ink and watercolor

OMC—Oh my cod! I'm going to Lisbon

Months ago, deep in the heart of the dark cold winter here in Maine, Lisbon Portugal seemed like a wonderfully warm destination. The Urban Sketching Symposium—three days of sketching with many talented artists in a beautiful city—wow, who could resist! So, I signed up and now it is time. I am on my way to Lisbon for a week of sight-seeing and sketching.
See you in a week.

My kitties have a new home

We are spending more and more time in Bali because of a sustainable seafood project. Looks like it will be going on for the next five years. In January I will be going for six months—my longest time away from my home in the USA. 7 year old Sophie will be going to California to stay with my parents until we can move her to Bali. The move to Indonesia would be much harder on my 13 year old cats, so they have moved to a wonderful old farmhouse not far from here with my good friend Nina.

Bobo, my orange tabby and a dedicated flosser, has had a bit of a hard time with the transition. It seems as though Nina and her kids all have dogs that are easily 4' tall. However, recently he has decided that it is much better lying in the sun at the bay window near the crunchies then under the bed or in a closet with a dog or two between him and his food.

Nothing bothers Jazzy. She settled right in on the first day. Dogs of any size don't even faze her. She will sit on the back of a couch and just watch the dog antics on the floor then get bored and go back to sleep. As long as there is a sunny window with a comfortable place to sleep, she is a happy cat.

Jazzy is a very social cat and loves to be with people. When friends come to visit she is usually in the middle of the party. She is not a small cat and there is not much room once she spreads out. However, the night before I took them to Nina's, I scooched forward and let her share the chair with me while I painted. We all then piled into the bed for one last sleepover.

Nina's home is a good happy place with lots of love and life, however, I think she has drawn the line at letting Bobo floss with her...

Transitions—SOLD

I have lived in Cape Elizabeth Maine for many years and after selling my very old house on a beach, I moved to this sweet little neighborhood called Shore Acres on Trundy Point just down the road in 2004. I bought an old 1959 ranch house and renovated it in a mid-century modern style. New open floor plan, George Nelson lighting and furnished with a collection of mid century modern furniture.
Needing a new project, I sold that house and bought this old rundown 1958 ranch (above) across the street. A real "fixer upper"!!! Another mid-century modern renovation with Eichler triangular windows, retro atomic lighting fixtures and a wonderful modern style garden/courtyard viewed from every window in the house. I sold the house a couple of weeks ago to a wonderful family who wanted a contemporary home. After much negotiation, we settled on a price and it is now theirs. This ends another chapter in my life as I am already into the next one—Bali Indonesia and downtown Portland Maine.

Spring is here

I live in the heart of the city, but the country is just over the bridge. On my way to getting my computer fixed, I passed by nurseries and farms all enjoying a beautiful spring day here in Maine.

Spring is very early this year and everything is blooming like crazy. It is glorious. Beautiful flowering trees including Magnolias are bursting out all over the city.

Forsythia is always the first sign of spring and it is such a vibrant splash of yellow after a long gray winter.


Visiting my parents in California

I grew up just south of San Francisco, near Stanford University. I am 5th generation Californian on my mom's side of the family. My Parents still live in the house that I grew up in. Built in the late 1950's it is in a neighborhood nestled in the hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

This is my father Jim Lawson, 84 years old. Walks two miles a day and goes to the gym to workout with Todd, his personal trainer, three times a week. He is in amazing shape. Every evening he looks forward to watching Jeopardy with a glass of Two Buck Chuck. Always eats an artichoke with his dinner and has for 15 years.

My mom, Jacqueline Lawson is 85, raised three kids through the 60's and 70's. She says it just about did her in. Says her life changed in 1967, which coincidentally was the year I turned 13...HA!

Now her favorite child is a rescue dog named Freddie Brown. A Cockapoo who is the cutest thing on four legs, except for Sophie. Besides walking the dog, she works out at the gym everyday—WOW!

My little brother James. Sometimes it is hard for me not to think of us still as kids. I look across the room and wonder "who is that guy", and think, "wasn't it not so long ago that he was just an annoying little 10 year old kid?"

Here we are, still going strong. It must be all those artichokes! That's me in between my parents, the oldest of three kids.