Yesterday my co-worker and good friend of more than 10 years finished her last day here at work. We may have said our teary goodbyes, but she will be around for another month or two as she gathers what she needs in order to embark on her new life on the west coast. That is really where her heart is and she is following it. Something I wish I would do! I plan on meeting up with her while she is still in town to go on our last bike trip along the river road. And maybe a few other fun things. Of course we will be in constant contact via the internet. But am going to miss her :(

On a more cheery note, this is what I have been working on the past week of lunchbreaks.

It is a watercolor portrait of my great aunt who passed away suddenly last October. She is the sister of my maternal Gma and the second oldest aunt that I had painted portraits. 6 girls and two boys in that family. Both my aunts have passed away. My Gma is still with us….bless her heart!….at age 93. My second oldest aunt got to see her portrait before she passed on, but this youngest aunt did not. :( And she is the well known artist in her circle and almost all of Florida. So it only seems fitting that I paint her portrait. She has blessed me and taught me quite a few things. I really felt her presence as I was painting this. I am sure she was correcting me as I went through the process ;)
We are going to have a memorial for her at the family reunion which is this coming weekend. And it also is the start of our vacation. Which leads me to say that I will not have access to a computer the entire time. So you won’t hear from me for a while. I will be bringing my bobbinlace and tatting and probably packed too many projects to even try to finish anything. SIGH!

I will try to stay cool in this sweltering heat, as you do likewise!