Home

I'm enjoying my summer of denial.
I'm spending a fair amount of time denying that I'll be back at work full time rather soon.
I'm spending time denying that my boy will be packing up for his first year of college far, far away in a couple of weeks.
I'm also spending time denying that my garage needs a good clean out.

This means we've had days of indoor reorg, cooking, movies and walks with dogs and now, finally, some art.

I'm taking this super fun online class at CreativeBug with the quite wonderful Pam Garrison. A class on Creative Sketchbooking with the first exercises intended to help you free up art ideas. So up my alley.

Here's my first non-dominant hand ink and paint process.

My girlie was sitting along and drawing along with me and she urged me to try a bird like Pam's. I love birds (see blog title) and kinda laugh at the outcome. Fun. Fun. Fun.

I see a bit of influence from the art journal peops I tend to follow. And a lot of me. Leaves and hearts seem to show up quite a bit. And blueberries.

You should try this course! I don't know how I missed out on the VALUE of Creative Bug. Monthly price ($4.95?) and seemingly unlimited opportunities to learn and play
Even the amazing Yao Cheng teaches watercolor. Really how did I miss this?

Go! Find something and create.

A little pretty for a Sunday morning.

Good morning.













I'm taking a class, very soon, with Mary Ann Moss. So, I've been scooting around her blog and eyeing her vision, when I came across a link to Yao Cheng's 5 tutorials. The link wasn't working, but I loved what Mary Ann shared, so I keep hunting. (Here's a link to Yao's beautiful blog. I think she just got married. Happy Married Life to you Yao!) I finally found the tutorials on the Alison Show website. Here's the first of the 5 Yao Cheng's watercolor tutorials.

Pretty inspiring.
So when I was doing some creative calisthenics this morning (thank you Dina Wakely). This little blossom popped up.

I'm still new and I'm learning about how I love layering. And round sable brushes. I'm also learning that watercolor paper is better than the tags I "work out" with, but practice is what it is and I love the tags for this! (I got my tags for about $32 on Ebay. That would be 3.2 cents each. 30 cents a day. Thank you very much.)

I'm loving this June gloom summer sweetness.
At the table.
With the colors.
Exploring.

Ahh, the Bergamot

Like many, many people my only understanding of the Bergamot was some essential oil memory. An oil sold with the likes of Patchouili oil. It had something to do either with hippies or massage therapists.

Thankfully, life provides experiences (and a  foraging neighbor) so my understanding has been refined.

Stick with me here.

In the early 2000s, a lovely gardening man I worked with, used to bring small vases of Freesia into my office in winter. At first I just thought they were beautiful. Over time, I realized that they were beautiful and fragrant and drove me to want a cup of tea. And, as my unintentional explorations led, I found my desire fulfilled in Earl Grey. I've become quite an Earl Grey connoisseur, I enjoy the subtler, not to perfumey types and I like the hint of Bergamot. (See how we came full circle - wait there's more).

I was content with my tea and freesia experiences. Then this summer my friend, the foraging friend, introduced me to a beautiful line of pure and delicious olive oils. They are tres special. The way the olives are harvested and crushed makes for a very complete flavor. Garlic is crushed with the olives (for the garlic olive oil) rather than garlic oils being added to the olive oil. No infusion. Full on flavor marriage. You can learn about the oils here. I'm never going back!

In the end, the flavors hold up in cooking or preparations really well and that pleases me.

One day, I was looking at the Bergamot label and was truly surprised to learn that Bergamot isn't extracted from actual hippies, but from the Bergamot, a citrus fruit grown in Calabria, Italy or perhaps France.

Finally, yesterday, Mary handed me an actual Bergamot from one from her travels. Yes, it looks like a lemon and your knowledge of citrus has probably made your mouth water as if to smell or taste the sour. But the fragrance is intense and beautiful and clean and freesia like.

I have to cut into it and taste it. It's said to be more bitter than the grapefruit, which seems impossible with its beautiful scent. I plan, however to wait. I want to leave it on the counter in my kitchen and breath in all the aroma this beauty has to offer.

New Steps in this New Year

As I go in this new year, I'm thinking that there are things I want to include and things I'd like to leave behind.
Here's the list so far:

Include

Walk
Read
Write
Food blog (bring fun recipes and thoughts, hmmm, seems like this might be one already, sometimes)
Plan a Weekly Menu and eat at home at least five nights a week
A Square Foot garden
Family game nights
Listening to my kiddos
Encourage others' faith, hopes and dreams
Sleep
Movie dates with my dear husband no less than 2 nights a month

Discard

Unplanned spending (the 3 day waiting rule can apply to me too!)
Clothes I'm not using
Sugar
Responding before taking the beat for thought
Anxious thought

I just may keep updating this list. I'll certainly be reporting on it.

Mother Daughter Sunflowers

Mother

Daughter

My girlie and I had the great pleasure of taking a little art class in the study of sunflowers in acrylics today. The breeze was blowing in the breezeway path as we listened to the instructor tell us how to do what she thought we were doing well. We loved being spoken to so gently. "That's it. Very nice. There you go." And then when I had a change in direction she helped me switch my focus and light source and I felt like I knew what I was doing. Which is a nice feeling.

We are enjoying the Sawdust Festival in Laguna like never before.