More Painted Tiles by Jude .....

Art Tiles by Jude ...

Months ago I bought a box (25) of white ceramic tiles, 6 X 6. My original plan was to paint them and use them to cover the risers on the steps leading to my studio. Unfortunately, they were too large. So, I put them aside, in a dark corner of the utility room and forgot them. This week, I came across them and had a creative thought! Some of them have a good amount of texture to them. I used the back side of the tile (the rough side) to put down a layer of wallboard joint compound. When it is dry and painted, it leaves a wonderful surface that makes you want to run your fingers over it. I have attached ribbons to the back sides with a strong glue (E6000) so they can be hung. And, I have signed them on the back also. My "plan" is to offer these up at local art festivals; $25/each or 2 for $40. Would love to send them on to a new home! Some of the tiles I used the top, or smooth side on which to create the images. I have more art tiles in the process, including some beautiful ones showing pears! Stay tuned!

Travels with Molly ...

Chapter I ... the shake down ...

Recently we took Molly out for her first real road trip, to make sure all systems were functioning. Molly just recently became a member of the family at Arbor Vista! She is 35 feet long and 11 feet 9 inches tall. This last one is a very important number to commit to memory, I assure you.

We took a short road trip to Coudersport, PA. about 140 miles to the east of us. We took the byways, through all the small towns and boroughs, and discovered that we had embarked on 140 miles of yard sales! Oh my, these people love a yard sale! In their defense, however, we did see the most beautiful homes! Rows and rows of tall and stately, very old and very beautiful Victorian homes.

On the way back we drove through Union City and saw a sight that would make your heart sing. All along the main street we saw scaffolding, and ladders, and paint buckets, and many people crawling all over these structures busily painting the town, literally. All of the wonderful old buildings were getting new paint and it was just great to see! Our original destination in Coudersport was a place called Olga's Gallery, Cafe and Bistro. This is an amazing old building, with lots of polished brass and woodwork that will take your breath away. Olga, a Russian immigrant does beautiful artwork, brightly colored folk art that takes the form of paintings, jewelry, handmade papers, painted glassware and much more. We had a lunch of fish and chips and coleslaw that was very good. Then, we walked over to the Potter County Historical Society building to look at all the history they are so very proud of. Coudersport is small, a population of less than 3ooo but their history is fascinating. We walked on back to the Cafe and had key lime pie and iced coffee. Then it was time to find a place for the night. Even though you carry your bed with you, you do need a place to park that bed! Our destination was the Potter County Family Campground. Since we were there before the official opening of the summer season, it was very quiet, not at all crowded and very comfortable. Of course, this was the time to learn all about the "hookups". Plugging in the electric was easy, attaching the food grade water hose was easy. Hummm..........easy decision made immediately to NOT hook up the sewer hose. Since we would only be there for one night, we let the holding tank do its thing and just hooked it up before we left to "eliminate" stuff. This was our camp spot for the night. It was a beautiful place.

While we were there I did some painting and we went for a long walk, with the walking sticks we brought with us. Dinner was some beef and bean burritos I had made before we left home. Incidentally, that freezer works great! Breakfast was cereal and toasted bagels. We have the cutest little red toaster we took with us. And, of course, the cutest little red coffee maker too!

But, how well did we sleep? The mattress appeared to be new (Molly IS 12 years old ) but somewhat firm. So, we added a 4-inch memory foam topper and it was very comfortable! We returned home the next day and are planning our next adventure with Molly. Captain Roy is quite comfortable driving and does know that it takes way longer to get rolling and way longer to stop when you have this much weight to move. I have to say, sitting in the passenger seat, up so very high, with my feet on the dash (grin) and with those panoramic windows, you can see a whole lot of this country. I am anxious for the next adventure!