Some New Colors

Some new colors and tangles I am trying out!

Very different for me but I do like them!

Rocks!

One of the features of our lovely porch is this very weird rock configuration. It is my hope that we can find someone to remove the very large rocks and extend the floor of the porch to the outside wall.  At first I thought that someone had a rock garden or something there but apparently when the building was built in the 80's it was a "feature".  Some feature! I was a little afraid that there would be scorpions under there but I found nothing alive! Just some old buried toys!

Today I decided I could at least remove the smaller rocks and so I built a little border around the front walkway.  I think it looks nice although my cactus plants are a bit small. They really need a small table or another pot upside down or something. I will have a look tomorrow and see what I can find. Just trying to make it feel like home and give it some TLC. I really love my new home.

New Pens!

I couldn't bring too many art supplies with me on the plane to Arizona of course, so I brought my black Sakura Micron pens in an array of point sizes as well as some new pens I am trying by Sakura called Gelly Roll pens. I love these pens so much! Of course the colors in these images are slightly off since I don't have my scanner with me and I am taking photos with my camera.

I have seen many artists use their iPhones for taking pictures of artwork but I have yet to figure it out. I have tried photographing in sunshine and in shade but the pictures have a terrible blue cast or the color is completely blown out.

If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

So there isn't much I miss except my scanner and the rest of my art supplies. Can't go anywhere without those necessities!

In the meantime, I am hiking, swimming and learning my way around my new hood.

I still can't believe I have to leave on Tuesday. I am dreading it and no, this is not just about the weather.

Here are a few more sketches:

That is it for today! Enjoy your day!

We are In!

Last week was completely insane. There were so many ups and downs with the closing that I can't even begin to go into it. I think we live in an age where we get instant gratification all the time. We get used to it. We order something online and it is at our front door the next day. We turn on the TV and we can watch whatever we want to, whenever we want to. Well, I am here to say, home buying just isn't like that. There is no such thing as instant gratification in purchasing a home no matter how good your credit is! There are more things that can go wrong at any given moment that it is mind boggling. There were a couple of days where we thought it just was not going to happen after all. We were on an emotional roller coaster all week. My poor husband was trying to work remotely as well so he was really getting stressed out!

But after all the craziness we did eventually sign the papers and move in. And what a dream come true for us both. First of all the condo is 300 square feet bigger that our condo back in Boston. It has a fabulous porch with ceiling fans. In fact there are ceiling fans in every room! It is so open and airy! Since the weather has been so warm, I have been going swimming every evening at sundown. It is a great time to swim since everyone has left for the day and I get the place to myself.

There are so many varieties of birds and lizards on the property it is quite incredible! Our upstairs neighbor was watering his plants the other day and it was dripping onto our porch. Suddenly there was a humongous Desert Spiny Lizard licking up all the water! It was hilarious! He was so fat! When I lived in Florida we had lizards but they were mostly small and skinny! This guy looked like Godzilla! He was staring at me and I at him. Neither of us moved. Once I was certain he was not a Gila monster I relaxed some!

My husband had to leave on Sunday and I am here alone for another week. And although I do miss him, this is a really great thing for me to be doing. I don't ever get to be alone. Ever. I have spent my entire life taking care of others with very little time to do things by myself. I even cooked lamb burgers for myself tonight since if I cook them at home noses get turned up immediately so that I don't even bother!

I also have an adorable little rental car! Although today I parked it in the grocery store parking lot and when I came out there were about six of them and I couldn't figure out which one was mine! Oh dear!

Warm and Sunny

I still cannot believe that this is my backyard here in Tucson. I have to pinch myself, I really do! This week we attended our very first condo association meeting and I have been meeting some of my very interesting neighbors. One of the reasons we chose this type of condo complex was because we really liked all the amenities but also because it is NOT age restricted. I can't see myself living with people who are all retired. I need the diversity of age groups. Retirees, people who still work, people with kids etc. There are also many vacationers who rent units (which is what we did before we bought). So there are always interesting people coming and going. It is a very unique and interesting mix of people. I like that.

We actually move in tomorrow, so today we are off shopping for a few necessities. Luckily we don't need furniture or anything like that since it came furnished. Although I do need a drawing table and desk for my studio.

My husband leaves on Sunday but I am staying until the week after next. I want to relax and enjoy and get settled in. I really don't want to go back so soon but I already changed my plane ticket once and to do that again would cost too much extra money. As it is I am most likely going to try and come out every few weeks just to check on things and hang out.

The Condo

Well here it is! Tomorrow we close on our Tucson condo! Today we attended our first condo association meeting and met some of our new neighbors. We are excited beyond words. We never imagined we would actually have a place like this to live.

This is the living room. Note the lovely wood burning fireplace.

The dining area adjoining the kitchen

The front porch with ceiling fans for those extra hot days.

This is the front of our building. Ours is the downstairs unit.

One of the pools. There are two.

There is also a tennis court and two hot tubs.

It is like living at a resort.

Seriously.

Getting Ready.....

I can't believe in a few days I will be heading out to the desert to take possession of our new vacation home. It is a dream come true for both of us. To be able to just go whenever we want. No making reservations. Just buy a ticket and go at the last minute. It will be so wonderful for us. We really need a place to escape to. Often.

My husband has to get back the day after we move in to go to work, but I have no where to be so I am staying an extra week to relax, enjoy the house and learn my new neighborhood. I have my GPS ready to go! Tucson is a pretty easy place to get around in but I have never driven there. Whenever we go on vacation, my husband always does the driving. I don't know why really. It just worked out that way. So now I will have to learn my way around!

In the meantime, I am still making plenty of art every day. This is a new pattern and in a few colorways. I am still figuring out pattern making and getting things to look right without too much space between motifs or not enough space. It is like a puzzle.

Once we take possession of the new place, I will post some pictures.

Be back next week blogging from Tucson! Yay!

Many More Zentangle Patterns

A few more patterns I created from Bunzo, Flux and Fescu.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!

Patterns for Spring

Here are some new pattern ideas derived from Zentangle sketches, Bunzo and Flux.

Whether you celebrate Passover or Easter, enjoy the festive weekend everyone.