11-30-2019 Missing My Boys Already

Sure is quiet around here

now that they've gone home!

11-29-2019 Decorating Oma's Christmas Cookies

Decorating Oma's Christmas cookies

is always a fun (and messy) activity for the grandkids!

11-28-2019 Trimming the Tree

"Oma, you have the prettiest Christmas Tree

in the neighborhood!!!"

11-27-2019 Oma, I'M Bored

Circular story telling...

and music session

where we rotate instruments...

An exercise in listening to each other...

Let's paint some Nutcrackers!

  

THE Amazing J does a magic show!!!

Making and flying Paper Airplanes...

Teaching Opa how to draw dinosaurs...

Go outside and run off some energy...

11-26-2019 LMA Submission

LMA is having a contest right now

for sketch ideas for the future projects.

I suggested doing some cultural sketches...

like this sombrero and piñata for Hispanics.

Each culture has things to which they connect...

parasol and Mt. Fugi for Japan,

dragon and kimono for China,

decorated elephant for India,

menorah and dreidel for Israel, 

tribal art for Africa,

feathers and drums for Native Americans,

etc. etc. etc.

I suggested on the contest application form

that we could include one 'cultural' outline each month for a year.

10-25-2019 Cali Bowl

at Freshii

for breakfast

yum!

11-23-2019 Still On The Learning Curve

My white paint needed more water...

it was kind of 

gloppy

Also painted my first painting in

the moleskin journal

my DD gave me!

And of course, 

I made a big smear

on the very first painting...

so got that out of my system now!

Perfection...be gone!

"I'm not mad about it."

as Sarah would say!

https://www.letsmakeart.com/products/im-not-mad-about-it-t-shirt?_pos=1&_sid=778e4a41d&_ss=r

11-22-2019 Feathers

Feathers...

flying...

personal freedom...

rising above obstacles and challenges...

prayers between the physical and spiritual...

This particular feather painting lesson

is the whole reason I signed up

for the watercolor painting lessons!

I love feathers!

And, I love spending time with my dear daughter,

who paints with me

and brought all this to my attention

in the first place!

Here are my first three attempts...

think I will 'decorate' one of these.

11-21-2019 String Therapy

My weekly knitting buddies...

starting at left and going around the table...

Konnie Goldensoph, Judy Awkerman, Carol Lynn Buettner,

 Mary Jacalyn Nelson, Susan Haack, Nancy Dunn,

Nancy Shaffer, Kathleen Reams McCunn...

and next to Konnie, Anita Castro.

11-20-2019 Whew!!!

My heart sank

as I saw the condition

of this box upon delivery!!!

Inside is a precious Native American style flute!

Is it broken to smithereens???

Whew!!! It's all in one piece!

11-19-2019 Telephone Lines and Hydrangias

Today's paintings...

11-18-2019 Trying New Things

Super yummy!!!

Especially in coffee!!!!

Or, over ice cream!!!

One and done...

tried it once...

never going back.

11-17-2019 Adornments

I painted a 3rd pumpkin

and finally worked up the courage 

to add the adornments with white paint!

My next pumpkin I'll make darker orange

so the white adornments show up better.

Watercolor painting has a bit of a learning curve

but I'm slowly learning it!

11-16-2019 Finished!

11-15-2019 MKAL Progress

Here's my (slow) progress

on my MKAL (Mystery Knit ALong) hat...

only on clue #2 of 4.

11-14-2019 Nebulas

Today I tried painting a nebula...

which turned out looking like a wildfire instead...
(you can left click on the image to enlarge it)

So, I tried a second one...

which looked even MORE like a wildfire...

so I'm just going with it...

renaming them "wildfire".

11-13-2019 Record Temps

We are having record breaking temperatures. Brrrr.

And, this billboard caught my eye today...

Time to give... the girls... some attention.

11-12-2019 Phoenix

Today I did two paintings of my new grand-furbaby, Phoenix

as part of the "Let's Make Art Matter".

https://www.letsmakeart.com/blogs/make-art-matter

It's a program where you make a small painting on the 

back of a postcard made of watercolor paper

and send it to someone who needs cheering up.

One of these puppy paintings

is going to a 7 year old girl

in Wisconsin

who has an inoperable brain tumor

and loves puppies.

I hope this makes her smile.

 The other is going to my son.

11-11-2019 Another Fall Pumpkin

I'm trying some different things while painting this second pumpkin.

This one isn't quite as 'drippy.'

(See and compare with post from 11-7-2019)

11-10-2019 Missing Earring

On our last trip to Starved Rock State Park

I purchased some Native American style earrings.

I've been wearing them a lot since then

and discovered that one fell off somewhere and is lost.

So today, my dear, sweet DH

drove me back to Starved Rock State Park

to purchase another pair.

Love you so much, hubby!

Most of the beautiful colored leaves 

that we saw two weeks ago

are now on the ground.