A Sawdust Birthday

Thought I’d do a blog post about my 66^th, since there’s too many pics for Instagram. 

It’s been a couple of years (remember, Covid…) since we really did much for my b’day, so I was happy to plan this little outing.  July birthdays are kind of crap, really.  When you’re little, you miss the class birthday party and when you’re older, it’s summer, hot and most attractions are crowded and miserable…  But, fortunately, this was a Good One!

Onward, Birthday Girl!

What is the proper way for a former Bostonian to begin her birthday?  

A Boston Cream donut from Dunkin’, naturally!

Then we hit the road for a trip down the freeway to Laguna Beach, home of The Sawdust Festival, an annual summer art fair comprised of Laguna Beach artists.  I haven’t been there in probably 7 or 8 years.  Sometimes I let traffic and parking issues discourage me and I end up not doing things…  Anyone else like that?  But this time I decided I really wanted to go and tried to time it to miss the worst of SoCal traffic.  Which we did, both ways 😊

I also discovered a great place to park for $7 for the whole day ($10 on weekends) and a free trolley around town.  Being such an artistic area (they also feature the Art-A-Fair and The Festival of the Arts), even the trolley stops are unique.

We were a little early to the fair, where we ran into a lady who was part of the Sawdust staff.  She saw us waiting for the ticket booth to open and offered us tickets for $5 each (senior price would have been $7, regular price $12), which would be going to a German Shepherd rescue she volunteered with.  Cheap tix and a chance to help doggies – yes, please!

Here are a couple of shots from outside the Sawdust – so much color and imagination!

You can’t really take a lot of pictures inside because many of the artists ask you not to, which is understandable.  But here’s a beautiful butterfly for all to enjoy. 

There’s everything under the sun there, and themed to every taste, serious to silly.  From ceramics and ironwork, to paintings and sculpture, jewelry and glassware.  Plus classes, exhibitions and entertainment.  It’s definitely worth a trip if you’re in the area.  And there are the other art fairs and a lovely downtown area to explore as well.

After a few hours, we went back to the car to drop our purchases, then trolley’d down to the beach.  It was a little breezy! Pics of what we bought below.

I really wanted to see the ocean.  With Covid and one thing and another, we just haven’t been to the coast (about 40 minutes away from home) in a really long time.  We sat on a bench and watched the waves and birds and kids body surfing and dogs walking their people.  It was *deep breath* so lovely.

Then I realized we hadn’t put on sunscreen.  Yeah, a little lobstery today, but worth it.

Ended the day with chicken bowls from Flame Broiler and slices of cake with French vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and sprinkles.  Cream was a definite theme this year!

So, here’s the art we bought:

The Husband is a Beatles FREAK, so this purchase was a no brainer.  I hope you can expand these pics to see the details of the “clothesline” art ~ so much going on in these.  This one is 11 x 17”.

I had to have the Star Trek version when I saw Guinan’s outfit (purple on the right).  And c’mon, Spock on a cow?  Backwards??

Also, The Wizard of Oz is so iconic.  I don’t watch the movie often but the characters and lessons are so beautiful, just couldn’t resist this one.  These two are 4 x 6”.  Check out his website, especially Game of Thrones and Disney lovers – durdenart.com

Hummingbirds make me think of my mother and the colors on this card are beautiful.  First birthday without my mom.  Another reason I was glad to do something and not dwell on that void.  I know she’s still with me but I missed the phone call and card from her. 

I absolutely fell in love with this ~ the black cat, the moonlit ocean, the colors, the details.  I kept walking past it and finally just grabbed it off the wall! It’s a giclee print on canvas that I’ve set on a desk in the bedroom.  The artist wasn’t there in person and I can’t find a lot about her online but her name is Donita Lloyd and she sounds like quite a character.  Donitalloydart.com

And here’s a painting I really loved.  I borrowed the image from the artists’ website.  It is just so damn joyful!!  I may have to go back to get a print.  She also has some really fun paintings of other women of a certain age in their bathing suits, just having a blast.  I love this artist’s vibe!  Suethompsonart.com

So, Happy Birthday to me!  Here’s to another year of

creativity, joy and health!