Peacock Scarf for Theresa

I've been working on this scarf for a few months. I put it down for a while but I realized Theresa, my best friend's birthday is tomorrow! So I had to get on the ball to finish it. It is almost done. It is made in a Peacock stitch with Marisol Qina Yarn in Jungle Green. 80% Baby Alpaca & 20% Bamboo. It is one of my favorite yarns. It's super soft but I found out it is being discontinued. So I took advantage and bought up enough to make this scarf for my bestie. Love this stitch and it is fairly easy. I'm looking forward to spending the day with Theresa tomorrow. We are having brunch at the Bear Moon Bakery & Cafe and window shopping in historical  downtown Boerne! Have a great weekend!

Radishes Painting

I realized I never posted my painting of the radishes photo below. These radishes were planted from seed in Vermont. Then harvested and photographed. A few years later I decided to paint them in Pastels. This painting is now sold.

Favorite Colors

The other day my friend Theresa asked me if my favorite color was still purple. I thought about it for a moment and said, "it used to be purple but it's not anymore". For years the color purple was my favorite. She asked what my favorite color was now and I couldn't give her an answer. I think I like all colors. I can't just pick one. Yellow, orange, reds, are colors of warmth, energy and happiness. Blue is the color of the sky and ocean with it's calming waves. Green is the color of plants and growth which I'm all about. Theresa said that it seemed like I had grown. That I had stepped out of my comfort zone. Years ago before Lifetouch and Spring Lake Ranch I was so nervous and afraid to travel to different places. To travel alone to another town to photograph students or people I'd never met before. It made me happy to think that I had grown out of some of my fears and narrow mindedness.
Joseph my gypsy or nomadic husband is a risk taker and is always pushing me to do new things with him. He made me realize that sitting in front of a TV set all day trapped between four walls was not a life at all. Life is meant to be experienced, explored and discovered.
I sit here now looking out my screen door of my apartment watching a dove perched on a rooftop. He sits on the very peak looking down, the wind ruffling his feathers. He turns his head many times looking west, east, north, south weighing out his options. I imagine myself as this bird looking out into the horizon seeing many roads, feeling the wind on my neck. The dove flies down finally, making his choice. At this point in my life I am still perched up on that roof trying to decide which way to fly but I know it will happen soon. Adventure is ahead!

Portraits

Back in October I took a class with Susan Carlin. It was such a wonderful class. I have posted a few here. I am still working on a few others at this time.

Back in Texas

I haven't posted in such a long time but I'm going to try to keep up. I've been using facebook mostly but it's nice to keep an online journal. I am back in Texas to stay and plan on taking some art classes or attend some demos with Susan Carlin and Rita Kirkman. I am so excited about the possibilities. These are radishes from our garden in Vermont. I think I'm going to try to paint them. I love the colors but I wish there was more light and dark contrast.

Back In Vermont

Well, I'm back in Vermont after five months in Texas visiting family and I will be posting new photos of projects and new farm photos soon.

I'm Still Here!

Hey everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I don't have regular access to the internet now that I live in Vermont. I have been crocheting and several people in our community have taught me to knit. I will be posting pictures of new creations as soon as I photograph them. Joseph and I have another blog if you would like to check it out.
The address is as follows: www.adventuresinvermont.blogspot.com
We will be posting photos as soon as we get to a Walmart to develop our photos. We live in a community on a mountain (1600 feet above sea level) and we don't go to town very often. Hope to post soon. :)

The Duck Pond

A few weeks back I had a strong desire to see or photograph some animals. So I took off to my local duck pond in the middle of a neighborhood a few miles away from my apartment. It felt great to photograph them. There were lots of baby ducks and geese swimming around and I tried my best to get as close as possible to them without scaring them away. I don't own a professional camera with a telephoto lens or anything fancy. I used my small digital camera and I didn't quite get the results I was looking for. I did have a great time watching them swim around dipping their heads in the water and observing the sunlight glistening on the water. It was wonderful.

I'm reading a book right now called Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman. Its about a 48 year old, newly divorced woman who travels the world by herself. She travels to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Israel, Indonesia, and other places to meet with people and learn their culture. My favorite place so far is when she visits the Galapagos Islands. She talks of her observations of the blue-footed boobies, frigates, marine iguanas, and sleeps a hundred yards away from a sea lion colony.She even swims so close to them that they brush her with their whiskers. Reading about her adventures make me want to be a marine biologist. It sounds so exciting to travel to a place and actually study, and photograph animals with a group of people. I'm still in the middle of the book so I may have other favorite parts later. I still have not read about her travels to Indonesia, New Zealand, and Thailand. Rita Golden Gelman says, "There's more than one way to do life".

Speaking of travel, Joseph and I have decided to visit a farm in Vermont in September. It is a therapeutic work farm. It will be a short visit. It is possible that we might move there to be work crew leaders and advisors for the residents who live there. It all depends on this visit. The thought of leaving friends and family is scary but the adventure of living in a different climate and lifestyle is exciting to me. I've lived in the same place for so long it seems it may be time for a change.

Sweet Rain

I'm up really late tonight. It's hard to sleep with no air conditioner. Our air conditioner died yesterday and it won't be fixed until Tuesday. Our windows are open and it's raining outside and the sound of the rain is quite soothing and relaxing. There is a fresh breeze that blows in now and then and it feels just heavenly. Since we live about 10 feet away from a busy road we hear many vehicles driving by splashing water on the road. Occasionally there is a loud siren. Everything seems much louder at night when the birds and most people are fast asleep. Sleeping with our windows open brings back memories of childhood. Some of my relatives live in a little town called Eagle Pass right on the border of Mexico. When I was young we used to visit my dad's aunt or my mom's aunt in Eagle Pass. We would often have to share a bed at night when it was time to sleep and all the windows would be open. My mom's aunt also lived by a busy road and I remember hearing cars driving by as well. I remember it being a pleasant time just laying in bed listening to the sounds around me and the comfort of my family right next to me. There was a sense of safety with family gathered in one room. I miss those days. I sometimes get a strong mourning feeling in my chest when I reminisce about times in my life that have come and gone, like remembering a loved one who has passed away and knowing you won't see them again, at least not in the flesh. Some people can hear a song and it will bring back memories of an event but I can see an object that resembles something from childhood or have a sensory experience, like sleeping with a window open and a rush of memories and pleasant feelings of childhood will return. I'm grateful to be able to remember special memories.
The photo above is a fern with water droplets. I photographed it at the African Violet Nursery in Boerne.