"Oh, my peeps!!! They're coming together quite well, actually. I am so pleased with the progress we've made lately. Of course, I still have some concerns over the trouble spot I mentioned to you earlier, but it is still too soon to tell if it will work itself out on its own" replied Henri, short for Henrietta.

. . . . but some folks still call me Choco. It's a leftover from childhood. Though I must say I'm surprised my mother didn't name my Seven or Nine when you consider how many children she had. Hmmm, guess I should tell you my full name is actually Chocolate M. Bunny, but Choc is fine." said the gentleman as I was painting him.

. . . . I will give you a quote instead:

Not that I will be going any time soon, but I WILL be going eventually! I still think it makes sense to practice, practice, practice for those opportunities when I DO get to London and just about anywhere I go! If you have AAA Road Service, you probably received their recent travel magazine with a Buckingham Palace guard on the front cover - well, that's my interpretation of Bucky!

I've had a couple of kind folks notify me that they were unable to leave comments. I'm not sure why this is happening as no settings have been changed. It seems to happen when I have to edit a post after it has been published.

Spring has arrived in Florida! Everything is budding out and blooming like crazy. Vehicles and anything else that lives outside has a very yellow-greenish cast to it from all the pollen floating around. Unfortunately, I'm blooming too - with runny nose, red, runny eyes, and itching like mad - as I'm allergic to all that pollen. But that doesn't keep me inside! Oh, no! Spring is not to be missed! Of course, our temps are suppose to back in the 30's tonight so apparently winter is not quite finished.

. . . . are the blog awards! I am so very pleased to tell you that Sheona of Black on Grey on White has given me the following art blog award:

Here is the second painting from the Hyacinth I recently purchased! This is about 16 hours after the first sketch was done - I am so totally amazed at how fast this plant is changing!! When I came into the office to scan the painting and post, I stopped by the breakfast nook to see how the bloom was coming along. About half of the individual blooms are either opening or open. The one on the bottom right is fully open.

For sure, a nice person, but a total spaz - absolutely no concentration! Take today for example, I was going to paint on my daffodils from yesterday and finish them up. She decides we need to paint on the cake/hat series, and um, that series is her idea too - cakes in the shapes of hats. I've no idea where that series is going to go (besides under the bed). Then, when that gets old, we started sketching out some more cake ideas. And gosh, what do you know? Now, we have one that looks like a Dalmatian. Don't ask. 

Finally, I have a small bit of progress to show! Below is a photo of the first piece of Word Art that I have added to my Etsy shop:

                                    A Page from My Sketchbook

This is the latest page I'm working on in my little handmade sketchbook! The sketchbook itself is 8" x 8" and is filled with Arches 140 lb. cold press paper. I painted the feathers in the upper lefthand corner first. They were in the yard near the birdfeeder. I thought the feathers belonged to a Bluejay that just nearly missed being the neighbor cat's breakfast, but after observing other Jays . . . . I'm not so sure. The Jays have a great deal of blue in their feathers and very unique markings as well. Maybe a Mourning Dove or a Mockingbird instead?

The feather in the upper righthand corner is from a Mockingbird. Unfortunately, as I was painting this last night, my husband brought me several more grey feathers. It would seem the great white wholly mammoth (also known as a Siberian Husky) that we affectionally call Susie managed to catch a Mockingbird. How she does it is beyond us. We've yet to see her in action, but she does catch birds from time to time. Anyway . . . .

The eggs in the center are Carolina Wren eggs. The nest portion of the painting is just a small fraction of a real nest. Their nests are deep cavities made out of dead leaves and grasses, bits and pieces of soft plastics (like old newspaper bags), strings, and what have you. This little nest was in our garden shed, and the male wren it in the exact same location that a field mouse had built their nest earlier in the year. We thought the mouse was back and went to remove it. Too late, we saw the eggs! When the female came back, she looked around for several minutes but would not go back into the nest as she knew it had been disturbed. This small piece of art is my way of paying homage to the little wren and her eggs.

I am using this particular art in a piece of jewelry. I'll post an image when I get it created. Hopefully, this week, but the weatherman is predicting rain and more cold temperatures for most of this week. Rain and cold temperatures seriously hamper the jewelry-making process!  I will be listing it in the Etsy shop as well.