"A little neglect may breed great mischief." (-Benjamin Franklin)

I apologize--I've missed a couple of posts, so I feel as if I’ve neglected my blog, but I am busy getting ready for heading out on the road again Monday, and I haven’t had time to paint!!

I promise, I’ll make amends soon, but tonight, I might have to get into just a little mischief…after all, it IS Halloween, oui?! Enjoy all the ghosts and ghoulies!

Happy Halloween and have a great weekend, all!

“A grandmother pretends she doesn’t know who you are on Halloween.” (-Erma Bombeck)

After Apple-picking (-Robert Frost)

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree
Toward heaven still,
And there's a barrel that I didn't fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now…

(I’m heading home again Wednesday for a few days! Then, back on the road again Monday…next time to Reno, NV. Three trips down, two to go!)

"Perfume-laden air"

"When from the neighbouring garden the perfume-laden air
Saturates my soul with memories,

Rises the thought of the beloved plum-tree
Blooming under the eaves of the house which is gone."

Sugawara Takesue no Musume

Room Service

"Room service."

Are there two more beautiful words in the English language after a long day on the road?

There’s something quite soothing about a meal delivered to you with a rose in a vase at the end of the day. Granted, the meal’s not exactly the same as a home-cooked meal…but somehow that’s still ok if you can keep the rose and savor its simple beauty for the rest of the visit. I'll set my tray outside the room but I always save the flower.

And then, of course, there’s always the notion of a ready-made sketching image just waiting to happen... hmmmmmm…

“Room service? Send up a larger room.” (-Groucho Marx)

Have a great weekend, all!

“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.” (-William Cullen Bryant)

Yesterday, I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Thanks to Jeanette Sclar, flickr’s famous “Mistress of Longears,” who suggested some area attractions to me, I learned about a wonderful opportunity for communing with Nature, when I was able to discover University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum.

While it was a chilly afternoon, the sun was shining, and the trees were gilded, dazzling jewels.

The leaves are turning to brilliant colors and the meandering path down to the Huron River is a peaceful, beautiful walk.

I was fortunate to be able to explore on a weekday afternoon, and other than a few fellow Nature lovers and joggers, I was pretty much alone save for two hawks in the tree canopy above.

(Incidentally, I am aware that one photo here is in here twice—blogger was NOT cooperating tonight—I tried uploading 5 times and for some reason it loaded everything backwards and this photo was in here twice each time! Who knows! I finally gave up!)

After my visit, I went off to my event at the University of Michigan and felt a wonderful serenity before I had to be “on” for the evening.

Today, it was back to O’Hare again, and then on to St Louis, Missouri. I do enjoy getting to explore my surroundings wherever I head. Thanks, Jeanette, for such a perfect suggestion!

“Summer makes me drowsy. Autumn makes me sing…” (-Dorothy Parker)

"You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt." (~Author Unknown)

This weekend was a whirlwind. Home very briefly, I had lots of work still to do, so it was with great joy that on Sunday, Joe and I both got out to do some fall cleaning in the garden. We filled barrel after barrel with cut-back plants and weeds, we pruned things that could be pruned, and we picked some pretty flowers to bring inside to enjoy at the same time. Many of our flowers have faded, but some are still going strong, and we were happy to see that our camellias are starting to bloom!

While we were outside, on that glorious fall day, who should come by but my good pal Wesley and his friend Eva. Wesley is our neighbor who visits me all the time.

He came to visit and we told him to pick some roses to bring to his mom, which he did.

Of course, I had to get some photos. He’s a great little guy! While I was on the road for my last trip, I was surprised one day to get an email from Wesley with a birthday wish and a poem he “invented.”

"There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling." (~Mirabel Osler)

Writing this now in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Back at it! Hope Monday's a good one for you all!

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” (-Oprah Winfrey)

Well, I’m celebrating, because today, I head home again. Two trips down, three to go. I am fortunate that I get to see so much of the USA, and I treasure the opportunities I have to travel to all these beautiful places, but I must admit…

Home is best.

“Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig.” (-nursery rhyme)

Have a great Thursday, all!
I’ll be on planes from 9am ‘til 11:00pm. (There's a time change in there, though, too.) Time to charge the iPod so I'll have tunes for the way home!

“There is an eternal landscape, a geography of the soul; we search for its outlines all our lives.” (-Josephine Hart)

Monday, I took a phenomenally scenic journey from Spokane, in eastern Washington state, to Walla Walla, Washington, in the southeastern region of the state.

I always relish making this trip, because it’s such a fascinating drive, with vast, open spaces and dramatic skies for miles on end.


The landscape is other-worldly, stark, and yet absolutely beautiful.

The first time I came to Washington, I thought the entire state was like the west coast with its lush, evergreen richness and color. Once you cross the western mountains, though, you hit the “rain shadow” that leaves much of the rest of the state dry and ochre-colored.

There are farms periodically in the countryside, and close to Walla Walla itself, the area is known as the “Napa of the North,” because of its burgeoning wine industry.

This is also part of the Lewis and Clark trail. I’m always awed by the journey those two took, when I travel through states that mark the trails they forged.
It’s a very rugged landscape and intimidating in its very scope.

Just thinking about Sacajawea being pregnant as she led the two of them through the wilderness boggles my mind.

Ever since I saw first-hand the landscape she traversed, I have held her in the highest esteem.

“Life is like a landscape. You live in the midst of it but can describe it only from the vantage point of distance.” (-Charles Lindbergh)

"Stop and smell the roses" (-Proverb)

A sepal, petal, and a thorn
Upon a common summer's morn,

A flash of dew, a bee or two,
A breeze

A caper in the trees, --
And I'm a rose!

(-Emily Dickinson)

I'll be off to Walla Walla, Washington today—have a great Tuesday, all!

“Glass is the most magical of all materials. It transmits light in a special way.” (-Dale Chihuly)

When I was visiting Tacoma, I saw the famous Chihuly Bridge of Glass. It is absolutely amazing: two "crystal" towers comprised of cerulean blue chunks of glass that twist and turn in the light of day or night.

Richly colored creatures, like sea urchins, undulate and dance in vibrant colors across walls and ceilings.

Anyone familiar with Dale Chihuly knows his stunning installations and dramatic use of glass. Since he lives in the Puget Sound area, his work is celebrated here. If you’re not familiar with his work, take a look. And if you ever get a chance to see one of his installations or museum exhibits, by all means, go...

"I love to go to the ocean and walk along the beach. Glass is so much like water. If you let it go on its own, it almost ends up looking like something that came from the sea." (—Chihuly)

"Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." (David Letterman)

"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause
between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."
- (Carol Bishop Hipps )

Happy weekend, all!

“The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” (-Unknown)

This bird will be up early today. It’s my birthday,--54 big ones today! I’m off for a busy one, but hope to relax some tonight. Have a happy Thursday, all!

"Me and ice cream. Best friends forever." (-Jessi Lane Adams)

“The 12-step chocoholics program:
Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate.”
(-Terry Moore)

I have behaved on the road so far, but Thursday is my birthday, and I may just have to splurge and go for a dessert in the next day or so! What do you think? (C'mon--help me not feel too guilty!)

(I had to post early so I could watch the debates Tuesday. Hope you all did, too!)

“There will be a rain dance Friday night, weather permitting.” (-George Carlin)

Rain and Seattle go hand in hand. Everyone knows this. I have visited this city a number of times, and I’ve been so fortunate that for at least part of every trip here, I’ve had dry moments.

Yesterday, I browsed around the Public Market at Pike Place.

It’s always a fun spot, with the fishmongers throwing fish,

The flower stalls bursting forth with color and scent,

The interesting characters,

And street musicians,

And the mounds of fresh produce in colors of the rainbow…

It’s a beautiful city, full of life and I always love visiting. Rain did come, but not ‘til after I got a chance to see it all for a while…

“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.” (-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)