One Good Thing Taking a slight break from painting. It's been more than 100 days since I worked on a puzzle, so I took some time this weekend to do that. A friend and I took advantage of the clear, hot days to meet up for chat and ice cream in the nearby town of Boiling Springs (aka "Bubblin'…

Buy Original Art!!! On Friday, June 5, you can find me inside Box Turtle Books on Warren Street as part of Shelby's "First Friday" celebration. A block off the main square, Greenbrook Design will be hosting quite the event and Stem is having a Crème Brûlée Dance Party just a little way down the…

100 Days – Update 10! Whew! With a lot of work and a great deal of encouragement, I made it to the 100 Day mark! That's right - 100 paintings in 100 days. This is my final batch, which is Day 92 through yesterday, which was Day 100. I must say, I'm quite pleased to see so much progress and I am…

One Good Thing I haven't written a "Gaffney edition" of one of these for a while but, rest assured, there are Good Things in Gaffney. A week of frequent rain has eased the drought and it's been good for the flowers in the little park next to City Hall. The day lilies are gorgeous and at home, I…

100 Days – Update 9! I've gained enough confidence during this go-round to try that trickiest of subjects - the human form! Honestly, even doing cartoon-y style people can make me get tight and cramped, so it was important to remind myself of that tough wisdom that "it's just paper." It's okay for…

One Good Thing It's a rainy, nearly-chilly weekend. We badly need the rain and the cool temperatures are an excellent excuse to stay cozy at home, so I don't mind much. I walked around outside between cloudbursts and noticed how the yard projects are coming along. My Garden Gal has done so much to…

One Good Thing I struggle with calling myself an artist. I finally settled on referring to myself as an "enthusiastic hobbyist." But I'm not sure about that. I mean, it's not NOT true, but - seven years after first picking up a brush - I've sold paintings (some to people I don't even know!),…

One Good Thing It has been several days of NOT good things. There are, however, still things to celebrate. Let me explain. I don't want to seem like Pollyanna. She was very popular for a time and there's some good stuff in that book; honestly, there is. But there is a limit to cheery positivity in…

100 Days – Update 8! The 100 Day Project continues! Here we have Days 71 - 80 - most are postcard-sized; that's just a VERY convenient size for everyday painting after a day of work. I'm actually going through paintings tonight - it's time to select two or so for the County Art Show and I'm going…

One Good Thing When I began my career in higher education, I knew I needed to buy academic regalia - renting that stuff very quickly becomes a terrible economic decision. Regalia is a whole thing in education - your rig announces to those who can read such things your degree, your institution, and…

One Good Thing As you know, I've taken a Big Step forward into real gardening by figuring out what was beyond me and making arrangements with my very own "Garden Gal," who is doing amazing work in getting the vague ideas in my head on to paper and working with my budget and skill level to begin…

100 Days – Update 7! Still at it! I'm now in the final month of the 100 Day Art Project and I'm going strong! I am noticing some interesting things - on days where I feel like I "have" to paint (these days usually follow a very full workday), I tend to get "tight," meaning that I'm literally…

Magic – 4 My Beloved and I have spent this weekend celebrating our wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything particularly large - no cruise or Broadway show, no weekend away or couples retreat - we just acted as tourists in our own town and surrounding area. We visited our favorite types of shops…

One Good Thing Today I started my day with a Very Good Thing - a real sit-down breakfast featuring the "good stuff." I had a box of frozen almond croissants and set one out to proof overnight. Bake that while preparing fresh fruit and strong coffee featuring just the right amount of hot milk and…

One Good Thing Today's OGT was feeling appreciated at work. I'm taking a long weekend to celebrate my 16th wedding anniversary with my Beloved (for some truly bizarro reason, wax is the traditional gift. Not sure about that one. Maybe I'll receive a bag of Babybel cheeses), so I was trying to…

One Good Thing Today's OGT was brought to me by a good friend and lunch at The Arsenal. Nothing fancy, but solid, stick-to-your-ribs food. I suspect that one reason The Arsenal has been around for more than half a century is the careful placement of homemade desserts by the cash register. Deciding…

One Good Thing It's good to realize that you're old enough to not worry about seeming cool. Go see the trained doggos. And to have good friends to gallivant around with. Enjoy a really well-made mocktail. And make time to create, especially on the weekends. Go live well, Divas!!

100 Days – Update 6! This is the first update post of the second half of my 100 Day Art Project and I have to say that I see some real growth in this sort of consistent work. By that, I don't just mean getting "better" (whatever that means), but getting more courageous about the type of projects I…

One Good Thing My first foray growing houseplants from cuttings was successful to the point that I have Wandering Dude cuttings to give away! I trimmed my Dude and let the cuttings root in water for two weeks, but I'm told that this plant wants to thrive so much that you can just stick a cutting…

One Good Thing In the last week or so, I've had several new things that are designed to make it a little easier to have touches of elegance in my everyday life arrive. I consider all of these Good Things, so I'm grouping them into a single post - why not? First, I have irises in gorgeous full…

One Good Thing Such a nice day! A friend had an extra ticket to Stereophonic and kindly asked me to go. This show is basically a fictionalized version of the tribulations Fleetwood Mac had during the insanely-long recording of Rumours, which is possibly a perfect album. The band dealt with…

One Good Thing Surprises are often good things and that certainly is what I got when I parked my car at work this morning. Imagine my surprise when, as I'm  running my "to do" list through my head, I notice several men in breeches and tricorn hats wandering down the sidewalk. Then I remembered…

The Essentials – Pleasure Every now and again, I add a post here that centers on something I consider to be an "Essential" in the Splendor journey. (You can search for all of these Essential posts using the search bar, if you'd like to read more.) This post is one of those. You see, I thought it…

100 Days – Update 5! With this batch of daily paintings, I've hit the halfway mark on the 100 Day Art Project! I was working with Easter bunnies for a few days here - all of them are different, which just reminds me of the endless possibilities of art. I hope you're enjoying your own version of…

One Good Thing I'm visiting Dad this weekend and it is a clear, sparkling April day; the sort of day I want to be outside, preferably in the woods. Dad, however, wants to sleep and rest - and at 93, I think he deserves that. So I've checked in on him and walked around outside, marvelling at…

100 Days – Update 4! As I continue to work my way through the 100 Day Art Project, I have to say that I'm glad I picked postcard-sized projects! While a few are larger, I really save those for weekends. After I get home from work and take care of the day-to-day chores that my house and life…

One Good Thing I had several Good Things to discuss today - I took a lovely ramble through the woods and I saw strangers helping each other out with jumper cables, both of which are Good Things. I also went to a Tenebrae service at the church I used to attend regularly - enough that I was a lay…

One Good Thing I came home today from a long day at work, followed by a few errands. I stepped into the house and immediately became an excitable small child. WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO THE MOON, BABY! NASA has successfully launched Artemis II,  the first crewed deep-space flight mission in more than 50…

One Good Thing I swooped in to Aldi's garden week to grab two raised beds (hopefully more on that this weekend) and treated the Furred Ones to a spring scratch house. Aldi does these several times a year and the spring theme is a definite win - not only does it have cat-head-shaped entryways, but…

100 Days – Update 3! Continuing with my version of The 100-Day Project! I am especially pleased that I managed to keep painting while visiting Dad this past weekend. I packed a abbreviated version of things (watercolor postcards, a simple 12-color palette, two brushes, pencil, liner, white marker,…

Magic – 3 As I continue actively searching for "moments of magic" in my everyday life, I'm learning quite a bit - including that, in some traditions, the start of spring is viewed as the start of the year. I like that. Spring begins with the Vernal Equinox, where day and night are balanced.…

One Good Thing This is my monthly weekend with Dad. Since I took this new position back in June, my schedule has changed - I used to stack my classes in Tuesday/Thursday blocks so I could drive up on Thursday and stay into Monday. That's not the case now, although Friday is a half-day for me, so I…

One Good Thing I have completed my walk around Paris! For these virtual challenges, you set your own rules, so I counted walking and biking, but not everyday steps. I especially enjoy getting my virtual "postcards" when I reached milestones on the virtual walk. These tell you about sights and…

100 Days – Update 2! I've made it another ten days into The 100-Day Art Project. I've done a few postcard-sized (4" x 6") watercolors that just make me happy with their bright colors and whimsical nature and one of my favorite teachers is currently doing a "Spring Bloom Marathon." The first one of…

One Good Thing It takes a bit of effort of have a true Day Off. Plenty of times, a day off from work means household chores, family obligations, and other such projects. Fortunately, I have begun to listen to my own tune and I know that I've been doing good work well, but I needed a hard reset. So…

One Good Thing Sometimes, it's all about just insisting that your day start right. I accidentally left Sally Mustang's ragtop down overnight - luckily, it didn't rain. So, since it was already down, I left it that way for my drive into work. It was just a touch chilly - I need to remember to toss…

One Good Thing Today is International Women's Day, a day set aside to celebrate the cultural, artistic, intellectual, and political achievements of women, while also calling attention to ongoing problems faced by women, such as the wage gap, widespread abuse of girls and women, and the…

100 Days – Update 1! With some encouragement, I committed to participating in this year's 100 Day Art Project. I plan to create a postcard-sized watercolor every day for 100 days, with maybe something more involved on the weekend. (In this first batch, that's the "Spring Boots" picture.) Here are…

One Good Thing I went outside today for lunch. I try to eat well at work - not just healthy, wholesome food, but to eat well, as in taking my time, using dishes instead of eating out of heated plastic, that sort of thing. And that's good, but today was warm and sunny and the walls were closing in,…

Magic – 2 Continuing 2026 as my "year of magic," I wanted to report in. As a general rule, I find February problematic - in my part of the country, it tends to be dark and gloomy. But the start of this February, we had a lovely snowfall, which made the short days much easier to enjoy and my…

One Good Thing Over at work, we've had a number of staff out lately (all for Very Good Reasons) and it's been hectic. In fact, I sort of let it get to me yesterday and I needed to re-set my attitude for today. I did, and I was amazed at how much better a busy day can be when I'm trying hard to get…

One Good Thing With a bit of nudging and a touch of actual cajoling, I'm committed to taking part in The 100 Day Art Project this year. Accepting that things are busy right now, I decided on my own rules - and I encourage you to join me. Yes, the plan is to make art every single day for 100 days.…

One Good Thing Due to a bit of miscommunication, I wound up having some time during yesterday's lunch break. (The miscommunication was a story in itself - I was using an old version of a church's website and wound up being the only person there for an Ash Wednesday service that had taken place a…

One Good Thing To many, today is Mardi Gras - the riotous end of the Carnivale season, presaging the solemnity of Lent. To some, it's Shrove Tuesday, which is unofficially "Pancake Day." I grew up with church pancake suppers on Shrove Tuesday, which at that time, were less about using up the sugar…

One Good Thing My Beloved is an avid tabletop gamer. He's been doing this since he was a boy and he's got a core group of friends (dating back to junior high!) that come to our house once a month to play for a few hours. Those friendships are so important to all of them and it's great to hear them…

One Good Thing For Day 6 of the Everyday Elegance Experiment, I noticed some things in my own backyard. My mother had a camellia bush growing outside the kitchen window and when I noticed that this house had a beautiful, well-established camellia in the backyard, I took it as a positive sign that…

One Good Thing Day 5 of the Everyday Elegance experiment was a bit different. While I still tried to raise my "outfit game" (seriously - dark wash jeans, a crisp white blouse with scarf and bright pink loafers doesn't take much effort to pull together and msde me feel like I knew what I was…

One Good Thing On Day 4 of the Everyday Elegance experiment, I continued taking pains to elevate my outfit - floral boots and a flat-brimmed hat made me feel a little special as I left the house to go to work.  But the real effort today was spent at meals. During the workweek, my breakfast is…

One Good Thing Here we are on Day 3 of the "Everyday Elegance" experiment. I'm still enjoying this foray into elevating my everyday into something marked with grace and style. Today, I added a handkerchief to my ensemble. Hear me out on this one. My Dad - and my Beloved, for that matter - use…

One Good Thing It's Day 2 of the "Everyday Elegance" experiment and I have to admit - I'm having a lot of fun with this! It was fun to figure out how I was going to meet the challenge of doing something small today to bring grace and style into an ordinary workday. Today, I took a usual work…