First Halloween !

Gracie had a ball at her aunt and uncles and cousins house, dressing-up, and watching the trick or treaters, and even starting to crawl a little (to celebrate!)

Halloween trick or treat??

Here is a better pic of our endeavors yesterday. We made 4 centerpieces, and 10 favors for our get-together on Friday...... Scary, huh?

halloween cookies

My friend, Kris, and I spent the day decorating Halloween cookies for our little "happy hour" party on Friday with our school buddies.... Kris took a class, learning how to do different types of decorations, and had all the cookies made, and supplies all ready to go when I arrived. - Just like a good teacher- her organizational skills put me to shame ! But, I digress..... We had a ball trying out the various techniques, and I really learned a LOT...

Her sweet dog, Annie kept us company, and her husband was kind enough to go out and get us wonderful quiches and muffies for breakfast--thank you , Gary....

We finished the decorating, and then went to the coolest store for scrapbooking, where I proceeded to pick out several wonderful magazines, and some awesome papers to use in collage, altered books, etc. Then it was on to Rich and Charlies for a VERY late lunch (about 4:00) tee hee, and we had a great time talking over iced tea and scrumptious Italian food....

Then is was back to Kris' to wrap the cookies in cellophane, and assemble the centerpieces. A former student of both of ours , Mary, came by for a visit. She was in my class almost 20 years ago, but I remember her very well. We had a nice visit, and A WonDERfUl FuN DaY !!!

Thank you Kris for all your work, It was great, as usual !

Tracey, complete with lighlights and curls.....

Here is the finished portrait of my daughter, Tracey, who left an hour or so ago on her cycling trip down the coast of California. She is very excited to be going on this adventure, which will take her by the ocean, past Monterey, where we used to live, Big Sur, and Hearst Castle..... She will stay in campgrounds, and travel anywhere between 30 and 55 miles a day.....

She is taking with her a minimum of things, including a sleeping bag, and tools to fix her bike, if there is a problem of some kind, a change or two of clothing, and a little food. There are plently of places along the way to stop for a sandwich, etc. She is very perceptive, and always mindful of her surrounding She is very careful about planning things out, and preparing for any mishaps that might occur. Even though it would scare me to take this trip, it's WHAT she LOVES to do, Living life to the fullest, and not compromising what she wants to experience.... So, I'm sure she will have a great ADVENTURE.... and we send our love !

Getting back to business !!

I've been gone so long from my portraits, I always have the fear that I've forgotten how to paint, but it seems I have not...... Since the last time I worked on my oils, I've toured the Georgia O'Keeffe archives, and been again inspired to put my ideas on the canvas. Here is JERRY, one of my favorite kids, loads of personality, and always fun to have in class. He is a hard worker in Art, and is a delight, with his humor, and agreeable demeanor.... Hope you're having fun during your senior year at Mehlville, Jerry......

(still needs a little more time and contrast to be "done")

Adventurous girlly girl !

This is Tracey's self-portrait (part of a series)

My daughter is planning another trip.. This time she is planning to bicycle down the coast of California, by herself, from San Francisco to L.A. I'm not sure how many miles that is, but it's a good deal farther than I can even imagine !


I'm sure she's up to the task-- I've sortof given up trying to "talk her out of" these adventures. I know it's futile to try. Instead, I'll just sit here, in my house, preparing to go to the Rams football tailgate, eating my oatmeal, typing on my blog, and trying to settle the idea of her out there in my head......I guess I like the comfort of my secure environment a bit more than I love adventure.


She met a fellow St. Louisan (actually he's from Chesterfield) while on a boat, crossing a river in Cambodia, and she and he have become good friends, by way of email, plus one visit.....She says he is a very nice guy, and she's going to visit him in LA.. Have a safe trip, Buffy, and watch out for all that smoke, and all those fires !!!!! (lots of exclamation points) We all love you !

My sis and I attended the touring show of So You Think You Can Dance last evening.... IT WAS F A N T A S T I C-- We loved it !!

I faithfully watched the show each and every week ( taping when I couldn't watch for some reason) and then when on tape, I proceeded to watch my favorite routines Over and Ovcr again..... Can't help it, I LOVE IT>>>

Anywho, the show was out of this world- we sat in the 3rd row, close to the stage, where we could see the expressions on the dancers faces... It was wonderful, even better than last year at the Fox when we sat in row 19 !! The dancers were much BETTER by in large, this year. Any of the dancers in the top 4 or 6 could have been considered "the best" but, SABRA was officially the winner, getting more votes from viewers than any other dancer..... Personally I didn't have a favorite, only special dances that I will still continue to watch again and again, AND dance with my grandbaby to (she and I waltz around the bedroom and listen to the music and watch) tee hee.......

We didn't bring cameras, good thing, too, cause they said at the start "no flash" photography...... It probably wouldn't have taken without the flash !

CDs to save pictures in case of a fire

Finally I figured out how to load my favorite pictures onto CDs. I was prompted to try and do it after the news from California, and how all the people there had lost their homes and everything in them.... If I were to lose my computer files, I would have no pictures from the last several years.... I downloaded them (all the ones of Baby Grace), and gave a copy to Teddy and Diane, so they could have them, too.

for Linnie---

My computer is not responding too well tonight, maybe I've worked it too hard, and it needs a rest. As to why the pictures are not coming across, I'm not sure. Here's a try at a regular one, as opposed to a collage !

Now for the pics--- Just as I was getting ready to post, my wonderfulkids came with my grandbaby !--PRIORITIES --

Here are some of the over 300 pictures I took of our fun trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico...

(Just click on any picture to enlarge !)

--Santa Fe--

Santa Fe is our last trip for awhile. We had a BALL- We spent time with my darling brother-in-law and his partner, at their wonderful new home outside of Santa Fe, where "retirement" was always the DREAM...

Brad wanted a part-time job, and instead, has landed himself a wonderful job at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum as the head of Events at the Museum... We arranged for us to have a special viewing at the research facility that has all of Georgia's artifacts, and we were able to see all of her art supplies, and research materials, as well as preliminary drawings for paintings, and even her clothing.... It was quite cool, I thought...
We spent one morning driving up to Chimayo, a very old Church , where miracles are aided by the "sacred soil", which can be scooped up from the floor of the church, to provide a blessing to those who visit.... It was scenic, and very enjoyable.
We visited all the cool galleries and shops in Santa Fe's Plaza, and Canyon Road, and went to the famous cathedral that dates back to the 1600's. The weather was very co-operative, as well. It gets cool in the evening, and the elevation provides spectacular sunsets, and sunrises, too.. We would sit outside under the portal in early evening for cocktail hour, and enjoy the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, breathtaking !

We had a spectacular visit, including wonderful restaurants of Santa Fe, like the Pink Adobe, with it's famous lobster salad, and home-cookin', too. We felt like celebrities, and were given the royal treatment. What a great time we had, thank ......you, Michael and Brad. It was S O much fun !!!!!

weekend getaway !

If you've never been to Galena, Illinois, it's certainly worth a look-see.......

My sister, her husband, my husband, Bus, and I took a little jaunt to the Northern regions of Illinois, and up into Wisconsin over the weekend. We found gorgeous countryside (no lie) and cool temperatures (quite a change for these St. Louis girls and boys) and golf courses, well-manicured and with rolling hills and fabulous fountains placed all about.......

We had fun seeing the small towns, talking to the artists and townspeople, shopping the antique malls and looking for bargains. We purused the little quaint shops of Galena, and stayed at the lovely old resort that boasts of one of the only ski resorts in the area- when it's a bit colder outside- that is !

The food was lots of fresh fish and NO CARBS- of course-- but we were able to have lots of great meals !!!

FINALLY- THE P E O P L E OF THE AREA WERE

ABSOLUTELY CHARMING AND SO VERY FRIENDLY !

We enjoyed the people BEST of all ! All of us had a great time, and would recommend it for a great spot to visit. ( Oh, also, my brother-in-law, Roger, finally was able to beat my husband on the golf course, and I don't think he'll EVER let him forget it- HA!)

Little trips and Day trips

We are leaving this evening for a little weekend trip to Galena, Illinois, and then a few days up in Wisconsin...... We are traveling by car with my sister and her husband (the boys are taking their golf clubs) and the two of us girls will hit the antique shops, and hopefully a flea market, or interesting little shop or two..... Then it's on to a spot a little west of Madison, Wisconsin, where Frank Lloyd Wright has an extensive architectural school, which he designed, and is now open to the public for tours... It sounds like fun, and we will get off the beaten path, if we find something that looks interesting-

Meanwhile--- I will share the pictures of our Wednesday outing-- Kris and I took the Metrolink to Forest Park for coffee, and to explore the History Museum... It's been newly renovated, and boasts two nice display areas that were fun.... The smaller one showed artifacts from the restored Fabulous Fox, and the larger, permanent one, houses a collection of memorabilia from the 1904 World's Fair Exhibition. We ate at Patty Longs restaurant in the museum, with it's gorgeous view of the beautiful FOREST PARK- one of the Jewels of St. Louis- As usual, it was a very fun time ! Where will we be off to next ? Got a suggestion for us ? Leave a comment- we're always looking for new ideas !@!!

The San Francisco Treat-

Our trip to San Francisco was so much fun and go, go, go......

We had wonderful meals (and it seemed as though we were always eating)- We traveled the city and went over the bridge to the beautiful hills of Marin. The weather was fabulous, and sunny, with gorgeous sunsets to complete the package. One of the amazing things we did, was to visit the gallery called "Creativity Explored" which is a huge studio space where developmentally challenged individuals come each day to paint, draw, and create works of sculpture and ceramics, which are sold in their gallery up in front of the studio. We walked around and talked to the artists, and they shared their ideas about their art. We got to watch them in action, and interact with them. It was so inspiring! Tracey and I each picked through hundreds of pieces of art until we finally narrowed it down to 3 for me, and 3 for her. I wanted to get even more! It is a fantastic place, and you shouldn't miss it, if you are in the area. You can visit their web address and see the profiles of some of their artists. The program and gallery has been operating since 1983, and each artist comes every day to paint. WOW- it was cool.....check it out at: http://www.creativityexplored.org (Vincent was wonderful, as well as John Patrick McKenzie, in fact,all of the artists were great)

What a great place to be able to go see our daughter. We Had A Ball, THANKS BUFFY....