Saturday, April 11, 2020

Yeah It's Friday

And you wonder, what difference does Friday make since we don't go anywhere right now during the pandemic.  Well, and this may be sad, lol, in our area it means we will have some fun things to watch on TV tonight.  On "off nights" we watch a show called Decades that takes the date of the day and goes back through time to say what the news was on that day.  Then past Dick Cavett shows. Actually it's all interesting.

So the Friday family meeting.. With Florida's stay at home order the business Roger was working at went to just essential hours so he was back home. We're missing Jamie but found out later he and Pam were making fish tacos...we'll catch him next meeting.


Reading on social media with the friends I am connected with that other artists are having a difficult time right now being creative. As artists, we are so accustomed to being isolated so why is this one any different? Could it be the non stop news and Press coverage ?  People on social media still raging their political agendas?  

So I step away and come to my small space and work.  Sometime ago I told a friend that I'd paint her beloved Harley Dog for her. She was responsible for us getting Ozzie. I started a small painting and then we started traveling. I found the unfinished painting not to long ago and right then she and I spoke. This is on a 12" x 12" stretched canvas and for me a perfect time to immerse myself back into my painting.


It's coming along nicely!!


This is an 11" x 14" stretched canvas. I donated a gift certificate to a Newfoundland groups event and my friend actually won the prize and this is her Newfie, Layla.  I was also honored to have painted her other two Newfies also.




Quickly blocking in color that makes sense to me before I dive in. 



I bought fun fabric to make us masks. Our plan, even though we take one day at a time right now, is to go to New Hampshire and be at our favorite campground where we also work camp. (and did I mention my little studio is there also)




Right now we are doing "to go" preparations. We had two of our tire sensors go wonky on us on our way south this past October so we sent for new "innards" for those.  Here in Florida the weather is getting unusually hot and the forecast for the hurricane season is that there will be more storms.  So that in itself is a incentive to get things ready for rolling.  Florida still has the stay in place order and we may have been the only seasonal people in the park to actually follow that, lol, but to be fair, we don't have a house up north and from living there for so many years, we so know it will snow on Easter! lol (And the Park doesn't open til mid May)

So to end I'd like to introduce you to our resident Gray Squirrel...(my children know right now I'm singing THE song..) Roger has a plastic container with corn inside that he can throw out for the birds,  Our little friend decided to chew his way through the container , crawl in, an help himself. Duct tape, hot sauce, and cases of water bottles did not deter him. We put the corn into smaller buckets and keep them in the car now.  He crawls in and out still to get the leftovers. 




Friday actually turned into Saturday..lol..

Stay safe everyone and I'll see you again soon.

Warmly,
Sheila



Thursday, April 2, 2020

The Brayyy Dee Bunch...The Bradeee Bunch


Yes, we sang it! Our first Family get together ! The isolation I think makes your loved ones even more precious, if that's possible.  My daughter Erin had us all download Zoom and we had our first "meeting". Of course we laughed and sang the theme song then all spoke at the same time as families do. It was 20 minutes of pure joy! We had to end for our youngest granddaughter to have her on line dance class.  We will all meet again this Friday.




Erin sent me this recipe from Skinny Taste for simple and quick bagels. 

One cup of self rising flour, because that's all I have, and one cup of 
Greek yogurt. Since we have an air fryer, I put it on at 280 degrees to pre heat. Really fast by the way.  After mixing the yogurt and flour with a fork I made 4 balls and rolled them into a long tube and joined them to make a bagel. One whisked egg or egg white is then brushed over the top to give it that golden brown hue. Place them on parchment paper and into the fryer.



I sprinkled sea salt on these but you can use what ever seasoning you like. I brought some this morning to have coffee with two friends here at the park..6 ft away..and they loved them.  It seemed like a normal day there for awhile. We all need a day like that.



I still work and my tiny studio in CiCiBlue is getting a bit....crowded.  Under the table we have boxes with can goods and jars stored, next to our basket of laundry,  with unfinished boards half painted and canvases drawn and ready to go. Then we actually have dinner at night as I push stuff back.  If you do any painting or any kind of craft, you know how hard it is to pack up at the end of the day then unpack every morning.  Just the way it is right now.  I've been finding the creativity is hard sometimes to activate in this new way of life but I've promised people that I'd have things painted and that has given me purpose.  I know once I get it going I'll be on a roll.




This is a photo I took of our Chocolate Lab Ozzie this morning.  As I look at it he looks like a Black Lab and he looks like our Sammy that recently went to the Bridge.  Maybe Sam needed to pop back in to say hello. We miss you Sammy Sam.


So we are still here in Florida at the Park we stay at. Today I rode my bike up and around the gas station, usually quite busy but not any more. So I took the time to take this photo.  Lola and I walk up to this field at night and that corner by the fence is her "spot".  The funny part it stays her spot every year.


Riding in we see the Lake. Its small but peaceful and calming. Behind the trees is a large marsh area that goes all the way up to Rt. 1. A few more "lakes" I believe are in there as well as "critters". I've only seen a wild hog out by I 95 but we hear the hounds chasing them during the season.


Across the lake there's a tiny alligator swimming.  Hard to see but he's a speck in front of that single tree. I'll get a better shot of him soon. 


Coming up the main road towards CiCiBlue. She's on the left hand side with the blue floaties on the windshield wipers to protect them from the sun.  With the news of the virus not ending anytime soon here in Florida or elsewhere, we will be putting on our windshield screens to help keep out the heat and sun.  We canceled our weeks stay in Ga. yesterday for the 22 nd of April and thankfully since this has been our home base, we can stay as long as we need to.  The park has officially closed to others. Our fear too is will that be what happens if we left to go North. ? A lot of people are traveling to their homes north without knowing what they are driving into so we are happy we have a safe place to stay.  haha..can you feel my anxiety?




So from our family to yours, please stay safe and healthy. We really are in this together.


Hmm, that was a fun hair cut..maybe I'll go back to it after all of this is over.. Lola said she liked hers too.


Warmly,
Sheila and the gang!!!