"Basket Kases"

No.  I'm absolutely not being mean.  They gave themselves that name!  April Biggerstaff and Charlene Bitter, that is.  I'm just kinda thinkin',.........well, you can take it up with them if ya really wanna know! 

Okay - truth is, they make gift baskets.  With all the awesome merchandise in their little shop.  "Talented" doesn't quite get it - these ladies just have a knack for making the ordinary special.  Very special! 

Blessed am I to have my artwork on display (and available for purchase) there.  I hadn't been in since I dropped off my inventory a few weeks ago.  My friend, Cindy, told me I really needed to see it - so, obediently, I stopped in.  Check out the beautiful presentation April created!!! Love it, love it, love it!  Don't you??  

Okay - so, it's not just about me.  But, y'all really should check it out.  (2009 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville, Indiana · Phone (812) 491- 9799.)  Their little shop packs a big punch from the street with their window display, only to be upstaged by the menagerie of unique gifts and original art inside.  AND, when in the market for gift giving, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS buy something for YOURSELF!

I know I said it's not about me, but my little 6" X 6" mini oil paintings are a great "one-of-a-kind" personal gift for Mother's Day - or for any other special event!  (FYI - real flowers, beautiful as they are, wither and are thrown in the trash within a week - oil lives forever!!!)  


And, if you don't mind, may I suggest a little "girlfriend" or "mother-daughter" excursion:
     1)  Browse Basket Kases.
     2)  Browse Barefoot Cottage, next door.
     3)  Cross Weinbach and visit UE's art gallery on the corner (Tell Mr. Brown I sent you!)
     4)  Go back across Weinbach and lunch at Coffee Cottage (chicken salad, cornbread  
           salad, salmon sliders - just a few ideas!) and say "hey" to Jill.    And if you have the  
           willpower to pass up the desserts ........
     4)  Step back around the corner and stop in Jeannie's Gelato for some superb "lite ice 
           cream".  (Or have lunch there in the 1st place - salmon soup, tomato bisque, paninis)

THEN

     5)  STOP BACK in BASKET KASES and make your purchase(s) - you know, those items
           you just haven't been able to get out of your mind over lunch :)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

"Entwined for a Time"

“Entwined for a Time”

8" x 24"
SOLD

Having waited for 20 minutes in inclement weather, dressed for sunny and warm, my husband and I grabbed the opportunity when the hostess offered two chairs at the breakfast bar.  Not what we had hoped for, yet we enthusiastically approached our seats.  I quickly realized that I would be sitting shoulder to shoulder with a young lady I had never laid eyes on.  Awkward, I thought, but that uneasy feeling was trumped by my growling stomach and frozen feet. 

Within minutes, Julie initiated conversation.  We limped along for a little while – chatting about routine matters like the weather, the food, and the masses of people.    Then she mentioned why she was in Chicago – just a stopover while job searching.  Prefacing my question with a “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want ”, I rather apologetically asked her if she was a spiritual person.  (I knew we were either “done”, or just getting started.  She was finished eating by then, so she could have made a quick get-away if she wanted!)  And then it got personal.

Turns out, it was just the beginning.  And, because she knows the Lord, total strangers suddenly knew a lot about each other.  Now I know you absolutely cannot wait to hear what we talked about – you want all the juicy details, don’t ya?  Well, that’s between me, and my new BFF.  But, what I will tell you is that we both agreed that it was a “God thing”!  She just so happened to need to hear what God just so happened to equip me to say, not to mention the blessing our meeting had on me.

Our lives are nothing alike – she is at least 35 years younger than moi, is outgoing, and has a passion for animals.  Her lifelong ambition is to work in a zoo, and she’s brave enough to move to another state - alone!  

Polar opposites.  She – from the north (Michigan), and me – from the south.   Next to each other at Tempo on East Chestnut in downtown Chicago.   Indulging in a scrumptious breakfast.  At lunch time.  Today.  And our hearts met and our lives “Entwined for a Time".   (BTW, Julie’s the poppy at the top – the one reflecting the Son  – uh, I mean sun!)

Oh, and prayers answered – she WILL be moving to Nashville for the job of her dreams.  Praise the Lord and congratulations, Julie!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

 plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a futurel”

                                                                                                                   Jeremiah 29:11

“Crucified”

6" X 6" Oil on Canvas Panel

Available

It is when we come to the end of ourselves that we can see Jesus for who He truly is.

 In this somber remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion, let us surrender our lives –

our sins, our failures, our inadequacies, our will – at the foot of the cross.

“For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slave to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”   (Romans 6:6)

IU vs. UK? "A Kentucky Prayer"

"A Kentucky Prayer"

4" X 6" original oil

NFS

Well, the big day has finally arrived.  Before the pairings even came out, there was much talk about the possibility of these two rivals meeting on their way to the coveted Final Four!  And now, it's here.  Lest I step on any toes or burn any bridges with my banter, I have to confess that 5/9's of our family are IU fans - 4/9's are UK fans.  But that's only because they're transplants.  And because you absolutely cannot live in Lexington and NOT be a UK fan - they bleed blue on game days.  It is clear one is from out of town if they are not sporting some form of Kentucky blue - or at the very least, have a flag hanging out your car window!

When dining at a restaurant in Lexington after a disappointing UK loss, my husband, the IU fan, has been known to "play" dumb, and ask the waiter if he knows who won the game - for the sole purpose of just making the poor guy have to say it.   I won't tell you what happens after that :))))

Anyway, (just had to let you know a little bit of what I deal with) I, personally, do wish each team well, BUT thought UK might just need a tad bit of help; thus, the painting above :)

Actually, that is my youngest grandson, JT, who dropped to his knees with hands together when my husband said it was time to pray before dinner.  I kid you not - it was the MOST PRECIOUS thing ever!!!  So, yeah, sure enough I irreverently interrupted the prayer to get my camera and by the time we did the "do-over", you couldn't even bribe him to get on his knees again.  Don't care - still precious.  

You know what the bible says?  Matthew 18:3  states, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  (I think my husband is a shoe-in, based solely on the restaurant escapade, don't you?)  

On a serious note, should we all be so respectfully ready to bow to our Lord, who saves us by grace!   

"Unexpected Beauty"

"Unexpected Beauty”

6" X 6" Oil on Raymar Panel

NFS

When my missionary friend in Africa said she had sent me a photograph that she thought might make a nice painting, I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive (sorry, Barb!)  It’s not that I don’t trust her opinion – ‘cuz she really has good taste.  It’s just that my visual perception of Africa was compiled primarily of the 500 (give or take) pictures my husband and son took on their recent missionary trek there.  Not that those aren’t worthy of canvas– it’s just that none of them are anywhere close to the subject matter or colors I’m used to painting.  

Now, be honest - aren’t you thinking brown (as in hippo, dirt and desert), gray (as in elephant, hut and desert), and ochre (as in giraffe, lion and desert)?

But, faithful friend that I am, I anxiously opened the download and looked.  Surely she must have made a mistake and attached photos from the States instead!  Lush foliage, vibrant botanicals, a purring ‘felix domesticus’, and ………. a charming daffodil yellow home, acces-sorized  with clay pots of fragrant blooms????

Ya gotta love those moments of Unexpected Beauty!  They happen quite frequently really – it’s just that we usually are so focused on what we expect  - our “earth tones” - that we’re not even open to seeing the “color” God places in our paths.   Like the true “cerulean blue” confidante who had merely been an acquaintance before you faced an insurmountable issue.  Or the strength of the primary colors you experience when God empowers you to do something you dread and know you could never do on your own.   How about the “tickled pink” laughter between girlfriends as they help each other find humor when dealing with overwhelming work or family issues.

Just a reminder – start looking :)

“to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in His temple.”

Psalm 27:4


Many thanks to Barb and Doug for supplying the reference photo for this painting!

                                                                                                                                        

"Infini"

“Infini”

6" X 6" Oil on Raymar panel

Available at Ben and Penny's

(on the river behind Cafe Aruzzo)

Newburgh, Indiana

Fini!  The fourth and final piece of my South of France series – I think - well, for now.  We complete our make-believe mini-vacation at a quaint shop in the Eze Village in Eze, France, overlooking the Mediterranean, near Monte Carlo.   Before going on, inhale deeply that fresh sea air – ahh – you have a glorious day ahead of you!

Not knowing what type of shop this is, its name, “Infini”, triggers our imagination to purchase a souvenir from one last boutique - of your choice!  Will you choose French-milled soaps, wine from the local vineyards, or parfum?  Oh, is that a restaurant across the street (Creme Brulee!)……and one down the street (Croquembouche)?

Choices - opportunities we take for granted.  Some come so natural, or habitual, that sometimes we don’t even realize we’re making them.

Are you, by chance, a “Greys Anatomy” fan?   This past week, they aired an unusual episode where all the normal characters had “chosen” differently years ago.  They had selected different career specialties (or drugs instead), and significant others, so that even their resulting personalities were far from the real character.   As I continued to think about it over the days following, I was reminded of a phrase from an old friend,

“Today’s choices are tomorrow’s consequences.”  Really!

Soooooo…..ahem……what are you gonna do today?  Will you step away from the security of the familiar and follow that dream?  A calling from God?   How about lay down a bad habit and start anew?  Do something special for someone?  Or maybe  change your attitude or response to something that has chosen you.   

Whatever you choose – I

 hope you have a day filled with warm sunshine,

even if you have to make your own!

And remember, the possibilities are “Infini”!

My gift to you today – hope you enjoy! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rResKXjKqjQ

Many thanks to Anne Heinrich, the photographer for the reference photos from which the series was painted!  

"Reste dans L'ombre"

"Reste dans L'ombre"

6" X 6" Oil on Raymar Panel

Available at Ben and Penny's
(on the river behind Cafe Aruzzo)
Newburgh, Indiana

The bible study that I have been a part of for a number of years is comprised of 20 amazing women.   As I recorded the prayer requests at a recent meeting,  I was emotionally moved by the significant number of ladies currently dealing with difficult issues.  I’m talking about the gut-punch, take-your-breath-away, drop-to-your-knees, fall-flat-on-your-face kind of situations.  Major life issues with aging parents, wayward children wandering in the darkness, multiple premature familial deaths in a short period of time, family issues resulting in division and long-term anger and bitterness, and _________________________________________________________________

Oh, I could go on, but ‘nuff said.  However, I did leave a “fill-in-the-blank” for you – just in case.

In my quiet time this morning, I ran across a scripture that I hope will give you rest, even tho you may feel like you’re on a leaky raft surrounded by raging rapids threatening to take you under by their strong currents, tempting and taunting to edge away what strength you have left. 

I hope this is not you today.  But, if it is,

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalm 91:1

Look closely - see the bench in the shadow?  That’s for you – take a seat, “dwell” and rest.   He’s got ya covered.


Reference photo from South of France by Anne Heinrich.