Watercolor study

I would like to learn how to watercolor a lot of different kinds of paintings but I'm not exactly sure how to go about that.  And so I went online and found four different paintings that I wanted to try.  The artist who originally painted these four paintings is named Kathy Davis.  I decided to study her art method...or at least tried to paint like she does.  The above picture is the first one I tried and is my least favorite.

My paintings were fun to try, especially because I could draw and paint it in one sitting.  Usually my paintings take at least three days ago but usually a few more days than three.  I found that I put more paint on the paper than I probably should have...but this was a learning process.

And this was the last one I painted...yesterday.  And this one is my favorite.  I didn't put too much paint on the paper and didn't have to push it around too much.  Enjoy!

Virginia's Day of Service

The governor of Virginia declared Saturday Sept. 24th as a Day of Service and acknowledged the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints Welfare program.  This day of service was in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the church's welfare program, which since its founding during the Depression has focused not only on providing for those in need, but also encouraging self-respect and self-reliance.

SM and I worked at organizing the supply closet in the winter homeless shelter.  SM worked for four hours folding blankets, sheets and towels.

In this photo you can see some of the plastic bins we used to organize supplies.  We replaced a lot of boxes with clear bins.  We labeled all the bins and made things look nice.

And this is what it looked like when we finished the left side of the supply closet.  We have most of the blankets on the bottom of the closet.  Some of the upper bins contain travel size soaps, shampoos, conditioners, mouth wash, toothpaste and toothbrushes, etc.  Doesn't that closet look nice?

And here are some of the supplies that our ward donated to the shelter.  (All of those cleaning supplies above the white shelves).  There is a great sense of accomplishment in making that room look so nice.

Watercolor Paintings

My painting stuff has been put in storage for over eight months and since moving to Virginia I've had a lot of time on my hands.  And so I  pulled my paints and paper out and started painting.  I wanted to try something new and I'm not sure I like this painting...but it fun to try it.

My mom gave me some paints for Christmas and I found that the paints contained a beautiful pink color.  I wanted to try it out and thought that these flowers would provide a good opportunity.  And it was perfect and wonderful!

And this is the painting I finished this morning.  Do you like it?  I think it turned out really well.  I have a goal for another painting but won't share that with you all now. 

Hurricane Irene

This last week we had a bit of rain and we had a mushroom growing in our backyard.  I took a photo of it...I know, I know, I'm a bit crazy!  But it turned out to be my before photo.  Before what?  This is what the mushroom looked like before Hurricane Irene.

And this is what the mushroom looked like after Hurricane Irene.  Poor thing, it got pushed over.  Now I'm not trying to make light of the devastation in other areas of the East Coast.  But we really didn't have any problems.  But I was prepared if we had to stay here without power for several days.  I'm just glad we didn't have to use the flashlights and bottles of water.

Our new place...before and after

Our new place is great...but it took me a couple weeks to realize this.  And it's because the town house was full of boxes.  I wasn't sure we had room for all of our stuff.  Here's the before photo of the guest room.

And the after photo of the guest room.

And this is a different view of the guest room.

This is the before photo of the master's bedroom.

And the after photo of the master's bedroom.

The before photo of the dining room and a bit of the kitchen.

And the after photo of the dining room.

The before photo of the basement/living room.

And the after photo of the basement/living room.  I have to add that the house feels now like a home with all of our stuff out of boxes.  I love feeling like everything has a place...I like order.

Here's my cute little kitchen!

And the photo of the front of our townhouse.

And finally, here's the backyard.  This was the weeds/grass that I cut with scissors to make the yard look more orderly and nice.   I've also planted some basil, parsley and rosemary.  I hope they come up quickly.

Earthquake

Before the earthquake...

After the earthquake...(and here's the story)

Tuesday Aug. 23, 2011, 1:50pm.
I had finished eating my dinner (sorry, I mean lunch...I called lunch dinner) and was on my laptop at the dining room table.  I started feeling a vibration, like a large truck going past the townhouse.  But after a small amount of time, the vibration didn't go away but got stronger and stronger.  My first thought was "this is an earthquake, but Virginia doesn't have earthquakes, but this is an earthquake."  And as the house began shaking harder and harder I wondered about the structure of the townhouse, enough that I walked to the front door and stood in the doorway.

And as things began falling and banging I left the house.  I walked out on the sidewalk, hoping that others would come out of their townhouses.  And after a short period of time, they did.  My neighbor came walking out with his 4 month old baby and dog and asked me "what was that?"  I told him it was an earthquake.  He said he'd never been in an earthquake and proceeded to tell me that he was Skype-ing to the UK when the earthquake hit.  His dog didn't react to anything.  Crazy.  About 5-10 minutes after the earthquake, the sirens (police, ambulance, and fire) began and continued for about 20 minutes.

I talked to him for a short time and then went back into the house.  I tried calling SM but the call wouldn't go through, so I called my mom.  I wasn't calling to tell her that I was okay, I just needed to talk to someone because my nerves were on the "hyper" setting.  I spoke to her for about 10 minutes before the call was cut off.  The power wasn't out and so I got onto the Internet to learn more about the earthquake.  I was able to talk to SM over Facebook and soon got some text messages and was able to let my family know that I was okay.  And in the end I was able to Skype with my mom and I ended up showing her our new place.

And as I was Skype-ing with Mom, showing her each room, I noticed the things that had fallen and yet not broken.  I had a picture that I had placed on top of a bookcase that fell onto a dining room chair but the glass wasn't broken.  Drawers in my cheap dresser had worked their way open.  A couple things had fallen off the TV and CD's had toppled.  A large salt shaker had fallen down.  And everything was okay.

I had been in a couple other earthquakes in Chile.  It was crazy but I knew this one was at least a five or six on the Richter Scale.  I even mentioned that to my Mom before finding out how large the earthquake was.  And after talking to a few people, my nerves settled down and I was able to have a normal evening, remembering every once in awhile that there had been an earthquake earlier that day.

As for SM's point of view.  He didn't tell me too many things other than he was in his office, felt the earthquake and realized he was in an earthquake.  The law school was evacuated so that the building could be checked for any structural damage.  SM eventually snuck back into the school so that he could be on his computer and do some work.  And eventually they found him and sent him home from work.  And that was that...no big deal.  I'm just glad that no one was hurt and damage was minimal. 

My "green" thumb

At the beginning of this year, we moved from Ohio to Utah.  And, like always, I transported my plants in my van with me.  And when we took the plants in from the van on a very cold Wyoming night, the subzero wind killed the leaves, though the plant lived on.

And so, as we moved from Utah to Virginia, I was positive that my recovered pathos plants would like this move a lot more than the last.  And so we drove from Utah to Virginia with a couple planned stops, such as a few days in Ohio visiting friends.  And because the weather was so pleasant, I didn't bring the plants indoors, and the heat inside the van went up and up.  And cooked the top of the pathos plants.

And there goes any thought about having a green thumb.  I love growing things but I guess I'll just have to be more careful at transporting already grown plants.  By the way, the plants are quickly recovering (for a second time) and are looking much better with the black leaves gone and tiny little green leaves growing.