Hurricane Sandy's main thrust against the north east coast is now three days gone. In the aftermath, many thousands of people are still without power and the historic NYC Boardwalk lies in shambles. Profound sympathies and heartfelt prayers go to those who lost their lives and to those whose lives are forever changed because of this storm.

On a lighter note, in my area this storm has caused so much rain that the ground squishes like a sponge. Just last month, the colors turned in the trees; they were breathtakingly beautiful. Luckily, my hubby and I took a couple of nice rides into the neighboring counties and drank in the wonder of fall. But then Sandy hit and the wind blew the trees naked. And it rained. And rained. And is still raining as the temperature drops; some gloppy, wet snowflakes were spotted dropping to the ground here today.

Please, hurricane Sandy survivors, please understand this is not complaining; this is just sad acceptance that winter is looming. My area was generally passed over by Sandy and we are truly grateful. However, I detest winter where I live. The sun NEVER shines all winter and the surrounding landscape is a corpse blue-gray for 6 months.

So while it's gray and rainy outside, I turn up the heat in my studio, turn up the tunes to LOUD and paint until I am exhausted. The Wicked Brush studio is my alternate reality. Love it!