100 Posts! , A Spare Minute, and Love

It has occurred to me that even though I do not have my pc hooked up and thus, no way to load photos here to my blog, that I CAN STILL POST 3 BLESSINGS A DAY! I have to laugh, because posting my art has been the focus for quite sometime now and really this blog was invented with the intention of giving attention to the blessings that God graciously bestows upon me every day.

I have been quite involved with the improvements, clean-up and management of the Sand Dollar Inn for 3 months now. Finally, I am beginning to breathe and I can devote a window of time each day to painting.....Yahoo!!!!!

With that in mind, I will attempt to get my pc up and running soon, so I can show you what I'm doing. But for now, I really have been blessed beyond anything I could imagine to ask for.

1) This is my 100th post! Who would have thought? Although it has taken quite some time to rack up these numbers, I have to say, it has been a ton of fun. Thank you to all who have faithfully returned and read my blog, even when there have blocks of time with nothing new here. Your feedback and loving comments make it all worth it!

2) Probably to some people's dismay, I personally am thrilled that Glenn Beck is back from vacation! His show is one of my favorites on TV these days.

3) Perfect Love.

I've Been Tagged!!!!

Recently, I was tagged by Doudy over at Doudy Sketche. I consider it quite an honor, since I don't see myself as being in the same class of artist as Doudy. He's wonderful. Wow! Thank you. I'm supposed to share 5 things about myself and then tag 5 other people.

1. I have been painting watercolors for almost 2 years.
2. I just recently moved to the southern Oregon coast, where painting fodder is always plentiful!
3. My favorite authors are God (The Bible), Jan Karon (The Mitford Series), Charlene
Baumbich (The Dearest Dorothy Series), Laura Ingalls Wilder and Francis Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden).
4. I am the daughter of a preacher and a school teacher.
5. I am the mother of the most wonderful son.

Now, on to my tag selection!

1. Catherine @ In and Out of the Studio
She is a wonderful artist who's style I just adore! She also offers classes and is just a wonder-
ful friend, full of encouragement and inspiration. Thank you, Catherine!
2. Carol @ Paris Breakfasts. Now this is
a woman who has created a career out of what she loves ... painting, traveling, & Paris. Very
inspiring!
3. Jenny @ Jenny Davis Watercolors I don't know much about Jenny, but I know that I just drool whenever I visit
her blog. Wow! to paint portraits like this artist does! Very nice.
4. Michael @ Painting the West I just recently
found Michael's blog and I found it fresh, inspiring, and a place I will visit regularly.
5. Joanna @ Higglety Pigglety
Absolutely adore Joanna's work! And who couldn't love Captain Rupert. Joanna has made
her love of art and a rabbit a lifestyle. Wonderful!

Okay, it's your turn! Each of you, please share 5 pieces of info about yourself and then tag 5 other people. Enjoy!

If I Keep Walking West, My Feet Will Just Get Wet!

After weeks of "disconnect" from this blog and other areas of my life, I have come to a point in my life, once again, where I can take a deep breath and look toward the things I enjoy most. One of them is posting and networking with my friends here on the web. Many of you have been patiently awaiting my return after our move. Thank you!
The move? I recently stepped out of my familiar life (a comfort zone, to be sure) into a new venture. Yes! It was a somewhat scary decision to make. For years now we have looked for a new opportunity; a new job that we could do. And God, being who He is, answered my prayers. One day, out of the blue, we were asked if we would be willing to manage a motel! We thought about it, prayed about it and well, here we are!!
So far, so good. We are in a lovely little community on the southern Oregon coast...Gold Beach, Oregon. Gold Beach is home of one of the most scenic adventures in the Northwest. Since 1895, mail boats have delivered mail and packages up-river to Agness and still do today. Loads of fun and unsurpassed beauty can be had and seen on the Rogue River Mail Boat Hydro-Jet Trips!

Though I have been very busy and focused on the details of running The Sand Dollar Inn, I have managed to do a bit of painting. Actually, just a few watercolor sketches. I will try to get them posted as soon as I can get MY computer set up. I am also looking forward to getting out and about in the art community here. There are 6 galleries here and many artists, so I'd better get my brushes wet and start creating again....oh! how I miss it!

I'm Back!....almost.

After 3 weeks away, I am ready to be back! I have really missed blogging and I have missed the contact with friends I have met here! Let me tell you, the last few weeks have been non-stop and exhausting, to say the least.
Almost 3 weeks ago, we loaded up the moving truck with all of our belongings from our 4 bdrm home and headed down the road to Gold Beach, OR. When we arrived we unloaded the truck and attempted to arrange our things in our new home ... a 1 bdrm apartment! It's really not as bad as it sounds!
We have taken over the management of a local motel. Lots of work ahead of us and the summer season will be fast approaching, but just wanted to let you know that I am still here. I unpacked all of my art supplies today and arranged them in my little corner of the living room (lovingly, of course). I really have missed painting!!!! I need the therapy.....maybe, after a nap.......
P.S. Check back soon for more updates.

Wonderful Support!

I feel so honored to have had so many wonderful and supportive visitors here recently!!! Thank you to everyone who has considered me a friend and to those who are commenting on my blogging efforts. I just love living, walking with my Lord, and painting!!!! I know you haven't seen a painting posted here in several weeks, but rest assured, I am still living (LOL!) and am still walking with my Lord. And Lord willing, I will continue to do so, until I can get back up, painting and posting again. We are in the process of moving and tomorrow my computer connection will be disconnected. I will miss you all! I will be back up in a couple of weeks. So, "pencil me in" to your calendar and come back to visit then.

Support for a Striving Artist

We all have those days when nothing seems to go right. We are not alone! From personal experience, when I am feeling this way I know I need to dig to look for the goodness and blessings that are in my life (right now, today). I always find that I do not need to dig deep...in fact, I have never needed a shovel to find it. God is so good!!!!
I recently found a "new" artist trying to enhance her skills in watercolor and honestly I enjoy her work alot. Very fresh! Visit Doudy Sketche. I think you will enjoy!!!!!

Meet Miss Kitty!

Some of you read my earlier post about Miss Kitty adopting our family and how we were sure she was pregnant. Well, to our delight, she was NOT pregnant, just gaining weight. Lots of weight!!!!! She really is a plump kitty.

Here is her favorite sleeping position.....on her back.

She also is a real sweetheart and we have grown to enjoy her antics very much. I guess you could say she is one of the family now.

A Request for Patience

I am so thankful for those of you who are loyal readers of my blog and who enjoy stopping by to visit and see what I've been up to in and out of The Water Bucket Studio. Thank you, thank you!! If you are one of them, then you have noticed and probably have been disappointed as of late to find that when you arrive, nothing has changed. No new posts! What is wrong with this picture?!
Between the busyness of life, the process of major decisions in our family, illness, etc., I simply have not had time or energy. Sound familiar? If so, then my loyal readers will understand and will keep coming back just to check in.
We have been blessed with a career change that has been much wanted and desired for several years now. It was a huge decision for us. But when you leave it at Jesus' feet and let Him be your guide. What grace!!!!!
The big changes are to take place in the next month and so I will be taking some more time off from my blog in the meantime. Please be patient!!!! And please check back soon and I will give you the full story. If the Lord wills, all will go smoothly and we will just step into place.

New Year Greetings to All!

Can you believe 2007 is almost ended??? As a child I heard adults saying things like "Time flies by so quickly.", "The older I get the shorter the day.", and "Every year gets shorter and shorter!" I never understood what they were talking about, as I'm sure everyone of you can relate to and remember also. NOW I UNDERSTAND! It is true. There truly is so much to do and so little time to accomplish it.

The Lord has showered me with blessings in 2007 and I am so very grateful. He has continually clothed me, fed me, and sheltered me from the storms (both literally and figuratively) this year, all the while teaching me some powerful, wonderful, and sometimes difficult lessons. I never wanted to experience some of these things, and yet, I am so much better off having been through them and learning from them. I am thankful for it all. Even more, I am thankful for a loving God, who guides me through all of it.

3 Paintings and A Quick Note to All

5x16 watercolor Moleskine

Wow! How far away I have been!!! I hope you all have continued to visit and I apologize to those who have and found no new posts. Lots of things are happening here at home and we have some huge changes coming real soon, but more about that later. For now, I wanted to share with you a few new paintings. Above is just a quick sketch done in my wc Moleskine and below I repeated the painting on 11x14 paper. Of course, no two paintings are ever alike, I like them both. What do you think???

11x14 watercolor

Never Let Go, 11x14 watercolor

I have always been drawn to the Bible story of the woman with an issue of blood that is recorded in Matthew 9:20-21 and in Mark 6:56. "Wherever He entered into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well."

Just to touch the hem of Jesus' garment!!! Imagine. I trust Him and I know that no matter what happens to me here on earth, no matter how difficult life may be, I can hold on to the hem of His garment today by reading God's word and obeying Him. What a wonderful and precious blessing that is!

Please do come back again! It will be a couple of months before I can get back to regular and consistent posting, but please don't give up on me. I so enjoy sharing with you all!

Kitty, Chef in the Kitchen, and My Guide

Life here on the Oregon coast is pretty wonderful lately. I haven't been posting regularly lately, because so much is going on in our neck of the woods and for the most part, I have to say everything has been good, good, good. Since moving to our new place in August, we have had many "visitors" to our home, all with the hopes that we would be keeping a bottomless dish of cat food on our porch. Yes, cats are abundant in our neighborhood! I warned the cat lover in our household that he was not to start feeding them and he took it to heart for a good 2 months, I'd say, until a little female revealed that she was living under the church building next door AND that she was starving. After a few bowls of milk and a morsel of left-over cod, she decided to follow us home and she has not left since. She now has run of the house (though she never strays far from the "princess chair", where she lounges and bathes herself regularly) during the day and then she promptly wants out at night. The arrangement works well for all of us, so far. I was talking with a friend about this new arrangement and she made the remark "All strays that you take in are 1. pregnant, 2. full of fleas, 3. wormy, or 4. all of the above." Miss Kitty is quite clean, but also quite PREGNANT!!!! I'm not sure how we will deal with that, but all in all, we like our new guest. I'll try to post a picture of her soon.
It has been a treat this week to have our son home, in good spirits, and to see his love of cooking at work in our kitchen! Today we will be feasting on a wonderful smelling pot roast with all of the trimmings.
My Guide, My God. He is so good and His love never ceases to amaze me! In the turmoil of this life, I am thankful, beyond description for His goodness and peace of mind he provides to me and my family.

I Won! How Fun!

I really am so honored to have been selected as the winner to last weeks "Bird" challenge!! There were so many wonderful and talented entries. Do visit Monday Artday to see my entry, but also, to check out some great work from other artists!

Busy-ness, New Wheels, & An Apple a Day

1. I have not posted any paintings this week as my life has been so busy!!! It's just been one thing after another, it seems. In the midst of the whirlwind yesterday, I thought, "I wish this could stop!" But, after more thinking I realized that if life were not busy most of the time, then I would have to learn to make myself busy, in order that I didn't get bored. Funny how that works?! It is a blessing to have the health to be able keep moving.

2. One of the things that kept me on Friday was the purchasing of a new vehicle. Now that is a blessing! I'm thrilled with the ride! Also, for the most part, the experience with the dealer and salesman was quite pleasant. I have experienced worse.

3. I bought some beautiful apples this week and have been faithfully eating one a day. Yummm! they are so good! Like the old saying goes, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." (the updated 21st century saying goes like this, "An apple a day, peeled, keeps the doctor away.")

WC Class, Peacocks, & Crab Puffs

1. Watercolor class was such a joy today. I have missed the last 2 weeks due to being sick with a cold and today was just so much fun! The ladies in class are all so dear and it is delightful to see what all of them are working on and how they improve with each week that passes.

2. After doing the little peacock in my sketchbook, I decided to work on a large painting of a peacock. I accomplished much on it today and it is coming along quite well. I should be able to post it in a couple of days.

3. When my hubby got home this afternoon, the temperature was dropping and it was actually turning cold. His suggestion and solution to warm up? A cup of hot tea at the local Chinese food restaurant. And dinner. I really like Crab Puffs!

New pens, Monday Artday, and Garden-Fresh

1. If you've been reading my posts lately, you will know that I have been bit by the "sketching bug". Well, I just did not have a pen that I liked for sketching, but now I have a new 6 pc Sakura Pigma Micron set in black! I am excited to get started sketching with these and we'll see the results.

2. This morning I received a sweet comment on yesterday's post from Ronni over at Monday Artday. She has a wonderful weekly art challenge to sign up for and some of the participants work is really good. Thinking I might give that a try......will be fun, anyway!

3. While fighting with this nasty cold all week, it has been such a blessing to have fresh garden tomatoes for dinner every night! Yummmmmy! A dear old friend loaded my hubby up with them earlier this week as a gift for little 'ole me.

At Least, I Have Time for Painting

Yes, I still have this yuchy cold, but I'm managing to play with my paints and brushes in-between naps.

Black & White, Preparing for Winter, and Young & Healthy Bones

1. It has become a ritual (of sorts) that early each morning, just before the sun creeps over the mountains to illuminate the day, I step out on our front porch. I like how the steam from the cup of coffee swirls up around my face as I slowly sip on it. Here is where I begin my day in prayer and listen to the world around me waken. The past few weeks I have watched a woman walk by rather briskly every morning. I know it is part of her "new weight loss routine" and if I had the nerve to speak to her I would tell her "You go, girl!", but it is actually dark at that time of morning, and I fear that if I spoke to her from the front covered porch, I might actually frighten her, so I don't. This morning, I saw her coming up the street a bit slower than usual and I wondered if she was losing her "spunk" or if perhaps she had injured herself. I was thrilled to see that it was not an injury to body or spirit, but tagging along behind her was a new little black & white puppy, no bigger than a teacup. I was glad to see that she has acquired a walking buddy!

2. My mother and I were out running errands a few weeks ago and while in a store, she wanted to look at the selection of puzzles. She told me "Winter is coming and I want to have a few on hand" Well, to my delight I found a collection of puzzles (88, to be exact) in the home of a friend who is just as delighted to part with them as I will be to take a few off of her hands. So, dear Mother, I will be bringing you a winters worth of puzzles!

3. When I begin to moan about my aches and pains, I just observe those around me who really have physical ailments that cause them pain and suffering and then I see my complaints with new perspective. In the past 3 weeks, two of my dear friends have broken hips! Oh how blessed and thankful I am to be young and healthy!!!!!

Front Porch Sitting, Liberty, and An Invite

1. Yesterday a dear old friend (and I do sincerely mean old-er at 81) asked hubby and I to come over this morning to pick up a little something he had for us. We went over to visit him earlier today and to our surprise he had built a picnic table for our front porch!!! Thoughtful and ever so kind is he. After bringing it home we proceeded to sit down at our new picnic table, drink iced tea and watch the world go by in our little neighborhood. Oh, how sweet are the small pleasures in life!!! Only to get better when our dear old friend can join us.

2. The Lord has blessed me with dear friends 'round about me! Liberty lives on the other side of our backyard fence and she is the proud owner of Cuthbert, the rooster, that I wrote about in an earlier post. I love to sit and just chit-chat with her; I love to listen to all the wonderful and funny stories and glean bits of wisdom from her.

3. Thrilled to receive an invite to go on a little jaunt with my mother next week!

The Next Best Thing to Being There, Venting, and Watercolor Class

1. It is still remarkable to me that through the modern invention of the telephone I can talk to someone 1500 miles away and they will sound like they are in the same room with me! It truly is a blessing that my dear and long-time friend, that I have not seen or spoken to in years, rang me up this morning and it just felt like old times. She sounded the same as I remember and I'm pleased to know she is happy and doing so well. The telephone. It really is The Next Best Thing to Being There!

2. According to my dear hubby, I can cook up a batch of old-fashioned Fried Chicken tonight. The contractors are here, as I write, installing a range hood and vented outside through the roof. I never liked cooking in a kitchen without a fan to draw the odors and fine grease spatters out! After all, I just painted. So, dear hubby may be correct....Fried Chicken may be on the menu tonight.

3. Am always happy and excited when another round of watercolor classes begins! Starting Tuesday I will be back at it and am anxious to learn new techniques and striving to perfect the skills I have.

To all of you who cast your vote to name my studio......the winner is:

Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy this little illustration I have created.