California to France and Home Again

I am feeling a bit guilty for not updating my blog since I returned home from France. As we all know life has a way of redirecting our time, energy and talents. I am no different.

To start off my husband decided to do a complete kitchen remodel while I was in France. We spent two months making plans. He planned to knock out two walls, move a door, remove two windows... We selected tile for the floors and back splash, counter tops, cabinets, lighting...  he also decided it would be a good time to replace the carpet in the entire house!!! I spent two weeks prior to my trip packing the house.

On June 19th I was off to Paris. I was so excited to spend four days in Paris doing nothing but sketching, eating fine food, sightseeing, relaxing... A girl friend and I had a lovely apartment in the Montmartre region. We  covered a lot of ground in just a few short days. The summer days are long and it doesn't get dark until 10:30 at night. I sketched  during the day and wrote in my travel journal at night. I hope to share these sketches soon.

On Saturday the 23rd it was time to pack-up and catch a flight to the South of France. I spent the next two weeks with a group of people from the U.S. I was the instructor for a watercolor workshop. Every day we packed up our supplies and head out to sketch and paint. The quantity and quality of work the participants did was great! I worked hard too. I was up before 5:30 a.m. and rarely shut my eyes before midnight. During the day my attention was on my students so I had to use the evening to finish my pieces. I hope to share these sketches with you soon.

I returned home from France on July 7th. This is when life got complicated. When my husband picked me up at the airport I noticed his left hand. In his haste to corner one of our cats (the day the carpet was installed) he was bit. His hand instantly swelled and the doctor put him on a antibiotic. It was two days later and I could tell it wasn't working. The next morning he went to urgent care and they put him on a I.V. with a very strong antibiotic. For four days he was hooked up to the I.V. The good news is his hand is looking normal again.

While in France I was blessed with my first granddaughter. Her name is Nevaeh. She is 7 pounds, 13 ounces. I was torn with the news...excited at her arrival but sad I wasn't there to greet her. A short time after I arrived home I got a chance to know her a lot better. She has a 13 month old brother named Joshua. Early one morning I received a call from my son Daniel. Joshua had been in the emergency room since 3:00 a.m. He was being transported to another hospital by ambulance. Little Nevaeh now needed me to care for her. Daniel and Heidi rotated shifts staying with Joshua day and night so he would never be alone. They did a great job! The best news of all is Joshua was released from the hospital. It was a virus that made him so ill. He is gonna be okay!!!

Now back to the kitchen....it is almost finished. It has been 6 weeks since demolition and they are making quick work of it. The guys are downstairs working in the kitchen and it wont be long before I can do dishes in the sink again (instead of the bath tub). The good news is the kitchen is BEAUTIFUL!

I am still unpacking boxes and I imagine this will go on for a while. But my family is safe and sound, I had a wonderful adventure in France and I will soon be back in my studio happily painting away.

Happy Painting!

Brenda