My Family & Christmas Fun

These are our four Children and each of their families. The group with all the "redheads" had David missing because he was on a back-packing trip, so I included him with his Grandpa Cliff (their birthdays are on the same date :-)
We had such a fun time at daughter Ruth's home for Christmas Dinner. Her two sons helped with everything and we all brought our favorites! Hope all this gets "posted."
I also took a photo of my "Appetizer Cream Cheese 'Pizza'." 

Our 2011 Christmas Card

I took a watercolor of a tree I "did" and put it on a "background" from my Card Program, and added the "Merry Christmas" in white for the greeting. I liked the way the background almost made it look 3-D, or in layers. We have been delivering Tins with GingerbreadBoy Cookies to our shut-ins from Church. I mentioned this in my last post (below).
Tomorrow I will get all the family gift cards together for our Christmas Day Family Celebration. Love it!

Snow on the Wren House

We got a couple inches of snow several days ago, and I loved the picture of my wren house with the snow on top of it. Been busy with Christmas "doings" and haven't been doing much sketching....too lazy? Next, I will probably put up a picture of my birdfeeders.
My husband and I have been delivering tins of Gingerbreadboy Cookies to "shut-in" people, sponsored by our Church. It's a fun thing to do because most of these people can't get out--especially this time of the year...and they really appreciate a visit (with or without cookies).

Ink and Watercolor on Cards

I bought a pack of Artist's "Trading" Cards (blank) that I saw at Michael's some time ago...I keep them in my purse along with my "Gelly Roll" Pen just in case I want to put something down on paper. They are 2.5" x 3.5" and so handy. I've sketched several centerpieces and a view off the parking lot (while waiting) and some flowers seen by the side of the road. I always have my watercolors with me, but most of the time--they are colored at home. I decided to glue them in my sketchbook (with "Elmers") We did some of these 2-minute drawings in Catherine's Journal Class one time--and it is amazing what you can put down in a short amount of time.

At the Symphony

Last Friday Morning, we went to the "Festival of Flutes/Sir James Galway" at Orchestra Hall in Detroit. That is where our DSO (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) performs.
I took my sketchbook and paints, but the seats were too cramped to do anything but listen--so when I came home, I drew the best flute I could (The Galway's played gold-colored ones). I saw this swirl of piano keys pictured in the program, so I included them in my sketch, along with our tickets and the DSO logo.
It was a wonderful concert--but it was probably a sell-out and the parking was designed by Attilla the Hun :-)

Make your own Ceramic Christmas Ornaments???

Our Granddaughter does designs for the above company--and she inserted a picture of our Great-Grands (that would be her nephew and niece) on one of the ornaments.  Too Cute!  I can't wait to see this project in the stores!
She also was just published for her illustration of a recipe (in a newly-printed Recipe Book).
Laura is in the family picture posted below (second from the right). 

Son Ron's Birthday

    We had our November Family Birthday Bash on Sunday (Nov. 6th).....That would include husband Cliff and Grandson David (same day Nov. 7th) and our oldest children (twins) Ron & Ruth. Had a great time with all the cousins bowling, etc....then Pizza later.
Ruth had to be away at a Seminar on the real day of their birthday, so Ron and his family (and us) had dinner at his house and had his "always requested" homemade Cherry Birthday Pie instead of BD Cake.
Since his 3 daughters were there and his two Grandchildren (and Son-in-law) I decided to take a picture of the complete family.
You'll note that it makes us Great-Grandparents :-) :-) :-)
Just had to sketch that pie and ice cream. Yum, Yum!

Just something to post

    I saw this picture in a magazine...and decided I could sketch and watercolor it. I actually saw some of these flowers when we were in Arizona visiting my niece and her family. I thought they were coneflowers--only orange:-) Then I saw a sign that called them "Mexican Sunflowers"
Love the orange colors.
Now that I'm over my head-cold, I will do more sketches in my Watercolor Sketchbook (my daily diary :-)
Also, in my "Drawing in Church" sketchbook.
We actually had a few snow flurries on Wednesday and even a few on Thursday.

OUR FALL COLORS CONTINUED

I bought an Acorn Squash and then picked out the two prettiest pears I could find--then put them on my Mom's (hand-crocheted) doilie and tried to sketch/watercolor them.
Took a couple pictures of our maples in our little woods behind us that get soooo-oo colorful in the Fall. I just had to include a snap of my Reiger Begonia (that I bought at Sam's Club early in the Spring for $9.99). It's still blooming thru all the cold and rain. My ceramic pumpkin complets the scene :-) It's a beautiful, sunny day today and I think it may be one of last good chances to photograph leaves still on the trees. Love this time of the year!!!

Fall Season Stuff

Took a trip to the Apple Barn today....just like we did last week.....only last week we had the Cider and donuts. This week I am printing them :-) Also more Fall Colors....the Locust Trees are all yellow and Burning bushes are all Red as is the Virginia Creeper winding up the trees and thru the other plants looking just beautiful. Lots of Bushy (white, tiny) Asters this year! And the Thistle is all dried now and brown looking. Just right for mixing in Fall bouquets! We had 40 to 50 mile gusts of wind yesterday and lots of leaves were dropped. This season is just too short!

Fall scenes at Kensington MetroPark

It was such a beautiful day today 77 degrees and sunny and everything just about at it's peak colorwise. We went out to our Kensington Metropark (about 20 minutes from our home) to just enjoy the Season. Of course, I had to sketch and paint--and took a few photos of things I knew wouldn't be around long. The Milkweed pods were all opened and spilling their fuzzy seeds. And there were 4 or 5 Cranes walking around (they migrate through here) and one walked right in front of me! This is not a close-up lens! They don't stand still long enough to sketch them--so I did the photo-thing.
I just love the Fall Wildflowers (?) We also stopped at Long's Apple Orchard and Barn on Commerce Rd. and had some Cider and Cinnamon-Apple doughnuts :-) Yum!

Journal watercolor Sketches

Looking through some of my recent Sketchbook Journals, I don't think I posted this one of Cutler's in Petoskey, Michigan. I was Up North for my Watercolor Journaling Class two days early, and we were riding through Downtown Petoskey very early on a Sunday Morning--and the Sun was just so bright on these beautiful yellow awnings, with all the purple Petunias just bursting out of the Planter-boxes--I said, "STOP! I need to draw a picture of that!" So we did, and I did--I watercolored it at home! Cutler's is a Kitchen Everything Store--If you can't find it there, it probably doesn't exist :-) The Store sits on a corner, and I'm not sure I quite captured that fact. (The entrance door is right on the corner behind the post.
At a later date--just recently, I saw this Teapot and Cup and sketched it in my new "AquaBee" Sketchbook with the fancy cover I put on it. It's only 4-1/2 x 6, and fits into my purse perfectly :-)

Roadside Flowers and Breakfast

We went out to Breakfast yesterday at one of our favorite places in our area (it was our 58th Wedding Anniversary :-) and we usually eat a very simple breakfast, but decided to have someone else fix it for us. Yum, it was sooo-oo good! They have murals on the walls here and I always like this Rooster--so gave him a watercolor "try."
As we travel along the roads and highways these days, there are such colorful "weeds" (fall wildflowers) that I love--and the above ones were all together in an area making a very colorful scene. The purple Wild Asters are so pretty! Anyway, here I am doing the roadside wildflowers again!

AquaBee Sketchbooks

I just ordered some AquaBee Sketchbooks from Daniel Smith Art Supplies. They had these on sale a couple weeks ago, so I bought myself some, and 2 for my Granddaughter. They are made from nice sturdy paper (93 lb.) and 60 pages. You can sketch in them easily, and the paper takes watercolor very nicely. Hope D. Smith appreciates the commercial :-)
Anyway, I decided to "personalize" mine because I had some papers left from my bookbinding escapades (?) so I measured and cut and glued (with my bookbinding glue) and I thought they turned out pretty nice!
The larger book is 6 x 9, and the small one is postcard-size: 4 x 6 (so handy for my purse).

BEST BURGER ???

Being retired has it's advantages! Sometimes We feel like treating ourselves (after eating "healthy") to a Hamburger in a bun with Onion Rings. Our favorite place is in Dearborn, MI--about 25 minutes from our home--so we just go down there (yes, it's south of us) and get a burger and rings. It's very formal :-) Everything is served on paper, with a plastic fork stuck in the pickle jar on the table, along with the mustard and ketchup servers. The server even brings you a slice of onion wrapped in paper (in case you want one).
We both had Vernor's Ginger Ale (A Detroit "goodie")...and split an order of Onion Rings.

Michigan State University Tollgate...

Michigan State University (Lansing, Michigan) has a Tollgate Education Center (160 Acres of rolling Farmland) about 1 mile from our home. I have been there for their Gardner's Plant sale in June--and you can talk to Master Gardners about problems, etc. This Saturday (Sept. 17th) is their Fall Festival. We will be there to see what's new and what is of interest. In August, the 4-H'ers sell their produce from stands set up there. It's a lovely spot, with many interesting gardens, plants, sheep, horses, and things I probably don't even know about :-)
We are fortunate to have it so close! I will go on Saturday with my Watercolor Journal and see what else I can capture!
BTW, a couple years ago, I bought a Michigan Cactus at the plant sale and it had 9 big yellow blossoms on it this summer (not all at once, but 2 at a time).
There are many other buildings there, not just these few pictured.

Ruth's Trellis

I just watercolored a Trellis that my daughter Ruth has in her back yard--Actually, the whole place looks like this--She is a Gardener (par excellence). She has a real green thumb (She must have inherited it from her Gram. K.--My Mother :-)
Her Garden has been featured (several years ago) on the Northville (Michigan) Garden Walk. She has several different varieties of Clematis (that is what the purple flowers are on the Trellis). All of this backs up on a huge pond and she has lots of 'wildlife' to contend with! The Birds are beautiful....but the Deer eat everything. There was an Eagle sitting on a limb (fishing) over the pond last week.
I did this in one of my newer watercolor journal books (shown above).  It's the one with the Black & White cover and the dark rust spine.

Delicious Nachos

This past Tuesday, our friends called us to come and "split" some Nachos at their local Golf Course Restaurant. Wow! This huge plate of Nachos and cheese was only a half-portion. (but yummy--I couldn't even finish mine!)
It was beautiful overlooking the 9th Green right by the pond (it's a huge one!)