It was meant to be

During my trip to Rhode Island I picked up an old local magazine and started fliping thruogh it.  I came across an article about a local artist name Edward Fay.  He was retired from the coast guard, and retired from fishing. He turned to painting and carving out sculptures.  In the his photograph he was a smiling gentleman with white hair holding a wooden whale that he had carved.

When we went day tripping to Newport RI, 95% of the shops were closed for the season except the Armory Antique Marketplace. So of course we went in to check it out. There were beautiful nautical painting in the walls and treasures to be explored. As I walked down one of the isles I couldn't help but notice two small wooden carved whales mounted on  flat stones. I recognized the whales from the article I had read. Then I asked the shop keeper if they were Ed Fay's artwork and she did confirm that they were his.  Then she proceeded to tell me more about his life and showed me all his paintings on the walls as well. It was so touching, I felt a connection with him. I purchased both whales, one for each of my son's that weren't with us on this trip. It was just meant to be

New beginnings and an unexpected trip

So this is how the story goes......
My daughter graduated college in 2017 with a 5 year degree in Architecture. The 5 year plan allows her to take the tests to become a licensed architect right after graduation (as long as she passes the tests). A 4 year degree in architecture only allows a person to become licensed after they go back to school and receive their Masters, unless they spend a long time (years) as an apprentice. I assumed my daughter was going on the path of getting her license as she worked for the firm she is currently employed at. Not so. Never assume anything, it makes oneself an ass for assuming.  My daughter, who had no interest in glass while growing up announced that she wants to get her Masters degree in Glass Blowing!  Wow!!!  What can I say?  Obviously, GO FOR IT!!!

She applied to 3 schools and got in to her 1st choice, Rhode Island School of Design! They only accept an average of 4 graduate students per year for the glass program, and she was one of them. I am very proud of her for following her dreams!

So with this we planned a quick trip to Providence, Rhode Island.  I booked a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment named "Olney the Lonely" through Airbnb, and was not disappointed. The home was built in 1880 and the owner refurbished it in 2017. It was beautiful! I had a favorite spot to sit and drink my coffee in the mornings. It was a nook in the kitchen where I looked out the windows as people passed by walking their dogs, or going to school. People watching isn't common in the subdivision where I currently live in since nobody walks anywhere.

Nook in kitchen

you can't see it from this picture, but there was some left over snow still on the ground in a few spots.

 kitchen

 Dining room

Living room

We arrived late Monday night as our earlier flight got cancelled due to the mandatory grounding of the Max 8 planes. On Tuesday and Wednesday my daughter was shadowing other students in the classes, studios and hot shops so we didn't get to see her during those 2 days.  Meanwhile her boyfriend had come along with us on this trip, so I felt kind of bad that he was stuck with me and my husband for that whole time.  The good thing was that we like him, and he likes us too. 

On Tuesday we pretty much stayed around Providence and absorbed the city.  It was like stepping back in time. The buildings were ornate, the streets were narrow and it was very quaint.  They still had winter hours on most of the shops  11am-5pm.  I did find a used book store that was open, Stages of Freedom and met a very interesting man named Ray Rickman.  He was like a walking encyclopedia of information and was a past Rhode Island State Representative. The bookstore funds swimming lessons for children of color.  I kind of questioned the swimming lessons in my mind because it's sooooo cold in Rhode Island, but when I read his story, I understood why.  You can read it here.  He is a true activist.

On Wednesday, while my daughter was busy we drove to the Newport Car Museum in Portsmouth, RI.  I had a semi private tour, only because I asked the person who was standing watch a bunch of questions.  He happily took me around while my husband and the boyfriend went their separate ways.  I did find out some interesting tidbits about the museum. For one thing, the museum is privately owned by a couple that lives in Newport.  They own 70 cars they showcase. A couple of the 22 ' Cadillac's from the 1950's were involved in their children's weddings. The have a car with pocket doors,1954 Kaiser Darrin that Lucille Ball drove. I won't bore you with a bunch of pictures of expensive cars, but I will share with you my favorite and also the left leg rest chair. For a plastic chair it was very comfortable!

my favorite car

pretty cool chair!

Our next stop was to the town of Newport where all the old HUGE mansions are.  The coast line was beautiful, and 95% of the stores and restaurants were still closed for the season. Season starts April 1st.  I would love to go back in the summer!

On Thursday, when we were supposed to leave to come back home, our flight got cancelled, not once but twice so we decided to extend our vacation and drive to NY and see family. I re-booked the tickets to leave out of NY on Saturday and just prayed they wouldn't cancel. Our extended family lives in Rockaway Beach which is a great place to be in the summer! it was rainy and COLD when we arrived but it cleared up on Friday so we were able to enjoy the day. 

 the new "boardwalk" built after Sandy destroyed the wooden one. 

 the boyfriend, daughter and hubby

my cousin and me

I look forward to the new adventure my daughter will have and hope to visit RI while she is there.

  

From rain to a warm sunny day!

This morning started off with rain and a cool wind.  Now as I look out my office window, the sun is out and it's in the 70's. Too nice to be inside....

This Sunday I'll be turning 50 and of all the birthday's in the past, this one is scaring me a bit. Not the number itself, but my future.  A future of "what do I want to do with my life".  I never thought I would be asking myself that at this age.....  I thought that I would have figured it out by now.   Okay enough of  my self pity party.

I completed the set of 10 4"x4" glass coasters and dropped them off as gifts to all the baristas that work at my favorite coffee shop that I frequent. They have resident cats so I made all of them cat themed. I thought they turned out pretty cute.

Now I am working on my other small project consisting of nine small pieces and each piece will have a specif artwork of its own added to it for the final firing.  This picture shows the arrangement I would like it be but the final firing of these pieces will determine how they are actually put together on the wood.  I ordered a diamond hollow bit to drill a hole into the circles so I can somehow mount them to be able to spin.  not sure if that will work.  In the meantime I am working on the actual designs I want to create on them.

  

    On another note, since I caught up on my work at the office, I went to the San Antonio Public Library website for the list of authors that will be attending the 7th annual book festival on April 6th.

I went through each individual author and looked at their book, and have come up with a list of 19 I would like to see and hear talk about their new books.  5 of the 19 are children's book authors. Even though my kids are grown, there is nothing like a beautifully illustrated and well written children's book! 

Now all I have to do is wait for the calendar to come out and mark the authors accordingly and hope that not many of them cross over times.  There are over 100 authors that will be there!  I look forward to this festival every year!!!

new things on the horizon

I have been a recluse when it comes to my real estate.  I still have 100 small magnet calendars for 2019 that I have not done anything with. I hope to give them out before the 6th month mark of the year goes by!  If you have a PO Box and want one I will be happy to mail one out! I will be doing my 2nd open house this year and hope since it is spring that I get some interested people that I can help.

Meanwhile I have been busy being a recluse in my art studio/library.  I have been enjoying it.  I have also created some little 4"x 4" glass coasters that aren't quite finished yet, some of them need final touch ups, and then they just need one more firing in the kiln. I've created 10 of them for gifts to the baristas at my favorite coffee house.  I go there to escape at least 3 times a week on my lunch break, and it's so comfy and cozy in there that I don't want to leave and go back to work. They have a cat that wanders through named Midnight, and at times she has sat with me as I read my book and sipped on my coffee. So I decided to make the glass coaster's cat themed. 

I am also working on my art project for Say Si, which the invitation came late, and I thought that they did not invite me this year. They had good reason as to why it was late, they are celebrating their 25th year anniversary and moved the auction towards the end of the year to celebrate!  I am making something extra special for this event, and I would like to price this piece of art (for donation) upwards of $300.  I hope it comes out as good , if not better than I envision it in my head! 

                                                                    my cozy library

                                          work in progress-cat coasters