Ancestry DNA

Since I was a youngster strangers would ask me if I was from China - high cheek bones and small eyes.  My brother and sister always teased me that I was adopted - they have hazel eyes and fair skin - I have brown eyes and olive skin. When Ellis Island was being renovated many years ago I was able to find the manifest records of both my grandmothers. But my grandfathers could not be found. For my parents 50th wedding anniversary many years ago I put together a digital photo spread using the photos I had of them from childhood to present day. When the grandchildren came around I spent a lot of time creating family trees for them using my “Picture It” software. I haven’t thought about my ancestry much lately - until recently. So I decided to finally take the plunge and order my DNA kit from Ancestry.com. It arrived last week and I followed the instructions - spitting in to a test tube - and mailing the package back to Utah, then registering the specific kit number on the app. Now I am waiting with great anticipation to see what comes of it. I’m not sure there will be any unexpected surprises. But you never know. 

Reflecting Pool Sunshine and Pigeons

I am always enchanted by sunshine, animals, birds, and flowers. Typically on our walk we encounter some of these things. Today was an absolutely sunshiny day so everything already looked better. We didn’t have to wear our below zero winter coats and hats. In fact half way through I was carrying my coat. We had to drop an items off at the post office so we headed in the opposite direction as is usual. From there we were on  Massachusetts Avenue, Union Station, and then back to the Capitol. The reflecting pond was still iced over and the seagulls were standing on it. But it was the pigeons that caught my eye today. There was a pair walking along together having a good time. We then passed through the botanical garden. It’s not often that I really enjoy the walk - it’s more of a prescription that something I really look forward to. But when it’s this nice outside it’s simply marvelous. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Btd_JIyhhWR/

Birds, Buds and Squirrels

We haven’t walked for a few days for a variety of reasons - including frigid temps and wind chills. So we finally got out this morning. With the government now open again, the National Mall has come back the life. There were lines waiting to get in to the Air and Space Museum. It was obvious there were more than just the “locals” ambling about. But I always notice the other stuff - the flower gardens and the birds. There was a squirrel dangling upside down from the tiniest branch of the tallest tree by the Capitol. When we reached the Sackler Gallery gardens the buds of the flowering tree and tiny bulbs in the snow were showing signs of life. It’s amazing what a south exposure does. The butterfly bench at the Botanic Garden was accented by the surrounding snow that was speckled by critter footprints. A squawking bluejay was yelling at us as we passed underneath. By the time we reached the Capitol South Metro Station the sparrows were fluffed up sitting in a row thinking about their next move. It was a delightful walk. 

Redbubble Beagle T-shirt

I love sketching on my iPad. I use it to create custom pet portraits. It beats the mess of watercolors and pastels and my studio travels with me. I have commissions from all over the world. If you told me even ten years ago I would be doing something like this I would not have believed it. And to have the exposure of the internet is amazing. I use my digital images to populate my on line shops. The buyer can select from an amazing assortment of products to purchase a gift for self or someone special. It’s always a treat to get notified when an item sells. The most recent one came from my Redbubble shop. Someone from South Carolina bought a V neck T-shirt with my sweet beagle face. It’s one thing to be noticed out of the millions of images out there. But for someone to like it well enough to purchase it is sheer exciting. Even though the commissions are tiny - luckily this is a hobby - the joy it brings doesn’t have a price. So thank you for noticing my work. I really appreciate it! 

Amazon Merch LITs Pooches, Kitties and Other Sweet Faces

I opened an Amazon Merch Shop last year called LITs Pooches, Kitties and Other Sweet Faces. It took a bit of doing because I can’t use my IPad to create the image sizes required for the T-shirts. I really dislike having to use my laptop, but there was no other way to make it work. All the files first need to have the backgrounds deleted, then converted from jpeg to png, and then sized to upload specifications. It’s a multi step process and quite time consuming. I’ve sold a few T-shirts and had 100 various images available. All of them are my custom pet portraits. Unlike the other websites I use - Zazzle, Redbubble, Etsy, Fine Art America/Pixels - the image is removed if it didn’t sell within six months. What that means is a lot of them get deleted and I have to decide whether to use the image again, or try something new. I’ve done a little bit of both and then some. It seemed like black labs were the biggest hit, so I made sure all of my black lab portraits were used. Aside from basic T-shirts, long sleeve T-shirts and hoodies are also available. But each type of shirt requires it’s own listing. You can also upload to the US, UK, or Germany. Again, each requires its own listing. I haven’t tried those yet. I’ve added a couple of “prelim sketch” options to mix it up. At least now all the converted suitable files are saved so I can easily upload the required images the second time around. Lately the Bichon Frise item has had a few takers. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to keep up with the turnover in my shop lately so it’s taking me a while to fully stock my shop! Luckily for me it is just a hobby - but sometimes it feels like a full time job. But when a painting of mine is noticed and sold? It’s really exciting! 

Property Brothers Surprise

I love home television shows. We essentially renovated our entire Midwest home room by room. A lot of my ideas came from these shows. When we moved to DC we had to make due with a 500 square foot apartment and we used every square inch of it. One of the many shows we watch is Property Brothers. I am much more of a fan of it than my husband. He even has a particular dislike of the main characters on the show - Drew and Jonathan Scott. So when I woke up the other morning I trudged from our bedroom toward the living room couch and plopped in to my usual spot. I didn’t even notice what was different about the house until my husband pointed it out. Right next to me he had cut out a picture of the property brothers and scotch taped it to the lamp post for me to behold. I never laughed so hard. My husband rarely does things like this which makes them so much more endearing. I hadn’t even noticed the junk mail we got that contained whatever photo advertisement this was used for. He secretly saved it and made good use out of it. It was a cute way to start the morning. 

Christmas Tree Disposal

For most people the Christmas tree ends up on the sidewalk shortly after the holiday ends. In the Midwest I always started decorating the day after Thanksgiving. Rather than have one large tree, we had several small trees in different rooms. Then I would cut down branches from the back yard and stuff them in to pots both inside and outside of the house. All the outdoor window boxes were equally festooned. But all the holiday decor was removed no later than New Years Day. But there are people who prefer to keep the holiday spirit going long after December 25. There must be something about the end of January that brings them to their senses. So we saw many Christmas trees out on the sidewalks this week. Some of them were almost bare! All the greens have long gone. But there were two trees that were not only on the sidewalk waiting for trash collection, they were IN the sidewalk. Along Massachusetts Avenue near Union Station it looked like the trees were being used as barricades from falling in to a hole in the sidewalk. One of them still had what you could call decorations. It was very peculiar but not totally unexpected. People do odd things around here. We just weren’t expecting this. They will probably still be there next week.