'Twas a Great Day...

...here in Arizona.

We spent today with Scott's son Rob...

who recently returned

stateside after experiencing incredible adventures

travelling through South America

in October.

Among one of his most memorable experiences was

completing the 4 day trek

over the Incan trail to to the ancient site of

Machu Picchu, Peru.

He said he truely became one with the mountain...

actually, in more ways than one!.

Scott and I sat spellbound 

listening to Rob's tales of physical anguish

on the trail

and hearing how conquering these challenges

 turned into moments of inner triumph

and

satisfaction he will never forget.

He brought us both to happy tears more than once...

that's for sure. 

What a special time...what a special son!

What a treat

to be with someone who is living their dream.

The weather was impeccable....the Coronas were cold...

and

the memories made...were simply priceless.

“Life is uncharted territory.

It reveals its story one moment at a time.”

~Leo F. Buscaglia

A Bit of Thankfulness...

I thank all of you...each and every one of you... 

for coloring my world with love

and

decorating my heart with treasured memories.
 

"On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence."
~William Jennings Bryant

                                                            

Stumbled Upon...

...this while out and about on the internet today. 

A Facebook artist friend of mine in India stumbled upon it too...:)

Thanks for the link, Aarti...:)
Click on image to enlarge a bit.

(You can check out the original link HERE...for a larger

more reader friendly size...)

Sometimes,

a simple, unexpected stumble can be most rewarding...

Ahhh...:)

Whew! What a DAY!!!

It all began with an early breakfast...

strawberries,

cottage cheese, cranberry juice...

followed by a 40 mile drive east across the valley

to the car dealership...

for an oil and filter change,

chassis lube,

multi point inspection,

and drain plug replacement.

Exciting...right??? Well, it took 2 hours!

This was all accompanied by way too much Starbucks,

multiple mini muffins,

and

a quite bit of sketching.

This was to precede a trip 10 miles to the north valley

to visit with mom and dad...

sharing stories of Rob's 4 day Inca trail adventure trek

to the ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru...

hugs and kisses, too

before beginning the 45 mile drive back home

west across the valley.

Hungry again...

we stopped at Coco's for eggs Florentine,

fruit, another muffin,

and more coffee...

all topped of with a small ice cream cone at the

Grand Cafe.

Once home...at 4:30 mountain time...

we became inundated

with the early returns of election results from the east coast.

Now...mind you...we still had 2.5 hours of open polls

here in Arizona.

Sooooo...

we decided to escape the early election madness

and go to the pool only

to find out that the rec center was a local polling place...

and of course, it was still open!

(Note: we voted early

when we were back in Illinois

so the fact that this was a polling place

was news to me!)

At least

the sunset was magnificent...outlining the palm trees..

as sentinels in the desert sky.

That did a lot to soothe the savage beast.

   Sooo...after water walking and some star gazing

chill time in the hot tub

we headed home.

I painted...this journal page actually...

while listening to more early projections...now 5% of precints in...!!!

Jeesch...the west coast is still voting!

Aggravation rebuilding...!!!

Soooo...

I grabbed the remote and flipped to QVC for a diversion

from the election chaos...

and ended up

buying a Rowenta iron on 2 easy payments.

Go figure!

I then checked emails,

had a bowl of cereal...felt bloated...

and continued to watch returns.

Slowly, and surely, the election map began filling in.

My heart began to race...as things began to get

fairly final.

What???!!!

Barack Obama was re-elected to serve

another term as president.

Unbelievable!

What a day...What a night!

I think I am still hyped up on caffeine...

as I just looked at the length of this post...and it's a bit much!

So there you have it folks...

a day in my life...

"All signed, sealed, and delivered"...she's yours!

I am over the moon happy!

Congrats, Mr President!

Indeed it was a very, very...good...day...:)

Plus,

I think I may just have to move to Colorado...

Inhale...exhale...Ahhhh!

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone...

you may cherish the sweetest reflection

that your vote is never lost.”

~John Quincy Adams 

"Be counted on..."

...TO VOTE...

...no matter which political viewpoint you prefer.

"To make democracy work,

we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers.

One who does not vote

has

no right to complain."

~Louis L'Amour

My Art in Jan's Book...

 Penciling in some basic ideas...

I make my preliminary drawings on copy paper

just to see

how I can best visually blend my art

with the art of the person who came before me.

The theme of Jan's book is "Doors"...and...it is spectacular to see.

The books we are using for this exchange

are the Japanese fold Maruman sketchbooks.

These books take both ink and watercolor beautifully...

I really love them!

 My next layer in with ink...

then after running a couple of color tests...again on copy paper...

 ...I am ready to layer in my watercolor...

ever darkening my shadows and enriching my color.

Then, adding my night sky...complete with bits of starlight...

it's ready for a signature

and the next book exchange...What fun!!!!!!

(Click on any image to enlarge...)

Here are our books from our most recent exchange...October 17.

We have only two more exchange rounds

until our books return home to their owners in January.

My book

is the floral themed book 5th from the top...:)

"The doors we open and close each day 

decide the lives we live."

~Flora Whittemore