Farewell November

It seems a while since I have posted, maybe because I haven’t been doing a lot in the creative arena. I have been busy preparing classes for January – March of 2009 and I will soon be unveiling the many options. But for now, I will share a bit of my Thanksgiving weekend.

Here are my three great kids sans husbands, girlfriend, dogs, and even grandkids. Just my children: Amy, Melissa, and Scott. Wow! I have wonderful kiddos.

On Friday, Howard and I goofed off all day. We are not Black Friday shoppers, so instead we stopped in at SCRAP, a Portland staple. I wasn't disappointed - here is one of my lovely discoveries:



In the afternoon, we saw the new James Bond movie (not as good as Casino Royale). By the time it was dark, we figured it was safe to venture into a couple of stores. We parked in downtown Portland, and then walked to Borders where I picked up a couple of cool books.

Then, with the mild weather, we walked through downtown (getting to experience the Pioneer Place Christmas festivities) and found ourselves at Powell’s. Ahhhhhhh. I found the book I was looking for in the first place, Mixed Media Self-Portraits, and tossed it in my basket.

Of course, a few books of fiction jumped into my basket (I was helpless to resist)!

While at Powell’s, I snapped a shot of this great end display featuring art books and old books together. I purchased three of the old books, too . . .

Saturday morning we took Oliver for a walk along the Columbia River at Broughton Beach Park. Interestingly, I found a couple of cool outdoor art shrines:




And then I picked up a slew of walking sticks and added them to my collection . . . with an art project in mind . . . .

And just a note: my subscription button is working once again, so if you would like to receive a message notifying you of when my blog has been updated, please type your e-mail into the little box to the right.

The Sevens Have It - I've Been Tagged

I’ve been tagged! Helga Strauss likes to play and she has tagged me to play the game: Seven Things About Me. Well, okay Helga, I’ll join in the fun. But, first, the rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write seven random things about yourself.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post.
4. Pass on the tag . . .

Here are my seven as I sit here typing as of right now, this day, this time:

1. I am a grandma, also known by my four grandkiddos as Whammie D, Bammy, and Bam. Occasionally my oldest, Jackson, who is now five, will call me plain old Grammie. Luke, four, refers to me as his “Just a little bit crazy Bam.” Such a compliment!

2. I look forward to my Tazo Chai soy latte first thing in the morning. However, when I’m out and about and ordering a latte at Starbucks, it goes like this: Grande, two pumps pumpkin spice, soy, light foam, latte. I always order it with an embarrassed laugh.

3. I love books and Powell’s bookstore in downtown Portland is one of my very favorite places to visit . . . if I have a minimum of three hours.

4. The beach is where I go if I need to think or sort things out, it is a great place to walk and pray . . . and it doesn’t hurt to find sand dollars along the way.

5. I am a collector. I love going to junk stores, garage sales, estate sales . . . I also love picking up trash from the ground, i.e., rusted, flattened bottle caps . . . I also love finding rocks and shells and natural bits and pieces. All of these things find their way into my assemblage art or into pretty dishes, baskets, or bowls.

6. I love color, the more vibrant the better. I guess my orange/red hair is kind of a giveaway.

7. I love my artful life, especially acrylic paints and collage; with those two things, anything is possible . . .


Here is who I am tagging to join in the fun:

Gretchin Lair

Bridget Benton

Theresa Martin

Deirdra Doan

Judy Wise

Shelly

Katie Kendrick

Hey, these are the same people I nominated to received the I Heart Your Blog award. Ummmmm, wonder if there is a connection . . .

I've Received an Award: I Heart Your Blog

I’ve been derelict in doing this post (shame on me) because it is a very exciting thing to share. I was nominated for a blog award: I Heart Your Blog by Helga Strauss of the delicious My ARTistic Life blog. What an honor. There are, however, a few rules that go along with accepting this award:

The winner can put the logo on her blog (if I can figure out how to do that!).

You must do a link to the person who nominated you for the award (gladly). The link to Helga's blog is above, but because I know you're gonna want to check out her ARTchix Studio website, you can do that HERE.

The winner then nominates at least seven other blogs (not a problem).

Include the links of these blogs on your own blog (easy peasy).

And now (drum roll), I would like to pass this award on to these inspiring blogs and blogsters (and in no particular order!):

theresa mARTin

Shelly and her Paper Mischief

Katie Kendrick and her Joyously Becoming

Judy Wise

Bridget Benton and The Matchbook

Deirdra Doan

Gretchin Lair and The Scarlet Letters

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to check out these blogs and the inspiring artists behind them.

Italian Graffiti

I've made a new blog friend, Theresa Martin. Theresa posted a few times on my blog while we were in Italy, captured by the photos and narrative as she had spent time in Italy during September of this year. Well, yesterday Theresa e-mailed and asked if she could use one of my photos, the one of my graffiti heART, in her post about graffiti in Italy. Of course, I told her, but it also prompted me to share my photos of Italian graffiti. So go take a look at Theresa's blog, then scroll on down and look at my photos of graffiti -- Italian style!

Delayed Gratification

Right before we left for Italy early last month, Sam Hart, a good friend and the owner of the wonderful little vintage shop Lil' Gypsy, (go take a peek at her website) sent an e-mail telling me she had a pile of goodies for me. Well, with getting ready to leave, I never had a chance to stop by her shop. On our way out of town, we were going right by her store, so we whipped into a parking place, dashed in for a hug, and picked up my waiting goodies. On to the airport we went without a chance to see what kind of surprises she had accumulated for me. When we got home on Friday, we unloaded the car and there AH HA! was the patiently waiting tub of fun. I finally had time yesterday afternoon to dump everything out and sort through what Sam thought I might enjoy. Yikes Almighty! Thanks, Sam - you know me too well!

Here it is: Our Top Ten (and then some)

Howard and Dayna’s Top Ten

#1: Walking between Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon in Rome

#2: Borghese Gallery in Rome

#3: Pompeii

#4: Amalfi Coast

#5: Tuscan countryside and hill towns

#6: Bike-riding in Lucca

#7: Bargello Museo Nazionale in Florence

#8: Chianti Sculpture Garden

#9: Venice

#10: The Cinque Terre

Because we couldn’t limit it to ten, here are the next ten in no particular order:

Driving in Italy

View from Manuel’s Guesthouse in Montorosso

Outdoor antique markets

David (“the” David)

Cappuccinos

Duomo in Milan

Alabaster of Volterra

Boboli Gardens in Florence

Colosseum in Rome

Assisi

Okay, so we can’t quite limit it to twenty. Here are a few honorable mentions:

Il Campo in Seina

Duomo in Orevito

Raffaele Ariante of Assisi

St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican

Spanish Steps in Rome

Oh, and we really liked the Sistine Chapel

Thank you to all of you who have joined us on this trip through my blog. And a very special thank you to those who have been so faithful in leaving your comments, thoughts, suggestions, and good cheer - you have made this trip much richer as a result!