I still have a photograph and a mental picture of meeting Gerlinde on the stairway of a gallery where Barbel was having an art exhibit. I knew as we talked briefly that she was someone I'd like to know better, so I was delighted when she joined my Monday night writing group.
Gerlinde and Barbel, both German-Americans, have been friends for decades--both enormously creative women. It's my good fortune that both made their way to San Antonio and I got to be their friends.
For several years, while Gerlinde was in writing group, I read and heard chapters of what has now become Shadows and Joys of a Life in Bavaria. Even if I didn't know Gerlinde personally, even if we weren't friends, I'd still love this book and enthusiastically recommend it to you!
She tells stories with such vivid references to nature, food, people, weather, and places that I feel I've actually time traveled back to the 40s and 50s with her to her homeland! Her memory for detail is amazing.
Her childhood on a farm, without TV and movies, eating what they grew and made without the luxury of supermarkets, wasn't an easy one. Children in those days were not pampered; they worked hard taking care of younger children, milking cows, cleaning, and feeding animals. And yet--that same childhood fostered a life of keen observation of life in all its light and all its dark.
She remembers a terrifying stay in a cellar while American airplanes roared overhead during the last days of the war--such a strong memory that she is still afraid when she hears 4th of July fireworks.
What is most poignant is that she is able to recall not just what happened in her village, but she captures the point of view of a child who didn't yet understand much of it. The reader goes back and forth from the imagination of a little girl to the mature mind of a woman who has saved these threads and woven them together in an unforgettable tapestry of darks and lights and color.
War, poverty, cold. Abuses of some wives by tyrannical husbands. Secrets, depression, suicide threats, frequent early deaths--these were some of the shadows.
And yet, threaded throughout the same childhood, are adventures American children of today can only imagine-like sledding through the forest and exploring forbidden places without permission or supervision by adults.
"You might say that [we] were poor. But it never occurred to us to think that way...The woods and meadows, the barns and animals, all kept us busy in the make-believe world we created."
Children were not protected from death. If they heard the bells ringing announcing a death in the village, the children would rush to the crypt to see who had died!
This passage, describing the tending to her grandfather's grave, is one of many that evoked a sense of entering into an ancient fairy tale:
"On each grave a red glass jar covered a flickering candle to symbolize the eternal light of the deceased souls. On late-fall afternoons when I walked home from school, the almost scary dancing red lights burned eerily in the fog. They looked like millions of red eyes hovering in the mist."
At the end of the book, I feel like Gerlinde must have felt when she had walked through the woods with her beloved aunt, mesmerized by her stories:
"Tante Annerl's story-telling voice mingled with the whistle of the wind, the screech of an owl, and the creak of tree trunks swaying back and forth. It seemed as if we were in a dark-cloaked magic space, and it only ended when we walked into the soft light from the windows of our village."
That's my experience of reading this book exactly! I'm not ready to leave the "dark-cloaked magic space" of these stories--even for the soft lights of my own time and place.
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Mike Deakin
A few more bits and bobs about Mike D, my remote and very English art teacher:
He and Ian apparently are partners, as they live in the same house and share in the nipping out for errands and cooking of dinners for themselves their friends. And Mr. Bentley, their aristocratic-looking whippet is obviously a shared dog and makes me want a dog all the more, though the dog I want is a little white puffball that costs too much and has probably already been purchased. Every once in a while, in the middle of his tutorials, Mr. Bentley will bark and Mike will say, "Do you need to go outside for a wee?" and he'll get up and open the door while Mr. Bentley attends to his dog business.
I watched one video in which Mike drove around for a whole week off and on, just talking about his life and the fact that the house they wanted to sell didn't sell. He was driving on one of his errands to see his Mom and Dad and was happy that his mom was finally recovering from something that had her off her feet for a month. I don't know why I find this so fascinating, but I do.
He's obviously living large on his blogging and website--as he has every art supply you could want in every color and every size. I'm betting the companies that make these products are paying him whopping sums for his advertising of their products.
On one video he and his mother are making cards on Boxing Day. Mother is telling him what colors to use and where she'd like them.
But the regular tutorials all focus on a page or a cover for his journals, and he has some great ideas and tips--besides his teaching being applicable even to beginners, like me.
Here's one chosen at random:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrC34kE1nGE
He and Ian apparently are partners, as they live in the same house and share in the nipping out for errands and cooking of dinners for themselves their friends. And Mr. Bentley, their aristocratic-looking whippet is obviously a shared dog and makes me want a dog all the more, though the dog I want is a little white puffball that costs too much and has probably already been purchased. Every once in a while, in the middle of his tutorials, Mr. Bentley will bark and Mike will say, "Do you need to go outside for a wee?" and he'll get up and open the door while Mr. Bentley attends to his dog business.
I watched one video in which Mike drove around for a whole week off and on, just talking about his life and the fact that the house they wanted to sell didn't sell. He was driving on one of his errands to see his Mom and Dad and was happy that his mom was finally recovering from something that had her off her feet for a month. I don't know why I find this so fascinating, but I do.
He's obviously living large on his blogging and website--as he has every art supply you could want in every color and every size. I'm betting the companies that make these products are paying him whopping sums for his advertising of their products.
On one video he and his mother are making cards on Boxing Day. Mother is telling him what colors to use and where she'd like them.
But the regular tutorials all focus on a page or a cover for his journals, and he has some great ideas and tips--besides his teaching being applicable even to beginners, like me.
Here's one chosen at random:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrC34kE1nGE
A seventy-year-old back in the studio solo
I'm also a bit in love with my new teacher over in Britain-- a bespeckled, bow-tie-wearing journal-making man with a dog named Bentley and a partner who from time to time wanders into the frame, or maybe it's the camera man.
My first artist I married-- before I'd had a chance to explore art on my own. Now, the man who keeps me up all hours is not at all my type in some respects, but who is exactly my type as an art teacher. He's joyful about it and generous and playful.
I watch with wide open eyes and ears as he plays classical music while putting paints on pages in sensuous and fascinating ways while I wait for yet another heating expert to show up and hopefully fix the heater. I'm wearing a soft cuddly sweater in bed with four blankets piled on the bed, drinking tea to go along with the British vibe of the classes on the screen--but it's too cold to go into the studio (aka Carlene's bedroom in Texas) to try out his techniques for myself. (Elena likes to sleep with me when she's here.)
I love the way he lays out his "bits and bobs" for collage. So I make a note to self to save all the bits and bobs that could be used when I get back to collage.
Before I discovered this lovely man online, I watched many at-home crafts people, like myself, showing me how to use materials like gesso to make pages non-porous, how to actually use water colors and acrylics, how to make transfers out of shipping tape. I watched hours of these at Carlene's and then found Mike D. and he's my guy from here on out in the art/play world.
Finally, the heater is fixed--after a week and ten experts who didn't find what this guy found--a crimp in the exhaust pipe. My house is toasty warm for reading the last few chapters of Gerlinde's book after meeting Kate at Bee's for excellent Mexican lunch.
Day made this page for our We Three Journals (she and Carlene and I) nine years ago. We had a monthly prompt and passed it around and each made a page to fit the prompt.
My first artist I married-- before I'd had a chance to explore art on my own. Now, the man who keeps me up all hours is not at all my type in some respects, but who is exactly my type as an art teacher. He's joyful about it and generous and playful.
I watch with wide open eyes and ears as he plays classical music while putting paints on pages in sensuous and fascinating ways while I wait for yet another heating expert to show up and hopefully fix the heater. I'm wearing a soft cuddly sweater in bed with four blankets piled on the bed, drinking tea to go along with the British vibe of the classes on the screen--but it's too cold to go into the studio (aka Carlene's bedroom in Texas) to try out his techniques for myself. (Elena likes to sleep with me when she's here.)
I love the way he lays out his "bits and bobs" for collage. So I make a note to self to save all the bits and bobs that could be used when I get back to collage.
Before I discovered this lovely man online, I watched many at-home crafts people, like myself, showing me how to use materials like gesso to make pages non-porous, how to actually use water colors and acrylics, how to make transfers out of shipping tape. I watched hours of these at Carlene's and then found Mike D. and he's my guy from here on out in the art/play world.
Finally, the heater is fixed--after a week and ten experts who didn't find what this guy found--a crimp in the exhaust pipe. My house is toasty warm for reading the last few chapters of Gerlinde's book after meeting Kate at Bee's for excellent Mexican lunch.
Day made this page for our We Three Journals (she and Carlene and I) nine years ago. We had a monthly prompt and passed it around and each made a page to fit the prompt.
Art Camp With a Seven Year Old
Is messy, inspiring, and so much pleasure!
We stamped, stenciled, painted, made prints on a little gel plate, made transfers for our art journals out of packing tape, and used a heat tool to dry our watercolors between layers--most of which I had just learned myself on You Tube and other online classes.
Elena gets into it with the enthusiasm I feel myself when I make a mark or collage I like. "Oh, Yenna, look!" she says. "Look what I made! It's so beautiful!"
We grown up types tend to regard our work-play with different eyes, measuring ourselves against some standard kids don't have in their wild and confident heads.
I kept thinking of Picasso's quote: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."
We made a list of options for her birthday:
Arts and Crafts
See Mary Poppins
Go to Build A Bear
Dinner at California Pizza
We did them all--all but seeing Mary Poppins.
At Build a Bear she chose a pink and blue llama with a tutu, shiny shoes and skates. She attached her leash and walked llama all around the house until it was time to leave for dance class. Then after dance class, at Sea Island,, she walked Lovey Lollipop all around the restaurant like a dog trainer might walk a purebred dog around the ring, attracting lots of attention and comments from other diners.
After all this, my house looks like a bunch of real live llamas marched through it and it may take the rest of the week to put back together, but the delight of it all hangs around and permeates every surface in every little room.
We stamped, stenciled, painted, made prints on a little gel plate, made transfers for our art journals out of packing tape, and used a heat tool to dry our watercolors between layers--most of which I had just learned myself on You Tube and other online classes.
Elena gets into it with the enthusiasm I feel myself when I make a mark or collage I like. "Oh, Yenna, look!" she says. "Look what I made! It's so beautiful!"
We grown up types tend to regard our work-play with different eyes, measuring ourselves against some standard kids don't have in their wild and confident heads.
I kept thinking of Picasso's quote: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."
 |
| Preparing a gel plate for printing |
Arts and Crafts
See Mary Poppins
Go to Build A Bear
Dinner at California Pizza
We did them all--all but seeing Mary Poppins.
At Build a Bear she chose a pink and blue llama with a tutu, shiny shoes and skates. She attached her leash and walked llama all around the house until it was time to leave for dance class. Then after dance class, at Sea Island,, she walked Lovey Lollipop all around the restaurant like a dog trainer might walk a purebred dog around the ring, attracting lots of attention and comments from other diners.
After all this, my house looks like a bunch of real live llamas marched through it and it may take the rest of the week to put back together, but the delight of it all hangs around and permeates every surface in every little room.
Monday, January 28, 2019
Coton De Tulear puppy
Okay I am definite in dog-love!
On the way home from school, Elena wanted to stop by Pet World and look at birds and bird toys--which, unfortunately for me, we did. I spotted a tiny Coton De Tulear female puppy. When let out to play with Elena and two other little girls, she went straight to Elena as animals always do, and I watched them all giggling with delight at the antics of this cute canine cotton ball.
"If you get her, will you give her to me to keep?" Elena asked hopefully.
With a goat, a horse, two dogs, and a new Cockatiel named Paco, I'm quite sure her parents would frown at the prospect of yet another animal. "When I grow up, I'm definitely not living in town. I'm going to live in the country so I can have all the dogs and birds I want," she said.
Yeah, I'm a little bit in love with this fluffy dog--maybe a lot. But in a love contest, Elena wins hands down. Here she is opening her birthday presents--including a box of crafts supplies and a book called Elena's Serenade, which she read to me tonight after we did water colors, rubber stamps, and stickers.
On the way home from school, Elena wanted to stop by Pet World and look at birds and bird toys--which, unfortunately for me, we did. I spotted a tiny Coton De Tulear female puppy. When let out to play with Elena and two other little girls, she went straight to Elena as animals always do, and I watched them all giggling with delight at the antics of this cute canine cotton ball.
"If you get her, will you give her to me to keep?" Elena asked hopefully.
With a goat, a horse, two dogs, and a new Cockatiel named Paco, I'm quite sure her parents would frown at the prospect of yet another animal. "When I grow up, I'm definitely not living in town. I'm going to live in the country so I can have all the dogs and birds I want," she said.
Yeah, I'm a little bit in love with this fluffy dog--maybe a lot. But in a love contest, Elena wins hands down. Here she is opening her birthday presents--including a box of crafts supplies and a book called Elena's Serenade, which she read to me tonight after we did water colors, rubber stamps, and stickers.
Mark Deakin
Well, I have been awake for two hours and it's not even time to get up yet, so I think I'll go back to bed and get a few dreams in before it's time to pick up Elena for our birthday sleepover and crafts camp.
What I've been up doing is watching the most delightful videos by a British man with glasses--Mark Deakin if you want to know his name--teaching me techniques of art journaling. He demonstrates how to use household objects and "things that come through your letter box" to make beautiful pages.
He also flips through his own journals and we get to see inspiring ways to create pages with materials we've never heard of.
Yesterday I went to a writing group reunion of my long-standing but now no-longer-meeting Thursday night writing group. We had a potluck lunch at Mercedes' house and it was good to see everybody and catch up. Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a funk from too much sugar, not enough exercise, and whatever, to participate all that much in the conversation, but I guess everybody has days like that.
I got a call at the party that this is the night Elena has chosen for her sleepover, so I decided to explore videos that she might like to inspire us for our Yenna and Elena Crafts Camp. And it was in this perusal that I discovered these tutorials from Mark Deakin who shows us how to use bubble wrap and bottle caps and combs and other stuff to create texture with paints.
But I have to go back to bed now, turn my phone off, and get some sleep so I won't fall asleep driving to Helotes later to pick up my girl!
What I've been up doing is watching the most delightful videos by a British man with glasses--Mark Deakin if you want to know his name--teaching me techniques of art journaling. He demonstrates how to use household objects and "things that come through your letter box" to make beautiful pages.
He also flips through his own journals and we get to see inspiring ways to create pages with materials we've never heard of.
Yesterday I went to a writing group reunion of my long-standing but now no-longer-meeting Thursday night writing group. We had a potluck lunch at Mercedes' house and it was good to see everybody and catch up. Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a funk from too much sugar, not enough exercise, and whatever, to participate all that much in the conversation, but I guess everybody has days like that.
I got a call at the party that this is the night Elena has chosen for her sleepover, so I decided to explore videos that she might like to inspire us for our Yenna and Elena Crafts Camp. And it was in this perusal that I discovered these tutorials from Mark Deakin who shows us how to use bubble wrap and bottle caps and combs and other stuff to create texture with paints.
But I have to go back to bed now, turn my phone off, and get some sleep so I won't fall asleep driving to Helotes later to pick up my girl!
Sunday, January 27, 2019
BRAINCHILD
After attempting to slog through the most recent season of Frankie and Grace last night while making cookies, having had enough of their quips on aging, I finally gave up on it and wondered why they felt they had to cap off a pretty good series with a dud of a finale.
This morning, however, on NPR (source of all things interesting), I heard an interview with the creator of Brain Child and it sounds like a must-see Netflix watch for children. A young female University of Texas student promises to make science so interesting for children that adults will want to watch it--while also giving girls a role model for pursuing careers in science.
I plan to postpone my cancellation of Netflix for now and hope that Elena and I will enjoy this series. The teasers are fascinating.
This morning, however, on NPR (source of all things interesting), I heard an interview with the creator of Brain Child and it sounds like a must-see Netflix watch for children. A young female University of Texas student promises to make science so interesting for children that adults will want to watch it--while also giving girls a role model for pursuing careers in science.
I plan to postpone my cancellation of Netflix for now and hope that Elena and I will enjoy this series. The teasers are fascinating.
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Shadows and Joys of a Life in Bavaria
Yesterday, I finally got around to organizing things in my still-cold house. (Waiting now for Expert #3 to call and come--hopefully to fix the heating.)
Organizing must be the human equivalent of a dog circling a space until she finds a place to lie down for a nap--no sharp edges, nothing to fall or screech or rise up to bite in the night.
Finally, the surfaces were clear. Objects settled into their intended rooms. The peaceful reassurance of order.
Then I was ready to open to open the long-awaited book by Gerlinde Pyron: Shadows and Joys of a Life in Bavaria.
When Gerlinde was in writing group, I heard many of these stories read aloud and was always captivated by her memories of childhood in Bavaria. (This is a book I'd love and tell you about even if Gerlinde and I were not friends!). But in the years since writing group, she's organized the stories and provided new ones that make the book a cohesive and unforgettable narrative, and I don't want to put it down.
This is a memoir in the truest sense of the word--not a chronological accounting of facts and incidents but a poetic, beautifully crafted, word-painting of a time and a place so foreign to the rest of us.
I'll write more about the book as I continue reading, but I can already heartily recommend this book to all readers! Her characters and places are so very real--as recounted from the point of view of a child growing up before and during the final days of Hitler's War.
Organizing must be the human equivalent of a dog circling a space until she finds a place to lie down for a nap--no sharp edges, nothing to fall or screech or rise up to bite in the night.
Finally, the surfaces were clear. Objects settled into their intended rooms. The peaceful reassurance of order.
Then I was ready to open to open the long-awaited book by Gerlinde Pyron: Shadows and Joys of a Life in Bavaria.
When Gerlinde was in writing group, I heard many of these stories read aloud and was always captivated by her memories of childhood in Bavaria. (This is a book I'd love and tell you about even if Gerlinde and I were not friends!). But in the years since writing group, she's organized the stories and provided new ones that make the book a cohesive and unforgettable narrative, and I don't want to put it down.
This is a memoir in the truest sense of the word--not a chronological accounting of facts and incidents but a poetic, beautifully crafted, word-painting of a time and a place so foreign to the rest of us.
I'll write more about the book as I continue reading, but I can already heartily recommend this book to all readers! Her characters and places are so very real--as recounted from the point of view of a child growing up before and during the final days of Hitler's War.
Being known is probably one of our deepest pleasures in life. Not for what others have told about us, not for who we used to be in high school--but who we are right now, right down to our most raggedy and quirkiest selves.
Few people know us like the little kids who live with us, or who often come for sleepovers.
This morning, I got a text from Will from their backpacking trip with this picture and Elena's words: "Yenna would totally want to take a picture right here!"
e
I've so often photographed Elena in and around trees, my outdoors-y little granddaughter! A couple of years ago, in a giant old tree on the grounds of the McNay, she said, "Big trees like this are like grandmothers."
I haven't seen Elena yet since her 7th birthday so I'm totally loving seeing her in pictures her daddy sends.
Here she is in an outfit I sent her for her birthday. (We love rainbow stripes and colors, Elena and I)
Few people know us like the little kids who live with us, or who often come for sleepovers.
This morning, I got a text from Will from their backpacking trip with this picture and Elena's words: "Yenna would totally want to take a picture right here!"
eI've so often photographed Elena in and around trees, my outdoors-y little granddaughter! A couple of years ago, in a giant old tree on the grounds of the McNay, she said, "Big trees like this are like grandmothers."
I haven't seen Elena yet since her 7th birthday so I'm totally loving seeing her in pictures her daddy sends.
Here she is in an outfit I sent her for her birthday. (We love rainbow stripes and colors, Elena and I)
Friday, January 25, 2019
Napping
As if I needed permission for my daily nap, which I wouldn't miss for many things, Pam sent me this lovely affirmation of napping this morning and I wanted to share it with those of you who might not yet have explored the pleasures of noon-day naps!
https://www.improvisedlife.com/2019/01/25/why-napping-is-essential-to-well-being-and-how-to-do-it-with-haiku/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+improvisedlife+%28Improvised+Life%29
https://www.improvisedlife.com/2019/01/25/why-napping-is-essential-to-well-being-and-how-to-do-it-with-haiku/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+improvisedlife+%28Improvised+Life%29
Friday Morning
Just as I was snuggling in for an early bedtime, the house got cold again! When Ovi came over to diagnose the problem a second time, he figured out how to fix it--but wasn't allowed by his company to go on the roof.
Turns out, I'd recently had a new roof put on the casita and vent-work repaired on the house. The vent hood is either too loose or too tight and the roofer is coming this morning to fix that. Just as Ovi was leaving, Kate called and said, "Come, spend the night here"--and I did.
I slept all night just like a little gypsy baby in her beautiful guest room. She's recently done a lot of work on her house and it looks like a House Beautiful spread! The walls are a glow-y pink color and she's been editing her possessions and having her fireplace fixed--so we visited in her living room by the fire until I could no longer hold my eyes open.
Hospitality is a wonderful thing. Friendship is a wonderful
Though it wasn't as cold a night as I thought it would be, it was good to sleep under blankets in a warmer house than mine and visit with Kate. Now I'm home waiting for the roofers, hoping this is the last house adventure I'll have for a while.
Turns out, I'd recently had a new roof put on the casita and vent-work repaired on the house. The vent hood is either too loose or too tight and the roofer is coming this morning to fix that. Just as Ovi was leaving, Kate called and said, "Come, spend the night here"--and I did.
I slept all night just like a little gypsy baby in her beautiful guest room. She's recently done a lot of work on her house and it looks like a House Beautiful spread! The walls are a glow-y pink color and she's been editing her possessions and having her fireplace fixed--so we visited in her living room by the fire until I could no longer hold my eyes open.
Hospitality is a wonderful thing. Friendship is a wonderful
Though it wasn't as cold a night as I thought it would be, it was good to sleep under blankets in a warmer house than mine and visit with Kate. Now I'm home waiting for the roofers, hoping this is the last house adventure I'll have for a while.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
The last three months have taken me down quite a few roads, and every road has had its revelations and adventures, though I have met no tin men or cowardly lions.
First, there was the six week trip starting September 27--to Georgia, to New England with Betty for my 70th birthday, back to Georgia for a few days, then back here with Carlene. Then I moved to the BW for three weeks while the floors were being repaired. And then I went to be with Carlene and Bob and Jocelyn while Carlene was recovering from her accident--which, I'm happy to report she's doing with all five stars! Her blood pressure is back to normal, and she's able to wash dishes and do a few things herself even with her walker.
And now I'm back home--in a house where the heater didn't work until just now. Turns out it's probably just a new thermostat which Ovi is installing right this minute. It could have been started, he says, by the extreme dust in the house while the floors were being installed--as the filter was filled with sawdust.
New roof, new floors, new things to be happy about--and I'm slowly slowly settling back in and getting rest and waiting to see what the next adventure will be.
February's adventures involve celebrating Elena's 7th birthday belatedly, writing group, seeing friends, making things, and reading.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
San Antonio
I woke up this morning in Texas, in my bed, the house a muddle of mail and boxes and suitcases. My Sudanese taxi driver, Abraham, drove me home--I was too tired to text Uber or even call one of my generous friends who offered to pick me up late.
Jan had left sweet welcome home presents, including a box of incredible flower soaps that are way too pretty to use to bathe in. And I opened my package from Amazon, knowing it was Gerlinde's book--and it was--so I will soon begin immersing myself into tales of a childhood in Bavaria by a dear friend and excellent writer.
For now, however, I plan to sink into the deep pillows on my bed that Carlene gave me for Christmas and sleep as much of the day as I can. Air travel is exhausting, especially when you have to get to the airport three hours early to get yourself and your suitcases scanned.
When I travel, it's as if I'm a novice every time. I had two rolling suitcases and checked a rolling duffel bag. Getting through the terminals was a bugger with all those wheels, and I will never again plan a walking tour through an airport with two bags, a sweater, and a pocket book. I found good men to help me up and down escalators and lift my bags into the overhead compartments.
And I had a good man drive me all the way to the airport--my brother Bob.
Jocelyn offered to spend last night with Carlene, but she was ready for her first night solo. Except for visit number two to her cardiologist to figure out why her blood pressure spiked on Monday, she's doing very well--strong and optimistic and ready to get on with the journey of "getting back to normal and better."
Jan had left sweet welcome home presents, including a box of incredible flower soaps that are way too pretty to use to bathe in. And I opened my package from Amazon, knowing it was Gerlinde's book--and it was--so I will soon begin immersing myself into tales of a childhood in Bavaria by a dear friend and excellent writer.
For now, however, I plan to sink into the deep pillows on my bed that Carlene gave me for Christmas and sleep as much of the day as I can. Air travel is exhausting, especially when you have to get to the airport three hours early to get yourself and your suitcases scanned.
When I travel, it's as if I'm a novice every time. I had two rolling suitcases and checked a rolling duffel bag. Getting through the terminals was a bugger with all those wheels, and I will never again plan a walking tour through an airport with two bags, a sweater, and a pocket book. I found good men to help me up and down escalators and lift my bags into the overhead compartments.
And I had a good man drive me all the way to the airport--my brother Bob.
Jocelyn offered to spend last night with Carlene, but she was ready for her first night solo. Except for visit number two to her cardiologist to figure out why her blood pressure spiked on Monday, she's doing very well--strong and optimistic and ready to get on with the journey of "getting back to normal and better."
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Mary Oliver
“I held my breath as we do sometimes to stop time when something wonderful has touched us…” ~ Mary Oliver
Linda Kot sent me this article from the Cape Cod Times:
https://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20190118/pulitzer-prize-winning-poet-mary-oliver-remembered-by-provincetown-neighbors
And here's a link to an interview by Krista Tippet:
https://onbeing.org/programs/mary-oliver-listening-to-the-world-jan2019/
Linda Kot sent me this article from the Cape Cod Times:
https://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20190118/pulitzer-prize-winning-poet-mary-oliver-remembered-by-provincetown-neighbors
And here's a link to an interview by Krista Tippet:
https://onbeing.org/programs/mary-oliver-listening-to-the-world-jan2019/
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Charity's Pottery
It's a rainy night in Georgia--as the old Brooke Benton song has it--and it's been a good day all around. I made icebox cookies this morning (so reminiscent of my childhood years!) and poppy seed chicken for dinner and three of Carlene's friends popped in for short visits.
My trip to visit Charity's studio between here and Atlanta was amazing!
Check out her colorful pottery at Charity Elise at Etsy. I could have filled my suitcase with her beautiful containers, vases, spoons and hearts, but I settled this time on five spoons, hoping to add to the collection each trip to Georgia. She has a show and sake in her home the first weekend of every December--as well as selling online.
When I got back to Carlene's, I discovered that Charity had packed in a tiny little magnetic vase as an added surprise.
Not only was the profusion of color and beautiful forms delicious, but Charity--a full time artist and mother of two teenagers--is truly a kindred spirit. We started talking and could have talked for hours. It's like that with sone people--you share tidbits of your lives and suddenly feel that you've struck a great big match of friendship.
Driving away, I thought of something I once heard another traveler say: "The world is full of best friends I just haven't met yet."
My trip to visit Charity's studio between here and Atlanta was amazing!
Check out her colorful pottery at Charity Elise at Etsy. I could have filled my suitcase with her beautiful containers, vases, spoons and hearts, but I settled this time on five spoons, hoping to add to the collection each trip to Georgia. She has a show and sake in her home the first weekend of every December--as well as selling online.
When I got back to Carlene's, I discovered that Charity had packed in a tiny little magnetic vase as an added surprise.
Not only was the profusion of color and beautiful forms delicious, but Charity--a full time artist and mother of two teenagers--is truly a kindred spirit. We started talking and could have talked for hours. It's like that with sone people--you share tidbits of your lives and suddenly feel that you've struck a great big match of friendship.
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| Butter dish |
Driving away, I thought of something I once heard another traveler say: "The world is full of best friends I just haven't met yet."
Friday, January 18, 2019
Etsy Find
I found these painted pottery spoons on Etsy and the artist lives very close to Carlene's house.
So tomorrow, I'm going to pop over and meet Charity, the artist, and buy myself a spoon or two from this luscious table of spoons:
Thursday, January 17, 2019
What's Your Crack?
Before Jocelyn went back home to Athens, and after Carlene felt good enough to stay alone for an hour or two, Jocelyn and I took a car trip to the grocery store. On the way home, she wanted to take a tiny little stop at Tuesday Morning and I wanted to take a tiny little stop at Jo Ann's. While she was looking at cooking utensils at TM, my eyes glazed over and I wandered into the crafts aisle. Then at Jo Ann's, while I was looking at the yummy colors of papers and inks, Jocelyn's eyes glazed over and she wandered into the candles aisle.
Jocelyn loves to cook, especially Italian cuisine. I don't do cuisine, unless you count a chalupa as cuisine. (I did, however, recently purchase a 1940s Mixmaster in black and white with the original beaters and instruction book--just for the sentimental rush I got when I heard the distinctive motor whir, then I rushed home to make a pound cake--even though I already have a Kitchen Aid mixer for that purpose.)
"Kitchen utensils," Jocelyn said, "are my crack."
In the crafts stores, I find my "crack" in the paper crafts section: inks and watercolors, colored pencils and origami paper and punches.
At night, now that Carlene goes to bed earlier than I do, I am watching video classes on Bluprint--classes in cake decorating (which I never plan to do) and classes in photo transfer and flat lays and gel skins and sketching. I am then trying out the things I have the materials to try out and making notes for the ones I want to play with later.
Play is the operative word.
When I quickly packed for this trip three weeks ago, I didn't pack my Nikon or markers or glues--just one package of colored pens Day had given me for a Christmas present and a little blue journal Victoria gave me. Somehow having limited supplies has been a good thing--though I have bought a few extras.
These classes are so inspiring!
Last night's midnight class prompted me to attempt a sketch of a clown book end on Carlene's table.
Attempt #1 looked more like a dog than a clown, and I won't show it to you. Attempt #2 bore a bit more resemblance to a couple of clowns.
Another night, I tried my hand at watercolors, this one of Carlene's then-blooming amaryllis:
I have a long way to go! This first attempt at spreading water color with a water brush doesn't shimmer and glow like the actual flower did, not even close. But it was an exercise in looking and noticing the shapes of the petals and the deep reds and oranges miraculously poised atop a long green stalk.
The process--just playing with colors--is addictive.
WATERLOGUE
If you have an iPhone, check out a free app called Waterlogue. You can use it to turn photographs into images with different effects, including watercolors. I used these images as guides in my first flower paintings. Here are a couple of Waterlogue translations of the amaryllis:
And here are some Waterlogue interpretations of my niece Mary Elizabeth's worried looking rescue dog and one of Victoria's love birds:
Yesterday Elena turned seven--and she's having a bird-and-other-animals party on Saturday with bird cupcakes. She's in love with colors and with her new cockatiel Paco. As I might have expected, she chose the rainbow for her piñata. She plans to have a rainbow colored car as her first car. She's my girl!
As they were leaving the Fiesta store, they saw some apartment buildings painted with bright colors.
Her mom said, "I like those but I never would have thought of painting those particular colors."
"I would," Elena said. "That's how Yenna and I think!"
As they were leaving the Fiesta store, they saw some apartment buildings painted with bright colors.
Her mom said, "I like those but I never would have thought of painting those particular colors."
"I would," Elena said. "That's how Yenna and I think!"
Monday, January 14, 2019
Three Week Mark
It was three weeks ago today that a car crashed into Carlene's Malibu and crushed it beyond repair. It was three weeks ago, Christmas Eve, that I got a call that she had been in an accident and my heart froze with fear and panic.
She, unlike her car, however, has shown that repair is happening, day by day. She's maneuvering her walker--which should be unnecessary in a few weeks. She's dealing with the pain of bruises and maintaining her trademark cheerfulness.
Mostly she is--as we all are--just so grateful that her injuries are relatively minor considering the extreme impact of metal against metal as she was heading home after Christmas Eve lunch in Athens with Bob and Jocelyn.
She, unlike her car, however, has shown that repair is happening, day by day. She's maneuvering her walker--which should be unnecessary in a few weeks. She's dealing with the pain of bruises and maintaining her trademark cheerfulness.
Mostly she is--as we all are--just so grateful that her injuries are relatively minor considering the extreme impact of metal against metal as she was heading home after Christmas Eve lunch in Athens with Bob and Jocelyn.
Monday, January 7, 2019
Friday, January 4, 2019
Words from Nathan
Nathan talking to his friend Julian this morning: “My nana was hit by a car and was rushed to the hospital but she is super tough! She went home the next day! If she were a normal old lady she would have been in the hospital for months but she’s so tough that the doctors sent her home the next day!”
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
January 1, 2019
Bob and Jocelyn are out running errands and I'm reading a new-to-me magazine I really like: Mary Jane's Farm. Each issue is a wealth of health and cooking and crafts and home remedies using natural ingredients.
I'm also viewing my first lesson of a year-long online class: Wanderlust--all about techniques for making art journals.
And I get these photos from Texas and Virginia that make me want to hug these fast-growing-up kids:
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| Jackson and Marcus |
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| Elena and Veronica (aka Bonnie) When I first knew Bonnie, she was about the age Jackson is now-- back when Bonnie and Will were dating in high school. |
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