"Good Morning Miss Daisy"

Just finished up this sweet little lady this weekend...

well, almost finished, she's not even signed yet!

 I named the painting, "Good Morning Miss Daisy" because you can see that the first morning light is just coming out from behind the dark silhouette of the trees 

and I imagine that this soft furry face is right there every morning to offer a gentle greeting

My initial craving was to paint a white cow with a big pink sateen bow around her neck... but i think i might try that on one of the prints and photograph her for giclee prints as is...sans bow - hmmm, we'll see

I know it's hard to believe, not everyone wants a painting with a big pink bow somewhere in it...!

Almost a year ago, a very sweet lady emailed me asking if maybe some day i could paint her cows.  I told her to go ahead and send pics and maybe one day i would find just the right moment to  paint from one of the photos... 

I did tell her that there was no telling when or if it would happen, because i don't even know myself sometimes until the mood strikes me.  

It's been a while, and i imagine she thinks i had forgotten all about her... 

but i most certainly did not... 

I had a print of her beautiful cow sitting in my art room

and that photo started pulling at my heart

Well last weekend the moment came, and i felt compelled to paint this beautiful girl...  i have searched out the owner's email and sent her a letter explaining that her cow is ready.

  

She is under no obligation to buy the painting - 

who knows what her circumstances are now... 

But I did promise I'd offer her first choice - 

Now I'll just wait to see if i hear back from her

In the meantime, I'm enjoying her right here in my house 

 

so either way,...  I'm sure she'll find a good home somewhere, 

even if it is with me!

 so that's the simple little story of the painting named

"Good Morning Miss Daisy"

...the end...

Once Upon a Time There Was a Shabby Little Tree...

 Soooo my favorite tree of all... is this little beat up, raggedy, faded white christmas tree .  I have had it for years

The base is gone, and all of the branches are twisted...

But when i add a few twinkle lights and some pretty ornaments it looks like the prettiest little magic fairy tree ever...

 before i decorated it, i pulled out a bunch of ornaments and stuff... and laid them around, and i had some ribbon i was going to tie on it  - 

but in the meantime, i stuffed the unwound ribbon into the base of the tree for safekeeping

... and when i looked back at it... i loved the way the ribbon looked all pooled and drippy and loose, so i decided to leave it just the way it was...

in fact if i'd had more ribbon i would have done it all around the bottom of the tree...

 of course the cord is showing in the photos...

 I would show you the tree lit up, but in photos it just looks like a glowing light blob - 

i have no idea how to take photos of lit up Christmas trees...

i wish i did because they are so pretty

...And below is this years front door wreath... 

It's a grapevine wreath that's another thrift shop find

 and I change it about 3 times a year for the different seasons

I had this crazy vine with silver balls on it in my closet upstairs that drove me nuts ,because it was just always in the way, and getting tangled up in things, and i almost got rid of it a hundred times

but i decided to wind it around my wreath to see how it looked

 and i think it's kind of fun!

 (this just reinforces never getting rid of stuff...not good!)

 Want to hear a very short Thanksgiving story...?

My sister dosen't really enjoy her mother in law - let's just be nice and say it is a bad personality match - but let me say this - my sister is really nice to everyone sooooo ... you figure it out

anyway... she was having her over for Thanksgiving with the family, because it is the nice thing to do of course...

As the mother in law arrives - In my sister's words:

"So as soon as she walked in the door,  I grabbed a bottle of wine and started drinking " -

finally the table was set and the candles were lit

 and after a while we sat down to the beautiful Thanksgiving dinner, 

I was the one who was supposed  to say the blessing ... 

and i had been drinking wine ...

anyway i started to say the usual blessing we have said a thousand times,,  and rattled off  the first sentence... and it sounded kindof mushy 

like - let ush give thanks... uhhh

and couldn't remember the rest!!

it's that moment when you realize you're totally buzzed and you've slurred your sentence, and sound like a drunk

so when i realized i had forgotten the blessing,  I said 

"SHIT"! 

 it just came out!

and then the kids started laughing at me, because they thought it was funny, and then their dad fussed at them for laughing... so i asked the mother in law to say it - and of course 

she said THE PERFECT blessing"  

anyway... I know it's a silly little story

but i thought it was  funny

if i'd been there i would have fallen out of my chair i'd be laughing so hard

now i could be wrong...

 

but from my knowledge of Thanksgiving prayers past

the "S" word is not generally supposed to be part of the blessing as a rule

 

we all do the best we can, don't we...

just a few more ...

a Merry Christmas sign from 

Castle and Cottage

a few birch logs in an old Homer Laughlin platter

and some pink and white gingham fabric torn up and made into a  shabby little bow...

I'm sure i'll be adding touches here and there through the month

no telling what other things will end up on the tree

or what other prayers will be said in a less than perfect way

but that's all for now...

...the end...

Bedroom Settee and White Plates...

So, i repainted my bedroom about a month ago, and updated the bedroom floors from carpet to plywood strips, and my friend suggested adding two little settees she had in her shop...

So sure enough, i stuffed them in the car, and hauled them home for mr. fractured to carry in... 

 he's so lucky to have me disturbing the peace around there all the time... smile...

there are two of them -

but i have no idea what contortion it would take to get a good photo of them both, so this is the best photo i was able to pull out with my iphone...

of course there is a wadded up blanket on one of them... did you ever hear of STAGING A PHOTO Cindy!!??

(that's the blanket i drag onto the bed when daisy and i take a nap)

this is "Daisy" my nap and snuggle buddy,  and i loooove her

she's such a little scruff muffin

 

The little settees  pretty much go with the bedroom, simple lines, and curves and neutral colors...

view from the bed....

thank goodness for white plates and platters... they always look pretty to me...

******

so you've heard me talk about my friend with the shop 

"Fetch Antiques and Interiors"

this is the shop where i sell my original paintings also

she finds the best stuff!

and it's awfully tempting to want so many of the treasures she finds

so i have to be selective

and leave stuff for her customers!

she gives me great prices 

 but she has to make money too!

so now she has this chandelier that i am dying over

take a look

i can't even do it justice in a photo

it looks like crystal raindrops and icicles

oh my gosh

I can't afford it even with a discount, but i just had to show it to you guys

isn't it heavenly!

anyway, that's all i've got for now my sweet friends

gotta go catch up on you guys!

...the end...

Car Lashes!?

 Ok, so since i can't finagle a pink car quite yet... 

I have decided to add big ole swoopy eyelashes to my boring little SUV... 

Not so boring now huh!

I know maybe they are a little silly.... but i already like my car much better!

I can see her lashes every time i am driving down the road and it makes me smile!

You know, cars have personalities, and I don't know about you but i can get very attached to my cars!

 I was massively in love with my Mazda Tribute, but finally had to let it go and this was the 'next' car

I just wasn't feeling it for this one... but i like her better now

 
 Sooo...what do ya think?

 I was kind of embarrassed at first, and was wondering if they were too stupid... 

but my friend took one look at them and said

"Nobody but you should have those car eyelashes"

and then i felt better... smile

Mr. Fractured just stood and stared at the car for a minute and then shook his head and walked back in the house

doubt he'll be asking to drive it anywhere anytime soon...

hmmmmm... this is a whole new world of decorating opening up for me

wonder how else i can pimp my ride?!

...the end...

Introducing "Lily"

Hi Everyone...

I would like you to meet "Lily" a gentle sweet cow happily grazing in a spring meadow.  

She is one of my newest cow paintings, and prints of her are now available in my Etsy shop.

Most of you have probably already met Gwendolyn,

 Marian (Miss Mustard Seed's)   new girl....

Marian is so sweet and told me i could use her pictures of Gwendolyn if i needed... check the difference between her photos and mine... she's really good with her new camera, and what a difference it makes

Well, i painted Lily literally at the same time I was painting Gwendolyn

I would take one canvas down from the easel, 
and then pick up the other and work on it, and then back again!

So that kind of makes them sister cows!

here is Lily sitting on the easel where she would great me each morning in my little painting studio...

I almost feel lame when i call the room i paint a "studio"

Because it's just this small little room on the back of my house with good light where i paint, and where my doggies sleep at night.

In the area where i live we have something called 

"The Open Studio Artist Tour" twice a year.. 

 You go around to different artist's homes and view their work 

Most of the artists have these amazing big windowed studios about the size of the downstairs area in my house...  with sinks with running water for washing brushes and counters and their artwork hanging all over the walls

It makes me feel weird, like -  why don't i have a studio!  

I think this feeling is what we call JEALOUSY! 

i don't want to feel jealous! it feels icky!

Anyway sweet "Lily" is now at my friends shop for sale

...so the original oil painting of her is still available

the price for the original is $500.00

not too bad considering that the giclee print of her is $265.00 !

so, that is "Lily's story... 

and there's something about her that i just love..

...the end...

GAAAAAH! I'm Turning 60 !

 Ok, so NOW i'm freaked...

I am turning 60 tomorrow... 

and i'm not one little bit happy about that

and you know what i got for my 60th birthday???

a colonoscopy

isn't that just great...

...somehow birthdays just aren't what they used to be...

sorry, probably TMI - 

(everything was ok, except for the 7 polyps and diverticuli, and having a twisty colon)

When you get my age, and something hurts, you think cancer, heart attack, aneurism, brain tumor... 

I mean, when you have had anxiety issues and panic attacks since you were 18 years old, as i have, you've thought  multiple times you were dying... right then and there!

But when you turn 60 and you think you could be dying of something, 

it really could be happening!

  and then you get to be quadruply freaked out, if that's even possible...

 I was trying to take decent photos of myself with my iphone for the "holy crap i'm 60 blog post", and everytime i looked at the photo i took, i was like OMFG... do  i look that old!  

So i decided to make faces in the camera... like this one

and then immediately pulled out my "to do" list, and wrote -  call dermatologist re: price of botox

then i decided to be brave and take a photo without my makeup to show you... because you know, it's just real... 

but i'm not "real" enough to do a closeup, that's for sure...

you can see i have no eyebrows...

 glad it was dark, and the mirror was blurry...

if you're seeing a photo of me at this time of nite looking really happy, it's probably because i've been drinking

  which reminds me... have you seen the blogger Maskara.. she's adorable, and talks about the importance of having good brows... you should go check her out

i  need her!  everytime i try to make my eyebrows bigger i end up looking like Cruella Deville

Anyway, i always thought when i was this age, I would have a pink car... maybe something like this...

or this

(cream leather interior please)

AND... i would have a little beach cottage... 

this would be just fine...

it could be teeny weeny

I would have time to meditate, and do yoga, and paint...  and do fun crafty things... and drink wine at lunch with my friends

and now, here i sit, at a job i've worked at for 20 years typing a blog post to my friends and showing photos of myself getting old and telling personal stuff about my life

in reality...

I work 40 hours a week, and it's tricky making ends meet

I have to take valium to drive to the rented beach cottage that we can afford and that smells like old tennis shoes

I cook Thanksgiving meals for my kids, but it's not really a big feast, and they eat like their dad,, 

(kind of like Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies)

and my son always starts looking for the vodka stash which of course i don't have

And i have a little black suv, that i'm making car payments on

little Cindy

Sooo, your whole life you think, when i get old, this is what it will be like

and then all of a sudden you're kinda old, and you realize that none of it has happened yet

and time is going really really fast....

and you think ... hey, wait a minute! 

i AM older NOW, and i don't see a pink car or a beach cottage!

so now what do I do?

anyway, i haven't given up on the pink car yet... 

although, i am getting a little concerned about the beach cottage...

.

...we'll just have to see

you never know, i'm a magical thinker

i might just conjure them both

happy halloween

... the end...

 

Stripes and Feathers...

So, since i repainted my bedroom blue, i had to paint over the pink stripes on my bedside dresser, because they really just didn't look that good anymore in the room

But that's ok,

 Because there are millions of places to put stripes!

 and for some freaky reason, i like stripes... 

i don't even know what that's about

i really like buffalo gingham checks too

everytime i see them i love them

So anyway.... I just grabbed my Annie Sloan paint and walked myself right into the living room and commenced to putting stripes on the first thing i could find that was standing still, 

and that happened to be a little vintage chest innocently minding it's own business by the front door...

 

stripes are such an fun and easy way to make an impact 

when i look at these pictures, the stripes look like a little much, but in the context of the whole living room they add a great touch

and did you see those flowers in the first photo

the really soft pink one?

well, it is the most beautiful flower in the world ever

it's a dahlia and it's called 'Cafe Au Lait'

my photo doesn't even begin to do it justice... you should google it, it's an amazing flower and the color is like nothing in the world, peaches and creams and pinks... 

of course i got obsessed with it and tried to find some tubers, but every single place in the whole wide world is out of them...

i'm serious

you know how it is when you get obsessed about something and can't take no for an answer, and you start looking in places like Australia for them... 

that was me

this isn't 'Cafe Au Lait', it's another dahlia, still amazing, but not as completely perfect as the Cafe Au Lait

at least to me

but the pink is nice with the gray stripes isn't it! 

 in fact, ... why don't i have any dahlias in my garden?!

what's up with that!

*********

I want to show you a new painting i did today too...

It was so fun to paint

i find feathers here and there every once in a while,  and i  decided it was time to paint a feather!

They really are so pretty

and i always sort of think of them as a special little message from the universe when i find one

it's funnest of all to find a cardinal or bluebird feather

but i like them all

 i had a beat up paint spattered little canvas... and since it was too late in the day to start a painting

i sketched a feather just for fun

i had forgotten how therapeutic it is to just sketch with pencils

and then this weekend, 

I painted it!

So here it is

It's a big painting 24 x 36

and very simple

this shows the scale of the painting

and how minimalist it is

sorry it's a bad photo taken at night

see the doggie bed all smushed up behind the easel - my little dog daisy always gets the hell outta the way when i'm painting because canvases have dropped on her head more than once...
she has no fondness for canvases !

 

It's very simple

But that's what i like about it

often 'the simple things' are the best things of all

you should have seen me, who is messy as anything, trying to keep the canvas clean and white while using all those dark colors

of course i'd use my rag to clean a messy spot, and it would drag through another spot on the painting with wet paint and smear someplace else on the canvas, 

and so on...

it would be kinda cool to do a series of three feathers wouldn't it!

but back to work tomorrow...

so that's for another day

I was taking a break from painting cows!

I sent Marian "Miss Mustard Seed" , her new cow painting last week... so she'll probably show that to you guys soon

and i have another cow i've painted that I'll show you too

...and that's all for now my sweet friends ...

...the end...