Rohling Studios

Kids...and Welcome to the World Roman!

  We have a new baby in the family.  Congratulations Trent and Sarah....and congratulations to my brother as well upon the birth of his second grandchild!  Time has been moving by so quickly lately.  I haven't been very good about blogging these past months and I am determined to change that.  I have met so many wonderful people through blogging.  It seems that there really is a wonderful world out here and I love it!  The new baby's name is Roman.  Welcome to the world little guy!  I am happy that in spite of what the headlines say, I really do believe it is a better world for children today than it was when I first began to read the newspaper.  I am sharing a video by Kristin Andreassen that Jennifer Williams had posted on her blog, Blueskysunburn Creations.   I had to pass it on at this time because, when a child is born we need to celebrate all children.  What a wonderful song and what a wonderful message! 

Journals for PFATT

I can't believe it is time for PFATT releases again.  Come and see what we are offering.

It's That PFATT Time Again!!!!

 

   It is time to unveil all the halloween goodies on Primitive Folk Art Trinkets and Treasures.  At midnight tonight all the new goodies will be posted so be sure to go over and peek at each vendor. There is always something new and the halloween artists have been hard at it to meet the deadline.  Rohling Studios will have new things too.  See you over there! 

 

Illustration Friday...Germs

 
  How timely is it that Illustration Friday's assignment was "Germs" when I am ridden with them and suffering from a nasty chest infection and sinus infection.   I coughed all over my sketch just for good measure to prove my dedication to the challenge this week.  Yuck!  That is how I feel today! 

Little Stands Along The Way

  This is the best part of summer.  The fresh fruits and veggies are plentiful and you have to love the Farmer's Markets where the not so common things appear in baskets and tubs and big enameled bowls. 

I have been stopping to take notice of little stands along the road and I am making my purchases of fresh vegetables..from a place where they are grown locally.  I am paying homage to my grandmother's grandmother's, my great aunts and everyone I can remember who have carefully handled fresh produce. The cardboard, hand lettered signs are remarkably the same as they were 50 years ago and are tucked carefully between ripe vegetables.  Prices have changed.  Some stands are more sophisticated and have beautiful stripped awnings to protect their produce from the sun's blazing rays yet, I am amazed to find there are still places that have coffee cans with a slit cut in the cover and carefully written notes that read, "Please pay here...we work on the honor system". And....who doesn't love the splashes of color that flowers add to farmer's markets and stands alongside the road?  Flowers call to be put in the vase or milk bottle that mother used on the kitchen table many years ago. 

   "Thank You" to the people who put out the checked tablecloths on the side of the road....the ones who pick the flowers from their gardens and place them out in a roadside stand to sell.  My hat is off to anyone who has ever sold anything that represents their own hard work....And here's a request from me to you....please support these entrepreneurs....especially the ones that have make shift stands and signs made by children that say, "Kool Aid 5 Cents".  They are our entrepreneurs of the future.

Sunflowers!!!!

I know...my banner is BIG this time...but I have this thing for sunflowers!  I thought this banner deserved to be big.  After all, what are sunflowers but BIG?  Big and beautiful!  Every time I see them my camera lens is drawn to photograph them.  Even better than one bunch of sunflowers are many bunches of them. 

AND....So many different kinds! Some have rings of soft brown hues and others have rings of deep reds.  I designed my bedroom using the colors I find in sunflowers.  It is always bright and happy to wake up in.  I wish I could grow them in my yard all year round!  I love everything about them.  From the vibrant colors to the fat fuzzy bees that visit them for their pollen.  I love the layers of green that turn into yellows.  They have Happy faces...don't you agree?  Any flower that makes us smile must be smiling at us as well!  Enjoy your sunflower season, wherever you are!

Illustration Friday...Modify

    This week the theme for Illustration Friday is Modify.  I had some fun playing with the picture that I used for the banner of my blog. It seems to fit the theme don't you think?  I guess I am still in the Red, White, and Blue mood from the Fourth of July.  I can't believe that August is already here!  Summer is moving along "with a quickness".  I absolutely love summer!  I hope you are having a wonderful one.

Illustration Friday

What a great start to a wedding!

Getting Caught Up

 

I had a wonderful time in San Diego earlier this summer.  I went out to celebrate the birthdays of two important men in my life, my son and grandson!  Son #2 and my grandson (they lovingly call him "The Beast" so I guess that is the nickname he can go by online) share the exact same birthday so looking at the little guy brings back lots of memories.  It was wonderful to see them all and spend some time with them.  I sure hate it that they live so far away.  Sorry...I can't share any images of them but I can share some wonderful pictures I took while I was out there.  Playing with my grandson did make me think of playing pirates with my two boys when they were kids so that may be where my mind went when I was taking these pictures.

These were taken in the Port of San Diego
(Official Proof...see above signage)
I can't imagine the skill it took to sail one of these grand ships!  The number of knots and pulleys alone would drive me nuts!  Just imagine inspecting them all!
Such beauty in all of those lines...so perfectly calculated to make a ship of this size able to sail by wind power alone across the ocean...it is hard for me to imagine.
All this is so necessary...chains and ropes and pulleys and then here she is...the masthead...I can't help but wonder what inspired her.  Who carved her...what did the captain, the sailors and all who saw her approaching think when she pointed them forward to make safe harbor? I think I was a sailor in some distant past life!  Or maybe I just loved the sea! Being a sailor may be just a romantic thought because I would have hated climbing up these poles to rig all these lines. There were so many wonderful photo opportunities that I can't put them all in one post....I'll just end this one here and promise you there are more to come very soon. 

Mother's Day

   Last weekend I was fortunate to have Paul and Laura over for Mother's Day.  They are so sweet!  We went to a garden center and bought some beautiful plants.  See if you can find Paul! 

  Yep!  He is the tall guy at the end with the very long and lanky legs.  I can NEVER keep up with him! 

 

Here he is finding all the right plants with just the right colors to make my yard look great for the summer.  Paul and Laura have done this for me for Mother's day for lots of years now.  He is the family master gardener!  Laura and I are given other tasks to do.  We get to look at all the pretty flowers in the nice warm greenhouse. 

 

It always makes me think of his great grandmother who loved "the posies".  She even named a little guest house "posie" and painted it pink.  I think of her everytime we plant flowers. 

 

 

    

When we came home Paul started a fire with all the sticks and dried weeds from the winter winds.  It was a beautiful day but just a tad cold so the fire was quite nice.  Laura was appointed the "Fire Fiddler" and was given the designated fire stick. 

 

 

I love these two very brave and wonderful people with all my heart!  I am so blessed to be a mother to all of my three children and to their spouses!  I have signs of all of them in the yard, in my home, and especially in my heart.  And there were phone calls throughout the day that made the day special.  Everytime I look out my window this summer I will think of this day!