The End of 2021 Onward to 2022!

 Just wanted to drop by, (its been awhile to say the least) to share these lovely photos Mother Nature bestowed on us starting Christmas Eve. AND they say there is more to come....

The start of the snow...

Christmas morning...

The marshmallows are actually my boxwoods and bird bath

So cold but beautiful.

and finally my attempt at a little video.

Ah is life in the foothills of the Cascades.

Happy New Year!

The Great Realisation : Hindsight 2020

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Mom  it snowed and were ready to go.

It sure did. (front drive)

Back yard and you can't even see Mt. Si.

We were blessed with 6 inches of the white fluffy

stuff starting Christmas Eve. Our drive home from 

the family dinner was very shall we say tricky. We ended up following 

two snowplows on I-90 all the way back home. I thank those plow

drivers from the bottom of my heart. Once home we cuddled up with Cooper and Max by

a roaring fire and waited for Santa.

It was magical !

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I'll see you in the new year,

with paint brush in hand as I have some new ideas in my mind.

Ho Ho Ho Looks Like Snow

 Have been working on my first set of Christmas cards and thought this 

first one appropriate with the moose working on the tree with his buddies !

While it is snowing on the card it is snowing outside my window.

 The moose are getting the lights ready as should I be 

doing. But I don't think this snow will last ( at least I hope not).

It's just to early. I still had gardening to do.

This weather has me bewildered as last week it was

a balmy 62 degrees. Oh well I will just go with whatever

may come. My last moose is bringing the decorations.

You can find these critters over on my Etsy.

I can't believe there are still hummingbirds flying about

in the snow. Have a happy Sunday everyone.

Wow Time Flys....

It is October... what happened to August and September...

Looking out at the rain and beautiful colors mother nature

has painted my backyard, I have come to realize I am one 

person and I can't do it all.

It has been eleven months of working on the exterior of 

my log home.  I have learned from all of this....

don't build such a huge house, don't build a gigantic deck to go 

with the large house, don't create so many gardens on your ten plus acres.

I should be famous for the number of weeds I have pulled and I am not done yet.

As the weather turns wet and cold I will be starting on the inside.

My two little buddies had to be shaved down as they were developing matts and 

I couldn't get a brush through their hair. So now they have new coats to keep them warm

while we wait for their fur to grow back. 

Not spoiled at all....

They have been troopers through all the work on the house. They

had to greet all the workmen every morning when they arrived.

How I found time for painting I don't know.  I think it was my 

salvation and time to get lost from all that was going on around me.

 A few of my new bookmarks.

and a few small paintings.

I have had time to think about life and what I want.

One thing for sure is I don't want a lot of "stuff". I  am going to be downsizing 

so I am going through everything and downsizing my belongings.

I have quietly been visiting all the blogs I follow just so I know what's going on with all of you.

Not much time to leave messages but am hoping to change that.

I have been trying to keep up with my walking, thanks to my Fitbit ( it reminds me all the time).

We had so many wildfires here this summer that walking had to be put on hold or inside due to the smoke.

I will try to be more  "here on the blog" in the future.

Happy Fall everyone.

Where I have Been Walking and What I've been Doing.

This is Mount Si in the background and  Tollgate Farm in the

front. It is a wonderful place to get your walking , running,

etc. in.They have gravel paths around the farm area with 

informative placards of the history of the place.

I try to get there early before the heat of the day or in the evening

when it starts to cool down. They still raise cows in the center of the

park. I have fallen in love with a sweet calf. I use treking poles so she seems to 

know when I am there and she comes for a pet. She is precious with her long

 eyelashes and sweet face. Anyway I have been trekking every day and 

really enjoying it.

I also have been painting. Trying to keep up with my cards and a few

larger paintings. That and still working on the house every day. I will 

be happy to finish that project.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer.

I try to get to all your posts when I crawl into bed

each night. Checking up on all of you is better than

any tv lately. Til next time....

It has been awhile.......

Dear old world... you are very lovely, and

I am glad to be alive in you.

                                                    Anne of Green Gables

I find these words quite fitting for me as of late. Once again this Spring

I had to have my cardiologist do a little work on me.I am now the proud owner of three stents (total), one last year and two this year. Now I love my doctor but I told him we won't be meeting like this

again.

I highly recommend the Fitbit watch. It has made a world of difference for me. My son bought it for

me so I could track my steps and heart rate (BPM). It also is fantastic for tracking your food intake. I named it Coach as thats what it does.( I name everything...car is the Silver Fox, etc) Back to the Coach. It lets me know when I need to get more steps in, alerts me when I have reached my goals,

even tracks my sleep patterns. It just offers so much and I am really loving it. There is a park near by that is built around a cow pasture, that I love to do my walking on. It has a one mile path around it and I get to talk to the cows and one lazy lamb.LOL The views of theCascade Mtns and Mount Si are all around you. A really fun place to get ones steps in. I try for 8500 a day and yesterday did 13000. I knew it when I woke up this morning. But Im right back at it or I'll  hear from the coach. All in all I am feeling great.

Am finally finishing up all the log home restoration, which started last Nov. I thought it would

never end. Now on to the landscaping. I am still thinking about selling. Houses are being snapped up almost immediately here. But not sure where I want to relocate so am taking my time.

My painting was on hold for awhile as there just was to much happening around here with workmen , etc. But I am starting up again. Mostly cards for now. My studio still needs to be gone through and organized. Yes I know... but it will be done, I promise, maybe....😉😉  .

Cooper and Max are still my sidekicks and into everything.

Don't they look like innocent angels, NOT. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Will be back soon , I hope, with paintings. 

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer.

Hope to hear from you soon if you have not given up on me.😊

Spring is Coming! (fingers crossed)

The bunny has spoken. Enough of the snow and 

rain. Enough you hear. Warm weather must come

soon. It is almost tulip time in the Skagit Valley.

I have a sneaky feeling it may be a bit late.

But it will come.

These are my new cards I just put on Etsy.

I am sure you all have had enough of winter.

I have had enough for the year. We have had snow, snow and more snow.

Now we are into rain and warnings of mudslides.

I think this has been the strangest  year for weather.

How has it been for all of you?

Cupid and Hearts Time

 Yup it's that time again...

 So I had to get busy with cards and paint...

and Ley my imagination roam...

I just kept coming up with more....

hearts....

and then just for fun...

I am still re-organizing the studio. I took before pictures

which I will try to find the nerve to show you once I am done.

You will then realize all that I have been going through. It 

requires lots of chocolate and snacks....LOL

During all this time I have been having the house glass

blasted removing all stain, etc on the logs and then totally 

redoing it. A great crew working in all kinds of nasty weather.

They have had to stop and wait for warmer weather to do the staining.

What they were able to get done before the nasty weather looks fantastic.

So you can see I have been busy. But I will catch up more soon. 

Happy hearts ,flowers and CHOCOLATE day!

Happy 2017!

A chilly 21 degrees welcoming in the new year.

But oh so beautiful!

Spending the day reading, painting and telling myself to

RE-ORGANIZE MY STUDIO.

(thought by using caps, I might actually start to do it)

😏😉

Happy New Year Everyone.

Wishing You a Merry Holiday

Weather has turned cold again

so we may have a white

Christmas!

Have fun and enjoy this special

time of the year!

Life Just Gets in the Way Sometimes

Hi and yes I have not put anything on the blog 

since July. Not that there wasn't anything to 

"bark" about...actually there was just to much going on. I  

decided to have the house totally redone on the outside.

it took a great deal of time to find the right company to do

the job. They are glass blasting all the logs right down,

removing all the stain and redoing the whole thing. This is really a process.

We had one more day of blasting and things ground to a halt

do to freezing weather and then unexpected snowwwwwwww!

On top of all this I had cataract surgery on Thursday and driving was

not good. But my son came to the rescue again.  The surgery was a lot easier

than I thought it would be, with great results.

I guess I won't be working in the yard today.LOL But it sure is

beautiful. It is turning to rain and then back to snow later.

  

I have been busy painting cards and making journals for the local shops

and Etsy.

an enjoying the Christmas lighting over in

Snoqualmie. I shall try to be more prolific with

my blogging.