Purple Pepper

We're back from vacation, went to a beautiful wedding in Virginia, a family reunion in Jersey, and climbed a mountain to a gorgeous waterfall (in Virginia). That's the way to get over sitting in a car for hundreds of miles. I like exercise that has a payoff, like that waterfall. I haven't painted in over two weeks, and I am itching to get started. This purple pepper is a small painting that I did just before I left.

A Little Garlic Makes Everything Better

Found these vegetables at the produce market, and thought they would make a nice Impressionist painting; however, this one turned out more realistic than I intended. Oh well. We were going on vacation and I didn’t want to throw the peppers away, so I Googled instructions on freezing them. I got many different answers, including one of the most boring You Tube videos I've ever seen. It took a large rustic gentleman four minutes to say "chop them up and put them in freezer bags."

Several sites recommend laying cut-up peppers on a tray in the freezer for an hour or so, then putting them in freezer bags. I opted for that one. This enables me to continue my tradition: Paint it, then eat it. And if there are scraps, compost them. I try to be At One With Nature.

Frangipani

This is a little 6x6 painting of my new flower. Last year my son-in-law pointed out a seed pod on our pink frangipani (or plumeria, if you wish). He said it might produce a completely different flower than the mother tree, so I planted the seeds and got this unique flower. It is not only a different color, but it's larger in size, and much more fragrant.

For some free watering of our floral delights, I went to a rain barrel workshop the other day, and we are now the proud owners of a big blue barrel. It filled up the first day we had it attached to our gutter. Now we can conveniently water the plants on that side of the house without doing the Big Hose Drag. Next I would like one by my compost bin (I told you I was a tree hugger). Saving money and avoiding the Big Hose Drag--what a great idea.

This little lady is a nice symbol of summer. We were at Sebastian Inlet, which has everything anyone could want: a shallow area for little kids to wade in; an inlet from the ocean; a big pier for fishing and just contemplating the beauty of the place; and the ocean side for surfing. There are hiking trails and camping in the area too, if you can stand the heat. A manatee visited while we were there, where the deep water meets the shallows. That's always a treat. All of this is why we put up with living where it's a kind of Hurricane Crap Shoot every year.
Posted by Carmen Beecher at 9:27 AM