Saturday and Sunday: The happiness shines through

Saturday my friend Kathy came to Wichita. We had planned to go to the hospital

to visit a friend, but we were too late. The friend had already checked out. Before that, though, we went to Michael's where I snapped a bunch of photos until I realized I had left the memory card at home, even after I remembered to remove it from the computer. What a dufus. And Kathy was SO sweet. We stopped by the house after Michael's and I picked up my memory card.

Because we had spent so much time in Michael's, and then trying to find our friend at the hospital, we managed to work up an appetite. At first we considered eating at the hospital, then opted for a bit of Blarney instead.



Kathy will be lucky for a long time, now!

Inside, I didn't even notice this fish until Kathy pointed it out. It is made from license plates and has lights in it.

She also pointed out the Budweiser Clydesdale horses circling inside the lamp.

OOPS, this is pretty hasty (and out of focus) photography, but I often do that when I catch people in the camera who I don't know.

Sheet music behind glass was located above our heads.

The sandwiches were excellent. Kathy had a reuben and pasta salad,

while I opted for the veggie (with avocado, cucumber, two cheeses, and cream cheese) and broccoli salad.

Isn't Kathy beautiful?

She pointed out the door, so I took an obligatory shot.

The sidewalk was painted the same color as the walls of the restaurant.

The parking lot was very busy, which is a good sign for a restaurant.

At this point, Kathy asked if there was some place I wanted or needed to go while she was in town. I told her no, but I would love to show her the Singer sewing and fabric store in my neighborhood.

Thread, buttons,

and fabric are everywhere in the store. However, I got the feeling the fabric was very traditional, and nothing I would call contemporary. I kept thinking it felt like an old lady's fabric store.

The only fabric I really loved was this with a Halloween and music theme.

Is this the Owl and the Pussycat? Don't ask why, but I saved this at a much higher resolution than any other photo today!

As Kathy checked out, you could see the sun beating down on the store, as well as some of the fabric.

Kathy and the owner talked for awhile, I paid for my purchase, and we left.

Here's what I bought after spending two hours with Kathy at Michael's. Cheap craft paint was on sale, and the foam paint was on clearance, as was the "E." I bought two bottles each of turquoise and black paint, and replaced some of the colors I thought I was nearly out of.

At the fabric store, I bought some "old" buttons. I bought them more for the card they were on than anything else. The "teal" buttons were a gift from Kathy.

What a difference a day makes. Our two-plus week heat wave with triple digit heat was broken yesterday with rain. Wonderful, blessed rain. On my way back to Michael's, I managed a quick shot of the traffic. It seemed like everyone was out and about. So why, you ask did I return to Michael's after just going on Saturday?

Because we got fliers in our sacks telling us that Martha Stewart products (ALL) were on sale at 25% off. And if we made our purchases between 4 and 8 pm, we got an additional 25% off. So, I bought two punches, one was a border punch that is similar to the lacy paper ribbon my friend Patty at Magpie's Nest recently sent me. I also bought a circle punch with a small scallop (already forgot the name), and a set of rocking horse embellishments. They were definitely my impulse buy and the most extravagant thing I purchased. I also bought 8 (count them, 8) pads of watercolor paper that were around $1.00 each. They are student quality, and 90 lb, which is less than my cardstock, but they feel like canvas and since I've never owned watercolor paper before, I am tickled. I also bought one spiral bound pad of very expensive watercolor paper (140 lb and rated professional grade). I spent way more for it even though it was on sale, in addition to the other 25% off. I was tickled, though, because I can practice or create elements on the cheaper watercolor paper and use the best paper for swaps.

Here's a closeup of my punches, the watercolor paper, and some Golden fluid acrylics which were only 25% off, but anytime I can get Golden fluid acrylics at discount, I'm happy. Oh yes, I bought the Rit TEAL dye (see photo above) and found the flower petals in the Michael's parking lot. Can you tell how happy I am?????

Today's blog is probably appropriate for about half the people who visit my blog. It is written by Sue Smith, and the name of the blog is Ancient Artist: Developing an art career after 50. Here is what is on Sue's blog banner: "Sue Smith's Art Blog about: art career advice, oil painting techniques, general art advice, art world news, art philosophy, inspiration and encouragement." There is a wide variety of posts, and I found many of them quite interesting. The subject matter is so varied, it would be difficult to point out just one or two topics. I suggest you check out her blog and see what I mean.