Summer Moods

I was very busy in June, and didn't really have time to do any proper gardening, but as July rolled around and I had my first free weekend in a while, I decided that it is high time to mow the lawn and take care of my flowers. It is nice to be in a summer mood, with the scent of lavender and agastache in the air and the beautiful blooming hydrangea in the corner. Working on the garden is tiring, but the view at the end sure is nice :)

The Last Days of Summer

Summer ended quite abruptly this year. One day it was sizzling hot, and a second later it was rainy and 15 degrees colder. Not fun! I am a bit sad to see the summer go, partly because this year I didn't have many chances to enjoy it. I also just bought two folding lounge chairs for my backyard, but I didn't have a chance to sit in them because it was cloudy and rainy for the past week and a half. It's finally sunny again, but it is a little chilly - definitely fall weather. I would like more warm days, please!

In order to prolong the summer, if only in my mind, I decided to post some photos from my vacation in Greece. Blue skies, sparkling seas, boats, and white sand beaches...dreamy! This year I was really craving the beach, with its salty air and the sound of the waves. I needed to be outside for a whole week, sightseeing or relaxing with my Kindle and a good book.

The sea brings all of these beautiful marble and quartz rounded pebbles to the shore, like the ones that you can get in home decor stores for a ton of money, so I went crazy and brought back something like 10 kilos of stones in three colors. It spent quite some time laughing at myself for that, but it was worth it, because I put some of the pebbles in glass cylinder vases I got from IKEA and arranged them with my big glass cylinders of pine cones  to get a nice setup. It goes really well with the natural and chocolate and milk tones of my living room. And it was pretty much free :)

Pale Light Summer Abstract

Here is another abstract that I painted a few weeks ago, which turned out quite nicely, I think. I really like the colors in this one; they kind of remind me of a pale yellow beach with light blue and grey pebbles and clear water. I want to be in a place like that right about now, actually. So far this summer has been tough on me, and a vacation seems far away and uncertain. I'm trying to decompress whenever I can, but I'm still stressed from all the stuff I'm trying to juggle at the same time. Usually I find summers deliciously slow, with hot afternoons and iced tea, pale sunsets and warm nights, but this year I'm finding myself fast forwarding through the days like a crazy person. There's no time to stop and enjoy the season. I'm trying to work on slowing down a little, but, at the same time, I would like to finish my MBA as fast as possible. Then I'll be done with my education - yey! I'll just study fun stuff after that, like painting or photography :) Oh, I'm sooo looking forward to that time! In the meantime, enjoy my newest painting:

Red Abstract

I'm trying to find time in my insane schedule to paint more, but it doesn't always work out. Lately I've been spending most of my weekends sleeping - that's how exhausted I am at the end of the work week. Still, I am trying to work up to having enough paintings and collages for an art show and, perhaps, an Etsy shop. Here is one of my latest abstracts, very red and fiery. I'll be coming up with names when I have enough paintings, and that's always a very fun task for me.