The Assateague Lighthouse from afar.

  This is the painting I did a week ago at the Chincoteage National Wildlife Refuge. If you look really hard, you can see the lighthouse in the distance behind the trees. 

Memorial Day Weekend

We went to the Eastern Shore for the Memorial Day weekend, across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to Cape Charles. It was a family weekend. Everyone who can comes and stays at the old motel. There had been a fierce storm with 70MPH winds that knocked out the power just before we got there. We didn't have electricity until late that night after we'd gone to sleep. I asked Jimmy which channel he wanted to watch on TV. Ha. One of the traditions is eating at "Sting-rays". It's an Exxon station that has a restaurant that serves fresh local seafood. They do a great job for locals and tourists alike.

Saturday and Sunday morning I was up at 4:30 AM to go and paint the sunrise. I painted 4 paintings total during the weekend. Jimmy went fishing with the boys everyday and they caught sharks, sea bass, croaker, & bluefish. Sunday night we had a big fish dinner and cooked it at a gazebo. The fish and hushpuppies were excellent.

Frances, Lou, Robin, Ellie, Kelly, Clay and I went to the beach. All kinds of treats came out of the coolers--from crackers and cheese to chocolate. The weather was perfect. Clear skies and in the low 80's.

You know for years I kept hearing this inner voice telling me to paint...to get emersed in art. In the design field I did tons of drafting and some rendering. I ignored the painting voice for years. Finally I decided I had some time and money to do what I wanted to do. It took me 2 years to get into the painting workshop I wanted to take because it filled up immediately. But it was the best thing I've ever personally done for myself. I've kept my art to myself for years. I felt it was a private thing. When we went to Victoria, BC last fall, the speaker was Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. He saw the illustrated travel journal I had just started on this trip and called me up on the stage to share it with everyone. So much for private thoughts. He told me I had a talent and that I needed to share it with other people. Plein Air painting puts you out and in front of people. I had a lady walk up to me while painting on the beach on Sunday and want to buy the painting I was doing. I'm not ready to go there yet. Jimmy is being extremely supportive of my painting. He wants me to do a gallery wall here in the house. I guess I've got to put these paintings somewhere!

One of the things that hit me in the face since my 40th high school reunion is that there is only so much quality time left and so much I want to accomplish. Granted, I can't change the past. So NOW is the only thing I can impact. That's why I kicked my butt out of bed this weekend to paint. It felt good. It's easy to stay in a rut and procrastinate the time away. I can do that as good as anyone else, in fact, probably better than most. I've committed to a minimum of 5 paintings a week. This is a goal I have set and nothing can get me there except keeping my nose to the proverbial grindstone.

The Lighthouse

I kept waking up all night not wanting to miss the sunrise. The local news didn't report the time for sunrise and my alarm clock in the room wouldn't recognize anything but 7AM. I looked out the window at 5:30 and it was already getting light! I dashed out and drove to the Refuge.

I'd forgotten that NASA has an installation in the area. Driving by I'm always fascinated seeing the hangers and rockets on display. What a country. When I got to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, the gates were up but the toll takers weren't there yet...it was FREE! My first AHHH was passing the Assateague Lighthouse. Next I saw hundreds of birds, ducks and geese in the wetland areas. A great snowy white heron was near the side of the road. On the right, I could see the famous ponies grazing in a field in the distance. At the beach I found a perfect spot. I parked and set up my easel and supplies. I painted a wonderful scene of the cove with the island behind and the top of the lighthouse rising in the distance. This is my special souvenir of Chincoteague! On the way back, I couldn't help parking and walking to see the lighthouse. Lighthouses hold such appeal for everyone. It was interesting to learn that this lighthouse was brick and didn't get its red and white stripes until 1963.

This trip to Chincoteague (and Lewes & Easton) did my heart good! I'll return again soon.

Family

Thursday I drove up to Lewes to visit Aunt Dorothy. As a bonus, I saw Mary Ann and Grace Lee. Aunt Dorothy looked great. She was invited to have lunch with her best friend from high school. The phone rang about 8 PM and it was her friend's daughter calling to tell her Elizabeth had just passed away. Aunt Dorothy was quite distressed but knew that her friend was having some health issues. I'm glad I was there to help divert her mind from a stressful situation. Losing a close friend you've known for 75 years must be hard. Aunt Dorothy was handling it as good as anyone could expect.

I'm always amazed at the amount of energy and vitality Aunt Dorothy has. She's perky and has a sharp mind. She says she has problems remembering some names but who doesn't! She gets around pretty good. A little slower than in years past but she's careful as she walks as not to fall.

She told me a funny story. Years ago her mother and grandmother came to dinner. I think she said it was someone's birthday. Aunt Dorothy had made a chocolate cake. Her grandmother wasn't fond of chocolate but helped herself that evening to extra cake. She went home and didn't feel good and died. The joke was that Aunt Dorothy makes a killer chocolate cake! I think her grandmother was 94 years old.

As always, I try to swing by and see her everytime I'm remotely close. I'll see her again in July. And already I look forward to seeing her again. She is my only relative still living in the generation above us. Bless her heart!

One Goal Finally Achieved!

All my life I have wanted to go to Chincoteague! I left Easton, MD, and the Plein Air Workshop about 6 PM and had planned to drive straight through to home-4.5 to 5 hour drive. Our instructor, Ed Cooper, shared some gorgeous paintings he did in Chincoteague in a paint-off. Most were of the sunrise or the sunset...incredible views over the wetlands. I loved them. So, it wasn't a difficult thing to veer off course when I crossed the Maryland-Virginia line and go straight to Chincoteague.

I found a brand new Hampton Inn. There are a bunch of B&B's but I figured this would have a reasonable rate. The room is nice and I plan to get up extra early and head to the Refuge and do at least one small painting of sunrise. Then back here for the free complimentary breakfast and then head home.

So life is good. You know for YEARS a "trip to Chincoteage" has been on my list of written goals. I guess some goals just take a little longer than others. And other than staying in a B&B overlooking the water with rocking chairs on the front porch, it feels pretty good to be here. My brother owned probably the original version of the "Misty of Chincoteague" book by Marguerite Henry (I think). That was around 1954 and I would go in his room and look at that book. Since then I have always wanted to come here for the wild pony roundup. I understand the pony roundup is a mad scene these days--tons of people and hard to get reservations anywhere. Wish I made it to the pony roundup years ago before it was so commercialized.

But I'm here now. Nice and quiet. Everything I could see coming in was real quaint.

Meanwhile, Jimmy saw 4 tarpon while fishing in Florida today but nobody in the 15 surrounding boats caught anything. He said they are still "learning" about fishing in Florida. He'll be home sometime Tuesday.

Just thought I'd check in and let you know where I am!

The Sun is Shining!

Finally the sun is out again. Today is supposed to be in the 70's--Hallelujah! I sat on the back porch in the sunshine and had a cup of coffee this morning. Blue sky, birds singing, the willows swaying in the breeze. Life is good.

I like to paint. Jimmy doesn't. Therefore he doesn't like me to paint. Today's project is to paint the front porch railings. Yesterday I sanded and primed the wrought iron so the prep work is behind me. It's amazing how much activity you see in your neighborhood when you are innocently working on a home project. The point of view from the front porch is perfect for this. It reminds me of my childhood. Seeing neighbors come and go, the mailman, the UPS man, the school bus. Routine is a good thing. As much as I love to go, I love being home even more.

A Taste of Summer

Last night I finally got the tomatoes planted in the ground. Jimmy built two new raised bed frames for my garden and helped set them up--shoveled dirt and tilled in the peat moss. Thanks, Jimmy. I've bought a few new varieties of heirloom tomatoes--Black Krim, Hillbilly, Nepal, Persimmon, and of course, planted my favorite, Purple Cherokee. Oh, I couldn't resist getting Mortgage Lifter! I couldn't find my very best favorite, Omar's Lebanese. Better luck next year. Plus I planted a couple exotic eggplants, two green pepper plants and some herbs--Basil, Italian Parsley, Dill and relocated the big chunk of Oregano to the front of one of the new beds.

Today it's raining. One of those gray, cold, rainy days. But it couldn't have come at a better time for the garden. I can't wait to make a platter of sliced tomatoes drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sea salt. Yum. That's the taste of summer!

Gardening Days...

This is day number 7 in the yard. This time last year we were preoccupied with Jimmy's health and spent our "extra" time primarily in the doctor's waiting room and the yard didn't get full attention. But that's a different story. For the past week I've been weeding and weeding (the roots go to China) and creating a crisp edge to the beds and borders. The bushes got a haircut, too. I trimmed all the borders with my new Toro electric trimmer. Jimmy has a macho Echo gas trimmer but it is so heavy and powerful, I'm afraid I'll do more that cut grass with it. My new one has a vertical trim feature that I really like (and Jimmy does, too) and other than miles of extension cords, it's easy to use. No gas engine to start. A truck load of hardwood mulch really sets of the plants and makes the front yard look like a magazine. I planted 3 new Endless Summer Hydrangeas on the side yard and hope they work out.

This morning I was weeding and mulching the crape myrtle near the driveway and a big brown spider jumped in the sleeve of my Tshirt. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and when I looked inside my shirt, it started jumping all around. It bit my arm--ouch. Then he took a leap into the front of my shirt. I started to shreek when he found his way out the bottom and he was gone.

I came inside and called Jimmy who was on his way to Newport News to play golf with the Uncles. He said to call the doctor. Meanwhile, I went online and the spider that bit me did not look like a brown recluse spider. It was kind of a cocoa brown, fatter and had thicker legs. So I'm washing the area off and applying good old Neosporine. If it worked on my horses years ago, it's good enough for me. The doctor just called and said there's not much you take, except some Benedryl. I told him it was like a bee sting.

Jimmy tries to play golf with the Uncles once a week, weather and schedule permitting. I've always pushed for him to do this since they are more like brothers than old uncles. You have to make time for the important things or they will pass you by. Jimmy was impressed by "Tuesdays for Morrie" and that has gone a long way to his creating time with them. There's an enormous amount of wisdom and intelligence in that group. Uncle Roy is 80. Uncle Phil is in his upper 70's, I think. We just lost Uncle Donnie to colon cancer a couple months ago. Golf with the Uncles has given them all some good memories of sharing time together.

The weather is glorious--clear, blue skies and up to 82 degrees today, and best of all, no humidity! I'm anxious to plein air paint some this afternoon. I might just stay here and paint the willow trees behind our house. But first I have to have everything ready for Jimmy to make me 2 more raised vegetable beds. There is a pressing need to get the heirloom tomatoes in the ground and growing.