Thursday, February 28, 2013

Back to the real world . . .

It's cold and rainy again today.  We have been home for a week, having spent a wonderful five weeks in sunny, warm Puerto Rico.  Re-entry is not easy.

Our time away was 'carefree.'  I made the decision before we went that I would NOT let my real world interfere with being in 'slug mode.'  Five weeks of relaxing, reading, swimming, sketching (a little) and generally doing nothing.  Aaahhhh!  Do you suppose slugs really feel this good?

A few days ago I scanned some of my Puerto Rico 2013 sketches into my computer - reminders of those easy days.

There is a round - a - bout on one of the roads going to our villa.  Last year the community placed a water sculpture in the middle.  The soaring silver birds and water are very welcoming!


We took a day trip to Old San Juan.  This is a view (just one of many!) from El Morro Fort.  The fort sits high on a bluff - fantastic views all around.


The big rock with two palms and some red flowers marks the path to the pool where I spent my mornings.  I swam laps and then joined in the informal water aerobics class.


The aerobics 'class' (I use that term loosely) was delightful - always full of laughter and stories. I now have a whole new set of friends (and exercises) and look forward to joining in again next winter!

Well, my daffodils are about to bloom, it's nearly March . . .I can almost smell spring. . .and the sun just peeked through the clouds.  Welcome home . . .

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Foolin' the Brits

For the past four years the St Michaels Art League has held a banner competition.  Members of SMAL are encouraged to paint something that represents the theme "Celebrate St Michaels."  The original artwork is presented to the judges and then (hopefully) gets juried in to become a banner.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 - yes, I know it's 2013, but that war lasted a few years and the battle that our town focuses on happened in 1813. The state of Maryland has planned celebrations lasting into 2013 (they even issued a commemorative license tag for this event). A little history lesson here - there was a battle in Baltimore at Fort McHenry during which Frances Scott Key was aboard one of the British ships and wrote an inspiring poem at dawn when he saw that the American flag was still there.  Sound familiar?  It's a big deal in our state.

Back to the St Michaels story - the British ships were in the harbor and were going to fire their cannons on the town.  The clever townspeople hung lanterns in the trees so the enemy would think that the town was on a hill and that the lanterns were lights in the houses. The cannonballs were fired over the houses (except for one - now known as The Cannonball House, but you probably guessed that) and the town was saved!

Fact or myth? Who cares - we love the story.

So, for this year's banner competition I picked up the St Michaels story theme and found out last night that my banner was juried in!



The artwork will be scanned and all the banners will be hanging on poles on our main street sometime in late April through November. Plan a visit to our village and see them all!

For a look at last years' banner see blog post February 27, 2012.