Time Flies

Oh my gosh....

time flies doesn't it?

So much to talk about

so little time.

Iris in the "front flower bed".

I hope that this blog finds you all healthy, well & happy.

Time continues on whether we are ready 

for it to or not.  

Where do I start this time?  

Let's start at vacation.

  

Al & I decided that we were going to go on vacation this year.  

Because of the nature his business, 

we have to go in the spring or winter.

We chose spring.

I wanted to drive south.
We hadn't been to the mountains.

So, south we went.

This is on the road to our cabin in North Carolina.  About an hour drive from Ashville, NC.

My plan for this trip was that we would stay for a few days in a cabin 
and tour the Biltmore mansion. 
Then we would "bop" down 
to see his sister & nephew in South Carolina 

and finish out 

with three days in Gatlinburg TN.

At the cabin.

I overscheduled just a teeny bit.

Yes, we did it all.
BUT, oh my GOD 

we were tired when we got home.

In my defense

I didn't know that we were going to drive almost to Georgia.

Judy, Al & Michael.  Judy & Michael live in Aiken, SC.  

So...

next year we will return 

and spend a few more days in the 

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area

to catch up on all that we missed.

We will spend MUCH less time in the car.

I plan on making greeting cards/note cards out of the photos 

that I took in the National Park.  
Here are a few samples:

The streams were incredible.

Do we have anything like this in Indiana?

This is going be used in a painting.

The mountains with the clouds and sun were mesmerizing.  

BTW: We bought a mason jar of moonshine, but more on that later. :)

"A jar full of fun"

SO...did that...
And then we came home.
_________________________

I had several senior pictures shoots 
to finish up when I returned from vacation.

I met up with Shelby Bishop at Highland Park for her shoot.

Shelby on the bridge

Shelby closer up

 Shelby and her sisters were just 

tiny little people when I babysat for them. 

It was a nice day for a shoot.  

It doesn't get any better than this. 

Pretty girl...good weather...nice background. 

 A few days later I went out with my niece Johnna to finish up her photos.
She had some definite ideas about what she 
wanted from her final shoot with me. 

The weather was pretty threatening towards the end of the shoot.  
She and I decided to thumb our noses 
at the danger and took these pics:

I missed the lightning...

Johnna is my baby brother's daughter.  I loved that the wind was involved with this.

So now I am ready to start a whole new year of senior pictures.

This is my favorite of Johnna's shots.  I posed her in front of the headboard of a bed that my Grandfather Scott slept in.  I thought the carving was unusual and it had significance to our family history.  The wood tones really made this picture "pop".  Aside from the artistic perspective, when I spent the night as a child in this bed, it was a feather tick.  I love this bed.

For the past few months 
I have been working on a 
commissioned painting that 
really had me stumped. 
 I am glad to say that I have completed and delivered that painting!
Sorry to say I do not have a photo of it with me to post here.  
I promise I will do so in the future.

I have started an animal painting to kind of refresh my soul.
It is making good progress.

OK, what else have I been up to?

Hmmm.

I had an adventure last week with my Great Aunt Pauline.

My Great Uncle Richard Rhine passed on a few months ago.  

He was my Grandmother Scott's last living sibling.

Aunt Pauline called me and asked if I would like to look through a suitcase of old photos and personal items that he had left?  

OH BOY!  You bet I would!

I packed up my scanner, computer, camera & Al and off we went.

Richard Rhine

I love family history.  

I especially love photos from times past.

It promised to be a wonderful morning as we went through the suitcase.

Pauline had the window cracked open and I could hear the birdies in the fence row calling back and forth. 

 Pure heaven.

This is it!

Al came along for company.
 Aunt Pauline said she would get a longer couch before we came again.

Aunt Pauline Rhine & I

I sat my scanner up on the kitchen table and we got started.  
My Aunt is my Uncle Richard's second wife.  
She explained to me that she was unsure of what was in the case, 
but that we would go through it all to see what was there.

Uncle Richard's sons were coming to take 
the contents of the case in just a few days.

Richard & his first wife Faye (Savage) Rhine

Uncle Richard, John Dixon & my dad Joe Scott

This is my Great Grandfather Rhine & uncle Rich.

I love looking at old photos.  There is so much to look at.  

It takes me to another place. 

How about you?  

Cows & history!   Great photo.  I imagine myself taking this picture with the sun on my back and the smells of the farm around me.

Boy these boys look happy, don't they?  It is cousin Stewart & uncle Rich.
Check out the homemade cement mixer.  That is the Walter House bank barn in the background.

My Great Grandparents owned a butcher shop in Lincoln, IN.  That is my Great Grandmother with the crew.  My father was able to name all of these people when I showed this to him.

Isn't this wonderful?  I can only imagine how many man hours this represents.

This is my Great Great Grandparents William & Martha Rhine.
Their son Harry Rhine was my Great Grandfather.

I could (and have) spend hours looking at clothing styles 
and backgrounds in these old pictures. 
Who were they as people?  
How did they live?  
What were their worries & joys?

These were my Great Great Great Grandparents "on the other side of the house"  Nellie (Eckley) House was my Great Great Grandmother.  It amazes me how much she looks like my Grandmother.   

I am so glad that these people took the time to sit for these photos. 
I am also thankful that the photos survived until now.

The Scott side photos were lost in Hurricane Andrew in Florida.

It took us several hours to go through the suitcase.  
We had a wonderful time.
I scanned in well over 120 items.  
I will show you some more in the future.

I guess I just love photos.  

Whether I am taking them, scanning them or collecting their images.

My kids will have quite a "collection" to deal with when my time comes.

What a pictorial history collection they will have.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Have a great day and a good weekend.

See you soon.

Horse poop & whiskers on a colt.

Hangin out at Great Grandma's house.

Hello!
Hey, I'm back!

Hope things are going well with you.

I "missed" the whole month of March.
We have so much to catch up on.
As my mother would say
TIME MARCHES ON.

Yes, it does.
And it's up to us as to how we use it.
That in itself can be a large burden somedays.
It's a lot of responsibility.
Today I am writing this while setting with the Zionsville Gallery.  It is a beautiful sunny day, but a little chilly.
Spring in Indiana....go figure.

I am still working in a medical office four days a week
and it is kicking my butt.
Yes, I know that a LOT of people work a full five (gasp) days a week
and 
they survive...
   
BUT(and that butt is getting smaller)

I am an...
almost 52 year old,
painting,
clay sculpting,
photo shooting,
treadmill walking,
grandbaby loving,
two gallery working,
(did I mention 30lb losing?!),
crazy, bleach blonde woman
WHO WANTS TO HAVE A WORKING STUDIO...

...an example of grandbaby lovin'

IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

Ok, I'm done.

My life is full.

My life is good.

Let's move forward, shall we?

Commissioned piece in progress.
 

I have a few things in progress, painting wise.

I am currently working on this barn.  

It is a little farther along than this, but this is the photo 

that I have with me to post.

I am also working on my North American Series.

Cougar painting in progress.

L is modeling for us today

 The mustache business is going like gangbusters.

I make mustaches on sticks (and now glasses, too) 

and sell them through 

Check this place out of facebook.

Good food.

Nice people.

Cute mustaches on sticks.

_________________________

We had a nice quiet Easter this year.

Since Al & I have augmented our food intake 

(politically correct for dieting)

we opted out of having the big family meal this year.

We had a nice little egg hunt for the two oldest grandchildren.  

It was an adventure to be sure.

Asher had some issues with the concept of hunting for eggs.  

Then he had an issue with eating just the candy from his eggs. 

If Asher had been born an animal I think he would have been a racoon.

He is a true scavenger

in every sense of the word.

This is what a mouth full of M & Ms, foil covered eggs & a few little stones look like. 

I know this photo is huge, but that face is worth it, isn't it?

Of course Leia was very structured about opening her eggs.

My beautiful daughter and her children.

So, Easter was great.

Oh to see the world through a child's eyes.

It is absolutely the best thing on this good earth.

As you may know, I grew up on a farm outside of Russiaville, IN.

And in the springtime we have babies on the farm.  

My folks have been waiting on three mares to foal this Spring.

The first baby came this last Friday. She is a filly.

For those of you out of the farm loop 

a female is a filly 

and 

a male is a colt. 

I wanted to take some pics and meet the new baby, 

so we loaded up the van and drove out to mom and dad's.

We stopped for Happy Meals on the way. 

It was safest to keep your hands away from his mouth.

Again, think racoon.

Checking on Great-Grandma's goldfish.

Here she is!

I will forever cherish this photo.  For several reasons.

 Leia looks a little stricken here for a reason.  

Her G-Granddad had called her into the stall 

and they had sat on a bucket

waiting for the colt to come & see them.  

Leia had never seen a horse defecate before 

and that took place 

about 10 seconds before this photo was shot.  

She looked at her mom and wanted to know what had just happened.  

After she got her answer she asked if they could please move away from it.  Funny stuff.

How did I get this shot?  Why sitting in the straw and horse manure, of course.  

I love whiskers on babies.

She has "frosting".

After our time in the barn baby Evey got to spend some time with her G-Grandma Scott.
She is becoming quite a social little person (Evey, that is).
Evey is about 6 months old now.

_______________________

I have had a few photo shoots in the last month.  

I would like to share just a few of the Farrington shoot.  

It is always so much fun to shoot these kids.

Elizabeth & her mommy

And.......she's outta here

Isn't she great?

Drex was a joy to shoot.  He reminds me of his mom.

I have had a wonderful time catching up on things.  

Remember to support your local artist.
If you don't have one, then I'm always available.
:)

See you again soon.

Sherry