June — Aug In Pictures (random order)
June 3, Paris, France: Isabella discovers a hair dryer on a hose, Hotel Nadaud.
June – Aug: Garcia sisters stage a hostile takeover of my entire back yard.
July 21, Taos, NM: Disturbing merry-go-round horses constructed of wood and mops, Taos Fiesta.
May 30: Travel from Paris to the small village of Bons-en-Chablais to stay with the most generous friends on the planet.
August 24: With little hope of reclaiming her lost territory, Velma sits alone in the onion patch.
June 1, medieval village of Yvoire, France: Charlie’s Angels was invented here.
July 20, Santa Fe, NM: Greener Grass, 20″ h x 23″ w, by Robert La Duke, good friend & former studio-mate at art school. (Image courtesy Meyer Gallery East.)
June 1, Yvoire, France: Hotel Restaurant du Port, Lake Geneva.
Petite perch straight from lake, fried & served with lemon sauce, salad, pommes frites.
June 12-July 17: Garcia goes “broody,” devoting herself exclusively to a growing mound of infertile eggs.
June 27, Lenox, MA: Drop off Isabella at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute where she will spend the next six weeks. Without me.
June 2, Lake Annecy, France: The world’s cleanest lake.
June 1, Chamonix, France: Cable car to peak, Mont Blanc (3842 m.).
My idea of hell, 2317 m.
July 20, Santa Fe, NM: Encounter the world’s most hideous ass-faced spider.
August 9, Pittsfield, MA: “Hike” (walk) through Audubon Wilderness Sanctuary with my parents, insisting we stop to take a selfie on a precarious bridge over mosquito-infested stream.
June 15: Rufina, sweet Rufina.
I almost titled this “Head Shot.” Not funny. Not really.
August 22, Tesuque, NM: Don Pasquale, Santa Fe Opera
Late Juneish: Micro toads appear in the yard. For the first time in 8 years. My neighbor will blame me for this.
June 2, Annecy, France.
July 26: The looming threat that Garcia will actually die trying to hatch infertile eggs necessitates the acquisition of two new Garcias. Ridiculous creatures.
June 1, Bons-en-Chablais, France: You say Julie Andrews, I say Lyme’s disease.
Mid-July garden.
July 30: New work, hand-painted cups with skull and original drawing decals; 4 oz-8 oz.
August 9, Lenox, MA: Pick up Isabella from Tanglewood, come to the realization she doesn’t actually need me anymore.
August 24: Visitor in my studio, discovered too late.
Live Clay 
Stunning photo of Rufina. A Queen, if there ever was one. We have dog, Sam, with an almost identical coat to Velma. She’s going grey in the face, too.
Hiya John! Thanks, I know you’re Rufina’s biggest fan… sure wish you could come visit her in person. Hard to see our beloved dogs ageing, isn’t it? How old is Sam?
Still young. We found her nearly dead on the road when she was about 3. That was 3 years ago. You’re right though, it’s heartbreaking to see them age, and worse when they move on. We lost a dog in Sao Paulo to a shockingly sudden disease and were so shattered we moved city. Couldn’t stand to be in the same place with all the memories of him. Two months after we were gone. Still to this day, 5 years later, the first glass of every bottle of wine we open is raised to Arthur.
Aw, good for you for giving her a loving home, and I’m so sorry to hear about Arthur 😦 Especially because it was sudden and unexpected. I love that you toast him, tho! I think there is always one dog that takes up a bigger piece of real estate in our hearts than others, even though we love them all.
great pictures thank you glad to see Rufina well and such tiny toads they almost look like the crickets all over my yard Janice
Yes, those toads are really something. When I first saw them many years ago, I thought they were dirt clods. And then they jumped! Quite startling. Thanks so much for stopping by, Janice!
I’m such a fan!
Aw, thanks Patrick *curtsey*. I appreciate you stopping by and leaving your encouraging words!
Great Photos, great summer, great memories.
Thanks.
Thanks! Isabella and I have talked about the fact that this was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime summer, home and away. I feel so lucky 🙂
Wonderful stories, each and every one. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad you read them as separate stories, Len. Thanks as always for reading!
What a wonderful summer (except for the poor dear visitor at the end)! However, when I saw the micro toad, my first thought was “uh oh!”
Yes, you and me both, Heather, re: ugh for the toads! I will have to come up with some kind of strategy to keep everyone happy (cheap wine only goes so far). It’s ironic that despite millions of tad poles every year, I haven’t seen any that have made it to this evolutionary stage… until this year!!
Looks like a lovely summer!
Hey Stacie! It was, thanks. Been thinking about you, wondering what you’re up to. Hopefully I’ll be reading about it soon 😉
Wow! That looks like it was about as much fun as possible!
Love the new work – very whimsical, and congratulations to Isabella.
Thanks, Guap! I’ve missed your posts quite a bit–looking forward to your return & characteristic great humor, music and fun. Hope you’ve had a great summer as well!
What a fun post. Looks like a really sweet summer full of things that make life great. Your hand painted cups are amazing! Really beautiful. I need to get over to Etsy to order something. Have to decide what I want! 🙂
Aw, thanks so much, Lynda. It was time for me to do something new and I’ve been having fun with converting drawings into decals. My shop is pretty empty right now… but I have big plans for the fall! 🙂
Wow – these are amazing. Well, all of them except the spider…but it’s not the composition – it’s the subject. 🙂
Yes, the Land of Enchantment has much to offer in the way of arachnids! I saw a tarantula walking around in Taos a couple yrs ago and was happy I was on the other side of the window.
Thanks for stopping by — I’ve got to catch up on your latest but things have been way too crazy.
Was the tarantula talking? Smoking a cigarette? Beware the spider gang!
I don’t know, I ran away when it stood up on its hind legs and knocked a beer off the patio table.
Laura, you have some pretty amazing past posts, but this one was completely outstanding. I found myself actually cracking up out loud at some of your hilarious captions!! Rofl re: Sound of Music and lyme disease! Also want to add that your photographs are pretty spectacular! That view while you are dining at that Hotel Restaurant Du Port – wow!!! Also really lovely to see some of your new clay pieces. Now that is what I call a fantastic summer. 🙂
Aw, thank you so much for the kind words, Patricia! I always appreciate when readers enjoy what I’ve done, simply entertaining myself 🙂 It’s really been a “once in a lifetime” kind of summer… flew by, too! I hope to get a little more clay work done but it’s been a challenge — glad you enjoyed the new pieces, too! Thanks for visiting xx
It was a great summer! Glad we got to share a tiny part of it…. thanks Laura
Thank you Bob, it was truly my pleasure! I’ve never had so much fun with Fhamous E. Painter.