Tuesday Tea Time and Tunes

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”
― Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady
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And what an agreeable afternoon we had. You never know who is going to walk in the door during Tuesday Tea Time, Treats and Tunes at McKinney’s Sweet Spot Bakery. Miss Kay brought her ukelele again this week, and the gorgeous weather found us sitting outside a while, serenading passers-by and local motorists.

Our weekly tea time venue is really taking off. Miss Kathy and Miss Elizabeth are providing a fun place on the square for folks to enjoy an afternoon singing and sipping tea or coffee, enjoying a sampler of yummy desserts, and spending time with friends.

It’s difficult to refrain from tapping your toe and singing along. Miss Kathy not only has a beautiful voice, but she taught us a few line dancing moves later.
Everyone tried their hand at an easy-breezy Zentangle art project. I provided the supplies and a few words of encouragement, and the ladies went to town creating the most fabulous Toni-tangles. Yes, I gave it my own name. Zentangle is just a fancy form of doodling. It’s all the rage. Great job gals!

A few of the ladies that joined us. Hi!!!

Jacquie and and Margie created these masterpieces in less than an hour…first timers…pretty cool!

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Mandy was amazing, another first, but probably not the last.

Miss Kay didn’t think hers was that great, but look at this people, it is fantastic. She said she’s not an artist. Ha! Yes she is.

A good time was had by all. Can’t wait to see what next week will bring to the “ceremony known as afternoon tea.”

Saturday Girl’s Road-trip: Art Show in Arlington

Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.
Ernest Hemingway
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Today, I had the pleasure of spending the entire day with my girlfriends. It started out in the morning with my witty, winsome and wonderful writing group. (I’m sure they’ll appreciate the alliteration.) We spend a lot of time laughing, but we actually do get some serious critiquing in. After lunch, Gail, K.D. and I met at Lynne’s house for our big road trip to Arlington, not far from Cowboy Stadium. No, we weren’t going to a football game. Come on! We’re artsy girly-girls!

Lynne had invited us to go to the studio of Suzanne McNeill Sparks. She is a well known crafter, artist, designer and author. I remember seeing her on television many years ago. What a thrill to meet her in person. We piled in Lynne’s car and hit the road.

Our adventures included several wrong turns and some seriously bad directions from the melodious Siri app on the iPhone. But we arrived safely. (Some funny Siri stories for another day.) What a wonderful studio and amazing display of artwork ranging from Zentangle to watercolor. Ms. Sparks is a precious soul. We spent a couple hours chatting and soaking in the atmosphere, ending with a great dinner at Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. Fun day! I love my friends! Thanks girls, Hemingway was right.

Suzanne McNeil Sparks and sparkling me.

Awesome studio!

Sunday Sit and Doodle

The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
Robert M. Pirsig

Saturday is usually my sit at Snug on the Square day, but the 4th of July being on Thursday, no writing group Saturday and a full moon combined with belated daylight savings time, I’m so confused. So, today I had breakfast at Snug and ran into some old and new friends. Tommy, the wandering troubadour is back from his travels and playing his guitar.

My new friend, Laura Bartlett was there having coffee with a friend. We said, “Hi.” I had my iPad, checked my emails and Facebook, and had a mango smoothie. Then I did a little doodling on a torn book page. Here’s Laura!

Sometimes doodling is a Zen-like distraction. That’s probably why the creation of Zendoodle and Zentangle. Very fun! Here’s my amusement for today.

If you aren’t familiar with the concept, just Google Zentangle. Just saying, ” Google Zentangle,” is very disturbing. Are we speaking a foreign language? Yes!

Footloose and Fancy-Free Friday

Some days I just feel downright lazy. It’s 9 pm and I’m multi-tasking. The television is on, I’m checking emails, and trying to figure out what to write today. Do I HAVE TO write every day? No! But, I really like to challenge myself to see if I can find something interesting to write about every day. I like to think that each day is a gift and full of wonders. Maybe not so interesting, but always wonderful.

This morning, I went to the store to buy fixin’s for tomato barley soup to take for art group. I recently read that barley was healthy and it’s Lent. Some of my senior artists are Catholic, so no meat today. I never follow recipes or like to get complicated, so I just cooked a cup of barley, added six cans of tomato soup, and jazzed it up with garlic powder and a dash of oil from the jalepeño jar for flavor. Also took fixin’s for garlic bread. (I enjoy saying fixin’s)

I arrived around 2:30, and after we ate, we worked on more footloose and fancy-free Zentangles. It’s basically a fancy name for doodling, but very relaxing and meditative. So, another lazy, low-key Friday.

Here are some photos of what we’ve been working on.

Wednesday Web

Oh what a Zentangled web we weave, when first we practice to…Zentangle. If you haven’t heard of Zentangle, don’t feel bad, most people, especially non-art people haven’t either. To sum it up, Zentangle is glorified doodling. No special talent or fancy tools are required. The only things required to get started are a fine line permanent marker, paper, an open mind and a little time. There are many websites, blogs, books and videos available to help you along the way if you want to get more involved, but it’s not necessary.

Today, the lovely TOTS, Table Of Talent Sisters met for a Zentangle mini-workshop guided by our girlfriend, Sherry. She gave us a few pointers, passed around a book and some sample pages, and after a couple hours, we were all “Zen masters.” Shapes, repetitive lines and patterns became beautiful works of art. If you like to doodle, look into it. You’ll love it!

Here’s my first attempt.

This is Sherry, our talented instructor and girlfriend.