Good times...dare I say great times?

I'm sitting here looking into the yard laughing at my husband's attempt to catch every last plum without a bruise or squirrel bite. He wants to invent a gizmo for this - he's been talking about it for several years now - I better shut up about it though just in case it ends up being our golden goose.

I'm loving where we are in our life today. Its not perfect but its really good and the fact that I can take a moment to acknowledge that fact makes it great.

We have had the summer vacation "pick a card" plan in action for 3 days now and it is really been successful. On day one they pulled the SHOPPING card for the A.M. so they went to Home Depot and were allowed to get out of the cart and run freely - Woo Hoo! a big deal for our little guys and they went to the pool in the afternoon. On day two, they pulled the Wash the cars for AM and play with Aunt Pam for the afternoon. Today, they pulled Go for a hike and do a field guide scavenger hunt for the morning and in the afternoon they will be watering the garden with spoons, and other random objects. Since Tim is doing kid duty, he is loving it too. The kids are super enthusiastic and he has currency to get them to follow directions. "If you don't... you won't get to pick a card tomorrow."

I've been doing all kinds of fun things too. I finished assembling my quilt and sent in off to Back Porch Quilters to have it long arm quilted.

My old singer doesn't do quilting so I was happy to send it out. I feel so stinkin accomplished that I assembled this bad boy I can't stand it! It may very well be my most treasured creation. Its no masterpiece and I can see I'll have some seams to repair right out of the gate, but gosh darnit, I made a king size quilt! I am going to make drapes from the extra squares but first I have to get my remaining paintings completed for STILL LIFE.

I had to take an incomplete in this class due to some health issues - ended up being Trigeminal Neuralga which is now being treated and is MUCH IMPROVED! I was able to finish my photography class and pulled a B+ even with all the sick days but painting is a labor intensive activity that requires lots of time and concentration - something I could not do with my pain. Anyhow, I now have 2 weeks to complete 6 or 7 paintings. I jumped in yesterday feeling pretty darn good after sending off my quilt and I'm at the 1/2 way mark with a reflective silver assignment.

This is the set up

This is the painting at 50% complete

Today I go in and do my detail work, play with the color, texture, brush strokes and make adjustments to the layout. It's "a work in progress" but I'm trying to share the journey and check my ego at the door. It keeps getting in the way of learning which is the whole point. If I was an awesome painter I would not need the class.

Update: Here is the finished piece. I made a mistake using a lighter background which wants to come forward making the painting look flat. A super valuable error because after trying to fix the "flatness" with everything under the sun I was able to "see" the problem and now I "understand" creating depth a little better.

I'll also begin working on a new painting working with patterns. This is going to be a tedious project but I'm up for it. I'll be creating a set up including an object that has a pattern then replicating it as precisely as possible in my painting. The process requires both right and left brain activity. My bridge between the two hemispheres isn't a developed muscle/pathway so it will be a lot like doing sit-ups but the result is a more developed eye, a more responsive hand and the knowledge that I have completed it.

(This is not mine - this is done by an accomplished still life artist, Nancy Chaboun - AMAZING right!?)

I will also be preparing kits for camp which starts on June 30th. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE teaching art to these gals! This is my 3rd year with Camp Gen Israel and it is an honor to be on their faculty.

I want to share some of the great pictures from camping last weekend. We had such a great time! I cannot wait to go back - maybe mid-week so its less crowded and there is less partying. It didn't really bother us too much but they were pretty loud at night and we were woken up a couple times. I really can't complain because I was young once and acted the same way - maybe worse. For some reason you just don't know you are being loud when you have been drinking beer all day. Its weird like that.

We had a blast paddling down river but did not catch a single fish. It was one of those times where something always got in the way of focused fishing. Tim was pretty disappointed... which is hilarious but that is another story...