THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

There's something to be said for taking the "road less traveled". I took these pictures yesterday on my 20 mile trip "around the block".


The fall colors were simply beautiful and I knew they wouldn't last.


I'm glad I ventured out because today we've got high winds and pounding rain so the fall foliage may be down sooner than expected.

His Majesty's Gift

Sometimes we learn life's lessons the hard way. See the story of "His Majesty's Gift" here: Communication With Spirit Through Natural Symbolism. "In stillness I hear spirit's voice, not universal clutter." ~ Rev Kathy Graves


Animal augury has helped shape my life and opened my mind to the very real yet somewhat hidden layers of the natural world.

FALL IN THE NJ PINES

Fall has finally come to Southern NJ. We just got our first real frost this past week. I'm not complaining. I held off turning on our heater as long as possible. Here are a few photos from around my neighborhood.

The blueberry bushes are now a red cranberry color.


Here some discarded boxes from picking time are piled up and forgotten in the field.

The dark cedar water reflects the varied colors of the season.

"BRISK SALES IN A CROWD"

Our outdoor festivals have come to an end for 2008. We are exhausted and exhilarated! Here's a picture of Our Three Tent Setup last weekend at the Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth, NJ. We had a very busy two days. It was fun handing out autographed copies of the Show Program, reuniting with old customers and friends as well as making new ones.


I had a nice surprise yesterday morning when I found my reply included in the clickbacks to Robert Genn's Oct. 17th letter, "Lessons from a Turkish Market" . It's got a picture of me standing in front of our booth at one of our fall shows. Bob and Andrew, thanks so much! I especially appreciated the compliment you gave me under the photo too. I didn't get it until I read the comments that followed mine. You are the best!

PRO-CHOICE vs. ANTI-CHOICE

The term "pro-life" is all part of the hype. "It's PRO-CHOICE vs. ANTI-CHOICE". No living creature in its right mind is against "life". - comment from: I am Emily X, a true-life diary of a frontline Planned Parenthood worker and activist.

Because of Planned Parenthood, I never had to face the difficult decision of an unwanted pregnancy or abortion. In my late teens and early twenties, Planned Parenthood was there to insure that I got the birth control, routine tests, health counseling and education I needed. Thanks to all you Planned Parenthood Emily X's out there. Keep up the great work! I'd hate to see the fundamentalist minority ruin decades of progress in women's reproductive rights. If they get their way, women will once again be subject to the "dark ages" and back alleys of family planning. Here's a quote that relates to our present situation that I found a bit humorous; "If we are going to teach creation science as an alternative to evolution, then we should also teach the stork theory as an alternative to biological reproduction." ~ Judith Hayes

From the most recent Emily X blog post - "If you want to reduce the number of abortions in the country, then work with us, not against us. Most of the work we do -- 98% in fact -- is prevention."

Today I Took The Test

The goal of this test is to exactly classify your personal politics, without the traditional labels. They've avoided the edgy party issues and focused on fundamental values. Your score is a measure of what you believe in, economically and socially.

Take the test yourself and see my results below:

The Politics Test Results

You are a Social Liberal (61% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (28% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

CHATSWORTH CRANBERRY FESTIVAL

It's the 25th Annual Chatsworth Cranberry Festival this weekend and the weather's looking grand! Each year I do a cover illustration featuring the famous Jersey Devil. Here's the design I came up with for this year's program book.


Hope to see you in Chatsworth New Jersey, "Capital of the Pines", this weekend!

Pretty In Pink

Princess says she wants to be featured in my web log. What the princess wants,
the princess gets! Here's a shot of her posing by my pink mums.

Cats Are Cool

Our fur baby, Tigger is recovering nicely after his major surgery. It was three weeks ago today. It's amazing how quickly he's healing. His hair is growing back VERY slowly though! Thanks to everyone who's been asking how he's doing!

Kirby's Mill Apple Festival, Medford, NJ

These are pictures of our double - space set up at the Kirby's Mill Apple Festival last Saturday.

I love this show. We've got lots of room to really show off the work.



The weather was great! It went up into the 70's by the early afternoon.


We organized the 100 plus original paintings by subject matter.

We had a great day! I thank all my friends for coming out and showing their support.

IT'S SHOW TIME!

I'm in "SHOW MODE" these days. It's an exciting and hectic time for me.
Here's a picture of me at our booth this past weekend at the Smithville Octoberfest.


My studio walls are bare as the paintings stay packed and ready to meet the world.


Of course, Tommy is a big help with supervising the framing.



Yesterday I got out all my personal hand made Thank You notes to everyone who purchased an original painting.


I also got caught up on all my paper work including setting up new lease/purchase agreements.

I hope to see some of you at my next two shows! Email me for more information!

Saying Goodbye

Sometimes we form attachments to objects that are man made. It could be a car, a piece of clothing, a book, a piece of furniture, etc. My first digital camera, a Nikon CoolPix 880, which I purchased over nine years ago, finally died. We had been through a lot together. With it I archived almost a decade of my work and posted many shots on the internet. We shared numerous occasions and trips, together documenting and preserving many wonderful memories. I still have the box and everything that came with it. I can't bare the thought of trashing it. I feel as though it deserves a proper memorial service and burial although I know that's rediculous. A new smaller, cheaper, more efficient Cannon Power Shot has taken its place and I must admit, I already like it very much.