Birthday Cake and Goggles

I know it's Tuesday already but I have to go back to the weekend one more time. On Sunday my daughter's boyfriend came over (since they were both home from college) and it was his 19th birthday. So I spent hours in the kitchen and whipped up his birthday cake. (pictured here on the gold plate). Ok, I lied. I bought some little chocolate cake roll things and put some candles in them. Hey, it's the thought that counts, right Pat? Happy Birthday to you sweetie!

Now, I bet you're wondering what the heck this is. Well, last week Sienna forgot to bring her shop goggles to school and she would have gotten points off for that. So of course, not wanting her to do bad in school, I had to run them down to her but first I thought I'd have a little fun with them. This is how I delivered them to her. I thought it would at least make her smile. And this is what my cats were doing while I was taking the picture of them. (Kiya was playing with Simba's tail, which was kind of funny because they really don't get along)

Babies are like Kittens

What a sweet picture. My baby, holding a baby.

I picked up Brielle from college this weekend and our first stop on the way home was the hospital to see her new cousin Qena. She seemed very comfortable holding a new born (maybe a little TOO comfortable!- Don't get any ideas my love). lol

I had the urge to paint kittens this weekend because Qena reminded me of a little kitten. Can you see the resemblance? (Ok, not the hairy part..)but the cuteness and total innocence part. Not to mention the sleepiness part and the little kitten sounds that came out of Qena's mouth.

Ahhhhhh. We're all excited to finally have another girl in the family.

Qena's Birth Day 09-24-09

Here she is! Qena, the queen. She was born today weighing 7lbs 9oz, healthy and beautiful. Quince, her big brother (5 yrs. old) is smiling in this photo, but he actually had a slight melt down when he first saw her, crying in the hall then hiding behind the candy machine. I think he was a little jealous of the attention she was getting but he was also worried about his mama who was still in the operating room. He's a very (wild) but sensitive kid. Everything was fine though, she just was in there a little longer than the baby. He finally turned around and was happy to see her once Mom was in her room.

I got to pick her up first. She's so cute!!! I look like her grandmother with my 'new' gray hair. In fact, when we walked in, the nurse asked me and my mom if ONE OF US was Grethe's MOTHER! Thanks a lot!!!! I'm going to dye it tomorrow. (joking) I've come to far.....
Here's my mom (Grandmom) and an open eyed Qena. I love her name. I'm not used to the spelling of it yet, but that will come the more I write it.

This is Ron, Qena's daddy and the other doting grandmother, "Grandy".

Oh she's so scrumptious, I want to take her home with me! Ok, maybe for about an hour, then I'd probably want to give her back. My baby days are over. But she's so cute!!!! Hey, I could be a grandmother. (I look like one-sorry, but I still can't get used to me with gray hair)

It was a beautiful day today; temps ranged around 68 degrees and even a bit humid. I took advantage of the warm(er) weather and rode my motorcycle to do my errands. After all, I won't be riding it much longer so I have to get in every moment I can. Sometimes riding feels like heaven and I never want it to end.
(But then my numb back side tells me to get off the bike...NOW!)
I snapped off this photo from about 5 feet away. The bees looked cute from there. Actually, when I don't have my reading glasses on I can't even see if I'm getting a picture of anything until I download it to the computer. So I guess I lucked out on this one.

Tomorrow is the day my niece will be born. I'm very excited/nervous. I'm taking my mom to the hospital early in the morning so we can see Grethe before she goes in for surgery.
Qena will be the only other girl cousin my kids have. All the rest (8 of them) are boys, so we're all looking forward to another girl in the family. By the way, Qena (pronounced: Kenna) means Queen.

Pepper Plant

This is my pepper plant (sideways). Let me share it's story. My guy planted it from seed last summer, it grew, but produced no peppers. So at the end of the summer he was going to chuck it when I said "No, you can't just throw it away, it's such a pretty plant, I'll take it home." (Here's a side note: my kids think we have WAY too many plants already. I always seem to take in 'stray' plants) Anyway, during the winter it started flowering and grew 2 peppers! So this summer I put it outside and right now it has about 5 peppers growing on it and even more buds!

Look, isn't that cute? And you'll notice a little Christmas Cactus planting in the same pot. I like my plants to be close to each other so they aren't lonely. lol

I know, I'm a little nutty.

Here's another pepper that's growing. I brought the plant back inside yesterday so it doesn't get too cold.

See how plants respond to good energy? They know when they are loved and wanted, so take in a 'stray' today! You'll even breathe better.

Boston Whalers, Sailboats and a Lighhouse

This tiny painting was done from the reference photo's I took at last weekend's regatta in Ptown. (if you go back in my blog you'll see what I mean) It'll be on Ebay tonight. http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

This "Stranded Whaler" painting is from my walk on the Brewster flats a few weeks ago. (again, in my blog) I made it look as if it were stranded on the Ptown flats, hence the lighthouse and breakwater in the background.

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

This is definitely a lighthouse in Provincetown, but I did add the roses to liven things up a little. This one went to Luchima, a shop on Commercial Street in Ptown.

This one will be on EBay tonight too. http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Wind, Waves, and Kiteboarding

Around 8am this morning I took a ride to Corporation Beach (in Dennis,) to get my daily view of water, and this is what I saw. There's a strong northwest wind blowing today and lots of kiteboarders and windsurfers were out having a ball. The waves were way bigger than they usually are in the Bay. It almost looked as if you were on the ocean side of the Cape. Probably not a good swimming day.

Here's a quote that I really liked:

"Life's not about the breaths we take, but the moments that take our breaths away" George Carlin (believe it or not!)

The Birds

Remember the movie "The Birds"? Well I thought of it today when I had lunch at Sesuit Harbor and saw a ton of birds swarming the area. You can see some of them in this photo (click to enlarge). Actually they looked pretty neat as they swirled through the air, kind of like a school of fish - all moving in the same direction, at the same speed, never bumping into each other during their aerial maneuvers.

Thanks so much Nova, the paintings that you did for me are beautiful!!! They are taking their place right next to Brielle's hand made pot. My hearth makes me happy. :)

For everyone else, Nova paints these happy, puzzle like paintings and in them are words, and sandals, and other things that you have to look to find. They are not only great to look at, they are fun and interactive!

If anyone wants to find out more about this talented artist and lovely lady (Nova) just drop me an email at bretenb@yahoo.com.

My Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday. I can say that I'm 48 again because the whole past year I was thinking that I was 48 when I was only 47, so now I feel like I haven't gotten any older! lol
Anyway, I had a wonderful birthday and this is one of the presents I got from my Mumma. She and my sis (Grethe) came over with a gluten-free birthday cake. It was delicious! Then later my guy came over with another gluten free cake that HE made! Wow, I was impressed to say the least. But, needless to say, I overdosed on cake.
I had Beth (the woman I take care of) over for a while and she was thrilled to be in on the festivities, and to see 'Auntie Grethe' and 'Grandmom'.

Today I went to visit Brielle at college and bring her a bunch of things that she needed. We ended up going to the mall so she could have a change of scenery. It was so nice to see my baby. Yes hunny, you'll always be my baby.

And speaking of babies...my sister looks like she's going to pop any minute now. She's having a C section a week from today, but I don't know if baby Qena is going to wait. Me, Mom, and Sienna all think it'll be tomorrow. I'll let you know.

What color are they?

I just did a small ACEO of a crab and I couldn't think of what color they actually are, so I just painted it green tones. Now that I look in my reference photo's I see they are all kinds of colors! This one is a dark reddish purple. He's also missing his front claw- poor little guy. But don't you love the sparkles?

Here's on in about 2 feet of water. I just happened to be swimming that day too!And check this one out- it's pink! It's also the home to a little snail community! (at least he'll never be lonely)

So, my lesson is, don't ever assume that things are a certain color. Look at the sky- is it really blue? Sometimes it's yellow or gray or purple. Are the clouds really white? They are purple, pink, yellow and gray too. I guess it all depends on when you look at them, but those are the stereotypes, just like green crabs.

Provincetown Regatta and Whydah treasures

It was a foggy/rainy day in Provincetown yesterday but they held the Regatta just the same. I went to take reference photo's of the ships. Luckily I got a few shots in before the heavy fog set in and they could barely be seen. (notice how you can't see the top of the Pilgrim Monument)These were the smaller sailboats out by Long Point. They were also doing a swim for life today where several dozen brave people swam in the cold waters from the point across Provincetown Harbor to the shore- hopefully without being run over by a sailboat!

These are some cannons dated 1717, that were found on the sunken pirate ship the Whydah which is off the coast of Welfleet. My guy knows Barry Clifford (who's been doing the excavation) and he said one of these even has a pistol encrusted on it! All I could see were the rocks stuck to the rust. They had a sprinkling hose running on it all the time- I guess because they just came up from hundreds of years in the water and are very fragile.
This is Barry's boat that takes them out there to dig up lost treasures. Speaking of treasures, John Kennedy Jr. actually went out on dives with Barry a long time ago and lost his compass which they recently found! In case you were wondering, the cannons were on display outside of Barry's museum at the end of McMillan Wharf.

Here's a pretty good one showing a few of the larger ships that raced. There were about 4 or 5 of them and with their sails up they looked quite magnificent. I remarked on how this is probably what the harbor looked like when my grandparents/great grandparents who lived in Ptown, looked out at the harbor. (Of course, they didn't have the breakwater then. ) But it was kind of a neat thought. I can picture my grandpa on the beach painting the ships. In fact, this is one of his paintings (below) of a tall ship.

Great White Sharks!

Have you heard about the Great White sharks that are swimming off the coast of Chatham lately? Here's an amazing photo of one of them! It was about 300 yards off the (swimming!) beach. The person who took it was actually taking a photo of something else then later noticed it in the picture. See below for a darker and closer version.

This is Chatham- I just happened to have done a collage of it today. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Sound. The sharks are on the ocean side.

They are looking for these guys.....(see my Ebay auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200381328720&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT ) They like to hang out on the sandy unpopulated ocean beaches and Monomoy Island which is a nature reserve. I guess you can find them in masses down there. (Here's the darkened photo)- pretty amazing. I think he's jumping for joy because he found all the seals on Cape Cod. He's saying "Jackpot!!!!"
And maybe he's going make the Cape his permanent home. Yikes! I'm not swimming in the ocean anymore! Give me a pond or a pool anyday, or even better a hot tub! LOL

Dragonfly, Fly by My Window

Do you remember that Paul McCartney song from the "Red Rose Speedway" album? (I'm really dating myself here) My mother used to LOoooooVE it and sing it all the time when I was a teen. She still does whenever she hears the word 'dragonfly'. In fact, we all do (my sisters and I) - at least in our heads.

Anyway, I think Dragonflies are beautiful creatures so I did a series of paintings of them. I used a combination of stamping and painting for an interesting effect.
They were a lot of fun to create. I had to stretch my imagination a bit...

I kind of felt like the Dragonfly was my main character and I was creating a little story about his life and where he went. In this one, he found his soul mate and they flew together in the golden light of sunset.

The next day he woke up exhilarated- with feelings of new love swirling through his head, and he flew to the beach to sit on a sun drenched blade of beach grass and contemplate life's beauty. All was well with the world.

As twilight fell, he flew over the sparkling waters to his Dragonfly home, and fell fast asleep dreaming of the one he loved.

So, there you have it. lol I'm laughing at my little story. It sounds good though, why can't life be so simple.

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist (There were other paintings in the series too)

Top Rated Seller!

I was browsing ACEO's (miniature art) on Ebay and noticed that I am a "Top Rated Seller"! There's a little ribbon next to my items to so that they stand out a bit. How nice! I didn't even know. (That's how much I pay attention to Ebay emails). I guess it has to do with positive feedback. And while I'm on the subject of my customers and their feedback....I am so blessed with nice customers! I have met some of the most wonderful people on Ebay. I'm so grateful.
(this auction:) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200380395592&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Tonight I am taking care of Beth (my mentally challenged friend). She's been coming over on Wed. nights lately and having dinner with us. I'm just wondering how I'm going to pick up Sienna from her first soccer game because the times are conflicting. Ah the joys of being a single mom. At least when Brielle was home she could take my car and help out in that way. Well, I'll figure something out. I always do.

It's 9:00am and I've gotten Sienna off to school (we are getting up at 5:30am now- ugh), I worked on the computer, and even gone for an extra long walk. I feel good and ready to get creative now.
Wait until you see what I'm cooking up! Until next time......

Party!

Yesterday was the big birthday/baby shower party at my sisters house. It was Quince's 5th birthday (although it's not officially until the 18th) and Grethe will be having her baby on the 24th (C-section, that's how I know).

My sister did an amazing job - she had creative games for the little kids (even some games for the adults) and here she is, 9 months pregnant, 40 yrs. old, with rheumatoid arthritis in every joint in her body, standing on her feet for at least 6 hours straight. I don't know how she did it.

Quince had a variety of ice cream and toppings to choose from and all he wanted was a tiny scoop of plain vanilla.

My kids had just about everything on their ice cream sundays. Did I mention my Briellee was home for the weekend! It was SO nice to see her.
Here she is holding Rocky, my 20 yr. old nephew's new 'baby'. He is the cutest dog ever! I took lots of photo's so I'll be painting him soon.

Yes, even Cupid made an appearance. (This is my mom's fiance, Leon)
My other sister, Odin, came with 3 of her 5 boys. It was nice to see them all. My girls see them more often because my ex husband married a woman that lives right next door to my sis. Small world!
There were these crazy hats lined up on the table for the 'little ones' and when I turned around all the 'big' kids had them on! They all had a great time. It was nice seeing the kids having such fun together because they (who are all cousins) don't really see each other that often. One of the little ones, Daniel didn't even know who his 20 yr. old. cousin, Joren, was.

It seems weird to think there will be a new baby soon, just when my kids are leaving the nest.

Ok, Brielle is, but Sienna is only going off to high school. Still somehow it feels like a whole different phase of life. And it doesn't help that my hair is almost all gray now and my 48th birthday is in 2 weeks. I guess I finally have to admit I'm a middle aged woman. (Only on the outside!)

"The Universe will lead and guide one to that truth when one is ready. " (a twitter quote of the day)