We spent a nice long weekend in Tahoe. (Actually, it wasn’t long enough!) It’s a trip we make annually to get our fix of snow – yes, Jon and I are from the Northeast, and yes, we actually love snow. The fortunate part about living in the Bay Area is that we have the option to drive to winter, unlike the Northeast, where one does not have a choice in the matter…

We rent a house with our good buddies, drink beers, snowshoe, play scrabble, ski, and not necessarily in that order. And this time, I actually drew in the sketchbook that I brought up with me. I drew almost every day. And here are the results:

The drawings above are of the one and only Siwa, sleeping, of course.

The drawings below are of Jenny’s dog, Bailey, who was an excellent model because she actually has form, and not so much fur, though she moved a lot… I couldn’t quite get myself to do gesture drawings of her, and that would have been perfect for her.

Where is Sammy in all this you ask? Well, our young pup is maturing. He tolerates only so much from us. After Jon had his fun with him, he decided to tell us in his own special way: “Screw you guys, I’m going upstairs…” (do you hear Cartman?), and immediately his fuzzy butt could be seen going up the stairs to the loft where Jon and I slept, no doubt climbing onto our bed to get away from all the hands groping him.

Sho ’nuff, there was the monkey butt on our bed:

And finally, I had to attempt a landscape. It’s funny how even with drawing, using the wrong tools can make or break the sketch. Guess who had the wrong tool?

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Though Siwa has slowed down, she still enjoys being outside – not around the block outside, but in the hills, among the flowers and cow poop outside. See:

Her front legs were shaved so the vets could run the IV fluids through her after the surgery to remove her tumors, hence the funny looking legs.

It is a challenge walking two dogs who have incompatible needs and energy. That’s why I started the separate walks. However, I don’t always have that kind of time (it’s pretty rare actually!). Fortunately, we live in the Bay Area, where even I can find a secluded field where Sammy can run amok and chase sticks that I throw at him which he doesn’t bring back and instead chews and eats, and little furry animals that are fortunately quicker than him. Siwa just enjoys the scenery.

Here are recent drawings of her. I have to admit, Siwa foreshortened is a tad difficult, especially with her short, bear-like muzzle:

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I’ve spent the entire weekend doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Ok, that’s not exactly true; I’ve been sitting on the couch watching movies – and, yes, I did take the dogs out for their hikes. But the point is, I did very little work, as I am anticipating that life will become very busy with the start of graduate school this week. I am very excited!

The classes I am taking this quarter include Principles of Digital Multimedia, Business Basics in Multimedia (I can share a lesson or two in this class), Animation for the Web, and a weekly forum of guest lecturers and speakers from private industry. It all starts Tuesday! Woo hoo!

100 Santa Fe Etchers

I’ve also learned that I will be a part of a book that will feature the printmakers of the Santa Fe Etching Club of which I am a member (once a member, always a member!). I was very active in the club when I lived in Santa Fe; I wrote a bit about my experiences in a previous post. I am very excited and honored to be included in the book, which is due to come out in December.

The print that was chosen for the book is called Prayer. Here it is below:

Jon’s Track Days

Ok, this last paragraph is really all about Jon and the fun he’s been having at his track days. It’s an addictive hobby for him, and based on the photos, he sure looks like he’s having a great time!

If you haven’t already, check out the recent photos taken by gotbluemilk.com, of my honey riding really fast around Thunderhill Race Track in Willows, CA.

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The third occurred the Saturday before Jon and I left for New Mexico. We were in bed when we felt the 3.5 quake hit in the morning. The epicenter was in Berkeley, like the previous ones. The fourth quake occurred when we were in New Mexico — Jenny informed us that a 2.8 hit in Piedmont while we were away.

I really don’t know what any of this means – probably nothing. It is however a reminder that we are living in an incredibly tectonically active area.

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It makes me realize that we have some key supplies missing from our earthquake kit, namely, a collapsible cat kennel, extra dog collars and leashes. We could also use additional blankets and rotate our water out more frequently.

Just some random thoughts that come to mind when these quakes hit, which seem to be more than I care to have happen this past week.

Jon, who happens to be a geologist, does not seem to be too worried.

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“Oh my God, that was an earthquake!”

It made me happy to know that we finally finished the earthquake retrofit on the house.

Just another one of the joys of living in California!

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