Auckland, New Zealand Class

Finally! I finished the ink and oil rouging project that Lizzie asked me to teach in Auckland. Nothing like leaving it till the last minute. It's in the mail, winging it's way across the ocean. Now to get those instructions done!

Red Hatter Outing

They've formed a Red Hat group at the trailer park where I spend a portion of my summers. So, of course I joined. I hate being left out of anything - especially anything fun! I can only participate in some of the outings because I don't spend all my time at the park. For many of the members it's their permanent residence in Canada, and they go south for the winter - lucky gals. However, last week I did manage to fit one of the outings into my schedule. 19 of us went to lunch at the Railside restaurant in Port Hope. Food was great, service was great, prices were amazing. Afterwards we went to see Oklahoma at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope. The show was fantastic, and everyone was so talented. Anyway, here's three of us KTR Kuties. I'm the one in the middle with the bright red top. You can't see my purple trousers, and I had taken my purple jacket off, but honest, I was dressed in red and purple. (giggle)

Maureen McNaughton Ladyslippers

I had a wonderful day on Saturday painting with Maureen McNaughton at Judy's Busy Brushes in Ajax, Ontario. Maureen is an excellent designer and teacher. Judy is a fantastic hostess, and prepared a wonderful buffet lunch for us.

There were 12 of us in the class, and we whined, laughed, joked and painted up a storm. Everyone's project looked great when we finished. And the nice thing about strokework is that you are generally completely finished within class time.

All I have to do is add another coat of varnish and find a suitable frame. This will look great in our new trailer.

First Event at the New Trailer

We celebrated my son's 42nd birthday at the trailer on the weekend. Cooked a turkey and had gravy and stuffing, salads and rolls, with cake and ice cream for dessert. There were 12 of us for dinner and I decided that I need more cutlery - I only have a set for 12 and never thought I would need more. Oh, well, we managed. The weather was perfect, the kids as well behaved and one can expect, and they were all impressed with our lovely new trailer.

Kept the two youngest grandkids overnight along with their new friend Melissa. They spent most of the weekend in the swimming pool and had a great time.

I sent them to the dumpster to get rid of some kitchen waste and wondered why the heck they were taking so long. They came back saying they had been working. They took the tin cans out of the recycle bins and crushed them in the can crusher attached to the wall of the garbage depot. As people brought their recyclables to the bins, they crushed their cans too. Kids! They even came back carting a microwave with them. It cooks, but the display panel stays blank. They gave it to their dad who says he will take it to the jobsite so the workers can heat up their lunches. Never know what those kids will think up next.

The Move is Complete!

Whew! You sure can accumulate a lot of "stuff" in 12 years, even in a house trailer. We found out that the new trailer, even though 12 feet longer than the old one, does not have the same storage facilities as the old one. Oh, well, a few trips to the store for plastic storage totes solves that problem, and everything is nicely stashed away. But we have no room for anything else!

The old trailer looks so much bigger now that it's empty. Gave it a good cleaning, so it's ready for it's new owners to take possession on August 1st.

As for the new trailer - I absolutely LOVE it! It's so bright and spacious and airy, and the huge deck is amazing. I have set up 4 areas on it - dining, chatting, sunning, and BBQ'ing, and it's not crowded.

Inside we have his and hers sofas - his in front of the tv of course. Both sofas make into beds which will be christened this weekend when the grandkids stay over. We're having a turkey roast for my son's birthday - using a table top electric oven that I will put outside on the picnic table. Will drive my neighbours crazy with the smell of turkey roasting all day. (giggle)

Birthday Party

Last week some really great friends gave me a wonderful birthday party. It was so nice to have a day to laugh and chat with friends - good food too. They gave me some wonderful gifts - some of which I will use on my trip Downunder, and others that I will use at the new trailer, and some for my new beading hobby (as if I needed another hobby, a friend got me hooked on beading.)

Looking around the room at my friends, I realized that I would not have met any of them if it were not for folk art. Some I met through one of the guilds I joined after retiring, and others were introduced to me by my guild friends. When I think of who painting has brought into my life, I'm eternally grateful that I picked up that first brush!

Thanks gals for the party. It was great to see you all again.

Out with the Old - In with the New

As well as planning our trip to Australia and New Zealand, we've decided to sell our old house trailer where we spend our vacations. She's an oldie but goodie, and is in great shape (if you don't count the outdated decor). But she's 25 years old, and we decided to upgrade to a newer one. Hopefully her new owners will love her as we have.

We saw a trailer posted on the park bulletin board and decided to take a look. Okay, I was hooked! Finally wore George down and we put in an offer which has been accepted. The new one is ours as of July 11th. It's 44 feet long by 12 feet wide and has a 44 ft. by 10 ft. deck along the front. 24 feet of the deck is roofed, and this area will become our sunroom (Florida room) next spring. That's where I will do my painting and crafting, lots of light and fresh air, but no pesky mosquitoes! She's a beauty and only 7 years old. The lot is a lot larger than our present one as well, and the landscaping is very pretty.