Hooray!!! I finally got some internet...

Well I had thought that I would be able to "blog on the road" but ... the campgrounds that we've stayed at didn't have WiFi or if they did I was too tired. So now I have so many things to tell you about my trip, but today was the highlight. So I'll tell you about today and then talk about the trip.

Today we were close to West Point, Indiana (where my mother's (brother) family was from) and so I called to see if it was convenient to stop. I called Becky to see if she had a phone number and she did. To my surprise, they answered, and it was fine to stop by. I was (I think) about 15-16 the last time I was there, so I was thrilled to see them. Seems like when you get married you don't travel with your family, so you get out of touch. Jack and Vonda looked wonderful and I was so glad to get to visit with them. Jackie, their daughter, came over to their house to see us too. She said her Daddy will be 90 on Saturday. He had been in the hospital recently but he and Vonda looked just like I remember them. We had dinner with Jackie and her husband, Gary and it was really great to share about our families and what's going on with us now. I hope Jackie and Gary will come to see us in Georgia and we can stay in touch. I feel like I found a long lost friend... it was great.

I have put our picture here... we're still those young girls.

Now for the trip... I can't believe that we left Georgia a week ago. We have really had a great trip and we aren't home yet. We left August 5th and went up through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. Some of our highlights; Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, Ky. was a fabulous art center full of original works in art, metal sculptures, pottery and glass. We enjoyed looking at everything and they also had really good icecream. I just loved the "Frog Artist".

Is he not just the cutest thing you've ever seen? I think that he was actually made in copper... reminds me that I have to get working on my copper vine for Terry's gate... he's through and I'm not.

We spent the first night at Oakdale Campground in Quincy, Ohio. It was on the Miami River and when we pulled into register, there was a boat on a trailer pulled up behind us and we had it blocked. Terry was kidding with the park lady and said he'd be glad to move if he could drive the boat. She told him she could arrange it. We all laughed. Terry set up the camper and I cooked our supper. So we were eating our dinner when this man came up in a golf cart with "Cece" his little black poodle and asked us if we'd like to take a boat ride. We were both shocked but said yes. It was a very nice pontoon type boat and we floated down the river and it was really pretty with the sun setting. It reminded me of a wide Okefenokee swamp boat ride we went on last year. Willowy trees and even big wild turkeys were trying to roost in the trees and they didn't like the boat when we'd go by. It was such a wonderful surprise to go on the boat ride. Thanks Lavon.. we really enjoyed it. You meet the nicest people in campgrounds.

The second night we stayed at some "Chinook Club" peoples place that Terry communicated with on the internet. He joined the Chinook website after we got our camper (which is a Chinook). Anyway when he said we were going to Michigan and the Mackinaw Bridge, Toni and Theresa invited us to stop. When we got close and called them, Toni answered with a very British accent. Small world, they are from England and Terry was born there. They live in a lovely place in their Chinook during the summer (Michigan is cool and their children live there) and travel back to their home in Arizona when it starts getting cold. They have a piece of land in a very nice development with golf course, lakes, etc. They are able to "camp" on the site or build a home, but when they leave they cannot leave anything there. They have a large trailor that they've made an office for them and then part is for storage. Their Chinook is beautiful with alot bigger bath and kitchen than ours has. I can't imagine living in mine for 5 months but they love it. We really enjoyed our visit with the too. They have made two trailor spaces on their property, so we were able to use one of them.

This is the famous Mackinaw Bridge... it is a beautiful sight. The mist made it even prettier and it was a little scary when we rode over it.

This was the "destination" for our trip.

Well we keep ambling along and are next night is at the Mill Creek Camp which is on Lake Huron with Mackinaw Bridge to our left and Mackinac Island directly across from us. Very pretty views at this camp. We took a ferry over to the Island and it was just beautiful. There isn't any motorized vehicles on the Island, everything is moved by horse drawn wagons and carriages. People rent bikes at the shops and ride around the island... we walked. It was stormy when we left on the ferry but around lunchtime it stopped raining. A little rain doesn't stop us though.

The shipping is all about what created the Great Lakes and the Soo Locks. We were also able to go and see them. They really are interesting. This was viewed from the island.

This is Terry in front of Doud's Market.. I guess their only grocery store if you live there. All of their supplies are brought to them on the ferrys, plus all of the tourists.

Horses carry everything from people to all of their supplies. They are beautiful draft horses and very well cared for.

More horses and bicycles.

I'm not through yet but it is late and I have to go to bed... Terry said I needed to sleep because we have to travel tomorrow. I've just missed my internet so much. I have discovered some amazing new things with my smart phone though when you're desperate for internet... it will do things I didn't even know about. That will be for another journal.

Take care and Goodnight! Sally...

It's been awhile...

Seems like the summer just arrived but now it's almost gone. The grand kids are starting school, not like we use to after Labor Day, but the first week of August. Just doesn't seem right to me. I was looking back and thought that I would update you on progress in Ellijay.

The garden has been growing great and requiring lots of attention. When you are part-time gardeners it can get away from you very quickly. We have been canning and freezing beans, squash and okra, but to date we still haven't picked a big, red, ripe tomato. I have picked maybe a dozen of the Roma plum tomatoes. My Beefsteak and Better Boy plants haven't even thought about getting red. So we are still waiting to have a good ole tomato sandwich. The gourd plants are starting to climb up the fence and put on gourds, while the sunflowers are starting to bloom. It is the little variety that is blooming first. Hopefully I'll have some big ones bloom a little later. I gave up on the weeds, just couldn't keep up with them at this point. The vegetable plants are strong enough that it doesn't seem to be bothering them now, just doesn't look very pretty.

Terry finished the gate entrance, with help from Michael. He came up and Terry had him laying block and rocking. I think they did a great job. So on my directions now I can't say turn at the rusted red iron gate anymore.

Our Granddaughters came up the first of the week and we had fun with them. They helped in the garden picking beans, squash and okra. I can't believe how they are all growing up so quickly. We also had fun with some art projects. They love riding on the four wheeler and Alex is mastering Michael's little motorcycle now. So I think they had fun too before going back to school. Bailey is the more girly girl and Alex is the tomboy right now.

Terry and I are going to go on another trip in the camper. He's decided he wants to go to Michigan up by the Great Lakes. So we'll be off doing that next. I can't believe how friendly the Chinook campers are. They have a website and he is a member of it. When he mentioned we were going to Michigan some of them have campsites and offered for us to stay there.

Take care until later,

Sally...

Starting a new chapter...

Well Terry and I have started a new chapter in our life... I'm afraid that it is called "Old Age" but I hope not. We've decided that while we can we are going to travel. In order to do this we have bought a small motor home or RV. Our little Chinook is 21 ft. long and has a small kitchen and bath so we will be fully self contained, plus it is fairly economical for a motor home.

We are on our "Shake Down" trip now. We decided to go to Gatlinburg and the Pigeon Forge area of Tennessee, through the smokey mountains. The scenery was really beautiful coming over the mountains. Thought I'd attach a picture of the beautiful vista and also our new toy.

We are having fun... and I guess that is what it's all about. Terry and I are not big shoppers so that isn't what we have come for, but we have managed to buy a few things that we've found we need for the camper. We are in a really nice camping area by Waldon River with all of the utilities, etc. We have taken walks after dinner, looking at the "rigs" that these people have and it is unreal how some of them travel.... real luxury. I think some of the people live year round in their motor homes. We don't plan on doing that... we miss Toby. In the beginning we thought we would take him, but then decided that that wasn't a real good idea. He just wouldn't have enough room, etc. He stays with Pat and Greg and they like to spoil him too.

So, we are doing pretty good with our camping so far. I've only set the smoke alarm off once while I was cooking breakfast! The dishes and pans that I bought so far seem like they are going to be fine... I'm looking for really space saving stuff... all of the bowls nestled one in another and go in the microwave. There isn't alot of room so I have to have it really super organized and I'm not quite there yet.

I am really hoping to become a better plein air painter with this new venture. I painted this morning for about thirty minutes and was pleased, even though I need to make some corrections to it. Those two trees are really the same size, but I do know that I need to make one bigger than the other.

So we've started that new phase and so far I like it.

Take care, Sally... "Along Waldon Stream" 9"X 12" Pastel

Some new Encaustics...

Pond Lilies Abstracted
Encaustic
5" X 7"






















Red Roses
Encaustic
4.5" X 6.5"




















White Flowers Teal Vase
Encaustic
6.5" X 4.5


I've finally gotten to get back to my encaustics. I thought I would do some small florals, they are so much fun to do. This afternoon I did my koi pond waterlilies. One thing about the encaustics is that it frees me to be really loose. You certainly can't be tight with it. I really do love working with the wax, it is so exciting. When you start out you really don't know how it will turn out. As you work the wax might flow and create something really neat that changes everything or the color mixes and does something; you never know what will happen.

It is so hard to photograph the encaustic pieces. The wax either has a glare on it from the texture or else the color fades away. You can never get that beautiful translucency to show. I looked back at the painting of "Winter Trees" that I entered in a show and got rejected, it doesn't even look like the painting and the color is totally washed out. I really need to figure this out.

Finally got to work on my gourd...

Well I wanted to show you all what I finally got to do with my gourd. Remember I had grown gourds last summer in the garden. One gourd that made it; (actually, there are a few more outside but they really don't look too good,) I've been wanting to paint. I liked this one because I managed to save the top of it. I don't know if I'm through or not, I have a surprise that I'm dying to do to it but it could very well ruin it. I'm going to Southern Colours on Friday and see what they think. Terry told me he didn't think he would do it, so I'm waiting to find out what "my artist friends think". Let me know what you think too, it involves cutting into the gourd.


I was finally getting time to do my encaustics so I started out with an impressionistic realistic piece and then moved on to my abstract. As I kept working on it I was starring at the forlorn gourd in front of me... so I decided why not.


I loved the little abstract piece, I call it "Secure" and it is 5" X 7". I guess the gourd is just a "Gourd Rattle Encaustic" for now. That is unless I go on with my plan.


I thought these were really different. Hope you enjoy seeing them. (Forgive the photography.)

You can also check out some of my new paintings on my website.

Sally...

Getting ready with the garden...

Well it actually started at the end of March, early April, getting ready for the garden. Terry started turning the ground over with the tractor when it was still cold. When it warmed up (which was really late this year) he used the tiller to pulverize the dirt and sort of layout the rows. I also started tomato seeds in little tiny peat disks. They did really good and then we had to go on vacation. We took them over to Pat and Greg's porch to be babysat while we were away. I had potted up some of the larger ones in big pots and then alot of them into disposable cups and poked a whole in the bottom for drainage. So when we came home the larger pots had wound up in Greg's box of tomatoes that he has like a cold frame but uses it to keep the rabbits and deer away. They loved the box and had little tomatoes on them. I brought the rest home and got them planted in the garden. The weather was not wonderful for them, especially since we go and come. Right now they are still thin lankey plants and I hope that changes soon. I planted the rest of the little ones and if they don't do I'll have to resort to the garden center for a few more.

We learned from last year a little bit more of what we want to grow and not grow because of the work. As much as I love butter peas we haven't planted any because they are labor intensive. I have planted Christmas Pole Butterbeans in their place. This is a big speckled butter bean... it's pretty I hope it taste good. I have a good variety of plants this year... beets, sugar snap peas, pole beans and Dutch half runners, the usual squash, cucumbers, and okra. Now it just needs to grow.

This year I have expanded the gourds and sunflowers to long rows around the garden. One end is dedicated to all kinds of gourds, we'll see how they do. I planted a big variety of sunflowers since last year I only used the bird seed and they didn't do too good.

I look at the garden and I'm anxious to see how it will look in a month... I'll keep you posted.

Sally...

Vacation time... Rapid City, South Dakota

Vacations are always times that you look forward too, but I'm impatient and really don't like to wait for the day to arrive. So I was quite pleased when we finally decided where we wanted to go and it was all able to fall into place so quickly (only about a week).

Terry wants to go to all of the National Parks and so that helped us to decide to go to Mount Rushmore National Park. We flew into Denver from Atlanta and then took a commuter plane up to Rapid City, South Dakota. Everything was just great and Rapid City is a really neat western city. The pace is much slower than Atlanta has become and a really wonderful relief. There is a park along the Rapid River that runs through town and it is really beautiful with these gorgeous yellow trees along the river. I never did find out what kind of trees they were. I'll try to show you some of the highlights.

First of all is Mount Rushmore, what everyone thinks of when you go to Rapid City, but there is alot more than that. It is a very nice park with trails that you can hike. We are probabaly spoiled with Stone Mountain's carving. Driving by it all of the time, I don't think about all that it took to do the carving. The same man that carved Stone Mountain did Mount Rushmore and Stone Mountain was first. ( Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum 1867–1941.)


The mountain goats have been in the Mount Rushmore park since the beginning. The graze around the bottom areas of grass below the carving. We hiked the trail ( a loop in front of the carving), but you can make special arrangements with the Park and take a hike with the Rangers up to the carving.

The next place we visited was Custer State Park and this is where herds of buffalo are. These two big bulls were almost standing guard. It says corral but the buffalo aren't corralled, they are able to roam free. They are really huge, strong animals that I wouldn't want to get in their way.

We have been to Yellowstone and the buffalo roam free there too, but for some reason I believe these are "wilder". I guess there are not as many people around them. We were lucky to see these buffalos fighting (or playing rough) . We got some really neat pictures of them fighting with the dust coming up. Looks just like the Old West!

The antelope and deer are everywhere too. You will see that one of our main ventures is to capture the animals. I usually will keep a journal and "count of animals" but I was really lazy this time. We saw multitudes of deer, antelope and wild turkeys, prairie dogs and these burros. The burros were wild and lived in the park. I think there job is to harrass the park visitors. They are really moochers and eat whatever you give them, even though you are not to feed the animals. They will also bite you if you don't feed them. The baby's were so cute!

Prairie dogs are also everywhere, they take over areas of the prairie covering it with mounds where they dig out their tunnels. They have "cities" and run from mound to mound playing and making their barking noises.

The exciting animal we spotted was the Big Horn Sheep. There are not alot of them in Custer State Park so we were excited when we found these four by the stream running in the park.

You can see in this picture that this ram was not real happy with us. He was really making some facial expressions to show his disapproval of us making his photograph. They are really beautiful animals. The horns are so neat! The ewes have the small little horns and aren't nearly as large.

Devil's Tower is another really unusual place. Terry says that it was his favorite place. The first picture is on the way to Devil's Tower that is in Wyoming. The snow was blowing and the clouds were fabulous and making that unusual light that peaks in and out of the clouds. When we got to the Tower it was freezing cold with pretty strong winds blowing and the snow flurries hitting you in the face.

Terry decided he wanted to climb the trail to the base of the mountain that circles around the tower. While he did that I got out my art supplies and started some pen and ink along with watercolors. I sat on a park bench bundled up with coat and gloves while I painted. It was really freezing. Finally when I finished my hands and nose were almost numb. I loved doing it though. I did find that the medium I was always afraid of (pen and ink) became something I truly enjoyed. Whenever we would stop for a picture and Terry would walk around. I would get out my pen and ink and draw like crazy till he would come back, usually 5 or 10 minutes at the most. It was a great art exercise that I really want to keep up. Instead of a painting a day, I should at least be able to do a drawing a day. Then maybe after I do this for awhile I can do a painting a day.

Devils Tower (Lakota: Mato Tipila, which means “Bear Tower”) is a monolithic igneous intrusion or volcanic neck located in the Black Hills near Hulett. It is a volcano where the outside of it has eroded away leaving the inside core which are lava tubes. The colors are beautiful in person.

The Needles Highway is another scenic route to take. When we went through this area we also had snow and wind. The views were really beautiful looking out at long vistas of mountains out

to the plains. The mountains are like skinny slabs turned sideways and then they'll have these very small tunnels to go through. I'm sure that some larger cars or campers are unable to make it through.

Spearfish Canyon was a beautiful drive with waterfalls and beautiful vistas.

Badlands National Park was very isolated and bordered the Indian Reservation. It was alot like the "hoodoos" at Bryce National Park.

The trip was really fun and we thoroughly enjoyed all of the different places we went. Terry took me to Deadwood where I gambled just a little, to Sturgis where all the motorcycles go to, and also went to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. We ended with our shopping trip for little things for the grandkids in Rapid City.

I would recommend the trip to any of you that like a more "nature" vacation with lots of beautiful sights to see.... Sally

Plein-aire by the lake in stormy weather...

Yesterday was my day to paint with Southern Colours and we had planned a plein air day at a little park not far from St. Stephens. The weather forecast was severe weather and so most of them were planning to paint at Kudzu since the St. Stephens was having services. A few of us were really wanting to paint outside so I thought I'd see how it was at Briscoe Park under a pavilion... not too bad, but then the weather started looking better and I thought the little park by St. Stephens would probably be okay too.

So we met at the little park to paint. The weather wasn't wonderful but that sort of made the scene more exciting too. When we set up I discovered I had forgotten my easel so I wound up finding a post to sit my box on to paint. Worked out fine in the end but narrowed my view and sometimes that is just what I need.

Here is my start and close to finish. I was using the Mark Hanson limited palette of Rembrant Permanet Red, M.C. Graham Ultramarine Blue and Cad Yellow Light with white. I had never used this before, but the other day Sallie and I went to Binder's (I had birthday money) and we got the special colors we didn't already have. The red is beautiful. So it was a new adventure, new place to paint, new palette of limited colors, and stormy weather! I had a lot of fun and was pleased with my start... needs just a little tweaking here and there.

Have a very blessed Easter with your families! ... Sally

My What a Day! Bitter with the Sweet

I have so many things to tell you today I don't know where to start! First of all.... the big 60 is tomorrow.... the BITTER; but my goodness the SWEET WAS INCREDIBLE!

My sister Becky had a surprise birthday at her home in Gainesville for me. Boy you cannot imagine how shocked I was. I sort of suspected that just maybe she would have my kids and grandkids over and have a family party, but this was a real shocker!

As Terry and I got there, my grandson, Michael was playing ball with Becky's son Alex and grandson Maddox. Just what I thought... a family party which I thought was terrific. So I go into the backdoor and in Becky's kitchen (I think they were singing) bunches of people. I saw Diana, Ron and Beth then realized it was Southern Colours; and other friends and family... a huge crowd. I couldn't believe that they were all there for me! I had a fabulous time with family and such SPECIAL FRIENDS. I got some pretty special presents too, it is pretty SWEET to be 60 and know that people really do care about you. Or was it the food... that was pretty good too and Becky always has everything to perfection. She is a really special sister... wouldn't take anything for her.

I received many beautiful presents that you all shouldn't have done, but they were all wonderful and best of all the cards... they are always wonderful and make you feel so good or are really cute and make you laugh.

I'll have to just tell you about the most unusual one from Carl and Sallie. I got a beautiful piece of copper... to make my morning glory vine! On my previous blog I was talking about the gate that Terry is building and how I want to make a vine, birds and a bird nest to go into the top opening of the gate. In addition to that I got a Sallie Atkins handmade bird's nest made of copper, brass and other wire... it is just beautiful, plus a wonderful poem.

"To Sally with a Y"

I have a friend named Sally

Who simply is the best.

No matter what the challenge,

she tackles it with zest.

Her husband made the framework,

for their new garden gate.

It needed decoration

and Sally couldn't wait.

From many metal pieces,

small leaves and vines she wove.

To add to her creation

Here's a bird's nest made with love.

From Sallie with an ie

So I am still amazed as I went through the beautiful cards again after we got home. You all are really special and I really do care about each one of you! Thank you all so very much for making me feel really special.

Just had to send this picture along to you too... they were just beautiful.

My sister and her green thumb, she gave me a beautiful white rose that I hope loves my mountain house and will thrive up there.

Thank you all again.... Sally

Our New Gate!

We have wanted to make a new gate for a long time. Did you catch the "make"? I am very fortunate that I have been married 41 years to a very talented man. He is always anxious to build something, especially when we can save money doing it.


Terry decided we would finally replace the old red gate (it's laying on the ground on the right) with a new wood/metal gate. He needed a new project and we needed a new gate since the old one was rusting out.

He has been working on a design for a few weeks and so we went to Home Depot last week and purchased the initial materials for him to build with. I like this design best with the upswoop top and we plan to fill the top section with metal vines.... morning glory type. I actually would have loved barbed wire with vines all over, but he is taming me some.

So I thought I would share the progress of the gate. He built it in the basement over a couple of days in the mountains without any help from me. I got to help when he had to hang it... the really hard part is where I'm needed. Worked out really good though it is straight and came together good, but he always does pretty good at what he does.

We still have alot we are going to do to the entrance and gate. The top opening in the gate will have the metal vine that I wanted and we'll have to work on that. The gate will have stone columns on either side and then a fence (like Anderson Creek's but you probably don't know what that looks like) that is black 3 horizontal slats on a 6X6 post. I think we'll either paint the gate black or dark green.

So you'll have to stay tuned to see how the gate takes shape. Right now Toby thinks that we have put him in jail!

From fire to water...

Spring is almost here and the buds are popping out everywhere. This is my bridal wreath spirea that was catching the light through the dew. This reminded me of a poem I'd written a while ago.

Loving

Loving isn't always easy and as we think it ought to be. Sometimes it teaches us and shows us things we don't want to see.

Loving is protecting the ones that we hold dear, yet loving is releasing them so they too can learn to care.

Like sunshine to the wintered branch it slowly starts to grow; buds hidden deep within ... no life for us to see.

But wait and God will rain on it and soon the bud appears, tiny, fragile, full of life but it doesn't stop here.

The sun must keep on shining and not without the rain a beautiful fragrant flower will bloom, evidence our God is near.

Loving can't be put in words it's something you know and feel, trust that when we give our love others will see it's real.

And know that love abounds in God and not in our own strength and through the perfect love of God together we can be.

The bud might still be within the trunk hidden from our view, but winter is almost over the light is shining through. Warming in the love of God, our faith in Him is true.

Alex and his first fire

This is a picture of Alex, my nephew and Becky's oldest son. He decided not too long ago that he would become a volunteer fireman. He lives in Big Canoe in Dawson county so a volunteer fireman is a good thing to do. You don't realize how important they are until you have a place in a rural area where there isn't a fire station close by.

My experience with fires in rural areas happened many years ago after we had our place in Ellijay. We were visiting our neighbors out at the end of our dirt road. Junie and Willard Mooney, at that time, over 50 year old brothers, who were also twins but looked absolutely nothing alike. We were sitting in Willard's front yard talking about gardens and hearing tales of when they were young. Willard's house was an old wooden frame house, just two rooms with a wood burning kitchen stove. All of a sudden we heard a telephone ring, this was a real shock, since we didn't have a phone in the mountains. Willard jumped up to answer the phone and it was another neighbor calling to tell him there was a fire down by the Arnold's house. Our house at that time was the cabin sitting down by the road, we'd go there every Friday evening and return back home to Snellville on Sunday evening. Well we jumped up and took off back to our cabin... hoping that it would not be on fire, worried to death about our dog that we had left inside.

When we got back to the cabin it was all fine, but the field up on Bucktown Road was burning very quickly. The pasture grass that had not been cut was dry and brittle so that the fire was moving along the grassy cleared stretch between the creek and the road towards our front pasture and cabin. You immediately feel a little panic when you see the fire coming towards your property. Kevin, who owned the property next to ours had been burning brush and cleaning up when the fire got away from him. He had driven to the nearest neighbor to call for help. Kevin also didn't live on the property but would just come up to target practice and get away from the City. He didn't have a cabin but would occasionally tent camp at his place. Terry got the tractor and began cutting the edge of the field by our front pasture to knock down the grass so it would not allow the fire to spread as quickly. What was so amazing to us at the time, were all of the volunteers. Neighbors from all over the area began arriving to help put out the fire, along with the old fire truck from the station that was at Big Creek, quite a long ways away. People were beating out the fire with branches and the ground was soon just blackened with the fire all put out.

Times have changed quite a bit since then, 25+ years brings about alot of changes. Now the volunteer firemen go to school and become certified, trained to do that important job of putting out fires. You don't realize how important that is until you are experienceing a fire. Especially in the mountains where the water is pumped out of the creek nearby... not connecting the hose to the nearby fire hydrant.

I look at Alex and I can still see that little boy that would play with my boys... now they are all grown up, turned into men. Work for Alex is computers, software, programming and all of the analytical stuff that goes with it; but who would know that if there is a fire near Big Canoe he will be out there helping to put out the fire and the destruction that goes with it.

Thanks Alex... love your Aunt Sally...