This time of year is crazy for me but I wouldn't trade it for the world! Every year I host my exptended family for Thanksgiving. There are 25 to 30 of us depending on whether the California cousins make it. It's my favorite holiday and includes canoe races, fishing, charades, our (very competative) dictionary game and so much food that by the time I'm typing this blog we are all swearing off turkey and dressing for the year! The festivities start the day before Thanksgiving a

This week didn't go as planned but we all know life seldom does. Instead of sailing to Charleston, something I'd been planning for months, I felt overwhelmed by work and decided to be practical and stick close to home. Maybe because I was giving up a big fun adventure I felt compelled to make it worth the sacrifice and turn up my productivity. It's been a busy week of early mornings, late nights, and trips to Home Depot with paint in my hair. I had several unfinished fresco

During the painful days of my divorce 10 years ago I poured my heart out in words and prayers hidden below surface of my encaustic paintings. My art at that time was inspired by the upheaval in my personal life. In 1986 on the day prior to the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy, I had a strange déjà vu feeling while painting explosions of white on a big sky blue canvas. The next morning I had the same déjà vu feeling as I watched the live television news feeds of Challenger tak