My friend, Cynthia Edmonds

She's visiting me for a few days from our home town.

This week is an event called Paint the Town Bradenton. It is an invitational opportunity for artists to paint the lovely scenery in and around Bradenton, Florida. There are 23 artists participating and the paintings wil be on display at the Manatee Arts Center until May 6th, with cash prizes for the three top paintings and all will be for sale.

We drove all over last evening exploring 'old Florida' - mostly in the small village of Cortez and out on Anna Maria Island where there are some nifty old cracker style beach cottages (You'll see one of them in tomorrow's blip).