Lunch hour bloggin'

Well, I'm getting fat again.Not that I ever actually got thin, but at least I was getting back into some of my jeans. My exercise routine will have to be put back in full swing tonight. Running/fast-walking, floor exercises,etc. *sigh*. I've got to do it. I have this whole other wardrobe of clothing that I could wear if I would just buckle down and REALLY lose some lbs. Deer season is fast approaching,too, and I don't want to have a heart attack while trying to drag my enormously huge buck out of the woods. So. Back to workout Hell, I go.

I enjoyed a nice day and night at Mom and Dad's last week. I drove in on Thursday and ate lunch with M&D and Em and the boys. Then I set up my traveling studio and did some images of the boys. They were both well-behaved, but it's darn hard to get everyone looking in the same direction and smiling all at the same time. A well-timed bribe of candy smoothed the way, considerably. I got some cute shots. The neighbor-chick later brought her 2 little girls down, all decked out in their pink princess Halloween duds and I did a few shots of them, as well. It was fun.
As soon as the studio was packed away, I grabbed my gear and headed out dove hunting. I plan to share my bounty with Melissa and the kids after art lessons on Tuesday. Curried, roast dove with an apple glaze and fried green tomatoes. Mmmm. I'm looking very forward to it!

The carpet in my house is very cheap and worn and just UGLY. I've Rug Doctor'd it and spot scrubbed it and done everything else I could think of to make it more presentable, but to no avail. It looks and smells bad. The rest of the living room/consultation room/studio looks good. I've painted and decorated and done what I could do to spruce the place up. I like the results---except for the nasty carpet! The last 2 weeks I've been gathering information on laminate flooring--the type that looks and feels like wood. Prices, installation,labor,etc. I gathered my courage and made a presentation/proposal to my landlords on Saturday.
They were amenable to a change in the flooring. They will get back in touch with me with the details. It turns out that there may be good wood flooring under this nasty carpet. If that's the case, I can just rip up the carpet and sand and varnish to my heart's content. And I could do the whole house, not just the living room. That would be AWESOME! We'll see.


All of my perrenials are in the ground and all but 2 appear to be thriving. It took me 4 hours with a pick-axe, shovel and rake to get those dozen or so plants in the ground. I have no outside running water source, so I'm hauling water from the kitchen like a madwoman, trying to keep thngs alive. Surely it will rain again, someday?? If I can just get them to stay alive, it will all be SO worth it next spring/summer/fall!

It's going to be a busy week, but the completion of several projects/orders can be achieved by Friday, if I really work hard and no major problems crop up. That would free me up to work on some serious marketing plans that are waiting in the wings (is that a real expression or did I just make that up?).

I'm looking very much forward to tomorrow's art lesson with Savannah. We started lessons again last week and she did NOT disappoint. Her talent never fails to amaze me and her ability to master the different skills we're learning is a marvelous thing to see. It's also great for me to have a reason to practice and stretch my own skills and creativity as I prepare for the lessons. As an adult, I find it tedious to have to practice and mess up and erase and do-over again and again. Teaching her, has removed the tediousness for me and given me a much-needed dose of self-discipline. I have to master these skills myself, if I'm going to be properly prepared to impart them to her.When I was Savannah's age, I remember having her enthusiasm for learning new skills and experiencing the satisfaction of seeing my artwork improve. Seeing HER enthusiasm and satisfaction acts as an "upper" for me. I'm so pleased to have the opportunity.

I'm waiting to hear back from the BBBS lady about getting assingned to a "Little". I have to get one more reference and then the path should be clear for me to start spending an hour per week with a "needy" kid. I'm a smidgen apprehensive--I've never done anything quite like this before-- but, I'm really looking forward to to the opportunity.

Well, lunch is long over and I gotta get back to work.

Here are a few images I did over the weekend that I may use in an art show or on notecards. (Some of these are still "works, in progress" so please be kind).