hey you crazy kids!
the school year is racing to an end. i’ll miss the lively group of students at this latest post. in the end it was a nice placement at a lovely little school. i even made an unexpected new friend who told me a few weeks ago that she told her adult daughter, “guess what?! I made a new friend!” kids & adults. we’re not that different are we?
next year i’ll be off to a new assignment with a new group of young punks. let’s see where life takes me.
in the meantime, mike the handyman (MTHM) has replaced the other handyman, who turned out to be an expensive flake, despite the mountains of positive reviews he was given over on nextdoor. do you have that in your neighborhood? i really like it a lot and check in a few times a week to read the latest neighborhood news. i’ve also found other worker bees there that have been excellent, but leo, alas was not one. i think the positive reviews went to his head a bit.
my mess in the top pic is the contents of my closet soon to be linen closet combined with art storage. MTHM is also bracing my peach tree and doing a few other odd jobs that i’ve been putting off.
maybe i’ll have him put a lock on the gate at the bottom of my yard so the peach thief stays away long enough for me to harvest my bounty. thoughts. i’m having them.
OH MY GOUACHE! starts on friday. i’m thoroughly engrossed in work for class, except that it’s play of the very best kind. painting one thing after another.
i’m in the thick of it, but wanted to send you a smoke signal. 2 bluish circles puffing up into the night sky. let me know if you can see them. xo
Hey,
I wanted to try out gouache somewhen soon and rememberred that I saw a post from you about how you prepared your tins with gouache and gum arabic. Now I can’t find it anymore… Can you please help me?
Thank you so much!
I wish I would have the motivation to sketch everyday.
Many lovely greeting from Germany 🙂
So wait a minute…you’re putting BRACES on your PEACHES?!!! I didn’t even know they had TEETH!
Hey! I’m far away friend who is an artist with fabric rather than paint. Hahaha… I can not paint. I have a palette and “good” watercolors, and they just won’t turn themselves to something that my little perfectionist heart can stand to look at. It just doesn’t work.
Those peaches do look good enough to steal, as they are my very most favorite fruit on the planet. I don’t live in LA, though, so you can’t blame me.
Happy Summer!
sending lazy, crazy smoking swirlies your direction. A year ago I was trampjng around Vegas and heading over the hills to LA and I’ve been so wanting to go back, My heart aches to have long miles ahead, wheels spinning on concrete, sites to see as they whiz by, with nothing but adventures ahead. I miss your big, giant, sprawl of a backyard that is LA. Mary Ann. Call me crazy but I fell in love and almost every week I tell the hubby that we need to go, he is pretty ambivalent about LA but does think about the northern end of the coast line around Seattle. Anyhoo, I’ve been doing some serious reminiscing the past couple of days.
Ugh, work men. Luckily I’ve been blessed with trusted folks for stuff DH can’t do. I can’t imagine having to find one I felt I could trust. Glad things have worked out but still going through the process of it all…erg. And I hope your new locking gate keeps your peaches safe. What the heck, anyway. Peach thieves for goodness sake!!!!!!
Wishing you an adventure filled summer, good times galore, much creating, napping as the need arises and getting into whatever mischief presents itself. I’ll be over here, looking over the virtual picket fence, ADMIRING those glorious peaches and hoping you might just turn em into a pie, or maybe create some wonderful cocktail for them to swim in…either way I’ll be just a few web miles away enjoying the view. 😉 🙂 🙂
Oh, I know “Nextdoor” all right…as a matter of fact, in my neighborhood people use it to write that there is an, “unknown black male” walking down the street!!! I live in Gary, IN for God’s sake!!! haha
I miss you, lady! Lots, lots of things happening over here!
check out my website, nataliegaza.com
We just played THE HOUSE OF BLUES!!!! Quitting the teaching game at the end of this month…getting married and sailing away in one of our vintage campers! You need to come and visit us (our other place is in Buchanan, Michigan!)…lots of love to you…and to your amazing brussel sprouts!!!!
Nat
PS-Know how hard it is to find like-mired people in our career game! Congrats on your new friend!!!
Peach thief…yeah. I’ve had an ant-trap thief in my neighborhood, believe it or not.
I like the messy art room. I’m also a fan of Brussels sprouts, although I know I’m in the minority. Cut up and roasted with olive oil and a tad of garlic – it’s an acquired taste, I guess. Anyhow, I like yours and the journal painting – perfect! And I noticed the little cupcake – class prop?
Wow! those peaches look terrific. Peaches are one thing we don’t have here in Mexico, nor plums like we’re used to in the USA. However, for the first time since we bought this house our mango trees are loaded! (see New Gardener, below) In a month or two, I’ll be thinking of ways to preserve them.
I don’t know what the deal is with people recommending dicks-especially when the said dick is going to be working IN YOUR PERSONAL SPACE! We had a gardener come with our house, highly recommended by the previous owners. He killed earthworms by attracting them to a pile of gooey compost and pouring bleach on them. Strike one but understandable if you don’t get the value of earthworms and maybe have them confused with evil worms. He whacked soccer balls that came into my yard with his machete because the kids were “bad”. Strike two, no concessions. We had to wait almost a whole year for strike three but we got him and he’s gone!
We now have darling Jose who is bringing his family over today to swim and show them the hard work he does four days a week for us. We’ve got hamburguesas, fruta and a bottle of tequila and plenty of squirt. That’s the favored Mexican drink here-Squirt con tequila. Our housekeeper is bringing her family, too, though none of them can swim evidently. Wish me luck! My first party.
Friends…boy do I need one. I’m a loner by choice, but I miss not having one gal pal to be with down here. I can talk to my Albuquerque friend on the phone, but it’s just not the same as having someone local. I’ve reached out to a couple of “possibilities”, but no one has clicked. Then you gotta go through that whole “yeah, I reached out to you but you’re just too negative and I really don’t want to be with you seven days a week so I’m hiding” routine. My very best congratulations to you for making a new friend. Yes, indeedy. A rare find.
I didn’t realize you already had Sweden down on the calendar. Next year, Mexico for sure?
Enjoy wallowing in the deliciousness of summer!
xo
i’m coming your way sooner rather than later. looking forward already!
Can’t wait until Friday. Hoping the palette I ordered for class arrives in time – it’s coming from the UK. And ‘Oh My Gouache” what perfect peaches.
See you in class.
you can use fresh until it arrives and the first set of videos delivered on friday the 10th will be bookbinding videos…no gouache until tuesday the 14th!!!
I am so glad you made a new friend! Is she an artist, or will you turn her into one? Not that all friends have to be artists, but it is fun if they are. I can’t believe someone would come into your yard and take your peaches. Well, yes I can…these days. They are the most beautiful fruit, and tasty too! My favorite way to eat them (which I RARELY do for obvious reasons) is sliced with heavy cream and sugar. Decadent!
It has been extremely hot here, so I have been trying to keep my horse cool and keep the baby barn swallows alive, which involves giant fans and hoses. The birds nests are right up against a metal ceiling, so they often go kamikaze and leap out of the nest before they are ready. It is heartbreaking, because the survival rate is about 1%. I take the ones that MIGHT survive to the critter care place. I try very hard to cool things down up there, but it is almost impossible.
I spent some time this weekend going to a local horse show to support my middle offspring showing her gray arabian, (Halo). It was her very first show under saddle, and they managed to qualify for Nationals, which is amazing. She has one more class this morning, and then they are going to get out of there before it gets raging hot outside.
I spent some time the last two days mixing gouache, and feeling somewhat like a mad scientist, concocting all manner of brew. I am very excited for class, but still waiting for some supplies from Blick that are backordered. Hurryhurryhurry!
I can’t wait to see your new shelves all loaded with beautiful journals and books. Will you be celebrating school letting out with a trip? You deserve a get-away! Take me with you!!! Haha! Oh, and, I LOVE Brussels sprouts! Such a cute rendering of them. I trim and halve them, and cook them in a little chicken broth until still firm but tender, and then I drain them and sauté them in butter. Sometimes, I add already cooked crumbled bacon. Tasty treat! Boy, I sure am wordy today…I will stifle it now.
I hope you have a lovely day!
Karen
P.S. After all of that blathering, I forgot to say how much I love the painting of your Italy journal! That is flipping fantastic. The cover looks just like worn leather! The colors are perfect and the lights and shadows…and I want to touch it, and flip through it..IRL.
i always enjoy your wordy missives. i think you need to make a video of your horses and barn and post on youtube so we can see it! i will be staying close to home until i leave for sweden once the “live” portion of class is over and registration has closed. but i’m dreaming of beachwalks. may find a way to escape for a couple of nights…in the meantime i’ve secured my thanksgiving week in santa barbara. found a super cute little place with a hotub that’s close to several of my favorite beaches!
Rootie Toot Toot for those peaches. Holy cow, my canning/jam brain is churning away thinking of all the possibilities! I think I *feel* your smoke signals, because it’s 100 degrees here in Portland, too hot! This Northwest Girl is going to head out while it’s still cool this morning and get a walk in, before I hide in the studio the rest of the day with the AC cranking!
whew!!! that’s too hot. cool weather is my happy place. we’re slowly heating up. july-september will be our a/c time here in LA. thankfully our nights are usually cool and wonderful even in summer. tell me how you make your peach preserves/jam. i usually just peel, chop, add sugar, low boil till they turn darker, pour in jars and keep in fridge. i don’t know how to do the official canning…
Who could resist those peaches? Have you tried leaving a sweet, little message on the tree? Something like…If you don’t steal my peaches, I will offer you some Peach Jam if you come by for a visit. Meanwhile, paint them as much as you can! You could offer them a painting.
Looking forward to the class…I know it will be fun!! Thanks MAM for all your hard work with kids at school and making these great classes.
It’s still flooding down in Texas, and yesterday the wind was blowing so hard it was raining sideways! The mist looked a bit like a smoke signal at one point, yes it did. I’m getting my supplies rounded up and ready for OMG!
Those peaches are gorgeous. I love sliced fresh peaches with raspberries, just the way they are. Of course peach cobbler is really good way down South, or anywhere else for that matter.
Sorry about your handyman experience. Sadly, that happens sometimes. I used to be a fan of Angies list, but after more than one experience that turned out not so well, I got the idea that, in some cases, those good reviews do indeed go to peoples’ heads.
so annoying not to be able to get a decent recommendation on sites that are intended to help with such. i do my part by leaving honest reviews that are not inflated.
my favorite way to eat peaches is standing over my sink or in the yard with fresh peach in hand. THE BEST!
sorry to hear about your floods and last week those soldiers lost in the flash flood 🙁
The peaches look so delicious!- my favorite fruit and they are so pretty and great subjects for painting–but i want to know about that cupcake–it looks like a hostess cupcake but homemade–did it come from a bakery–did you make it?–does it have a cream filling inside? Inquiring minds want to know…
I, too, am most intrigued about the delicious looking cupcake….
and your peaches are gorgeous – perfect peach perfection-
that was indeed from a bakery, or rather a cupcake shop called Yummy Cupcakes in pasadena. it’s called “old school”
soft cream filled deliciousness.
everything you imagine it would be in other words…
Ah that was you! The sunset was blushing tonite overripe with the scent of jasmine and a mild aftertaste of paint. Just like my Chardonnay. Can’t wait until Friday!
The class looks great, but I find I don’t actually DO online classes. Maybe later this year when I retire for reals…I buy them with great intentions, but don’t follow through.
Love all your posts, as usual!
Waiting for Friday, a bit out of practice but oh well! I hope to steal a peach!
Oh bummer. I had forgotten about the peach thief. Wondering if you want to wrap bird netting around the whole tree to make it harder for the thief to abscond with your fruit? Figure it might keep the “honest” thief out, if you make it harder to steal them. Looking forward to Friday!
gawd you’re smart. what an excellent idea! will it keep out the squirrels too? thanks for your continued peach guidance
I see your smoke signals and am answering with my own to you. Mine, however, are a misty, foggy gray, the sort of color one finds here in the PNW. It’s out thing, don’t you know.
Eagerly awaiting Friday. And Gauche. You know I am not a fan of gauche, right? If anyone, ANYONE, can change my mind, it will be you. Keeping an open mind.
XOXOXO
Peaches looking fabulous!!!
A bit tricky to spot the smoke signals in the traditional June Gloom, but yep, just got a glimpse of your message…xox back attcha…