Tahoe Blues

Tahoe Lightening Storm from YouTube


On Wednesday my girlfriend Jill and I drove up to Tahoe for a day at the beach.  Felt kinda like playing hooky.  I made a big pasta salad & brought fruit.  She brought fruit and wine!  We were set.

By 10:30 am we had spread our towels on the beach.

At the time, there was only this one itty-bitty dark cloud.

We slathered on the sunscreen, popped open the umbrella and prepared to be dazzled!

 The beach filled up like Coney Island.

 

We had kids jumping over us, footballs flying past, Frisbee's overhead, BBQ's being lit, kayak's being launched, kids crying, mom's yelling & music blaring! 

Within an hour or so, we could hear thunder from behind the mountains.  

According to our calculations (you know the scientific one....onethousandone, onethousandtwo....etc.) we had at least 3 hours before the storm hit.

It only took 30 minutes.

 We were staying dry and enjoying the approaching storm while watching

 lightening to the left of us and lightening to the right. 

And listening to thunder all around.

Somehow Mt. Tallac divided the storm overhead so it stayed clear above us for quite some time.

It was still hot and felt like a tropical storm.

Finally the skies opened up and everyone ran to their cars.  

We did too with a glass of wine and waited out the summer storm in the beach parking lot.

Within 20 minutes it was just dribbling....and we did have our swim suits on....

so who cares if we get wet?

....and best of all most everyone else had left!

We stayed and read, swam, visited, ate and laughed.

It was a good day!

Also, it made for an amazing sunset on our drive home.

"Raise your words, not your voice.  

It is the rain that grows flowers not thunder."  -  Rumi

White Balance

Song - Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues


The group of women painters that I paint and show with are named - BASA - Bay Area Studio Artists.  We are applying for a new show in Benicia entitled "White Balance". This is a technical camera term meaning basically - "whites change under different lighting situations so you need to adjust your camera to compensate."  You can read more about it here.

I personally love white.  There is so much color reflected in it.  I have white furniture, white dogs, white flowers, a white kitchen, etc.  I love to go to the nursery and get a flat of white Impatiens or white Petunia's. A white Hydrangea just knocks my socks off! 

I find a white garden very soothing.....

I immediately came home from our meeting and made a list of all of my favorite white's....

ballerina, owl, country church, dogwood, snow, boats, umbrella, tablecloth, chef, waiter, old car, coit tower, hollyhocks, surf, shells, lighthouse, SF Giant's in their home uniforms, Westie, bandstand, flowers, clouds, sheep, cows, cottage, waterfall, barns, milk truck, chickens, Iceland poppies, glacier,  wedding dress, horses, tennis shoes, apple blossoms, .......

A painting I just finished entitled "Summer"

Now some, well one, of the other painters just doesn't understand the joy and beauty of white.  She is a painter of color and there is nothing subtle about her beautiful work or her beautiful soul!  I will find it interesting to see what she comes up with for this venue.



"Women think of all colors except the absence of color.  I have said that black has it all.  White too.  Their beauty is absolute.  It is the perfect harmony."  --Coco Chanel

The Tomato Thief

Song - Intro to "To Catch a Thief"


Someone has found a hole in our vegetable garden fence!

Everyday a few of my precious tomatoes go missing.

A raccoon at night perhaps?

The thieves don't even care if the tomatoes are ripe.  They will eat every green or red one they can reach!

Or perhaps it's a little, white, furry creature during the middle of the day?


Or possibly there is a whole team of thieves working both day and night????



To catch a thief, one needs a plan!




Mr. B came up with it -  a breath analyzer!!!  Brilliant.

(But then again, he most always is......)




So the other afternoon, when Mika had been outside for an unusually long period of time, Mr. B held her up and smelled her breath!

Caprese Salad!

She was so busted......

"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." --Lewis Grizzard

Impressions of the Day

Song - Con te Partiro by Andrea Bocelli

Last Sunday Mr. B and I went to the Legion of Honor in San Francisco to see the Intimate Impressionism show from the National Gallery, Washington DC which they are remodeling.

Not Washington....but the Gallery.

Just thought I might have confused you there......

It was lovely and there were many great pieces but I did have a few favorites.

There are several pieces that I wanted to share with you....

The Artist's Sister at a Window by Berthe Morisot

The Artists Paint Box and Moss Roses by Edouard Vuillard

Sweeet!

Argenteuil by Claude Monet

Detail of Argenteuil 

Just look at those yummmmy colors!

Table Set in a Garden by Pierre Bonnard

I can just see myself sitting in that garden having a cup of tea.

The last two are probably my favorites because they are just so painterly!

Then Mr. B took me for coffee and cheesecake at Caffe Trieste because I have been commissioned to do a painting of the little coffee house and I needed some reference material.

And then I took Mr. B across the street to......

Church !

This is actually the Nuova Porziuncola at the National Shrine of Saint Francis and is a scaled replica of St. Francis's Porziuncola in Assisi, Italy.

As we were driving home, we both felt like we had a mini European vacation!

Without Chevy Chase!!!

"For it is in giving that we receive." --St. Francis of Assisi

If Aspen Trees Could Talk....

OK, OK, OK.  I know what you are thinking. 

Jeanette has gone off her rocker.

But just wait a minute.

Great eye, right?

After a month in the mountains without much to do but relax and enjoy nature, your mind gets to thinking.......

 

 

Confucius says......."sit back and enjoy a moment of silliness"

A surprised eye!!!

 

 

These two are joined at the hip!

One eyed man blowing smoke rings

Ancient Hieroglyphics

 

A Bear scratching tree

Everyone needs a hug now and then!

EYE see you two hugging over there!

"I see them hugging too, how about a big kiss?"

A one eyed alien critter attacks tree in Tahoe!

Take a hard left & go straight, until you come to a Y in the road

Somebody got a light?

Oh dear.  How did I get this stick in my forehead?

Ring around the rosy.....

Frankenstein or stitches?

Mom said she had to take my temperature before I can play

There is a bear with sharp claws in the forest

OK.  I know I'm not an Aspen BUT that's gotta hurt!

Home Sweet Home for mama & babies

Emerging From the Mountains

Song - Sugar Mountain by Neil Young

Lupine in a meadow near Fallen Leaf Lake

Mr. B, Mika and myself returned from the mountains on Friday evening.

An Evening Grossbeak

It felt like we were leaving too soon.

A female Tiger Swallowtail

After all, not everything on our list of activities had been done.

I mean we didn't even hike to Lemonade Lake or play Putt-Putt golf yet!!!!

"Mr. B can't we stay at least two more weeks?"

But I knew we had to leave, mostly because of several art commitments that I had in the Bay Area.

I cried a little.

My new "Electra"

Mr. B bought me a cruiser bike for my birthday and I had fun driving around the cabin.  At least until I had to go uphill.....without any gears.....so I ended up pushing Mika and my bike up the hills.  Andy and Mika took a spin over the weekend.

She looks like she is his co-pilot and on watch for bumps in the road!

Ashley chose to ride solo - It kinda makes you feel like a little kid again! Can't you just see it in her smile?

Butterflies were in abundance this year!

Now that I have settled in it is nice to be home and return to my own bed, my garden, friends and family but it's also quite a shock!

The clarity of Lake Tahoe near Zephyer Cove

Now the mountains at home are the mountains of laundry, dishes and "to do" lists!

Sunset from Sunnyside

As always, great memories of Tahoe!


I want to thank my parents and grandparents for having the foresight of treasuring this beautiful lake and spectacular wilderness!

            "How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!"
         --John Muir


PS - Mama Robin had 4 babies while we were there.  She was a busy lady feeding her little ones!