Darby and the Peanut Butter Jar

Let me introduce you to this cute little one. We have had the pleasure of sharing our home with this cute little Dachshund for about 5 years. We got him from the Ohio Dachshund Rescue. This little dog has been such a joy for us. He is one of the naughtiest/cutest little dogs I've ever had. He is part Dachshund, part Jack Russel. In his short life he has been paralyzed in his hind quarters and recovered and has had knee surgery. He has such a love for life. The people that 'turned' him in to the rescue said that he had been on the run with a border collie for about 6 weeks before they could catch them. They also think that he was from a puppy mill and a pet shop in a mall was broken into and these guys were turned loose. We had already rescued another Dachshund and we wanted another buddy.
I happen to like peanut butter and I do eat it with a spoon...forget that spread it on the bread stuff. Let's just go for it!  Well, I left the jar sitting on the end table while I went to get something in the kitchen.  When I returned, this is what I saw. He had moved the jar to the couch for a more convenient place to enjoy the pnbutter.  I haven't found the spoon yet.

Had a spectacular day kayaking on the Pigeon River with friends. The weather was perfect and the leaves were beautiful. It amazes me how a little sun does wonders for my soul.  We were out for about 3 hours and then the rains came once again. Looks like we'll have dreariness until maybe Monday. I put my lovely kayak in storage and dusted off the snow shoes and Xcountry skis. Gotta find any way to stay out doors.

October in Holland =

October (and the next 5 months)  in Holland and most of west Michigan equals rain, dreariness, cold temps with a splash of sun every once in a while...maybe. This is a picture of Lake Michigan I took a few days ago and it just says it all. Our fall colors are almost gone, in fact most trees have reached their peak. It's raining again today so I've spent most of the morning making Art and rearranging/cleaning my 'studio'...(corner of the living room). Wed. should be sunny so a friend and I are going to take our kayaks out for one last paddle out to the lake.

I'm still creating a few more journal pages from some of the pictures I took and sketched while traveling. I am particularly in love with my musician.One (of many) of the things I really need to work on is my composition.  I just get this image in my head and have to go with it and usually don't plan...Gotta stop that...Can you see the pencil lines under the shutters?  Obviously they were an after thought and I needed to fill some wall space.

Abita Beer, Shrimp&Grits and Memories

I've spent lots of hours this week making art. These are a couple of sketches that I just  had to finish. I enjoy the taste of good beer and Abita (1986) has become one of my favorites. This is a local beer produced about 30 miles north of  NO. The other thing that I found enjoyable was the open container law in NO. With the exception of after midnight party revelers, the people who drink (and those who don't) in NO are quite civilized. This is also the beer that is primarily drunk in the HBO series Treme. OK it's a good advertisement. I get it.
The latest assignment for my Imiganiary Trip to NOLA (made real for me by Hubby) was to sketch food. I chose to post a sketch of the wonderful dinner that I had at LaBayou. Shrimp and Grits Napoleon. Fried green tomatoes stacked on creamy southern grits surrounded by gulf shrimp drizzled with a Bourbon St. Cream sauce, it’s too good to be true!  YUMMMM!

Back in Chilly Holland

Had a wonderful time traveling to New Orleans and Biloxi for a few days. The weather was great except for the last two days. It rained but it wasn't cold like it can be in Holland. I am still catching up with laundry, unpacking and getting my sketches and photos organized. I'll be posting more soon.

My first adventure was to visit Mardi Gras World...a working museum. I got a private tour because no one else showed up for the 9:30am tour.  90% of the floats used in the Mardi Gras parades are built here. There is a height restriction of 18 feet but no length requirement. Some of the floats actually have restrooms on them as the people riding on the floats are on them for 8+ hours. After the tour I was invited to have a piece of King Cake.