“A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it.” (-Scott Allen)

Well, the curtains are done, the walls are lightened up, and now I can get down to business. I am busy planning for fall trips, and it will be great to have a room that’s organized and sunny so that when I’m cooped up here, I can accomplish "great things. "

Thanks for bearing with me while this project ran its course! I was determined to bring light into this space, and now it’s a fait accompli. Joe came home with a bright red chair for me today--it's bright, that's for sure! Cheery and it will make me think of him.

“A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.” (-Madonna

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” (-Albert Einstein)

One more day and I should have my office/studio about the way it needs to be. I sometimes really do wish I was a minimalist—life would be much simpler, I think!

I still have to make curtains for this room…I’ve made them for other rooms in our house and I know I can make simple ones that will create a homier space, but it will take me the day to do it. I was disappointed in not finishing them last night: I had to head to Duke yesterday, and had some work to do last night,…

BUT…I did manage to get some art/photos hung in the room, and I like that I can change those around when the mood strikes me. Over the years, I have cut pretty prints out of magazines such as American Art Review, and save them in files for later. Then, I'll pull them out and frame them inexpensively to brighten up a space. That's what I did here with some of the artwork I hung.

I surround myself with things people have given me and they make me remember folks I love.

“Eliminate physical clutter. More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter.” (DH Mondfleur)

Oh, dear…wish I 'd heard that sooner!

“Happiness is not having what you want. It’s wanting what you have.” (-Unknown)

Stage 2 of the office saga:

Well, the paint’s on the walls, the rug’s on the floor, and it’s time for the fun part: bringing out things to make the room have a heart: the artwork, photos and little pieces that have sentimental value…my favorite part. This room doesn't look anything like what I originally planned for it, but it's going to be fine...

This is my lamp that is small but will suit me well here at this desk, so it frees up space to do what needs doing…

And this is a bowl that I fell in love with at Marshall’s—it just spoke to me and it’s going to hold things I need close by.

Now, it’s my chance to look over all my old photos I love and prints I’ve saved to hang up, and start choosing what will go where. I’m primed! Stay tuned…

Curtains still not made…;((

I originally planned to create a soft, light blue and white office that would be soothing...not quite what happened, but it's going to be clean and organized, and I'm GOING to love it. Soon...promise...!

“The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.”

“Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. (-Albert Einstein)

OK, on the one hand, I can be totally anal about being organized, but I can also be a total slob. How is that so?

Right now, I’m in the midst of overhauling my office/studio space upstairs. I have for three years been complaining about the disarray up there and it’s just TIME to do something about it. Before I head out on the road one more time, this September, I want this space to be organized and neatened up.

First of all, I inherited a "salmony" color in this room that I hated. It actually looks better in the photo than it did in real life, and it was so dismal and dreary up there in that room. I travel for my job all fall, but when I’m not on the road, I work from home, so I have TONS of work materials that arrive in boxes about this time of summer every year. I do wind up using them as I head around the country—they go off with me, but they have to be stored in my place, so in the past, I have always had them cluttering up my office.

This year, I have taken the bull by the horns, though—they’re moving out! I have relegated all the work related supplies and brochures etc to the attic and to a closet off of this room, and I am already feeling calmer just seeing how the clutter is going to be disappearing, once our work is done.

We’re painting the walls and some bookcases, and organizing things so it will be a good work office and art studio. (I’ve always called it that, but it’s been a mess with mostly work-related items in here until now.)

So, stay tuned—it has a long ways to go—I’m making curtains to get rid of the blinds I hate, and I’m putting down a new rug, and hanging all kinds of prints/photos to cheer me up. I’ll post the final photos once it’s all done. Wish me luck!

“Make room for the new you. You may not have totally determined who the new you is going to be, but you probably have decided that there are some things about the current you that you want to change. Well, while you are working on what the new you will be, start ‘cleaning out a room’ for the new you to live in. Get rid of the junk in your life both physical and mental that doesn’t fit you anymore. Take things out of your schedule that are taking your time away from finding out what you want to do. By making room for the new you, you will create a vacuum that the new you will rush in to fill and you will be on your way to the top.” (-Edward Smith)

I hadn’t really thought about a new me, but hey—why not!? ;))

“Boys are beyond the range of anyone’s sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90.” (-James Thurber)

My son Eric has over the years sent me flowers for many occasions, and since he knows I love tulips, I have often gotten those from him for Mother’s days and birthdays, etc. I think one of the reasons I like them so much is that I always associate them with Eric.

When I was pregnant with him, back in the ‘70’s, they didn’t routinely do ultrasounds, and people didn’t necessarily know the sex of their babies. In fact, when Eric was born, I remember us being absolutely thrilled at the news that his dad was going to be allowed in the delivery room—back then, that was considered a very progressive hospital.

I thought I would have a little girl. I didn’t know much about little boys. Eric was born on January 9^th, 1977, on the night we moved to Charlottesville, VA, in a snowstorm, on Superbowl Sunday. I always thought Eric was just anxious to see the new digs. Upon our arrival at the hospital in the very early hours of the morning, I was told that my doctor I’d been visiting for 9 months was on vacation and one of his partners would be delivering our baby.

When that doctor arrived, he told me he’d just taped Beethoven’s 6^th Symphony in his car on the way to the hospital, and he asked if he could play it for us in the delivery room. (Is the pope Catholic?!) I was absolutely thrilled, and said that that was fine with me, if he would also dim the lights once Eric was born—so it pleases me to know that Eric came into this world and that his very first life experiences featured soft lights and the sounds of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.

Maybe that partially contributed to his being a good guy today. (Eric, don't kill me now!)

“One of the best things in the world to be is a boy; it requires no experience, but needs some practice to be a good one.” (-Charles Dudley Warner)

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food sort it out inside.” (-Mark Twain)

Is it possible to love an appliance?

I know women aren’t supposed to get too excited about them when they arrive as gifts, but this is one I cherish. When my 31 year old son Eric was just a baby, I was nursing him, and he arrived at that point where we could add more solid foods than rice cereals and the like. I asked my husband at the time, "Bob," if he’d go and get us one of those little $5 “food grinders” that they had back in the late '70's, because I thought I could start Eric on some good healthy foods that we ate, too. I’d seen little plastic ones that you could literally carry with you on the road in your bag, and they looked great to me. (Bob and Eric below)

Well, Bob came home that day with what you see above: a KitchenAid mixer in an enormous box. Not only would it NOT fit in my bag, it was extremely heavy, large, and cumbersome for my intentions. Portability had been what I was after. We didn't have a lot of money, and it just seemed so extravagant to me, too. But if you have one of these machines, you know it’s amazing: it beats, whips, kneads, and-- with attachments that fit into the front of the machine, it slices, shreds, juices, makes sausage, and even polishes silver! (I’m serious!) Only thing it doesn’t seem to do is vacuum. (At least my model doesn't!) Quelle dommage, eh?

It turns out that Eric was none the worse for having had foods prepared that started out in the KitchenAid. And over the years, I’ve grown extremely attached to this creature. I have prepared so many things that started out in this bowl: I made French baguettes, back when I did that sort of thing, I baked cookies, shredded carrots and cabbage for coleslaws, made cakes, and pies and quiches and all manner of dishes, etc. (Eric below)

My nephew Graham, when he was little, would come to visit, and he was fascinated by the KitchenAid. He’d say “Aunt Sue, could we make some cookies?” Of course, I’d have to say yes.

That meant, to Graham, that I’d let him stand on a chair so he could see it in action, which is what he liked. I think the KitchenAid itself had far more appeal for Graham than anything we ever made in it! First, I’d tell him “OK--Fingers on nose!” and as I'd instruct, he’d immediately put both of his index fingers to his nose so I could start the beaters, knowing he wouldn’t be tempted to put a hand into the bowl as it was spinning. He was busy keeping his fingers on his nose and out of harm's way while he watched. He loved it. (Graham below)

Bob is not living any longer, and it’s strange that every time I use that thing, I think of him and smile, remembering that day when I was actually very frustrated with him for coming home with something so far removed from what I’d requested. It turns out it really was quite a wonderful gift. (Graham below.) July 23rd was Bob's and my anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Bob, wherever you are.

“Cooking is like love: it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” (-Harriet van Horn)

“A good rest is half the work.” (-Proverb)

Pretty soon, I will be spending most of my time in Courtyard by Marriott beds that look like this. Maybe a Holiday Inn or a Hilton Garden Inn, but they all start to look alike after a point.

I travel for work, and all fall, I’m in a different hotel every night, for weeks on end. I head to some 60 colleges and universities around the country in a 4 month period, and I'll see a good bit of the USA along the way. It's quite interesting, but it is exhausting, and the planning for these trips, between airline reservations, hotels, rental cars and individual visits to "lock in" with professors, students and Career Services offices around the nation, takes me months.

So, this time of year, in mid-July, as I’m enjoying our remaining flowers that are blooming, it’s with the bittersweet recognition that, as each variety of perennial fades, it brings me closer to when I’ll be gone again. The clock is ticking! (Can you hear the panic setting in yet?!)

The annuals are still going strong, and we have lots of color inside, but most of the perennials are finished for the season, with a few exceptions. It’s frustrating to get excited about the ones that are opening up, knowing that soon I’ll be missing them!

My wall-sized, laminated maps arrived recently, heralding the beginning of my trip-planning stages. These maps are “American Higher Education maps” that highlight all of the colleges and universities around the country so that I can more readily visualize where I need to plan my trips and route them accordingly. I have always used atlases in books before, but this will put everything in front of me so I can see the Big Picture more easily.

Once I’m on the road, I find it fascinating, and I learn and see so much, but this time of year, before it all starts, can be daunting… OK, good to get that out of my system!

“Remember what Bilbo used to say: It’s a dangerous business, Frodo,going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” (-JRR Tolkien)

“If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” (-Toni Morrison)

OK, be honest.

Have you ever been tempted to write a book? Recently, I decided to try to make one of those Blurb books, and now that I did one, I think everyone should, too! Have you checked out this site? Blurb books

It was great fun, and not difficult to do at all. Joe has been working on genealogy and I told him I think he should make a Blurb book on that, and write anecdotes about family, inserting beautiful old photos along with them. The site opens up templates for you to test out page spreads you like, and you can add text or just insert photos or images you choose.

It’s ideal for a wonderful little cookbook, or a beautiful, large coffee table style book. They'd make gorgeous personalized gifts for people! Go ahead and make one that’s comprised of photos from your fabulous trip somewhere, or your artwork that you want to see nestled into the pages of a book.

I highly recommend doing it—I am definitely no computer wiz, and I easily figured out how to put it together. They have a guide that explains it all to you, but being impatient, I just plowed in without that, and it’s fairly intuitive and easy to do. I originally thought that the site let you just make a book for yourself, but then when I finished it, I realized you can actually put it in their Blurb “bookstore,” purchase it yourself, and if someone else likes it, they can purchase it, too. I also thought you could only do a set amount of pages, and it wasn’t until I finished that I realized I could have done a longer book. So if you’re smart, and actually PLAN what you want to do, you can make a real beauty of a tome!

So, seriously, GO for it! I’m going to encourage everyone I know to make one! If I can do it, trust me--so can you! You can make one soft or hard covered, and as short or long as you like.

Put together a book for someone’s 50^th wedding anniversary, or a memento of a family reunion, or a cookbook or garden book of your beautiful flowers so that you can remember them always. Have fun!

“A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.” (-Chinese proverb)

“Some pursue happiness; others create it.” (-anonymous)

Friday was pretty much a perfect day:

I awoke to warm breezes through the open doors and the birds singing. Joe and I ventured out to a local market and picked up some glowing local tomatoes and vegies.

Afterwords, I met up with two of my flickr watercolor friends Laura and Lin, and we took in two current exhibits at the UNC Ackland Museum of Art: one was “Flowing Like Water” with artists’ varied depictions of water, and the other was “In and around the garden.”

From there, we wandered off to a wonderful little art supplies store, and being like-minded, we ogled the wonderful art papers, journals, sketchbooks, inks, paints and palettes to our hearts’ delight.

But the piece de resistance was our trip to a nearby gelato shop where we made a lunch of the delectable gelato. We sampled tiny spoonfuls of cappuccino, orange-chocolate, peanut butter, watermelon, strawberry, pistachio and lemon, and then once we made our selections, we each savoured a bowl of the heavenly treat. We’d originally planned to do some sketching there, but with all the gelato we consumed, our tongues were numb, and we decided it was just too chilly to stay and sketch! (I proposed that we should definitely come back, but bring sweaters next time.) I took some pictures to try to sketch later.

Good friends, good art, good food…what more could I want…

“What a wonderful life I’ve had. I only wish I’d realized it sooner!” (-Colette)

“One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.” (-Pablo Picasso)

Well, Pablo, I certainly hear you on that one.
(Something tells me Picasso’s finished products still came out looking pretty nice, though.)

Value studies are a really good exercise: looking at objects and really trying to observe where the light is hitting, and where it isn’t, and how the resulting shadows and tonal contrasts contribute to the form of that object. It sounds so easy, and I totally grasp the concept, but when I go to put brush to paper, it suddenly becomes difficult. I try to practice exercises that push me to think about the shapes of what I’m painting, and the values I see in the object. You can see my hand-made values chart is wrinkled and scratched over time...but I don't always use this as often as I should; I'm trying to learn to judge this on my own, intuitively.

Lucy Willis, one of my favorite watercolor artists, has the most perceptive, keen eye for communicating light and shadows. She captures all of their nuances brilliantly. Look at these two images of hers and how beautifully she communicates light: (and look to my sidebar link for Lucy Willis, and click on "Image Library" to see some of her amazing work.) She never sketches first--she goes right in with paints and never uses masks, either. Her work is lovely.

Monotone studies like those Lucy advocates practicing are a good way for me to think more about the subject at hand without being concerned with color. I’ll tell myself: just shapes: focus on shapes and where that light is.

And trying to paint white objects in watercolor is a great exercise, since there is no white paint, but just the white of the paper itself. So, you need to be good at planning and anticipating in advance with watercolors just where you want to remember to leave some white…something else I need practice with!

"Everyone wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of the birds?” (-Pablo Picasso)

(Hmmmm...well, as it happens, I’m kind of interested in understanding that, too…)

“Italy, and the spring, and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy.” (-Bertrand Russell)

Of all the places I’ve ever visited, Italy by far affected me the most viscerally. I traveled fairly extensively all over the country and loved every inch of it. It quickly became evident to me why this country has produced so many artists.

Even in the heart of modern day cosmopolitan Rome, there is such prodigiously rich history evident everywhere you turn, with dramatic ruins like the ancient Colosseum and the magnificence of the Vatican to explore.

As a young girl, I wanted to be an archeologist after I read about the lost city of Pompeii. When I had the opportunity to travel there, walking the same stone roads that were covered with ash and rubble so many years ago, I was transported, thinking about the lives that were lived and lost there. The roads are paved with small shards of stone that glisten at night, and in ancient Pompeii, they helped to guide the way well before the future advent of street lights. One can still see incredible frescoes and get a feel for what life must have been like for those ancient Romans. Nearby, the stunningly beautiful Capri and Amalfi coast overlooking pristine blue waters are gems in the Italian landscape. Sorrento and Anacapri, with its hairpin turns up the mountainside, offer views that will remain forever in my mind.

Firenze, (or Florence) is a cultural mecca: the birthplace of so many artists, scientists, philosophers, it was the seat of the Renaissance. The Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi galleries,amazing piazzas… and some of the best gelato I ever tasted, came from Florence.

And the Tuscany hillsides and Umbria are bewitching and lovely, dotted with poplar and olive trees, miles and miles of sunflower fields, and the Chianti grapes that make the region special. I visited the Castello Vicchiomaggio, in the Greve valley, which figured in the movie Much Ado About Nothing, and enjoyed dinner and a wine-tasting at that glorious vineyard.

When I arrived in Venezia, I stayed on the beautiful island of Lido, (home of the famous film festival) and explored that area, then took a vaporetto across the lagoon to the main island, as well as the charming islands of Burano and Murano. The meandering canals are a maze, and one can easily get lost, but at every turn, there are wonderful surprises with gondolas, quaint outdoor cafes, open shutters on windows, flowers spilling forth and walking bridges. At night, the Piazza San Marco is alive with music and a sensual dolce vite like nowhere else.

I confess I did ride in a gondola, and I’m so glad I did. I don’t care if it’s touristy; it’s an experience I’ll savour forever. Nearby, close to Lake Garda, is Verona, the home of “Romeo and Juliet,” a lovely town where you can shop for fruits and vegetables in amazing market places amidst glorious frescoes and statues/fountains.

When I planned my trip to Italy, I thought that I’d see the country and discover that one place I wanted to return to, but I wound up falling in love with all of Italy. The northern lake region is positively stunning. I visited Lago Maggiore, and from there, took a boat ride to one of the Borromean islands, aptly named Isola Bella, with its Italianate gardens and vistas of the spectacular Swiss mountains in the distance. I’ll never forget Lago Maggiore, with the hydrangeas bursting over the roads, lush and glorious, and its views of villas on the lake and the distant mountains of Switzerland. Milan, a fascinating city in the northern Lombardi region, once had as many canals as Venice, I learned, until Mussolini had them paved over.

One day, I hope to have the chance to return to Italy, but until then, I'll cherish the memories of that astonishingly beautiful country and carry them in my heart.

“The Creator made Italy from designs by Michelangelo.” (-Mark Twain)