A Pencil Bouquet

The summer has officially ended at our home and I am looking forward to getting back into a routine of some sort.  I say summer has ended because our daughter started Kindergarten this past Tuesday.  “Yippee” I say with a hoop and a holler and some jumping around – oh wait, I am supposed to be sad, sullen and somber – FAT CHANCE!!!!!  This new adventure has been long awaited by our family.  Our daughter could not have been more excited.  I do not look at this as the beginning of her last 13 years at home but as a challenge to put forth our best effort to mold her, guide her and give her the best place to fall.  This journey will be exciting and I cannot wait to see how it all unfolds.  The adventures of school have begun.  Oh, have I mentioned that she attends a “university model” school?  She attends school 3 days a week and is “home schooled” the other two.  I guess this will be more of a challenge on my part.  I am starting a library of helpful resources on this method of teaching and any advice or good luck wishes would be much appreciated.  Or, just a whop over the head to tell me that I have lost my mind.  The best part of this entire thing is what our daughter calls her new school, “Fake Macademy” (Faith Academy).  We get a kick out of it every time she attempts to show her school spirit “Go Fake Macademy Flames”!

The innocent face of destruction.

Yes, I am still typing on my half keyed keyboard – see previous post.  I hope your summer has been full of beautiful sun rises (humid as hell), comfortable yet sunny afternoons (hotter that hell) and cool, breezy evenings (again, hotter than hell).  Now that I got my frustration out, I feel so much better sitting inside where it is a comfortable 74 degrees.

We have been dog sitting my parent’s puppy, Ziggy, while they are on vacation.  Oh the joy of having a puppy again.  Our two dogs are 8 and 10 years of age – respectively in their prime in human years!  Needless to say, we are out of practice when it comes to having a puppy.  The big stinker LOVES diapers – clean and dirty.  The diaper thieving has got to stop.  She has hidden a dirty diaper somewhere in our daughter’s room.  It is HORRIBLE!!!  We have searched high and low and it is no where to be found.  We may have to evacuate.  Along with diapers, she also loves less stinky things like socks, anything that resembles a shoe, toy trains (which are ALL OVER the house – our son’s favorite word is choo-choo), bars of soap, rugs, and anything else human related. 

Our alpha dog is a 4 pounder and she sure holds her ground with this monstrous puppy.  It has been pretty entertaining watching her alpha-batize Ziggy.  Ziggy on the other hand is in love with our 10 year old male lab.  “Love at first snarl” is what I call it.  Our lab tolerates her like a junior high girl’s crush on the high school quarter back.  You just want to tell the poor thing to let it pass, play with friends her own age and be patient – her time will come.  Just call me the dog sage or completely insane for taking on a puppy larger than our 2 year old son.

This is a picture of what I am typing on as we speak . . . my son’s new hobby.  He has discovered the joy of popping off my laptop’s keys.  Seriously, could he have not found that writing on walls or himself, trying to pop the electrical outlet covers off, pouring glue on the dogs, or his sister’s stuff more enticing?  So, now the time it takes for me to type anything has tripled.  And to make it worse, I can’t put the suckers back on.  I guess a new computer is in the horizon.  Happy typing.

"Sunset Cactus"
6"x12"
Oil on Gessoboard

You gotta love waking up only to see a weekly forecast of 105, 104, 103, 101, 102, 100 & 100.  Awesome (in the most sarcastic way possible)!!!!!  This is what we are enjoying here in the lovely, dry, windy and HOT central Texas.  With a family of fair skinned kiddos, my self included, we have switched over to the grave yard shift and now only come out to play when the moon is up.  Needless to say, this is not my favorite season. 

If you are a sun worshiper and enjoy the beautiful Texas summers, then head back over to Lago Vista for a fun filled day full of excitement.  The great town of LV is having a Parade in Memorial Park down Dawn Drive on July 2nd.  The theme is “Let Freedom Ring”.  The parade will take place in the morning.  After the parade, head over to Bar K Park for Live Music, Food, Drink, Vendor and Craft Booths, Family Games, and a Silent Auction (my painting).  The events will last into the evening.  Fireworks will begin after dark.  Don’t forget, the activities are on July 2nd in Lago Vista, TX.

Come out to remember those who have served to protect us all, celebrate our freedoms, and to enjoy each other’s company.

Hope to see you there with lots of sunscreen and a hat!

Go to www.lagovistajuly4.org for more information.

I have a new fascination . . . . my brand new baby Lady Gouldian Finches.  I love these little birds.  We are dog people and have never had birds before.  For some reason I got hooked on these little guys and HAD to have them.  They are gorgeous!  Vibrant purple breast, yellow belly, turquoise neck and tail, bright green back and wings, and the most beautiful red head.  These guys make me laugh – they fly around, sing and puff their feathers.  Very interesting to watch.  My husband on the other hand was not too excited.  I told him that I love to hear birds sing and chirp and he suggested I get a CD with bird noises.  The only thing I am a little weirded out about is that they eat hard boiled eggs.  That’s just not right!  Eating your own kind!  And to top it off, they like it with fresh broccoli mixed in.  One good thing from this little entrée is that my daughter now LOVES to eat hard boiled eggs.  Except she calls the yolk the “baby” and throws it away.  Hopefully you guys will be seeing some of my bird paintings soon if the little guys will sit still long enough for me to take a picture of them!  Note:  the picture above is not one of my birds - that picture is from the internet and way too professional for my picture taking!!!

"Texas Derby"
6"x8"
Oil on canvas


My March charity is waaaaaaaay late - like 3 months!!!!  We have been busy/lazy in the "spring" mode.  We have worked around the house, yard, studio and . . . . just having fun with the kids outside.  My donation sabbatical is over and I am now back into the swing of things.  I will speed up the past 3 months of donations pretty quickly to get caught up.

March's painting goes to the Lago Vista, TX Chamber of Commerce Hill Country Dayz.  Hill Country Dayz is a festival being held on May 28th in Lago Vista at Bar K Park.  Hill Country Dayz is a day long event for folks of all ages.  They will feature; Live Music, Food & Drink, Fun & Games, Vendors, Silent Auction (my painting), Turnback Canyon Regatta & More!!!  A portion of all proceeds from Hill Country Dayz will go towards the Lago Vista Elementary School PTO's Playground Fundraiser.  If you live in the Lago Vista area head out to Bar K Park for a fun filled day.

Go to www.hillcountrydayz.org for more information.

Please keep sending in your charity nominations.

I am now selling my art online on Etsy.  The store name is heddy7.  Etsy is a web site where you can buy/sell handmade goods.  Check it out at www.etsy.com/shop/heddy7  I have already sold two paintings.  Yippee!!!  I still have a bunch of paintings to post, so please keep checking back in to see if there is something you are interested in.  I have had so much fun posting that I have slacked on painting.  Yikes - not good.  I better get my booty back in the studio or there will be nothing for me to post about except what I attempted to make for dinner and how I can put off doing laundry for an entire week.  

I will post my March charity soon.

I recently painted two wall murals for a local church.  I have NEVER painted a wall mural before and was pretty nervous.  I asked to be put on the prayer chain – if that tells you anything!  The only saving grace is that I could just paint over it if it was horrible.  The first room was a “Starry Night” theme with giant animated stars.  The second room was an “In the Garden” theme room with larger than life bugs, frogs and flowers.  Pretty intimidating to be honest but it really turned out cute.  Thank goodness it was for nursery and toddler aged kiddos – not too judgmental at that age. 

Please keep sending in your charity nominations.

This wonderful article was featured in our local newspaper two weeks ago.  The Highlander in Marble Falls, TX did a great job!  I was really excited to get the exposure.  Thanks again Kit for writing such a complementary article.

I am in the middle of doing a huge wall mural.  I will post pictures and hopefully a video (if I can figure out how to do it) soon!  It has been a nice break from the canvas. 

Keep sending in your charity nominations.

"3 Lambs"
5"x7" Oil on Gessoboard


Happy belated Valentine’s Day.  I hope you got stuffed with lots of chocolate!  My daughter had her pre-K V-day party that included a chocolate fountain!!!  Unfortunately I had to miss because my son and I had the stomach bug.  I would have loved to have seen 4 year olds playing in the chocolate fountain.  Wow the teacher is brave!  Luckily I wasn’t there for clean up.

My February donation painting is going to a good friend’s nomination – her daughter’s school.  Providence Classical Academy in Abilene, TX.  Providence is having a “Great Getaways Gala” April 14, 2011.  The funds raised at the event will be used to support the school.

Providence Classical Academy follows the Trivium method of teaching.  “The Trivium incorporates classical education by following the medieval model of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, corresponding with the developmental stages of childhood.  These the three phases of classical education are known as the Trivium.  The curriculum includes ancient and modern history, classical literature, math and the sciences, the history of art and music, and Latin studies.”

Check out their web site for more info at www.providenceclassical.net