Yea !!!!!!!!!!!!

Indulge me once again in writing about my dear ol' dad. Today would have been his 80th birthday. This photo was on his 65th I believe. He was doing a lot of woodwork in his shop at the time so I made a cake and put tools on them with icing, using brown sugar for sawdust.
My brain is trying hard to focus on the wonderful birthdays we celebrated with him, but my stubborn heart marches to it's own beat - of course - and it feels soggy and heavy.
On an upbeat note.....

I finished another 'maytagarama'! For those of you unfamiliar with that term...I am painting 2 x 3 foot canvas' in acrylic of old washing machines for a friend's two businesses. There are to be a total of fourteen, a set of seven for each place. I will not have them exactly alike, though they could be, I choose not too. I dubbed them 'maytagaramas' after the Maytag brand washerss. Finding time has been difficult and they are taking longer than predicted. Keep in mind, I have painted less than 20 'real' paintings since I graduated from college so I am improving, getting faster and more confident. BigBoy says that my latest ones are better than the first ones.....probably so......due to my experience but also to the different types. Some lend themselves to become a more interesting, pleasing eye experience than others. I will post them all soon. I have more to do......

Gotta go sketch out the next one AND be ready to go to Target with family when they return from the gym. Hope to catch up with your sites soon!

Dogs On Thursday: The Late Edition

Hey Mom! What you doing up there? Not that I really care that much since BigBoy is down here with me.......sorry........

I love you, best buddy......hey- let's play!

C'mon, let's play 'ruff', like we always do!!!

Whew! Okay, that pretty much did it for me for a couple of hours. Before dozing off though let me tell Snuffles, Annie, Emma, Luna and the rest of my four-pawed friends hello!

"She Is 16, Going On 17....."

Monday was VolleyGirl's 16th birthday. Below is the pink and lavender cake.

So.....let's skip down memory lane a bit...and hope VG does NOT see this for fear she may curl up into a tiny ball with embarrassment. She would not be happy with me....but I am fearless so....

She is only months old in the above photo and her hair does not appear as curly and blonde as it really was. Pink cheeks, red lips (sh, a bit chubby), she looked just like a cherub.

Crawling with pigtails at 9 months old.

She was a bit over a year old here.

Easter Day and we visited the grandparent's lakehouse for egg hunting when she was 22 months.

Ahhhh, one of my favorites - the 2 year old 'pouting angel' at Halloween. Pouting because I wouldn't allow her to open a big decorated cookie at Grandmother's house just before we were to leave.

Christmas time and she's 3 1/2 years old. That's our first pet, Teri. By two years old she already had more hair than I ever managed in a lifetime. I do live vicariously through her hair!

This one didn't come out very clear but it is another favorite photo. First grade school picture.

This one will get me in deep ____! I believe it is 5th or 6th grade.

8th grade volleyball photo and she has bangs for the first time.

She's 15.....eeeeeeeeek, driver's permit!

.......sixteen, will be a junior in high school.....proud of the young lady she has turned into....still innocent, thoughtful, funny, spiritual, smart (when she wants to be) and real stubborn .....thank goodness we can talk about almost everything........

Busy Baking and Being a Taxi.....

Be back tomorrow checking everyone's site. Today is VolleyGirl's 16th birthday! I have been driving her around to meet friends for lunch, to volleyball camp her team is hosting for five hours, picking up last minute items and making her cake which will be pink and lavender. Hope you all are having a great Monday!

Day for the Fathers

Happy Father's Day to my Mr. Unplugged pictured above with his beloved Apollo.

Thank you for making these two great kids possible!

......and thank you dad, for all the love, kindness, humor, patience, good sense, hard work, talents and the wonderful memories that are cherished so dearly now. Glad you liked all the shirts, bird boxes, Goo Goo candy, caps or whatever we could come up with to somehow honor you on this day in those years past. Though you are far from my touch, you are never far from my mind and always, always in my heart.

Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there!

Belated SkyWatch Friday

One week I will get back on schedule posting the days...........perhaps. Took this photo

recently, liked the lonely baby detached clouds and the jet leftovers at the top. Don't miss the awesome sky photos on http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

Hope all the Dads have a great Father's Day!

Dogs On Thursday: Crazy Days

'Holy tufted throne!' It has been so crazy around this pint-castle that 'me lady' nearly overlooked my weekly report!!!!! No wonder with all the pounding and knocking above this place. It has me a bit puzzled but my best buddy has taken care of me royally, doting on me especially......I hardly leave his side? 'Hey what are you doing with my blue bone up there?'

Ha, ha, ha, buddy spilled my water and it was great fun catching hold of that towel....'come on, pull!'

'Those unknown dudes get here really early in the mornings to start the pounding and pestering noise......................................till we meet again........special bark out to Snuffles, Emma, Annie, Luna and all you foxy felines!

Ferocious Feline and Sound of Music

Dudley, our Ragdoll cat, appears as if he is yelling at me...he was at the very top of the back stairs as I started up so I snapped a few with my camera phone. Merely caught him during mid-yawn or he was showing off.

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus cause 'moi' completed another 'Maytagarama' last night!!!!! Already began another this morning. They are 24 x 36 in acrylic. I'll show you my progress....

The Zoo became busier today since we are getting a new roof and workers began this morning. The knocking and pounding doesn't bother me. Anxious to see it when it's finished, had to go with a different color. Almost every house around here has got a new roof.....remember the hail we had?

There's Always Something

Above is the other zentangle I did sitting at the Art Festival the other week. I have painted on my washing machine themed paintings a bit........in between the 19 loads of clothes, tons of meals and running VolleyGirl to practice - then as luck would have it....

early last week BigBoy and I were downstairs and heard a fairly loud noise. 'What was that?' We checked outside around the house, yelled at VolleyGirl to see what happened, then he ran upstairs looking around and found it. The shelf/clothing rack and an additional shelf on one side of my closet had came down. Uh, um, er, well, okay, it was pretty overloaded and it was all in the floor and I could barely open the closet door. Great, that's all I needed, some big task to tackle immediately! Six large garbage bags full of clothes, shoes, purses and one bag of trash later - it is now stacked in the bedroom floor to put back in. Mr. Unplugged fixed it today...he was waaaaaay underjoyed about it....let's just leave it at that. (Mr. Fix-It is not synonymous for Mr. Unplugged...) VolleyGirl is to sand the spackled spots (don't ask), then vaccum then I will be ready to pick a bit more out that passed the first cut, organize it all, and hang the rest up. We have alot to take to our church's thrift store. Though I hated every minute of it and the timing stunk.....I WILL BE SO PROUD!!! This week: besides the wash, food, painting - hit the volleyball ad sales again, take care of Father's Day gifts with the kids and shop for VG....she turn's 16 on the 22nd!!!!!

SkyWatch Friday: Outta This World

These were taken a while back , thought they were unusual. I think they look like some type of galaxy.........check out other photos at http://skyley.blogspot.com/ .

Dogs On Thursday: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...........

Thank You!!!!!!!

These detailed little coloring books arrived recently from Artist Victoria O'Neill.....there is a little stack of them and they are simply amazing! If you have not checked her site - you should. Thank you so much Victoria!

The incredible Soulbrush sent me these awesome ATCs last week along with four inchies! I love the variety and color in them all. The lovely card they came in is her 'Table Mountain' print. Thanks so much Soul.....you're divine! All these miniatures are like gourmet art snacks, don't you think?

Wow, couldn't figure out why I had this one real sore spot on my back about the size of my hand.....then it hit me (fortunately very lightly). It is from the numerous pats on the back I received from all the supportive, encouraging comments left on the previous post concerning my participation in my very first art festival! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Lastly, (whew) above is one of two zentangles that I completed while sitting at the festival last weekend. Yeah, the little blue spots to the right are where I accidentally made a mark on the paper...the wind was blowing. I'm thinking I may go back and do something there in black or just add some black. Till later everyone!

A Virgin No More! Hear About It!

You will never guess what I did yesterday........it was my first..........um, no, not that! I participated in my very first art festival! Decided at the last minute (Friday afternoon) to go for it. Spent until after midnight finding enough easels and framing four items for it. Wasn't really expecting to sell anything- just needed to take that first step even though I didn't have that many items. Low and behold, the heavens opened up (not with rain, thankfully) and someone purchased two items as I started to pack up! The zentangles, who would have thunk it - she bought the two zentangles below that I had framed. I also met one of my blog friends, she was in the festival as well. Visit her site if you want to see the photo her husband took. http://www.micheleleeart.com/ She does some beautiful work and has a good heart.

Michelle said when I first met her yesterday that she had told friends about my zentangles and thinks it could be my little niche.........

I probably will do more.......

Dogs On Thursday:Barely!

I must check into getting another 'Lady in Waiting'....the one I have now is making me wait WAY TOO LONG!!! Certainly, last week has been forgiven but today...by the floppy skin around my teeth have I slipped in my report for this week! This will be checked into...after all....I am a royal and have standards to uphold. Bliss, bliss, bliss is what it has been with everyone here (especially that funny jester BigBoy!) The little miss has been giving me quite a bit of attention also....what can I say.....if you don't love me immediately, you will soon! Last week Dad and my buddy took me to that place where they look me over, boy, I love the attention. Against my wishes they stuck a needle in a place on my front leg that I had been thoroughly enjoying licking. May I say that it hurt me worse than anything had but for some reason the thrill of the lick has left me........

Ahhhhhh- LOVE IT when my royal aura shows up so intensely in one of my portraits!!!! Though the guys were away today sometimes you just can't hide the glow......Happy DOT everyone with a special woof out to Snuffles, Annie, Luna and Emma!

My Cup Runneth Over....

I have been so busy that I have not had time to blog and boy do I miss it. My life is full of cooking, cleaning, washing, grocery store, and running VolleyGirl to practice. We are ALL at home - Mr. Unplugged works from home, BigBoy is doing graphic work for someone at his university and it is emailed to him. It is a circus around here....kidding, picking on one another, fusses, grossing each other out.....we really would be almost unfit for a reality show....the husband is the worst of them all......in the midst of this I posted this painting on ebay, BigBoy created a website (http://www.apolloartwork.webs.com/) and wants to create me one. I have been having VG clean out all her old school work and starting on her clothes. I want VG to help me clean out a bedroom this summer that has been a catch all too. Each day I try to get done with work and go up to paint on my old washing machines.....and now....it's time for me (and VolleyGirl) to sell $600 worth of ads in the team program.....if I didn't, we would have to pay it ourselves and I won't let that happen. I also need to be created more art for the sites.......of course I want to be doing ATCs with all of you.........so......there you go. This where I have been.

I enjoy seeing all your work when I can get around to it....don't forget me!

Apollo says he will be snorting mad if he doesn't get to post later tomorrow so I have already told him he could!