News For December

It was a busy month in December and the new puppies really kept us hopping. We had forgotten how much mischief new puppies can get into, in a blink of an eye, but overall they are working out really well and are already getting somewhat housetrained, which is a big plus. We are now working on taking walks with a leash and Murray took to it right away, but Elsie is a little fearful of strange sounds as we walk along, so I end up carrying her most of the time. Our Christmas was quiet but lovely with my brother coming over for dinner on the 24th and then we visited with Jim and Nancy for a delicious brunch on Christmas day. We have been painting a little and Allan has finished a new boat painting (left) while I have finished a couple of paintings, one of which is from a photo of the Apache Lake Drive that we took with Jim and Nancy back in November and the other is of a yacht that we saw while in Maine this summer. It is my first boat painting. It was kind of a foggy day with the sun trying to shine through the clouds and I am sure it must have been a yacht that can cross the ocean, it was so big in comparison with some of the other boats that we had seen that day.

December was also the month of being rejected by the Empire 100 show down in Tucson, but we were expecting it because our paintings were really not western, having no cowboys, Indians, or horses. So maybe this year we will try to paint something that might get into the show, that would be fun. Our neighbor did get two paintings into the Empire 100 so she and I traveled down to Tucson to drop them off and had a great lunch at Tohono Chul Gardens as well. This Wednesday we went to the Phoenix Art Museum with Jim and Nancy to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition and while we were there we also saw a LIFESIZE PASTEL PAINTING (right) by William Merritt Chase, one of the American Impressionists who we had seen in several museums back east this summer. What was interesting about this pastel painting was that Chase wet the pastel and applied it with a brush. Some of the detail was remarkable. (Left and Right)

It was another beautiful day here in Phoenix and we all sat outside in the Cafe for a delicious lunch with Allan having the Cubano Sandwich with Garlic Fries, I had a salad with grapefruit, dates, and some kind of radish I had never seen before, but was very beautiful in cross section, Jim had a Chinese Albacore Sandwich with sweet potato salad, which he let everyone have a bite, and Nancy had Hummus with Pita. All in all it was a great start to the new year. For All Of Those Folks Out There who sent us email wishes and/or snail mail cards, thank you very much for wishing us a wonderful holiday season and both Allan and I are hoping that all of our friends and relatives had an equally wonderful December and will have a healthy and secure New Year.