Southwestminster Dog Show

Far Horizons had its first ever (that I know of) dog show today!  There must have been 40 dogs with their people. I was one of the 5 judges, choosing the best dogs in breed categories (including unknown and mixed breeds), best costume, best tricks, and best personality. The day was splendid, and the best dogs walked off with medals, toys, and treats.

Afterward, they offered hotdog, chips, and drinks for $2, with proceeds going to the humane association. I so love this park, and I am very proud to have been part of this cool activity.

While I realize that I'm not in a good position to have a dog in my life now, I love dogs and will always carry my 4 dogs Alex, Nicky, Penny, and Maddy in my heart. I'm also thinking today about my friends John and MaryAnn and their dear Samantha. Someday I'll have another dog.

Location : E Centrepark Dr, Tucson, AZ 85710,

Action

I think that action movies are just not my genre. I can't remember one that I liked, right off the top of my head, and I surely cannot say I loved the new James Bond movie Skyfall...was that the title? Surely it had its moments-- some humor and charm -- but, for the most part, I found it so tedious, I found myself wishing I were doing just about anything else.

Jack and I went walking this am for something different. Then we had Greg's class, breakfasts, and then it was almost time for lunch! I dragged him shopping for an outfit for me to wear for the variety show and I found something I believe will be funny.

We went to a party for supper and camaraderie, and it was good fun. Thennnnn the action movie. And now bed!

I did no art today. I didn't even turn my computer on.

Location : E Centrepark Dr, Tucson, AZ 85710,

Snow in them thar hills

Yes, there is still snow in the mountains, but it's meltinf quickly off our Tucson rooftops in the 48° sunshine. I know, it's still quite cold, particularly for Tucson in February, but it is what it is. Average high for this date is 69°, so I hold out hopes for a warmup soon!

In honor of the snow, I did this:

It is from scratch using a method that I devised in Photoshop. It's based upon our snowflake cutouts with paper we did as children. I began with a path of a triangle which has a 30° angle, the same as the folded up triangle. Then, to "cut" out the holes, I used the Pen in "subtract" mode. Once I had my triangle "cut," I "unfolded" it, by reflecting it and reproducing it around to complete the circle. For a look at a similar method I developed (using pixels instead of paths -- the difference is minor), see my tutorial at http://myjanee.com/tuts/snow/snow.htm
Today Jack and I went to a presentation on Geocaching! It was really interesting, and the hobby looks like a fun one. We will likely do some of that someday. I know... LOL just what we need: more hobbies!

Snow?

Yes, the weather outside is frightful! We had actual snowfall here in Tucson today-- probably an inch a couple of times. It rained before, between, and after, though, so it didn't get to be 2". It was sticking to cars and cacti, pagodas and palms, but not on the roads. What a freaky winter we're having! I'm going to post art tomorrow that I began today.

Location : E Centrepark Dr, Tucson, AZ 85710,

A is for pAisley

Ok so maybe I'll just post one thing, but it took me much of today to do it. This took a lot of work with paths, custom shapes, and just plain fun:

I was always intrigued by those big artsy capital letters in my story books when I was a kid. I wish I still had one of those books, just to look at those letters. This is kind of a tribute to those letters. I may do more, now that I'm warmed up.

Today was consumed with a) getting a late start; b) doing this bit of alphabetical art; and c) attending the Soup Supper at church. It was good, plenty of food and nice people, but I didn't like the table arrangement. We were lined up like the school cafeteria in elementary school, except that the tables were closer together, so it was hard to walk up to get more soup!

Monday Monday

Today was going to be the day that we sold Jack's cottage. We set up a table in it, did a bit of staging with a tablecloth and simple centerpiece, cleaned some and swept the drive. Our buyers were going to go look at it and we were set to make the deal. But, before they even saw his, they bought another. I still believe it will go, but I so wanted it to be today.

In other news, I worked on some art but just didn't have time to get it done to post. So there we are. I'll put in two things tomorrow.

Location : E Centrepark Dr, Tucson, AZ 85710,

I Heart You

Another beautiful day in paradise. Things go apace. Church was good. Spring calendar is filling up. Jack is working today on finishing up his shed, and it's looking great. Painting was the order of the day, along with burying his electrical conduit. Soon it'll be ready for pictures!

I worked a bit on my presentation that I'll be doing for our Photo Club here on the 23rd. I would have finished, but my perfectionism combined with Word's formatting has me temporarily dogged, so I gave it up for today, and decided to make you a piece of art:

Filters were Ocean Ripple and Colored Pencil, applied to a smattering of hearts that I put into Difference Mode. Oh what fun! :)