June melts into July....

I have been very occupied this week so i will attempt to condense the week's events into a short if I may; fun filled event calendar. At 4 in the morning my brother and his family from Philadelphia arrived ...and to say our schedule was a little off to say the least. Mark and his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Nate and their year old son Isaac James unpacked as well my great nephew James also known as JT and we spent hours renewing the changes, events and occupations of the last two years since we were all together. JT went downstairs and fell asleep almost right after breakfast ..and demonstrated that sleep is a vital part of our personalities :O)! Elizabeth is now a full time mom and a home nurse with patients struggling to get well and still stay home in their familiar surroundings. Nate and Elizabeth have moved into their first home and Nate works construction with his family business. Isaac is a ball of energy to say the least... and his favorite thing in the whole world is any kind of a ball...he was especially drawn to my yoga ball I use to practice my balance stretch my back muscles. To say our living room evolved into a romper room is putting it mildly..beware of the wooden blocks that have now created a lunar landscape for our feet to navigate. I cooked and Ken grilled his famous baby back ribs, fresh corn on the cob, tomatoes, three bean baked casserole and fresh fruit berries over ice cream with chocolate sauce. One evening I made my homemade turkey spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, fresh spinach and sweet garlic. I served this simmering delight over whole grain pasta and served with Texas garlic toast. Serving a large family once again was a real challenge for me...Ken and I have been eating a simpler diet of fresh foods and less processed foods and cooking simpler menus. I hoped my guests all got enough to eat but keeping up with a full time kitchen reminded me of the good old days when our table was full of three energetic girls at supper time. Unfortunately I could not be out in the hot sun or air conditions were not conducive for me to be outside at the pool or Rotary Park. I could not get the Tina and the girls on their phone so we did not get to have a pool reunion of afternoon of pure water sports. They left on Wednesday morning after our breakfast outing at Bake and Brew...our family owned place for some "pretty okay food". I was exhausted but after some laundry and clean up I rested before I returned to my studio for family night in the evening.

I did not realize how much I would miss my studio until obligations took me away temporarily...it was good to return to my sacred space. I proudly gathered up all the materials to create our Fourth of July Stars to celebrate the holiday weekend of fireworks. Our county has a place where one can experience parades and fireworks all weekend ...Granville's Fourth, Red White, and Boom in Columbus, Buckeye Lake fireworks and boat parade and Newark's Symphony and Fireworks on the lawn of the Ohio State Newark campus on Sunday night. There is no shortage of patriotism in this county and the families seem to enjoy each and every event. On Friday at noon we had the second cookout and free courtyard concert in The Works ...the heat was blazing for the first of July but a great time was had by all.

On Thursday we attended "Big River" at Weathervane Theater with my dear little artist friend Alivia McKensie performing as a main character in a Mark Twain adaptation of the Huck Finn episodes of tomfoolery and righteous escapades to give his friend Jim his due freedom. It was a thrilling production and I felt so proud of Miss Alivia in her energetic performance and soulful songs. When we arrived home we discovered our beloved Rosie...my guardian angel in the form of a 14 pound dog sicker than we had ever witness in her short life. During the night the evidence proved to continue to demonstrate that she was violently ill. What had she eaten? Had she been poisoned? I prayed she would survive the night and called her vet as soon as possible on Friday morning. We were blessed with an incredible and caring staff who allowed her to come in for a battery of tests to try to solve the mystery of her aliments. W learned she had a very severe bacterial infection and had become extremely dehydrated and weak beyond her canine means. We hydration, no solid foods for 24 hours, Pedialite and small amounts of water, and medications in the form of a shot and re-hydration injections she was able to rest and begin her road to recovery. I have stayed at her side for the last 24 hours and Ken has prepared her special diet of rive and ground turkey in very very small portions she seems a bit stronger today. Hopefully tomorrow the improvement continue.

Erin and Chance are coming out tomorrow afternoon with the three kids so we are looking forward to a smaller less intense Fourth of July cookout. I have tried to catch up on the events, made a bank deposit and paid July's rent so I will have to work a little harder next month and not miss any more work days. I do have some images of the Mermaid Purses I have design with Cora and Alivia ...they have painted their own fabrics and stamped with ocean images so next week we will be able to make our Mermaid bags...stay tuned for really cute girls making their very own ART! Happy July and enjoy those you love dearly! Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart