a year of paintings

Happy New Year! I'm joining the fun in
Cindy's 2009 Year in Review Party at My Romantic Home.
This has been a wonderful year for me...
first year of retirement, a trip to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam & a trip to Hawaii,
and a year of painting! My mosaic is all of the paintings I completed this year.
Wishing all of you a wonderful New Year full of blessings & love!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all the Merriest Mosaic Monday!
Thank you for visiting!
To see more mosaics visit Mary's Little Red House.
This is also a post for Blue Monday at Sally's!
Make sure you visit there also!

poinsettia watercolor

a book I love

My book club reads children's literature for December. I just read Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, about a young African boy coming to live in Minnesota. This book is just so beautifully written... I finished it with a sigh. It's why I love to read.

pink amaryllis watercolor

New print on Etsy

my mantle

I'm just posting one picture for Deck The Halls (my halls are finally decked, but didn't take pictures yet!). I went to Paris this spring & wanted to decorate my mantle with my little Eiffel Tower. I've had the print above the mantle for several years. Now, to see my decorating the tree challenge, look here.

Cats & the Tree

(more mosaics at Mary's Mosaic Monday)

I'm Carol's tuxedo cat Buster. My brother is the little black cat Jack.
This is our SECOND Christmas. That means by now, we should be mature
enough to handle things like decorations and trees. Well, I know I am.
Just look how cool I am in the middle of the decorating action.

...and this is Jack. All day, all I heard was "No Jack! Stop Jack!
Get out of here NOW Jack!"

He's getting into the tree every time she turns around.
He's biting & pulling & smacking everything!

I just can't look...he's going to break something!

Oh, no......he's got those crazy cat eyes & he's in the tree.....

MOM!!!!!!

This is my 5oth post! To celebrate, I'm offering free shipping at my Etsy shop,
through Friday. New items are coming this week also!
Thanks for visiting!

My First Give-Away!!

I am having my first give-away this week! The winner will have the choice of one print from my original paintings in my brand new Etsy shop. The images are centered on 8" x 10" archival paper, professionally printed. I love the quality of this paper & the colors are rich and vibrant.
I am very excited about my first ever give-away & hope you are, too.
Please leave me a comment if you would like to participate.
(For the my non-blogging friends, you can leave a comment by clicking on
name or anonymous..but let me know who you are!)

I will draw the winner on December 4th.
Then, hop on over to Mary's Little Red House for more Mosaic Monday fun!
I'm also joining Blue Monday here: Smiling Sally.
Thanks for visiting!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!
We are grateful for many blessings. Have a wonderful holiday!

Mosaic Monday

I'm taking the easy way out this week.
I made a mosaic of a painting I posted on Friday.
If you read this post back in September, then you know I am not comfortable painting buildings. I'm taking a watercolor class this month (oh, the joys of being retired!) and we learned how to paint clouds. I'm not really sure that I learned. I did watch & I did listen & I did try... you are not viewing my first attempts. This little boathouse is part of a yacht club & I have taken many pictures of it. So......I combined my fear of buildings with my fear of clouds to have a little stress with my latest painting. In the end, I like it and I don't fear buildings so much.
Clouds are another story.
More mosaics are here at Mary's. Mary's own mosaic are just gorgeous!
P.S. Stayed tuned......next week I have a give-away! My very first!

something new I love

...and how could I not love this? The Eiffel Tower snow globe from
Target!

Boathouse

I am still determined to paint buildings. This boathouse has always
caught my eye as I go over the bridge to the island.
I think I really like the symmetry of the architectural design.
This is watercolor on cold-pressed paper, little...5"x5".

Soup

I have been making this soup for years. It's no longer on the Pillsbury web site
so I thought I'd share:

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP WITH TORTELLINI

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 c. coarsely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, sliced
5 c. beef broth
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. red wine or water
2 c. chopped seeded peeled tomatoes
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
1/2 t. dried basil leaves
1/2 t. dried oregano
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 c. sliced zucchini
8 oz. fresh cheese filled tortellini
3 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 medium green bell pepper cut into 1/2 pieces
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

If sausage comes in casing, remove casing. Brown sausage in 5 qt Dutch oven over medium heat. Remove sausage, reserve 1 T. drippings in Dutch oven. Cook onions and garlic in reserved drippigs until onions are tender. Add cooked sausage, broth, water, wine, carrots, basil, oregano, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes.
Skim fat from soup. Stir in zucchini, tortellini, parsley and bell pepper. Cover; simmer an additional 20 minutes or until tortellini are tender. Sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.

What makes my heart sing...

Christina at Soul Aperture is hosting simple things Monday
...things that make your heart sing. I really enjoy Christina's blog.
It's serene & lovely & gentle...and her words just touch my heart.

I'm posting just a few images..to keep it simple.

Painting makes my heart sing and my heart happy.

Simple bouquets in summer sunshine

and blooming pots in wintry windows.


...and, everyday, these two wonderful cats!

I'm back!

Here I am!
I'm back after a MONTH...a whole MONTH without my computer! I really missed blogging & blog-hopping. Thank you for stopping in to see me today.
Now hop on over to Mary's to see some wonderful mosaic creations!

Be back soon......

After not having a computer for a whole MONTH, I am finally connected again. See you very soon!

Jack and Pumpkins

As a follow-up to last week's tigers and pumpkins mosaic,
I present Jack and the pumpkin!

Not quite as lively...and certainly not as ferocious. In fact, he was only mildly curious.
Buster didn't care at all.

This is what happens when I don't make the bed.

This is what happens when I don't put away my clothes.

Thanks, Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday....I'm posting on Tuesday this week!
Visit Mary's site for more mosaics!

Pumpkins

Happy Mosaic Monday!
We went to the Philadelphia Zoo on Saturday & visited our favorite Amur tigers. The siblings Changbai, Koosaka & Terney were born in May 2007 to Kira. They are huge now & absolutely beautiful!
The cats waited inside while a keeper brought out three big pumpkins. Kira, at first, joined in but then retreated to a shady tree & watched her big babies play. They chewed, rolled, clawed & carried the pumpkins. So much fun for the crowds of spectators!

Thanks for visiting today! Now, go to Mary's blog
to see the mosaic talents of many!

Chalfonte Porch

Three Times a Charm?

Last weekend, my daughter and I were in a Cape May watercolor workshop.
The instructor, Marge Chavooshian, is an excellent painter
and a very patient teacher.

The reason I titled this "Three Times a Charm?" is because this is the third year we have taken this workshop. The first year I absolutely froze & could not paint or draw anything. (I don't mean I was cold...I was blocked, stumped, baffled, etc.) The second year I drew & painted, but whined the whole time to my daughter about how hard it is to draw buildings.
(She's an architect...piece of cake for her!)

THIS time I was DETERMINED to draw & paint a house. True, I did leave out the fancy gingerbread, but I came home with a house painting! My daughter kept reminding me that I did paint the Eiffel Tower ... and I kept the whining to a minimum.

Thanks for visiting me today! Now go have more mosaic fun at Mary's Mosaic Monday.

A Stroll Through Longwood Gardens

On Tuesday, when everyone else went back to school,
my friend Linda & I went to Longwood Gardens.
We were celebrating our own "Not Having To Go To Work" day!

So...we leisurely strolled down the beautiful paths...

...enjoying the lovely flowers...

...and admiring those who did show up to work!

The gardens were filled with bees and butterflies.

At every turn, there was something spectacular to see.

Their roses were still blooming beautifully.

I love this hummingbird sculpture.

Fiery autumn colors

and pretty shades of reds and pinks.

I do love waterlilies ( I may have mentioned that once or twice in my blog).

It was so quiet and peaceful.

A very good way to celebrate being retired!!