A lovely day in the neighborhood.

Today was a fantastic day!

I got my car back yesterday from the dealership, they had it for two days and man, it sucks not having a vehicle. The worst part about them having my car though was that I left my tools in the back and I needed them to install the toddler seat on the back of my bicycle. So, this morning after I took Nicholas to school I got the tools out and finally got the seat on back. Sophia was so excited about going for a ride that she was in the garage "helping" me.

I decided to bust out my 35mm camera that I hadn't used in years and play around taking some pictures, it was a beautiful day and everywhere I looked I saw a beautiful picture. So, I packed up my camera bag, put our helmets on and headed off for an adventure.

We made it to the end of our street and I got a call from Nicholas' school that he wasn't feeling well and needed picked up. So, I turned around, told Sophia that yes, that was indeed the extent of our bike ride, and loaded her in the car to go to Nicholas' school.

We got back home and Luis and Nicholas laid down for naps (Luis went into work at 1:30am) and Sophia and I loaded back up on our bike. We got about half a mile away and I stopped at the creek with my camera to take a picture and wouldn't you know it, the damn battery was dead!

So, I went back to the house to get my wallet and we got back on the bike and headed to the commissary (aka grocery) to pick up some batteries. Finally, I was ready to take some pictures.

I rode around in the old neighborhood behind the commissary and found this wonderful little park with tons of squirrels (which I did not get one picture of) and this amazing old, red, wooden picnic table. I played around with my camera and some black and white film and now I just can't wait to get them developed. I forgot how much more beautiful everything looks through a 35mm lens.

After Sophia played for about an hour and I clicked away with the camera she was ready to leave, so we got back on the bike and rode home. It was just a lovely, carefree day and another way for me to be creative. I'll definitely be posting the pictures when I get them back.

Inspired.

I used to paint...a long time ago...a long, long time ago. I was actually pretty good, I had a painting in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston. It was a gross painting, one that I only did because my art teacher made me but still for an artist to have a painting in a museum is huge. One of my science teachers actually "stole" a piece of my art because he was certain that someday I would be a "big deal."

So, I did what most stupid teenagers do, I graduated and never painted again. I've tried a few times but I just can't seem to be inspired.

Yesterday I felt like painting, I dug through all my crap in the garage looking for my paint and brushes but I couldn't find them. I did find a pouch with a bunch of old brushes, so old I don't have any idea where they came from. I ended up using printmaking ink for paint since none could be found.

The kids laid down for their naps, Luis was at work and I painted. I sat at the table in silence and just painted whatever came to mind. It's not done yet and I don't know if I will be able to make it into anything good but it was nice having a paintbrush in my hand again.