Susan Martin Spar

This is another one of the commissions I had done. (Geez, I am starting to sound like spoiled) I saw a painting of hers that I really loved, but was already sold. I loved the way she utilized light and reflection. The light reflecting off the silver was irresistible to me. The lace behind the vase is much like I have my dining room. Flowers and fruit that are constant reminders of our existence. I believe that every dining room needs a great still life...This is the room we invite our friends and family to partake in a simple yet elegant meal. This is where we have our still life on display to remind our friends and family of the fragility of life. This moment that we have to share is one of the great moments in our lives. Every time we sit down and take the time to eat with our family and friends is special.

Susan told me that she only works from objects that she has in front of her. Objects that she is able to manipulate, so a photo of what I wanted would not be enough. She worked from my idea, and took photos of the things different objects she had that fit my general idea. I have two different paintings from her with the silver and the lace. I really like the way they turned out, and they fit in right beside the lace curtains in my dining room. I love the overall look that is pulled off with the paintings.

Susan does not just do still life paintings, but works in many different subject areas. Check out her work at http://susanmartinspar.blogspot.com/

My Backyard?

I can only hope right now that this might be my backyard. My husband and daughter went to San Luis Obispo this past weekend without my son and I. My son has H1N1. He came home from school with a fever of 103 on Friday. Saturday I called my doctor, and they said the fever could go on for 10 days. I only had Tylenol, which is our usual stand by. The fever just would not break all day on Saturday. 103.5 was his temp. My husband and daughter were already gone to SLO. I had to wait for their return to stop and get some Motrin. Motrin finally made the fever go down, but it has not gone under 100.

He has been eating, and drinking. He has also been getting lots of rest. I hope and pray he will be back to normal soon.

I thought I would post something since it has been several days since I last posted, and my son is taking a nap right now.

Maureen Croft

My husband and I met online. Thirteen years ago we met on Yahoo. We e-mailed each other for a long time before we decided to give our phone numbers to each other. We talked on the phone for about 2 weeks or so before we really jumped into meeting each other. I lived in San Francisco. The funniest thing about our meeting was both of us thought about the exact same place to meet. We wanted to meet at the Clipper Ships on Hyde Street.

The watercolor reminded me of the Clipper Ship. This ship is really a British Ship. Although it is the wrong one, I knew my husband would love it. I bought this painting for him for our anniversary a couple of years ago.

Maureen does all types of paintings, and is located in England. If you are interested in her art. Here is a link for you to follow http://www.minigallery.co.uk/Maureen_Crofts/index.asp

I Am Very Greateful!

I am very grateful for the life I have now. My husband is wonderful. I have to be honest I am a little materialist. I really like the finer things in life. My husband likes to give them to me. Both of us enjoy going to antique shops.

I go to all the car shows, and Concourso de elegance is our big show.

He is not too much into art, but I love it. I love getting to know various artist, and many pieces I collect remind me of places I have been, places I want to go, and experiences I have had or would like to have at some point in my life.

This vanity and the bench at the end of my bed (not shown) were my Valentines Day gifts one year. We went into the Antique store, and like most times we go to any antique store I just could not leave without two pieces of furniture. Don't get me wrong...I don't love my husband because I usually get what I want (that is a bonus)I love him for all the little things he does. He never leaves the house unless he kisses me. We never go to bed angry at each other. He is always so understanding about that special female time. (I really am hateful at that time) He really is the perfect husband for me. Jewelry, Antiques, and Art are just a great bonus.

The furniture is from France. It was on a yacht at one time. The perfume bottles are from Egypt, Argentina, and there are two bottles of the same perfume. A smell that reminds me of summer. I don't recall the name of it. I have only found it at Neiman Marcus. I have a Meissen cherub at each end playing an instrument at each end. A Wedgewood that my MIL gave me for Christmas one year. A Limoges with an elegant lady in a carriage. (First thing I ever won on ebay) A Herend butterfly. An antique brass German vanity set on a Tuscan tray. Sworvaski flowers, and a Tuscan jewelry box.

cherub

Tell me a Story

I did not post yesterday, I have not been feeling so great. I have been SUPER tired, and nauseous. My chest hurts a little, and I have been coughing a little.

I found out today that I won 2 awards, so until I learn how to post them I will have to be patient. Thank you Holly Lefevre at http://504main.blogspot.com for the awards.

This Mustang is like the one I used to own. I loved that car. It was the first car I really loved. My other cars were just transportation to get from one point to my destination. My Mustang (I named her Stella) was just a great car. Stella was black, and had a hood scoop. She was also a Cobra Mustang. I loved getting in the drivers seat of that car. The leather seat just hugged my skinny butt perfectly (life before children, and all those yummy cookies). I used to speed all the time in that car. It was stick shift, so I even got though snow in a breeze.

When my son was younger he used to ask me to tell him stories about when I was younger, and the one about my Stella is one of his favorite.

So, after my fiance (did not marry him) and I broke up I moved back to my city. I was fresh back in Indianapolis, and need to find an internship that would allow me to finish an Independent Study class that I was near the end of at State University of New York. Since I had no boyfriend I had no one that looked at my car. (Under the hood stuff) I called my brother and asked him why my oil light was coming on, and asked what I needed to do. He told me "Don't drive the car, just wait for me to come look at it." I did not listen to him. I drove the car. I had to...I was offered an internship at a museum I loved, and wanted to work. I was on my way, and was at a light. I saw a little smoke coming out of the hood. I thought...WOW, that does not look good. Suddenly flames start shooting out of the side. I grabbed my book bag, and my purse, and ran across the street. By the time I got across the street the whole car was flaming. I was crying. Stella was blazing like she was a star the hit the earth. Thankfully, there was a firetruck that was a few cars behind me. The firemen put the fire out with a few fire extinguishers.

My insurance company would not pay for any of the car since it was my fault that it caught on fire. I even had to pay to have it towed. I had it towed to my brothers house, and ended up selling it to a scrap yard for $35.00.

My son loves the story because he likes to tell me "You should have listened to your brother."

Have you had a car that was your favorite?

Sunday in Saint Helena

We spent our day in Saint Helena today. Here is a photo of one of the many vineyards. We have such a lovely time on our way to anywhere in California. We all just love going to the country, and I think I will miss going to Napa once we move to San Luis Obispo.

We like going to the wineries, and the children are always given little juice packs. I am usually the test taster. My husband usually only has one taste test. He is not as into wine as I am. We also visit the little gift shops that are a part of the wineries.

Today it was between 75 and 88 degrees in some areas. I had my window down, and I was thinking about Medusa as we were driving. My long strands of hair were blowing all over the car, and I was thinking...maybe this is how the story of Medusa began...

A farmer and his wife were headed out to work in the field. The lady forgot to pin her hair up on her head as they rushed out to the field. While they were working the wind was blowing hard, and the lady felt her own hair whipping around on her face. She struggled to get her work done because her hair was in her way, and she kept brushing it out of her face.

The farmer looked over at his wife as she struggled, and thought all that hair looked like snakes. The farmer happened to be a story teller by evening, and as he told he thought about his wife and her hair of snakes the story wove itself together. By evening, the farmer had a story to tell the village.

I believe that a lot of stories start from a "real" starting point, and lead into something else. Many myths have "truths" in them, but are made into beautiful stories that last for generations to come.

Disney Princess

What Disney Princess are you most like, and why?

I am most like Belle. She is a book lover, and so am I. My daughter loves Cinderella.

When I was young I did not think there were too many other children that were like me. I loved to read everything. I joined the soccer team to get the International News Paper. I think the other reason I joined the soccer team was my dad loved football, and I could not wait to tell him "football is soccer to the rest of the world".

My brother and sister were both super star athletes, and I was a library and museum lover. I really was convinced that I was adopted, and somewhere out there was an athletic girl that had the wrong family. I took a book to my basketball game. I spent most of the time on the bench, and I was happy to be there. When I was on the floor I never made a basket. One time I wrestled with a girl for the ball on the floor. I don't know what I was thinking. I just wanted the ball. Everyone in the stands was cracking up laughing.

I finally found my sports in high school. I was on the swim team, and played tennis. (I played tennis badly). I am more of an individual sport player, and suck at team sports. I think I just hate being bossed around.

As an intern at the various museums I worked they have you rotate around to different fields in the museum. I really loved the library, and doing research. I loved working in the library, and would often find myself consumed in a book and not doing my work (don't tell anyone). I did not like acquisitions. Ugh! Sometimes there are some pretty yucky things that people donate, and they have to be examined, and probed by someone. One rug that came in from Africa almost made me pass out. The smell was so overwhelming. I had to take several breaks to recover and go back into the tiny "report" room.

I have a collection of tiny books, and I have a collection of very, very old Bibles. One of the Bibles I have is full of information about a family. I have often thought about posting something about the family, and see if they want it for their family history. I would just sell it to them at the price I bought it.

So, tell me...if you HAD to pick a Disney Princess who would it be, and why?