Stay-cation from work.

I did finish the painting, and a few others last week. I took a weeks stay-cation from work. I did get-away for a day trip to Chicago with Jeff and Matthew. We spent the entire day at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was a wonderful day. We took tons of photos. I hope you enjoy them... 

and here is a painting I did the day after we came home...

I also took some photos of flowers and plants for reference. Here are a few of my favorites...

Then it was back to work today... I'm beat... time for bed. 

Getting back to painting

I've been so busy with work that I haven't had time to do much painting... I think there might have been a touch of "artist-block" in the mix too... but this past week I have been able to pick up the brushes and play with some watercolors. The top painting is not finished yet... the bottom one is.

Take me home - RIGHT NOW!

 Poor Odin had to go and have a couple of shots today, he was a brave boy... didn't even make a sound when they injected the medications... which I think means he has a good Vet.... but from the look on his face in these photos, don't you think he was saying he wanted to go home?

Puppy Dog Eyes....

I just love this photo of Odin... he just loves to play with his toys and gets so focused on them, it makes it easy to take a photo of him. I just love his floppy ears, I think he will always look like a puppy... and you have to love those puppy-dog eyes! He doesn't always smile... but he really is a happy puppy!

Life is good.

Again, it's been a long time since I have posted here. Too much work, not enough time to play.

The photos above are from the trade show last month. I won't bore you with all of them, but I did want you to see how beautiful the flower arrangements were that I put together, and to see one of the two Tiki Towers I designed and had in the trade show room. Next year we will do more with our booth at the trade show. I wanted the Tiki Towers to be a part of our booth, but Tim had me move them in front of the booth, more like an entrance inside the room... they looked good, but it took away from the theme I had planned for the booth.

Hi from Odin. Here he is concentrating on his ball. He's a good dog.

He will play ball for hours is you let him. We eventually have to tell him to go lay down.

He loves treats. He will "sit", "lay down", "come here", and "roll over" for treats.

He barks at his reflection in the window, which always seems to happen when Jeff is asleep in his chair, which for some reason, doesn't make Jeff very happy. Odin is also a sock thief, and will chew on anything he can get in his mouth. But I love him. :)

Last but not least is my handsome 21 year old son, sporting his new facial hair... he does look mighty cute with the new hair style his Uncle Scott gave him... yes, life is good.

a young man and his dog...

Here is Matthew, less than a month away from his 21st birthday! I can't believe that I am old enough to have a 21 year old son! Matthew is big into drumming these days, and Odin loves Matthew, so he posed like a good-dog for a photo.

One more semester of college here and then the plan is that Matthew will head back to Michigan State to get his Bachelor Degree... It's been good having him here again, but I know he needs to go and finish up his education. I don't know who will miss Matthew more, me or Odin.

Merry Christmas

I didn't want the day to pass without wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... I hope once the holidays are over, I can find some time to catch up on here.