Welcoming the New Year…

Zoe’s smiling face greeted me in the studio this last morning of 2010…

as my Aunt Lorrie said…it doesn’t get any better than that !  Right on Lo…we Grandmothers have it made….but they were only here for a brief visit and Finn is at a loss without her baby to take care of…

… to take her mind off of watching her sweet smiling pal being bundled up and tucked safely into the car and waving goodbye…Finn and I have begun to plan next year’s garden additions.

The seed catalogs have begun arriving and a mini-January thaw is promised for the weekend so we are going to build us a new bed and move the last of the dirt, which is threatening to become one with the driveway, into it and let it hang out with some compost for the rest of the winter and be ready to receive the salad green mixture of seeds in the early spring. I’m seriously eyeing one of those cold-frame covers in the gardeners catalog but the goal this year is to recycle the pile of construction materials from the old garage shed, and the other bits and pieces of clutter and debris that have taken up residence in our corner of the planet over the two decades we have been responsible for it’s care…and feed ourselves and a few neighbors along the way.

So…when Finnegan suggested using her old wading pools as planters…well we were off and running…

We’re thinking zukes and beans here…with some of those fabric potato pot planters as anchors…at least that’s what Finn is thinking.

We’ll head back out there after a morning session of painting…

and tonight, when we’ve put away the brushes and the tools and watched the last sunset of the year, and settled in with Herself by our fireside…we’ll pop a cork and raise a toast to all of you out there who make our lives so much richer for being at the other end of this blog.

Happy New Year !

 

 

 

Allied…with my roofers.

This blog entry isn’t about painting…because not much of it got done the last week and a half or so…because I was watching from my studio windows as the most excellent roofers put a new lid on our old log cabin.

Under the direction of Mike Fleet, from Allied Roofing, carpenter Chris and his crew worked brilliantly to repair, restore and renew the old rotten roof. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it was to have competent craftsmen on the job. Not only were they skillful and hard working…right through two snow storms and the coldest temps of the year…but they were polite. Yes, they were thoughful, had good senses of humor and were kind spirited and boy was that refreshing.

It’s a small cabin with a roofline that looks a lot like the Weasley’s house…not a square edge to be found. Didn’t even slow down these guys. All four of them hustled and made it look easy.

We all have contractor horror stories… and believe me I have become jaded…but these guys have brought me back from the dark side. They’ve earned my respect and recommendation…and a place on the blog to show off their hard work.

Today it’s the Gutter King’s turn…they showed up and got right to work…

as Pat is fond of saying…”We may have to build a shrine !”

 

wishful thinking…

lovely visit with my Aunt Sal and Uncle Barney…good company to share a winter fireside evening with…then up and away and it’s back to the easel for me…

today begins the next chapter of work …let the hibernation commence…

I do so wish… that it could be snowing outside of my studio window…

like it is snowing here inside of my blog…

By Design…

A frosty december day here in Manchester. Spent the whole morning cleaning out the office and now we could hold a barn dance in here.

Gallery 1261 invited me to have some work in their upcoming Small Works Show. It opens on December 10th out in Denver with an opening reception from 5 – 7 pm.

Here’s a sneak peak at a new painting that will be headed out west for that show…

By Design

Oil on Panel     16″ x 12″

Another in the Teacup Series this little one is jam packed with props that I  have had stored in the Prop Room for years now. When I went up there to snoop around for some inspiration they, one by one, jumped into the old suitcase.

Oh those magical muses…