Donna's Daily
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AKA: Living in Paradise
email me @ dlong.arts@gmail.com
Travel Logs *Yellowstone and Yosemite*Hawaiian Islands
| October 12th My first Open Studio Art Tour is over. We had a steady flow of people come by the house both days.....but sales were minimal. The weather stayed nice for us and it made me smile to see so many friends come by to support me. This was a great way to get exposure and show off my work to the other guests. So all in all a success. Now to put everything away and prepare for the rush of the holiday season. _________________________________________________________ September 29th Another month almost GONE. I've been doing a lot of painting lately because of the Open Studios Tour coming up next weekend- Oct. 10th and 11th. I have a lot of variety of new work for the show. Some posted on my "recent paintings" page. Hope you come out and say hello. 10-5 pm _________________________________________________________ September 20th This is the month of my birthday and my anniversary. So needless to say, I try to make the most of it. We just came home from a vacation in Kauai. It's always lovely there but this time was exceptional. We went out in a Zodiac snorkel trip and swam with several sea turtles! Then one morning, while watching the sunrise, we happened upon seeing a couple of large Manta Ray's in shallow water right near the shore. No more than 10 feet out, wing tips were flipping and flopping in and out of the water. I think they might have been mating and that was certainly a sight to see! Every day was a new experience making the whole trip more memorable. Wish all of YOU could have been there. __________________________________________________________ September 5 It's been a slow week.....actually brought a chair and sat down at the beach to watch the sun set. It was exceptional with light and dark blue tones in the sky, cloud swirls, reds and pink colors that reflected into the water and then the brilliant ball of the yellow sunset. And then to add to the beauty, we turned around to leave and the moon was right there. It was big and clear and full.... it actually seemed to want to compete with the sunset. I was upset that I didn't have my camera. So the next evening we went out again to see if we could have a second chance at this gift from nature. No way! It wasn't anything like the night before. I had missed capturing a moment in time that had a beauty all it's own and then... it was simply gone. So ending the summer season of frolic and perfect weather, yesterday we went sailing out of Santa Barbara. Something special feeling the power of the sail as it catches the wind. We went with friends, had a gourmet lunch and a relaxing day together. Just lovely. I am still feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin and the soft rhythm of the waves. Labor Day is tomorrow. Time to remind most of us that for the rest of the year, there is work to be done. __________________________________________________________ August 18th Time to get ready for ART shows coming up. I will be at Avila on Labor Day Sunday. And then doing the Open Studio Tours in October. Set up will be at my home and hope to see many of my friends stopping by to see all my latest work. I've been focusing on doing pets and portraits lately. Some new pictures on my "recent painting" page. Also will have my ART displayed at the Clark Center for the months of November and December. Hope you stop by and say hello. __________________________________________________________ July 15 Wow, wow, wow. If you haven't tried riding the Oceano Dunes .....it's a thrilling must-do experience! There is a company that offers rides in a Hummer convertible. Awesome views, massive dunes and a ride that will -literally- take your breath away. Fun. Fun. We just had Bill's whole family out here for a visit. Everything from kayaking in Morro Bay, to tours of the wineries, riding the dunes, the Lake Lopez Water slides, Farmer's Market, Madonna Inn, Avila and Pismo piers, scenic views, the wildlife and beaches....there's just so much to see and do in the beautiful Central Coast. Vacation had by all. ______________________________________________ July 18
Another fun event at the Gala Fund raiser for the upcoming show the "Producers" coming to the Clark Center in August. And another fun hat to wear....this one perfect for the 50's theme. Just time enough now to do house and yard maintenance for our upcoming company later this month. I have the list ready to keep everyone happy and busy for their first visit to this beautiful Central Coast area. Enjoy the magic of the moment. __________________________________________________________ July 6th Still going fast forward with summertime fun. We were at the men's Barbershop International Competition this past weekend. Over 10,000 of the best singers around the world complete with grand costume and stage productions. Amazing! The whole event was timed to end with the 4th of July fireworks. And now off to Bakersfield where our chorus will host the regional event for the Sweet Adeline lady singers. Another whirlwind weekend coming right up. What a gift it is to have singing in our lives. It's a blessing with health benefits. More later..... __________________________________________________________  June 27thWE DID IT. Dressed up like a million dollar trouper.....our chorus certainly did "Put On The Ritz" during our show. I think we are just recovering from the stress, fun and excitement of it all. If you missed it.....you missed a good one. Now on to the men's International Barbershop Competition in LAX. The fun never ends. Oh....in-between, I have done a few new paintings. Please check it out on the recent painting page. Enjoy. And have a great 4th of July weekend. Celebrate and eat BBQ and cake! __________________________________________________________ June 7th June is busting out all over......but still waiting for some sunshine days. I was up in Monterey this past weekend for an Art Show. I managed to hit a glorious day in-between clouds and showers earlier in the week. But not to complain, all the plants need the gift of more rain. Don't forget Father's Day coming up next Sunday!!! And our show is coming up the following Saturday....June 27th. PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ is sure to be great entertainment for all. Tickets available at the Clark Center. More after all the excitement slows down. Happy days to you. __________________________________________________________ May 23rd Memorial Day weekend was a success at the Strawberry Festival. I had several orders to paint pets and sold two large paintings. Since none of my work is reproduced, I feel personally attached to each one and sometimes it's bitter- sweet to see them go. I still get great pleasure knowing that when people buy an oil painting, they do so from their heart and know it's something special. Today is Memorial Monday. Bill is out singing with his chorus at a memorial service. Planes fly over, flags are everywhere and many honor those who died for our freedom. Singing in their white tuxedo finest, the chorus is very inspirational. Please remember to save the date for our upcoming show at the Clark Center. Details below. And do click on that web site to hear the wonderful sound that you'll hear at our show. Please email me for tickets or more information. __________________________________________________________________ May 15 OMG summer days do keep me busy. Mother's Day was wonderful. I had my first Art show and another coming up at the Strawberry Festival on the 23rd. Our chorus is also singing there around 2:00, so hope to see some friends in the audience. Memorial Day will certainly begin summer time fun for all. New paintings on my "recent painting" page. And that's about it for this entry. If you click on this web site below, you can read and hear about the guest quartet that will be at our show on June 27th. F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C. Please save the date and check the Clark Center for details. __________________________________________________________ May .....I have a painting featured in the Central Coast Magazine. DON'T FORGET MOTHER'S DAY Exciting and busy month. Our chorus has three performances coming up. Please check out Heritage Park in Grove Beach on the 17th and the Strawberry Festival on the 23rd. I will also have an ART SHOW on Mother's Day at the Santa Maria Inn. Hope to see you there for a very special day. Revving up for our show on June 27th at the Clark Center. We are "Puttin On The Ritz".....classy and fun. Please save the date. More info to come. ________________________________________________________________________ April 20th From almost freezing cold and the worse wind on record to a hot 81* . The beaches were full of people all looking like they were enjoying the start of summer vacation. And the month of May is perfect. Don't forget Mother's Day coming up on the 10th. Bill had his chorus show at the Clark Center this past Saturday. The theme was looking for the "Girl of My Dreams". The special quartet was CHICAGO FIRE and if you haven't ever seen or heard good Barbershop.....this was it at it's best. Fan.tas.tic! We ladies have our show coming up on June 27th. Please save the date and look for our advertising. Over and out. Talk to you later. Hope you have a good day. _________________________________________________________ April 5th Zooming along.....it's spring and most of my yard is blooming. Color is everywhere. Trees are sprouting leaves and it's a time for the re-birth of most living things. The gophers know it and are showing their babies where all the new roots are to eat. And deer are ready to bring along their young to our yard of plenty. I know what they mean when they say.....give a free meal to one and millions more will come! But on to our chorus competition. We did our package as solid as ever. Increased our scores from last year and got in the solid "B" category. That is no easy feat. If we had been in most other regions across the nation we would have won first place with our high score! But the west has the biggest and the best of most things, so we came in sixth out of nineteen. We are super proud to place as high as we did. Oh....a few new paintings on the next page. I am getting some more stock for the summer time rush. Enjoy ________________________________________________________________________
March 21st I forgot that March is spring yard work time. Phew....between planting new bushes, seeding new lawn, leveling an area for a shed, fixing the sprinkler system, the usual pruning and maintenance, we've been getting our outdoor exercise. In-between it's time to sign up for ART shows. One of my paintings will be featured in the Central Coast Magazine in the May issue. It's this lovely Madonna and Child in a round gilded frame. Chorus competition is coming up this weekend and we are hoping for most improved. On an 800 point system, it's rare to improve more than 20 points. We need 60 to get a medal and we're going for it! _________________________________________________________ March Madness Love the rain we've had this past month. The hills are bursting with color and all of nature is saying "thank you" for the blessing of this precious gift. Bill and I were in Mazatlan this past week. There we had sunshine and it was a perfect place to warm the body and take a relaxing vacation. Business is in full swing for focusing on pet and portrait painting. I have several commissions ready to do and the list is already.....growing. This month our chorus goes to regional competition. Great choreo and two fantastic songs make up a package that has us all excited and dreaming of a medal. At the summer sizzler, we also are the hosts for the whole region. It's a great fund raiser and a full weekend of hard work mixed with singing, costumes and wonderful friendships. Life is good _________________________________________________________ February Already into the fast routine of the second month of the year. I had an art seminar last week. It was all about doing portraits and I've included a few of my latest paintings on the "recent paintings" link. I've decided that I might start advertising myself as a Portrait and Pet artist.....so if you need a commissioned piece, please let me know. Our chorus also had it annual retreat this past weekend. That is always super hard work and wonderful fun with coaching at it's best, food, fun and bonding with the ladies in our group. Our chorus is working for a BIG sound and hopefully another medal at competition in March. More news later. Let me know what you think of my latest portraits. _______________________________________________________________ HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 I am always amazed at how fast the years pass away. Christmas is over, the decorations are put away. Now is a bitter-sweet time of reflection. Saying good bye to one year and wondering.....what will happen in the next. Almost like reading a book, the pages keep turning and a new story unfolds. Looking back it surprises me at how much changes each year and yet..... most things remain the same. Today is the time for renewed hope. May the New Year keep us all healthy and happy. This is December. The holiday rush is in full swing. Our chorus show is coming up this Sunday and the following week is filled with performances. Really makes for a wonderful way to share the holiday spirit. Hope you are enjoying this special time of year. Christmas is a time for JOY and family and friends and festivities. May your days be "merry" . My latest painting is called: Winter Solstice. ________________________________________________ Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Day is next week. This special day is truly a time for reflection and giving "thanks". Hope you are surrounded by friends and family to share the feast and blessings that surround us. Please mark you calendars for these upcoming events: Art show at Keller Williams on Dec. 4th. 5-8 pm. Celebration Chorus Holiday show Dec 7th at Pauling Middle School. 2 pm ___________________ A face only a mother could love Just finished a whole week at an art seminar where we painted animals from pictures I took while on safari in Africa. No....there were no moose there but I had this photo and he too, just had to be painted. See the "recent paintings" page for an update on other wildlife friends. Enjoy. _______________________________________________________ Happy Haunting! Today is Halloween and it's also Bill's birthday. We've always dressed up and made this holiday fun. Bill is best as Superman. Compete with muscles under the outfit, bald head and flying cape.....he brings a smile to young and old every time he wears the costume. Wishing you a big BOO BASH. Of course we are right into November and Tuesday is election day. Don't forget to vote! We're working the polls and expect a very busy, long day. I am anxious to hear the results of this history making election. In other news, I am finishing up my art seminar doing Safari animals. Next week I'll have pictures of all my new paintings! The mere photographs are awesome and majestic. Makes me miss the pulse of Africa. ___________________________________________________ October 14th Home from the vacation that never happened. We started for a quick tour of San Diego. Except for the Del Coronado Hotel area, the Zoo and Balboa Park, the rest was just another big city. Then we HAD to do Tijuana for our in-laws who had never seen it. Actually that was a surprise. Very cleaned up and literally no tourists. I thought it was because of the economy but quickly found out it was because of over 100 gang shootings in just the recent two months. Gulp. Traveling on, our next stop was to be Cabo San Lucas. But a category two hurricane was due to hit the day of our arrival. The flights were not canceled but we decided NOT to take the bumpy ride into the sure-to-be-awful weather conditions there. So with a weeks time to fill.....we tried to get on several flights to the islands. No seats available. After hours in the airport, we decided it was time to come home and finish our vacation right here in paradise. And here we are greeted by sunshine and friends and a full week to share the Central Coast with family. Best kind of vacation! ________________________________________________________________ October 1st We are just home from a trip back east for my husbands 50th class reunion. Don't know who all those "old" people were there but it was interesting hearing how everyone's lives have changed. Glad we went. We also got to visit my brother, see several Penn. friends and even flew into Dallas for a quick visit with our son. Wonderful trip all the way around. And now we are quickly packing for another trip. This time a vacation to Cabo San Lucas. Tricky having all this fun between chorus and painting and organizing for the upcoming election, boutiques and performances. And holiday music rehearsals for our show too. The rush is on. _____________________________________________________________________________ September 12 TODAY is my birthday. Last night we went to the theater to see a production of the Winter Dance Party....the name of the last show that the Big Bopper, RitchieValence and Buddy Holly were planning just before the plane they were in crashed. Great show but the best part was when Ritchie Valence sang....."Oh Donna" and the audience all knew the words and waved and swayed with the music. Sure seemed like everyone was singing it....just for me. "Oh What A Night". Fun. Fun. ________________________________________________________________ My birthday is coming up and my husband just gave me a wonderful surprise last night. He carefully planned an evening out to a pre-season fund raiser event for the Opera. He knows I like the Opera and this was very special indeed. Complete with a stretch limo and champagne, we drove to the setting of a lovely home surrounded by glorious views, fountains and an infinity pool. Inside was fine art and grand pianos. The director of the PCPA gave a detailed summery of the chosen Opera for the evening. Wonderful details met with great enthusiasm. We then met the singers and sitting only five feet from them, listened to the ear piercing vocals of several arias. To me.....this was perfect. The evening ended in style with time to share intimate conversation and fine chocolates. All this in little Arroyo Grande. What a perfect surprise gift. I still have a smile on my face. Thank YOU sweet husband. _______________________________________________________________
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