Vacation Travels

I just came back from a vacation trip to California last week. It was a nice break from the snowy and cold weather of the East coast, although I did see a lot of snow from the plane, as we travelled to the West coast. The views of all the mountain ranges were quite spectacular!

We landed at the San Francisco airport in the midst of a rainy day. California has been having an unusually wet season, with flooding in various parts of the state. It was also a bad year for fires! Fortunately, most of the trip was dry and relatively warm.

We did the touristy things that tourists do---wine tasting in Sonoma, driving down Lombard Street, eating at the piers, checking out the seal lions, and visiting Monterey and Pebble Beach.

We enjoyed a visit to Cline Vineyards, where we saw a large flock of sheep cleaning up the weeds around the grapevines. After a delicious tasting of a wide variety of wines, we ended up buying four bottles each. That led to a mad scramble to figure out how to get the wines home safely. After buying bubble wrap sleeves for each bottle, they travelled back home without incident in our slightly heavier suitcases.

The seal lions were hanging out in their usual spot at Pier 39 in San Francisco. Lots of barking and flopping around as they interacted with each other in the usual manner of their community.

  Cool juxtaposition of old and new architecture, taken from a window in the SF Museum of Modern Art.

A creepy sculpture of giant spiders

Had to stop at Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop.

Calla Lilies in Monterey

 Plenty of scuba divers in Monterey Bay

Gulls hanging out, with the famous PebbleBeach Golf Course in the distance

The iconic "Lone Cypress"

Another California Gull posing for the camera

These are some of the highlights of my trip. Won't include any photos of relentless traffic that one encounters everywhere. Getting in and out of SF is often a slow ride. I took the commuter train one day, and even though they pack you in like sardines, it was still better than getting stuck in traffic.

I love to travel, but am always happy to be home again!

Vintage Nubble Lighthouse

I'm working on a new block print of an iconic Maine lighthouse--Nubble Light. I used an old photograph that I had taken probably back in the 1980s. There have been some recent renovations, to the facade of the house, since I took my photo, but I'm sticking with the vintage image.

Carving away the white areas first

February Cold

It's been a very cold few weeks around here! Many days of below zero temperatures, and several snow events. Today was milder, and I went out for a nice long walk this afternoon. I often stop and photograph a small stream along the way, and today it was completely frozen over, which I haven't seen before.

What's funny about New England weather is that it can change so quickly. The forecast for this week calls for a very mild 50 degree day on Tuesday, then back to the cold again for next weekend!

Happy New Year 2019!

Happy New Years to all! Looking forward to a year of new adventures and artworks. I woke up this first morning to a coating of snow. We have hardly had any of late, and no big storms in the near future. No complaints from me, as it is a lot easier to get around without messy roads and driveways.

Our turkey friends have been visiting us over Christmas break. There are 13 regulars who wander around the neighborhood looking for food. They are drawn to our bird feeders, and the seeds that have fallen on the ground.

My husband took these photos a few days ago. There is one big male with a waddle and beard. The rest appear to be females and youngsters.

January 1st is usually my traditional day to take down the Christmas tree, and I plan to do that this afternoon.  We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. My eldest daughter and her new husband brought their dog for on overnight on Christmas Eve. We worried about how our cat would like the interloper in the house, but she stayed out of sight and all was peaceful. The dog, Homer was a gentleman, and everyone enjoyed his company (all the humans).

My mom and Homer

 Christmas Morn

Wiley on the move (fluffy tail)

Best Wishes for 2019!

Tis The Season

December has been a busy month with several art shows, some custom orders, and the overall Holiday Season! How quickly the time is flying with Christmas just barely over a week away!
The tree is up, the decorations are out, and most of my shopping is done--thanks to the convenience of on-line ordering.

Wiley as usual was supervising.

I have been working on this print for awhile, and finally finished it Friday night. It was a challenging project, and I struggled a bit with some of my color choices, and the sequencing of the layers. The finished prints are hanging up, as the multiple layers of ink will take a while to dry completely. 

  Seagulls 

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I enjoyed a very happy Thanksgiving day with my family yesterday! Turkey and all the fixings with my side of the family, and desserts with my husband's side. Of course everything was delicious, and I ate my way through the day! Below is the apple pie I made to bring for dessert.

I've been very busy getting ready for a few upcoming art shows this month. The first one is in Dover NH at the Woodman Museum.

                         These are the pieces that I have for sale in the Dover show.

Next Saturday, a group of artsy friends are setting up our wares at Corey's house in Manchester. 

I spent the afternoon today, working on a custom order that I wanted to get finished. Of course Wiley found her favorite spot to supervise my progress.

Art Shows and Halloween

The month of October is almost over, and I'm scrambling to get some new work finished for the holiday season ahead. I'm participating in an Art Sale at my friend Corey's house, the first of December. I'd like to have plenty of cards on hand, as well as some larger prints.

It's a fun time!

I've also been trying to do some weekly illustrations for Illustration Friday, but I've missed the deadline for the latest themes. So I'm posting the one here that I finally finished. The theme was cat.

Happy Halloween!