Presenting Art Galore

I found a shop on Zibbet that I want to share with you today. The name of the shop is Art Galore. from the seller's profile I will let her introduce herself-

I have been drawing and creating pictures forever. From life, from imagination, from photos, and any combination of these. From doodles to detailed drawings and paintings and a vast variety of subject matter. I have participated in many regional art shows, including juried exhibitions. Even winning some awards for my artwork along the way!
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* Born: Winter in Rochester,New York

* Live: In a little Central New York
Village near Syracuse,New
York USA

* Family: My daughter and my young son, little dog Garbo and old cat Livvie

* School: Pratt Institute in Brooklyn,NYC

* Favorite Stuff: The countryside in all seasons, flavored tea, books and magazines, jewelry old and new, Christmas trees and lights and ornaments, flowers and silk flowers and gardens, babies and teenies in all species

* Subsriptions: People, Oprah, ARTnews,
Good Housekeeping, American Artist, Psychology Today, Romantic Homes, The Artists Magazine, Womens' day, Country Living, Drawing, Entertainment Weekly,This Old House

* Hobbies: Read, art shows and museums,decorate my house,take naps

The work that I was most attracted to are her custom home portraits.

 So cozy looking. One day I may just give a gift to myself and get a portrait of my favorite house of those that we have owned. I think this artist could do a good job with this one.

Not Interested

In the last little while a bit of disturbance has been happening on Etsy. Yes, I know what else is new. This one has to do with adult items and how they are presented on the site. It seems that the main issue is that, once again, if the rules of the TOU and the site's Dos and Don'ts were consistently enforced in a fair and timely manner there would be no disturbance. I actually enjoy the wide range of things on the site even though most of what I like will never be considered hip enough for the front page.

The only reason I have my shop there closed is because of the pricing structure. I opted for sites where I know what I will spend every month no matter how much or how little I use the site.

(3/5/2013 update, no longer on Artfire, mostly Etsy now, lots of reasons why, if you want to know just ask.)

Happy Friday!

Easy Way Out

Ask anyone in my family and you will hear that I am not the greatest gift giver. When shopping for any of the women and girls in my family I am always looking for unique gifts for her. I am notorious for finding my idea of unique and their idea of and I have heard this out loud, "O my God what was she thinking?". I can take it no more. The easy way out is to give cash.

However I am an easy receiver. That is if you shop for me at any of the handmade sites like Artfire, Zibbet or even though I closed my shop there, Etsy. There is an amazing world of glass, pottery, photography and painting and I would like it all.

Alone

There are two things I have never had to face or do by myself. One of them, by choice, is that I have never eaten in a restaurant alone. There are times I could have but just did not. I went to a fast food drive through or just waited until I got home to get something to eat. No big deal really.

The other thing I have not done alone is face a major breakdown of a car I was driving. That is right, no accidents, blown tires, steaming radiators or any other disasters a vehicle can throw your way.

Do you have anything you fear of don't want to have to face alone? Silly or serious I invite you to share.

Being More or Not

Some days I day dream about being a very successful blogger. For the most part I am happy with my disconnected ramblings but every once in awhile I think about what it might be like to be one of the very popular blogs.

I would like to have the wit of Dooce come through these fingers. I would love to be as useful as Tip Junkie and even more I would be proud to be as amusing as Cake Wrecks.

With audiences like those sites have maybe I would have to deal with a lot of new details in my daily life. I might have to think about getting a personal assistant. If Heather can call hers Tyrant I think mine should be the Dictator. It is what I need. That and maybe , a personal driver, invitations to fabulous events and a book deal.

Then again maybe a page rank of 3 and the followers I have are just right. I like looking at you guys over there in the sidebar. Say hello more often, ok?

It Scares Me

Yep, I admit it. My phone scares me sometimes. Phones can be so smart and so connected now that if you got iphone accessories or droid or blackberry for that matter it would just make them even smarter.

My point. The other day I looked in my picture gallery to clean out some of the junk pictures I have taken with the phone. You know just the silly unfocused ones you do when learning how the camera works. I found that this phone is so connected to my google accounts that all the pictures I have uploaded to Picassa are on my phone along with all my blogger pics including the ones connected to posts I did with Windows Live Writer when I was experimenting with that software.

Beyond that the other day a son in law sent a text from a cell phone not on my contact list. I edited the number with his name and the phone went oh yeah you know him and how about we put his Facebook profile pic right next to his name.

Scary I tell ya.

What else does my phone know about me or do I really want to know?

Another Year

Joslyn, also known as Posie in our family, had a birthday over the weekend. She is becoming quite the little lady and one who tells you exactly what is on her mind. She pulls no punches and lets you know on a phone call "I'm done talking to you now." She puts the phone down and is on to something else.

Happy Birthday and many, oh so many, more.

With love from Grandma.

A note for me

This is to remind myself that I kind of blew it when it came to walking this week. Last week was every day but this week only three times. It is not like I have to struggle through a tough lower ab workout or boot camp style workout to look great in a bikini or something. Those days are over but I do want to be healthier. It is just a walk. So do it. Every day.

The Best of Summer

It just wouldn't be summer without glasses of refreshing iced tea for me. I like lots of ice in a moisture beaded glass filled with a slightly sweetened golden amber liquid. That is summer and I make it by the gallon.

I can't say that I get my tea from any of the tea vendors on the handmade sites like Artfire, Zibbet or Etsy. My coffee and tea comes from a roasting house in New Jersey with an online presence at CoffeeBeanDirect.com. The selection of coffee and teas goes from everyday to gourmet and all of it is great quality combined with pricing that I can't find anywhere else, local or online.

The selection of teas include black, green, herbal, white and flavored. My usual order is for black tea, nothing fancy and I get a different type each time so I can work my way through all the choices. You get lots of information about the products they have to help you make your decision on what to get.

If you want to know more about this awesome business you can look around the website - Coffee Bean Direct or check them out on Facebook.

I should have known

I should have known when I sat down at this silly computer to do something real quick how it would go. Most of you know exactly what I mean. It is the kind of experience related to a craft project, housekeeping or putting together a blog post that you think will take a quick five minutes that stretches much longer or you have to walk away from and take deep breathes because it just isn't working.

Back in a bit to try again. Thinking of summer and what to show you that says it all.

Gotta Ask

Sometimes I guess you just gotta ask. That is what I found out this weekend.

In a post last year I told you about getting a ceiling fan put up in our living room. I was told at the end of the project that there were two jobs that would never be done by my DH again and one of them was putting up a ceiling fan.

On Sunday I was asked what I wanted for Mother's Day. In our new home for some strange reason there were no fans up in two very important rooms, our bedroom and the tv room. So I asked for fans as my gift and I got them.

Summer comfort guaranteed.

Thank you honey!

Summer Sun A to Z

It is starting to warm up here in Arizona. Thinking about the summer ahead I went window shopping on Artfire and Zibbet to see what I could find searching with the words "Summer Sun".

On Artfire I found a shop named MBmine that has a cute selection of sun hats for little girls.

Isn't it sweet?

On Zibbet only one item came up using my chosen search terms but it does say summer to me. This comes from the shop "The Family Jewels".

Blue sky and sunflowers, beautiful.
Don't you think so?

Warm or cool, I hope you are-

Too Much

Feeling a lot the last couple days. Lots of excitement, hope and worry over things I cannot change. I won't share that stuff here but I will show you where I would rather be knitting or reading a book. (I think that would be called hiding, well so be it.)



Taken somewhere in Pennsylvania on a quiet morning in April.

Dedication

Here is a level of dedication you just have to admire. I think.

Don't Play With Your Food

Don't play with your food.

That statement is a simple one that every mother teaches her children.

I thought my youngest daughter, now an adult and mother herself, had learned it long ago.

Evidently not since she ended up looking like this-

Bodies of Water

When we travel we seem to end up much of the time near water. Lakes, rivers, oceans, no matter what it seems to draw us. We spent some time last week in upstate New York around Lake George and I found out something very new. What I am used to when I go to a lake in the west is miles of open shoreline that you can explore as you wish. Lake George shoreline seems to be all bought and paid for either by homeowners or resorts. Just getting to the water to see it can be hard except for the south end that has a park open to the public. I was just looking for the chance to take a walk and we ended up in the car on a scenic drive instead.

The drive had its good points and stunning views however so it all turned into a wonderful afternoon. In our wanderings we drove along the shores of Brant Lake. The clouds were building and the wind was very calm and this lake became a mirror of the surroundings. Jim took pictures here and got some beautiful images of the area. Below you see one of my favorites.

Shop Local?

I tried to shop local when we were in Lancaster County, PA last week. I knew that spring was a beautiful time there and the blossoms on the trees did not disappoint however many of the gift shops did.

The signs outside so many of the shops would imply locally made gifts. I wanted in my own small way to support the work of local artisans. On going inside it all changed and everything from rugs to birdhouses came from somewhere else. I have nothing against a global marketplace but there are places that specialize in that kind of shopping and when I want an international shopping experience that is where I will go.

Along with the quilt I mentioned yesterday we got a couple prints from local artists that I need to get frames for. These are things I will see every day to remind me of the time and place.