I Spent the Night in a Gallery Marinating in Art

As part of my membership to The Girdwood Center for The Visual Arts I am committed to spend a few days a year in the Gallery. To save on a hotel room I brought my air mattress and slept in the gallery. In the morning I went to the Aleyeska Prince Hotel and had a lovely therapeutic swim in the salt pool, had a whirlpool, a sauna and a beautiful walk. While working the gallery people from all over the world stop in to browse and buy I met people from Germany, Minnesota, Georgia, and Netherlands all over the world. They all say where is your art? And I am proud to show them!

I'm Squirrelly No Really

Was it this morning that I was gloating about my backyard and all the wildlife that comes to visit me? Yes I was saying how lucky I am to live among the wild creatures of the Great North. Well the damn squirrels must have been reading my mail!!! They have moved into my walls, it is a real creepy feeling to have creatures walking around in walls having a party while I'm trying to sleep. This arrangement is not going to work feelers. They are probably going to stay up all night since they are nocturnal animals. God, I think it is a whole family, noooooooooo pleeeeease tomorrow I will blast some hip hop into their room and see how they like it. This I cannot tolerate sorry little squirrels but I'm going to have to get midlevel on your little asses.

I'm Ready For My Closeup Mr. Demille

I am the most fortunate person alive to have swans, otters, ravens, loons, muskrats, turns and trout all in my backyard! This gorgeous red headed trumpeter swan was gracious enough to pose for a portrait and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to paint his picture. The swan couple comes by several times a day my husband (Dr. Doolittle) can call them in from heaven knows where. We went to the pet store and bought them some special swan food so they love to stop by for a little snack and to converse with my husband. Benson (the brown lab) likes to jump into the lake and chase them it’s turned into a game.
If possible I will try to get a picture of the illusive muskrat that passes by every evening and morning.

Just Another Day In Paradise

The Swans are stopping by for a visit each morning. I sip my first cuppa coffee and just get up close and personal with these gorgeous creatures. It's awesome to have these wild creatures in my back yard. My Labrador jumped into the water after them, he swam as fast as he could and they just glided away, when he'd gone out far as could swim he turned around and came back. The swans turned around and chased him back. I don't know if Benson is intimidated by the swans or just knows he can't win either way we all live in harmony in our tiny slice of paradise on the lake.

Mona Lisa and the Da Vinci Code

This is my personal rendition of Mona Lisa. Shes cross eyed I know, maby that is what I get for plagerizing, shes a public icon so I can copy if I want. Whos going to sue?
Tonight is the big hoopla in Caines with the opening of the DaVinci Code. I read the book awhile ago. Every other person in the airports was reading it. It was a pretty good read full of action, mystery; sex all the things we love. It is a good book not a great book..
But since we are talking about it…I have always felt deep down inside that we are not given the full story about Jesus Christ and his time on earth. We have been handed a partial gospel the New Testament which was butchered along time ago and then told not to add to the teachings. I have a hard time accepting the Jesus that was not a man in every way, in my imagination and heart he did deeply love Mary Magdalene they had loving sexual relations perhaps they were not married. There is evidence enough in the gospels to suggest how close they were; she washed his feet, stayed at the cross to the end. Why this was all denied, distorted, and hidden? Why were the disciples jealous?
I am glad that the mystery of Jesus is coming alive again that there is a debate among people. I’m glad that the Catholic Church is pissed it’s about time that some of their closet doors are opened and the skeltons literally came marching out.
I created a requietory to Mary Magdalene years ago.

MARY MAGDALENE,
‘From whom seven devils had gone out’

Perhaps we have met this woman or seen her from a distance. Then as today a young woman who was rich, beautiful and fascinating could do anything that she pleased, with the assurance of being admired by well wishers attracted by her charms. Jesus accepted the homage of this sinful woman who kissed his feet in a surge of repentance, bathed them in her tears, anointed them with a precious perfume, and wiped them with her beautiful hair.
On Calvary she was among the tiny group of the faithful at the foot of the cross. She was present at the burial. She was the last to leave the tomb, and the first to run back to it on Easter morning. And the first apparition of the risen Christ was to her.
And so Mary Magdalene was made for love and never understood anything but love, trips through the pages of the gospel with a lively step, her hands laden with perfumes, running from banquets to gardens, even to the doors of Paradise, where she beckons to all as a messenger of love.

How a Bad Situation Got Better or a Plane Ride That Didn't Suck

When I was waiting to make my connection at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and I fell asleep in the wrong terminal. Suddenly I woke up and asked for the time it was 4:10 and my plane was leaving at 4:18 so I hurried to the 1-minute transport train and rushed to the correct terminal. American Airlines would not let me board as they had already shut the doors and had apparently paged me. This young woman came rushing up and when she heard that she missed the flight she had a complete melt down. I dealt with the counter people they gave me a connection in LAX then to Anchorage...then I turned my attention to her and she was sitting on the floor in a fetal position crying. A couple of ticket agents were hovering over her saying over and over what do you want to do; it was obvious that she was incapable of making a decision. So my helping the strays’ codependent nature kicked in. I began to talk to her and offer to see her to her destination. So she took the ticket. Turns out she farmed out her kids, horses, dogs and cats to meet her boyfriend for 2 weeks at Elmendorf Air Force Base. We went to get something to eat she took a bite of bagel and seemed to revive her. She took out her lap top went on line and found another faster way to get to Anchorage.
We changed out tickets and got on a plane to Seattle. We boarded the plane, Jade in the window seat I am in the middle and an older woman named Margaret in the isle seat. The first thing Margaret told me is that she had just got back from taking her 101 year old aunt to the town in Tennessee where she grew up so she could see where shed grown up once more before she died. Margaret told me she purchased her own headstone and put everything she wanted to say so her family could not write on her stone. I think to myself that this is going to be an interesting flight. The three of us three generations of women had a great time laughing and telling stories. Jade could not sit still and she showed us her tattoos even ones below the belt. Margaret after her real Bloody Mary began to flirt with older make flight attendant and said she will turn him over her knee, she was a real hoot. The time flew by as we laughed and told stories showed each other out photos.
When we landed I noticed the people in back of us were very irritated this lady kept shaking her head to show me her annoyance. Whatever, I enjoyed my flight. Who often can we say that?

The next connection was Continental Airlines to Anchorage bigger seats no one in the middle pillows, free snacks and a blanket ahhhhh.
Jades boyfriend was waiting for her despite being 4 hours late and my hubby was there to pick me up also.
Blessings to the two crazy, eccentric, women I met in the Dallas airport

I've Been In Charlotte N.C.

I have been in Charlotte N.C. visiting my daughter, son in law and my beautiful extra special granddaughter. Here we are:
If there are any slums I did not see it, Charlotte is a very prosperous city the banking industry dominates. I was very impressed by all the big and small churches the old brick buildings, magnolia trees and friendly folk (I was mam-ed to death). I went to the Mint Museum my favorite painting was the Black Madonna of Lima, which was on loan from the museum in New Orleans. Because no photography was allowed I spent about 45 minutes sketching her.

I got a new hair do, saw Paula Poundstone, tasted some Charlotte "Uptown" night life, saw street performers brake dance(cool),went to a meeting, bought tons of stuff for everyone epically me, visited a cemetary, got lost... My daughter would not let me pay for anything!!! And I'm not complaining either. It was a good vacation and it was wonderful to see my daughters little family and see her being a wonderful mom doing it all so well family, friends, and career. Yes I'm proud...

Picasso - Sorry you're not alive to see this

Ok, Is it blasphemeous of me to say I just don't like Picasso or am I just showing my cards? But seriously....

A portrait by Pablo Picasso of the woman who influenced him in the late 1930s and early 1940s sold for $95.2 million, the second-highest amount ever paid for a painting at auction, the auction house Sotheby's said.

"Dora Maar au chat," which depicts Picasso's mistress, went to an anonymous buyer in the room who was competing with telephone bidders during Wednesday's auction in New York.

Its selling price ranked second only to another Picasso piece, "Garcon a la pipe," which sold at Sotheby's for more than $104 million in May 2004, the auction house said

There are 3 Million Lakes in Alaska

and I got me one Beverly Lake is the name of mine. This morning I woke up to the sound of ducks out side my window. Sometimes I get reminded just how fortunate I am to live in such a great place and to have in my backyard a beautiful pristine 40 acre lake. The ice is quickly melting and the loons will be back soon. They are very territorial and will chase the ducks and swans off. Their calls are so haunting and beautiful it gives me goosebumps.