffering and pain...and we'll all be satisfied with work.


Peace and love, y'all!

WOYWW - Bittersweet reflections

Here is my desk this Wednesday.  It's got a massive stack of envelopes I need to take to the post office today.   As far as art goes...not much going on this week..to many errands to take care of.  One thing that is new on my desk (or windowsill rather) is the little container of catnip.   Some clients at work bought it for their terminally ill kitty cat. They gave it to me after the cat passed on.   I really loved the cat and the owners. It was one of those cases that I will carry in my heart for the rest of my life. 



I was going to leave it at work to help other cats but it failed to flourish there.  So I decided to take it home and nourish it so I can use it to help other kitty patients :)

So what are all the errands keeping me from art this week? Well last Friday we picked up anther couple in our car to go play a round of miniature golf.   As we were stopped at a stop sign, another vehicle smashed into our car.  Our car is toast, but we all checked out at the ER with only sprained neck and back muscles.  So that's a blessing.  The driver of the other vehicle was drunk.  So now I have to get the insurance companies to work together to pay for the medical bills, provide a rental car until we can purchase a vehicle, and pay us the cost of my husband's totaled car.  YUCK!  I really just want it all to be over so we can move on with our normal lives!  There's a picture of car in the previous post for the curious.

Thanks for visiting!!


Peace and love, y'all!

Count your many blessings. Name them one by one.

I can remember the sound of glass breaking, metal and plastic bending and breaking, my own voice screaming. I remember lights and someone yelling getting out of the car; gasoline was pouring from our car.  We all got out without assistance - relatively uninjured (#1).  The other driver was also relatively uninjured (#2).   Chase's car....well...it's totalled, but the trunk was crunched instead of the cabin (#4).  If our car hadn't been stopped at that stop sign, the car going through the intersection would have been t-boned.  So maybe we prevented a fatal accident (#5).  God alone knows.  All the people who saw the accident stopped and made sure we were ok...and stayed to give testimony against the driver that hit us (#6).  They were all so nice and supportive!  The gasoline and other fluids were all cleaned up so they don't combust or poison little animals (#6).  The other driver was found to be drunk, and the police arrested her (#7).  She couldn't even walk a straight line.  While she may not considered getting arrested as a blessing, sometimes God puts in road blocks (Chase's car with 4 passengers in this case) so we don't continue down the path of destruction we're on.   He deliberately lets us reap the painful consequences of our sin so we recognize it, repent, and seek His forgiveness.  A tow truck moved our car off the road and gave us time to clean it of our stuff which was amazingly undamaged (even Chase's laptop in the trunk) (#8).  One of Beth's friends came to pick us up (#8) and take us to David's car.  Beth drove the 4 of us to the ER, where the doctor examined us.- mild muscle strains and minor lacerations - nothing broken (#9).  He said we'll be really sore for the upcoming week.  After being released at midnight, we finally got dinner and went home.  The following morning, we realized Chase's backpack (w/ laptop was missing).  We went back to check the scene of the accident, and Chase's backpack, jacket, and bible were all sitting there unharmed (#10).




So what can I say?  We're down 1 car, but we're alive and well.  We're just a bit sore, but not seriously injured.  It served a sobering reminder - life is fragile.  I thank God that everything has worked out.  I'm sure He'll provide what we need, and I pray that the other driver will repent and let God do some healing work in her life. 


Peace and Love, y'all!