Time and the Frog

OK, can you believe the Month of June is almost positively gone ?  I mean it is the 30th of June.  I know that before we know it Christmas will be here.  Now they say, whoever they is, that time flys when you are having a good time.  We must be having a major party everyday then.   Not to mention the wind blowing all the time but guess that has nothing to do with time does it? Sorry, sometimes I kind of wander, sort of like the tumbleweeds do when the wind blows. 

I was mowing today and our two fur babies, Jewel, the matriarch and Libby the youngster of the duo, were digging frogs.  Even in this dry weather and heat of  over 100, we have frogs.  Now they  don't come out voluntary but I saw the fur babies  really busy in the yard.    So nothing doing I had to stop the mower, get off of it and go into the house to get the camera.  I was hoping all the way, please don't stop doing your thing little fur babies.   Well lo and behold they didn't let me down.

Now when there is a rabbit in the yard there is a LOT of action but the frogs it is mostly digging, following and then just ignoring them. 

      Hello to Jewel, we think she is nine and oh such a good little digger.

We have several holes like this and have to fill them up every once in a while, well more so than that.  Miss Jewel will sit forever at the holes and I guess she smells them out, don't know how she knows where to dig.  But dig she does. 

Thought you might like a close up of the hole. 

Now once the frog pops out Libby, who we think is about 6 or 7, is there at attention.  She usually lets Jewel do the digging while Libby's fluffy tail just wigs and wags watching intently.

Now this is not for the faint of heart , but she isn't eating it.  She grabs it ever so tenderly and then spits it out and shakes her head.    This little game goes on for a while and then they get bored with it and the frog hops off going to his party or whatever he does underground.   Today was a bonus, they dug up two of them. 

I know you are thinking is that all Annette has got to do on a hot summer day?  Probably not but just had to share on the last day of June.   I do have some art stuff to share in a day or so.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in Annette's world. 

Small White Donuts opend a Great Adventure

You are always taught to share, starting young in your life.  Share your toys, your crayons and just share.  Well, even after all my years, we won't say how many, but more than 20 years.  Eldon and I were at a Lodge a couple of weeks back.  We went into the breakfast room and a lady was looking at the little white wonderful donuts that come 6 to a package.  I said you know I like the donuts to but 6 are to many, would you like to share a package with me.  So we shared donuts and got to know two great couples from Colorado. 

One of the ladies did a lot with genealogy and I had told her some of my givings, like not being able to find out a lot about my family, even the Salvation Army, years ago could not find out much.  Well, by that afternoon this sweet angel had discovered that I came over to the United States on the USS Washington.  How excited I was. That was some Annette history. 

Eldon has just joined ancestry.com , how exciting to find out I was not hatched and there is proof that I came over on a fine Battleship.   Now if I hadn't shared a package of little white donuts with this lady I would never have know this.  I had thought that I came over on the Q.E. but it was my daddy that came back from the war on her and not I.  Funny how things fall into place.  I have always believed there are never accidents, that everything happens for a reason.  We may not like it happening but it does happen and we may or may not know why.   Kind of like when you meet someone, either for the reals or on Internet, they have crossed your life's path for some reason.

The USS WASHINGTON---this is a USN photo courtesy of Pieter Bakals

Now is that not a SHIP?     The larger turrets are 16 inches, in my book that is big.  She was one of the first ships to have radar.  Admiral Harold R.Stark, commander of Naval Forces, Europe flew his flag over her as well as  Rear Admiral Willis A. " Ching" Lee, Jr.  and Admiral Pete  Mitscher.   Vice Admiral Frederick C.  Sherman was in overall command in 1945.  ( I hope I didn't leave anyone out )

She went to Southampton, England where , I am almost positive, a cute little brown headed prissy girl  boarded the USS WASHINGTON with her mother and 7 month old brother.  I came across on March 1946.  The ship also carried our troops and I am sure they were on board as  the same time we were.   It is to bad I wasn't old enough to remember all this fantastic adventure. 

This was a commemorative post card  for the USS WASHINGTON, courtsey of Robert M.Cieri

There you go , a little history lesson I suppose.  There was so much information on the battleship but  remember I am not a historian, but did want to share this with you.  Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.  You just never know.

Pink and Fords

Fords, what a concept that Henry Ford came up with and now look at us.  Driving these motor cars everywhere and at a higher speed than , what 20 mph, that they drove back in Henry's day?  Open aired and your hair probably all over everywhere, that could be a modern day convertible  today but back then not so.  Can you imagine the thrill of riding in one of the olden  open aired cars?  

Now I remember riding in a black something, like in 1949 or so.  It had some kind of tar paper or something on the roof and really made a mess of your fingernails.  Of course I know we probably shouldn't have scraped  the roofs  but being a young girl it was just to tempting.  The back seats were giant and had so much room.   I remember riding in a back seat and going up a hill and looking out the front window thinking oh no, where is the road ?    I was thinking we are going to fall off the face of the earth, guess like Christopher Columbus felt.   Funny thinking about that now, we were just on top of a hill and I couldn't see the road from my birds eye view. 

So how is this story tying in with my painting ?   Well after you look at it, guess.  

When I was looking at the painting, of course it has a Ford in the background.  This is on my web site  and my side bar here but just had to tell you about it.  This little sweetie lives in Orange County California.   You just want to give her a big hug.   

It is funny how something will trigger your memory?

This was done in Corel's Painter,  it is a digital program and a 21st century painting media.   I do really like it, you can add your own colors and just paint to your heart's desire.  Just like in traditional  painting you may use your own colors, strokes, ideas and inspiration.   Now I have said before I don't use a filter to do these just what comes out from my mind to my fingers.  I mainly did this painting in pastels.    I thought you might like to see the before and after of this painting.   

I am still doing traditional painting and just combining all that I have learned new with what I know of traditional methods.  Just a fun adventure.

There you go my Ford and Pink story.  Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.  I have a fun surprise in the works for you.  Also a combination of what is going on out there in the art world.   See you later and hugs.

Memories and Little Miss Pink

Hello, we have been gone  on a little trip.  We are still celebrating our 50th anniversary.  Trying to celebrate all year.   Eldon keeps looking for the expiration date on the marriage license.  I have told him there is not one but he keeps looking.   Just a little game we play.  All  the time, while I co-pilot our steel stallion,  I was thinking of different things I wanted to blog about.  I certainly needed to write them down.  Do you think I did?  Probably not, but I was bound and determined to touch base and blog.   I certainly didn't want to forget how to do it.  

There are so many good things to remember as your days go by.  Even if nothing really happens that would shake the world, little things make up our lives.  There is a saying by Robert Brault-Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.  I like this saying and Robert Brault, I think, talks like me.  Scary isn't it ?

I found this painting of this pretty baby on the computer I had photographed and then painted. I thought now someone might enjoy looking at it as much as I did painting it.  My style, as it should, has changed but just wanted  you to enjoy it as much as I did. 

Here she is, Little Miss Pink. 

She was  first photographed by myself and then I painted her digitally.  Remember, not the push of a button trick but stroke by stroke.  Sometimes I like to do realistic and sometimes not. Guess it depends on my mood and how much chocolate I have eaten.  I do enjoy painting this type of painting for clients.  Just a feel good experience.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is happening in my world today. 

The First One to Pop into My Head~~Lyrics

It is funny that some days certain songs or poems or movies or just memories just pop into your head.  Nothing really spurs you to think of them they are just filed away in your head like a little filing cabinet I suppose.   What do you think ?  Possibly filed under pleasant  memories ?   Maybe a butterfly floats along in the sky and makes you think of a peaceful place where you have been and butterflies were in the picture.

On my art journal adventure, I do believe art is an adventure, Zinnia had the prompt of Lyrics.  So many subjects could come up.   Growing up in the , shall we say middle 40's to 2011 there are a lot of songs you could think of.  Well, some of them you could get out of your head as soon as you heard them.  Even "Down At Pappa Joes "is a pretty catchy one.

I remember going to the movies and for a whole 25 cents you could get a coke and popcorn and see the movie.   Cartoons were shown first or second, not for sure now and always Tom and Jerry was one of them.  Then the newsreels, we saw the world news, not that a child of few years would watch that part. There was no TV you know.  That was before Bennie and Cecil  or even Howdy Doody.   I bet that shocks some of you. We actually use to listen to the radio and listen to Little Orphan Annie, The Shawdow and other goodies like that. 

One of my favoites was Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and his wonderful horse Trigger.  One of the songs he sang was------"Don't Fence Me In"  Why I thought of that I don't know.  But I did so that is what I chose to art journal on. 

Don't Fence Me In---- I had to use rafia around the edges, didn't have any leather laces to play with.  This was from a knapkin and the horses were to pretty to trash.   I even found a little map of Texas and marked where we were. 

I used some of the tape that you use to fix sheet rock with.  Hey it is texture. 

I hope you enjoy it and thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.    I guess I could sign off with Happy Trails.

Pans ?

Hello there and Happy June.  Where does the time go ? They say, whoever they are, that time goes by quickly when you are having a good time.  I must be having the party of a lifetime here.  Come join me. 

Now this thing about pans.   You know there are cooking pans of all sizes and shapes and oil pans under your car just to name a couple   I have a nice collection of pans to cook with and I am sure our Steel stalion (aka automobile) has an oil pan.  Funny I use to help hubby work on cars and could help tear into pistons and all the goings on of an auto, but now days when you open a hood it is all  full of stuff. 

Back to the subject here Annette.  I have discovered, not a country or anything like that but something called Pan Pastels.  Man those are the best things since sliced bread, I kid you not.  I have, I could safely say hundred of soft and hard pastels.  They do make dust and dry your hands out but just feels good like a first grader playing with colors.   I drug them out and straightened the up from their 25 plus years of vacation.  When seeing about the Pan Pastels I thought nope I don't need them, until I saw them in action.  The company has their own website about them and Christy Tomlinson of Scarlet Lime showed their wonders and magic on a journaling class I am taking   "She had three hearts."  I have to get these.   So I went online, my favorite source nowdays and of course Dick Blick has them on sale.  Yep a SALE !!!  So I figured out which set I "needed" and even got the tools and sponges in the kit  for $64 and bought seperately a little plastic case for a whole $8 plus change.   People I am in hog heaven. 

Here you go the Pan Pastels, the case and applicators.  Mana from heaven to me.  The sponges, applicators and all the colors.  There are 80 colors in all  but figure I can get into trouble with 20.

Now the main question is----do I leave them pretty like this or just mess them up and use them ?   Zinnia, on another forum says we need to use our supplies.  So use them I will use them and post something that I do with them soon. 

There you go and thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.