In 2003 my friend, Linnea, and I visited the Cinque Terre, which means the 5 lands, for a few days of hiking, eating,  sketching and...eating!  The five towns and coastline of the Cinque Terre are in a national park that is part of Liguria.  We fell in love with the picturesque medieval towns and terraced mountainsides.  There is a train that will transport you from town to town, a ferry that cruises the coastline which provides amazing views of the towns that spill down the mountainsides into the sea, and there are miles of hiking trails that will take you between the villages.  We hiked the trail between Corniglia and Vernazza, the village where we were staying.  We were rewarded with this view of the Vernazza Harbor and medieval castle at the end of our strenuous, for me anyway, hike.  You can just barely make out the village of Monterrosa on the far side of the bay in the painting.  Just down the trail a bit we found an even greater reward...a bistro clinging to the side of the mountain!  We snagged a table and a bottle of wine and enjoyed a magnificent sunset before heading back into the village for the night's feeding frenzy for two!
PS...I forgot to mention a fun factoid.  There is a COMMISSIONER of GOOD TASTE for the Cinque Terre...His job is to make sure that all the shutters and houses, in each village, are painted in appropriate colors!  What a GREAT title!

I admit it...cabin fever has hit! For some odd reason we almost ALWAYS get our biggest snows this time of year.  Of course it happens after the ski areas have closed for the season!  This is the time of year that we usually head south to a warmer climate, like Mexico, someplace with warm sand and beaches.  Not this year and we are both feeling it.  Our neighbor has a flock of pink plastic flamingos in their yard.  They were all sporting drifts of snow on their unfeathered backs the past few days.  This is an imaginary scene, the result of my intense need to inject some whimsy into the day!  Believe it or not, this one was actually one of the hardest I've painted so far...Hope you enjoy your day and hope I've made you smile.  Back to reality I go, or my version of it anyway!

Dear Linnea, my childhood friend and soul sister in foreverland.  
It was with great pleasure that I got to paint your own birthday Little Gem.  I hope this will bring back memories of the beauty and sun filled skies of Breckenridge when you gaze upon it in overcast Boston.  I know that my heart is filled with memories of all the special times we have spent together in the old Lof A-frame over the last 55 or so years.  Sledding on Boreas Pass on moonlit nights, skiing at Breckenridge when all they had was a rope tow hooked up to a car engine, cooking steaks over the open pit fireplace in the living room...and now, today, enjoying the cabin with your family and grandchildren.  Here's to many more birthdays, my friend.  We still have LOTS of things to do and share!  XO Marianna

It's early in the morning and the phone rings.  I answer and hear a familiar voice, "Can Bill go fishing?"...I holler to little, Billy Bob Duford, "Your buddy, Larry, wants to know if you can play today!".  Summer, Spring, Winter and Fall, they run off to the river to fulfill their destiny and their collective dream of, "Today's the day I get the big one!"  I might add that neither one EVER brings one home, but their cameras are always full of the evidence.  The trophy is usually displayed lovingly close to the camera man to make it look bigger, of course!  Larry took this amazing shot holding his camera under water while it was still "on the fly".  He showed it to me during dinner one evening and I asked it I could have a copy of it.  He keeps asking his wife, Kathy, if I'm going to do anything with it.  Well... here it is, Larry Lunceford, because today is your birthday and your loving wife commissioned a "Little Gem"  for your fishy giftie!   Have a fabulous day and hope you are celebrated in style! 

Dear Marilyn, 
While we sit under a blanket of snow in Colorado, I am getting a vicarious pleasure out of knowing you are sitting on a blanket of sand in Hawaii!  I hope you and your hubby are having a fabulous time during your birthday holiday.  Your "Little Gem" will be anxiously awaiting your return home.
I love that you will always be older than me, by 12 days, and wish you many, many more birthday's to come!
Love to you on your special day, 
Marianna
PS..The poor thing had to order her own birthday painting, but she has always had impeccable taste in art...and friends!

After spending 3 long days of standing on cement floors helping purvey  outdoor all weather art to buyers for garden centers and stores in a giant convention hall in downtown Baltimore, I was rewarded, by the owner, with a trip into the wine country of W. Virginia.  The 2 of us met up with friends and sampled the wares of several vineyards. Sunset Hills Winery, outside of Purceville, Virginia, was perched on a hilltop overlooking a beautiful valley with acres of vines, heavy with grapes, and ready for harvest.  What a treat.  We imbibed on the outdoor patio, enjoyed the view and the crisp fall air, and spent a lovely afternoon doing nothing but enjoying each other's company and stories!  Walking back to the parking lot someone had  topped an end post with a straw hat, a little corny, I know, but it was wonderful in it's simplicity and was a gentle reminder that it was the end of the workday, (not for us!) and time to put away our cares.  Enjoy your day!   

April 14th... a special day for a special woman!  She and her husband are true travelers and have spent their life together wandering and working in countries all over our planet.  They took a break and pursued the adventure of living in the mountains of Colorado and staying put long enough to give their 2 sons roots.  We were fortunate to have become lifelong friends during that time.  Even though we don't see each other often...they are always there, somewhere!
In honor of your 39th and holding birthday, Maggie, your husband reserved today's painting for you.  A visual to help you remember your happy years at high altitude with all of us.
"Wishing you the happiest of birthday's with memories provided by, Marianna.
 Love John"  
...now it's time for a glass of wine :) xo

Tulum, not the town or the ruins, but the beautiful Mayan Coast.  My husband and I visited the legendary white sand beaches of this area for the first time almost 30 years ago.  There was virtually nothing there.  The busy town that you first encounter after turning off the main highway was nothing but huts and a deep sand road that you sort of surfed or "coasted" on.  There was a lovely little place called Zamas.  It was the poster child of a Tahitian beach scene.  No electricity, just candles and a generator for night time.  A young couple from New York City had just bought the place and cooked us a wonderful, simple meal.  The area is almost unrecognizable if you wanted to see the same scene.  Huge resorts, expensive food and all the amenities of life including disco.  There are still a few simple places down the road from there going towards the Sian Kaan, but you pay extra for the simplicity now!  Just like anywhere on the planet, it seems, people move somewhere for a simpler life and then "bring" it with them!  Heavens forbid if you couldn't get a Starbucks' cup of coffee in paradise!  Ok...I'm off my soapbox.  I guess I'll have to keep my memory intact...must be time for a tequila shot somewhere :)  Adios and Ciao for now.

It's still snowing and full blown winter here in Summit County!  This is actually normal for this time of year as we often get our biggest storms in the spring ...when the rest of the country is seeing spring flowers and trees in bloom.  I LOVE lilacs, the big blowsy shrubs, their color and sweet,sweet scent.  They represent the epitome of spring to me.  I planted a shrub when we built our home, about 22 years ago, in hopes of recreating the 15 ft. hedge of lilacs that were in the backyard of my childhood home.  Long story, short...The poor thing is not quite 5 ft. tall and has only bloomed twice, maybe 3 times.  The blooms freeze almost every year, but I AM the eternal optimist....this is the year that they will be covered in blooms, maybe by the end of June, and it will multiply and grow another 3 ft.  
Sign me, Ever Hopeful in Silverthorne.
 

I love visiting my daughter and her family in Portland, Oregon.  The city is within easy driving distance of wonderful places to visit.  There are vineyards with wine tasting, u-pic-um farms with beautiful fruits and veggies, mountains, and..the beach!  We loaded up the dogs for a day trip and took them to play on the beach.  There are always lots of other sociable dogs running in and out of the waves, and of course, children.  This particular beach is famous for the mammoth  pinnacles and outcroppings of rocks that are distributed up and down the coastline, in and out of the shoreline. Lucky doggies and lucky me, that this can be a part of my life memories!  Anon and adieu!