GREETINGS FROM LONDON

We arrive on Sunday July 19 after a ten hour flight from San Francisco. Settled into our room at the Marriott Grosvenor Square and took a short nap before going out for dinner. "The Living Room" restaurant was in a group of places to eat in Heddon Street near Regent Street, it was just OK, or maybe we were just jet-lagged!
Next day feeling rested we headed out to do a little shopping and just enjoy being here. London is so cosmopolitan, much changed from when I grew up in England. Every nationality is represented with more turbans, veils and skin colors than can be imagined, at least on Oxford Street, where red double decker buses are lined up end to end on both sides of the street, picking up passengers and dropping them off from all the neighborhoods. London taxis filled up the side streets as we walk back to our hotel, on Duke Street near Grosvenor Square and the US Embassy (Impressive statue of Gen. Eisenhower is out in front).
Dinner last night was superb... at Pattersons on Mill Street in Mayfair. This was 0ur second visit and it is wonderful. Great service and the presentation of the dishes is beautiful.

Today we were off early by the London Underground transportation ... the Tube. A great system and it moves tens of thousands of people every day. This morning we were going to visit the University of Richmond, an international American institution. Our grand daughter has been accepted there starting in September. This was a 45 minute Tube ride and then we took a taxi. The University is perched on a hill overlooking the Thames. A charming senior student working through the summer gave us the tour. We were impressed! Small class sizes and nice amenities, we even looked at a dorm room, basic, but OK.

We walked back down the hill into Richmond, great scenery along the way. Had lunch overlooking a park at a place called Austins that said it was established in 1726! Though heavy rain was forecast we only had a couple of showers as we made our way back via the Tube into London and our hotel.

GREETINGS FROM LONDON

We arrive on Sunday July 19 after a ten hour flight from San Francisco. Settled into our room at the Marriott Grosvenor Square and took a short nap before going out for dinner. "The Living Room" restaurant was in a group of places to eat in Heddon Street near Regent Street, it was just OK, or maybe we were just jet-lagged!
Next day feeling rested we headed out to do a little shopping and just enjoy being here. London is so cosmopolitan, much changed from when I grew up in England. Every nationality is represented with more turbans, veils and skin colors than can be imagined, at least on Oxford Street, where red double decker buses are lined up end to end on both sides of the street, picking up passengers and dropping them off from all the neighborhoods. London taxis filled up the side streets as we walk back to our hotel, on Duke Street near Grosvenor Square and the US Embassy (Impressive statue of Gen. Eisenhower is out in front).
Dinner last night was superb... at Pattersons on Mill Street in Mayfair. This was 0ur second visit and it is wonderful. Great service and the presentation of the dishes is beautiful.

Today we were off early by the London Underground transportation ... the Tube. A great system and it moves tens of thousands of people every day. This morning we were going to visit the University of Richmond, an international American institution. Our grand daughter has been accepted there starting in September. This was a 45 minute Tube ride and then we took a taxi. The University is perched on a hill overlooking the Thames. A charming senior student working through the summer gave us the tour. We were impressed! Small class sizes and nice amenities, we even looked at a dorm room, basic, but OK.

We walked back down the hill into Richmond, great scenery along the way. Had lunch overlooking a park at a place called Austins that said it was established in 1726! Though heavy rain was forecast we only had a couple of showers as we made our way back via the Tube into London and our hotel.

The Saga Continues

Our home is still a construction zone as we await approval from the insurance company for the estimated $40,000 repairs. All from a leak in a GE refrigerator! Since we leave in a week for a month in Europe we hope the repairs can be completed while we are gone.

The Italian porcelain tile has been found in Las Vegas, but the mold has evidently been changed and it is 1/8 to 1/4" larger and since it is laid in straight lines to emulate a wood floor, most or all of it will have to be replaced, not just the area taken up for the mold problem. This will be a very messy process so we would have had to move out of the house anyway!

Hope to be able to "blog" as we travel.

Chicken Little

You've heard the phrase" The Sky is Falling", well that seems to be what is happening at our house in the last month. A leaking valve in our refrigerator caused water damage and mold. So we have been through decontamination and are now into the restoration phase. It will be another month befoe things are back to normal, we believe.

This rooster was painted from a photo I took in Hawaii, where chickens often run wild.. the ultimate "free range chicken".

Because of the flood, (see picture) my studio has been off limits for several weeks, so no new paintings to post.

SUNFLOWERS IN PROVENCE

This recently completed oil was from a close up of a photograph of a whole field of sunflowers.

Painting has taken a back seat for now, as I cannot get to my studio due to mold containment!

A leak in a water line in our refrigerator caused major damage to kitchen cabinets and counter tops and the need for mold decontamination. It's been going on for almost a week.......

On a Personal Note

We had a wedding in our family last week!

Here I am with our daughter and my granddaughter

(the beautiful bride) dancing to "Play that Funky Music, White Boy"....but with dignity and grace - right?

Painting "Lake Tahoe"

This photo was taken while I was working on "Lake Tahoe" a few months ago.

I paint every week with ten or twelve other artists in a workshop headed by Tom Proctor. Having other painters to bounce ideas off of is helpful. It also allow us to learn from others and correct our mistakes!