Be carefull about what you say!

It all started as a "wouldn't it be fun to" conversation. Last summer we were bemoaning the fact that the big house has sooo many walls that will require dressing. Then we installed all of the art lights. There is a huge problem with art lights that no one mentioned before their installation, they are meant to light...
you guessed it, "Art"! Well now don't that beat all. I don't think posters from Z Gallery count as "Art" so we now have really big problem. That was the moment I was struck with enlightenment, a glow formed around my over taxed brain and I heard my lips moving and uttering a single phrase...

"Art in the Ruins"

Concept; invite artists to mount and show their art in the house for one evening, make an event out of it.
Add fun lighting (clip-ons), free flowing wine, a touch of diva music, and price cards on all of the pieces.
Allow the artists to sell their art to the public and in exchange we would receive a piece of art in lieu of any commissions.  Fun concept that would allow us to gain some art for the walls and at the same time support our artist friends. We laughed about it and moved on.

That was until sometime in mid October. An artist friend approached us and brought up "Art in the Ruins", as he was looking for a venue to sell his art so that he could donate all of the proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project. How can you say no to such a  noble request. A date was set, other artist were contacted and the first "Art in the Ruins" took place on November 18th.

Five artist were advertised and a sixth joined in the last couple of days prior to the event. The post card above was emailed out as a private invitation, and we initially expected forty to fifty guests, but the responses kept rolling in, and in, and in. Two days prior we were prepared for at least one hundred.
However, Thursday November 18th proved all of our expectations wrong when, at seven thirty in the evening we had already gone through one hundred pieces of stemware and a mad dash was made for another hundred. All in all there were over two hundred people in our home and they drank four cases of wine. Seventy Eight pieces of art were displayed, the house survived just fine and the artists sold quite a number of pieces of artwork.

A fantastic evening that really gave us a momentum boost. Would we do it again?
I think so, but perhaps in the spring when the weather is warmer.

The evening was documented by photographer Rick Tang who has graciously allowed me to post the photographs here.

Enjoy!

just two more hours please

There simply are not enough hours in the day. If I were to be elected world leader I would start bay adding two more hours. A twenty six hour day, Sweet! Think of all of the things you could get done in those extra two hours. But I suppose as continuously tired we both are, we would just end up sleeping it away. So I suppose I shall think of a plan "B".

Speaking of B's

As they say, we are "making a Bee Line for home" We have given notice on our rental house and as of January first we have to be able to live in the big house.Which of course means we are working our butts off. Going early, staying late. In order to be able to move in we need a few essentials.
1.  A Kitchen
2.  A bathroom with a shower
3.  Some operable interior doors
4.  Heat

We are not asking for much. The Kitchen is on the move. Masking became the hateful word after we decided to spray the primer coat. Five days of masking. Green frog tape (Love Frog Tape) to seal all of the edges, followed by blue tape to hold the paper and plastics firm. Every edge, inside and out made ready for two coats of shellac based primer. And then Phillip sprayed...

And he sprayed...

And he sprayed...

And sprayed...

And then touched up and filled in with a brush... Nice Costume don't you think?

Soon the counter tops will arrive and we need be ready for them. We are testing paint. Oil base Enamel. We are not testing the color, we are testing the paint. It would seem that you can open a can of paint in the State of California and feed it to your kids for dinner. mmmmm, tasty! Good oil based paints are almost impossible to buy here, and the oil based products that have replaced them are questionable at best. I understand all of the controversy over V.O.C.'s, (volatile organic compounds), but sometimes I think this State has gone too far. It has led us to visit dark corners of mysterious alley's and whisper "pssst" over and over until the contact slithers into view. "psssst, need oil base"?. Where upon palms are rubbed and the elusive illegal paint makes its way to the trunk of the car.

Now we are doing a side by side comparison, and we shall determine which paint has the best look and feel.  Just remember when visiting our home... if you get hungry, don't eat the paint! instead head for the square for a tasty sandwich, as you never will know which paint we chose.

Moments from the recent past...

Halloween came and went and we had a fun and wonderful time. I just did not have a chance to get any pictures up, but here are a couple for fun.

and now, back to our program...

On a final note today I want to introduce you to a new friend of ours. He is long and sleek, a bit to the left, and a bit to the right. Sometimes he goes up, and sometimes down, but we feel strongly that he will always deliver! 

Please meet brand new, Mister Copper Water Main!