Oct31Art

When I was a kid in grammar school (that's what kindergarten thru 7th grade was called back then… high school was 8-12… no such thing as 'middle' school) we used to have Halloween carnivals, each class would set up booths and in the classrooms (it was a small school, one room per class) the second graders always had musical chairs and/or a cake walk.  The seventh grade would do a haunted room with the lights off and spooky stuff.  In the auditorium there was dunking for apples, and kisses from teachers for 5cents… and crafts for sale.  There were contests for best costume.  I never went door to door for candy…

Oct30Art

Went to the Dr today, adjusting my diabetes meds and got a flu shot.  I'm feeling a little achy tonight, probably from the flu shot… so I think I'm off to bed early.

Oct29Art

Beau is improving every day... he is practically back to his old self.  Ron installed a new front door latch that you only need to push or pull to open.  It works great and I really think I'll like it a lot.  I have limited movement due to arthritis and this will be even better than the level we had before.  First lesson of the Jane LaFazio class today, haven't done the exercise yet because I was waiting on a new large sketchbook for the class.  UPS delivered my package to my neighbor, who didn't bring it over until later this evening.  Must have been a different UPS man, as our regular guy would never have done that... always nice to get new art supplies.

Oct28Art

The leaves are gorgeous these days, as is the weather... I love the Fall.  Only took a couple of hours this morning to get the car fixed.... that and more $$ than I wanted to spend today.

Oct27Art

Our entire day was spent shopping, groceries... then car parts.  One of my car head lights went out, and Ron then noticed I have an oil leak that needs to be addressed ASAP... akkk  Means I'm going to be in car dealership waiting rooms tomorrow instead of work... I'd rather work.
I did finish another attempt at crashing waves this morning... it turned out ok I think.

Oct26Art

Today was a hockey day, did a little work on a painting this morning while Ron worked.  We met for lunch and then went to a 2pm game of our team's retired veterans (Rich Viave is in his 70s and still made 3 goals today).  What a fun game they had, it was good to see them on the ice again.  Home to check on the dogs, and then our opening home game... big crowd, fun seeing our hockey friends again.
Beau is doing MUCH better... eyes bright, he's eating and drinking and keeping it all down... he's not 100% but I don't think he'll need to go to the emergency clinic after all.

Oct25Art

Beau has an upset stomach again... Ron took him to the vet after work.  He perked up after that visit and actually ate a little chicken breast chunks... so we kept him home and we'll decide tomorrow if he needs to go to the emergency clinic tomorrow.  He's had these stomach issues before and usually gets over it, the danger is him getting dehydrated... so we have to watch him carefully and make sure he drinks water.

Oct24Art

Went to the Citadel tonight for a talk on economics by Dr. Sobel... he is such an engaging speaker.  I wish I'd had a professor of econ like him when I was a kid.  Tonight I learned the difference between Debt and Deficits and what exactly the Fed is doing and what the Debt Ceiling issue is really about.  My head is spinning. Here's funny sad video he played for us tonight.

Oct23Art

Wild ride the last couple of days... started yesterday morning when I clicked on 'update'... and Apple proceeded to take over my computer for over two hours loading a new OS X operating system.  Bad enough it made me 45 mins late to work (I couldn't sign on because of it).  At the end of the day I tried to scan my journal page and discovered my scanner wouldn't work.  On chat with Apple/Adobe/Epson support ended up buying an upgrade of my Photoshop program and well after midnight my printer/scanner still wasn't working.  So Thursday morning dawned, and I used my external back-up drive to restore my computer to it's state before the install... all is well now.  BEWARE Apple owners you may have to buy new software and hardware if you update to OS/X.

Oct22Art

We went to Parson Jack's Cafe after work tonight, I love their Pizza and it's very quiet on Tuesday nights.  Stopped by Lowes afterwards to pick up a couple of things.  We broke down over the weekend and bought a 60 watt LED light bulb... it is so bright we decided to invest in another one for the other bathroom.  We keep the light on in the hall bathroom 24/7 so I'll see how long this LED bulb lasts. The twisty mercury filled florescent bulbs don't last any longer than incandescents in my opinion... stay tuned for the verdict on the LEDs.

Oct21Art

It isn't easy being green, Kermit used to say.  My daughter grew up on the Muppets, they are partly the reason she could read at the age of four.  I used to read to her every night when she was little, her favorite books she knew by heart, you couldn't skip a word much less a page.   She would even read some of them to me, and she'd proclaim her ability to read.  One day when she was being persistent in her assertion that she could read, and I was trying to tell her, no you have 'memorized' your favorite stories, that is not the same as being able to read. Long story short I told her we'd go to the book store and pick out a new book, that she didn't have... and if she could read me the first two pages I'd buy her the new book and agree that she could indeed read.  I bought the book, she did read it to me... I was stunned... and pleased to buy her a new book.

Oct20Art

Ron woke up early, and mopped the kitchen before making coffee and fixing me breakfast.... and waking me up.  I may sleep late more often.  He gave his old Jeep CJ, to a friend who wanted to restore it.  Ron just spends so much time working he doesn't have time for it.

Oct19Art

What does a black eyed Susan have to do with a Wooden Boat show in Georgetown SC you might wonder?  Ron and I took our motorcycles to Georgetown today for the boat show, we drove through the Francis Marion National forest to get there, the ditches and woods were covered with black eyed Susan's for about 50 miles.  It was a fun trip, and we got to see some beautiful boats and flowers.

Oct18Art

I'm seeing candy corn in the stores these days... I loved the little triangles and the ones in the shape of pumpkins.  My grandmother used to keep bowls filled with candy corn this time of the year and I used to pig out on it when I was at her house.  Sadly, I can't have it now, it is pure sugar, and a little food coloring... so not something a diabetic should even 'think' about.  I do think about them, and I can draw them (from memory)... this way they are totally sugar free.

Oct17Art

Well the Federal government opened for business today... they managed to aggravate people visiting Washington DC to see the World War II memorial (shame on them for that) but otherwise nothing around here was different except a few less cars on the roads. 

Oct16Art

Went to Mt. Pleasant tonight to hear Leon Winn, he's running for Congress.  Very dynamic speaker,  a David ready and able to take on Goliath.
Had a crockpot cooked roast for dinner, it was so good.  Anyone have a good recipe for fried pork chops?  That's what we're having tomorrow and I have never done fried pork chops.

Oct15Art

Sneezing, coughing, head ache... is it allergies or a cold?  Today was not a good day for me.  October is usually my worst month of the year, in the past it is when I'd get pneumonia and/or bronchitis.  I got the pneumonia shot and haven't had it since.  Ragweed blooming is probably what is making me miserable today.  If I run a fever I'll go to the Dr. otherwise I just whine and complain a lot... it works for me :-)

Oct14Art

Ragweed and Goldenrod season is the same, and they both are in bloom.  I see them both on the sides of the road... and I see the results of the rag weed, itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing... I can't wait for them both to die off.

Oct13Art

Slept late, breakfast in bed, played with Ron's new radio controlled truck (a birthday present).  I threw a little paint on some paper, and did a couple of loads of laundry. Ron cooked dinner and went grocery shopping with me.  That's it a slow Sunday in the sLow Country.

Oct12Art

We dressed appropriately but my feet still got cold tonight.  It was a good game and our goalie lasted in the shoot out thru 7 rounds, which was was better than I expected he'd do.  Our power play stinks, Greenville scored 2 short handed goals tonight.
Did a painting this morning, but when I removed the masking... discovered some blobs that I really don't like... so I'll try again.  This is another Birgit O'Connor DVD exercise.

Oct11Art

Preseason hockey started tonight, boy I forgot how COLD the ice rink is, so did Ron.  I wore a long sleeved t-shirt, wished I'd brought a sweat shirt and my gloves.  Ron actually had goose bumps on his arms, since he has to get up at 3am to go to work tomorrow we left at the end of the second period.   The Stingrays were winning 2 to 1, hope they hang on an win the game but a 1 point lead is no guarantee in hockey.

Oct10Art

Pre-season hockey game tomorrow... finally.. just in time for Ron's birthday tomorrow.  He's going to be sixty tomorrow... all birthday's with a zero in them are significant these days.  The leaves are starting to change, the dogwood tree leaves are a brownish red color, the maple tree has mottled leaves, mostly green with bits of yellow and orange.  The crepe myrtle is loosing it's leaves while one of my hibiscus bushes produced it's very first bloom today.  The other two hibiscus production of flowers has finally started to taper off, yet today the yellow one had 5 blooms, I don't expect them to keep it up much longer. To prune or not to prune are the discussions we are having these days.... I'm for pruning, Ron is for letting them be.  

Oct09Art

The cool weather continues, at least the rain cleared out and we had a sunny day today. May have to put my flip flops up, and wear real shoes :-(  I wear flip flops until my feet get cold, and today my feet were cold.

Oct08Art

Saw this Navajo proverb on Facebook... I really liked it on a lot of levels... so I had to include it in my journal.  Then I looked around for Navajo art I could use, found this bear which I almost got correct.

Oct07Art

Long day today... I hate driving in the rain, and it did nothing but rain today uggg.  Johnny Carson was one of my favorite late night show hosts,  haven't really gotten into watching anyone else since him.

Oct06Art

Can you see the ghost of the lizard from yesterday?  I can... I really do not like the paper in this sketchbook, don't think I'll be getting another one.  Lots of artists love these Stillman & Birn sketchbooks.  I have tried an Epsilon and this is a Beta... I was not particularly impressed with either one, nor am I impressed with the price... so I'm done with them.

Misty Still Water painting...

Finished this today.  It is based on a lesson in Birgit O'Connor's DVD on Artist Network TV.  I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out.

Oct05Art

Saw this interesting lizard on our gray garbage can this afternoon... Ron seemed to think it was the same as all our little green one, and just changed to gray in color because of where he was... but our green lizards don't have a stripe down their back like this one did.  We're seeing lots of lizards and frogs this Fall, they seem to love hanging out on our motorcycles... so much so that I now check for frogs before leaving the yard on the scooter.  We're off to a town hall meeting with Congressman Mark Sanford tonight.

Oct04Art

Haven't done a drawing of Beau in a while, as he's gotten older (he's 16 now) he spends most of the day sleeping beside me while I work on the computer.  It is pretty easy now to sketch him, but still he knows somehow that I'm looking at him... just a little too intently... I barely finished this drawing before he looked at me, got up and left to lay in the hall just out of my line of sight.  Smart little dog, doesn't want me drawing him LOL.

Oct03Art

Ron made pork ribs on the grill tonight, so good I ate way too much. While he was cooking I plucked a leaf off the crepe myrtle to paint.  I got it too dark, it is actually a bright yellow orange on one side.  

Oct02Art

Whoot whoot it's Hump Day! Sadly I didn't see that ad even once today... it is one of my favorites.  So now that I'm done with my trees, deciding what to draw is a struggle.  Today ice tea, a staple in the South.  I used to drink it loaded with sugar, but since I found out I'm diabetic, now I drink it un-sweetened.  I don't particularly like artificial sweeteners, so I've developed a taste for tea straight, a bit of lemon but otherwise, just tea and ice.  

Oct01Art

Went shopping tonight, pumpkins everywhere... and what did I spy... Christmas trees (artificial of course)... Just makes you shake your head.
The US government shutdown today, because the Democrat controlled Senate hasn't passed a budget in over 4 years.  The Republicans in the house, tried to take advantage of the temporary 'continuing resolution' but Harry Reid would have none of it, he'd rather put 800,000 government workers out of work than do his job and pass a budget.  Right now there is plenty of blame to pass around, but the real issue in my opinion is that the Senate Democrats need to pass a budget and be done with it.