My turn for some painting. Finally. We've settled enough into our house, having located all the boxes of art supplies, that I've gotten back into more frequent painting.  In our house design, we created a den-sized "studio," just for me, a complete luxury that lets me close the door on the mess task oriented clutter…

As promised in my last post, here is the recipe for M's wonderful outside art activity that kept both kids and grown-ups occupied. Soap resist painting: Supplies (all obtained at a rural Dollar General): Foam board, the surface for your painting: The instructions called for watercolour paper, but as this was primarily a children's activity…

Many years ago we were a camp family. C was the Executive Director of a non-profit summer camp, I was the relief cook, E at age 4 took her first out trip and came back happy for the experience of putting her bare foot in her boot already occupied by a giant banana slug. M…

Or in this case stuff out, stuff in. First some background: when the kids were small we moved from a 2300 sq ft house to one that was 1800. Adjusting to the smaller space we adhered to a strict rule that if something new came into the home, something of equal bulk had to be…

You don't get those in retirement because technically, every day is a day off. But we found ourselves engulfed in long days of unpacking and organizing, many looonnng days in a row. It was time for a badly needed day off.  We started with a walk, the short way to the beach, the steep way.…

The first time C lost his wedding ring, it wasn't a big deal. It was six months after the fact and we had bought the cheapest gold band possible, anticipating a time when we could find something he really wanted. It took him 20 years. On that special anniversary, we agreed no gifts. He surprised…

We did it, 621 days after moving out of the house in the rain forest, and after 352 days of demolition and reconstruction, we've received our official occupancy permit. The only stipulation is the requirement for a front door peephole or security camera. I appreciate the intent, but when did that become building code? The…

Renovations require decisions based on tiny samples. Think little squares of counter tops, paint chips and rectangles of flooring. In our case it all worked out…except for the main floor powder room. The one most used by visitors. I was expecting a black background with random sparkly bits, but there were random miscommunications in this…

Personalities come through with the pressure of a move. C’s full of dread and terror accompanied by my optimism. For awhile, anyway. The morning started with dropping him off at storage to get things organized for the movers. Can you imagine, this was the third time in twenty months that we’ve hired movers. First from…

My lastest watercolour dog portrait is a 60th birthday gift for my sister. Her name and “60” are hidden in the blanket pattern.  Her kids benefited from Mom’s 60th, too, as I had professional prints made for them.