Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I'm in Calgary this week, teaching a creativity workshop. This morning I pulled the drapes open at my hotel window and found myself looking at a tree whose branches were piled with snow. The roads look clear, though, and it's supposed to stop and get warmer this afternoon. Meanwhile, back in Dayton it's nearing sixty degrees and the wildflowers are popping.

The workshop is great. The sponsor is Leading Edge Workshops. I've taught several classes for them in the past under different management. The center where classes are held is roomy and well lighted. I wish all workshops had this kind of facility. There are 24 in the class and they're working hard. We had some great collage pieces to critique yesterday afternoon. Today we're doing monotypes, messy but fun.

Spring is elusive this year

I can't honestly remember any year that we didn't have daffodils blooming before the end of March. Unless we have a few warmer days soon, that will be the case this year. The birds are singing their Spring songs, but it's still very cold in the mornings and windy afternoons don't seem as warm as the 50s on the thermometer. Last week's floodwaters have subsided somewhat. We're high enough not to be affected, but had to "drive-arounds" to avoid high water on some roads we normally travel. Easter Sunday was bright and beautiful and we enjoyed having our Little Bits over for the afternoon.

The Monday artists at Hithergreen are selecting their artwork for the exhibition. The last series of lessons on contrasts is showing in their newer work. I can't wait to see it hanging at the center.

I can see clearly now

The rain is gone and this morning was replaced by a thick blanket of fog. I say I can see clearly now because I am reminded of why I am happy living in Ohio. I love fog and rain and snow and sunshine, the changing seasons and weather. I'm blessed to be able to travel here and there throughout the country and enjoy different climates, but I never regret having to come home, regardless of what weather conditions await me. It was lovely being in Florida three weeks ago when the temperature was in the teens in Ohio and, even more so, escaping the blizzard to New Orleans. But now that I'm back, it pleases me to look out at the fog and rain in the woods. Recently I completed a fog painting for the new book and I recalled how much I used to enjoy painting what many think of as dismal weather conditions. I guess we have the gray days so we can fully appreciate the sunny ones.

Bitter cold

Just got bitterer. It went down to 1 degree F last night. Seemed like a good day to hang out at home, so I didn't stick my nose out the door. My editor picked up the color wheel icons this morning. It's so nice to have her willing to do this. Her parents live nearby, so she gets up this way fairly often. I got lots of odds and ends taken care of in the studio, then decided to make my reservations for the Palm Coast, Florida, workshop next month. What a shock! I checked my frequent flyer miles and discovered that a couple of the airlines have deleted my accumulated miles. American denied my password, which has happened before with them. Very annoying. I finally went back to Expedia, which was fast and easy. Delta, here I come again. When I used to do a lot of travel to trade shows, I had a travel agent do my booking. After the Web came into the picture, I discovered that she wasn't getting me the best rates, so I gave up the convenience to save the workshops some money. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the time I spend, since I'm not paying for it. Oh, well. I'd feel guilty doing it that way. Some groups that sponsor workshops are on a tight budget.

Change of pace

Monday afternoon after watercolor class I picked up the Little Artist at daycare and drove her home. I had packed a suitcase, briefcase full of work, and several small totes filled with books in anticipation of staying with her and her mother if the predicted storm materialized. It did and I did. I just got home a short while ago. There were buckets of freezing rain and ice, 8-10 inches of snow, roads closed, schools closed. My car was encased in a block of snow-covered ice. But we were snug as a bug in a rug. Our little four-year-old ran me ragged for two-and-a-half days, upstairs, downstairs, all around the house. We did so much playacting in squeaky voices for the dolls, bears and other animals that I almost lost my voice. Today we made valentines and had a party with the bears. Fortunately, Daddy was able to make it home from Boise this afternoon. It was great fun, but it's early to bed for me tonight.

Sooo cold, so very cold...

Weather doesn't usually bother me that much, but the past few days I've been feeling the cold in my bones. It's probably because we had such a mild December and January up till now and I'm mentally geared for Spring, way too soon. Normally, it gets really cold in November and December, then about now, mid to late January, we have a "January Thaw." Somehow, no matter how cold it gets after that, it doesn't get to me. But it's so cold now--in the single digits at night--that I'm afraid it will last awhile, no matter what the groundhog says on Friday. I think I'm going into hibernation. But wait, I'll be back tomorrow with some notes on Monday's class on watercolor pencils and crayons.