Uncle Nickie is back in the hospital with acute heart and kidney failure. He and the family need our prayers, please.

The painting di giorno looks a little too red in the background and too much contrast in the flowers. These are the irises that Danny bought on Sunday, and I knew I wanted to paint them along with the odd egg. So here it is,

"Iris and Odd Egg", 6"x8" oil on deep, gallery wrapped canvas. $50. SOLD

eBay ends tomorrow. There are only a few bids for $9.99, so check it out for some good deals.

Remember, say your prayers. Thanx.

I prepped about a dozen large and small canvases today. Plus started a painting di giorno. It needs at least another day to dry before I can continue working on it.

So I'll post another bunny photo.Silly ears aren't they?

Speaking of which, I had rabbit at the Gramercy Tavern. The dish was a loin and sausage with spaetzle and heirloom cauliflower. Just incredibly tasty.

The six oysters appetizer were delicious and fresh. Jay had the scallops with crispy proscuitto and red cabbage appetizer, which were excellent. His main course was hanger steak with brocoli rabe and grits....outstanding. Everything had a wonderfully deep, rich, well-seasoned flavor. I was impressed and would definitely go back. We ate in the tavern (not the dining room) and the huge masses of flowers, pots of moss and garden accessories everywhere made the atmosphere like being in an enchanted garden.

We shared a pot de creme for dessert and they brought Jay a plate of cookies with Happy Birthday drizzled in chocolate around the rim of the plate.

Our friends Dee and Rich Mattis, owners of the Gryphon Cafe' have been recommending this place to us for years, but we were having a hard time breaking away from Balthazar.

They were right.

When we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sunday I must have forgotten how enormous it was. We spent two hours there and barely scratched the surface. As I mentioned yesterday, it was brutally warm and crowded, so since Jay's leg was bothering him and the heat and crowd were making me cranky, we didn't play our usual museum game of which three would we take home, but I did have a favorite. "Salome' ", by Georges Regnault made any inconvenience or discomfort trivial. It was so exciting to see this amazing work of art. Salome' has attitude to spare, but the glittery textiles and textures are just too much. I wonder how Regnault felt about his painting. You can view this work at The Metropolitan Museum's website

http://www.metmuseum.org/ I also enjoyed Corot's "Curious Little Girl" and Latour's floral paintings. Of course all of the American impressionists were great and as Jay said, "very fresh" compared to the French. I will say that Manet's Young Lady in 1866 is phenomenal also.

The painting di giorno above really looks better in person. The contrast is a little too sharp and the color is off. It's too green. I tried to adjust it in Photoshop, but I was just making it worse. It's bigger, 10"x8", oil on gallery wrapped linen and is priced at $250., framed. The title "Art Glass and Odd Quail Eggs with Milk Glass Stone". SOLD. They were on my glass table. There's so much going in this painting, on not only with all of the colors and "fire" in the art and milk glass, but also in the reflections and shadows. Miles Davis and I believe Bill Evans, are playing "When I Fall in Love". It's very dreamy, or maybe it just the late hour.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABRIELLE! She is my godson Nickie and his wife Leanne's 2 year old (today) truly beautiful little girl. Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Nickie's granddaughter.

We went to NY yesterday--Sunday--for Jay's birthday. We drove and the traffic was good on the way to. We made good time and parked right out front of the Gramercy Tavern. Great luck. We shot right across the street to Bouchon Express, which was like being in a Paris cafe'. It was noisy, crowded, uncomfortable and wonderful. The latte' sent me right back to France. The food was fast and excellent. We got out of there and went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wow, it was just overwhelming. So much to see, so crowded, so big and so unbearably warm, but awesome. More details on all of the paintings tomorrow. When I just couldn't stand the heat, thirst and people bumping into me anymore, we went outside, got drinks and sat on the steps. The sun was like one of my grandchildren giving me a big, wonderful hug. We sat and people watched for a long time, then got a cab uptown to Paul Stuart so Jay could get a hat and a tie for his birthday. He looks damn good in his beautiful straw hat. The tie is gorgeous. Just a perfect combination of colors.

Then we cabbed to the village to stop at a little fragrance boutique called "Aedes". We got Jay a really interesting tea-citrus cologne. More about that tomorrow also. Finally we went to the Gramercy Tavern for dinner. Outstanding dinner...more on that later too. It's just too late to give you all of the details now.

Getting out of New York took over an hour, but we made it home to an amazing snack of a Brazilian Mussels dish prepared by Danny with some Le Bec Fin bread to dip. A huge vase of lovely irises and eucalyptus on the table. Oh man what a treat!

The bidding has begun on a few of the paintings on eBay, so check it out to see if there's a painting that you like and would most likely get for an excellent deal.

I'm working on a painting that needs some drying time, so I'll post a good shot of the airplane ears on one of the bunnies instead.

Finally, I would like to wish the happiest birthday to my wonderful husband Jay, who so deserves it. I love you very much.

OK, I've had it. I'm going to bed.

Hard to believe it's Friday again. I've been out most of the day, but have a painting di giorno for you. The flowers are snowdrops which usually appear in January. It's hard to believe that it's late March and mine are just getting around to blooming. They're a welcome sight just the same.

I painted them with the white quail egg. The vase they are in came from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Really different for me, being metallic, but fun and challenging to paint. It's 6"x8", oil on deep, gallery wrapped canvas, $50. SOLD.

Please remember My Aunt Jeannie and Uncle Nickie, the Komorowskis, Jeanne Welch and Jay Sr. in your prayers this weekend. I'll sign off now, since Miles Davis is playing "Nature Boy" and it's making me sleepy.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Please remember my Uncle Nickie in your prayers. He's taking it tough. I just don't know how my Aunt Jeannie does it. Remember her too please.

I love the painting di giorno. It's titled "Another Odd Egg", it's 10"x8", oil on deep gallery wrapped linen, $350., including free shipping. SOLD

I like painting on fine-grained linen.

One of the quail laid a white egg, it was so shocking to find it. I couldn't wait to paint it with the other quail eggs di giorno.

I also like working on a bigger canvas. I really feel this painting looks much better in person.

I listed eight 7x5 paintings di giorno on eBay.

Search under seller for mamarazzi and click on "sellers other items" and the paintings should come up. If you have any trouble let me know. These could really be a good deal if you're interested. Check it out http://www.ebay.com/

Depending on how well it goes, I may put more on next week after the 8 auctions are finished.

I have an exhibit coming up at the Three Little Pigs Restaurant in West Chester. I'll let you know when ASAP.

Today is Krista's 34th birthday, she's my first born. She is so precious to me. In her honor I'm listening to Bill Evans play "It Might As Well Be Spring".

Sorry, skipped this version of the actual recipe. Sorry. Here it is: Calagenette - Italian Chocolate Stuffed Cookies Mixture 1 lb shelled chestnuts 1/2 lb toasted almonds 1/4 lb citron diced 2 eggs 8 oz sweet honey 8 oz melted chocolate I jigger of whiskey Boil chestnuts until tender. Rinse in cold water and drain. Mix in blender with almonds and citron, when all mixed add all other ingredients. Place in a bowl, mix again. Cover the bowl when mixing is done. Put in fridge over night. The next day remove it when you start the dough. Set it aside covered, until ready to use. Dough 3 1/2 cups sifted flour 1/2 cup muscatel white wine 2 eggs 3 tablespoons oil Make a well with the flour. Blend the wine, oil, and eggs. Pour in the flour, use both hands to knead the dough on floured board, about 10 minutes. Next put dough in a covered bowl to rest about 15 minutes. Take it out and knead again, use your machine (Jeannie's NOTE: Here she means your pasta machine) to make one wide slice at a time. Have your mixture ready. Put 1 tablespoon (of the mixture) at a time 31/2 inches apart, put the other slice on top, then cup your hands and press down on them, cut between them. Use fork prong to press around them. When you finish with them, place them on wax paper. Now use a deep frying pan, use Crisco or oil. Fry until brown. Place on paper towel when done. Springle powder sugar to serve.

It's so nice to finish the day with this blog. Business first. Noah Welch sent me an email to let me know that there will be a benefit for the Komorowskis tomorrow night. Here it is.

From Noah Welch:

Today (march 22), my band, Edge of Nowhere, will be playing a benefit show for the Komorowskis, much thanks to the owner of a coffee shop in West Chester. It's a small venue, but we have fun worshipping God with our music. Please come join us if you are so inclined. Time: 9pm Cost: $5 (there will also be a box for any additional donations that anyone might want to contribute) Venue: Fennario's 111 N. Church Street West Chester, PA 19382 Please pass along to anyone who might be interested...

Please get out there if you can. I'm going to try to go with Jay Jr. and Celeste. Jay Jr. will be home early tomorrow morning from Death Valley and LasVegas early tomorrow morning.

OK, so, now that I did that, I'll give you one more recipe for St. Joseph's Day that Aunt Jeannie found. We Believe that this is the one that you should follow. It is an exact copy of my Grand mom's, spelling and all. The following was sent by my Aunt Jeannie, it's great:

"She did this booklet for me when I asked her to document old family favorites. Asked her to write them down to keep her busy during the day. She was probably 89 or 90 when she transcribed these. Had to laugh as I read over them. Mixed in with the pizzelli, stuffed peppers, biscotti, cannolis, veal scaloppini, roasted chicken, ceci bean soup, Easter bread and fried anchovies, etc are Harvey Wallbanger Cake and Brandy Alexander Pie - I sure as heck do not remember them as a child. She also included her killer recipe for Jewish Apple Cake, which was Uncle Nickie's favorite. Anyway, here goes version #3. It is marked recipe #31 in her little booklet: Calagenette - Italian Chocolate Stuffed Cookies (Spelling is all Jeanette's - perhaps she had a jigger or two while writing. She really took this job seriously and tried to do her best to make her little recipe booklet inclusive. Believe she would get a kick out of seeing her recipes viewed.) Personally, even though I don't like these cookies, prefer partial version #2 - seems to have much more of a kick! Whatever, as I typed the recipe, could almost hear her saying the words …

Now let me ask you, where can you get this kind of stuff, honestly? Family anecdotes are not only important to our history and heritage, but incredibly amusing as well.

OK, the painting di giorno, once again is of the quartz stones, this time with a cobalt blue camphor glass tumbler and a quail egg. I love how I can see and paint every color surrounding these stones. The new quail eggs are so much fun to paint. They're different, yet the same. I think the only reason I realize that is because I study them so much when I paint them. In any case, the painting above is titled, "Cobalt Glass, Quartz Stones and Quail Egg". It's 6"x4" oil on deep, gallery wrapped canvas. $50., framed.

I've been listening to a new CD tonight by Josh Groban. Jay's students, the McKiernans, gave it to him. I'll spare Josh the criticism that he sounds like another famous singer, Andrea, because he's very enjoyable to listen to. Tomorrow I'll remember Wilbur.

Did you know that yesterday was St. Joseph's feast day? Well I sure didn't and my Aunt Jeannie let me know that I dissed him. Sorry.

I haven't been observing feast days for 25 years, so I forgot. One thing that I didn't forget was the chocolate-ceci or chestnut fried ravioli pastry that my grandmom used

to make to celebrate the feast day. My father loved them, I wasn't that crazy about them and either was my Aunt. In any case, here's the recipe from my family archives:

Recipe for Calginetti Abbruzzi #1 (from Jeanette) my grandmother 1lb crushed chestnuts 8 oz unsweetened chocolate 1/4 lb toasted crushed almonds 1 jigger whiskey 16 oz jar honey Mix chocolate with hot water (not watery) - do it slowly. Mix all ingredients together by hand Put in lg bowl, cover, and place in refrigerator overnight Remove when ready to mix dough (next day) 3 cups sifted flour 2 eggs 2 tablespoons of oil 1/2 cup muscatel wine Make a well in center, break in eggs. Add oil, wine. Beat with fork. Bring in your flour, add more if needed. Let it set for awhile under covered bowl. Knead on floured board Cut dough; make into slices wide enough to cover over your filled cookie. NOTE from Aunt Jeannie: Think words are missing here regarding filling the cookies! Before you pinch your dough, press between each cookie, use the side of your hand. Then pinch and cut. When done, let the cookies set on floured wax paper. Fry in Crisco until golden brown. Set on paper towels to drain excess fat. Use deep fryer and change Crisco when it starts to darken. Serve when cold. "Springle" (NOTE from Jeanie-Italian/American for sprinkle) with powdered sugar before serving. Grandmom Caginitti #2 - Canzanese Italiani --NOTE from Aunt Jeannie: Have only partial recipe, but it follows … 2 lbs chestnuts 2 lbs almonds toasted 1 lb citron, candied together with lemon rind 1 lb honey 2 cups sugar 3 oz unsweetened chocolate 6 jiggers of rum Brown almonds - toast in oven 350 degrees. Grind nuts and lemon rind Combine with all other ingredients, mix we Cover and refrigerate overnight, or no longer than 3 days-Continued on other sheet ( NOTE from Aunt Jeannie: Have no idea where it is) Knock yourself out and see if you can come up with a great recipe to honor St. Joseph based on the clues I've given you.

Notice the hint of guilt and punishment here for having dissed St. Joseph. Now the pressure of coming up with a "great" recipe to honor him, based only on clues, is on me.

Not to worry, with all of the alcohol and honey in these recipes, I'm in for a fun time, especially if I partake while making them. I am certain, this is why all of these recipes are only partial or "missing" words! Thanx Aunt Jean, this made me laugh. I know I have a recipe around for these pastries as well. I'll have to find it and see how inebriated my grandmother was when she wrote my copy!

The painting di giorno above is titled "ODD EGG", oil on 6"x4", deep, gallery wrapped canvas,$50. SOLD. The story behind it, that I sort of mentioned last week, is that my oldest quail hen died, but the next day all three of the little girls that hatched a couple of months ago and the next older hen all laid an egg. All of the eggs thus far have had a mix of large and small speckles, but one came out darker and with only tiny specks, hence the title. Thanx also tonight to Beethoven for some of the most beautiful music ever to play on my cd player.

I forgot to wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day. Hope it was very happy. Since Jay teaches until relatively late on Fridays, I finished a green painting di giorno. It's of the quartz stones that Erica got for me and a new subject, a milk glass stone. The milk glass has "fire" in it, which reminds me of opals and the art glass eggs. The fire is what shows here as orange.

It's titled "One Milk Glass Stone and Two Quartz Stones". It is 6"x6" oil on canvas, $50. SOLD. The stones were very challenging, but fun to paint.

Uncle Nickie came home Saturday night. He still needs prayers.

Yesterday we went to Maryland for the March birthdays as I mentioned on Friday. Isabella was adorable...well, all of the grandchildren were.

All of us made something for a southern dinner and it was really, really good. Krista brought some amazing appetizers, Jeanie made the wonderful fried chicken and biscuits, don't tell Jay Jr., but Celeste made really tasty collard greens and I made what I can only call mashed potato salad. I overcooked the potatoes, but the flavor was good. Danny made margaritas and Jeanie made the German chocolate birthday cake. It was all so good.

There is an art show at Church of the Savior coming up soon. I won't be in it this year, but next year I will, along with a couple of other local group shows. A lot less pressure than a one woman show. I'm really looking forward to them.

We headed out to our bible study this morning and turned around and came home because it was sleeting. It's still sleeting. It was supposed to change over to snow this afternoon, but I guess the storm has stalled. It feels strange after the 75 degree weather we had this week. I'm OK with it, it's cozy here in the studio with the woodstove burning and Chopin on the cd player.

Sweet Erica Brown stopped by last night and brought me two polished quartz stones. So I got an egg from the quail pen (more about them another day) and painted them together. I like how the shadows of the stones are transparent too. It felt good to paint an egg again.

Above, on the right we have the painting di giorno titled, "Quartz Stones and Quail Egg", oil on 4"x6", deep, gallery wrapped canvas, $50. SOLD.

We're headed to Maryland for the March birthdays. Isabella is two years old today, Jay Sr. is 56 on the 26th, Krista will be 34 on the 22nd and Jeanie will be 28 on the 31st. Whew, they're really getting old!

My Uncle Nickie is improving and the Komorowskis are moved in with one of their daughters. Their church is doing tons to help them and so is everyone who knows them. Emergency contributions are coming in from all over the place. Thanx so much for your prayers.

Have a fabulous weekend.

One of the reasons that I mentioned the PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE yesterday, is because there's a verse in the bible that talks about writing things down for future generations, so I was thinking that since I don't journal any other way, this is good for that. I'm sure that you can relate to this, especially shortly after someone close to you dies. You so wish that you had more information about their thoughts and daily life, which is why I now feel like I can tell you about my toothache. It started yesterday, so I went to the dentist today and he found a broken tooth and filled it. I left and it was fine for about 4 hours until the novacaine wore off. I've since taken 3 Motrin and it still really hurts. Wonder why? I'll call the dentist again tomorrow.

The painting di giorno as promised, is of three more mangos, "THE THREE AMANGOS #2", oil on 8"x6", deep, gallery wrapped canvas. $50. SOLD

Lastly, my Uncle Nickie is back in the hospital and needs some serious prayers. Please remember him in yours.

Well I've messed something up with this program and am trying to get in touch with Noah to have him help me out with the comments thing. Incredible day-- 75 degrees and sunny, so Jay and I went out to take a walk. Something we haven't done for way too long. Between his arthritic knee and my Lyme disease we're falling apart. Actually, we're doing much better. Jay starts a series of shots in his knee tomorrow. Say a prayer for the Komorowskis. Their house burned to the ground this morning. They were renting. No insurance and they lost just about everything. Jay and I have started a new bible study and we're doing "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE" by Rick Warren. I read it several years ago, but have since forgotten most of it. It really is very valuable. I'm relearning a lot, but now is for sure when I need it most, especially with my father's recent death and the circumstances surrounding it. The UPS man delivered frames today and made the mistake of asking how my dad was doing. The poor guy-- I went on and on and finally told him if he gets sick and needs an advocate to just call me. I will do my best to save his life! I'm sure he's sorry he asked and couldn't wait to hustle out of here! Just when I think I'm getting over it, I get a realization like today, that I'm not. Anyway the book is also helping me put my art into perspective. The "painting di giorno" is titled "THE THREE AMANGOS", sorry, I know it's corny, but I couldn't resist. It's larger than usual, 8"x6", oil, on deep gallery wrapped canvas. $50. SOLD I asked Jay to get some "pretty and interesting" fruit for me to paint and he got these and a huge papaya. The papaya is beautiful inside, but it's almost gone already. Very tasty. I enjoyed painting the mangos and will paint them again tomorrow.

Well the pencil is back, so that you can make comments. Just click on it. Hopefully, it will stay this time. I'll try it after I post this. The little envelope is for emailing any of the blogs to anyone. Great weekend with Jeanie and the grandsons. Yesterday I raked and weeded the garden to get it ready for sweet peas and snow peas and onions. It was also a cleaning spree after Jonah was here for the week. He had better not become a criminal, because he leaves zillions of fingerprints everywhere, albeit, very cute fingerprints. Then Danny brought home a whole, fresh seabass - stuffed and grilled it. Whew! That and the Meyer lemon risotto and asparagus were delicious. I'm just about finished playing with the Meyer lemons for now. The next painting of anything Meyer lemon after today will actually be a glass of the homemade Limoncello. I'm trying to hold out until Easter to crack it open and finish it. We'll see. So the "Painting di Giorno" is a beaker with the Meyer lemon juice and pulp in it, titled "Meyer Lemon Juice with Pulp". 4"x6", oil on deep, gallery wrapped canvas, $50. SOLD. I may change my mind and do more lemons. The first seeds went into the garden today. So exciting. Three kinds of onions, snow peas and sweet peas in assorted colors. Celeste loves sweet peas. Next month the carrots, spinach, swiss chard and some lettuce will go in, along with some herbs. Maybe I'll have an herb walk..private joke. I will also get photos of the bunnies posted this week.

I keep forgetting to tell you that I've edited the blog so that you can leave comments right here. Just click on the pencil to leave a comment. I appreciate your patience with me learning how to work this. Thanx.

Having Jonah here is just too much fun. We need to play, play, play all day. It's not leaving me enough time to finish a painting for the past couple of days, so I'll show you the kind of things that we are doing. This is Jonah. He asked me to take a picture of him making this face. He's here next to me now laughing at this image of him. He laughs so much, which in turn makes me laugh, which is just the best and such a sweet treasure.

Then Amber and Erica came for dinner last night, after which Danny came home from work a little early and he and I discussed the disclosure of the drink "Truth Serum".

So, here it is:

"TRUTH SERUM"

1 part Limoncello straight from the freezer

3 parts excellent quality vodka

1 piece--as big as you dare--of habanero pepper--optional, but so exciting if you can take it.

Alternate OR additional garnish:

fresh mint or lemon zest

Shake vodka in ice and strain into martini glass. Drizzle Limoncello in a circle into vodka and garnish with pepper, mint, lemon zest or all three!

REMEMBER: eat first and/or have a clear conscience with no secrets lurking in the back of your brain before you drink this or be prepared for the consequences. You have been warned.

Armed with that...have a smashing weekend!

Seems like a refreshing, summery combination, snow and Limoncello. Maybe it's because we keep the Limoncello in the freezer and it's so good icey cold. I just had a thought, how incredibly good would Limoncello water-ice be? Or a Limoncello snow cone, or sherbet or gelato? No, maybe the gelato or sherbet wouldn't work because Limoncello doesn't freeze. If you do it before I do let me know how it turns out. We'll have to do that at one of our barbecues. You know that's going to be the best. I'd gather some snow tonight and make a true snow cone, but we're out of Limoncello.

Well it's very cold here, although it was deceiving when you looked outside today. The snow was falling so gently and the atmospheric color was warm, sort of a beigey gray, not a cold, blue gray. It was comforting being indoors and watching it. It's over now. We only got a few inches. Jay and I are going to try taking a ride with Jonah tomorrow to see what we can see, inspiration wise.

The painting di giorno is another from the Let the Limoncello Begin series and it's titled "Limoncello Beginning, " 4"x6" oil on deep, gallery-wrapped canvas, $50. SOLD.

The color of the vodka is infused with the golden warm glow of the practically dissolved lemon peels/zests that are now just a cloud at the bottom. I love this painting. I'm so happy that I did it.

I feel a huge sense of relief and unburdening since we emotionally laid my father to rest on Sunday. I've only once had the experience of not having a funeral or memorial service for a loved one right after they died. It's very un- pleasant. To me it has felt as though my father didn't really die. You know that feeling you get when a person, or even a pet dies and you still think you sense, see or hear them? It's those feelings to the extreme. My sons and I felt almost haunted by my father. We have had dreams about him constantly for the past two months. My son-in-law Derek, lead a very profound and comforting graveside service, during which it snowed heavily, sideways while the sun was out, with at least 30 mph winds...then dark storm clouds, then bright windless sunshine at the end, talk about eerie! I was waiting for Satan to rise out of the ground and tell us to scram! The ending was ivory-colored long-stem roses, malted milk balls and limoncello placed on the grave. My father had very diverse tastes. My mother is buried there also. Back at the house reception, the Italian rum cake with "Ciao Pasquale" and the photo books that my Aunt Jeannie and niece Amy H. brought, were very fitting. Jay and Celeste did all of the cooking and cleaning up. The menu consisted of Roast pork sandwiches, brocoli rabe and some great appetizers, with incredible desserts by my daughter Jeanie. One of which was this amazing chai-ginger cheesecake. Danny made our new, family, signature drink in honor of the event, that we now call "Truth Serum". Wow! If you drink one make sure to eat beforehand and do not have any secrets on your mind because they won't be secrets anymore. If Danny will give me the recipe for the drink I'll post it. Maybe not, it could cause a worldwide event. Finally, the family surprise was not only what the "Truth Serum" uncovered, but my brother Pat flew in from Florida on Saturday and brought immeasurable joy to all. Finally, the painting di giorno is titled "Juiced--Meyer Lemons for Limoncello" 6"x4", oil on deep, gallery-wrapped canvas is $50. SOLD.

Overwhelmingly, this was the pick by all but one. Yes, I confess, that the one was me.

This is a huge stretch for me, since I don't normally paint in this very loose impressionistic style, but I will gladly take your advice. I will soon make a few larger paintings of and similar to this one. I'm excited about it and looking forward to the freedom and fresh approach. This painting has now graduated to a painting di giorno and is titled "PEELED LIMONCELLO LEMONS". It's 6"x6", oil on canvas. $50. SOLD

This morning I had coffee at the Gryphon Cafe' in Wayne with a friend, Elisabeth Braun. She recently returned from Pakistan with some wonderful photos that I got a preview of. She has a great little entry level digital Canon Rebel SLR. I was very impressed with how well the meter handles backlit situations without totally underexposing the foreground. I have her lined up for an exhibit at the Gryphon in 2009. I'm not booking any more shows until after Labor Day, since 2010 is just too far in advance to think about right now. If you are interested in getting on the exhibit schedule, please contact me right after Labor Day. If you snooze, you'll lose, so unless you want to wait untill 2011 let me hear from you then.

Tomorrow I will be bringing in a surprise for my family for my Father's memorial service on Sunday.

Tonight my son Jay had an opening reception for his photography at "The Three Little Pigs" in West Chester, PA. A very nice, big, open venue. Stop by to see his work if you get a chance, or just pop in at his website http://:www.jrcphotography.com/

Great guy and great stuff, if I do say so myself.

We had dinner with Jay and Celeste, Josh Komorowski, Amber and Doug afterwards. A nice first Friday night. Lots more stuff next week. Have a great weekend.

The sale can't be over until Noah can redo all of the figures, etc. from the art. I can't impose on him right now with his Mom just having all of that surgery and coming home from the hospital. So, the sale will just have to continue to whenever he can redo the site. I don't mind at all. The votes are all in and I'll announce the majority tomorrow. Thanx to all who took the time to send feedback. Your interest and input makes this whole process so much more fun. This painitng di giorno, is in keeping with the Let the Limoncello Begin series, titled, "Meyer Lemons for Limoncello and Quail Egg". 6"x4"x almost 1&1/2" deep, oil on gallery wrapped canvas, which means it doesn't need a frame. $50. SOLD. I wonder what it is with me and the quail eggs. A couple of other things; the bunnies are absolutely adorable. We have a final four. I'll try to get some photos for you to see and for me to paint from. I really enjoy painting from life almost every day, but bunnies won't "sit" for me, so this is where photos will get the job done. Finally, I got my pochade box last week and it's wonderful. Not as small as I wanted, but definitely worth the $24., including shipping from Canada. More later.