Eye Doctor, Road Trips and Rowhouses

What should take ten minutes takes forty five or more. I always make our eye exams for the first appointments after lunch. That way, we don't have to fight rush hour traffic in the morning or afternoon.  But it is a pain in the neck to have any doctor visit at a medical center - simply because it is a medical center with all the hoopla that goes around it. But our doctor's office is there, so we keep going because we like her. On the way over, there was construction - as always - so it takes longer. We were surprised that the office was so empty for the first time. Perhaps it was because it was December rather than November, and everyone has something else to do. There are no more discounts for parking in the structure, so now you have to pay up before your leave, like in most structures these days. But always, on the way home, regardless of the time of day, it always take so much longer. What is only a 3 mile distance seems like 20. But it was such a beautiful day that it was an interesting ride. The rowhouses were stunning in the sunlight, and the construction cranes reflected in the massive glass buildings going up all around H street and NE. This doesn't compare at all to the easily navigable drives to and from the doctor visits in Milwaukee. One thing remains the same - why isn't there an eye drop to un dilate your eyes? This is the only time I wish it was cloudy. 

Downtown Abbey and Highclere Castle Sweepstakes

Like a lot of people I know, we watch Masterpiece Downton Abbey. Not only have we watched it, but we actually went to see Highclere Castle when we were in England a couple of years ago. When we were waiting at Dulles airport, we even met someone who won the Downton Abbey sweepstakes and won a free trip to England to see the sites. Well, the sweepstakes is on again. And even though we have already seen the castle, I entered anyway, and plan to keep on entering every day if I can remember. I'm sure my husband isn't that interested in going if I do win - which is highly unlikely - but we'll see anyway! This trip would include places where Poldark is shot, which would be interesting as well. I've been watching Masterpiece since the wives of Henry VIII was shown way back in the 70's. It ignited a personal interest in history that has been long lived. So for that, I am grateful. But I would be even more grateful to win the sweepstakes! 

Zazzle Shop Sale

I opened a Zazzle shop a couple years ago called LITDigitalArt. Most of my earliest paintings are displayed on a variety of products. However, in the last year or two I have not been able to create any new products due to a glitch in the system that I have not been able to figure out. Rather than start all over again, I just left the shop alone and hoped it would be noticed. Today I received an email from Zazzle that someone bought an iPad cover with the image of a black lab. I was really surprised and also reinvigorated to try and get this site to work again. I've created so many more paintings since that time, and it would be great exposure. Most of my digital art work is on Etsy where most of my commissioned work comes from, and on Fine Art America where I upload the completed works, along with some of my favorite photographs. Right now I have over twenty portraits to complete for Christmas orders and need to attend to them before I can undertake anything else. I already feel bad because my husband is literally a widower during this very busy time. Hopefully it will all get done, and I will survive the onslaught. I really enjoy painting - it's just the real life work I could do without - especially this time of the year. 

Vacation Photos From England and Spain

You could say we are in an interesting position. We have had the opportunity to travel to England four times in the last four years. My husband has friends who live there, and so we go. Neither one of us likes to travel, and prefer to watch the scenery on tv, but visiting friends is an altogether different matter. While there, we also traveled to France, and this time Spain, to visit other people we know. While there, one invariably takes photos and movies. I use the neutral ones for my blogs, instagrams, and tumblr. So when it comes to decide which ones to save and which ones to toss, it can be a timely situation. I used to keep scrapbooks with everything in them - from the plane ticket, programs, or anything else related to the trip. Now, things have changed and everything is digital. So last night my husband and I reviewed the photos we took. I saved all the photos the people I know are in. Otherwise, many were deleted to increase the storage space on our devices. The originals are still on the phone, but the favorites are also saved to my iPad. I figure I can always look at the scenery on the websites they were uploaded to, but that could change too! So I just make sure my favorite ones are close at hand. They're nice to look at once in awhile. 

Vacation Photos From England and Spain

You could say we are in an interesting position. We have had the opportunity to travel to England four times in the last four years. My husband has friends who live there, and so we go. Neither one of us likes to travel, and prefer to watch the scenery on tv, but visiting friends is an altogether different matter. While there, we also traveled to France, and this time Spain, to visit other people we know. While there, one invariably takes photos and movies. I use the neutral ones for my blogs, instagrams, and tumblr. So when it comes to decide which ones to save and which ones to toss, it can be a timely situation. I used to keep scrapbooks with everything in them - from the plane ticket, programs, or anything else related to the trip. Now, things have changed and everything is digital. So last night my husband and I reviewed the photos we took. I saved all the photos the people I know are in. Otherwise, many were deleted to increase the storage space on our devices. The originals are still on the phone, but the favorites are also saved to my iPad. I figure I can always look at the scenery on the websites they were uploaded to, but that could change too! So I just make sure my favorite ones are close at hand. They're nice to look at once in awhile. 

Library of Congress Gift Shop

It's not easy to figure out what to get a set of twins for Christmas. At least they are girls, and maybe it's a little easier to find something? Or, at least I can associate with that more. Every year the Library has a seasonal one day sale for employees in the gift shop. I rarely go there, but decided to check things out after I looked at the on line catalogue. It was very busy! But I did find exactly what I was looking for - an Alice in Wonderland pendant and a Washington DC charm bracelet. And what made it even nicer was the little Library of Congress bag I could put each of them in. It's never too late to start talking about the Capitol City with youngsters. It may just change the way they think in more ways than one could know. I was about five years old when my family came to DC for the first time and I can vaguely remember what we did - including visiting the White House and going to the galleries in the Capitol building. Then over the years we visited many, many times. It really is a place to see - and all it might take is a little bit of jewelry to get them thinking about it. 

Jet Lag, Work, and Christmas Projects

We arrived home from England on Saturday late afternoon. We went to bed at 10 PM and woke up eleven hours later. I felt exhausted yesterday. But since it is just a few weeks before Christmas, requests for digital art gifts are the highest. I now have fifteen in the queue all at various stages - and they keep coming. Just getting all the requests in order took some doing, and getting some prelim sketches out took the whole day. On top of that, I had to get back to work today. Getting up at 6 AM was dreadful even though I went to bed at ten last night. I'm hoping I can just get through the next few days and shake off whatever jet lag is left. I really dislike traveling and can't understand how someone enjoys this torture. But I'm sure I am in the minority. Routine and doing a lot of nothing are my favorite things - and it wouldn't matter where I lived.