We've Been Shopping...

We've purchased a 2nd hand butcher block table and four chairs through our local craigslist from a family moving from here to Nashville. It's perfect in the sun room and will seat 7 comfortably. Now that we have family in the same town, our tiny round kitchen table didn't quite suffice - especially since our son-in-law is 6'4" tall. And with our eldest granddaughter living with us this summer, we needed something bigger.


We've also purchased two living room chairs - a swivel rocker that just my size (finding a small comfy chair is no small task!) and a Lazyboy swivel rocker recliner for Frank that's just HIS size. They won't arrive for 8 weeks or so, and that's OK. I'll be so happy to be able to sit, rock and swivel while having my feet touching the floor (!!!) and without having to find a pillow to put behind my back for extra support.

And the longer I'm in PA, the more I want to draw and paint in watercolors again! It's not that I'm giving up my mixed media/fiber art, it's more that I want to go back to the basics and remind myself of the simple principles underlying great art.

These magazines have been my reading material - aka my reward in between unpacking boxes and finding places for a myriad of items. The watercolor portrait on the front cover caught my eye. I love that loose style of painting although my experience with watercolor has been the exact opposite of loose. When I was last doing watercolors, my style was highly realistic and my subject matter rather nostalgic, as appropriate for rural PA where we lived for 16 years prior to moving to NJ. It was not very suitable for the NJ buyers who seemed more inclined to stream-lined, abstract, modern art. So I switched completely from watercolor to fiber art. And now we're back in rural PA and I want to paint again - but NOT detailed realistic pieces. I want to create art with depth, emotion, and mystery as well as beauty. I wonder what will actually happen...

When our granddaughter started Philadelphia U, I gave her my old drawing table. It had steel legs that folded in and a real wood top that also folded, thus could be easily stored away when not in use. So I sent internet shopping for a new table and look what a bargain I just found at suppliesnet.com!

The size is right, the price was fantastic, and all four pieces come at one great sale price! It's called the Berkeley Classic Combo drafting table combo unit and there are NO shipping charges! It's perfect for my white office and also for our sunporch. It will be interesting to see where it ends up spending most of it's time... It's due to arrive on May 30th, so perhaps it's time to organize the studio...

Check out my Slide Show!

Here's a quickie tour, mostly of the outside, of our new home in Pennsylvania. I'll be adding more as we get settled in, but for now, enjoy the beautiful yard and gardens. We surely are!

We're HOME!!!

Our beautiful back yard:





Our walk in the woods:

Today's Visitors + More

Count Down to Moving Day

We're in our final week in New Jersey. The appliance people are coming on Monday to prepare our new HE Washing Machine for moving and to turn off the gas line to the dryer and cap it. Tuesday the packers arrive to pack whatever I have chosen not to pack: all china & glassware; large framed paintings and mirrors; crystal; floor and table lamps; and other special items. I've already packed about 100 boxes and will pack another dozen or so by Monday. Every bit I can do will save us money in the long run. Packing charges are outrageous! That's why I already packed 3 mirror boxes of frame art and photographs. They'll have another 2-3 more they can pack. I'm glad I've had three full months to prepare for this move - it's been a great time to prioritize, sort, toss and give away stuff! The actual packing part isn't too bad, but finding places to put all these full/heavy boxes in our townhouse is a challenge.

The new house is twice as large as our town house, so we'll be able to spread out at last. And we'll have a garage big enough for both of our cars AND lots of storage space. Take a look at the inside of this garage:


Of course, when we arrive, the garage will be empty - but not for long!!! And there is actual WORK space out there as well as tons of built-in storage space!

And take a look at the garage door on the left - there is a person door inset into the car door! Imagine that, being able to go outside without opening the garage door...

Below is a view of the front windows which have a sort of windowbox planter built beneath them. The windows face north so I'm thinking bright shade-loving impatients will work well there. I'd like several different kinds of hostas in front of them. Right now there are huge evergreen bushes that must be removed.


I'm looking forward to having a garden again - heaven knows I can no longer kneel and do the weeding or planting. But our daughter and her DH will be a huge help with the plantings, I'm sure. And they know the best places to shop for plants. If there's no lilac bush on the property, I'll be getting one or more. We know there is a large collection of varied day lilies in the back. Oh, you'll see photos once we actually move in.

Moving-In Day is next Saturday, May 10th. I'll be a tad busy for the next little while!

Spring in the Tennent Cemetery

These scenes are from the church yards of the Old Tennent Presbyterian Church, founded in 1692 by a group of Scottish Dissenters. The church building was completed in 1751 and was used as a hospital in 1778 during the Battle of Monmouth in the Revolutionary War. I find it a peaceful as well as historic setting and visit there frequently.

A Fun Project

Packing 80+ boxes is physically hard but rather dull work. Day after day, tape the box together, fill it up, label the box, tape it shut, pile it up... And the house is now piles of boxes - both packed and unpacked. Things are sorted/arranged/piled awaiting their own boxes and my available time.

Phone calls and emails are so numerous as to be outright annoying - especially those calls that put one through the mechanical voices with choices that do not include NONE-OF-THE-ABOVE.

Needless to say, I need a diversion every now and then. Creating my collages for Collage Mania II were WONDERFUL diversions. As was painting my old pair of sneakers...
I'm tired of white sneakers - and want dark ones to wear with all of my jeans. So I decided to simply use my acrylic paints and paint my shoes. I had no plan whatever in mind, I just started painting.

First I covered the shoes in dark blue - a mix of ultramarine and burnt sienna.

After painting the shoes, I put the white shoes strings in the brush water and let them absorb the color, then hung them out to dry while continuing on with the white so I could paint lighter shades of blue in various places.

Followed by two shades of blue...

And then a bit of quinacridone burnt orange mixed with a tad of ultramarine blue and painted the final color.

Here they are on my feet.

Is this the next pair??? I'm thinking of red this time...


And today's flower photo - complements of the blooming Lilacs:

Collage Mania II: Preview Opens Today!

Collage Mania II: Fiber Art for a Cause, an American Cancer Society fundraisiing project sponsored by artist Virginia Spiegel, has now officially opened for viewing. This is PREVIEW WEEK, the week prior to the two day sale of these 8x10" ready-for-framing fine art collages contributed by a wide range of fiber artists. The actual donation dates are as follows:

Collage Mania

Monday, May 5, 2008 starting at 9 a.m. CST
All collages available for a minimum donation of $80.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 starting at 9 a.m. CST
All collages available for a minimum donation of $40.

Since we've been packing in preparation for our move to PA, I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to create work especially for this cause. But I did manage to complete two pieces which will be found on page 21 - the final page of collages. In my April 3rd blog entry you can find detailed images and info about my pieces.

I'm sure you will enjoy browsing all 232 pieces of art by 101 artists found on the 21 pages - lots of different styles, techniques, colors, themes, and media are represented. Stop by if you are interested in donating to the ACS and obtaining original art in the process!

Retirement Party

Last night was Frank's night. With 33+ years of service with E.I. DuPont, his retirement party was a fitting closure to a good career as an organic chemist in the company. This first photo is one of the bosses presenting Frank with the standard air-view "plant photo" (we have a similar one from Towanda, PA from 17 years ago when we were transferred from there to here) of the Parlin site. On the outer mat, everyone who wanted could write some parting sentiment - something like the senior year book thing! This was the most solemn moment of the entire evening.


Once Frank got the mike, it was a fun night for all. My DH is well known for the clutter on and around his desk. He decided, several weeks ago, that he would make parting gifts of some of the treasures he found buried in the many piles he was finally sorting through. There were hand-outs from 1985 through 1990+ - nothing recent, of course!

Above, he's holding a poker chip a previous boss gave him during a particularly stressful time some years ago. The advice that went with the poker chip at that time was to keep it in your pocket and remember to always keep a poker face at the meetings. Below, he is giving it back to her with the knowledge he'll never need to use it again!

In many big corporations, there is a company-wide effort for people to "earn" their appropriate black, brown, green, etc. belts on their way to "perfection." The gal shown above has been working to earn her green belt for several years, to little avail. So she gets a green belt, of course!

Last, but far from least, Frank introduces the department secretary - the oil that gets everything done, the confidante, the cheerleader, the shoulder to cry on, the go-getter, the party planner and more. So he named her the High Priestess of Cyrel(R) and presented her with her priestly stole.


A great time was had by all!

Counting Down - Our Final 2 Weeks

Moving day is fast approaching but we are rather laid back about the whole thing. Perhaps because I've been preparing for the move for 3 months, it seems as though we're almost ready to go. There are utility companies to notify at this end and that, but not much else.

Frank's retirement party is tonight and he's home preparing his gag gifts for a chosen few pals. I finished the "stole" for the group secretary. It came out as well as could be expected. It does look rather "priestly" but it's decorated with very party-like objects! She is, after all, the group party planner par excellence.



Our eldest granddaughter, a college sophomore, has asked to come live with us and establish residency in PA with the idea of attending Penn State after her year of residency is up. She'll be getting a job when she arrives and establishing herself in a new community, much as we will be. She's already planning her room - asking her Uncle Jack to make her new bedroom furniture! Will wonders ever cease???

The second grandchild is graduating from High School in June and leaving for the Czech Republic in late July to live with his girl friend's family and attend school there. He'll be offering Conversational English classes while he's in school - and is planning the curriculum now...

The youngest grandchild returns from Inner Mongolia and China tomorrow night... She'll be a senior next year. The kids are flying the coop, as my son said recently.

They live in Vermont - a great state, but it has no public universities. While there are plenty of colleges and many cultural opportunities there, all the educational institutions are private and pricey. Thus the kids are seeking various ways to earn their degrees within a somewhat reasonable budget.

So life is changing for nearly everyone in the family. Wow... Onwards into what ever is next!

And my posting wouldn't be complete without a bird photo~ this one is a Cowbird.