Inch by Inch Art - Bloom

Joining in on Remembering Paris' Inch by Inch Art on Tuesdays = happiness! (and check out the other artists by clicking on the Remembering Paris link above)

Today's theme is Bloom. I have to say it was an easy theme for me. I am a dirt and sunshine girl and have been enjoying watching my garden bloom ever since the snow melted! The large amount of rain we have had in NY the last month has been a drag, but now that the sun is coming out a little bit I am beginning to notice how tall and full my plants are. Not sure I remember a summer when they were bigger. One of the fun things about a blooming garden is the visitors it attracts... I have seen a little humming bird nearly every day for a week now. He seems very happy with how the bee bomb flowers are this year and I couldn't be happier!

So, today I am sharing a Tiger Lily that I sketched and then colored in with acrylics. They are a very simple flower, native to NY, and ranks up there with my favorites (I LOVE burnt orange for reasons you will find out more when college football is closer!) I am still struggling with fitting my art in a 3'' by 3'' space... today's is a hair bigger. Must mean I am a free spirit or have trouble with authority?

Paris, thank you so much for creating this project! It's a wonderful reminder for me to slow down for a moment and spend some time creating, which has turned out to be so relaxing and rewarding! I really look forward to your weekly themes and often spend my weekends dreaming about what I want to create to represent each theme. :)

Big Boy Train

Seeing the biggest steam engine in the US = happiness!

When I tell you this train was big... I am not exaggerating. This is the biggest steam engine in the US. This was one of 25 Big Boy's and was used to haul heavy freight across the US. It was built in 1941. Standing next to it, I felt tiny! It has 4-8-8-4- wheel arrangement and weighs over 1.2 million pounds!

There are only eight remaning trains of this classification. Oh, and did I mention this guy could do almost 80 mph?

Steam Engine

Being around working steam trains... hearing the train honk, seeing the steam, and smelling the coal = happiness!

So, if you guessed Steamtown National Historic Site in Pennsylvania... then you were right.

Their is an amazing collection of all things trains. They have an incredible working turn table. You can ride a real restored steam train and passenger car. They have a TON of vintage train stuff to look at. They have a few restored train cars that you can walk through and touch (including a mail car).

I was seriously in fun overload!

It was sunny out...

So, it was sunny out yesterday and today (finally)... so please forgive the missed posts!

But... to make it up here is a tease of what's to come this week. I went to a really neat National Park with lots of things that made me smile!! Can't wait to share, but in the meanwhile, any thoughts on where this snap is from?

Guessing where a photo might have been taken = happiness! (or at least silly-ness!)

Snake Guy

Seeing things that are out of the ordinary: like this guy wearing his pet snake = happiness!

This is from the archives. It was a few summers ago when Mr. Happy and I went to a Syracuse football opener. Pretty cool town... they are really into their football (which I adore) AND... we saw this guy wearing his pet snake at the local cafe.

He was nice enough to let me snap a photo of him (maybe he gets that request a lot when he is out with his snake). My only regret is not getting the snakes name. So, for argument sake let's call him Jake.

That's what you would name a snake, right?

Dragon on the wall

Seeing cool art where ever you go = happiness!

It's fun to see unexpected things when you are out and about, running errands, or catching up your to do list. The unexpected keeps you guessing and looking about for that next neat thing. Well, this past weekend, I caught a glimpse at this dragon mosaic. I know I have seen it a million times, but it never fails to impress me and make me smile!

What's extraordinary around you?

Lighting Candles

Lighting candles on a birthday cake and then belting out Happy Birthday at the top of your lungs = happiness!

I shared a bit of Mr. Happy's birthday last week and we snapped a few pictures of the event. These came out well and really made me smile. Flame has a simple allure (especially in the dark) ... and how fun is it to belt out a song to the one you love? I don't think I sing well by any means, but I love how my singing made Mr. Happy smile anyway!

Best part, after the candles were all blown out... we got to eat ice cream cake! YUM!

Happy Spot Hump Day

Closing your eyes and imaging yourself at the edge of a lake or decent sized river = happiness!

It's Wednesday and time to think about your happy spot. This is another one of mine! I just the love the lapping sound of a lake against smooth rocks. I swear I could find a nice big rock to sit on and be over joyed just sitting and staring into the water. Of course I think my dog would like it too, but the peacefulness would be turned to laughter as she jumped, played, and wallowed in the water.

Where's your happy spot?

Inch by Inch Art - Courage

Joining in on Remembering Paris' Inch by Inch Art on Tuesdays = happiness! (and check out the other artists by clicking on the Remembering Paris link above)

Today's theme was courage. I sat down a few times this weekend to try and draw something that to me represented courage. No easy task. So, I started looking through my old photo albums for inspiration and found these shots I took from Austin, TX in 2006.

Seeing this sculpture of a lady (in a dress) firing a canon makes be remember how proud I am of the many people before us that fought for our rights and the freedom we have today. Imagine the courage that she must have had!! I bet she didn't even think twice about her personal safety, but simply stepped up and charged forward with what needed to be done. It all shows in the expression on her face!

If I could find a way to incorporate even the smallest fraction of her courage in to my life I wouldn't find the world nearly as tough as I have lately. Let's all try and be as tough as this Canon Lady!

Bruschetta

Trying out a new recipe and spoiling your taste buds with it = happiness!

We were at Olive Garden the other day for lunch and saw that they were charging $10 for a bruschetta appetizer. $10; can you believe it? It was just the push we needed to try and make it at home. It was so easy! You chop the tomatoes, mix in some fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Then put it in the fridge for a few hours. I just love when a new recipe is a keeper! You can bet we will be making this again this summer!

Here is the recipe I followed: click here