My first hurricane season here in Florida and it is surely starting with a bang, pop, and boom! Irma is making her way north and promises to be quite a show off in terms of power. It's pretty eery how sunny and calm everything is right now, knowing that chaos is on its way. Everyone here is busy prepping with groceries, gas, and water. I've done my part. Bags are packed and I'm ready to leave if need be. However, with the mass exodus from the south, leaving now is practically futile. Congestion and immobility on the highways out of the state are a huge deterrent. A friend just told me that people coming north have crawled along for 90 minutes on the highway to only go 7 miles. The worst thing we could do is get out there, run out of gas, and then be a sitting duck for 180 mph winds to come at us.

Fridge is stocked, to some degree. Finding the balance between ample food that won't perish should the power be lost for a long time and hoarding way more than you and 10 neighbors might need for several weeks seems to be a fine line. I have a mix of fresh food that has staying power, like spinach and romaine, fruits, vegetables, as well as things that can be cooked on a grill or even open flames.

Water is bottled and frozen and stuffed into the freezer. The less air space, the longer it will stay cold when/if the power goes out.

My dogs are only affected as far as seeing their mom pack. Piper, as always, runs to her mobile carrying bag, ready for the next adventure. Cooper just wants to make sure I close no door between him and me. I wish I could make them understand that I would never leave them behind. I just love on them a little more for reassurance. Right or wrong, that makes us all feel better.

I know one thing, we are really lucky to be able to prepare, be warned, take precautions, and take extreme measures if necessary. I am so full of gratitude for all who have and continue to check on me. <3 nbsp="" p="">
Meanwhile, here are some pictures I took the last couple days. That middle picture, the selfie, was taken first thing in the morning while walking the dogs. About as unglamorous as one can get.

A casual stroll in Paris

As we headed out for our third morning in Paris, having just had our classic Parisian breakfast of Café au Lait and croissant at Le Metro Café, we decided to begin our adventure by exploring the neighborhood we were staying in. Walking past the almost iconic patisseries, boulangeries, boucheries, and fromageries in the Montparnasse neighborhood with no particular destination in mind, I glanced down a narrow street, barely bigger than an alley. I was met with a beautiful smattering of green lush plants and vines that were trailing from one side to the other across cables and power lines. We meandered down this Rue, my companion and I, both appreciating the natural beauty it offered on that sunny but crisp fall day. What a thing of wonder to have such a beautiful garden in the midst of this busy city. An Eden amongst the cobblestones. There, I happened upon a curbside flower garden with a beautiful fuchsia plant, commonly known as dancing ladies.This was one of my favorite flowers growing up and I remember my mother telling me about it as a child. My imagination ran with images of swirling ball gowns dancing to Mozart and Chopin. It was not a native or perennial in our hometown of St. Louis and so we did not have them at our house though I always wanted them. Although this French version looked slightly different, it's quite the beauty nonetheless. 

I found out later that this Rue des Thermopyles is quite well known in Paris. As it was not very crowded when we were there, I felt that we had just "discovered" a hidden gem while on our casual stroll. The most beautiful things happen when you just poke around. 

The snapshot below is of

my latest work and is one of the most detailed paintings I have attempted thus far. I hope you enjoy it.

Title: Fuschia on Rue des Thermopyles ©

Prismacolor Premier Pencil on blue Mi-Tientes paper