Jon Miller 2

Personally I like this one better. Mr. B has actually found someone who can give him a run for his money in the "speaking" department!!!

Location:Scottsdale

Matt Cain

Guess who is as sweet as can be?

Location:Scottsdale

The Breakfast of Champions

OK. I'm not fond of flying but I do appreciate the marvelous places an airplane can bring to me. It has opened up my world!

I am....truly getting better each time but I am still terrorized. Every time I step over that threshold onto the plane, I am painfully aware that I am making a conscious decision to take a risk. I remind myself that the benefits will be worth a few hours of fear, a few extra gray hairs and I remind Mr. B that the fingernail marks in his thigh will heal in time. He is such a sport! He hardly even screams anymore.

So we got to the airport a little early and Mr. B wanted coffee and I wanted/needed/had to have a gin & tonic.....and....well it was only 10 am but after all we were on vacation. Right?

OK, I needed two gin & tonics at 10 am to get on that plane to Scottsdale. I also had my "Pema Chodron" calming tapes to listen to and a screaming baby two rows up. Maybe that was me or else I just empathized with him.

I landed safely in Phoenix and kissed the ground and the pilot.

Location:SF Airport

Color & Light

Sorry for the multiple posts but I really wanted to add several photos and I still don't know how to do that on my iPad. I have read a lot on the subject and it seems like Google & Apple are a little like oil & vinegar!

Anyway this is the best I can do for now so read on through!







PS - If you know of any tricks on how to do this differently, I sure would like to hear about it!

"This is our goal as writers (artists) I think; to help others have this sense of--please forgive me--wonder, of seeing things anew, things that can catch us off guard, that break in on our small, bordered worlds. When this happens, everything feels more spacious. Try walking around with a child who's going, "Wow, wow! Look at that dirty dog! Look at that burned-down house! Look at that red sky!" And the child points and you look, and you see, and you start going, "Wow! Look at that huge crazy hedge! Look at that teeny little baby! Look at the scary dark cloud!" I think this is how we are supposed to be in the world--present and in awe.”
― Anne Lamott

Location:Scottsdale

Yup....Sunny Arizona

Palm trees...check

Cacti....check

Porsche....check

Pool.....check

Spring Training....check

Giants.....yup...double check!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Colors of Arizona

Mr. B and I are ready for some warm sunshine, relaxation and some great baseball!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Scottsdale

SLO

Just got back from a weekend in San Luis Obispo (SLO) celebrating Jon's 26th birthday.

It was a beautiful, warm weekend.

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

The Mission was built in 1773-4

Angels Trumpets growing at the mission - An appropriate flower - I think!

Lot's of good food, meeting Jon's friends, shopping and walking on the Avila pier.

Isn't the water color beneath the Pier incredible?

Some sleepy sea lions

A few wineries near SLO......

And a fun road trip with Mr. B too!!!

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money."   ~Susan Heller

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/01/27/1461136/slo-may-be-beginning-to-feel-oprah.html#storylink=cpy

I'm Back in the Saddle Again

Song - "Back in The Saddle Again"

I am heading to San Luis Obispo to spend a few days with my son Jon to celebrate his upcoming birthday.  He will be 26 on the 28th of February - Yipes!  Just when did he grow up so quickly?

But before I leave, I wanted to ponder how funny people are.....well, I guess....me.  I want to ponder how funny I am (at times).

I am painting again after spending the last few weeks "crafting".



I found all sorts of important things to make and do.  Origami hearts for book marks, button wreaths that are heart shaped, cards made from stamps, a new greeting card insert, fake Lily of the Valley glued onto wire to hang from the door, a new playlist of songs for Mr. B's new car, etc.

From "A Life Reclaimed"

All of which were kind of fun to create but not very useful or fulfilling. 

After spending some time licking my wounds (a recent tough commission), I began to paint and grow and learn.  Now after being thrown by that horse, I have dusted off my jeans and am back in the saddle again!

I have signed up for a workshop with Peggi Kroll Roberts next month.  She does incredible, fun figurative work.

Peggi Kroll Roberts

Peggi's YouTube Video

Jeanette Le Grue

And I am still heading over to Tomales every Friday morning to paint still life and learn from the very talented Jeanette Le Grue.









But my main support is a little group of painters (Bay Area Studio Artists) that I paint with every Thursday and my mentor Marcy Wheeler who had guided me on a journey of finding my voice though my painting.

Marcy Wheeler Self Portrait

Marcy in Yosemite

I also have two fellow artists who get together at my home most Wednesdays.  We take turns setting up a weekly still life.  Someone brings a bottle of wine and there is always some great chocolate. We visit and paint and laugh.....isn't laughter just wonderful?  Thank you Wanda Kemper and Kistler Osborne for bringing sunshine into my life every week.

Wanda Kemper

Kistler Osborne

Please check out all of these wonderful, talented artists!

YeeHaw.....r o a d   t r i p !

 "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."  -- Thomas Merton

What's Up Buttercup?

Song - "Bird Songs"

My joy of late has been feeding the songbirds. 

I love waking to their song.....

Even though I lose a lot of seed to the tenacious squirrels, it is still worth the joy of watching the birds through the windows or from out on our sunny back deck. 






They fill the oak trees while they wait their turn to swoop down to the feeders.  Some are very timid and others will let me approach them with my camera.

This morning I watched as two Robin's took a joyful bath in some shallow water....brrrr....and then some Finches came along to join in the fun.  Finally a whole flock of Cedar Waxwing's took over the birdbath. They had been happily eating some Privet berries across the lane. I never realized that they had yellow tipped tails! Did you?

I also saw a Flicker land in an old pine tree and yesterday there were two woodpeckers on a tree in the shade garden.

We have a hawk (sometimes two) that cry early in the morning.  

Joy.

"A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked." 

-- Anais Nin

Testing One Two and Three

HENRY's music

Just a little something I am trying out that is new and challenging. Yesterday I lost all of my iTunes playlists......and I don't know how to retrieve them.  Years of music.

I have a tech-e guy coming tomorrow. I hope he can save me.

So I figured I would try to tackle something else to remind myself that I am "capable"!

If you click on the "Henry's music" words above, it should let you listen to music while looking at my lovely blog! After starting the music, remember to come on back here!!



Check it out.....

Way cool huh?

Simple Joys

I know it has been awhile.

I have felt the emptiness inside of me.

It is sunny today 

and I brought home some

lovely pink primroses for our garden.

A very tough project has been completed.

Sigh....

A friend is battling cancer,

...with Grace.

I painted all day 

just for myself.

Pure joy.

Plant

So that your own heart

Will grow.

Love

So God will think,

"Ahhhhhh,

I got kin in that body!

I should start inviting that soul over

For coffee and

Rolls."

Sing

Because this is a food

Our starving world

Needs.

Laugh

Because that is the purest

Sound.

--Hafiz

Soul Surfing

This morning I got up early and drove to Tomales for my painting class with Jeanette Le Grue. I hesitated about going because lately I have been in a painting slump.....of sorts.

But I pushed myself out of the door while the sun was still asleep and the moon was out.

The beauty of the pink sky just before dawn almost made me drive off the road!  Then came the orange sun that turned the golden hills a lovely shade of copper.

OK.

I was nervous.  Anxious.

High drama.

Would I ever be able to paint again?????


I made a deal with myself.  I won't drink too much caffeine on the drive there so I won't get too high strung in class and I can focus on painting.

I can do this.

Good deal.

Jeanette Le Grue's home & gallery

Right?



I'll be calm and just absorb all of this wonderful knowledge that is being shown to me.  Jeanette is an incredibly gifted teacher and sweet as can be.

The day was frosty and beautiful. The little yellow school buses were just returning from their morning drive when I pulled up in front of the studio.

The Studio

The old water tower now used as a workshop and guest house

After Jeanette's demo we began to set up our easels and painting supplies.  During class I heard several other painters letting out deep sighs as they tried to tackle today's project. One painter was ready to give up painting for life because it just wasn't coming to her "fast enough"!

Why then did this please me?

My guess is that I just needed to know that I was not alone, wallowing in my pity party.

I perked up instantly.

My painting began to improve immediately.

I was even humming (in my head).

After class I was so thrilled with the painting.....and with myself.....well, just because!

I drove to Dillon beach afterwards to take a long walk along the water.

It was warm and there were lot's of people on the beach as well as surfers enjoying the waves.

 On the ride home I drove through the countryside and what do you think I saw on Friday the Thirteenth? 

 A Highland Cow?

Yup!

Gracie - Jeanette's guardian in the studio?

Yup!

A Camel?

Mmmmm.......?

YES....there is a camel in the Tomales countryside!

Enjoy your Saturday and I hope you find lot's of little treasures in this wonderful,

funny world we live in!!

Today I have two quotes for you because.....well..... because today I just "stayed" with my insecurities and fear.  They didn't gobble me up.

“A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us. ”  - Pema Chodron

“Surfing expresses ... a pure yearning for visceral, physical contact with the natural world.” -- Matt Warshaw, Maverick's: The Story of Big-Wave Surfing

Diablo

This afternoon my friend Jill and I spent the late afternoon at the peak of Mt. Diablo. We needed some "alone" time to talk about "life".....

Mt. Diablo - Winter 2009

The observatory on top of Diablo

We were not sure what to expect on our mini road trip because the sky was getting hazy when we left our homes at 3 pm. 



We have both lived near the base of the mountain for many years and when returning to Walnut Creek from a long trip, it is always a comforting site to see the mountain rising up from the growing suburbs.




But today "she" out did herself....

A spot of sunlight shining on the SF bay

The Golden Gate Bridge (center), Treasure Island (left) and the Farallon Islands (top left)

A sea shell in the stone blocks that built the observatory

A Sun Dog

Near sunset with the sun reflecting in the SF Bay & the Pacific Ocean in the background

View driving down Diablo looking toward the Delta

 

 

Some Mt. Diablo history....

Mount Diablo is sacred to many California Native American peoples and according to Miwok and Ohlone mythology it was the point of creation.

The panorama from Mt. Diablo is all the more impressive considering the mountain’s relatively short elevation 3,849 of feet. Two reasons for the views are the mountain rises very abruptly from its surroundings and the land surrounding the mountain is nearly flat.

From the summit on a clear day the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Rage, Mount Lassen and Mt. Shasta may be seen.  Half dome in Yosemite, about 125 miles away, can be viewed with a telescope when the atmosphere is exceptionally clear. It does boast one of the largest viewsheds in the Western United States and it played a key role in California history. Countless peaks in the state are taller, but Mount Diablo has a remarkable visual prominence for a mountain of such modest elevation. Its highly recognizable form and looming presence over so much of the bay, delta, Central Valley and good viaibility from the Mother Lode, all key regions during the Gold Rush and early Statehood. This made it not just a well-known visual touchstone but one of the most important landmarks for mapping and navigation.
"In the end it will always come down to you. It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." - Sir Edmund Hillary