The Power of Signs...

So I thought I would share a few glimpses of Vermont with you. It is really beautiful here...very green, pretty meandering rivers, small villages, winding roads, old houses and farms. The people here are kind, which I feel is important.

One of the things about a lot of Vermonters is they really believe in businesses being locally owned...very cool, as far as I am concerned. These businesses are found in old houses, in old buildings with apartments in the upper floors and just road stands and sheds. What strikes one about these businesses is they are often very colorful (I can just imagine how they stand out all winter in the snow)...with bright purples, blues, yellows, reds, oranges and some greens. And where the buildings themselves are not brightly painted, the signs to these businesses are...take a look:
Now how cool is this? Positive Pie is a pizza place. You go through this door (don't you love the old wooden screen door, too?), walk up to a counter and order the most delicious gourmet pizzas. Inside here there is room for 3 people to perch on a stool and have a slice. But Positive Pie has a large sit down place in nearby Montpelier where they also have live music! I also think the name of this place is so cool...

And how about this sign for the local whole foods co-op (most towns have one of these) and the community center? The thing about this place is I couldn't find where to go into the building for the co-op! But I thought the sign was great.

Now this place isn't about the colorful sign, but about what the sign says:

This is one of many used book stores. This place is only open from 2-5 (14:00-17:00) five days a week! That is it! Now go ahead and click on this to enlarge it and read the sign. If you can't, here is what it says: "Hours Tue-Sat 2-5 Sun/Mon By Chance or Appt." Then it gives a phone number. This sign is written on an old piece of cardboard.

Now here is the thing about this shop. At 2:00 we walked in, and although we saw someone outside go into the residential part of the house no one came around to see us. We wandered around for about 30 minutes, but in the end we did not purchase anything since we could never get anyone to come take our money!

So this is a quick glimpse of Vermont. I will share more next week.

Everyone have a beautiful weekend and to my American friends: Have a Fun and Safe Labor Day Holiday.

Make Shift Studio...

Oh it has been busy here in Vermont. We shopped for books...students need those...this weekend. It was fun. But today I am trying to do a bit of painting after a morning of errands. Errands? Yup! I came here with the idea I might paint a little bit, but wouldn't you know it I came without Titanium White! ARGH! So off I went this morning to procure a tube. I found a brand I have never used before - "A>2". Do you know it?
The other thing I have needed to do is set up a kind of "safe" studio here in the hotel room. Clearly, I can't be as "free" or "wild" with my paint brush as I am in my home studio. So this is what I have done.

I sit on the bed, cross-legged, where you see the apron. I also tuck the apron bottom under the butcher trays. Literally, the large butcher tray is the work table and the smaller one is the pallet. As you can tell, I am working on very small canvases. The larger one you see there is 10" x 10".
Have you ever done this kind of thing? We will see, in the end, how it has worked out. It is great to be able to at least have some paint time here. Clearly, with all of the airline rules, I can't do this unless we drive somewhere.

I am collecting some photos, so maybe later in the week I can share some of those with you.

Have a Beautiful Day!

Here are a few other photos from Montana

Everywhere you looked there were views like this... The opportunities for lovely photos were everywhere.
The wildflowers were prolific! Not only humans were enjoying them, either. I watched these butterflies a very long time. It was great just to take the time to watch butterflies.
This wildflower is the like the sun meets the earth!
There were field and fields of wildflowers!
The beargrass was just starting to bloom. The bears really love this as a food source.
And speaking of bears. We saw this grizzly mama and her two cubs enjoying the early morning by the river. They were having so much fun.
And this blurry photo of the big horn sheep was because the she was moving and so was I! LOL I took this from the car. But we did not want to stop and create havoc in that particular place. Over the 18 years of visiting this park, we had never seen the sheep this close up!

Now I promise I will not bombard you with any more vacation photos! The next post will be a bit less personal. At the moment I am in Vermont, but I hope to be able to get a few posts up while I am here.

I wish for you all a beautiful and creative day!

I've Been Chasing Waterfalls

I know the song says, "Don't go chasing waterfalls" but I just couldn't help it!
Over my blogging break I went to Glacier National Park in Montana. Please excuse this photo, but I really like the look of it.
Our family loves this place so very much, and we have been going there for 18 years now. It was good to get away from the phone, the computer, the television and all of the trappings of everyday life for a while. There were a lot of people, though.
But this has to be the most lush year we have ever experienced, so I was able to chase these waterfalls everywhere!
This is known as the Weeping Wall and it has been dry for our last several visits...not this one!
I am still in transition here...literally as I leave again this week for Vermont. I will be back, though, the end of the month. I am told I will have wi-fi service, so look for some more posts later in the week. I have some more things to show you which I was chasing.

Anyway, who does sing that song about 'chasing waterfalls'?

I hope you have had a pleasant two weeks. I have been thinking about you all and wishing I could share some of these beautiful vistas with you!

Come back and catch me later...

A Break...

I am taking a break from blogging for the next two weeks. As others have mentioned, August is a rather slow time for everyone. Please feel free to comment here on any post (I have enabled comments to upload without moderation), although I will not be responding until the end of August to what you write. It would be fun to see some conversation happening, though.

Enjoy!