Everyone Seems to be Leaving

This is a watercolor sketch done in my journal on the last day of the last of my Bay View classes. It always makes me sad to say good-by to the last group. Many of them are leaving for home - which means somewhere warmer for the winter.

Not only was it the end of summer classes, but the California kids were packing up to leave also. We had three wonderful weeks with them! Three weeks is enough time to work their way into our lives and then make a big dent when they leave. But it was a GREAT three weeks. Little kids can make a BIG dent, can't they!

I have a few projects that I need to get going on - things that really need attention RIGHT NOW, so I will try to shift gears into "business mode" and catch up a little on things. I always get into nesting in September - cleaning, rearranging, biting off more than I can chew . . . I think I will have to forgo some of the nesting projects for a bit. However, I don't think I can forgo the cleaning for too much longer!

Green, green, green

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF OUR LITTLE BOAT.
The next time we will take a yummy snack, books, an anchor, and a new motor. We did a lot of rowing.
Susan Lake is an old fashioned little lake with only a few cottages and no speedboats. Everywhere you look is green green green.
For this little sketch I did a very quick contour drawing in ink, then painted it using the water in the bottom of the boat.

Do Not Disturb

Rudy (the cat) and I had a good time today staying home. It was fun to just putter around the house and clean - from the looks of things, for the first time this summer. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but then again, maybe. I have been coming in from classes and painting, dumping down one stack of things and gathering up more for the next day. The stacks were beginning to have no rhyme or reason and I was afraid something would get left behind, as in slip through the cracks. And if you have seen our quirky house, you know I mean literally slip through the cracks.
I only have two classes this week, so I thought I would take a day or so to get in touch with home, and get ready for the California kids and grandkids. In the afternoon we had a thunderstorm. With no outdoor class to worry about, I was hoping it would be a good one - we really need the rain. A quarter of an inch - better than nuthin'.

Sit Awhile and Paint

What a pleasant place to sit and paint on a hot day. It was about 78 degrees when we arrived at 10:00 this morning. Everyone found a spot of shade with a wonderful view of Karen's garden. She claimed that the garden isn't at its best right now - could have fooled us! It is beautiful!
Karen keeps a colorful and lush garden and it has all kinds of things to discover - plants and interesting objects. AND she serves peach iced tea to my classes.
The paintings all reflected how relaxed and comfortable everyone was. Nice job, Class! And thanks a lot Karen for having us!