The Mailhot Summer Vacation...Day 1

Our Sound Track (***WARNING*** Extreme cheese alert !)

Play it Now :

July 28, 2009 -

Dear Diary,

We drove up to Mount Washington, NH today.

We climbed over 6000 ft above sea level to get to the summit (in our car !).

The road is terrifying but there are some amazing sights to see along the way !

David drove, I snapped photos out the car window as we climbed.

We even got to bring the beautiful Chica with us, which was a real treat !

I had to leave my trademark Rock My World rocks on the top.

I thought this one was kind of appropriate for the edge of the observatory...

And this "round to it" seemed to fit well in this cairn with a pair of reading glasses and a small wooden cross left behind for others to find. You never know when you may need one...

You can click to enlarge this photo to see the offerings left behind...

Many people have left their mark on the top of this high mountain place...

But the largest and most beautiful mark of all was made by the hand of God...

On our perch on the top of the world,

we took our share of family photos...

Here is me getting some Chica kisses...

And here is one of David's signature looks...

But of course, like in most photo shoots, the kids steal the show...

Here is the Chica-dog doing her imitation of a pig in doo-doo...

she rolled over and over again in the lichen and mountain grass,

obviously just so happy to be there with us!

And then, of course, she gave us that perfect puppy pose for the scrapbook ...

Yes, diary, our July day at Mount Washington

was the closest thing

to Heaven that I've found...

(David and I would like to thank the Carpenters for that perfect soundtrack to our little adventure...we sang it on the way...we are still singing it...because it is just one of those songs that sticks in your head forever, and ever... Glad we could share it with you !)

;)

Climb Every Mountain.....

Going to the top of the world !

Promise to wave

from

way

up

there !

See ya Thursday !

(Photo from top of Mount Washington,NH, 6000 ft up, September 2008)

Come Sail Away...

So as I have said, the weather this summer has been pretty tough on us hearty New Englanders. Because of that, when the sun does poke out its head, we immediately feel the need to take full advantage. On Saturday, it was in the high 70's, hazy, humid...another words, the perfect beach day in 2009. David and I headed to Hampton Beach, NH for the afternoon.

The thing is, at the beach the sea wind made it more like high sixties. Also, Hampton was experiencing astronomical high tides, which means that 95% of the beach was covered with water.

Did that stop New Hampshirites from flocking to the beach for some fun and frolic ?

No way ! We just made the best of that day !

The Queen & King did a little wind blown photo shoot.

The Rockfairy gathered some wares.

And she found a few new treasures to add to her own personal collection.

We witness sweet creations by some ....

and the destructive tendencies of others.

I know boys will be boys,

but what I didn't like so much was the dad who was pointing out all the rock people on the beach for his kid to knock down...

Still, after a few minutes in that beautiful wind, breathing in that amazing salty air, with the waves crashing on the rocks, and spending some time hanging out with your very best friend, you can just feel the worries sailing away...

And

we did. ;)

David is on vacation this week. We were supposed to head up to the cottage in Mont Tremblant but the weather forecast calls for rain and cool temps all week up there. We made a change of plans and decided to make it a New Hampshire vacation. Tuesdays weather here calls for high 80's and sun, so tomorrow we are headed to Mount Washington and Wednesday, we will explore some waterfalls and other treasures in the White Mountains. We found a dog-friendly hotel in North Conway, so Chica will make the trip with us ! So fun ! Free wireless in the hotel too, so I will try and post tomorrow night after our Mount Washington adventures.

Have a great Monday, creative Ones !

Blue Friday...

You wake up to that oh too familiar patter of rain...

and looking out the window you know it is going to be a blue day...

All the occupants of the house are feeling it...

All those fun playmates are far away now...

We may as well just sleep the day away...

At least the beds are cozy on a blue, blue day...

But wait ! I see something hopeful on the horizon ...

A place where the colors are hot and bright...

(post card -"Wake-up!" - July 2009)

Where imagination and creativity wake up and feel alive !

(postcard - "the path is good"- July 2009)

Thank God for it ! Art is Good...

especially on a blue Friday...

The weather this summer in New England has just plain sucked !!! As you know, last winter was the Winter of Our Deep Discontent, and in spite of the rainy, cold, un-summer-like summer , I have been really proud of how well I have kept my spirits up and positive and thankful. But even the cheeriest of people have to be getting down with this kind of weather...it is very hard to keep things UP when all that comes down is rain...

I do have to say that even though I am feeling a little blue with the weather, and the fact that my sweet playmates have headed back up North, getting in there, in the studio, playing with the colors that make my senses happy, and creating little pieces of me on paper is really the best therapy I could ask for. Art is my lifesaver !

I am working on a piece of a birthday gift for a special person, so very dear to my heart, another of my lifesavers, in fact. I don't want to show it here in case she visits but I will give you a little sneek peak. I promise you that it is not blue !!!

I hope your Friday is colorful and creative, beautiful Ones !

Buried Treasure - Random Acts of Queen-ness Revisited

Buried Treasure Alert ! : The incredibly talented Seth at The Altered Page challenged bloggers to return to the past, and uncover their own buried treasure in the form of one of their favorite posts on their own blog. Because the first time was such fun and because many other bloggers wanted to join in, this week Seth hosted a second go-around. Here is another oldie but goodie Fairy Tale from the Queen of Arts, originally posted on March 12, 2009. Enjoy it ! Then head over to Seth's blog to find a list of other talented blogger's traveling back in time !

Our story begins on a cool but beautiful day in Almost-Spring.

Our heroine is the Lovely Queen of Arts.

This Queen needed to escape the Castle. "Time for some Guerrilla Action." she thought.

"It is time to ..."

So the Queen went to the Royal Studio and played with her own hand carved "Q of A" rubber stamp and a few other toys to create these :

She came up with some Q of A quotes to adorn the backs :

She called for her loyal servant :

And off they went to commit Random Acts of Queen-ness, Guerrilla Art Style !

First stop : a tree in a local park.

The Queen tied a Royal Tag onto the tree in plain view of a local peasant sitting on the bench across the way, but she was not interrupted.

Her Majesty then found this lovely tree with bark bright red. "I must leave my mark on this magnificent tree." she thought.

And she tied another Royal Tag, this time with a quote she adored, among its boughs.

As the Queen and her loyal servant continued along their path, they came upon a sight that reminded the Queen of an Art adventure she had taken long ago.

For there on a metal pole, in the middle of the "Park With Even Less", was a remnant from a walk the Queen had taken with Tags sent to her all the way from the other side of the planet. Tags sent to the Queen by the famous Guerrilla Artist, grrl +dog, way back in October, 2008.

The season had taken its toll on the Australia Tag :

It had lost its vibrancy and the stamp grrl had put on it to the elements.

It no longer shone with its previous brilliance.

(Memory shot - October, 2008 )

The Queen was saddened to see that time had taken its toll on the Australian Tag, just as it had on her own eyes with their beginnings of crows feet and their need for bifocal lenses.

"Our youth is gone, my friend." whispered the Queen to the withered tag, quietly so the peasants did not get frightened by the fact that their Liege was talking to herself in the park.

And then the Queen's inner artist took over. Youth may be gone but in its place : Artsy Wisdom.

The Wise Queen tied two of her bright, newly created tags on to the pole, one above and one below the worn Australia one placed there so long ago.

She thought to herself : "I may be older by a season or two, but I have learned that Any Time is the right time to dress things up and have a Good Time !"

We're here for a good time

Not a long time

So have a good time

The Sun can't shine everyday.