Weird Uses for Washing Machine Tray

Tuesday spent all day in a webinar for an insurance certificate. Will take a test for the class this coming week then only two more classes in July and August before my certification is complete. Yee haw!

After the class was over, spent the evening applying two coats of varnish to my paintings.  Mucho gloss and the canvas and frame I picked up from Goodwill turned out super.

Yesterday on my lunch break hit Home Depot to pick up a washing machine tray. Yes, a washing machine tray.  Have currently been using a Dollar Tree plastic tablecloth as a catchall for my acrylic pours; however, discovered that the tray may be the best method for the acrylic pour paintings. Fits large sizes of canvas, washable, and has a two inch lip to contain the runoff paint.

Decided to test the new tray last night.  Have you ever had an artistic vision in your head that just didn't come to fruition? That was my evening.  I was preparing a partial painting first on one half of the canvas followed with an acrylic pour. First step turned out great. Took the canvas outside, placed it on top of the tray, and poured my combination of colors on top. Ooh it's gonna look cool were my thoughts.  Uh no. Tilting the canvas didn't work, paint was sliding all over, tried swiping, tried more paint, dabbing, more swiping....it just went on and on and on with no acceptable result.  Giving up, swiped all the paint off the canvas, leaving a shade of gray mud behind.

Was moments away from flinging that dreaded painting into the garbage can when my bargain diva side reared up and stopped myself because I didn't want to waste the canvas.  Mixed up another cup of paint and poured it with a swirly motion. A few tilts and this painting arose from the ashes of the Phoenix into this art.  Pretty pleased with myself not only for the result but for my stubbornness to stick through instead of giving up.

This morning arose bright and early to take roommate to Vancouver for a neck injection.  Actually woke up about 3am to grab tissue and take allergy pills. Couldn't fall back asleep until 4:30am then alarm went off at 5:30am. Headed out about 6:10am and now here I sit in her assigned same day surgery room at 8:40am and they have just taken her in for the procedure.  Today is going to be a long day!!

Braids, Bottle, and Beaver Falls

Sunday means laundry day. Finished two loads, French braided my hair into two pigtails, then it was off to enjoy the sun by going on a hike to Beaver Creek Falls!

Had never been there but it was only a few minutes over the bridge to Clatskanie,  Oregon.  Parked the rig about 1,000 feet from the trailhead then walked to begin the hike. Pared down by wearing my water sneaks, phone in a waterproof container around my neck, and my water bottle. The hike down wasn't too bad although there were a few treacherous spots, including wet paths and slippery turns close to the edge of the path next to a fall to oblivion.

Made it to the bottom of the hike and the Beaver Creek waterfall. It was gorgeous!  There were a few people there, some even swimming, but I could tell that water was chilly so no-go for me.

After hanging out in the falls area, we then crossed the creek using round, wood slabs set into the water. It was easy at first then ran into a conundrum.  One section was too wide for me to step on the next slab. There was a secondary log that appeared to be a helper step but couldn't tell if it was secure.  Started entering into anxiety - take the step, jump, or quit and turn around. Or tumble into the creek, ruin my phone, and injure myself, knocking out teeth..  Decided the best route to take was to let Marie go first!  She took the log step, it was secure, and I followed.

Began an uphill hike on wet clay, gripping with white knuckles branches and roots to help maintain my grip and balance.  Again anxiety reared its head and a bit of panic set in. Darn water bottle was leaving me with just one hand and the phone case was swinging. Solved both problems by tucking the phone case into my shirt and shoving the bottle into my bra. Voila - two hands to help me negotiate the path and get to the top. Whew!

After a few more turns we arrived at the top of the waterfall.  We crossed the creek, took some pix, then continued on up the hill. Not so bad. At one point I heard cars so I knew we were close to the rig.

Made it to the top, climbed over the guardrail, and assessed our bearings. Do we walk to the right or to the left. Decided to walk right which ended up being wrong. We walked, and walked, and walked some more until we finally decided we should have gone left.

We made a U-turn and headed back the way we came - walking, walking, walking.  And wouldn't you know it but the car was maybe 500 feet to the left from where we exited the forest path.

After almost three hours of hiking and walking, we headed for home.  Once home, I whipped up some chicken enchiladas for dinner and they turned out perfect, especially when topped with fire salsa!

Relaxed creating a video of today's adventure while watching Hitchcock's "Suspicion."  Now its past my bedtime because tomorrow is, once again, Monday!

Painting, Weedeating, and Jeremy Renner

Despite making tentative plans to go fishing, today ended up cleaning my room, painting, and weedeating while Marie worked on the yard.

Tweaked the lady pic from last night so she had one mouth instead of two. Added additional black paint to sharpen her lines.  Turned toward a couple more pics painted a few weeks ago. Added a beach comment to one and then painted burned trees and birds on a red painting that seemed to scream "Fire!" 🔥

Tonight spent time researching a resin finish on acrylic pour canvas art, which will be my next step in finalizing my pictures.  Creativity is so rewarding!!

Sam sent me a pic tonight of he and a guy he must have just met and said "Mom, I'm hanging out with Jeremy Renner!"  Of course you can't fool the Mama so I knew he was close but no cigar, although he does bear a likeness to the actor.  What do you think?

 

In Search of a Fishing Spot in a Freddy Krueger Movie

Turned into such a nice day yesterday that Marie and I set out to the Kalama River to fish. We drove into Fisherman's Loop, parked, and made our way to the river. Followed several dirt, bumby paths, peeking through the clearing to determine if it was a hot spot. As we wandered, we walked further away from the rig and deeper into the quiet forest, under bridges, and past clearings that may have housed vagrants or even satanic rituals. Creepy!

More than likely, due to our imaginations, we decided to get back in the rig and venture to the boat launch area of the river. Passed a few bunnies, parked, climbed over a few logs, and cast into the water, which was filled with cottonwood fluff.  Found out fishing and cottonwood don't mix as every time I reeled in I had to spend time picking the wet fluff off the line. Ugh.

That didn't last long. We decided to drive by the river in search of a better spot. The only spot we found was down the Kalama Sportsman Road, which led to a beach on the Columbia.

Again, very quiet but scenic, nestled between Steelscape and Kalama Chemical and you just had to ignore the green, muddy sludge which lined the shore.  And full of what I originally thought were wild turkeys but what turned out to be vultures!

Exploring, we stumbled across someone's playhouse, or getaway spot, or river cave. It was structured with driftwood and inside hung shell mobiles, painted rocks, jeweled string, and a cardboard banner of quotes. It was intriguing but rather disturbing. 

On more than one occasion during our trip to Kalama the voices in my head said, "This could be a scene in horror film - the scene where people are kidnapped or tortured."  We ended up packing in our poles and heading home.

Today after work dug out the supplies and painted two canvas.  One is a small canvas which I picked up, with frame, from the Warrenton Goodwill.  It had a cute vintage cowgirl on it but I took no time in painting over it. Did a sunset scene on it and a lady on a larger canvas.  Discovered the key is to significantly water down the acrylic paint. For the lady, drew her portrait freehand then layered the colors into a small squirt bottle so I could easily stay within the lines. Then moved on to a larger cup pour for her hair and body. Finalized it by painting black for her outline and to cover smudge marks.

Painting done, I'm now sitting outside enjoying the shade, sipping a can of Mike's Hard Pineapple and Mandarin.  I rarely drink but this sure hits the spot!

Lull After the Beach

Stubbs is still in recovery mode tonight from the beach.

Put all my beach photos together on a video via the Photogrid app. Enjoy!

Battery, Beach, and Burgers

Had a rough start on the way to the beach.  Went to start the rig and click, click- battery dead. Hustled over to Walmart to grab a new one, Steve installed it and we were on our way.

Attempted to keep Stubbs in the back seat on his bed and blanket. That lasted for about 20 minutes when  I gave in and let him snuggle on my lap.

Made good time until we hit Astoria when we met up with all the other people on the road who were also headed to the beach. Stopped at Seaside Safeway for groceries and it seemed that was also a detour for everyone - the place was packed! Was about 3pm when we pulled into the Husted Hilton.  Weather warmed up but still cloudy. 

That evening made homemade clam dip, broiled rib eye and baked potato dinner.  Been a long time since I'd eaten steak and it turned out perfect. Alas, even though I've been avoiding chewing on my right side, a cracker took out my recent temporary crown. Decided to wing it for the weekend as my permanent crown is scheduled to be placed Tuesday morning. New battery, temp crown dislodged - I was becoming a little worried about the signs for the weekend.

Woke up Saturday morning by Stubbins about 5am for a potty break. Nose was running so popped Claritin then hit the recliner with both pup and Kleenex in hand. Low tide was 6:52 am so figured I'd wait for it to be lighter than we would hit the beach. Apparently the recliner had other ideas as I nodded off and woke about 7:30 am.  After coffee Stubbs and I headed out for a sandy walk.  He just loves the coast although now that he's getting older he needs to be carried on stairs.

Cleaned up and hit the Warrenton Goodwill along with a thrift store in Seaside.  Returned home and sat on the deck enjoying the sunshine.

Later, after watching part of The Post movie, decided it was time to think about dinner. Decided on burgers so returned to Cannon Beach to pick up more groceries. Closest store was Fresh Food or something similar to that although it should have been called Organic High Prices. I mean $3.99 for one avocado?  Wine selection taking up two-thirds of the store?  A plastic container of pasta salad in the size of a condiment container for $5.99?  Yeesh!

I grabbed shredded lettuce, tomato, sesame buns,, mushrooms, then on to the meat aisle for burger.  Steaks, filet mignon, ribs - where's the burger? Small package of bison burger for $18.99 would not suffice. Desperation caused for creativity so bought a package of ground turkey and a package of Italian sausage to mix together for burgers.  And you know what?  Those improvised burgers were scrumptious!  Didn't miss the ground beef one bit.

After dinner settled in on the deck to watch the neighborhood fireworks.  Couple of close neighbors put on an incredible display; further south was a massive show we also enjoyed.  These were not your typical run-of-the-mill, high school fundraiser fireworks.  These were humongous, top-of-the-line pyrotechnics!

This Sunday morning awoke early so Stubbs and I hit the beach at low tide.  Scored a few sand dollars, polished pieces of shell, and ran across a starfish clinging to a large rock which is normally buried in salt water.  Blue sky and the surf - nothing gets better than that!!

Carpal, Color, and the Coast

The world is right again. Tuesday replaced my missing appendage when I picked up a new phone.  Thankfully my contacts were all able to be transferred over along with most of my pictures which had been backed up on Google. I am now whole again.

Took today off to serve as caretaker for Marie, who went in for carpal tunnel surgery on her left hand. Delivered her to the surgery center at 6:45 am; swung over to Walmart to pick up her food request (vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup) and when I arrived home the center called and said she was ready to be picked up. Picked her up, hand swaddled, dropped her off at home, dropped off prescription, came home, chilled, painted nails, picked up prescription, dropped off, then over to Goodwill to browse.

On way home from Goodwill, passed by the hospital and saw this interesting antenna bobblehead. Gave me a grin!

Arrived home and began packing for a weekend at the beach. Yes - THE BEACH!  Will be enjoying Independence Day at Arch Cape from Friday to Monday. It's been too long!!

Beach on my mind, decided to paint a canvas tonight with coast colors.  Did the blue colors, meditated on it during dinner, then added the sand section. Here's a little secret to my hobby...the majority of my art work involves a significant part of my being - oxygen! I blow on different parts of the paint using my breath or a highly technical tool - the straw from my coffee cup - to enhance the blending.

Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!