Hey blog heyyyyy. WordPress has done some sort of update and now I can’t SEE the picture as I’m typing the entry, I can only see the hyperlink. BOO HISS. I’m sure I could ransack the help forums to figure out how to change it but will I? Not now anyway. What I THINK the picture above is me in the garage with the Francesca painting, happy that Josh found a box at a bike shop big enough to ship her. I’ve taken her outside and dusted her off and given her one coat of shellac, but she’ll need more. I’ve also developed quite an aversion to spray shellac, which is unfortunate, because for mixed media pieces I basically have to use it. Or suffer consequences (RIP a few paintings that shall not be named…)

Father’s Day! What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man (yes he is!). Here’s Joshy opening his gifts, which included a cake decorating kit. He’s a master pie maker, but why not cake too, eh? Mmmm, cake.

You may have noticed that my website looks a little different. Now the “About Me” is on the first page, followed by “About my art”, and blog third and LAST. Yes, the tiiiiiimes, they are a changiiinnnnnn. I’m slowly removing my children from my online presence.

It’s time-consuming! Considering I spent the last 6 years obsessively documenting them. Mostly on my private IG, but also on my public “art” (ha ha haaaa) IG account, Flickr and this here blog.

I started taking them off my public IG first, followed by my Flickr, and lastly the blog. Some of the pictures of them are already missing, and show up on my computer as a question mark. It’s a little rough-looking.

It’s highly possible that this blog portion of my website will go completely private at some point, Lord knows I’ve kicked around the idea for yeeeeeaaaaaars. I was reading some of the old comments a few weeks ago when I was making changes to the blog. I sometimes miss the real bloggy-blog years, when I would actually get comments, and give comments to other bloggers. Things have changed a lot since I started.

I can’t see the photo above but I’m hoping it’s a pic of my blue nails, along with Brenna and her kids’ nails. We all had a shellac date in Ballard the weekend before our vacations–her family to Japan; our family to the family cabin, where we get to spend a glorious week every year.

I’ve been yumming more! I keep them in my purse now for easy access. Tampons, Burts Bees lip balm, and YUM.

It was the kids’ idea to stop at Larsen’s bakery after the nail date. I bought rainbow frosted cupcakes for the boys (it was still Pride month!) and a massive brownie for myself, which Goo pressured me into finishing. So I did. I was sick, but WOWZA it was good.

Here is some “fing” new, as Goo would say. “Kind of, like a rainbow”–neon acrylic paint and gobs of holographic glitter on a nice sturdy wooden rainbow. Looks great in the sunshine, doesn’t it?

Also this little aqua and purple glitter mushroom-adorned stash box with Mandala lid. I’m having a lot of fun with these little wooden projects, and not taking my art so seriously.

This rainbow birdhouse with glitter roof is another project that I started a while back, dusted off and completed recently and have decided to put in the August show too. Why not?

Before our vacation I had Thai lunch with my former co-worker, Gandhali. She eats traditional Indian food and wanted some advice on heartburn, which I’ve known a lot about since 2019, unfortunately! I ordered fried chicken and steamed vegetables (ironically, I had heartburn that day) and she ordered a medium-spicy noodle dish. I’m pretty sure the employees were snickering at my boring order. Heartburn sucks!

You…betta…work. I don’t work out nearly as often as I should. This was a rare afternoon where I somehow was able to put aside about an hour to do my physical therapy, stretching and maybe a few weights as well, all from the comfort of the living room.

No more Extra sugar-free gum! Not only does it contain plastic (thanks to my MIL for letting me in on that knowledge), but now aspartame is being considered a carcinogen, because OF COURSE IT IS. I always knew that fake sugar was bad, I guess this was the push I needed to finally stop. Siigggh. Werther’s it is, then, like the old woman I am. That new apple-filled flavor is tasty!

And now it’s time for…talking about the cabin week! Here’s our arrival, after a grueling 8 hour car ride. So much traffic going out of town for the 4th of July, as you would expect. I drove for the first couple of hours and then peaced out in the far back of the van, letting my mother have the passenger seat, since her back is worse than mine. I spent a lot of time illegally unbuckled, because my back didn’t like the stiff back seat one bit. My mother’s arms got lightly chewed by Rosie, who is used to having the passenger seat while in the car and wanted up front a LOT.

Would you look at that face though??? LOOK AT HER. She’s going to be the greatest therapy dog some day, I know it.

Hair fluffed and fake tan fresh (I know, it’s disgusting but I’m not quite ready to quit), filter-free and also fancy free. I love going to the lake.

Oh girl, I have so many pictures to post. Back in the days of my daily blogging, I would break up a camping post into several parts. Do I dare say that I will be back to blog more about this trip later? Should I, would I? Let’s find out. See you later, blog.