Short & Sweet

I literally have hundreds of sweet emails wishing me well that I cannot answer because I still only have the use of my left hand and have not been on the computer.

Please know that I will respond when I am better.

 At least the beach has been gorgeous and I am able to sit and read most days.

I am able to do Instagram (saving my sanity) because I can easily scroll through and comment with just one tap of the finger.

I thought you might get a kick out of the comment I put with today's picture on Instagram - Bobbie of Cottleston Pie has promised not to judge me.

Thank you for all of your loving concern - I hope to be back visiting soon!

Everyday life . . .

With my wrist issues, I don't feel like I have been very productive lately, 

but when I look at my life through my iPhoto files, I see that I am actually getting a few things done here and there.

I spent some time cleaning up the garden and patio area.

which led to changing the display on top of the yellow cabinet,

I gathered all the different metal containers I could find - I definitely do not need to buy any more.

I even got to the side of the house and cleaned up my tiny little potting bench.

Weeding the garden is slow going with my weak hand, but the garden is beginning to look presentable.

One bit of house decorating today was courtesy of Suzan of Simply Vintageous.

 I won a giveaway on her blog and received a fun package in the mail today.

The metal Paris heart is obvious, but she also included a glass heart necklace and some earrings - beautifully packaged!

After hanging the heart in various locations around the house, I settled on a shelf in the kitchen.

My daughter KC - shown here on our weekend sailing adventure - caused a bit of upheaval around the house today.

KC is moving back to the Bay Area and has returned this cabinet to me - where do I put it, should I paint it, what color?

But, painting and moving furniture will have to wait.

I am going in for carpal tunnel surgery on my wrist on Thursday so sitting with my family or walking on the beach is about all I will be doing for the next few days.

Off the Wall

If you have never read the "About" page on my blog, you might wonder why I call my blog            Art and Sand.

Sand is the reason we live at the beach and why Steve is a full time artist.

For all of our years together, Steve has been an avid surfer - unfortunately these days it is harder for him to paddle due to his artificial shoulder.

Before moving to the beach, Steve would go surfing every morning before work and the family would be at the beach all weekend which meant sand - all over the cars, bodies and the house.

I used to joke with Steve "if there is going to be this much sand on the floor then we should live in a house at the beach".

Steve bought me the beach house, told me I could no longer complain about sand and unexpectedly found his muse in the process.

Our house serves as Steve's gallery - every wall displays his work - on a rotating basis as pieces sell.

Lately, a few favorites have come "Off the Wall".

Steve painted "Portsmouth Autumn" a couple of years ago after a road trip around New England- our neighbor Al, who grew up in Massachusetts, spent 5 years coveting the painting and finally purchased it last month.

The same day that Al bought his painting, another set of friends asked to buy "194 Bleecker Street" - we spotted this door when we were walking down Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village and I made Steve go back to take a photograph.

I am very proud of Steve and his artistic talents so I asked him for a list of other recent sales. 

This painting is titled "On Brunswick Lane" and was recently commissioned by the people renting the house with the picket fence - they will be retiring in June and want a remembrance of the house and the view they have enjoyed this past year.

"Another Pierpont Summer Day" was purchased by our next door neighbor as an anniversary gift to her husband.

The painting hangs over their sofa as a reminder of the many days the family has spent sitting on the beach together.

Over the back fence, we listened to little Alejandro laughing, crying, screaming, etc. from the day he was born so Steve was thrilled when he was asked to do a painting of those first days when Alejandro was learning to walk - thus the title, "The Waddler".

"The Entryway" was commissioned on the sly by our friend Jerry as a Christmas present for his wife- the painting shows the side entrance to their weekend retreat.

We saw a woman riding along the beach and Steve liked the challenge of painting a horse - her husband surprised her with "Cowgirl in the Sand" as a Christmas gift.

Steve never knows when a painting will sell or what will be next so he was surprised when this older painting, "Mission San Buenaventura", sold after several years.

"Sunset Dunes", another painting that has been around for awhile, sold just before Christmas to a customer who lives in Chicago - I guess he was dreaming of the beach during the cold winter.

Steve recently delivered "Rincon Classic" to our friends Manny and Sandy - the painting was done in trade for the building of my little garden house.

We are blessed that Steve can spend his day painting and he can paint what he wants

  like this recent painting reminding him of a road trip he and JP took to Mexico years ago.

Our long walks provide lots of ideas for paintings - maybe he will paint this classic Porsche we saw on the street yesterday

or this idyllic spot on a hot winter day a few weeks ago.

One thing is for sure, Steve will always have something to paint and we will always have something new on our walls.

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You can read about Steve's transformation from businessman to artist here.

Visit Steve Cook Studio here.

Moving furniture around the house . . .

In January, a neighbor asked if we could help him out by taking an old bench off his hands.

It has been sitting next to the garage, but this week it finally got a permanent home.

I can't believe how long it took me to move the bench to the backyard.

The first thing I had to do was find a new home for the enamel topped table.

After 17 years of living in this house, it finally occurred to me to put my grandmother's farm table in the kitchen.

Steve is loving the extra work space.

The patio has a new look

as does the kitchen.

The living room also got a new look - this cabinet came out of the kitchen to make room for the table and as soon as I can settle on a color, it will get a fresh coat of chalk paint.

But, it is difficult to think about painting when it is so gorgeous outside.

I will end with a great big THANK YOU for all the kind comments and well wishes about my hand problem.

My computer is back at home with a brand new screen and the time away from the computer helped a lot.

I see another specialist today and hope to know more about solutions.