401 Comments

Heather, You so deserve a night off. Your work sustains me in the fight. You work late at night most nights. I'm on the west coast; often I'm actualy waiting to go to bed to see if your piece drops. Thank you so much for all that you do!!!

Warmly,

Janet E. Ploss, MD

Seattle, WA

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Reading your posts under the covers with the shades drawn in the very red State of Idaho. If I can't keep my eyes open late enough, it's the first thing I read every morning. So grateful.

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🌹 Hugs.

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Oh, bless you. I thought TN was bad …

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me too - often first thing before i get out of bed...

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Same here, either late in the evening, or reading this under the covers in the morning before I get up, like I'm doing this morning.

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Same! Unless I’m up late enough for the post in California. If I see it I have to read it!

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Here, too. Also near Seattle. :)

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Ever been to Asheville, NC ? That's where Biltmore ( Vanderbilt family mansion ) House & Gardens is located. I had been there SO MUCH that I led a tour group around from memory once. They make a STRICTLY GINORMOUS production every Christmas, & they prepare for next year's after they remove the decor from last Christmas. Worth the trip.

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I was raised in a small town not so far away from Asheville. The Biltmore House has always been my favorite place to visit. The grounds surrounding it are simply stunning.

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I just went yesterday and visited the gardens. So beautiful. I relocated to the Asheville area from eastern WA, Spokane. I love it here but I do miss WA.

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The Biltmore House is amazing! Christmas is spectacular! The family members who own it now have done a great job of trying to sustain their family legacy. After visiting At Christmas several years ago, I did further reading about the Biltmore House and the Vanderbilts, who owned it. 1) George Vanderbilt spared no expense in this property. He did not work, but lived off his inheritance. Eventually, it was realized, the money would run out, since he was not working to replenish the funds. 2) His daughter and only heir turned the property over to others to manage and lived in Europe. Her descendants handle the property now.

Reading about the Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age was fascinating. George and Edith Vanderbilt were appreciated by their employees because of their kindness.

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They were approximately as wealthy as the Hearsts. & Biltmore was used as a location for at least TWO movies. I'm surprised that it wasn't used for Wayne manor in the Batman movies. It would've been PERFECT !

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Lucky you! What was your reason for relocating, Dianna?

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Unfortunately, it was divorce.

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I understand that the actor / comedian Harry Anderson ( " Night Court ", " IT ", among other things ) lived there & is buried there.

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Really? True?

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Marlene, my father grew up in nearby Hendersonville; his aunt ran the Fassifern

School for girls (closed in the 1950s). I've been several times. A beautiful area.

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I used to go to Hendersonville every summer. It is lovely there. I have a frind who lives nearby.

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& you need GPS coordinates to find your way back to the main drag..... 😉🤔

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I've heard about the Biltmore House & Garden from a friend who would visit a friend of hers who lived in Asheville. She was impressed and insisted I visit someday. It's still on my list though you have reminded me of it. It sounds like something I would enjoy.

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It is WELL WORTH the trip. It's very difficult to find your way off of the grounds after dark because there are 120,000 + tiny roads leading back to Asheville proper, making it easy to get sidetracked / lost.

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It was late in the day when we ended our walk around the Biltmore and the shuttle had ended. We hitchhiked our way out of the grounds. The security guys picked us up and regaled us with stories of poachers and squatters.

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& you could ride in these " birdcage " elevators. Over a century old. I was tempted to ask if there was a Batcave, where Alfred Pennyworth lived, where the Batmobile lived, really they could've filmed ANY VERSION of Batman there !

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Yes! It’s only 2 hours away. Christmas is beautiful, but really anytime is interesting. Most recently saw the “Downton Abbey”-themed exhibit.

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When was this ? I haven't been outside of the Met Nashville area in A LONG TIME. Seems like geological ages.

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I think it was maybe two years ago.

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Off topic here, but - it's good to discuss something other than the runaway NRA or DJT. This will count as a" spa day / hour / half hour / 10 minutes ".....

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I grew up in Seattle and now live in Belgium, where I read Heather's freshly posted piece over breakfast each day.

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I want to be you … 😞

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Where are you in Belgium? Literally in BXL?

I moved from Boston to the edge of the earth, aka, the mouth of the Columbia on the Washington side.

I used to spend part of the year in Belgium, NL and UK and miss my time there.

When asked if I am ever homesick for Boston, I often reply, I'm homesick, but for another "B"..."

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We have friends on Little Puget Island ...we visit them often. It's the polar opposite of Phoenix, where we now live. Heather is very popular here by the way....

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I’m in Seattle right now too, visiting my kids, but I’m from Virginia.

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I'm in a community in Metro Nashville. One foot in Mayberry, the other in the early mid - 21st century.

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Kalama, WA, too. Last thing I read at night.

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From Olympia, retired in Portugal. Greetings Northwesterners☺️

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Ciao from Italy. Retired, but still keep a small apt in Vancouver WA.

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Hello in Portugal from Western New York (Buffalo) Glad to hear you've jumped the pond.

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Congrats. I was researching retiring in Portugal, but then I met my wife 3 years ago and she won’t even consider it. So, we are in Western NC instead. I hope it’s as wonderful for you as I suspected it could be.

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Well, western NC is pretty awesome. If only NC could get its politics settled…

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I'd love to go to Brazil or Australia / NZ. No winters or frostbite. Very little anyway. Or Japan if Covid isn't widespread.

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Me, too - on Orcas Island.

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Been to Orcas many years ago. Stunning!

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Me too…on Lummi Island!

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I befriended an archeology professor who lived there. He was in his 80's & selling a LARGE part of his collection on eBay & Yahoo Auctions. My dad always thought that he or his family was selling fakes, but yet I never saw " Made in Taiwan " stamped on his items. 🤔

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Hummm—no idea who that might be. But wait…Was his collection of old Asian/Buddhist art, per chance?

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Burmese jade, mostly. He spent YEARS in the Middle East : Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Greece, Italy, Jordan, although he had some Japanese & Chinese coins. He once sold a wheel from a Roman chariot & part of an Egyptian sarcophagus. I had LOTS MORE $ back then ( trust fund from an aunt ) & I WAS tempted, as well as having more room to keep it. I still have some faience " mummy beads " & Mesopotamian turquoise. Egypt would want anything larger back, I'm sure. The Professor was a great guy.

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Amen to this. Her diligently researched letters are so appreciated. Sustaining is such an appropriate description. Thank you immensely for phrasing it as such.

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Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. Booker T Washington, 1856 to 1915

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A way for a physician to advertise for free. Look her up.

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Beautiful… While we have experienced a wonderful spring in Florida, we can’t wait to enjoy a wonderful summer in Maine. As Florida politics dissolve into draconian measures, we are conflicted. We are sponsors of the annual Planned Parenthood fundraising dinner here this year and it is going to be a gloomy forecast indeed. I swear that without your daily input, we’d be ready to bury our heads in the sand. Thank you for putting into words what we are thinking but what we cannot express so clearly.

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Thank you @BobOrlando for your work on behalf of Planned Parenthood! Even though FL clinics are currently impeded in their abortion care, I know that some patients are traveling here to NJ Planned Parenthood for care (as well as from many other forced birth states). As Margaret Meade said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

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Think locally, act globally - Rene Dubose.

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Watched Slay the Dragon last night about those who fought (and won) the severe gerrymandering to ultimately turn MI all blue—and female leaders. There’s hope …

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Onward to Ohio, and NC, and Wisconsin.

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Thanks for posting this! I just watched the trailer and can’t wait to settle in for the movie!

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Sure. We need determined people speaking truth to power in every state! Especially TN, and especially now.

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Without people like you willing to stick it out and stick to it, we're lost.

That is the only way to save/reconstruct democracy.

Thank you! I know how difficult it can be.

voices crying in the wilderness

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Look at Michigan. Voters Not Politicians.

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Yes, I remember when we were inaudated every where we went here in Michigan for that petition drive. I signed it in front of my little town's post office, the next day I was stopped on the platform of the Amtrak train station in Ann Arbor. When I got back from my weekend trip to Chicago, I met another signature collector getting off the train. When I went to Costco a few days later, I was approached in front of the store. Got home and stopped at the local plant nursery and the owner asked if I would like to sign the petition to amend the State Constitution to end gerrymandering. It was literally everywhere, being passed by both Democrats and Republicans. The Republicans used the line on me, saying just wait if the Dems ever win the Legislature, they will do the same thing! (gerrymander)

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Thank you for continuing to work with Planned Parenthood. Yesterday the local California PP group had a table at California State University Sacramento. And we marched at the capital for Abortion and Women’s Rights to choose last year, at the Capital, June 24, 2022. Thousands marched with signs that we made or that Planned Parenthood supplied. Women gathered within hours of that Supremely wrong court decision on a moment’s notice. I drove 50 miles to join the March, hold hands and signs. So many young people. The rush hour traffic was backed up and cars were honking in solidarity with all of us. That unforgettable day when we learned that we could not trust our Courts to keep their promises. The Supreme Court , (a man named Dobbs, from Mississippi ) overturned the constitutional right to abortion, Roe v Wade, 50 years of controversial rights reversed. There are still states that honor a woman’s right to choose, but too many have created great obstacles for a vulnerable population. Our courts matter.

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I wonder if you got any media attention. When I lived in Orange County and protested, the media ignored us. The FBI infiltrated and sabotaged us. Things have changed: now they have Katie Porter, so maybe it wasn't a wasted effort.

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Can't edit, so:

https://youtu.be/d7lr3fdiN-g

Watch "KATIE PORTER OWNING LAUREN BOEBERT - ERIC SWALWELL SHREDS JIM JORDAN" on YouTube

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Katie Porter for Senate ! https://youtu.be/3VkIVMmxjPI

“If you’re full of BS I’m coming for you.”

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I saw that clip! It absolutely brightened my day! I have been receiving fund raising letters from all the candidates for Senate in California, here in Michigan. So far I have stayed out of it, feeling that Californians should be the ones to decide who the Democratic Party Candidate should be. But once that is decided I give to whoever the Democratic Candidate is. Last election I gave to Tim Ryan in Ohio, John Fetterman in Pennsylvania, Masto in Nevada, Hassan in New Hampshire, and oh dear, I am having a name blank, but the lady in Florida. All on a poverty level income.

I finally figured out what I am doing with these donations. I am substituting what years ago I put in the collection plate, to better the world, instead directing those little donations to people who actually have the power to make the World a better place.

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What an absolute contrast and blatant difference between parties. Democrats working for the people and repubs continuing to work for big money right out in the open. Thank you for sharing.

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Yes, real time media coverage was the way people at the end of the march knew about the freeway backup. And it was positive.

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You are so needed at this time. Thank you for being who you are and doing what you are doing. 🌹

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Agree completely. Welcome back to Maine where at least there is a modicum of sanity

Enjoy your summer

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Beautiful. Photography literally means drawing with light. Light makes all the difference, in so many things! Keep sharing the light and enlightening us all! ☮️ peace ❤️

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Here in Kansas 🌻

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thank you

I never really thought about photo graphy

You've just shifted my world view!

Thanks again!

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Thank you for letting me know that my thoughts resonated!

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I learned it in 4-H photography!!

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Nice photo. Have a good rest.

And thanks for all you work.

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I’m always a little stunned when you post a photo and it seems like I’m looking at the North Shore of Lake Superior - gorgeous light, rocky shorelines, evergreens - rather than the Atlantic coast. Then I remember that you have lobsters rather than lutefisk; whales rather than wolves. Gorgeous either way!

Grateful for your insights every day and reminders- like this one - of the many wonders of this beautiful world. Rest well and thank you.

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Sheila, I echo your comment. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told that the Maine coast is identical to Minnesota’s North Shore. I hope one day to see it for myself. -- A MN North Shore native, currently a teeny Blue dot living in an insufferable sea of Red.

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Jan, my dad was born and raised in Grand Marais. This photo really reminds me of the area near Lutsen.

As for you being a small blue dot, thank heavens you are helping balance that sea of red a little. Besides, it’s snowing here this morning. Ah, spring in MN!

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Love Lutsen! Delivered many wedding cakes there during the 16 years my late husband and I owned The Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors. After setting up the cake we’d go to Grand Marais for a quick lunch. That brief respite and the scenic drive was always a treat.

Your Spring snows will soon end. Enjoy the glorious weather that follows.

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Born less than a mile from Lake Michigan. I spent my summers swimming there…

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I think you are hardier then me! I remember vacationing on the shore of Lake Superior in the Keewenaw Peninsula of Upper Peninsula Michigan! Oh My! I waded in and immediately turned blue, in July no less! It was a wonder there weren't icebergs floating out there. I think that day the marine forecast said water temp was 46° F. So clean and frigidly beautiful. I love the North Country!!!

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Lucky you, getting to play in big blue waves all day! Best memories for me - played in both Michigan and Superior and still visit frequently. (With the week we’ve had, especially in your back yard, good to be reminded of simpler times...)

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I agree. Really wonderful memories, including the Dunes (now a national park) near Gary.

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And sorta like the Alaska coast where we have the wolves and salmon.

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It's that boreal forest look - and you have both whales and wolves!!

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Enjoy your night off! I am going to be watching the local telecast of Auana night at the Merrie Monarch Hula Fest. Last night’s Kahiko performances lasted almost to midnight.

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I have a friend watching in person. She’s loving it!

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Wow so very lucky! Those tickets are hard to come by!

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so absolutely beautiful.

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Ditto

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Fantastic! Rest!

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Rest & regroup. Mazel Tov.

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Thanks for sharing! We all need get always and renewal in nature

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Campobello is a wonderful place. I could live in that house on that property very happily.

Great photo too, as good as any you post.

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I seem to recall a film called Sunrise At Campobello AGES AGO. When I was a tad.

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Starring Ralph Bellamy as FDR!

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Ah ! I saw it back when there were only 3 channels, no remote & color was not a thing yet !

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Wow! So incredibly beautiful!

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Campobello. FDR was there when he was stricken with polio.

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I was at the Mission Inn swimming pool in Riverside California. Luckily, I can still walk a little bit.

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I spent many years in Riverside. Love the Mission Inn!

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Love it!!

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Deep thanks to you, Heather. Rest well!

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I planned this whole trip to Maine this year to visit galleries and indulge in the picturesque coastline and that lovely light. Alas the trip will have to wait one more year. But I can’t wait to visit. So many painters in Maine! Homer, Wyeth, Porter, Katz snd Lois Dodd who is still with us. I have fantasized about getting into a gallery in Maine, likely Portland. Who knows? It may happen.!

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Hi Brandy. Do you have a website for your art? I would love to see it.

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Thanks Gailee! It’s brandyagun.com 😊

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What a wonderful, distinctive style! If I were back in the states I would find a way to get your art into one of the galleries in SoCal when I was involved there. There's something like a 'veil' over the pieces so they are muted. It intrigues me.

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I really like complicated colors with a flat finish. Probably comes from growing up in Portland Or and now living here in Seattle. It rains a lot!

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That is so interesting. I see it. ❤️

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So glad you posted your link.

Some wonderful work,

I saw places I could almost remember being at,

I heard voices whose names I could almost remember,

I felt the caring among those in situations I could recognize.

I don't know how to say this without sounding trite or condescending, but

believe me I'm sincere; you have a rare talent for transferring emotion to oil.

Don't give up. It must someday be recognized.

I hope it is soon.

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Beautiful photo and a bell deserved day/night off.

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