l i l l i a

I am a nitpicker

I have changed things again. I am annoying myself. I think of this blog as an experiment and I wanted to combine my acrylic folk style paintings with my more modern illustration work but I think I am going to keep them separate. What do you do when you like to experiment and create in different styles.  I am still modifying print designs and I hope to be finished with them by the end of this century.  I have simplified the designs and taken out most of the decorative borders.  I have added just a small border around them. This is Rooster Runner.

It is finally getting cooler here in the desert. It was 9o degrees today instead of the usual 11o. I have officially become a cat lady as I have six cats living with me. I found a super skinny stray cat in my back yard. She had three kittens that followed her around. I originally thought she was feral because she would run away whenever I saw her. I tried to catch the kittens but boom they were gone before I could get two feet away from them. I put cat food out for the mom and she circled around as far away as possible and after I moved away she ate the food and then she kept circling around and around coming closer and closer until she finally came up and tried to rub up against my leg. She was starving and half of her tail had been bitten off. It had healed into a gnarled mass. She cannot be more then two years old herself and she is very gentle and sweet.

I can pick up and hold all of the kittens. Each one has their own personalities. They are all sweet except for the smallest one who is still nervous and likes to swat a little bit. I am trying to introduce them to my two old grandpa cats and I am hoping that they will get along. Eventually I will have to find homes for probably a two of them but for now I am happy I was able to catch them all and that they are living in air conditioning instead of sleeping on rocks and dirt in the relentless heat. 

I cannot wait until Winter. Being from Minnesota. I never thought the day would come where I would look forward to Winter. But I do. I rounded up some pictures of snow from wikipedia.

Lotte Lore

When I was around fifteen I stayed at my Aunt Lotte's house (third from the left) in Germany and read one of her many romance novels. I still remember the name of it,  The Summer of My Spanish Lover. She had stacks and stacks of English and German books. Her yard was filled with old plum and cherry trees, there were grape vines, lilac bushes, daisies and peonies.  There was a little pond with Koi that would blur in and out of focus in the murky water. She had a grumpy Chow Chow who was blind and had a purple tongue. She worked as a bookkeeper and was responsible for all of the English and French correspondence. She was kind.   She wore rings on every finger and I never saw her in pants.  She was twenty-one years older then my mom. She was engaged to be married to a photographer but he died in Russia during World War II. She was married for a long time and had two children. One of whom is my cousin Mickey, who sent some of these pictures.  I was told that after her first husband died she went to visit the small town where her fiance who died in Russia grew up. She ended up meeting his brother and they fell in love.  She married again when she was seventy-six years old to Sepp.  They both loved books and the movers complained about all the boxes of heavy books they had to carry up to their new apartment. This past week it was Fasching or Carnival which I think is similar to Mardi Gras and while everyone is celebrating it was a sad time for my relatives.  It looks beautiful and peaceful where you are. We will miss you Aunt Lotte. Rest in peace.

Desert Walk

It was a beautiful day today in Phoenix. I went for a walk with my mumsy in the White Tank Mountains. We were hiking up to Waterfall Canyon but it was a bit too rocky for her so we went back. It was great to get outside in the sun and see the all the cactus. It reminds me of an alien landscape. I went to see Pan's Labrynth and I was really disappointed. I was captivated by the poster and all the great reviews I have seen for it. I knew it was going to be dark but I didn't think it would be as dark as it turned out to be. It is one of the most violent movies I have ever seen. I left feeling like I just watched a horrible nightmare. The cinematography was beautiful and the acting was strong but I felt there was no relief in the brutality. I wish I would have seen Miss Potter instead. Oh well..next time.