Travels About!

Ok...so I know I have been gone for awhile, but I have just been so busy with "stuff"!!  We have been moving pretty quickly, first we headed to Elkhart Indiana to have some work done on our fifth wheel.  It was an exhausting two weeks.....but well worth it for the improvements made to our lifestyle.  Here is a photo of one of our biggest improvements which will make my life so much easier.....

 

Bibbity Bobbity Boo!!  A new washer and dryer....no more laundry mats....no more saving quarters.....no more...no more!!  

From Elkhart, we made our way to Richmond, Indiana for an overnight stay at a quaint little campground.  I took an early evening walk and found.......

This spooky little bird bath.....just something about it that drew me in.  Love the color and the soft reflections in the water and towering over her.......

is this sleeping giant of the forest.  I didn't even know what I had captured until I downloaded this on my computer.  No photoshoping.....I caught this because the evening lighting and textures were just right.  Isn't he magnificent!

Currently we are taking it easy in a great little park in Cincinnati Ohio.  The weather is cloudy and overcast, but me and my camera are still going to get "out and about" so hopefully I will have some great photos for my next post.

Travel Plans

Looks like we will be heading a bit up north Sept 6th to have some work done on our fifth wheel....Elkhart, Indiana to be exact.  While there we will also stop over in Middlebury, where there is a large Amish community.  They have the most wonderful grocery there and I plan to purchase some of their wonderful cheeses, fresh spices, and bake goods.  Once we finish up there, we will head down to Cincinnati Ohio.  We have been having trouble with our on demand hot water system and plan to visit the manufacturer for some "tweaking" of the system.  Of course, I can't pass up an opportunity to visit the Cincinnati Zoo while there.  I'm planning on two full days of photo shoots to add to my stash of reference photos for future paintings.  Really excited about that opportunity.  From there...not sure, may slip down into Kentucky to visit some family before heading back to Lafayette for about another month and then down to Florida come the end of October.
I do have a commissioned piece I'll be working on......hopefully, I'll be able to post some wips along the way.

Giraffe FINI!

 

All done!  

I have to say I had fun painting this little fellow! 

Giraffe Part 4

I finished up my second sewing job of reupholstering my dining chair and I'm happy to say I am back at my easel......

 

Very happy with my progress....the mouth and nose area are starting to come together.  Don't you just love that perfectly goofy look!

 

Just a little closer look.....I brought up the highlight in the eyes a bit.

One of my post a while back mentioned my interview on PetLife Radio.  Well....it is up and available for your listening pleasure....LOL!  Episode 13...find it here.  You can also read a bit about the interview here. 

My Sewing Project.....half done!

I mentioned on an earlier blog that I had started to reupholster my dining room chairs.  Yesterday, I actually finished one of them.

Here is a close up view.  I do have a passion for fabrics and it has been great fun to be back at my sewing machine. 

Here is a view of the chair in our "dining room" with the table.  I need to "tidy up" the storage boxes underneath the table.  Maybe I could do some type of a fabric topper...to hide their contents a bit more.  Sew.....I have one more chair to go.  Ya all know how one thing leads to another.....I'm really like-in the fresh look of the chair and may have to jump on my window treatments next!

Giraffe Part 3

I managed to put in some time on my giraffe painting yesterday.......

As always I wish I were moving a little faster, but overall I'm pleased with the results.  I do see a bit of a flat spot to the left of the right eye, but that is an easy fix.  I think one of the more difficult areas is the that bulging eye.....it is heavily shaded by the lid and those gorgeous long, thick eyelashes.  That makes for a very dark eye area....not much of a highlight.  I will probably try to see if I can bring the highlight up a bit more...just to add some sparkle to the eye.

So..did ya know I sew!

I know many of you are wondering where I have gotten off to.....once again.  Well, first there was the whole fourth of July event.  Now, I like fireworks just as well as the next guy.....But my poor furballs were beside themselves for most of the entire weekend.  It got so bad that taking them out to do their "business" became a battle of wills.  Finally got through that and my son calls.  He was going out of town the upcoming weekend and was hoping I could babysit the "grand dog".  How could I say no to a face like this.......

Those big blue eyes get me everytime!

Since I was going to be there the entire weekend I decided I might as well get started on a little sewing project.  I have two parson's chair that need to be reupholstered.  Found some great fabric......

and set up my sewing station in my son's spare bedroom.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a far as I would have liked.  Mesha definitely had her own ideas as to how we would be spending the weekend.....LOL!

Here is a before and after shot.....I have yet to add a little skirt and the seat....

That is about as far as I got.....this past week has just been busy with housekeeping chores, running errands, and taking care of my own furballs.  Sometimes "life" just gets you going in another direction and it is hard to put on the breaks and make that "u-turn".  Today I made a promise to myself to get back to my easel.  My giraffe painting is patiently waiting for my return.  The chairs will have to wait......as I just feel the need to paint!