Goodbye Sweaty Summer here comes Fabulous Fall!

After enduring another long Oklahoma Summer I am glad to see the beginning of Fall arrive. Having said that, I can't believe how quickly the Summer passed by. I'm sure Summer down under in Australia was longer, or was it that I had less to do and my days spent lying on the beach were just far more leisurely?

This past summer I enjoyed more than one road trip delivering paintings to galleries in far flung states. I saw the St. Louis Arch twice as I whizzed by in my groovy green mom van loaded up with art and stuff. Being on the road by myself is actually something I quite enjoy, so traveling to art shows has side benefits. There is no debating with myself what type of music will be played and sung along to at the top of my lungs, when we will make the obligatory roadside stops or even what's for dinner! It is also during these lengthy trips, my longest being 17 hours straight so far, that I get to enjoy the latest book on cd. It's a sad reflection when you want to keep driving just so you can hear how the book is going to end. You can imagine my husbands expression when after one of these long trips I remained in my vehicle for another 20 minutes just to wrap up the story of "The Memory Keeper's Daughter!"

Oh, before I forget. Talk about teenage flashbacks. When the summer movie Mamma Mia came out I rushed to see it the very first day. It was all I could do not to stand on my seat at the back of the theatre and sing. ABBA, (prounounced with a flat "a" as in apple people - there is no "r" in aaaarrrbbbaaa!!) was all the rage while I was in high school. The characters in this movie did a rip roaring job with the songs and oh how little it matters that Pierce Brosnan sings about as well as a someone with a mouth full of marbles when he looks so fine. Adding the soundtrack to my moving mom van music collection was a real boon. I sang so much on one return trip from Nebraska to Oklahoma City that I was hoarse for days. But hey, it was so much fun!

So what's next? This is one of my favourite times of the year. Actually I enjoyed it more when I lived in Nebraska as it got cooler and the leaves changed quicker but I'll take it anywhere. I've been on my first foray to the local pumpkin patch and tracked down my "Queensland Blue" or as it's known in these parts Jarandale pumpkin. My hubby was tortured recently by being forced to eat pumpkin scones for breakfast, which he secretly enjoyed I might add. The remainder of the pumpkin is going to become Aussie style pumpkin soup. I'll post the recipe here for you all to try soon.


I have a new painting on the easel featuring a large crystal vase of gorgeous orange colored roses and a cuppa tea. It's working title at this point is "Tea and Roses." It's a relatively large painting at 30 x 24 inches and will be completed in soft pastel. I'll post some progress pictures when I get them off the camera. It's also the time of year when we have to plan which shows to participate in next summer art season and to get busy in the studio turning out new pieces. Makes it really hard to sell paintings you have composed in your head if you don't get them down on paper or canvas. Ok, enough chatter for now, back to work here. Actually I'm off on a fact finding road trip to the south western parts of Oklahoma today. It's always good to find out more about the place you are living and I just know, with camera in one hand and sketch book in the other , there are great reference material opportunities awaiting me! Bye for now and have a good one!