A few of my favorite paintings

"Heartache and Poetry XXIX"
by
Jaime Best

A favorite of mine!

"I'm Off to See The World"
by
Kat Hannah

I like this piece
"Lost"
by Mike Best.
He's done several in this style
and I like everyone of them.

I should be cleaning...

I go 'back and forth'...
I should be painting...
I should be cleaning.

Too often...I spend so much time debating..
that I don't do either one.

But...the time has arrived that I
really...really
need to do some cleaning.

For now..
I think my painting can wait...
my cleaning...can't.

A little summer fun

So far this month...
I've left town for a little mini-vacation...
gone to a movie...
had several other little outings..
and last night
my daughters and I had a
"girls night out!"

We had fun and think we need to do it more often!

If I'm not careful
I tend to be a bit of a
workaholic...
so..

it might be a good idea.

Getting ready for Fall.

I know it is still mid-summer but...
Jaime and I went to Hobby Lobby over the
week-end
and I was reminded of
my 'craft show' days.

There were rows and rows of
Halloween and Fall
decor
and Halloween and Fall craft materials
for the crafters.

A few rows after those
yep...
Christmas!

I will confess that my husband and I just couldn't bring ourselves
to do our Christmas crafts quite this early...
in the twenty years we did craft shows we often
had to put finishing touches on our items
the night before each show.

But...since we are seriously entertaining
the possibility of doing a few
craft shows this year
(it's been five or six years since I last did a show)
we're going to have to start
getting things worked out.
For one thing...we need to get our fees
in now..
or we won't have an option.

So...we'd better get our deciding done pretty quickly!

If we go for it..
I'll be sure to preview some of the items here.

My Tuscan Art

It has occurred to me that I have
woefully neglected any
mention of my
Tuscan Art Zazzle shop.

For three years...2004-05 and 06...
I concentrated a lot on
'tuscan art'...
I 'opened' my Tuscan Art Zazzle Shop
at the same time.

Since that time...I have pretty much
just let that poor shop
tend itself.
And yet...I sell items on quite
a regular basis from the shop.
I've sold several sets of Tuscan mugs...
all kinds of cards and magnets.

I guess it's easier to keep 'on top' of a shop
that one has to manually tend to
on a daily basis.
If you don't tend to it...
you risk losing it.

With Zazzle...one can set it up
and forget about it
until you get a royalty payment.

Zazzle is really easy to use...
you upload your pictures...
select your product...
write a description...
set a royalty amount...
and offer your product for sale.

A little about me...

I grew up in the fifties and sixties.
For anyone doing the 'math'...
that puts me
"fast approaching sixty"!

Wow!!! Where did the time go???

I guess it's the old saying...
'time flies when you're having fun!'

Before I started selling my art online,
back in 2004,
my husband and I used to
go to estate auctions,
garage sales,
junk stores...
just to see what 'treasures' we could find.

We turned a lot of our 'finds' into
wonderful 're-purposed'
gems that we sold at local craft fairs.
I sooo wished I had taken pictures
of some of these pieces...
they were so cool!

So...Jaime (my youngest daughter) and I were
talking the other day.
It's been over three years since we last
went to an estate auction...
it's time we remedy that!

There are a couple of auctions coming up this week-end
that I really want to go to.
My funds almost non-existent at the moment
so we'll have to see if that changes...
just look at the 'very partial' list
of treasures available
at this upcoming auction...

Meat Saw, Old fans, Oil cans, Yard/ garden & hand tools, End tables, Lawn chair, Computer, Lights, Swimming pool parts, Wire, Ariens snow blowere, Kenmore propane outside grille, Table / w chairs, Ceiling fan, Ladders/ wooden/ aluminum, Doors, Screens, Windows, Oil filters, Quilt frames, Baskets, Sad iron, Crocks, Military foot locker, Insulators, Jars, Hose, Hose reel, Old car parts, Christmas items, Clocks, Tupperware.....

Score!

Besides looking for other people's 'treasures'
I do so enjoy
creating.
I haven't done a craft show
in five or six years...
but I think I'd like to do one or two
this coming fall!

I guess it will depend on what goodies I
can find in the meantime.

The week-end of the fourth we visited my
husband's family... and I 'fell in love'.
Literally!
My brother and sister-in-law
have the
CUTEST Yorkie puppy....
with a Giant personality.

I am a 'renter' ... so I am not supposed to have
pets...
I really do want a little 'love' like Bella.
She was just sooo darned cute and so funny!

Shoot...maybe it's time I thought about
getting a different house!

We'll see.

I usually 'run' from the camera...
so this pic...of me...is about
ten or so years old...
but...I decided to be 'brave' and post a pic...
I figured...
"why not?"

New Harry Potter Movie

I'm quite excited....
the new Harry Potter movie
"The Half Blood Prince"
comes out today!

The kids and I won't be going
until tomorrow....
(I prefer matinees...which means the kids
that want to go with..will have to schedule their workdays
accordingly.)
Yes...we really are HUGE fans...we don't dress up
or anything...
but we've all read the books..many times...listened to the audio books...
watched the movies...
and even played some games.

Two outings in the same month...
what will I do with myself?!!

Here's a preview...in case you haven't already seen it!

Addicted to Meerkats

My son-in-law was talking about Meerkats
a year or so ago...
he was telling me about
their behavior...and such!

Anyway...it was enough
that I decided to look at Meerkat Manor
to see what he was going on and on
about.

So...long story short...
I became addicted!

I'm into reruns now...since
I haven't been able to find out when...or if...
the next season will begin!

I have found myself talking to
the TV...warning Mozart not to have a 'trist' with Carlos...
"if she gets pregnant...her mother, Flower, might evict her."

I am so fascinated by these little
'inhabitants of the Kalahari Desert'..
they've made me laugh...cry...
and talk to my TV!

Coming soon...

Now that I am
rested and rejuvenated...
after such a wonderful week-end..
(it really was great not to work AT ALL for an entire week-end)
I am starting to work
on some new projects for CMZ Art.

The projects won't be completed
until late summer or early fall...
but I am quite excited
about doing something different
for CMZ Art.

I will preview a few things as
they are completed.
It's probably premature to mention
them at this stage but,
I'm just so darned excited about doing
something different...that I can't
wait to get started
so I have something to show you!

Much needed mini-vacation!

I don't "get out much"....
and I find that as easy as it is to say..
"oh, I've got so much work to do..I really can't afford
the time or the money to leave town right now..
maybe we'll get together later in the year...
yadda..yadda..excuse after excuse.."
it doesn't take long and several years have passed...
and I still have 'so much work to do...
can't afford the time or the money...
and so on'

We received an 'invite' a while back...
to go out of state over the 4th..
and spend some time with my late husband's
brothers and their families.
Originally I said 'no'...accompanied by the
usual excuses.
Not that I didn't want to go...I really did..
but..
the excuses seemed valid..and maybe they were.

Comes a time though...
that one must put work aside...do a little
'creative budgeting'...
and just DO it!

So...four of my kids, their families...
and myself..
actually went out of town for the week-end.
And...we had a BLAST!

We spent the day with family
we hadn't seen in three years...
played outdoor games...
roasted marshmallows over an open fire...
shot off fireworks...
it was just GREAT!

I haven't felt that relaxed in a
very long time!!

Yay for us!!!

Fireworks for the Fourth