Life At The Lake

This photo says it all ...

Photo by Kathi Stofel

Pretty weather, a neat red hammock and a beautiful lake view.

Arts 'Round the Square

Getting ready for "Arts 'Round the Square" and the Eyeful of Paris weekend.  Right now, in the middle of my living room, I'm setting up an art display.

We've been walking around this for a few days now.  It's a lot neater now than when I started.    This seems to be the only way I can make sure I take everything I need and that I have a place for everything.

The jewelry, which has temporarily(?) been titled "Doo Dads & Thingys" was particularly challenging since I have never displayed jewelry at a show and had nothing upon which to display it.  I really got panicky over this yesterday when it dawned on me that I couldn't just throw the stuff on a table.  

So I got to exploring for possible jewelry displays.  Started looking in the shed.  Really studied some chicken wire.  Then I went out to Eric's shop.  "Honey, those big teeth on the front of that backhoe bucket would be kind of neat to hang necklaces."  Finally settled on this ....

An old, beat up picture frame spray painted with flat black paint and a piece of black mat board criss-crossed with fishing line.  (Fishing line is my duct tape.  Can't live without fishing line.)  You can see some of the fishing line in the photo because of the camera flash, but it is actually almost invisible.  I'm impressed with my creativity ... aren't you?  I hot glued a piece of black cardboard over the back to help secure the fishing line and there is a row of nails on the back, top edge to hang necklaces.  And believe it or not, if I am just a little careful, I can pick it up and lay it flat without removing all the Doo Dads and Thingys ... so I won't have to re-hang all that stuff tomorrow.

Now, if just won't rain or the wind doesn't blow too hard.

Hope to see you there!

Hello Fall!

It's the first day of Fall and the weather at the lake is ... well ... very Fall-like.  The weatherman is calling for rain, which hopefully will miss most of the outdoor activities planned for this weekend.   There is a crispness in the air that makes you want to get outside and play.



Happy Fall!!!!

The Dinghy, Image C

Had a question the other day about “The Dinghy, Image C.”  They had seen it on one of my websites and wanted to know, “Why the C?”   Well, it’s a little complicated. Let me start at the beginning.

Here is the original photo.  It’s the dinghy for the marina down at Paris Landing State Park. It’s just a metal boat without a motor they would use to paddle around when they needed to get between the docks. This was just a quick snapshot and later, when I opened it on my computer, I realized I really got lucky with the composition. I think the original  looks pretty good as it is, but you know me … I just have to play with it.

 

 

 

 

So the first one I came up with looked like this.

 

"The Dinghy, Image A"

This later became known as “Image A.”  I really liked it, but I really wanted the blue to be just a little different shade. So while I was experimenting I came up with a completely different color …

Brown.

"The Dinghy, Image B"

Which I also really loved and had to save it also for my permanent collection as “Image B.” Then of course, I was still looking for just the right blue and finally came up with

"The Dinghy, Image C"

Buy a print.

Image C which has just the right shade of blue and a little golden brown also. So, in the end, I liked Image C the best, but I also really loved Image A & B, and kept them all.

Here is a little detail of one of the things I like so much.

It’s all those little squiggles of texture.

Hope you like it too!

Women and the Flag

You have to see this!

Wouldn't you love to win this canvas art print? 

You can sign up to win at the Paris/Henry County Heritage Center.  It's part of their display:

America the Beautiful

Women and the Flag

Here's the scoop:

Presented by:

The Paris-Henry County Heritage Center

Courtesy of the Putnam County Historical Society & Foundry School Museum

July the 1st through September the 14th, 2011

(Not much time left, better hurry!)

Exhibition Hours: 10:00 - 4:00 Tuesday - Friday, 10:00 - 2:00 Saturday.

Cavitt Place  ~ 614 N. Poplar Street, Paris, Tennessee ~ 731-642-1030

There is no admission charge.

This gorgeous collection of vintage Americana-themed imagery tells a nostalgic and passionate story of womanly involvement during war years, on the home front, to buoy their troops abroad.

This is a beautiful, inspiring exhibit.

Where's Murphy????

I've been trying to simplify my life lately and moved all the stuff from Murphy's blog, Cat Tales by Murphy, to this blog.  That seemed to help but then I forgot to post my latest on him.  This is from a few weeks ago when our grand daughters visited. 

This is Aubrey, the oldest of our granddaughters, sneaking up on Murphy first thing in the morning. Murphy usually flees the scene when our grandchildren arrive. One of their favorite past times is trying to find Murphy so they can hug on him and love him. He just doesn’t appreciate it.

This is Aubrey scratching Murphy’s ears. This is about 2 seconds before Murphy’s paw shoots out

and pops her on the arm … and he flees the scene.

This is Murphy hiding out on the porch where he thinks no one can see him.

Yes, Murphy is alive and doing well.

Things I Like

A door plaque at Anne's House.

Flags displayed so proudly.

And elephants in hidden gardens.