I got a really nice surprise in the mail this morning, my book. I have been working on it for well over a year. I received the subscription to write this book as a gift from a dear friend for painting three bookmarks for her daughters and I did a special one as a gift for her as well. In return a chance to write my own book.

The book was written through a company call Storyworth.com. They send you an email every Monday with a specific question which you answer by writing a chapter in the book. Its pretty cool. I had a lot of fun doing it. You could also write your own personal chapters outside the questions they send to you. Beside is a photo of the book as well as a sample of my opening chapter below. There are two pages that follow the one below which I didn't include due to spacing in the blog itself.

I will say it definitely makes for a nice gift. I'm not sure of the actual cost, you'll have to check that out for yourself with Storyworth.com.

 Wow it's almost fall, where does time go when you're living life? It has been a beautiful summer here in Tennessee, a little overboard on the humidity, but still nice. We did struggle for a while with no rain and our lawn and gardens didn't fair so well. Hopefully next year watering will be easier on the purse.

I took a break from painting this summer and got some much needed work done around our home. You know the usual gardening, cleaning and purging unwanted items of clothing or books and sharing them with local charities or neighbors. So now I'm getting my watercolors and paper out to dive into painting again. Not sure what I will be inspired to do. I may do some with pen added in or just pen with a touch of color here and there.

I have also been working on a book of my own. It will be mostly about my walk with the Lord and the paintings I have done. I don't have any intentions of publishing the book, it is more for me personally and I will pass it along to a family member. I have had lots of fun putting it together, and enjoying going over all the fun memories of growing up. The book is just about finished and ready to package up for a special family member.

The Bible study in my home has been growing over the past year and a half as well as us ladies. We will be finishing up "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges in a couple of weeks. I'm in the process of looking for a new study. One in particular looks promising; Brave and Beloved: A Bible Study for Women Exploring the Wisdom and Diversity of Women in the Bible. It's a beautiful 20-lesson Bible study surveying 30 key women in the bible, from the more widely known Eve and Ruth to the less often studied Deborah and Jael. This fresh bible study truly illuminates how God’s design for womanhood welcomes women from all walks of life. We will be inspired to dig deeper into God’s word and see His heart for us women and our roles in His amazing plans for redemption in a brand new light.

Okay I've shared quite a bit of news for now. Next month I hope I have some new paintings share with you! Have a great September!

 

 

 

 Wow time sure flies when you're retired. I haven't posted to my blog since February 2024. I have been rather busy, working on paintings, maintaining our landscaping, and working on the interior of our home.

One of the paintings I've recently finished is of a stone farmhouse taken from a photograph I took ten years ago in Southwestern Ohio at an old village from the early 1800s. Daryl and I were walking in between the farmhouse and another older building and loved the look and took a photo of the side of the house.

 Good Afternoon!

Spring is here and temperatures are running in the 60s! Yay! My bulbs are peeking up out of the soil, I can't wait to see their beautiful blossoms!

I finally finished my new bluebird painting which will be going to a friend who is having surgery next week. I want to bless and encourage her as she goes through the healing process. I have also been painting bookmarks to use in gift baskets

I am writing a book of my life and paintings. Each painting has a story behind it, influenced by the Lord. It will be quite a while before I complete it. When I do I will post portions of it here on my blog.

Several of my friends asked why I decided to do a blog. I thought it would be a good tool to share my thoughts and ideas; a place where my watercolors could inspire, and bring encouragement and joy to others.

Today I'm working on a watercolor of a bluebird. Below is a previous painting I had done, but was not pleased with the background. I've decided to try a different approach. I'll post the new painting in my next blog entry.

 Good morning and welcome! 

It has been quite sometime since I have blogged. I have been pretty busy. Now that I have all of my home projects completed, and hip replacement surgery out of the way, I can get back to what I love; painting. 

Here are three of my latest watercolors: Hope, Faith and Trust. Faith to Move Mountains was an experiment that came out very nice. All three are off to the copyright office. I'm in the process of finding someone to professionally scan them but haven't had any luck yet.

Hi Friends!
I have been a subscriber of Stampington & Company for quite some time. I love their magazines, they are packed with incredible information, awesome photos, and great articles plus much more! I subscribe to Where Women Create Business, have purchased numerous copies of Where Women Created and Artful Blogging as well. The other day my husband and I made a trip to Barns and Noble. While my husband was looking for some particular crossword books I dove into the magazine rack to see what was new. There I saw a fairly new Stampington magazine "Bella Grace." I was so enthralled with the articles and little snippets of wisdom that I bought the magazine. After soaking it in from cover to cover I decided to subscribe to Bella Grace! What a fabulous magazine! Yes its expensive, but it is so worth the price, there are no advertisements, but packed with a wealth of powerful information and wisdom. I highly recommend it!
Another item of interest was an article in Bella Grace to take a photo a day and here is today's. A picture of my flower garden, the flowers are not out yet so its not very pretty, but hopefully soon it will be bursting with color.