In a moment of hesitation, on my way out to a meeting this week, I asked Peter, my fashion go- to -guy "Can I go out in this outfit" ?

The collar and hem of a long blue plaid flannel night shirt peaked out of the top and bottom of a chunky cable knit sweater hiding the "too big" in the waist jeans with their tight ankles half tucked in to black leather chelsea boots. My hair was swept up and pinned into a messy bun on the top of my head, bits and ends escaping around my silver hoop earrings. I pulled the outfit together with my signature fashion statement that makes every outfit from scrubs to LBD perfect: lip gloss.

I felt great!

And then Peter said something that made me feel even better. "You're an Artist Yvonne. You can wear anything."

It's been a tough week emotionally with young Peter moving out. We keep missing him in the little things like no more black fluff from his sport socks trailing through the carpet on every floor, his giggle rising upstairs when he reads a joke on facebook or the sound of his car coming around the corner at midnight anticipating the sound of the rising garage door, his call "Love you ! " as he heads out to work.

Its also been a physically exhausting week cleaning up all the shit he left behind. He took down all the posters on his wall but left enough putty to build a baseball, as well as 6 guitars, 2 amps and a drumset. Thank goodness for Craigslist. Its a good thing he's coming to visit this weekend, he can collect the loads of laundry that got left in the washer and in the dryer.

Between cleaning and room rearranging I still found some time to spend in the studio. This week I went back to a favorite beach for inspiration. The fishing/surfing town of Tofino marks the southern corner of Clayquot. Flores and Meares Islands dominate the Sound but Vargas, Bartlett and Whaler Islands dot it as well. If you sit on the beach at Gibson Marine Park on Flores Island at Whitesand Cove looking west you can see the stand of douglas fir trees at each end of Whaler Island and the narrow sand dune that separates them, with the low flat rise of Vargas Island in the distance.

I'm still playing with quinachridone gold and trying to get more light into my painting. See you next Tuesday. www.carolkinnee.com has some handy info on de-skunking, check o ut her latest "52Over 50" blog. Cheers!