I ACCIDENTALLY TOOK THE SUMMER OFF

I am back with apologies for being so long away.  The winter was long and stressful, and I could feel my creative mojo winding down. Then spring came, and along with it my new horse, Bates. One month of training board turned into two, before I finally brought him home at the beginning of July. A lot of my time was spent, driving back and forth to Caroline county to work with him. I finally brought him home at the beginning of July. After two more months of work and worry with him, we finally accepted, that while he is a very nice horse, he is just not the horse for me. 
In art biz news, I am showing my work for the first time at the Alpaca Festival at Outstanding Dreams Farm. So while I was fretting about my new horse, I was working feverishly to get ready for this weekend. 

It was hot and muggy, with occasional gusts of wind that at one point lifted up my tent. Fortunately, my show savvy neighbor had extra stakes. We'll be a little better prepared today, and it is supposed to be a bit cooler. I sold a few pieces yesterday, but more importantly, got tons of great feedback, and was given some really good leads on galleries, and asked if I'd be interested in teaching a class. Fun stuff.
Another benefit of committing to this show, is that I finally got my mixed-media pieces properly framed. I also dug into my stash of small vintage frames, and had a good time finding photos to do them justice. 
All of this show prepping has left my house in a state I'm not particularly proud of. This is my dining room table this morning...don't judge.

Tomorrow is another day. I have all morning to unpack and put my house in order. In the afternoon I am going to Queenstown to pick up a foster puppy. I am not even kidding.
You know there will be tons of pics.
Anyway, it feels to great to be pack. Catch you later with more show news.
XO!!

CHEERFUL THINGS

It is officially spring, so I should not still  be wearing these...

On the up side, I did get to test drive these...

My cherry red, and super soft, alpaca fingerless gloves from the the Outstanding Dreams Alpaca Farm Shop.
Also cheering me today, my polka dot teapot with tulips...

The arrival of a new art book, which was free, because Amazon settled a lawsuit giving all their book customers a credit. Found money! Always a good thing. I ordered Drawing For Mixed-Media Artists by Carla Sonheim. Can't wait to dive in.

And last but not least, there is this...

I am packed and ready to go. My camera and I are going back to school. Starting a photography class this evening. Wish us luck.
Got to run. Going to spend the afternoon with Michael McGrath, tweaking the photos I took of his beautiful design project on the Tred-Avon.

Hope you're finding something to be cheerful about, even if you had to buy your tulips, and you're still wearing insulated coveralls to go out to your barn. 
Later gators! XO.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

As some of you already know, I bought a new camera this week. It arrived on Tuesday, but as our little Scout was spayed that day, I've been too busy trying to keep her quiet (as if), to play with it. Until today. I've posted a couple of pics on Facebook already, and one of my Fly Tribe friends, Kim Lovethelakers Hyer, suggested I do a "day in the life" post, with just pics. Thanks, Kim! So, without further ado...
A day in the life of me (with a spanking new DSLR camera). Did you just roll your eyes??

Alice. Met Alice and June and the lovely young vet tech who owns them at Bill Burton Park today.  You meet the nicest people hanging out with dogs.

June.

Mimosa.

Our Kitty. Aka Mathilda.

I know, ewwwwww!

Pupdate: Scout is recovering nicely from her surgery, so nicely that  the "keeping her quiet and leash walking for 10 days" is trying the patience of us both.

Okay, I may have lied a little bit when I said there would be no words. I do have to tell you how happy I am with the new camera (Nikon D5100), though I know I have a lot to learn. Should probably crack open the book that came with it, for a start. Also, tonight when I was out tucking the horses in, I was excited to hear the faint honking of geese. In the coming weeks, that will become a twice daily cacophany, which means.... I'll be able to torment you with a seemingly endless number of Canada goose pictures. You're welcome! XO