Well, just a with a journal, I seem to having a hard time "making time" for my Blog. So I have a new strategy! I am going to open my Outlook journal every morning and start writing. I will leave it down on the toolbar and when I think of something I will jot it down. By the end of the day I should have at least a couple of thoughts to post to the Blog at night.

HA, HA! Very clever, if I say so myself.

I am a Craig's List junky. I am selling a couple of items on Craig's at the moment and am shopping for a couple of specific things. I had an interesting and fun find today.

I bought a framed water color of a barn and house today for $8. It is very primitive but quite lovely. I am trying for a an eclectic country/farmhouse/horse type of décor in our family room and this will fit in nicely.

The woman I bought it from did not realize the painting was signed and dated, and I joked with her not to be mad at me if she saw me on Antiques Road Show in the future and the painting was worth &10,000. We both laughed at that, yet I dashed to my computer right away.

The name of the artist is Lem or Lena Megugorac and the date is 1939. First I tried the name of the artist. I am leaning more towards Lena, but Google-ing both names didn't net anything.
The matte needs to be replaced and I was looking at the back of the frame to see if there was any info about where the framing had been done. Many times framing galleries put a stamp or label on the back. The backing was just a heavy piece of cardboard, but wait….very faintly I was able to make out a handwritten name, Margaret Althouse Walsh. One of the previous owners of the painting perhaps? The person who framed it? Upon closer examination, you could see holes in the corners, where it had been tacked on a wall at one time.

So who was Margaret Althouse Walsh? Here is where things get interesting. When I Googled her name, she came up as a faculty member of the Manual Arts High School, Los Angeles, CA. in…...drum roll……. 1939! WOW! Maybe this was a students artwork she cherished enough to frame.

The woman I bought the painting from said she acquired it when her family bought a cabin here in Idaho. It was amongst several items the previous owners left behind. When I saw it on Craig's List, I naturally assumed it was a southeastern Idaho scene. But now that I am aware it may in fact be from California, it has many aspects of the landscape north or east of LA at that time period.

So now what? I have emailed Manual Arts High school, asked them if anyone would like to do any detective work for me. Was there a student in 1939 named L. Megugorac? What happened to Margaret A. Walsh?

This is so much FUN! Now I will just have to wait and see what happens.