Greetings blog readers —
It has been f—ing cold here! And today it’s snowing! Not supposed to add up to much, but definitely feels like winter here.
I’m working on a painting. I had started it months ago, and got ‘stuck’ on it. Didn’t feel like it was done, but didn’t know what to do with it. The other day the painting spoke to me so I’m working on it again. I’m not quite done with it yet so won’t post a photo just yet, but thought I would post some photos of past paintings I’ve done, in the meantime.
The first one is the first painting that I did when I got back into painting, almost 3 years ago to the day.
I didn’t title it, but it’s at the beach house. The only thing I had in my head was to just use blue and white paint – to make it “ocean-like.” I didn’t “think” when I painted it – I just let things flow. I was pretty happy with the result!
The next one is admittedly a copy of another painting. My friend Peter and I saw the original in a restaurant and both really liked it, so I surprise painted it for him, but with ‘my’ technique and colors.
First, here is the original:
And here is mine:
The next painting was done under similar circumstance – saw the original with Peter and did a version of it. First the original (this is a huge painting – like 3 ft by 4 ft big):
And now mine (not even half as big as the original):
Oops – just realized this isn’t of the ‘final final’ painting, but, close enough for this!
In other news, I went to the airport this week and got approved for Global Entry! Yay!
And when I went to get gas, I saw this little rock:
It said to post it on FB so I posted it on my page – didn’t know where else to post it – and one of my FB friends knew what the story is – “PRMD” is “Painted Rocks of Maryland” (I was at a gas station in Maryland – I live about 5 miles from the Mason-Dixon line). Apparently these little beauties are all over Maryland. And Pennsylvania also has something similar. I think it’s pretty cool!
I’ve also been testing out clothing for my trip to England/Norway (mostly the Norway part since it will be very snowy and cold). I have determined that my gloves are not enough for this trip, so I’ll be shopping for some next week. And for some reason I have obsessed about what pants I will have with me. I got some at an Eddie Bauer outlet that are water-resistant, stretchy and fleece-lined. Wore them for a walk yesterday in the 16oF weather. They worked pretty well. Also got a pair of Prana adventure pants – also lined – and they seem okay too. I ordered another pair of pants (stupid FB ad!) from Edgeness. I ordered a size L. Those of you that know me know I am not particularly large (in the grand scheme of things). But they are tight!! However, I do need to lose a few pounds, due to all the holiday feasting. So, I am planning on keeping those and planning to lose those pounds before my trip. Today I may be testing out different shoes/boots that I have, since there’s snow on the ground.
OK, one other random thought before I end this post that is all over the place :-). I went to a party the other night. Stopped at a liquor store to get a bottle of Tequila for the hosts. Came back to my car, and there is a van, motor running, darkened windows, backed into the parking spot next to the driver side of my car. Due to my paranoia, I was unsure whether to try to get into my car, given I was going to be right outside the van driver door, and there was somebody sitting in it. And did I mention their motor was running?
Anyway, my car has keyless entry – just pull on the driver door handle with your keys on your person and the door unlocks. Wouldn’t you know I must’ve been standing at an angle where my body blocked the key’s connection to the car. I pulled on that frickin’ handle 3 or 4 times before I got it open. I started to panic. Anyway, got right in and locked the door and got the hell out of there. The guy in the van probably thought I was crazy. But, I was ready to fight if need be :-).
On that happy note I will end this post with a hearty Happy New Year! I may or may not post before 2018 arrives, depending on what’s going on. Hoping 2018 brings you everything you need and want, and your end-of-2017 celebrations are joyful.
Talk soon!