A POT OF GOLD

We spent Christmas with my Parents in Eastern Washington.  It was good and I am so glad we did.  My Father will be 88 on New Years Day.  He is very old and frail now...he has very little memory.  He has dementia and has gone way down hill the last month or so.  There are many times he will look at me, with my Husband sitting by my side, and ask me if I have a boyfriend.  I tell him "Yes!"  "In fact I married him and here he is...and we have two children who are your Grandsons!".  He gets a big smile on his face and says "oh...that's good."  

My Father was a beautiful writer.  He was a newspaper man.  Worked for a small town newspaper and wrote wonderful stories...mostly about his life during a simpler time.  I had been given the copies of the articles he had written and had intentions of putting them together for my siblings some day.  We moved and I had put extra special care into packing them.  The problem was I couldn't remember where.  The other day I told my Sister that I couldn't find them.  It took a lot of guts to tell her that.  She wasn't very happy with me and neither was I.  I went to bed that night feeling so restless about it.  But here's the crazy part...I had a dream about where I put them that night.  I looked where my dream told me to look and there they were!  Talk about an answer to prayer!!!  

My Sister had talked to a woman who works with the council on aging.  She had told my Sister how good it would be for Dad to see the articles he wrote again.  So, with articles in hand I brought them to him for Christmas.  He didn't remember that he had ever written for a news paper.  But after he started reading the articles he started remembering the things he wrote about.

  Finding those articles was like finding a pot of gold.  I can't tell you what it meant to me to see my Dad have a little glimmer of the times he had written about come back to him.  I was so thankful.  On our way home we took the ferry back to the island and were greeted with a rainbow shining on the tip of the island.  I was reminded of the pot of gold...I will cherish this Christmas...most likely the last I will have with my Dad but one I will always treasure.

Glimpses of Christmas

The tree is up and very sparkly it is...some glimpses into my favorite images from the tree.

 This is the ornament I picked out when I was five.  It's ANCIENT!!! and full of memories.  My Mom...sweet dear woman...would give us a new ornament every year.  Sometimes we would get to pick out our own.  I still remember going to Valbourgs gift shop with Mom and getting to pick out an ornament for my collection.  I thought this red plastic star was the most BEAUTIFUL of all.  The way it glows and reflects the light had me mesmerized.  I have treasured it every year since.  More the memory than the ornament...but it's the ornament that holds the memory for me...it reminds me of a sweet time I shared with my Mom.  Now we carry on the tradition and buy or make our boys ornaments every year that they will some day have for their own Christmas tree.

this one... and

this one...

and this one too.

I just love everything that sparkles at Christmas time.  The other night I was looking at a pillow my sweet Sister Larinda made for us last year...it sparkles too!

Isn't it beautiful!!!  Thank you sweet Sister!  I just love your amazing handiwork!

To top off my sparkly post, here is a picture of something we did the other night. Our family went to a really fun, free event on the island...the Christmas Ships.  I have always wanted to see them but haven't until now...they are very sparkly too!

The boat has professional singers on it and when the come into the Harbor they just stop for about 20 minutes and sing to the crowd on the shore.  I cried...I always cry at things like this.  You should see me at the 4th of July parade.  There's just something about nostalgia that gets me every time.

I hope you're having a sparkly Christmas...full of wonderful, memory making times.

Much love,

Meagan

p.s.  I also cried when Frosty the Snowman melted...Karen and I had a good cry together! :)

HOPPY HOLIDAYS!

( Newest painting for Christmas - "Hoppy Holidays")

In honor of the quirkiness of Frog Rock on Bainbridge Island I painted this new piece and titled it "Hoppy Holidays".  I know...loud groans.  Anyway, it turned out fun and I made it into cards that say "Hoppy Holidays" on them which will be available at the Studio Tour.  So this Friday - Sunday (Dec. 3-5) I will be showing my work at the Fenwick Photography Studio on Ericksen Avenue. 

Hoppy Holidays Everyone!

Seattle Half Marathon

It was an early morning at our house. Today was the Seattle Marathon which Hubby has been in training for this 13.1 mile run.  He has been training really hard for this...ooober hard.  Makes me tired just hearing about how far he has been running!  So today was the day...which meant getting up by 4:00am to get ready to be on the 5:20am ferry in order to get into Seattle in time for a 7:30am start.  What was really impressive is that our teenage boys joined us and family drove 2 hours to be here in time for the start of the race.

(obviously early...still dark.  Our two boys and Hubby)

It ended up being a great weather day for the race...cold but no wind or rain which we were very happy for.

The start of the race was an amazing sea of people...never could see Hubby at the start.

We made posters to cheer him on...they said things like:

"Stretchy pants never looked so good"

"Rain or Shine you look real fine"

"Watch where you spit...there are people next to you!"

We rang cowbells and shook our pom poms too...It was a very fun event, especially with family and friends there to help cheer him on.  Here he is as he is approaching the finish line...he's so fast he's just a blur!

He had a goal of 1 hour and 50 minutes.  Look at what he ended up with!

( Way to go!!! Beating your goal!!!)

I was so proud of him I just kept kissing and kissing him.  My Hero!

Congratulation Sweetie...I couldn't be more proud of you!

Bainbridge Island Rowing Auction Piece - Titled "AS ONE"

I am working on a new painting for an organization near and dear to my heart.  Bainbridge Island Rowing Club is an organization on Bainbridge Island teaching young adults to row.  My oldest son has been involved in this and it has been a very important part of his life.  This sport teaches so much more than just the technique of rowing...it teaches how important it is to work in a team as one.  A boat or "shell" as they are called, of eight rowers will not do well if even one of the participants is in it for themselves.  It absolutely has to be a team effort.  The character building and life lessons learned in this sport are like nothing I have seen in a sports setting.  The coaches with this organization are amazing and have given so much of themselves.  So to thank them for all they have done I hope that in doing a painting for their auction called " Dream Big" will help further their efforts financially. 

This is a sneak peak at the unfinished painting called "As One".

I have really enjoyed painting the water in this piece.  It has a lot of depth and movement...it reminds me of a beautiful piece of music.  The painting was inspired from a photo taken by a fantastic local photographer named Gary Matoso.  His work is amazing!  

It was a little unlike me to share an unfinished painting but the week ahead is so busy I probably won't get a chance to share again before the auction.  Best of luck to the Dream Big dinner and auction!

FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK AND OPEN HOUSE - TONIGHT!

I will be showing my art work tonight at this fun and FREE event that is in conjunction with the Bainbridge Island First Friday Art Walk. I have some great new fall cards if you need a special card for the Thanksgiving season.

I have been helping to plan this Open House for the Winslow Building at 400 Winslow Way East for the last month and it will be so much fun.  There are 2 bands, 8 local artists, free wine and Hors D’oeuvres.  A few of the artists are showing their work for the first time here on Bainbridge Island and I have to tell you…it looks GREAT!!!  Be sure to come to the back of the buildings’ beautiful courtyard to find the artists and goodies.

The Weather may be a little tiny bit wet but don’t let that stop you from having a great time!

Hope you see you tonight!

Meagan

Talking Brush Studio

CROSS COUNTRY

Thursday we went to "Lower Woodland"... near Green Lake to watch our youngest run in the District Cross Country meet.  It was a rainy, muddy and very slippery day.  The kind of weather I would never run in...that is if I were a runner.

Hubby is a runner...he is training for his first half marathon.  Today he is running 10 miles...his longest run to date.  I am going to meet him on the other side to bring him home.  

Here's to runners! 

BREATHE

Sometimes...many times...I find myself full of anxiety and grabbing for the air my chest needs to settle down...I catch myself looking too far in the future and not focusing on the day.  Today is a gift.  A day to enjoy.  Remembering that helps me to calm myself and keep from fearing the future.  We never know what the future will bring and I realize...and it takes a long time to get to that point...that all the worry and anxiety my mind has to offer me will not change a thing other than the way I choose to enjoy the gift that I have been given today.

Turning on the morning news does not help...it seems to feed the uncertainty I feel.  I think they want us to feel that way and I am not sure what the benefit of that might be.  There are so many good things to focus on.  Slowing down...looking at the little things...captions and not headlines.  There is so much beauty in the day to day...

sometimes going away...away from technology...from phones...from noise...helps me to remember the beauty in the everyday... I remember where the water I brush my teeth with comes from...

and just who created the life that we live...there is a bigger picture...to big to see...but definitely worth trusting in...

 

I hope you are all enjoying the gift you have been given today.

FLANNEL, FLEECE AND WOOL BLANKETS

 ("Pumpkin Patch")

OOOHHHH...I can feel it in the air...  Fall has hit hard.  The leaves are just about peaked with their brilliant color and the air is so cold in the morning and night.  Flannel, fleece and wool blankets.  I love my wool blanket...it's so old and soft and cozy.  It's a really old one that I found in an antique store (but I don't think it's an antique...it's just older than me!).  It's kind of a mint green color with a beautiful floral design in the middle and in the corners.

  (my blankie)

It's different from other wool blankets that I've seen.  My wool blanket is part of a morning routine that I have become quite fond of...Hubby usually gets up first and goes into the kitchen where he then pours he and I a cup of coffee and then brings it back to bed where we sit under the favorite wool blanket and drink our coffee and wake up slowly.  It's nice...I actually love it and love him for catering to me and treating me like a princess.  I'm really not a princess but like to pretend that I'm one when waking up!  Maybe it's this morning routine that makes me so excited to go to sleep at night!  Or maybe I am just entering the hibernation mode that I go into every year when it gets dark so early.

Aside from talking about blankets, I hope you enjoy the painting above...it's one of the new fall images that I painted for my line of cards I did this fall.  Enjoy the cool weather and the wool blankets!

Meagan

CRACK UP!

This is what ended up in the bowl when I cracked some eggs for breakfast!  I couldn't resist grabbing the camera...there they were just staring at me like a face that was going to start talking or something. 

Have a great weekend...and be sure to crack yourself up!

HARVEST

We went to a farmers market this summer and I snapped a few shots of the produce.  The colors are so amazing!  Makes me want to grow vegetables!  I've tried...they don't look like these...but my Sister In Law ( better known as SIL) has the gardening thing so figured out.  Check this out...

 This is only a little glimpse of her garden...her veggies would look just like the ones above.  Maybe better, yes, a lot better.  She is busy during the harvest...lots to freeze, can and pickle.  I wouldn't be so busy...none to freeze, can or pickle!  Oh...I'm not feeling sorry for myself...no, not at all.  I'm just amazed at the folks that have the ability to grow such wonderful produce. What's really amazing are the farmers that farm acres and acres of produce...the ones that feed the world.  My sister is married to one of those, a wheat farmer.  A very good one.  And my other sister doesn't have acres and acres, but you should see her containers.  She would make Sisco Morris proud!  (famous Northwest gardener, if your not from here!) More people to be amazed by...  So to all of you good crop growing types...why is it that my lambs ears have holes in them and my lace leaf maple lost all of it's leaves already and my toffee colored ornamental grass has woolly aphids in it?      There is one thing that I do seem to grow well these days...

Yep...spider webs...I'm real good at that!

UNEXPECTED TREASURE

(UNEXPECTED TREASURE)

Don't you love the sunlight on fall leaves?  It draws me in like a discovery of unexpected treasure.  I love the silhouette of the other leaves that shine through the ones in front of them.  The sun creates a mark on the leaf from the others that surround it.  I see a deeper meaning here...we all affect each other...we leave marks...maybe not always seen but they are there.  I hope the marks that I leave on others are lasting and good...I hope they shine and beautify and help the other person to be all they can be.   To be the unexpected treasure they were created to be...

DELIGHTFUL

 ( newest image - "Indian Corn")

Friday night was so wonderful...Fairbank Construction was a PERFECT venue for an Art Walk!  The weather was magical along with the sounds of the Salsa band billowing up from the harbor.  My ears were tingling listening to the laughter of the people enjoying a simply fabulous evening.  The white twinkling lights outside the building gave such a feeling of wonder. The passers by could look in and see art lovers mingling while enjoying their goodies and wine and couldn't help but join in.  There must have been 200-300 people who stopped in to visit and look.  It was a delightful evening!

TONIGHT! ART WALK ON BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

(one of my new fall images "Pumpkins")

Hello Bloggers!

It is a BEAUTIFUL day here in the Pacific Northwest and a perfect night for an Art Walk!  If you happen to be in the Bainbridge Island neighborhood, there will be lots going on with the Bainbridge wine weekend and the First Friday Art Walk.  I will be showing my work at Fairbank Construction along with two other amazing artists.  You can check out my last post for links to the event.

Have a great weekend!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN ?

 ( Newest painting -" Lady's Mantle")

Hello Bloggers!

If by any chance you are someone who visits my blog on a somewhat regular basis...my apologies to you! For some reason it seems that a virus has struck me down.  I think it's call "short on words".  Have you heard of it?  It's a terrible virus that causes you to think that you have nothing of interest to talk about!  Along with this virus, here are a few other excuses for my absence...Studio Tour...started a new job...two boys in high    school...filling card orders...painting...creating...but not blogging!  I guess we all have those times when the days pass by too quickly and there seems to be endless amounts of things to accomplish. I have checked in on other blogs and find it so fun to see what all of you are doing! None of the other bloggers have the same virus that I have!

To let you in on the "uninteresting" things I have to talk about...here is what I am getting ready for:

The First Friday's Art Walk this October 1st.  I will be showing my work with two other great artists at the Fairbank Construction Office building from 6-8pm.  This will be a great event to attend and it coincides with the Bainbridge Island Wine Weekend (another fabulous reason to visit the island!).  The two other artists that will be joining me are Ron Crabb and Jenean Cameron.  Thank you so much to the Fairbanks who invited us to be a part of this event!

One thing I have not previously done but am seriously contemplating is teaching a class at our wonderful local art store called Oil & Water.  This should be a fun workshop and I will keep you posted on information for the class if it happens. 

And...Last but not least...the Winter Studio Tour.  This is such a great event and a wonderful place to buy loved ones unique Holiday gifts. 

It's great to be back in the blogdom...Hope you are all doing well and hopefully none of you catch my virus!

PARADES, BAGPIPES AND FIREWORKS GONE AWRY

Hope you all had a great 4th of July.  Here I am standing in front of my most FAVORITE thing of all on the 4th of July...BAGPIPES!!!  And if you look carefully you can also see one of the best resale shops around right across the street...The Trading Post.  Right next to where we were standing this amazing bike was parked right next to us...I want this bike!

Now I would have to get in shape enough to ride it up hills...but isn't it so cute!  They call Bainbridge Island celebration of the 4th of July "The Grand Ole 4th"  And there are so many great vintage images.  Kind of like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Our oldest son managed to make it onto 2 floats...Here he is with all his enthusiasm on one of them...

(He is the one looking like he has an opera song going on)

I thought these girls were so adorable with  their Annie signs... and next is the famous Bainbridge Island rope skippers.  They were in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade too!

Later that night we had fireworks in our neighborhood...been doing this for years...well, something went a little haywire when a box type one that shoots off multiple rockets decided to fall forward and shoot several of them straight at the crowd.  Thankfully nobody was seriously hurt...however there were many traumatized children.  But after all was said and done I looked down into my teacup that was sitting next to my feet...and there...right inside the cup...was one of the rockets that went awry.  Thank you Lord for your protection!!!

Hope your 4th of July was fun and full of great memories!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Here's to a wonderful 4th of July to all of you out there in Blogland.  I hope it is a great weekend full of fun festivities for all of you.  Break out the lemonade, watermelon, potato salad and hamburgers...enjoy the hot sunny weather...wait...I forgot that I live in the Pacific Northwest...summer doesn't start here until July 5th!  Oh well, we'll still enjoy all the food and festivities...a little rain slow us down!  

A RUN IN WITH 2 MICE AND A RAT!

Today was a day that I will be glad to set aside...now I have never considered myself to be a real girly girl and at the same time I am not a tom boy...I am somewhere in the middle.  Not afraid to break a nail or get my hands dirty but also get excited over a new tube of lipstick.  I'm guessing many of you women are the same way.  But one thing that I am noticing is that I am getting a little weird about spiders and rodents.  They provoke a scream from within me that I never expect.  Today that scream came out...LOUD! 

We have a little mouse problem at work.  The other day, around 11:00am, a customer was coming into the store where I work and encountered a mouse sitting in our doorway.  The mouse scurried INTO the store and we haven't seen it since...until today during my lunch break.  I had just sat down to eat lunch and heard a scratching sound under the table in the break room.  I looked at the mouse hotel that was waiting to catch its prey and realized the scratching was coming from inside the "humane trap".  I...being so courageous...went and got my manager to look at it.  (My manager used to be in the Marines...OK...this makes me feel better about being a mouse wimp)  My manager picks up the trap and tells me there is nothing in it when just at that moment...out it comes...that scream I was telling you about and the mouse! 

As if it wasn't enough getting over that mouse encounter I soon ran into a RAT.  He was about 6'2" tall with gray hair and had a very bad attitude.  It was actually more difficult dealing with this RAT of a human than it was the mouse in the break room.  I don't need to go on any more about the RAT other than not understanding why it is that some people can wait until the very last minute to do something that they should have had done a LONG time ago and expect it to become your EMERGENCY!!!  UGH!!!  That's just life I guess.

You would think that this would be the last of the rodent episode...but no...tonight at dinner we were going to BBQ some burgers.  Now it has not been that long since we have used the BBQ but apparently it has been long enough because when my son went out to light the BBQ he was surprised by a MOUSE living in the BBQ!  What has this world come to today?  Where are all the rodents coming from?  All I have to say is RATS!

ROTARY AUCTION

This Saturday was the 50th annual Rotary Auction on Bainbridge Island.  They hold it at a local school and allow the public to drop off donations throughout the week.  You cannot believe the sheer sea of STUFF that they receive and sell.  They have this down like a well oiled machine.  There are thousands of people waiting at the gate to be let in at 8:00 am when they RUN to the areas of interest.  The night before they sell a preview ticket for $1 so you can figure out your plan of attack.  At 7:55 am they raised the flag on the flag pole and a very talented singer sang the national anthem.  Seemed kind of funny for some reason.  

The family went to the preview together the night before and spotted several items we thought would be good purchases.  We took a pad of paper and wrote it all down...very organized, don't you think!  The next morning I felt a little uneasy about my plan of attack when I saw hundreds of people in line ahead of me.  After the national anthem and the running...sort of...I got to my area of interest.  The one thing I really wanted had already been snagged by someone much faster and earlier than me.  What a bummer...I am still regretting not getting there sooner.  If you were the one who got that awesome tablecloth with pictures of the garden tools on it...we need to talk! 

I did however get all of the other things on my list...makes me question how good my taste is!  Anyway, if you have been reading my blog for awhile and happened to read this you would know how much I love the color of turquoise.  Happy I was to get a few more turquoise colored bottles.  Hubby helped me to hang these cute shelves that my SIL Holly was sweet enough to give me and now I have a great place to display my TURQUOISE!!!  Thank you Hubby...Thank you Holly!!!

It's a start...I'm actually not a huge collector of anything...but there is just something about this color that calls to me.  The other thing that I saw at the auction that I thought was cute was this enamelware pot that I thought would be cute with flowers in it...

After such a successful time at the auction I thought we should sit in the sun and celebrate with a little refreshment...

Here's to good deals!  Wish you could join us.

more on "Welcome Home"

The last post was rushed and without photos so I thought I should add a little color to my time at Welcome Home with Diane.  Diane is the sweetest lady with a darling shop in St. John, Washington.  She sells lovely new and like new items in her store to make you house a home.  I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to sell my note cards in her store.  

(here is a picture of Diane and myself at her store last Friday.  Isn't she a doll!  She's the adorable one on the left.)

I did a little show of my artwork and had a great time meeting some of her customers.  The next day our family had a lot of fun celebrating my sister's birthday and Father's Day together at her lake place.  Look at this beautiful view she has from her deck...

Eastern Washington has such a different kind of beauty than Western Washington.  It's called high Desert and the climate is much warmer and drier.  (finally...some heat!)

On the way home we passed this...

 It was huge...took a long time to pass... What is it you ask?  It is a blade to one of these...

Wind Power!