After updating yesterday, I went to read some of my subscribers & belatedly found out that xanga is going to shut down or perhaps turn into a pay only site. Since I became a supposedly Lifetime member some years ago, I'm not going to pay anymore to move with them to a new location.
I was happy that they provided a service to download our archives & while it took me awhile to figure out how to properly save them to my computer, I was eventually successful in doing so. I've been here since August of 2003 and didn't want to lose all that I had written. I cataloged all sorts of events, feelings and reviews and certainly wanted to keep all of that.
Though I was never very popular here on xanga(what else is new?), I did have a group pf people whose blogs I followed and I will keep in touch with them, especially since most of them are also on Facebook. I still have my art only blog over on Live Journal, but I'm not certain that i will start another general blog, as I had a lot of trouble keeping this one updated in the last few years. But whether I do start another one or not, I won't be here with all the changes & new location.
And so the Forest of Thoughts will fade into the mists.....

It has been longer than usual since I updated. I've been trying to do more things this summer, after being sick most of last year and when I come home, I'm too exhausted to do anything. My summer activities are nothing like ordinary people, nor as frequent, but any change in my routine is welcome. My sister & I went to an outdoor arts festival in June and hoping to go to another this month, along with our favorite antique show. I went to the nearby Greek Festival, but it might be my last time, because no matter what I get to eat, it always aggravates my u.colitis. I could go & just not buy any food, but that's part of the fun. I do enjoy seeing the Greek Orthodox Church, especially the sanctuary, so maybe I ought to concentrate on that aspect?
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A good friend died at the beginning of June and it's taking me awhile to adjust to a world without her. She had been progressively sick for the last few years, so her passing was actually merciful, but I was still surprised at my grief when it happened. She had a big impact on my life & I may write a piece about it on here at some point, but right now it's still quite painful.
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I have been working a lot on my art and have completed 2 pictures in the last month, with another nearly done. The 2 I've finished are intended for the Cold-Blooded Creations Show in Florida in August. I ship them down. One is a an Eastern box turtle walking through violets and the other is a pen & ink of a Northern Cat-eyed snake slithering through some dead branches. I've photographed them, but not downloaded them yet. The third is a mixed media picture of a red squirrel or chickeree in the fall. I just have to complete the face on that one.
Sent three photos of drawings into the Westlake-Westshore Juried Art Show earlier this week. I've been in the show in the 2 previous years, winning an Honorable Mention ribbon in 2011 for a goldfinch & sunflower drawing. I'm hoping that at least one of my pictures makes it into this year's show.The accepted artists are notified by next weekend, so fingers crossed. My ultimate goal is to win a First Place, which also involves a monetary prize, but I'm not sure I'll ever reach that point, but the hope is there.
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It's been raining and storming nearly everyday until yesterday. The news reported we had rain 16 days in a row, but I don't know if that set a record or not. The ground is sodden & puddles haven't been drying up. Some of the neighbor's flowers in the flowerbed are rotting from too much moisture. The hostas are doing really well & have tall stalks of flowers. It's the opposite of last summer's drought, when it was several weeks between rain, something uncommon in this area. It's one extreme or the other.

Happy Independence Day!

Recently I found a website devoted to the American Revolution and wrote about it for Vulpes Libris Here.