Luray Caverns In VA

It has really been a while since I have posted anything new for you all. Yesterday Brian and I went to Luray Caverns with friends of ours and what a time we had. The first picture is of the oldest formation in the caverns.
The secound and third pictures are of the largest body of water in the caverns. The water is so still that you get a perfect reflection of the ceiling above. It's really quite a wonder to see. We all just stood there is awe of the site that we were witnessing.

This last picture is of a structure that is only 1/8th of an inch thick. The colors are really amazing. It looks like ribbon candy. The whole place had an almost magical feel to it. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Leaving the Iris

Last year when we moved into this house the Irises had already bloomed and passed on so we never knew what colors they were. This year I waited patiently and watched them grow and bloom into brilliant purples. I have never had a yard with such regal flowers before so it was a great joy to watch them in the privacy of my own back yard as if it were a secret garden all my own. Sadly the time has come to leave these wonders of nature behind. Atleast I'll remember them as there were at the peak of their beauty.
As most of you already know, Brian and I find ourselves moving back to the East Coast. Our new home will be Alexandria VA. It's not that we don't love the wild beauty of Nevada, I have thousands of photos to prove it. You just have to go where the job takes you. We will be driving ourselves back and I will be documenting all the way so look for photos when I get settled again. Among the stops we plan to make are Vegas and the Grand Canyon! It's going to be another great adventure! So if this ends up being my last post from Nevada, I hope you've enjoyed my pictures . They won't stop just because I'll be back in the city. It will just be different. I love you all and I'll see you all soon on the other side!

Waterfall Hike

Yesterday was Friday and Brian finished work early and decided that he would like to check out a waterfall that he heard of since it's Spring and it should be running good. We packed up the Bean and a few things like binoculars, camera and walking sticks etc and off we went. We drove to Markleeville and turned towards Grover Hot Springs State Park. This park is actually free because they charge to swim in the hot springs pool, which we didn't want to do so we were glad to take advantage of a park that didn't charge the 4 dollar fee. We started out on the trail and Beanie just loved it. It was sort of marchy and she just laid down and rubbed all over the ground and got wet and dirty like a dog should! Usually she is a stay on the trail and not get dirty or touch water kind of dog. We hiked the 1.2 miles back to the waterfall wich consisted of climbing up lots of rock faces and washouts that had dried up. Water was everywhere, little streams that had branched of and were running through the woods. When you finally got up to the first falls it was a sight to see. Spray was coming off of it and cooling you down, the roar of the falls was nice to hear since living in the desert you don't hear that very often. All in all we had a wonderful time. I wish you all could have been there to experience it.

Hopefully a happy family

Ever since starting to feed the birds I have been watching them through a window in my kitchen. Yesterday we were surprised to see an egg! Apparently the quail had decided to make our yard their home. I just love watching the quail go through our yard. They are so cute and comical, you just want to give them a hug and pinch their cheeks! I am not sure if she is going to come back or not since today she didn't lay another egg. We'll just have to keep an eye on the situation and hope for the best. How wonderful to watch babies hatch right outside your window. Nature sure is filled with so many wonders.

Feeding the birds has made new friends!

Almost two weeks ago now I have been spreading seeds for the birds in my yard and it only took about three days for every bird in the neighborhood to find out! We now enjoy flocks of birds all day every day. These are just two of my now many friends. How wonderful to wake up every morning and see these wonderfully beautiful creatures waiting for me to toss out breakfast for them. Their songs carry my happy heart all through the day!

Happiness Is...

Have you ever woken up one morning after a long and seemingly endlessly dreary winter to find that all of a sudden over night Spring had arrived? That is what happened to me on Saturday morning. My quail friend had returned with his wife and he sat on my fence for a time in the morning singing his call to me. It's a simple comfort to see and hear such a cute and precious creature.
I found flowers that were not put there by me had bloomed in the backyard. It was a wonderful discovery. The splash of such saturated and vivid color was just what I needed to break me out of the winter blahs. I feel like painting again for the first time in months. My muse has returned after her long vacation in some far off place unknown to me. Now I just have to wait and see what she has in mind for subject matter. More on that later.

Illusration Friday...Monster

Sound asleep in the middle of the night your mind just knows that something isn't right, you begin to stir and slowly you open one eye, and to your great horror, there are two sparkling eyes staring at you with a claw slowly reaching towards your face. Your hearts skips a beat and your lips go numb and everything inside screams "Run".
After a moment of eye blinking, and heavy breathing you realize that it's just your 7 week old puppy, who managed to pull a Houdini and escape from her pen in the kitchen that you thought was secure!
Nothing is more terrfying in the middle of the night than something that's really there and starring at you.

Illustration Friday.....Song

Sharing the naked soul with strangers.

Whether it is music, writing or art, it still takes courage to bare the soul to others. This man was on the streets of DC sharing his talent with the world. I much admire the courage it takes to be this free.

This is a coffee painting. I discovered the wonders of painting with instant coffee while in a Junior High art class. I painted this picture with Instant Hazelnut flavored coffee. Finally my husband had to ask me what that sweet smell was. I just told him to go back to the video game, it was just my paint! Hope you enjoy this fun little painting. It didn't come out like what I had in my head, but it came out different and yet better. Paintings that smell wonderful too! What fun.

Illustration Friday....Simple

Simply Sunbathing Sea Lion

This is a postcard that was stained with a Chai Tea Latte mix then watercolor applied over it after it had dried. The paper is handmade watercolor paper from India. I am usually such a detail oriented realist that as this painting evolved I saw these wonderful colors emerging and I just felt the need to keep pushing it. I enjoyed this painting so much that I doubt I'll ever mail it to anyone!

Illustration Friday.....Chair

This is a watercolor sketch on a postcard made from handmade paper from India that was stainded with coffe before the watercolor was applied. This is my spinning wheel and chair. When I was 9 years old I had angora rabbits and I harvested their wool and I took spinning lessons from a woman named Mary Stock. She had a studio in her barn where the sheep were below and while you were there taking you lesson you could hear the sheep walking around down below you. It was kind of relaxing in a way. My mother ordered this spinning wheel and chair from New Zealand and spent weeks finishing the wood and putting it together in our basement so that she could surprise me with it on Christmas. I still have these and I will charish them always. The love that went into not only getting and putting this together for me but the love and patience of a mother for her 9 year old to have such interests is the greatest gift a mother could give. For that I thank you mom.

San Fran for the weekend

When Brian decided to take a day off of work and go to San Fran for the weekend I got right on the computer to look up and find what I would like to see while there. I was so excited to learn that there were sea lions there at Pier 39 that you could go and see. That was number one on my list. I just knew that I could get good pictures of them and I was right. I took a ton of pictures and some are even becoming watercolor paintings already and we've only been home a couple days!
Another place that we wanted to go and see was the Aquarium. Just to be able to walk through the tanks and really feel as though you are under water was magical. I also got to pet a leaopard shark and other animals while there. How cool is that?
We took Beanie with us on our trip and when we got to Fort Point they said that they didn't allow dogs but if I kept her in the bag that she was being carried around in that she could go in. She was great and never tried to crawl out. Just being able to stand at the top of the fort and look out over the bay was incredible. We had forgotten what it felt like to be close to water. The Golden Gate was a wonderful sight to behold, especially when you are right next to it.
While walking around at night we were treated to a wonderful view of the city from Pier 39 and I just couldn't resist shooting a picture. All the lights and the clouds overhead really gave you a great atmosphere.
While over at Fort Point you can really get a good view of the city. There was so much to do and so many places to eat and drink that you would have to spend at least a month there to really get a chunk of it done. We did so many things just in the couple days that we were there. We really had a wonderful time. It was so nice just to get away for a bit. I have tons of pictures but can only show a couple here. Hope you enjoy them.

Pastel Friend

This little guy was sitting on my fence out my sliding door one Fall day and just sat there while I took his picture. He almost seemed to be posing for me. This is only the second pastel painting that I've done and he really came out well, it's an 8x10. I originally thought of putting a background on it but once the bird was done I felt that it looked better without it. The background color is just the pastelboard that I drew it on. If I had known that I wasn't going to put a background on it I would have changed it's location on the board so that there wasn't so much empty space. I really like it however, and pastel is turning out to be so much fun and looks so well that I am now working on my third pastel painting, it's going to be a bit of a landscape. I'll post as soon as it's done.

Illustration Friday....Cats

This is Tristan, my mother's cat. He practically lives on her bed and of course sleeps on anything that you put in front of him. I took a photo of him sleeping on her books years ago and knew it had to become a piece of art. I drew this in colored pencil and it turned out far better than what was in my head when I started. He's so sweet when he's sleeping. Aren't they all?

First Pastel

On the way home from seeing the Petroglyphs East of Fallon we came across a very unusual sunset. I snapped some pictures of it knowing that no one would ever believe what it looked like. In this comming year I have decided to start working with pastels. Well, this is my very first pastel painting. The original is 11x14 done on Ivy Canson Mi-Teintes paper using the rough side. I used a variety of pastel brands. I don't know that the painting is really a success but I know I had so much fun in doing it. I don't know what my next one will be but I'll let you know when it's done.

The tree is up!!!

The weekend after Thanksgiving I felt the need to put up my Christmas Tree. Now this tree has been sitting in it's box for over three years waiting to be taken out and put to use. I purchased this tree at CVS for a mere $3.50. It was on clearance after the holidays and even though at the time I had no room to put it up I couldn't pass up the good deal. I now have a house and a room that it will fit in, so here it is! It currently doesn't have a topper but that will be taken care of soon hopefully. My tree needed some ornaments so we went to Target and got some small red and gold balls and some tiny snowmen and other winter and christmas characters. They are just enough to add a little something without being overwhelming.

I hope that you enjoy the pictures. You Library Ladies I know will like the pictures. It really makes me feel good to know that you guys still keep tabs on me and enjoy my work. I love you guys! See you all at Christmas!

Happy Turkey Day!!!!!

I woke up at my usual time, just after 6:30 and I got ready to start cooking. We had a 21 pound turkey, even though it was to just be the two of us. We wanted lots of leftovers and also to be able to fit all the stuffing in the bird. Stuffing, of course, is the most important part! He we in the oven by 8:30 and we were off and waiting!

After waiting for five hours and getting all the fixings ready, the bird was finally done cooking and ready to eat. Oh, he smelled so wonderful. This was the first time that we had not been home with our family for Thanksgiving so we were not sure how all the food was to turn out. When we finally did sink our teeth into it all, it was all worth it! Everything tasted wonderfully. We couldn't have made it any better if we tried.

Beanie wanted to know if there was a place at the table for her. She doesn't understand that she's allergic to poultry so we reserved a nice juicey beef bone for her to eat for her Thanksgiving dinner.
Finally at the end of the day, bellies full and brains tired, it was time to put all the food away. We have enough leftovers to feed us for quite a while. It was all so tastey though that we won't mind eating it.

Thanksgiving this year was different for me. This was my first time away from home for the holiday, but it went better than I had expected. I spent the day in contact with my mother and family over the phone and we sent pictures back and forth through e-mail. I was as close to them as I could be. Christmas is just around the corner and I'll be home for that one!

Some more paintings!

This is a 5x7 watercolor painting I did of early morning fog over our local golf course. This painting will be given to my Grandparents at Thanksgiving dinner by my mother since I will not be able to attend this year. I think that they will enjoy it.
This is a 4x6 watercolor of a bay in Oregon. I was captivated by this particular area because of the great sense of peace and quiet that it gave off. I could have sat there for hours just soaking it all in.
This is a 5x7 watercolor of early morning fog also. The fence against the colors of the morning is what caught my eye here. The lighting was so dramatic that I just had to paint it.

I hope that you like these paintings. I haven't finished anymore new ones. I have been working on other things, but as soon as I get something new I'll be sure to share with you all.

Sunset Watercolor

Here is a watercolor painting that I did while mom was here visiting. The original is only 4x6. This is the view standing on a bridge over the Truckee River looking East to Lake Tahoe at sunset. The colors at night are so captivating that you have to paint it or it would feel like such a waste. I have another little painting that is almost finished from Oregon. It's done in close to the same colors. I'll post it when it's finished.
Enjoy!

A Glimpse of Oregon

This was the view from our hotel balcony. Since we didn't check in till after midnight, our first impression of Portland was in the dark. It was nice to feel the humidity in the air. I had gotten used to the dry air here in Nevada and had forgotten how nice it was for my nose to breath moist air again.







This was my first impression on the Pacific Coast. The water was so clean and blue and not a piece of trash anywhere to be seen. The rocks out in the water were so huge! In this area was were they filmed the movie the goonies, for those of you who have seen it.








The woods are so lush and green. Water drips off of the trees and moss grows everywhere! Even in the city moss grows on the sidewalks! It's hard to take it all in just how green everything is. I don't know how you could walk around in the woods with every inch covered with layer after layer of plant life.













Brian and I explored the coast to dicover that starfish where everywhere! We had such a wonderful time climbing all over the rocks and looking in every little crack to see what we could find.








Here are just two of the hundreds of starfish that we saw. They ranged in color from yellow, to orange, to purple. I picked on up that looked like someone had set it up on a very tall rock all by itself. I took it and put it next to some others. They feel alot harder than they look. They are stiff and pokey!
What a wonderful time we had. Oh, I can't wait to go back.
More pictures to come later!

Wonderful Visit!

Words cannot describe the wonderful time that I had while my mother and Barb were here. Since they were here for a full week we really had time to see wonderful sights and also had time to just sit around and paint postcards to send back home. Moving all the way out here from family, sometime I forget what it feels like to just be able to sit with other creative people and do the things we love to do.
Some of just the many things we saw included spawning salmon up at Lake Tahoe. There is a river that they have made a viewing area where you walk down into the ground and view the salmon through glass and watch them swim on by. None of us thought that we would ever get to see that. Brian and I had only discovered this place through his coworker a week before Mom and Barb came out. What timing!
Here is proof that we did relax and just take time to reflect on the day's adventures. Here is the table that we sat at with mom and Barb working hard at creating paintings to send back home to family. Yes I painted as well, somone had to take the picture!
Mom and Barb trying to take it all in. I was able to drive them along route 89, south of where I live and show them all the sights. It's a really nice drive because every time you round another corner or crest another hill the scenery changes and you see completely new things. It's hard to express just how far you can see. I hope this picture conveys even the slightest scense of how it looks.
On their first full day here we drove all the way around Lake Tahoe. This picture was taken while standing on a bridge over the Truckee River looking East towards Lake Tahoe at sunset.
This was our last pull off of the day as the light was almost gone. We all got out of the car to take it all in. It was rather cold at this point so we didn't stay as long as we might have liked. This is Lake Tahoe on a cloudy cool evening, looking Southwest.
I have so many pictures that I just chose a few to post for now. I will post more in the next couple days.
For those of you that heard Brian and I went to Oregon the othere week I will be posting photos from that trip. Oregon is where I need to live. It's so beautiful there that just a vacation will not due.