I Lied

Yep. I lied. I worked on my photo library. Maybe not as much as I should have but it's a small start. Seriously, I have so many duplicates, similar photographs, and just plain bad stuff. Actually, I purged more than one thousand pictures I think. My trash can got so full on the desktop I had to empty it multiple times. One of the things that is super cool about a Mac is the sound the trash can makes when it's emptying. I know that sounds crazy, but I kid you not!

Today's post will be a little hodge podge. Here we go:

This apartment in the Hamptons is to die for. Our rope chair featured on slide one is not in nearly as good shape. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/07/14/garden/20100715-location-sideshow.html
There's just something about orange that feels so right to me.

Backtracking to Monday, I couldn't bring myself to go out back once I discovered this:

For weeks I'd seen the parents carrying food to the nest in the Spanish bayonet high over our house.
I'm not sure if the baby mockingbird was heading out of the nest for the first time, landing in the pool rather than taking off.  Thank goodness it was a Monday! Bruce was good enough to give it a little burial. 

I alternate days of staying in and going out.  I managed to find things to do around the house, however on Thursday because Baxter's food was nearly empty, my hand was forced. On my way back from Whole Foods I went by a house on Bumby that has a lovely garden. The vibrant zinnias forced me to stop:

Pretty lucky the butterflies were swarming huh?

If you can imagine I've taken a little hankering to watching golf. As you know my television watching is minimal, however once college football season arrives, you'll find me making time for games. A few weeks ago I watched the Augusta National, enjoying both the beautiful scenery and the quiet commentary. One of the reasons I don't like lots of shows is because they are SO loud. I suspect because I spend so much time alone, I'm a little more sensitive to noise. Anyway, golf seems like the rules are easy to follow. While watching college football, my understanding of the positions and strategy is almost laughable. Nonetheless this doesn't keep me from enjoying every minute. So far what I don't understand about golf is the clubs they use under different circumstances. The outfits are really something. John Daly wore the most amazing gigantic print, purple paisley pants in the British Open. His defense of the outfit? "If you get dressed in the dark, every shirt will match."

I'm ashamed to admit how long it's been since I last cleaned the floor in the sun room. One year? This morning after attaching my Shuffle I forced myself into cleaning mode. Many, many years ago Matt convinced me to buy a floor steam cleaner by Eureka, the "EnviroSteamer." You attach a pad to the bottom, fill a reservoir with water, and plug it in. Soon thereafter, steam begins rising, and off you go. I suspect you don't much care to do floor care either. Am I right? There's really no plausible excuse for my delay because the ES makes it so simple. So there it is. Pure laziness.

This week I've sent in my last two applications for fall shows. Let's keep our fingers crossed that I'll receive an acceptance letter from Winter Park, Ocala, and DeLand.  

Shameless Self-Promotion

I'm back at it--promoting myself, or at least I'm supposed to be. Here's my stack of cards that I'll put out on the table for the next two weeks, hoping people will take them. This looks like a lot, but the truth is, they made 1,000--thank goodness I don't have to pass that many out! I should be grateful, but between you and me, I'm a bit nervous. I thought having them pick out the pieces would be good, however, now I'm unsure about them. Too late because Roger has already made four of them. He's been having problems with the printer for several weeks now with SEVEN service calls necessary. This is prime time because he works with many, many artists, and with show season beginning this weekend, he's been swamped. Hopefully he'll have the last ones ready by Friday--I'll take them over there and show up when the time comes.

Did I tell you how I'd received an email from the folks at the DeLand Art Festival asking for my patron list? Hahahaha! I never responded.

Continuing the publicity thing, I should also be sending out emails to everyone I know letting them know my show schedule--all two of them. Winter Springs the last weekend of October and the aforementioned DeLand, the weekend before Thanksgiving. It's just that I never know what to write. Imagine that--me at a loss for words!

I suppose nervousness is appropriate; the gallery is rated one of the best in our area, and how I'm included, is beyond me. In Matt's blog today he wrote a piece about seeing art in the right setting. Apparently he saw an installation of a tree sculpture in a garden setting and was underwhelmed, however, seeing a photograph of the same sculpture in an indoor art space, his appreciation was altered. Unknowingly, this was a great help to me. For one thing, it made me realize what a leap of faith people take when they buy a large piece from me. Imagining it in their home may not be quite as easy as I thought. That said, I'm hoping the pieces look good in the gallery!

When Maureen was over the other day she gave me some cute little shot glasses she'd planned to return to Marshalls. You've already figured that I'd try and do something with them haven't you? Taken with my manual focus lens, this didn't turn out so great but I'll share it nonetheless. Lisa is a big fan of little roses.

I've just discovered I'm in trouble with my iTunes library!! A little screen is appearing telling me the original file cannot be found!!! Yikes and yikes again--must be my external hard drive acting up again! Speaking of music, a month or so ago, my Nano disappeared from my car. I've done my best to lock the car at all times, but apparently it was not good enough. Bruce bought a new little shuffle (which are incredibly small!), and gave me his. How delightful it's been to listen to his music. He's kept up with new music by adding to his collection all the time, whereas I've been stuck in a rut. Talk about a silver lining.

Belly Dancers

This afternoon we went to a small art show down at Lake Eola checking out the booths and displays. The weather continues to be spectacular. I am feeling pretty poorly today and moved pretty slow but fast enough for us to see the sites and enjoy the crowds and art. Easily the most entertaining sight was the belly dancers. My word, those woman have some self confidence!

Lunch at Tijuana Flats is always good with a nice cup of cheap sangria. Unfortunately, I was a party pooper and had to come home.

Here my friends, are the belly dancers.