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To live and enjoy every day to its fullest, use my gifts to help others, I travel to wherever passion finds me.

What Will She Paint?

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

RAMBLE - Everything But the Kitchen Sink

In the mood for rambling today....
Oh-uh, my big pan just came tumbling down in the middle of that first sentence! Had put it straight upside down after I washed it, but I guess not straight enough. When you buy a different design dish washing rack, I told myself that if you go outside the norm, you "suffer" the consequences. One side of the pan is not round anymore...hopefully hubby can fix it."

After my healthy whole grain sandwich with cheese, I'm now munching on a brownie (it's my dessert! so I'm allowed too, LOL) Yesterday evening I decided to try out our new second hand gas oven with brownies which always turn out well, because if they're too long in the oven, you can say, "O but these are the chewy brownies."

I'm jazzed about our "new" secondhand gas stove/oven, because we got it off of Craigs List. We were able to whittle down the asking price of the owner. It is black and stainless steel, and everything looks new. But...yesterday he saw the same gas stove/oven in a store for more than 3 times as much as we paid for!! I love a sale don't you?

Back to where I was: I keep munching brownies and drinking coffee because I am in the process of "installing" my paintings in the closet hubby redesigned for that purpose. It's a much bigger job than I anticipated, because of all the different sizes. I am putting the title with tape on the side, so that I can easily find it, when I need it for a print of photograph.

Then came the problem of the wooden frames, which will warp in the garage. I like the wooden frames better than the metal ones, even though they are costlier (sigh). Hubby was so kind to give up part of his clothes closet for the solution. What a pal!






A look at my clever custom made painting closet
with room for watercolors, oils, and pastels
of different sizes.



This week, I got a phone call from my brother and my son on the same day.
What is so special about that? They are the two family members who look so much alike in character (not in appearance) that they could be a twin. Only their age is more than thirty years apart. One lives in Holland, and the other lives in China. Because I know my brother very well, I know how to relate to my (adult) son!

This leads me to what a friend once said to me. This friend is a math teacher at a university, and has the straight line thinking and dry humor that math teachers often display. He and his wife have two little daughters. One of them is incredibly artistic. Anything goes with her. One time, her father told me, "Because I know you, I can understand my daughter more easily."
When I asked him what he meant, he responded, "If I hadn't known you as an artist, that would have been very difficult" With that, he meant following all the crazy creative thinking pathways his little daughter follows.


The last time these kids were at my (old) house, they made an "installation" (the art word for a 3-D artwork). When the youngest started cutting the paper, she asked me where to put "it." I looked around, and said "The wall...but only with blue tape." I didn't mind, because blue tape is easy to take off. Sssh, it's a secret between you and me. Not the thing you want to tell parents:)


xoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

22 comments:

Rosie said...

I've enjoyed reading your rambling day post - the brownies sound delicious and your painting storage is super - very accessible, neat and tidy. Lol at the pan - hope you can get rid of the dent easily:)

Irene said...

You've given me a taste for brownies and well organized closets. But mostly for brownies. It's because I must eat. Have you had a hot dog lately? I have been craving one with ketchup and relish. Nice closet!

Unknown said...

Good ramblings Jeannette. I'm green with envy of your canvas closet!

Unknown said...

Sounds like you had fun with blue tape!
Your ramblings are precious, they make me smile.

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for sharing your moving house progress! It's all getting all right, I suppose! Good luck!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

You are going to get fat with all those brownies my friend, but lets face it, home made cookies are HARD to resist. I am looking forward to moving as then I will have a better stove and can start baking agin.

Love the cupboard. It looks ideal for your paintings. When hubby is finished there, please send him over my way. I have lots of things I want done too. LOL!!

I remember when my child used to tease me with a white lie and I would tell him that I knew it was one. He would always laugh and ask me how I knew and I would tell him I could see it in his eye and he never knew if he should believe me or not. The things is you get to know them so well and read every single facial expression. He could never hide anything away from me. :)

DawnTreader said...

I like your closet! Not easy to find a good way to store paintings.

Jeannette StG said...

Rosie,
America is the land of the baking mixes, so I didn't have to do much work there:) I love the closet, and hubby just fixed the pan (what a relief!)

Jeannette StG said...

Jane,
thank you - I am happy with my closet! Once in a while you just have to do a post without much thinking LOL

Jeannette StG said...

Irene,
(Sorry I went out of order with comments) If you like a recipe for brownies from scratch, just say the word and I'll send it to you! Hot dogs? Isn't it funny how we can crave those little things! With me it is hard nougat. Like the sweet relish, but the rest of the hot dog I can miss LOL

Jeannette StG said...

Joey,
Their art work gave me a chance to be a kid too!! Glad you like the rambles - just daily living stuff, but for the person in case, important:)

Jeannette StG said...

Wil,
This house and neighborhood is so different, it will take a while to settle in!

Keep forgetting to respond what you sent me - the people I forwarded the cookie-site too were very excited about it!Thank you, Wil for sending it!

Jeannette StG said...

Joan,
No one can keep me away from brownies, my favorite dessert, because of the chocolate!!

Maybe that would be a way to get hubby over to S.A. -work! since he's a workaholic, he'll may "think about it."

My middle daughter, she would always know, even when she was younger than five,when we would keep a secret from her.
With the others we could LOL

Jeannette StG said...

Dawn Treader,
Yeah, in the previous house I had just a corner where I stacked them -but in this house thee are no such corners:) Do you know that Picasso had one house to live in and one house solely for storing his paintings?

DUTA said...

Your painting closet is impressive and your hubby's skills even more.
It seems you're both blessed by God with talent.

Jeannette StG said...

Duta,
I know I'm spoiled:) His talent besides carpentry is to find practical solutions.

Janelle Goodwin said...

I think I'm going to have to show my husband the picture of your wonderful painting closet (hint, hint). I love it!

DeniseinVA said...

What a lovely closet for your paintings, and I enjoyed your post very much. And how lucky you are that you have a carpenter in the family :) I found it very interesting that you said your brother and son are very alike. My sister's child and I are too. Not a child any more but a grown woman. I was thinking about her today and when I opened up my mail there was a letter from her. It always makes me smile to hear from her.

Jeannette StG said...

Janelle,
Yeah, ask it as a birthday gift, or for Christmas! Just say, I NEED IT:)

Jeannette StG said...

Denise,
Thank you - yes, I count myself lucky not to have to pay an arm and a leg for something like this closet (also it was hubby's idea).

I guess inherited characteristics must be even stronger than social learning (my son was 2 years old when we went to the States and did not see his uncle back till he was about nine years old.
Nice that your sister's daughter keeps in contact with her aunt!

NitWit1 said...

I enjoyed your rambles, as they associate well with my 70+ year old mind and humor!

I dare not cook brownies or anything called 'sweet' as I consume more than my underweight husband.And the"moments on the lips, forever on the hips" is my mode operandi.

Although I have a myriad of long forgotten relatives in your beautiful state I have never visited. About one-half of my adopted father's brothers migrated to CA during WW II for work.

Thanks for visiting my forever rambling blog: Coward's Corner with Luckie.

Jeannette StG said...

Knitwit1.
Life is not fair when we discover that our hubby can eat anything, in any amount and not gain an ounce -I know about that "distress"!

I don't admit it often, but I'm only 10 years behind you, so maybe that's why you can relate to my way of life and thinking LOL
I don't know if it's a typo...but I mean Holland as in "country" in Europe...glad to have gotten acquainted with you:)