Summer journaling

While we had an out of town guest, we drove up to Multnomah Falls for the day, a typical place to show visitors. While Jim and Antoine walked up to the bridge, I took some time to do this sketch, which for me, was not my forte, but I was inspired to try my hand at architecture, after being around the Urban Sketchers.
Mmm. Red velvet cupcakes and homemade lemonade were on offer at the Barn House flea market in July. What a great combination! Glad we bought ours early, as they sold out quickly.
We know the end of Summer is near when we spend a week at one of our favorite places on earth, Mercer Lake, near Florence Oregon. We have been coming here for nearly 30 years and the friends we see here are like family to us. This year the weather was more perfect than usual, which made it hard to leave. I can think of no more restful or relaxing place to spend a summer day.
I made a point of doing some "summertime" things in July, like going to a concert , Apple Jam, at the rose garden at Washington Park. They played early Beatle's songs, many that they never recorded themselves, including this song from The Music Man, "There Were Bells on the Hills". It was kind of corny for a Beatles song, but perfect for the setting among the roses...Later we went to movies in the park and saw The Music Man on a hot Summer evening. It couldn't have been better!
This wasn't one of my favorite journal pages, but it does show some of the vibrant flowers that I had on the back deck as we ate as many meals as we could outside.
Well, we're off again, as I mentioned before, to a hot spot in the desert. Stay tuned for some interesting blog posts!

On art and life

Ahh, Summertime! And is there a sweeter, more fragrant flower than sweet peas?
A favorite quote of mine is "Summer afternoon, Summer afternoon...the two most beautiful words in the English language" by Henry James. He was my kind of guy, and I feel the same way about Summer. It was late in arriving this year, so we need to savor it even more, and enjoy each hot, languid day. I guess I have been doing more of that and less blogging lately, as is evidenced by the fact that my last post was in July! I apologize for that.
Once you start blogging, it sort of becomes a part of you, and I am always thinking of my blog, and blog readers, even if I am not posting anything. Kind of like sending that long overdue letter, saying "I think of you all the time"... It seems that the longer I put off posting something, the harder it gets, so I will renew my commitment to tune up my blog and be a better correspondent.
We have been lucky to be able to entertain several out of town visitors this last month, namely Antoine from Nantes, France, who arrived looking like a French teenager, and left with his new skateboard strapped to his pack, with t shirts ready to tie dye at his next stop! I think he will look like a proper American kid when he returns home.We very much enjoyed having him stay with us for a few days.
After Antoine's visit, I was SO fortunate to get to meet one of my favorite Aussie bloggers, and sketcher extraordinaire, Liz Steele and her constant companion, Borromini Bear, who you can just make out on the stack of soft journals. We talked and sketched on my back deck, since Liz was in town to attend the Urban Sketchers Symposium. She was off the next day on her "around the world in 80 days " trip. Another exciting thing for me that week was to meet Laura Frankstone of Laurelines blog fame. I have followed her blog for several years, and it was pure joy to get to meet her in person.

Even though it is Summer, and December seems far off, I am already thinking of our Portland Art Collective holiday show and sale December 3rd and 4th. This will be another great show, so put it on your calendar right now! Here is a sneak preview of some of the things that I have been working on. Silk and velvet pins will appear in a variety of color combinations.
I am very pleased with this new heart necklace which reminds me a little of the coral heart that I have worn and loved for over 15 years. I hope people will like it as much as I do.
Stay tuned to this blog, as I will have some exciting photos coming up soon, I hope. I have my parasol and sun screen ready, and will pick up my "touring " bike from a friend and we will soonbe ready to take off on a new adventure.