Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Spring flowers!!

Wishing you sunshine and spring flowers!!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Spring is on its way....


At the end of February I wanted to work in my sketchbook, but I was at a loss for what I wanted to do. I didn't want to take on 'too much' so I had an idea. At the time there were 4 more days in the month, so I drew 4 small squares on the same page and made a deal with myself that I only had to fill one square each day. That way I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed either at coming up with ideas or doing all the work to fill a whole page each day. Just one little square...  This is what I came up with for the week...

Was it one of my best pages? No, but it did let me 'dip my toes in the water again' and I had fun. That's what its all about anyway... Happy sketching!!
P.S. Get out and enjoy the arrival of Spring!
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Monday, March 4, 2013

Coral Blossoms of the Flowering Quince

A delightful sign of Spring is finding some vibrant coral colored blossoms of a Flowering Quince. My first encounter was while walking on a nearby path in the winter. The vibrant coral blossoms against the barren winter landscape along the path really caught my attention. What a delightful discovery! 

What signs of spring have come along your path?

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Another Kitchen Boo-boo



About 30 years ago we bought our first “Microwave”. They were very expensive at the time and there were some health concerns about using them. Anticipating having a family, we thought that the convenience would help us out. Over the years our microwave saw more and more use. 

Probably about 10 years ago the simple handle on the door broke. It was a mechanical button ¾” by ½” that broke off – it just fell to the counter. The rest of the microwave was still functional, but we couldn’t open the door without the button. I waited a few days thinking my husband would fix it. But, then I had an idea…. I went upstairs and came down with a “Bandaid”. I secured the button to the handle with the Bandaid which allowed for the push in/out action. Bingo – it worked and it lasted several years. When the Bandaid finally wore out we replaced it with another. Finally a couple of years ago the motor for the microwave bit the dust and we were forced to buy another. 

Fast forward to last week… with our newer microwave we suddenly had a familiar problem. The larger “button” to open the microwave fell to the counter. This is a much larger button, about 3” to 1.5”. I chuckled when I saw my husband disappear upstairs and return with a couple of Bandaids… This larger button is now held in place by 2 Bandaids. 

Who would have thought Bandaids would be so useful in “home repair”…..    

P.S. The use of "Another..." is a follow-on to my previous post ("Oops") about another kitchen tool. What will it be next?



Thursday, February 7, 2013

Evening touchpoint...

I noticed an interesting sight in the evening sky as I was driving home from work the other day. A bright sunset caught my attention, sort of like my Dad tapping me on the shoulder to say "hi". As I pulled off the freeway, I reached for my phone to record a picture to use in painting this memory page. I miss Dad very much, but I'm grateful and I find myself smiling every time I think of him sending me special 'sunsets' from above. I love these special moments! Thanks Dad! I love you!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Oops

Ever have one of those days when you're going along, happy and busy as can be, and all of a sudden life throws you an "Oops"?  This happened to me recently when I was making a batch of Banana Bread - using my favorite kitchen tools. My oops was that one of my long time favorite kitchen tools 'bit the dust'. How sad! Although my son was eager for me to 'throw it away' and reduce the count by one, I wasn't inclined to move so fast. I wanted to do something - to reflect on the happy times that I've had with this favorite 'kitchen toy'. Tonight I finally made the time to reflect .....