The Three Pack

Spring and Summer of 2011

2011-07-06T16:56:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been so long since my last update! Time flies with occupation. It was a busy Spring and is shaping up to be the same for Summer.

We had our fullest classes ever at YEStudio this Spring. It was very fulfilling. Then came the first Summer Camp. Finally, we got a chance to take a very short trip to Charleston, SC. It was wonderful as usual. We all three love that city.

We stayed in a nice hotel on Savannah Hwy, a Sleep Inn. It had an outside pool. Very clean and fun. It was 12' deep on one end. That's a rarity these days.

We discovered that Savannah Hwy is a very convenient location with easy access to our favorite places. We crossed over the new Cooper River Bridge. They old one is now gone. It was a terrifyingly steep and rickety-looking thing. We crossed it anyway, but were apprehensive while doing so. Not so with this beauty! What a lovely piece of architecture! Wow. I am posting a couple photos of it now:

Approaching the Cooper River Bridge

You can see the strength of this bridge. No worries!

The bridge took us over to the Isle of Palms. We got there just in time for free parking (6:pm). Yay! We went out and walked on the beach for a while. We were tired from the trip, so then went to eat at Shem Creek Grill. We had She-Crab Soup, Shrimp, and one Corona Lite with Lime. Kassidi had a steak and potato sundae. Weird, but delicious! The bridge was even more lovely coming back after dark!

Back to the hotel for some relaxation. Next morning dawned bright and sunny. Very HOT! We went downtown Charleston after having breakfast in the hotel. (free). We went to the Charleston Waterfront Park. Large beautiful fountains. One was interactive.


The interactive fountain.

Lots of sailboats, flowers, an art museum and much more. We toured the museum and I did a photo shoot of Kassidi for her school pictures.

Kassidi at Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC


Kassidi at Charleston Harbor.

Framed by an Angel.

When touring the Museum, we saw two installations. Since FAB is doing an installation, based on Cindy's Illuminated Lilies, we were very interested in those. They were nothing like ours will be but were fun to see all the same.


Beautiful Foil installation!

The other installation is colored, stiffened fabric. Hmm. Interesting.

Pineapple Fountain on Waterfront Park.

From there, we hopped on the trolley and went to Market St. A large part of the market has been air conditioned, but we didn't make it that far. So much to see! I finally purchased my first sweetgrass basket! I have always wanted one. My little basket is so cute. Very small, but lovely.

Cindy and Kassidi on the trolley!

For lunch, we found a very fun and interesting place called Gilligan's. Wonderful food! We had fresh shrimp (peel and eat). Yum! Tiny hushpuppies that were the best I ever had. Fried pickles, Kassidi's choice. Sweet tea too. The hushpuppies were free, served like some places do rolls. Cindy had Low Country Gumbo, her favorite. We all shared. It was lots of fun. Turned out, the manager was from Knoxville. We met several people from TN while we were there. A little touch of home.

Interesting decor at Gilligan's

We walked for miles around the Market St, East Bay St and surrounding areas. Went back to the hotel, changed clothes and drove to Folly Beach. We spent time on the beach there. Cindy and Kassidi jumped waves for a while. Back at the room, we had a pizza for supper. What a day!

Next morning, our last in Charleston, we took the time for Kassidi to enjoy the hotel pool. We went in search of the Angel Oak. I got some great pictures of the wonderful old tree. The other Live Oaks were fantastic too.


There's Kassidi. It's her first visit to the tree. She was amazed!

Kassidi and Grammy with the old Angel Oak.

Three Angels! Cindy, Kassidi and the Oak.

Then we crossed back over the Cooper River Bridge, this time to enjoy Mt. Pleasant. Of course, we ended up at Isle of Palms Beach again. We shopped in some special shops there, talked with Bubba, the 16 year old parrot. We had visited with him before, years ago.

Soon it was time to head back to Maryville. We drove through the mountains of NC and E.TN in the dark. I wouldn't recammend it! There were long lines of trucks traversing the steep, winding curves. Egad!

We have another Summer Camp next week. We plan a trip to IL for a few days. When we get back, we have a trip to NC with the girl scouts to a camp in those mountains. Then Kassidi is attending an Apple Camp in Knoxville.

Fall Session begins on August 9th. Whew! Oh well, that's what we want, a busy and very full life. It is wonderful to be able to fill our lives with art and wonderful people! Hope your summer is wonderful too.

See you next update! Bye! ;-)

These busy times... October is a whirlwind of activity!

2010-10-17T13:57:00.000-04:00

Time passes so quickly these days. It's hard to believe that October is more than half over already! I guess that is because of all the Fall activities. Festivals, Halloween, classes in graphic design, art classes for Fall session. Just to name a few!

We had the Foothills Fall Festival from October 8th-10th. Cindy and I prepared for that for a couple of months. I made special items using sea glass, beach glass and shells. It was an entirely new craft for me. I found sea glass to use, which was not an easy task in itself. No, I didn't get to find it at the beach, taking leisurely walks. (sigh). I had to do research online and search for it in many stores here in Maryville and Knoxville. I used round wood frames, aqua, green and white sea glass, some really good glue, pearl beads, shells and glitter to make these pretty treasures. I made one of them into a mirror. I also made some tiny votive candle holders, using the sea glass and pearls. It was fun, but very labor and time intensive.

I also made some frames using shells and crushed shells. This was a challenge but that is what makes them so special. All that remain of these are upstairs at ArtSpace Gallery of Wearable Art and Antiques. I think they will make wonderful and unusual Christmas gifts. All my frames and votives are 'one of a kind' works of art.

I did a shabby chic candle set. It is a candle holder, a candle ring of aqua beads, with a lovely candle. I included two lamp shades in the mix as well. One is white with blue and aqua sea glass, and the other is gold silk with shells.

Cindy has done some beautiful paintings lately. She reproduced some of them as magnets. She presented some lovely magnets, mini framed pieces, greeting cards and gift cards.

"Serenity at Sunset"

Here are some of the 'mini' versions of Cindy's gorgeous paintings. The Hydrangea, Sunflower, Poppy, 'Just Stepped Out' shoes and the 'Hummer and the Hybiscus' are all available in minis. The Hybiscus, Poppy, and 'Serenity at Sunset' originals are still available.

"Just Stepped Out"

Oh yes, (sadly), YahHoo! the original 'Just Stepped Out' acrylic canvas of Converse shoes sold at Fall Festival. I was in love with it! Lots of other people loved it too! On a brighter note, there are still several minis of the shoes available. ;-) She made some magnetic minis of her originals that were very popular with Fall Festival shoppers.

Indaguy was on the scene at Fall Festival in t-shirt form. He was there showing off some new designs as little key chains too. He is still 'showing' at Hastings Books and ArtSpace. He has been tentatively invited to be a part of 'Crusin' and Footloose in the Foothills Car Show' If he appears, he will have a brand new design for that event. (negotiations are in the works) ;-)

Kassidi made some of her unique bead-art pieces and put them in the booth. She sold one of them and also one of her paintings of an owl, called "Owlie"

She painted the owl without sketching it first. It drew a lot of attention and sold on the second day! Go, Kassidi!

Kassidi and her kitty Sheesha are enjoying each other's company these days. Kassidi wanted me to share some pictures of the chubby and fluffy Ms.Sheesha Kitty. So... here they are:

Sheesha is at home in all her 'fluffiness' She is very busy like us, but her activities are eating, drinking water, attending to her litter-ary needs and keeping her abundance of fur nicely groomed and maintained. She is so happy to see us in the evenings when we return home. She patiently tolerates Kassidi's costumes and dress-ups for the TN Vol. football games.

Our next scheduled activities are on Oct. 24th and 29th. The 24th is the last special class for the designing of Christmas ornaments for YEStudio's tree. It will be at the "Fantasy of Trees" event in Knoxville at the convention center, in late November. This time, the YES-Kids will be making 'Shimmers' for the tree. They are wooden ornament with lots of 'bling'. Then on the 29th, YEStudio is hosting "Halloween Haven" at ArtSpace. Two hours of artistic, creative fun, designing trick or treat bags, playing games and having special treats. This will be held during the Last Friday Art Walk in downtown Maryville. This is a very special Art Walk with lots of costume-wearing participants and the opportunity for capacious celebration!

Winter session at YEStudio starts on Nov. 16th and 17th, so we will be off and running and very busy with hardly a break. We hope our classes fill up this time. We already have our next session of awesome projects planned!

Kassidi is very busy with home school. There are so many outside activities involving courses, choir, hand bells, zoo classes in science, girl scouts, butterfly tagging, river cruises (girl scouts), and she has been offered a chance to take tennis lessons and take a stab at throwing pottery! Wow! Such a busy girl.

I won't be doing more sea glass for a while. I need to see what happens with the ones I made first. I do love it though. It stretches my artistic/design cells. ha!

We plan another adult Mosaic class soon and we are considering a 'Mommy and Me' painting class using acrylics. We have had several people ask for those.

Our next six-week course may be in Manga (mahn gah). It is Japanese cartoon drawing/illustration. It would be a follow-up to the graphic design classes which are almost over.

Cindy never really stops painting. She is now preparing for her first big 'installation' starring her water lilies. She has two more (huge) water lilies to paint. She is painting umbrellas for entry into "Art on the Runway" in November. So there is no time to dilly-dally.

It's great to be back at my blogging again. I was unable to load pictures for a while there. But now I am back, so check in often to see what's up with The 3 Pack!

Talk to you later! ;-)

The Long, Hot Summer of 2010

2010-07-27T10:45:00.000-04:00

I know, right? Every year, during each Summer and Winter, we always wish for either cooler or warmer weather. We never wish for the 'eggs will fry on the sidewalk' heat or the 'tears will freeze on your face' cold extremes that we are having lately!

Please, we need some mild weather! There was a news clip that showed a cookie sheet in the back window of someone's car with BAKED cookies from just the heat outside! Some of the cookies were actually burned! That is a little ridiculous, I think. We are only frail humans here, after all.

But, this too will pass and we will have Fall, which is nearly everyone's favorite season. We look forward to the changing of the colors in the Smoky Mountains. Of course, so do millions of others. Literally! Millions of visitors arrive in October to enjoy the vivid, multi-colored peaks and the cooler breezes of the Smokies. Hikers, campers, canoeists, kayakers, and just tourists in general will crowd the roads and parks in the Great Smoky Mtn. National Park.

Kassidi has found a fun way to pass some time creatively, under the A/C. Taking her pattern from a disassembled Earl Gray tea box, she started making small boxes with card stock and decorating them with a theme. She made smaller ones and then changed her pattern to make different styled boxes! Above are a few examples of her box project.

Some schools here in East TN. are already in session. It's so good that schools have air conditioning now! I really don't know how we were able to survive when we were kids. For one thing, we didn't start back until after Labor Day. That gave the summer heat time to cool a bit. Still, there are memories of being pretty miserable for a few weeks.

When I was a kid in Illinois, I rode my bike to school each day. It didn't matter how cold it was either. My Dad insisted that it would make me stronger. I had a weak immune system and bad tonsils. He was so right! I didn't even have a cold for many years. The strength that ride to school gave me lasted well into my adult years! The ride was 13 blocks long. I went to St. Stephen's Catholic school, in Flora, IL. When I arrived, I would go to Aunt Zelma and Uncle Glenn's house, across the street from school and put my bike in their garage. Sometimes I was almost frozen! It was very good for me in the long run, but very hard at the time.

These hot summer days, Cindy, Kassidi and I are just trying to stay cool. We get out a lot, but have quit taking our walks in the parks for the time being. We plan to take our walks inside the mall for a while.... just until the weather cools a bit.

Cindy is working on a fabulous new art piece. It involves canvas, acrylics, and dura-lar. Should be fantastic! She finished her Shasta Daisy piece and it is pictured here. She is being juried with this piece and several others for an exhibit in the Knoxville Convention Center. More on the results of that later...

Cindy is busy with the "Let's Make a Book" class this week. Students at ArtSpace are writing and illustrating their own books. Kassidi's book is work of fiction about a 5th grade class accidentally going into space! Her illustrations are very good!

Cindy just returned from a visit to IL. where she painted a "Night Sky" mural on the attic ceiling at the Booth house on North Main. There are no pictures as yet, but Alex is planning to take some and send them to me. I am excited to see them!

Cindy and I just finished our adult class in Mosaics. It was so much fun! I did a tropical fish mosaic and Cindy did a bird and started a seahorse. She was teaching the class, so didn't have time to finish her seahorse. Kassidi was there and she did a version of mosaics that included glue and acrylic paint as her grouting method. We plan to do another one of those classes soon.

Fall Session of YEStudio classes is about to begin! We are having four classtimes this Fall. Calls are coming in now and people are signing up online and by email. These classes begin on August 10th and 11th.

Our newest endeavor is an art class for homeschoolers! It is scheduled in the afternoon during regular school hours. The time is 2:30-3:30 on Wednesdays. This class will meet the requirements for credits that home-schoolers need. We are attending a sign up meeting this evening for home-schoolers, where they pick and choose their classes for this year. We hope to fill our one class and will be happy to open another class for them, if necessary.

Just 'talking' about it makes me feel like I should get busy! Check back for updates. I have been having computer troubles, but hopefully that is fixed now.

See you soon! ;-)

A Memorable 4th of July, still celebrating...

2010-07-12T18:41:00.000-04:00

This year marked the second 4th of July without our sweet Mom and Grandma, Lois L. Purdy. Did we celebrate? Of course, we did! Cindy, Kassidi, Sheila, and I celebrated the occasion here in Maryville. We had burgers and shrimp on the grill. They were awesome! If you want the recipe for the sour cream burgers, email me. We had shrimp, sweet iced tea, and... are you ready? Home made ice cream!! Yummy!. In the Midwest, other factions were also celebrating. Marc, Jessica, Alex, Tina, Olivia, Pat, and the babies gathered in Flora. I imagine that they too held memories of their dear Grandma Lois in their hearts.

When I was a little girl, I thought the 4th of July was celebrated because of my Mom's birthday. All the family would gather at Mom and Dad's house for burgers on the grill, corn on the cob, Mom's special slaw, potato salad, deviled eggs, sweet iced tea, Texas Cookie Sheet Cake and yes... Mom's home-made ice cream!! Oh My Goodness! How good can anything be? For years, we used an old hand-crank ice cream freezer and it was glorious! The kids got to sit on the freezer when it got hard to turn. They all loved that. Then years later the kids got to help ladle in the ice and rock salt. Then came the electric freezer. It was very different, but made things go a little faster. We were all for that!

We were the luckiest family ever! We always had a place to gather and there was always room at Mom's table. That backyard in Cisne always had lots of chairs and visitors were served iced tea with love and hospitality. So, is it any wonder that we, although in smaller groups and maybe in different locations across the Midwest and the South, still gather and celebrate the 4th of July? Sure, it means more to us than to most people. This is not to say that we don't celebrate the U.S. of A freedom festivities with the rest of the country. We so do!! Many of the men in the Purdy and Simpson families served in the US Armed Forces and helped to make this country the wonderful place it is today. However, it also means that we still remember and hold dear, those days of love, hospitality, and family strength brought about when we gathered to celebrate the birthday of our beloved Mother, Grandmother and Mother In Law, We love and miss you Mom! We'll continue to party every year on the 4th of July!

I plan to add more pictures of the Cisne house. I need to scan some in. Check back soon!

Cindy has completed another beauiful piece of art!

2010-05-07T17:48:00.002-04:00

These days, Cindy is always looking forward to the evening hours, when she can paint. That makes me happy. Kassidi and I love it when she is working on something beautiful. Since she started working in acrylics, there are endless subjects and not nearly enough time.

When Cindy works, Kassidi gets inspired and goes on painting jags too. So much fun!

This latest canvas piece is called 'Moonlight and Fireflies'. It is dramatic, romantic and mysterious.

Cindy, Kassidi and I are keeping VERY busy these days. We just hung our YEStudio Kids Art Show in the upstairs gallery at ArtSpace. We are now preparing for the first annual Chalk the Walk event. In June we have two summer camps and there are two weeks in July for "Let's Make a Book" Whew!

Ah, Summer..... Our summers used to be so slow and easy. Now the time is all used up with events and goings-on. I remember going to Cisne to Mom and Dad's and sitting in the back yard drinking sweet iced tea. Very nice. They always had the time to visit with us. We would be sitting out there and some more of us would show up. What a wonderful memory! The house in Cisne was our mainstay. Even the exes found it a welcoming place to stop by for a glass of tea. Mom and Dad loved all of us and all the ones we brought into the family.

The finest thing our kids can wish for is a house with a welcoming back yard and loving parents/grandparents to make them feel at home. We all know what that place in Cisne with Mom and Dad meant to us. We'll always treasure those memories. We love you Mom and Dad!

Wonderful trip and visit to IL.

2010-04-09T16:59:00.009-04:00

We have just returned from our Easter visit to family in IL. The trip there was quick and uneventful. That's good for travel. No problems. We arrived on Friday evening. Went to Alex,Tina and Olivia's place first. We visited for a while, then Alex got some pizza from DiMaggio's. Yum! We do love that beer crust and wonderful cheese! We just relaxed and talked until time for bed. It was so good to see them!

Marc, Jessica and the kids were delayed on their way to Flora, Saturday morning, by a car accident. A lady pulled out in front of Marc's car and it wasn't possible for him to stop in time. Thankfully, Marc and Jess only sustained minor injuries and the kids were not hurt. Still, it was very alarming and they were shook up, sore and dazed for a while. We are so thankful that they decided to come on to Flora, for the Easter weekend. They said they could be sore there as well as at home. Good attitude! Gabe just talked and talked about it.

Earlier, on Saturday, we went to the Ridge Rider's Club to join the Lewis's for a family reunion. It was so much fun. We got to visit with Reada's and Don's family and meet all the new babies. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Alex. The singing was awful! ;-) Alex loved it!

After eating lots of wonderful food, we had an Easter Egg Hunt. Eggs were hidden and people paired up to hunt. One would be blindfolded and the other would guide them to the eggs. It was funny!

Cindy won some DQ coupons in the egg hunt, so we used those on Monday morning as we left town. We do love that DQ! I had my usual chocolate shake,(best ever) and Cindy had a strawberry ice cream soda, Old Fashioned kind, thanks very much. Kassidi had a chocolate cone with rainbow sprinkles, also her usual. Wish I had some DQ right now! Out DQ here in TN closed down. We don't know why.

Saturday evening, to celebrate Alex's (40th) birthday, we went to Pat's to have steaks and baked potatoes, a wonderful salad and the trimmings. This was topped off with TX cookie sheet cake, Alex's favorite. All the Booths were present. Very nice time.

Easter Sunday, after church, we met again at Pat's for Easter dinner. Tina cooked up some great sides and desserts, while Alex and Pat grilled huge BBQ pork chops. The kids played hard and shot hoops. Kassidi and Olivia played with the little cousins, Gabe and Ayla, all day long. They all had a great time. Sunday evening, back at Alex's, we visited until we could no longer hold our eyes open.

Then it was Monday and time for us to head back to TN. After swinging by the DQ in Flora, we stopped on our way through Fairfield to get some Prairie Farms cottage cheese. We love that stuff and can't get it here in TN. We bought three cartons and it is almost gone already! :-(

It was a great visit. We made some very good memories that weekend. We are hoping that some of the family will visit us here in TN soon. Pictures above are from that memorable visit in IL. Enjoy!

March is nearly over...Time for Spring!

2010-03-30T10:00:00.010-04:00

Spring is popping out all over E. TN. Grass is greening up and many flowering trees and bushes are showing their colors. It was kind of a rough winter for many of us. We welcome Spring with open arms. We are SO ready!

Easter plans have been made. The 3 Pack is heading North to IL for a few days. I had an email from a new friend that is heading to Maui for 2 weeks. Lucky girl! I wonder if she has family there? We are going to see our family and that is better than a warmer climate. It is the 'inside your heart' kind of warmth!

The weather forecast has changed several times since we began checking it out for the Easter weekend. Now, it has changed again, to be in the 80's. I would not like to be a forecaster in the months of March and April. They should just pack their bags, turn off their Blackberry phones etc., and take a couple weeks break! No matter what they say about the weather, it is going to change.

Kassidi has been preparing to spend Easter weekend with her cousins in IL. She is drawing, making things and shopping. She is VERY excited to see them! Her Uncle Bobo (Alex), is having his 40th birthday too, so she is planning something for him as well. We don't know why she calls him that, she just has always done so. Maybe he did an impression of BoBo the Clown for her? ;-)

The 3 Pack and YEStudio are gearing up for an art exhibit upstairs at ArtSpace. This month-long event will be for YESstudio students and Elaine O'Sullivan's kids clay classes. It will be set up to begin on the week of the Last Friday Art Walk in April. Students wanting to submit some of their selected work should frame it for hanging and bring it that week. We will accept as many as three pieces. They will need to be framed and ready to hang. These pieces will remain upstairs for viewing for the entire month of May. We (YEStudio), will email a list of our picks to them. They can then choose from one to all three of them to prepare for the show. Friday, April 30, is the Last Friday Art Walk date.

Cindy is planning another piece of art for Spring. She is not saying what it is though. Of course, I know, but can't relate it to you yet. She is very busy with classes, private lessons and keeping up with FAB's web site etc. She has prepared a mock-up of the new TN Green magazine and is getting this month's TN Home Improvements magazine ready.

I have been giving ebay another try, helping with this session's art classes and keeping up with my two blogs. I know, I haven't done much with The 3 Pack lately, but I will do better.

Kassidi is still attending weekly classes at the Knoxville Zoo. I think they are studying Genealogy this month. That should be very interesting for her. They are losing Chad as their teacher. He is moving back to Ohio to be near his family. He will be missed.

This Spring promises to be a very busy time, with lots of events. We have the Kite Festival, on April 11th, which will be much bigger than last year with many kites being made and flown. Games and contests, food and family fun will be had.

We are going to take in all the lovely scenics of the Dogwood Arts Festival this year, as usual. We always do several of the Dogwood trails in both Blount and Knox Counties. I will be taking some new photos of all the beauty to share with you! We'll try to catch the Quilt Show as well. It is being held at the brand new Clayton Center for the Arts.

In June, we will have our regular show of YES-Kids' 3D work at the Blount County Library. It will be in the foyer in some of the cases and will remain during the entire month. So far, we have Animal Totems, Tropical Paradise Dioramas, Starry Night Scrolls and the upcoming sculptures from this Spring Session. More on that later...

There will be another 'chalk art on the sidewalk' event in Knox Co. on Market Square, and we are thinking of setting one up for Blount Co. too. Wish us luck!

Have a wonderful Spring! See ya soon! ;-)

Pictures above, (last year's), are of Daffodils in Cades Cove and Forsythia on Hunt Rd.

Spring things are kicking in! Can't wait for warm weather.

2010-03-08T08:21:00.012-05:00

It is hard to believe it's been so long since I updated The 3 Pack! Busy times... I know, everyone is very busy these days.

I'll start with Kassidi. She has home school every weekday. She got some Star Wheels for Christmas and is getting very good with them. When we walk, outside or at the mall, she loves skating and doing fancy turns. She does three art classes per week at YEStudio. That means she gets to perfect her art by doing each project three times! She loves it, but is not required to do all three of them. She has close friends in the second class and wants to do the project with them, for sure.

She reads in the evenings and watches some television. She loves the Food Network and HGTV, and the Discovery channel, American Idol and Cash Cab. During her home school, she takes a scheduled break to do the Wii Fit Plus. She is into the expert areas in most of the balance and obstacle games. She loves meal times too. ;-) Kassidi is also taking classes at the zoo. They are for home schoolers. She has taken Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Oceanography, Meteorology, so far. Next will be Geneology and right now is Paleontology.The classes are for a month each, once a week. Mr Chad just hits on the subjects, but stirs up any interest that may exist. He is a very good teacher and is able to cover an amazing amount of subject matter in the time allotted. The kids are allowed to see, and sometimes touch, select animals from the zoo each week. There has been a vast variety of them so far! Cindy is painting their mascot which is a walrus. He says "Our School is a Zoo". I'll take pics when it is finished.

Kassidi is becoming a member of Fine Arts Blount or FAB. She got the membership for her birthday and will be juried in with some of her artwork next month! (See picture above) Per her membership and acceptance, she will be able to put her art on display in the gallery at ArtSpace. She can sell it or just display it. The other artists at FAB love her and she has extended conversations with them quite often. She even sits in on some meetings and has some suggestions. We think she will be an asset to the FAB community. Cindy is now keeping up with FAB's website. She updates it and has tweaked some of the features. You can check it out. www.fineartsblount.com

Kassidi is in the Girl Scouts and they have meetings twice a month as a rule. She sold LOTS of cookies. Thanks to all who bought, especially for the troops. The cookies will be sent to the troops very soon. Money collecting is going on now. If you haven't sent your money, please do so now.

Cindy is very busy too. She does Kassidi's home schooling in the mornings. She is on deadline right now for the TN Home Improvements magazine. She is doing a mock-up for her new magazine as well. It is all about solar, wind, and clean energy. Should be awesome. We both do the Wii Fit Plus each day, when possible. We also take a walk either outside, like yesterday and the day before, or at the Foothills Mall. The rest of the time is devoted to blogs, planning for YEStudio classes and running errands. We like to relax in the evenings. Cindy is now working on a beautiful new piece of art. She is doing a hydrangea in acrylics, on canvas! I am so excited for it to be hung at FAB, ArtSpace for the next Last Friday Art Walk. I just wish Mom could see Cindy's art these days. She would be so pleased. She was the best supporter of all our endeavors. We miss her so much! Cindy attributes much of her improvement in art to her G-Ma's positive vibes.

Indaguy hosted an event at PHD, Professional Hair Design for the Last Friday Art Walk. All shirts are still there on sale along with some cute key rings featuring... you guessed it... Indaguy! Soon, we will be able to print some of the new designs on shirts. Watch for it at www.indaguy.com

I am working on my blogs, especially YEStudio In Action. It is being monetized and hopefully will soon be 'out there' in cyberspace big time. I am also looking into doing some proofreading for people. There are many authors locally, so I am looking for a way to contact them to see if they would need my services. I have experience proofing magazine materials. I read a lot, and am very aware of how many mistakes exist in even the most popular venues and best sellers. Surely, there will be an opportunity there. It's just a matter of getting the word out. Any help with that is appreciated.

I cook quite a bit and enjoy trying new recipes. I feel that Mom sent her good-cooking vibes on to me. Thanks, Mom!

I am perusing a new diet, new to me anyway, that tells us to eat a big breakfast including a sweet, quite a bit of protien and some fat. It says it will jump start the metabolism and keeps us from getting hungry most of the day. I know that when I eat a big breakfast, especially if it includes eggs, I don't get hungry until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Maybe it will work for us. It's called the Big Breakfast Diet. Hmmm. I'll let you know.

It is very nice to be teaching art to kids. They are so excited and interested! If you have noticed the pictures at YEStudio In Action, you can see how dedicated they are. We welcome new followers and look forward to your comments. It's a very nice way to keep in touch.

We are still taking new students. We still get a call once in a while. Even though we are into the second week of classes, we can take students between projects. We cannot go back and teach a project that has been started or is complete. Costs will be prorated. Our website, www.yestudio.org has all the up-to-date pictures by session. We would love for you to go see what the YES-Kids are doing.

Many events are scheduled for spring. The Kite Festival in April, Arts in the Park and Summer Art Clinic in June, and a wonderful new project that uses IlluStory, in July, for young writers/illustrators. Cindy will be teaching the illustrating portion of the class. Should be the start of something great!

Check back often and become a follower if you can. I promise to try doing better with the updates. See ya! ;-)

New Year-New Outlook

2010-01-06T14:48:00.006-05:00

Hello friends and family!

Well, it is 2010. A brand new year and beginning of another decade. The 3 Pack is busy with making (and trying not to break), some new year resolutions. We have decided to eat out only once per week. And added to that is the rule that we never eat out without a coupon. Luckily for us, there are MANY restaurants in Maryville. Some new ones (to us) are going up right now. One is Cheddar's. We are not familiar with it, but will definitely check it out when it opens. We are also getting a brand new Olive Garden. Of course, we have eaten at those over the years. It will be fun to go to a brand-spanking new one though. Only once a week!!! No, not per restaurant. ;-)

We started back to the winter session of YEStudio this week. Some of our students are ill, so class was not full yesterday. I wonder if it is another flu bug... egad!

Kassidi got some wonderful art supplies for Christmas and is eager to use them. She also got a new pink portfolio in which to keep her artwork. It has her initial on the front in 'bling' Pretty cool! Since Kassidi also got a Wii Fit Plus, we have been doing some exercises on that and it is actually tiring and challenging. Good for us.

I got a tiny table top tri-pod for my camera for Christmas. I'll have to try it out today in class. I do have some pics to take of the acrylic snowmen and the latest project when it is finished. To see what is happening at YEStudio, please go to http://yestudioinaction.blogspot.com. Don't forget to be a follower!

Cindy is getting ready to start her next art piece. It is going to be outstandingly gorgeous! Stayed tuned for those pictures later. I'll have to 'bug' her to get her going on that. ;-) See you later!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-18T15:43:00.006-05:00

Things are winding down to the big days of Christmas Eve and Day. So exciting and comfy. We were taught at a very young age in our family that Christmas is a time for family and gathering, good foods, special treats and thoughtful gift giving. Lois and Jack Purdy did Christmas up in a big way. We would travel home in the wee, still-dark hours of the morning on Christmas Day to be with them in their warm, comfortable and welcoming home. At one time, there would be 18-20 people gathered there in Cisne, IL. As a result, we all have wonderful, warm memories to get us through our lives. Of course, Mom and Dad also taught us to make our own memories and traditions over the years. They have given us a gift that will be with us and our families forever.

Notice above! I finally got pictures taken of Cindy's newest painting. It is Holly and Berries, and is done in Acrylics. It is hanging in the gallery at ArtSpace. I think it is gorgeous!

Some of the 'new' memories that we as 'The 3 Pack' enjoy are as follows. When we put up the tree, we make some Christmas punch, have some finger foods and drag out all our wonderful ornaments. We are still adding to our vast assortment of tree bling. Each year we go to Hallmark and purchase our traditional ornaments for each other. For instance, Mom got me a Keepsake, Mary's Angel every year for the last 16 years. Last year, since Mom was gone, Cindy got it for me. This year too. I have gotten Cindy a snowman ornament and Kassidi has gotten Snoopy ones from Mom and I. The tradition still lives! Soon we will need another tree if this goes on. I started the tradition for my granddaughter, Olivia three years ago. It is a very fulfilling gift to give since you know it will be enjoyed each and every year when trees are decorated.

Another tradition is making hot chocolate, putting it in a hot mug and driving around in the large subdivisions to look at Christmas lights. It is such a fun thing to do. Such beauty! It is amazing that people go to all that trouble, sometimes in the very cold weather to decorate the very tip top of their houses! (just for us, of course) ;-) Absolutely wonderful!

We have gone to Concord Park in Knoxville for several years to ride a horse-drawn carriage, sing carols with strangers and drink hot cocoa. Such a heart warming time. This year we are going to Knoxville again, but to the other side to Comcast Park. Something new, but somewhat alike, I think. We'll see. We go to several tree-lighting ceremonies, Alcoa, Maryville, Blount County and of course, downtown Knoxville. The biggest celebration in one place is also in Knoxville. It usually is held the day after Thanksgiving and lasts four days and nights. It is called the Fantasy of Trees. We plan to decorate a tree to sell there next year with our YES Kids. Should be interesting. All the proceeds go to the Children's Hospital. We don't do the parades, because they are at night and it is so crowded.

At home, we like to watch Christmas movies. The Polar Express, the Grinch, Yes, Virginia, and of course, Frosty the Snowman, Charlie Brown's Christmas, Rudolph, and there is always a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel.

We feel so good today because we got all our holiday packages mailed to our families in IL and OH! It was pouring down rain, but we packed them in garbage bags and stood in line at the PO. People were cheery and happy, so that made it nice.

We will do Christmas Eve with some finger foods and cheese fondue, punch, shrimp cocktail and my favorite...ginger ale!

Christmas Day we will stay home in comfort, enjoy our tree and gifts and talk about our memories of Christmases past. We hope to catch up with our IL, IN, and OH families via the internet or phone that day.

I can't believe it's almost 2010! The year of the Winter Olympics in Canada! We will miss watching it with Mom. She hardly ever missed an event of the Summer Olympics, in China.

Here's wishing everyone a most spiritual and blessed holiday season and a very Happy New Year. Next time we meet, it will be a new year!

The Season is Now Upon Us!

2009-11-28T14:37:00.005-05:00

Hi, Y'all

Hope this finds you 'in the spirit', because it is that time! So much is going on and there are so many holiday things to do! November has been busy for us, but we have had some time for fun, believe it or not.

The second week of November, we began the Winter Session at Youthful Expressions Studio. The very talented group of students began their experience with a project using chalk pastels. They are now into the second project using charcoal and drawing portraits.

Thanksgiving Day was very nice. We stayed home for dinner, watched the parade and dog show, then headed up into the mountains to see the Pigeon Forge holiday light shows. It was a cool and breezy evening, but the air smelled so wonderful. We shopped in some little shops and really enjoyed the sites. We made an early evening of it because Cindy and Kassidi wanted to get up at 4 am and do the Black Friday shopping thing. I enjoyed my extra time in the warm bed, thank you very much! They did find some good bargains and had a great time.

Later that afternoon, we did some shopping at West Town Mall in Knoxville. The crowds were huge! We got a free piece of Godiva, then made it down to the Convention Center for the annual Fantasy of Trees. What a beautiful site! It is well attended and all the funds gathered from attendees and from the sale of the beautiful, donated trees goes to the Children's Hospital. So much glitter and glitz! We also heard some nice Christmas music.

Today is busy as well, because we are getting ready for the 'Footloose in the Foothills' event which is held at Maryville College. It is on Tuesday, December 1st, from 5-9 pm. We are taking some artwork, photographs, t-shirts and bead art. Wish us luck! This event benefits Seniors in need and is also very well attended each year.

Cindy got her two new pieces hung at ArtSpace for the last Friday Art Walk. She did a beautiful bright red Poinsettia in pastels and a gorgeous Holly and Berries piece in Acrylic paint. Lovely work! Cindy's art show is still going on at Professional Hair Design during the month of December. Cindy will have a lot of prints for sale at Footloose.

Kassidi has been hard at work making many holiday bead art pieces. She puts magnets or pins on the backs of some, and packages some of them as bling for gift wrapped boxes.. They are very pretty and she will sell them at Footloose in the Foothills.

I am getting my photos on canvas ready for Footloose in the Foothills by putting labels on the backs and packaging them in protective sleeves. I may be offering some jewelry as well.

A new Indaguy, Inda-Spirit, which is a bright holiday design on t-shirts, is on order and hopefully, will be here in time for the Footloose event. For the rest of this Black Friday weekend, they are on a special sale of $18 each. Orders for the new design can be placed at www.indaguy.com or by emailing cindy@yestudio.org or calling 865-607-4473. We also placed another order for Inda-Studio shirts. New students are excited to get them.

On the 3rd of December, Cindy, Kassidi and I will attend the Appallatian Ballet's "Nutcracker". It will be held at 10 am. at the Knoxville Colliseum.

Cindy, Kassidi and I are planning to hold two classes for kids, aside from the regular ones, to make holiday gifts for friends and family. One is on Saturday, December 5th and is for kids only. The second one is planned for Saturday, December 12th and is for moms and kids. They will make some very unique gifts.

We are trying to move things around in the living room to make a spot for the Christmas tree. We're looking forward to decorating this year. We hit the after-Christmas sale at Target last year, so have some new lights for the deck. Also, some new snowflakes for the windows. Should be beautiful.

I know I have forgotten some items of interest, but will just have to put them in the next update. 'till then.... see ya! ;-)

Very busy October!

2009-10-28T21:18:00.009-04:00

Whew! Who knew October would be this full of activities? Not me, for sure. It has been one interesting thing after the other. First, I just can't believe it has been a year since Mom passed away. I miss her just as much as ever. I can't see that changing any time soon.

October 15th was Cindy's birthday. We celebrated her birthday by using several coupons at local restaurants. Her choice this year was O'Charley's. She loves their prime rib. Connie and the girls, Ashley and Nicole, joined us there to celebrate with us.

We had YEStudio classes all month of course, but our involvement with Fine Arts Blount has been one of the 'busy' factors. Nearing the end of the Fall session of classes, there were pieces to finish and the final project to tackle. We did projects in charcoal, pastels, watercolor and a Chahuly pseudo glass project using acrylic paint and shrink film. That was a great success! We invited a guest artist, Gloria Nelson, to teach a lesson in acrylics. She had them paint on fabric wall hangings. The students loved that and did very well for her. If interested, you can see their work on the website. www.yestudio.org/gallery. We moved on right away to finishing a lesson in monochromatic acrylic pieces, then on to making totems with clay on dowel rods. They fashioned clay animals with Crayola Model Magic clay. Next week they will paint them and place them on the rods, making totems. We will have our 'wrap' party on Wednesday the 4th of November.

This week has been crazy! Of course, school (at home) is first, then at noon, for three days this week, Kassidi has basketball camp at Maryville College. She loves it! She has some sore muscles this evening after two days of basketball, but is excited to go again tomorrow. Today she attended a special concert in Knoxville, by the KSO (Knoxville Symphony Orchestra). Beautiful classical music. The special concert was given for school children and some kids in our art classes were talking about it. After the concert, basketball for two hours, then right on to art classes. We came home to relax and had some home-made vegetable soup. YUM! My best ever!

Tomorrow is school, then basketball, then private lessons (two). Cindy is having a personal art exhibit at the Professional Hair Design in downtown Maryville, during the Last Friday Art Walk. She has 10 framed pieces, some ACEO cards, a large canvas piece and a crate of prints.We will be setting that up tomorrow (Thursday) evening. We will provide snacks and are making whiskey slush for the art walker's enjoyment. The 30th, will be 'Last Friday Art Walk' and we have a friend; a very fine woodcarver, setting up a demonstration in the window at ArtSpace. Dean VanLaarhoven will be showcasing his woodcarving for the public. The Last Friday Art Walk will be an all-evening event for us.

On Halloween, we are participating in a Trunk or Treat event in the parking lot on Broadway, in Maryville. We have loaded up almost 200 hanging badges with our 'Art 4 Parties cards', with a $15 off coupon on the back, our 'Youthful Expressions Studio' cards, with a $20 off coupon and a piece of sugarless gum! Kids will wear the badges around their necks. We will take the girls, Kassidi, Nicole and Ashley, to their favorite subdivision to trick or treat for real! They are so excited! This subdivision goes all out for the kids. The adults dress up and meet the kids at the door. Music plays and hot chocolate is served. Actually, it can get pretty scary! Kassidi is dressing as a dead school girl. So cute this year....Pictures will be posted in the near future.

Sunday may be a true day of rest for us! That would be so nice. We will watch the coach's show and see the Volunteer football game that we will be missing on Saturday night. At least during these busy times, we have our evenings in which to regroup and relax. We love our chairs, our television shows and our comfort food. ;-)

Monday will resume with the usual school (at home) for Kassidi. We have 3000, Winter session, YEStudio fliers to distribute to the Blount County and Maryville City Schools. We plan to do that on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. We'll finish off this (Fall), session next week also. Then we will have a must needed week off. During that week we will be preparing for winter art classes. We might try to take a day just for fun, after all, it is our week off. ;-)

YEStudio will begin classes for the 2009/10 winter session on November 17th and 18th. We have several returning students signed up and are hoping to fill at least four classes for the winter session.

Yes, October has been very busy! The trees are gorgeous with Fall colors right now. I love Fall and am hoping it lasts the full three months. Winter can fly right on by. Kassidi is always hoping for a good snow. There was snow on the Smoky Mountains about a week ago. It was so beautiful! I have had the Christmas spirit already a couple of times. I think Mom is sending it to me. She loved the Christmas season so much and enjoyed it thoroughly. She would not want us to miss even a little bit of it. Thanks, Mom! She and Dad did Christmas up big for all of us for a lot of years. Our holidays were steeped with many special traditions. We try to carry on with a lot of them. That's it for now, but I will get back to you soon. Be safe and well. See ya! :-)

Keeping very busy these days

2009-09-17T09:58:00.010-04:00

Hello! Things are rolling right along with The 3 Pack these days. We have three classes at Youthful Expressions Studio, having combined a couple of the classes, and that is going very well. We have 18 students and they love their art classes. So far, they have generated four pieces of artwork, so we should have a good selection for the next August library show. They are: teddy bears in charcoal, watercolor ladybugs, a watercolor still-life of sunflowers and a pastel piece of pumpkins and black cats. See pictures in our gallery at www.yestudio.org.

We will probably do some Chihuli art next, using Shrinky Dinks and Acrylics. This project will be combined with stamp carving. Students will carve their own stamps, then stamp the film before shrinking it. In October, we will have a wonderful guest artist, Gloria Nelson, conduct an acrylic painting class with our students. We have students that request 'free drawing time', so we try to fit that in when possible. We are now half-way through the session. Wow! Time sure flies when you are busy!

Kassidi is doing very well with her homeschooling now. Cindy is using the workboxing method of homeschooling and it is awesome! There are too many things to tell about it, so I will not go into it here. It is a wonderful method and subjects all get covered with fun things included in the mix. There is time for a snack, time for Wii, and time for each subject and tests. All is done with a timer and Kassidi loves a schedule! She gets up at 7:30, takes her shower, eats breakfast, dresses for the day and she is ready. Sometimes they play tennis early before school.

We took a field trip to Athens, TN the other day to tour the Mayfield Dairy facility. That was fun and interesting. Kassidi is taking a once-a-week class at the Knoxville Zoo. It is Oceanography this month. Next month will be Meteorology, then Astronomy. This is for home schoolers and is very good. It lasts an hour and a half. The animals are usually out now that the weather is cooler, so they enjoy the zoo for a little while after class.

In addition to regular art classes, Cindy has two private lessons on Thursday. Two small girls and one teenager. If only there were more days in a week! She has suspended the free art class at the Blount County Library until next summer because of time constraints. Cindy entered a new piece in the FAB Gallery at ArtSpace last month and has some pieces entered in the Taste of Blount Art Show this Thursday. She is working on another new piece for next month's gallery show. Please see her latest art piece above. Draw, Sing, Play....LIVE!

I am working on some photo art and trying to improve my colored pencil drawing. I keep busy developing articles that I want to offer to a new solar energy magazine Cindy may be designing soon. I am also kept jumping with the planning stages of YEStudio projects.There is a lot of planning involved along with the gathering/ordering of materials.

The new TN Home Improvement magazine that Cindy is designing will be out next month. I will be doing the website for it. The site is up now. www.tnhomeimprovement.com. Many people, out of necessity, are now adding to and improving upon their current homes in lieu of selling them. In fact, sometimes just a small improvement in a room can give a homeowner a new lease on life!

Our Art 4 Parties logo has been designed and the website will soon be up. We have booked our first Art 4 Parties event for Saturday, Sept 26th! The birthday girl is turning 9 and is one of our art students. She wants the Art and Animals theme and a character poster photo board featuring a Chihuahua. They will put their faces into the head space for a photo.There will be around 20 guests of different ages. We will provide a wall mural with her name and some animal drawings for the guests to decorate. They will do a clay animal project too. At this time we don't do food, but in the future may consider working with a caterer.

So, in our spare time....we love to eat and watch the new shows on the telly. It is important to relax in the off hours. We try to make lists at night for the next day. Otherwise...we might forgot something! See you later! ;-)

Late Summer-Early Fall

2009-08-23T09:53:00.011-04:00

Hello again! It is a nice cool 'coming into autumn' day here is East TN. The kids are back in school, except for Kassidi, (she will start in Sept), and fall classes at YEStudio are in full swing! We have finished the charcoal project and are moving ahead to watercolor. We are running four (4) classes this time! Two of them are smaller, but that is okay. Gives Cindy a little break to have just a few students to teach. The students will be doing a still life using sunflowers as their model. They will 'eye' the flowers from different positions and will be looking through paper windows to view the artistic version of the flowers. We have done this before and the results were outstanding! They sketch what they each see, then watercolor it.

Cindy met Kassidi, Doug and Becky on the waterfront in Knoxville yesterday to see the big annual Duck Race. They dump, (yes, from a dump truck), a load of rubber ducks into the TN River. They float and get mixed up with the help of jetski vehicles, down the river to the Henley St Bridge. They go into a funnel and are judged there, for the winning of some major prizes; one of which is $10,000. This is a charity function that benefits the Childrens Clubs in the area. 43,000 ducks were dunped. At $5 per duck....well, you do the math!! Awesome. Lots of people were there. Kind of a 'fair' atmosphere, with lots of food, music and fun for the kids. I plan to go next year.

Boomsday is coming up soon. It is an annual Labor Day event. The largest fireworks display in the country! I do NOT exaggerate! We were able to take Mom to it one year, right down in the midst of it all. She loved fireworks and was blown away by it. She got to attend several other displays (4th of July and Boomsday) after that one, but never actually from the waterfront again. She and I watched the 4th of July fireworks on the telly last year. It was very beautiful and we saw them from NY, Chicago, and of course, from Knoxville. We will go down to the waterfront this year to see all it's glory in person! We may even go onto the other side of the river this year to participate in the huge crowded mess!! Whew, we'll see...

If any of y'all want to join us, please do. We would love nothing more than to share it with you! Hope to see ya! ;-)

Visit to Illinois-July 09

2009-08-17T10:18:00.026-04:00

Recently, we traveled to Illinois to visit with the family. It was a good trip. We listened to books on tape on the way. Made the trip go faster.

It is always a little unsettling to go back 'home', isn't it? Memories and lots of them, just bombard you! We got to Pat's in time to visit a while before supper. It was a nice meal. All the kids and several grandkids were in attendance. Marcus P, Marcus S, Jessica, Gabe and Ayla, Alex, Tina and Olivia, Cindy, Kassidi and Myself. Quite a group! The kids are always so happy to see each other. They play just as hard as they can. Tina had made a really good macaroni and cheese dish, we had hamburgers and slaw and tomatoes. Olivia, budding gourmet, made a wonderful banana pudding pie for dessert. Delicious!

Next day we all went to Pat's again. His house is bigger and better for gatherings and he loves having everyone in. The pool was open and that was the focus for everyone. They all got in the water and the kids had a ball. I enjoyed sitting in the swing and watching the kids, (all of them) play. ;-) We had some wonderful bbq'd pork chops from Mike's grocery in Louisville. Wonderful taste! We had corn on the cob, tomatoes, mashed potatoes, baked beans and rolls. The pork chops were very tender! Had to make a stop for a DQ treat on the way back to Alex's and Tina's that evening. Flora DQ has the best ice cream ever! It is because they use Prairie Farms products. I had a Banana Sundae and Cindy had an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Soda. Kassidi had a chocolate dipped cone. That was good... We watched the final episode of Food Network Star and an episode of Design Star. We visited and turned in.

Monday morning, Cindy and I went to Cisne to see what remains in my storage unit. I planned to close it, but found too many things I just can't rid myself of yet. We had to visit the Cisne grocery store for a broom and some bug spray. The old grocery still has it's original wood floors! So rickety and cool! That brought back lots of childhood memories for me. We grabbed a few things from storage, then went to visit a good friend of Mom's and ours, Judy Beckel. It was so good to see her! Back to Flora, so Cindy and Kassidi could visit with Grandma Marian and G-Grandma Helen.

Kassidi and I took Olivia and went to the Mexican restaurant in Flora for lunch. Cindy took the girls to Pat's to swim for a while. That evening we all went to Antony's (Booth) Western Restaurant for fried pickles and bbq, chili, pepper fries, and cheese sandwiches. Fun and very interesting place! Pat joined us there for a drink. He had already feasted on leftover pork chops.

All in all, a very nice, relaxing visit. Hopefully, they will have the time to visit us here in TN this year. Family is what 'it' is all about. We need to nourish our relationships with family members. They are unique and precious. Sometimes time and distance restraints interfere, but they can be conquered. See you later! :-)

A New Look!

2009-07-25T14:02:00.003-04:00

I decided it was time for a change. I am so into the 'beach look' lately. I am re-doing my bedroom in the soft, seafoam green, light teal blues, and light sand colors. Can't wait to get it finished! In fact, for this post only, I will even TYPE in those lovely colors!!

Kassidi is spending the weekend with her dad, in Kingston, TN. At least it is not far away. She calls her mom and they chat several times over the weekend. We will pick her up on Sunday and as usual, go the the $$ theater for a movie. We might even hit the Ci Ci's Pizza parlor.

Cindy is doing her duty up at ArtSpace today. She will wo-'man' the store for 4 hours. She is drawing while she is there, since it amounts to some mostly uninterrupted 'art' time. Kinda nice.

I have spent some time on this blog today. As you can see. I am also doing a little cleaning. It is so lonely here without Mom. Every little thing reminds me of her. It is nice, but very nostalgic and as a Purdy, I tend to tune up and squall every now and then. Therapeutic, right? They are only tears....I have plenty to spare.

My brother, Joe and I talk every now and then. He is doing very well in Jasper, IN. He has a good job and likes his job, which is rare these days. He rides his bike to keep in shape and fishes a lot. He says when he is fishing, nothing bothers him. He doesn't worry. Dad taught him that. "Fishing is your escape, don't worry about anything while you are fishing" he told Joe. Joe has his son, Ian there close and Ian now has a baby girl. That makes it nice.

My Sister, Sheila, lives in Ravenna, OH. She and I communicate mostly via the internet. email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. We talk on the phone sometimes too. We always enjoy it, but just both hate picking up the phone to call. Weird... At least it is both of us.

Recently, I reached out to some of Mom's family, and mine, in TX. I am hoping to get in touch with some of my distant cousins and talk to them via the internet. Wish me luck. Cindy, Kassidi and I plan to go further South one day for a visit with as many of them as we can.

I inherited my Gram's bedstead. It is solid wood, has a head and foot, and makes the mattress very high in the air. I am planning to have it cut down, sanded and then I will paint it in a wonderful soft blue-gray. It will fit beautifully into my new color scheme. I just wish Mom could see it. Perhaps she can, if she so wishes. Some people believe that from the Other Side, they can be anywhere they want to be spiritually. Sounds nice, doesn't it?

Well, just wanted to 'talk' a little bit about the new design and here I go on and on. Enough for now but I will be back very soon.. See ya! ;-)

Did I say Fall?

2009-07-22T13:43:00.011-04:00

Wow! I can't believe it is this late into July! Where did the Summer go? I know, it's not over, but before we turn around, it will be.

The Three Pack is very busy these days, getting geared up for Fall, there it is again, classes at YEStudio. We have our fliers ready to put in the schools. We are putting them in restaurants, pediatricians' offices, the library.... anywhere we can!

We also have the Last Friday Art Walk coming up. We plan to attend and hand out fliers there. Cindy also is planning to display some more of her pen and ink stippling at the ArtSpace gallery. The theme is Opposites this month. She has some very interesting pieces for that.

We are also getting ready to do a magazine! It will be on the stands in September. It is called, 'Tennessee Home Improvements', and lists big and small businesses that cater to home improvement. It promises to be a very successful endeavor.

Cindy is busy designing a website to go along with the Home Improvements mag. This is a new project for her, so she is really transfixed by it. She improved on the Indaguy website and it turned out great! Check them out at: www.indaguy.com and www.tnhomeimprovements.com.

I almost forgot.... we got our first "Art for Parties" booking!! It is in October, and is the beginning of more of the same, I just KNOW it. We will go to kids' parties and entertain for an hour doing special art projects. Loads of fun!

I, MJ, am adding more items to my Etsy shop nearly every day. I have some nice photos up now, of several different things. I have printed them out on canvas for a different 'look'. I also have mounted some photos on raw wood. I will continue to add to my shop, so keep checking on it. www.emjayslovings.etsy.com.

Kassidi is busy with her Summer fun. She and her friends from YEStudio, held an Alex's Lemonade Stand last weekend to benefit the fight against childhood cancer. It was a success and they had a lot of fun tossing water balloons. She spent one day with her friends doing a HUGE slip n slide in their backyard. Kassidi is not a fan of riding a bike, but loves to ride her scooter.

She got to go to Dollywood yesterday for KidsFest. It was interesting and fun. We saw a show with live animals, and a show with 50's and 60's music. Kassidi and Cindy drove the little cars and the bumper cars. We rode the Dollywood Express. A 'real' coal-fired engine with lots of black smoke and a very loud mournful, whistle. LOVE it! Kassidi also made some sand art at KidFest.

Kassidi is taking lots of pictures and has attended an Apple Camp in Knoxville at the Apple Store. She learned to manipulate and store her photos and videos on IPhoto and IMovie.

Well, that is about it for today, but I will keep the updates coming...See ya! ;-)

Smile Power!

2009-07-10T21:21:00.006-04:00

It is fascinating to see what power a smile can generate. Such power as to transform a very bad day into something tolerable. Powerful enough to turn a scary situation into a comfortable one.

How many times have we faced someone of authority with trepidation only to have them welcome us with a smile and at once dispel all our fears?

When I am shopping, I like to try a smile and make people feel better. It is so easy. Even a very busy and stressed person will visibly relax while they are returning your smile.

It is such a pleasure to smile at an older person. They have learned, throughout their lives, the true value of a smile. Perhaps they don't get many smiles directed their way. It is good to see their faces light up. Their eyes come alive. It is so worth the time and small effort it takes.

One of my favorite poems begins: "Laugh and the world laughs with you...weep and you weep alone" The poem is called, 'Solitude' by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. It's worth the read and rings very true.

I have every intention to always share a smile. It is an easy, inexpensive way to reach out to others. A person cannot let a smile reach their eyes and remain depressed. It may not last long, but it is a moment in time worth millions!

July 4th, Lois Purdy Day

2009-06-29T09:59:00.017-04:00

It is coming up on the holiday we have been dreading. The 4th of July, Mom's birthday. Since losing Mom on Oct. 5th, 2008, we have worried how we can best spend this anniversary. The best, most courageous way would have been to keep up the tradition and spend the day with family doing burgers on the grill and all the trimmings, Texas sheet cake, home-made ice cream and watermelon; like we did for most of my life and the lives of my children and grandchildren. The coward's way would be to 'get out of town' and try to squelch those memories. Believe me, I am not above being a coward in this instance. We made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and survived nicely, thank you very much. But this day was so all about Lois Purdy. She was the be-all and end-all on this day of the year. Everyone loved her so much and she loved them back. When I was a child, I thought the fireworks were in celebration of her birthday. Here on Agate Circle, we honor her memory every single day and I am sure she is honored in Flora, Cisne, Carbondale, Ravenna and Jasper as well. I know what she would want for us. She would want 'whatever makes us the most comfortable'. She would say, "Go to Chattanooga or Charleston. Do whatever makes you happy." Realizing, of course, that we won't, in any circumstance, be comfortable or happy on this day. Yes, I know, her birthday is a happy occasion. It always has been. And it will be again. But, alas, grief rules this year. Nothing will change that, no matter what we do. So... it still remains... what to do?

I, for one, am not able to hold up (without crying a lot, and I don't cry pretty). Foisting my grief on others at this time is not an option. So, if we can find the funds, we will most likely head out for two days of 'heads in the sand', (why not), cowardice. Chattanooga is close and has many free activities. Lots of history there too. Mom was with us when we stayed the night on a train car in Chattanooga's Choo Choo Hilton. We were on our way to New Smyrna Beach, FL. Marcus, Cindy, Alex, Sheila, Mom and I had a great time on that trip. This is another story altogether and one I will revisit with another posting on The Three Pack.

Next year, if possible, I would love for all the family to come here to TN. We will then honor the old and create new traditions to honor our wonderful Parents/Grandparents and our whole family in a relatively new venue. We will have hamburgers on the grill, shrimp, potato salad, home-made ice cream and yes, Texas sheet cake. Can't give up the most wonderful parts (food-wise)! Memories will flow and love will circulate. Hopefully, grief will have lessened by then.

I wish a very Happy 4th of July to everyone. Including Lois L. Purdy and Kenneth D. Purdy, who made the 4th what it means to us all, (Purdys, Booths, Feltons, McDannels and Ragains) today. Oh yeah, and Happy 4th of July, the birthday of our great country! ;-)

Tropical Paradise-YEStudio Summer Art Camp

2009-06-17T17:02:00.013-04:00

This has been an eventful week so far. YEStudio, that's us, (the 3 pack), is hosting our summer event at FAB's ArtSpace. For five days, 2 hours a day, Tropical Paradise is happening. Since we can't be in the Tropics, we decided to just bring the Tropics to Maryville, TN.

The students have had such a good time and have used several mediums so far. First we drew and colored a beautiful tropical fish using pastels. It is layered with many colors.

Next, there is the elegant sea horse. He stands about 7" tall and is very colorfully laden with various designs, fashioned to each artist's vision. His stylish looks come from colored pencils and he is dressed to the 'nines'!

The third medium used is watercolors. The students made another, smaller, tropical fish using blues, greens and yellows in watercolors. Next, will be a sea turtle. He has been drawn, but is yet to get his beauty. It will come from acrylic paints.

Several interesting sea creatures, including a crab, a lobster and some starfish, will adorn the ocean floor. Also, some seaweed and various kinds of coral have been fashioned by the students, all from clay. They are drying as I post this message and will be painted using acrylic paints.

All these wonderful pieces will be assembled onto a diarama made of foam board. This piece can be displayed as a sculpture for many years of enjoyment. We hope the students will treasure their time with Youthful Expressions Studio and decide to join us for our 12-week fall session which begins on August 11th & 12th, 2009.

A Bittersweet Meal

2009-06-10T18:20:00.009-04:00

Tonight we are having a beloved family favorite for supper. I mean of all the family. In Cisne, Mom was known to cook up some wonderful meals. It was because they were filled with her love. Her goulash and cornbread would always draw a family crowd.

Once when she and I went shopping, she had left a pot of goulash on the stove. When we returned, the basement door was standing partially open. We remarked to each other that surely we closed that door...didn't we? Well, when we got in the kitchen she checked the pot of goulash to warm it up for supper and sure enough, it had gone down quite a bit. Hmmm. The phone rang about that time and it was Alex. He asked Mom if she noticed that they had been there and just HAD to taste that wonderful-smelling pot of goulash. Well, one taste led to another and pretty soon, they were full. lol. Mom loved that they were comfortable enough to come in the house and help themselves to the goulash. Also, she loved it that they could NOT resist her goulash! Who could, after all?

Kassidi remarked that we haven't had goulash in a long time and we reminded her that the last years of Mom's life, ground beef did not agree with her at all. So, knowing how much she loved it, we just could not make it.

Well,we are having it tonight with her favorite cornbread. Also iced tea and green beans. I made it with a quart of Sheila's home grown tomatoes, with onion, garlic and green peppers.

Come on down Alex, Tina and Olivia. We'll set a place for you! You too, Sheilo.

Smoky Mountain Adventure

2009-06-08T14:52:00.006-04:00

Well, we headed up to the mountains with some friends yesterday. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a picnic and hike. We usually avoid going to the mountains on the weekend. We KNEW better, didn't we? I guess we forgot what a zoo it is on the weekend and so here we are, ready to eat and there is NO place to park. So we finally pulled off to the side in a shady spot, got out our chairs, and set up the cooler. We started eating our sandwiches and were fogged by gnats! We had veggie sandwiches and did not want 'meat' with them. lol. After we hurriedly finished eating, the girls went down to the water to wade and get some good rocks. They had fun with that. Collected some interesting rocks.

People were having lots of fun tubing. They had brightly colored tubes. We saw an elderly couple with their lawn chairs out in the middle of the river at the Y. That was cute.

We stopped at the Apple Valley Farms to get some fudge and taffy. They have the best taffy ever! Much better, by the way, than up in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. ;-) We did some shopping while the girls played checkers on the porch. It was nice to relax in the porch swing there for a little while.

We headed home then, with intentions of returning soon, during the week. It will still be crowded, of course, since this is the 75th Anniversary of the Smoky Mountains National Park.

At the Apple Farm, we heard that people were seeing lots of bears at Cades Cove. One person saw 8 bears! They were two Mama bears and each had triplet cubs. What a picture that would have been! Oh, yes, I know we will be going back soon.

Indaguy shirts are now in a retail store!

2009-06-02T19:12:00.002-04:00

Alright! The Indaguy shirts are finally in a retail store for all to see. They look very good in there, but are anxious to move on out! little shirt humor... ; -) Here is how they look...There are three designs. Inda-Groove, Inda-Pit (mosh pit) and Inda-Middle. Two choices of color for each design. Check them out.

Our First Sculpture Exhibit

2009-06-01T21:57:00.002-04:00

Today was very eventful. We set up two of the cases with YEStudio Kids artwork. It turned out beautifully. There is a cool color case and a warm color case. I will put photos of the displays on this blog in a few days. We started Youthful Expressions Studio in Nov. 2007. Each season since, there have been 12-week sessions. Except in the summer when we have an art camp. This June 15-19, there will be a camp for two hours a day. The theme is Tropical Paradise. We plan some very interesting and fun projects making stables with foam board and dowel rods. There will be tropical fish, seahorses, coral and other brightly colored items. Check back to see further developments.

Another day...

2009-05-29T11:30:00.003-04:00

As 'they' say, another day, another dollar; at least we hope so ;-). We (the 3), will get out and check on the IndaGuy shirts that are at Hastings Books and Dandy Lions, in Maryville. We haven't even seen the display at Hastings. We did the Dandy Lions display ourselves. It looks good, if I do say so...

What are we doing?

2009-05-28T15:57:00.002-04:00

MJ is trying some new methods of mounting photos. On interesting pieces of wood. On needlework art boards, using printable canvas. They are looking good...lots more ways to try though. Oh yes, and doing the blogging thing. See a photo...

Cindy is working hard on Indaguy. Indaguy is a design that is 'in the' everything. He is Inda-Spirit, Inda-Groove, Inda-Middle, Inda-Fight and just about anything else we can think of. Our friends and family keep giving her more ideas! She has the t-shirts, which is where Indaguy lives now (on t-shirts), in Hastings Books, in Maryville and also in Dandy Lions, in Maryville. There are two Indaguy designs that give to charity. They are Inda-Fight, against breast cancer, and Inda-Sand, which gives support to our troops and their families. A portion of the cost of these shirts goes to these causes. You can check them out by going to www.indaguy.com to see them. She is working on a fine art piece called Draw, Sing, Play, Live. It is awesome and will be on display at ArtSpace for the 'Last Friday Art Walk' the last of July.

Kassidi is home-schooled and is studying Medieval history. She went from a page to a lady, to a knight. She earned her way to knighthood. ;-). She is studying fractions now. She is an avid and talented artist as well. She attends our art classes twice a week. Her artwork is on display at www.artsonia.com and www.yestudio.org/gallery.

As a trio, we are teaching art classes to students ages 7-14. We have 12-week sessions where students are given projects in charcoal, pastels, watercolor, acrylics, mixed media and sculpture. Our students' work can be seen at www.yestudio.org/gallery and www.artsonia.com.

The Three Pack

2009-05-28T14:14:00.002-04:00

Welcome to The Three Pack blog. Hope to post some interesting things about MJ, Cindy and Kassidi... aka, the 3 pack. We were four (4) generations strong until recently, when we lost our first member, Lois. She was the head and strength of our little family. With her enduring love and good influences, we remain a very strong trio of women. We are determined to carry on, make our lives meaningful, and be happy. We welcome feedback and comments. Thanks for checking us out.