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.

Whoever said retirement was the golden years must have been a tad off their rocker! It certainly hasn't been golden for me–I feel like I'm falling apart one joint at a time. I've had both knees replaced and now its working its way up to my hips with a replacement in February. My shoulders are already grinding and they will be next. By the time I'm through replacing these I'll be the bionic woman! I've been pretty active most of my life, but none of that seems to matter when it comes to your joints. I take OsteoBiFlex also, but that doesn't seem help much at all. So much for retirement living! However, I will not let it get me down, we still travel and enjoy being active even if it hurts to do it (haha).

On a happier note I'm still painting and enjoying that too. I have a couple of paintings I'm currently working on, when finished, I plan on getting giclees made for gift-giving. The bluebird next here is one I just finished.

Some good friends and us went out to eat at a place in Maryville called the Walnut Kitchen. What a fabulous place to eat. The food is definitely five star! Its worth every penny! I had the fillet with scallops and sweet potato patties, My husband had Ribeye Steak, with veggies and our friends had fillet pasta. Best meal we've ever had I highly recommend The Walnut Kitchen!

Went to Chattanooga last month, the weather was rainy but it didn't stop us from enjoying some wonderful dinning or small shop browsing. Stayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel which was in the process of being renovated but it was warm, and comfortable! We did not get to go to the Aquarium but will the next time we visit. I hear its very nice.

What a beautiful day! Its raining which is very much needed after a hot humid summer here in Tennessee. Our lawn seems to be coming back from crispy burned grass to a little greener grass. In a few weeks we will be adding topsoil and new seed which we hope will take root and fill in all the areas that have burned completely out.

On a brighter note, in July I had the opportunity to read and review "Embracing Trust" by Joanna Weaver. Now I'm taking my time and rereading it. This book is so power packed with wisdom and growth potential in the Lord, its amazing! I am savoring it all. If you have the opportunity to pick up a copy of this book you will not be disappointed! I have read Joanna's other books which are also outstanding! Those include: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life, Having a Mary Spirit: Allowing God to Change You from the Inside Out, Lazarus Awakening: Finding Your Place in the Heart of God, and devotionals. Check them out at your local Christian book store or on Amazon. You won't be disappointed.

 Good morning blogger friends!

I have been so busy with paintings, and decorating our new home that I totally forgot about blogging my activities this past year, not to mention the recovery from the Covid devastation.

I had fun decorating, I've done lake blue accents and theme throughout the house, it really looks nice. I'll drop some pictures in of the house in a later blog, hopefully next week. Here are a two of the five paintings I've completed and given away to a friend and a couple of lovely ladies in our Bible study. 

 Hello Blogger Friends!

We moved into our new home on July 17, 2021! I never thought this would happen but here we are, and all unpacked, furniture in place and finally growing a new lawn and getting our landscaping finished up. At least we thought, the army worms moved in and devoured our new lawn! They totally wiped it out! So we made a bee line to Home Depot and got some bug killer, and spread it all over the lawn, then watered it  in. No more army worms! Put down some new soil, spread bug killer on it, waited a week then planted new grass seed. New lawn! YAY!

We had some serious drainage issues crop up during some heavy duty thunderstorms in September which flooded our new neighbors back yard and basement. It was like pulling teeth to get the builder back here to fix it. After two months of much complaining to the POA, the builder finally took care of the problem when the POA refused to give them anymore permits. UGH! 

My studio is finally up and running. It was the last room to be setup. Now I can work on a new series of watercolors that I've been wanting to do. These include experiments in painting sea glass. I also have some ideas for some lake shots. As I complete them they will be posted here. Its taking me some time to explore these areas so be patient, you'll see them start showing up in a few weeks, as least that's my hope. I'm having a rough time getting motivated to paint. I hate creative block its frustrating! Oh well it will pass.

Tennessee is a beautiful state, there are several man-made lakes to enjoy as well as the Great Smokey Mountains! 

I am enjoying my retirement!

Merry Christmas to all and a blessed and happy New Year! Until next time!

Sam

My left knee replacement surgery took place on February 6th at 9:30. I should have cancelled it! I specifically said three times no spinal, I wanted the same procedure they did on my right knee replacement. Well that didn't happen, I was given a spinal, and I was more than partially awake for it and it wasn't pleasant. On top of that, at the top and bottom of my surgical incision the skin pulled away from the stitches so I have small open pockets with scabs on them which are still healing. I'm six weeks into this healing process and still on the road to mending. This was a very discouraging experience, but I'll get through it. It could have worse I guess.
Now we are all dealing with this Corona Virus idiocy. This is nothing but a political ploy to destroy Trump. I can tell you, people are completely fed up with the democrat party, both republicans and democrats. I'll be surprised if the democrat party survives. Our country is racing off a cliff at high speed! No one has any common sense anymore. Oh well enough said it speaks for itself for sure.

Wow the holidays have just whizzed by and the New Year is in full force. We've had too many things on our plate which is going to change. We are cutting back on a few of our activities to make room for more healthy choices.

My left knee replacement surgery is already scheduled for the beginning of February and the two to three months of healing and restoration that follows. I am looking forward to getting this done, my knee is giving out and very stiff and painful. I need an oil can to carry around with me like the Tin Man in the Wizard of OZ LOL.

We just got back from a visit with our friends in Myrtle Beach, we had so much fun playing cards and aggravation. The weather was pretty decent too.

I'm hoping to start another blog on the the local restaurants by the end of the month. There are some really nice places to eat here and a few not so nice which I will be writing about. I love critiquing eateries. Some specialize in desserts others in seafood etc. It will be fun to take you through them on a bimonthly basis.

Take care and have a wonderful two weeks!

Our wonderful friends from Myrtle Beach were traveling in Tennessee recently and we had the pleasure of spending some quality time with them having card marathons! Great friends who we miss terribly and it was so good to see and spend several days with them.

Unfortunately our other card marathon friends are in Texas and we miss them greatly too. We had hoped to visit them during the Christmas holiday but due to knee replacement surgery and other setbacks we had to cancel our upcoming trip to visit them. We are planning and looking forward to connecting with them over this coming summer while they're in Pennsylvania. Then try to connect with both for another big card marathon in August or September.

Some times life just gets in the way of doing the things that bring an abundance of joy. Our friends mean a lot to us and we try to keep in touch with those that are long distance! Friends are the important treasures in our lives that we never want to lose touch with. Every day that we'll be in Pennsylvania will be filled with visiting and spending our time close friends. Can't wait!

We love living in Tennessee, the weather especially is what drew us here. We were tired of winter and snow and wanted to move where the weather was a little warmer but not too hot. Tennessee's landscape is very much like Pennsylvania's so we're not missing anything in that way. However, our other choice was South Carolina along the coast. We had looked at some areas near Myrtle Beach and  Murral's Inlet. So at some point we may reconsider those areas. We'll see!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!
Sam

I love the morning, its a clean slate for my imagination to run on. I am definitely a morning girl. I love the peace and silence of it. I climb out of bed everso quitetly so as to not wake my husband and slip out of the bedroom and head to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, Irish breakfast my favoite. Its 5:30 and still fairly dark outside. I grab my favorite cup from the cupboard, a soft blue and smooth to the touch. There's just something special about this cup that makes me feel good inside, like a hug.

As the water brews I prepare my tea and measure out the honey. I pull the cream from the frig. I like my tea with cream, it was the way my grandmother would prepare it for me as a child. She and her father enjoyed their tea, "like the English" she said. She told me her father was from Yorkshire England. I remember smiling and loving my grammy for that time together. She has long since past away but the memories are vivid like it was yesterday.

I gathered my tea and cuddled in the corner of the sofa to enjoy it and the peace of the morning. I close my eyes as I sip the tea and think about things I would like to do and things I would like to paint. I love to paint, and my favorite medium is watercolor. Its soft too and I love how it flows and works into the paper, kind of like me working into my day.

This is such a cool shot, the
picture speaks its own beauty.

We've had some amazing mornings out on the lake kayaking. This particular morning it was really foggy with a thick mist. Got some good photos. I've never seen a morning like this it was so beautiful. They almost take on the look of old black and white photos. Errie. You can see the sun peaking through the clouds and reflecting on the ripples in the water at the front of my kayak.

I love how the sun is reflected here in
the ripples from my paddles. 

Daryl is kayaking there ahead of me and
beyond him is the Dragon boat.

We have had such a wonderful new year here in Tennessee, sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure this is really true. We miss our friends back home but have hopes they will all have an opportunity to visit us sometime in the near future.

Scavenger Hunt Spoons & Mittens!

One of us had to get our picture in a
port-a-potty. Lucky you Bill!

We join a Halloween scavenger hunt with friends of ours that was lots of fun as you can see in the pictures. It was an all-day hunt, then a costume dinner and dancing at the Yacht Club that evening. It was a great time.

Toward the end of October, we went on a long weekend trip to Myrtle Beach to meet up with some near and dear friends and had a great card marathon with them! Jon is there but missing from the picture, and me, of course taking the picture. It was great, although the guys did most of the winning this time around instead of us girls! That's ok, we hope we'll get another chance come Spring of 2019.

We're all Myrtle Beach Bums

And here we are in December. I've been slowed down for a little while to recoup from knee replacement surgery on my right leg on December 3rd. Doing pretty good despite the swelling, and pain. Lots our Euchre friends blessed us with some fantastic meals that kept us nourished over the past two weeks. Thanks to all of you! I finally felt pretty good yesterday and decided I really needed to get out of the house and go for a ride. Tonight, we're going out for pizza then over to visit some friends for a little while. We'll see how long I can tolerate sitting. It may not be too long but at least it will give me a break from home.

A year ago I stood at a crossroad in my life. I couldn't believe I was retiring. Part of me wanted to and the other part not so sure. We put our house of 26 years up for sale and decided that we wanted to move south, never expecting to sell our house in two days UGH! We had just a little over 30 days to pack up and leave Pennsylvania for parts unknown. We searched several options in North Carolina and South Carolina but neither seemed to fit us. So we headed into Tennessee on a recommendation from a friend.

We ended up in Loudon Tennessee, at Tellico Village. What a beautiful place, couldn't have asked for anything better than this; Smokey Mountains and a gorgeous lake all a few minutes from our new home. This has been a fantastic new year and a new life retired. We've made an abundance of new friends, and there's something to do here every day. If you're bored in Tellico Village it's your own fault.

We have been kayaking, swimming, enjoying working out at the Wellness Center and playing cards at the Recreation Center. We are close to Pigeon Forge, Dollywood and several other great places to visit. We absolutely love it here!

It didn't take me long to get my art studio set up in one of our spare bedrooms. Lots of beauty here to paint. I hope you'll join me in our new location as I paint and blog from Tennessee!

We have enjoyed some beautiful weather during the month of February and had a nice taste of Spring, however it is still winter and we were so reminded of that this morning!

I was looking forward to having my morning coffee on the porch, but that is out of the question now :(

Good morning friends!
Don't panic I've just removed some of my latest blog posts, it really hasn't been since September that I've posted. Just cleaning up.
I have finally given my notice of retirement and looking forward to my last day on Friday, May 5th. Just two months away! Now begins the work of downsizing! I've been doing a little of that already but the heavy duty work starts now.
We are planning to move south, how far and where is still a mystery. We're looking around Myrtle Beach, and possibly some areas in Tennessee, maybe even North Carolina. It's a difficult decision. We don't want to make a mistake and have to move again. We're taking our time, checking out all options available.
I will be keeping my studio and possibly opening up a gallery in the area we move to. I want it to be comfortable, a place to come in, enjoy the artwork, paintings and cards, relax with a good magazine and a cup of coffee or tea and visit for awhile. I will also be offering art classes taught by myself as well as other local artists.