Summer Storm

The deck is so close to being done. Norm tried to finish but the weather turned really crummy. This is a shot I took just before dusk, right after the storm. The light was amazing. The bright sun shining through the last of the black rain clouds and a rainbow over the rooftops.
This shot marks the end of a very stressful day. It's over now and I'll spare you the details. We will have a nice and relaxing weekend to mark the end of summer. The sun is not expected to make another appearance for awhile but we will make the best of it. I think my torch is calling me.....

End of Summer Days....

How sad that summer is almost over. Labor Day is just next week and then the kids go back to school. Especially since we, here in the Pacific Northwest, we got cheated out of a large part of our summer. We didn't have near enough sun. Just take a look at the sad state of my vegetable garden...no wait, don't look.

My daughter had a birthday party for Norm this last Sunday at their house. He will be turning 60 this week. The whole family came to celebrate with us. Even Norm's brother and our sister-in-law came from the other side of the state. How great to see them, it's been years. The only damper was the downpour outside, (just more of that great NW summer weather). Our 3 sons and their families, everyone seems to be doing great. Happy and relaxed. My daughter-in-law, Leslie, the one that's about to be a new mom was complaining of a little queasyness and we all sympathized with her. She's hoping it doesn't last long.

You may have noticed the link at the right of my page to Suzi Blu's online mixed media class that I'm taking. I don't have a lot of time to practice drawing and painting but I snatch some here and there. If you are interested in this sort of thing you may want to check out this low cost online class. It's 8 weeks and you can join anytime during those 8 weeks. It's really not hard at all. Lots of fun. Suzy is lots of fun too. Even if you don't want to pay for the online class she does vlogs on YouTube. And I'm not connected with her in any way I just liked her style of painting so I started watching her vlogs.

"Hello Cupcake!", (photo at top), will be starting on Ebay in the next couple days, I think. The timing is not so great right now with the long weekend coming up so I wanted to wait a bit. I'm still working on the pinafore beads. Tweaking here and there. In fact, I've just started the kiln so I'd better get busy.

Come next April..........

Psst!..... A little birdie just told me Jamie and Leslie are going to have a baby! Yep, come next April I'm going to be a grandma again. I'm so happy they decided to have a baby. This family is excited!

My "Posies and Pinafores" auction is closing this evening and I have another auction starting at 7 pm (Pacific), that you aren't going to want to miss. New for me, never before have I done this.... A studio clearance sale. Yep, 114, Grade A, handmade beads. It will be on Ebay. Go check it out!

I know it's been too long since I've checked in. I tried to post some pictures a couple days ago and there was a glitch in the system.

I've been busy with jewelry, household chores, shopping and I'm up to my eyeballs in paperwork! I did manage to get a new Ebay Auction started too. A brand new bead design. Check it out!

The bracelet pictured here is called "Dear Jackie" and it will be for sale at Seagrass Gallery later this week, (see link at right if you'd like to visit).

It's been gloriously warm here the last couple days. I spent some time at the community pool with my grandson yesterday and hubby after he arrived home from work. I wish I was there right now because it's muggy and humid like it's going to rain. I think a cool shower is in order.

This is a photo of Smith Lake which is just a couple blocks from my house. Lots of room for photo improvement here but I thought it would be good practice....


It's been a good day. I made beads this morning while Norm played golf and then we went to the local fair. We had a really great time and I should have brought my camera but I forgot. The number one most important thing to do if you want to improve your photos...you must remember the camera so you can take the photos you want to improve!
What's your favorite part of the fair? Mine is to find a table in the middle of the crowd and just sit and watch people. I am such a student of human nature and people fascinate me. Oh and we can't forget the fair food, the next best part. We hit our favorite taco stand first and then on to the Elephant Ears with cinnamon/sugar and fresh corn on the cob dripping with butter....yum!!!

Treasures From France

These are the treasures that my friend Diana brought back from France. Thank you so much! How exciting! Lavender and herb mixtures, in beautiful fabric bags, from Provence, French milled soap, raspberry jam , a colorful ceramic jar and best of all...Holy water from Lourdes in a pretty little bottle. SCORE!!!!

So we're one less dog and now my skinny kitty can come back home without fear of being chased by a bored greyhound.

We'll miss you Honey....

Web Photo School

It's sort of cloudy and cool today so I'm going to finish up my orders and then I'll hang out with Nathan, (my 8 year old grandson), a bit. Take the dogs for a walk. This is the last day I'll have
Honey. She goes home tomorrow. I'll miss her. She just sort of fits in with our little family and she's such a sweet dog.

This is Dandy. My little girl. She's sucking up and thinks she's going to get a treat. She'll have to do a little better than just look pretty.

And this is Honey. My friend's greyhound that we have been caring for while her momma is in Europe. She looks stressed out doesn't she? This picture was taken by my friend Robin Nellist who is a very talented photographer.

As I was saying in a recent post I've become obsessed with photography lately. I don't know if I'll ever take better photos but it's fun learning about it. While doing some research on a new camera I came across this website called Adorama. This is a site devoted to photography and I found out they have a Web Photo School. Now I'm not connected to this site in any way I just
wanted to pass on the link because I have learned so much since I found this site. They have some free lessons which I learned a lot from but they also have a sort of unique class system that you can get about as serious as you want to get or just take a couple lessons here and there. The classes start at $9.99 for a 30-day access to ALL of their lessons. The price goes up from there to access the lessons for longer periods of time up to a lifetime membership. I just paid
for 30 days and after just a couple days reading here and there on my coffee breaks and before I go to bed I've already gotten my moneys worth! So if you're looking to learn a little bit, (or a whole lot), check it out!