This is the first time that we met Charlie… November 2009… he was scared of people (we were told later)… especially men. Hmmm, not sure what happened to the little guy, but someone didn’t treat him right… He went from this scared little puppy… to this wild little beast in no time!
We’re so glad he’s home with us… he’s on the mend! Pancreatitis is a tough thing to watch your dog go through… Scary! Life is good…
If you are in the Laguna Beach area, this is an event not to be missed! Do you realize how many fabulous artists are going to be in one place painting their hearts out? Lots… this is the LIST OF ARTISTS, and it’s a doozy!
Click here to buy your tickets (for lectures and collector’s party) – I saw some great photo’s on Ken DeWaard’s website, paintings from last year at Laguna as well as images of artist painting, it’ll give you a feel for how fabulous this event is!
Each year Laguna Beach, a famous seaside community and historic artist colony, turns into an outdoor studio with the always-exciting Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational. This event showcases the nation’s top plein air landscape painters who compete for prestigious prizes and participate in the week-long festivities including public paint outs, environmental awareness activities, and educational events. Culminating with the highly anticipated Collectors’ Party and Public Sale. Proceeds from this event will benefit Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art organization.
This year the Invitational will be held at the Aliso Creek Inn in the majestic Aliso Canyon – The “Yosemite” of Laguna Beach and the location of the area’s original homestead built by the Thurston family, the ancestors of current Laguna Mayor Kelly Boyd. This event celebrates the artistic legacy of Laguna Beach.
Our visit with Charlie at Vet Hospital in Mt Pleasant. This is the first day that he ate!
Written Wednesday 11:30AM
For those of you who aren’t on Facebook… Charlie has been sick. Very sick. We took him to the emergency vet at 11:30 Saturday night and had to leave him at 2:30 AM, he was such a sick dog… vomiting, weak. He hadn’t gotten in to anything that we could think of. He was his happy self on Friday night, we went to bed and he hopped right in… we all slept. Saturday morning we woke up and normally he runs to his food dish… not this morning. No food. Later in the day he vomited… and that night he started and couldn’t stop… we took him to the er vet, they said he was in pain. Ugh…??? Their thought: Pancreatitis. Normally dogs who are given fatty table scraps are the dogs that get that. Charlie gets very limited table scraps and we don’t eat fatty… he eats mainly frozen green beans, carrots, lettuce and his dog food… but he does get a little smidge of cheese now and then…
They got him through until Monday AM where he was transferred to the Internal Medicine group. They did an ultrasound on him and confirmed pancreatitis. IV fluids, pain meds, anti-nausea meds, Pepcid. He hadn’t eaten since Friday at 3PM… he took his first bite, yesterday (Oct 8/Tuesday). He seemed so great when we saw him yesterday, a big difference from the night before. They’ve done an ultrasound each day, and the vet noticed that the lymph node near the pancreas is getting larger each day… not good. We just got the pathology report back and it showed no cancer cells! However, she said that cancer cannot be ruled out, so he will still be monitored and if the lymph node doesn’t start getting smaller then they will biopsy it.
We let him know that his future diet would consist of low fat food, and he is ok with that…
He had a slight fever last night, but is otherwise doing great. Because of the fever we can’t bring him home this morning… We call at 3PM today (Wed) to see if we can pick him up!
LIFE IS GOOD!
WRITTEN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 7:30AM
UPDATE: Charlie came home yesterday (WED 10/09) We all camped in the living room and he did well, he is eating on his own this morning (YAY!!) got all his meds and can feel all your well wishes!
WRITTEN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 8PM
Charlie had a good first full day home! This morning he woke up raring to eat which was fabulous… then he kind of fizzled a little… no fever YAY! He rested all day and was very perky by evening… he’s now curled up sleeping unless someone walks down the street… then he needs to check things out, then goes back to sleep… he’s a happy little beast!
Thank you so much for all your good thoughts, prayers, vibes and anything else you’ve got! You’re all the best!
I would like to dedicate this post to my mom… have I mentioned I have an uber cool mom? Actually, I’m very fortunate that both of my parents are really happening… they’re actually FUN to be around.
Well, today is my mom’s birthday!
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y M O M ! ! !
Now that the weather is getting cooler in your neck of the woods, you need to come back to visit for some of this…
and this…
and this!
Wishing you the best birthday EVER!! Love you so much! xxoo, me!
I love this cool building located in Wiscasset, Maine. I would like to live there! Right in the heart of town, a short walk to Treats for a chat and a cup of soup, a tasty sandwich and maybe a treat or two!
This is currently a business, but would make one heck of a house! Do you ever have dreams of packing up and moving on? We are usually ready to jump ship in the heat of the summer… swearing that we’ll move to Maine soon! Then winter comes and the weather is beautiful and we say to ourselves… HOW could we ever leave THIS? A tad fickle perhaps?
I would like to start by saying that Allison Ramsey Architects are brilliant. Their website is over the top fabulous for those of you thinking of building a home one day. They provide so much information, photos, links… You MUST check out their site… amazing is all I can say! AllisonRamseyArchitects.com – I would also like to thank them for use of their images… This house was built in Beaufort, SC and images of the interior are on their site at AllisonRamseyArchitects.smugmug.com. Wow, does it help to see actual images of the inside of this house. Not everyone is good at picturing the floor plan in their mind.
The windows upstairs make this the most charming house ever! I love how they open out, just like the old cottages that you see that are in pristine condition. It isn’t easy to tell if this house is old or new. It has wonderful detail and charm, something missing in a lot of today’s house plans. The Bay Point Cottage is a clear winner! It boasts a heavenly porch, screened porch, Master bedroom downstairs, and an open plan in terms of the kitchen, great room and eating area. I’m not at all concerned about having a formal dining room. It’s not a priority to me… we would rarely use it. We can always repurpose a room when the need arises instead of being saddled with an unused dining room all year long (if it’s not your thing).
This floor plan is roughly 2300 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It is in Allison Ramsey’s “Carolina Inspiration Book I” Page 35 (C0058).
Contact the architects at info@allisonramseyarchitect.com or 843.986.0559 to verify square footage, house dimensions and additional information or to purchase a set of plans. Their house plans show how their attention to detail time after time makes them a great architect to choose!
Ahhh, the Carina… it’s so much more than a grocery store, it’s more of an institution… it’s a place to run into old friends after a year has gone by, a place to catch up like no time has passed. A great place to grab lunch, a snack, or groceries… End of October will be then end of the Carina as we know it… A big thumbs up to Tara Hire for making it as fabulous as she has all these years! She is moving on and following her passion… Monhegan Wellness! So check it out!!
Another thumbs up to Lisa Brackett, who will be running the new store on the island called L. Brackett & Son… A store and a diner… there has been some major fundraising going on, this is a creative, hard working bunch!
We wish them both the best in their new endevours!
I swear, some artist’s have the hugest hearts… with all the devastation that has pummeled Mexico, your help is needed! Frank Gardner has started a fundraiser selling his paintings at super prices. Once some of his fellow artists found out about this adventure, they shared their paintings as well… These paintings are sold on a first come first serve basis… and they are stunning… check it out! They are going quickly, so if you check and there are none left, but you would like to help out anyway… I’m sure that can be arranged! If there is any way that you can donate any amount, it would be more than appreciated. Frank is easy to get in contact with… Just email him…
Here’s the latest from Frank 9/24/13 PM:
We are at $2,200. dollars so far in less than one day! Added new pieces today by Peter Kalill, Dennis Poirier, Colin Page and me. More coming soon. If anyone wants to donate or purchase please contact me.
Below is information from a newsletter from Frank… what a great group of artists!
I hope you are all well. This newsletter is to let you all know that for the next week or so, I am going to be using the My Paint Box blog to set up a fundraising campaign. We are raising money to help people affected by the tropical storms that battered the Mexican coasts last week. The one-two punch of Manuel’s first landfall on Sunday and Tropical Storm Ingrid’s lashing of México’s east coast on Monday. (Ingrid was a hurricane offshore, but made landfall as a tropical storm.) Manuel became a hurricane before heading back to shore for a second hit on México’s upper west coast. So far, at least 80 people have been killed in Mexico from the storms, not including the 58 people missing from a landslide in La Pintada, located a few hours north of Acapulco.As you probably know, my family and I live in Central México. While were wedged between the two storms and got a lot of rain last week, we were spared the brunt of these storms. As we began see reports from the affected areas we began to think of a way that we could help, beyond just taking a few canned goods down to be donated, we want to try and help in a bigger way. I can’t imagine losing everything and or losing friends and family members in a disaster like this.I decided to make the small gesture of putting a few of my paintings up for sale at specially reduced prices to raise some money for relief. Then take that money and buy necessities and non perishable goods to donate to the Mexican Red Cross. Both my niece and nephew are volunteers with the Mexican Red Cross here in San Miguel and the Red Cross has the best infrastructure for getting donations where they need to be.Before I could even get some pictures taken and get it on line friends began contacting me wanting to help out. This project continues to grow with the more than generous support from people who want to help. Please keep checking back, because we will continue to add more donations that are available.On my blog are images of donated artwork and other items. Many of these items can be seen at Galeria Gardner, Zacateros 75 in San Miguel de Allende. Some things that have been donated by friends will be shipped by them directly to the buyer. We think trying to auction these items will get too confusing and time consuming for everyone. After much thought we decided to go with the “Buy it Now” system of a set price, first person to make the offer to buy it gets it. Below each item I will put the Title, Artist’s name and information, Special Fundraiser Price, Shipping cost if applicable, and any other pertinent information.Because these are also available “off line” we are not using a “Buy it Now” button to avoid selling a piece twice. If you are interested in purchasing anything listed below you must email me at frank@frankgardner.com with the name of the item and your desire to purchase. Please do not try to purchase in the comments section of this blog. We can’t check email constantly, but the first email in my box for each item, or person that buys in person at Galeria Gardner, will get it. We can accept payment with PayPal on line, or cash and checks in person at the gallery. If buying on line, I will contact you to confirm your purchase. and send a PayPal payment request.Remember to keep checking back for more items. We will be adding more soon. Please help out in any way you can. Every little bit helps. Thank You. http://frankgardner.blogspot.com
If you have not seen the damage from these storms you can see images here:
Is there anything better than to wake up early, have fabulous coffee, chat with friends, have a wonderful breakfast, go for a hike, stop for a snack, sit and read, go for another hike or two, or three… come back to the inn, take a shower and head to dinner… nope. I’m hear to tell you there is nothing better! To relax like this is truly a luxury!! Hope you have your luxury relaxation some time soon!
There is something mesmerizing about this!
Hey! Happy first day of Autumn… WOOHOO, my favorite season begins!!
Oh, how I have Monhegan on my mind… going to miss the nice cool air, the seagull’s morning wake up call, the fabulous food, and our friends! We hope to be there next year!
I swear Coastal Living has some wonderful house plans on their website. This featured plan is called the BLUFFTON (SL-594) and it’s an exclusive design for Coastal LIving by Hall and Hull Architects, Inc. A beautiful plan that can be used in different ways, which is so nice these days! Proves that when you have a good plan you can fit a lot of living into a 1,435 square foot space!
Just look at all the wonderful porches! It’s nice to have French doors in the family room… let the cool air in (well, as soon as we can open windows!)… One thought, it might be a good idea to screen the back porch, that way the French doors could be opened without mosquitoes getting in the house, as well as sit on the porch without being “bugged”, hee.
It’s so nice when a house plan can be versatile, and this one is. There is a lovely dining room off of the kitchen, and while many people enjoy a formal dining ensemble, some of us just don’t use it. So personally, I would put my desk, a few wing backs (ours aren’t formal, they’re slipcovered in white duck cloth), maybe a neat old table that we could use if we had people over for dinner, but otherwise would put books and a lamp on it. I would maybe even tuck one of those cool (and compact!) wood stoves made by Rais (love this model!) in the family room for the cooler months. Heat and fire add such ambiance, and they take off the winter chill! Elegant, a bit modern and useful!
Monhegan… ah… am I ever going to stop posting photos? Well, I just had to, we have some friends who are there this week, next week and the following week! I can’t wait to see their photos! I bet the weather will be perfect! This photo was taken (I think) when we hiked along trail 1… past Dead Man’s Cove and back up into the woods… it is M A G I C A L ! Some are there to paint, others to show family around a wonderful place they have yet to visit, and another who is going to read, relax, swim and hike! You always feel better once you’ve visited Monhegan, it gets your priorities back in place. Really!
Remembering those who lost their lives, who battled to save others, and for those who are still struggling today after that fateful attack on 9/11/2001. It’s hard to believe twelve years have gone by since that day that we were all glued to the radio/television. Thank you to those of you who have served or are now serving to keep this country safe. God Bless YOU!
This painting, by Gary Bodner, is entitled “A New American Flag” – hoping that peace becomes the new norm… at least one day soon! Maybe a flag with hearts isn’t such a bad idea? For anyone who may be interested, this painting is available at Anne Irwin Fine Art!
Be thankful for what you have, help someone out, make someones day… it will make yours too! Essentially… do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. The world would be a much better place!
This is a cool bridal gown shop located in Charleston, SC – it’s high class isn’t it? To me, it looks like a painting… a painting perhaps by Hai-Ou Hou who has been popping out some pretty spectacular paintings in her “window shopping” series
FABULOUS FROCKS OF CHARLESTON – This shop is different than all the others… this is a bridal consignment shop! How smart is that? You wear a dress one day and then you have it cleaned and stored in a box… unless you have children who may want to wear it, why not pass it along, collect some money and put it towards something that you can use now? Fabulous Frocks doesn’t take any wedding dress… it has to be less than 5 years old, accompanied by the actual receipt and has to have cost at least $2000. – check out their website for more info.
ARTFOODHOME.COM 
