Painting and Dress Up With Josie

Meema got me my own paints. We worked on painting together.  I did pictures in a painting book about trolls and then I made shapes on a piece of Meema's paper.

We are a team. I make a shape and Meema draws on it with black ink. Sometimes she adds more color but that's okay because I can share.

After that it was time to go to The Room and play dress up. I made this fancy hat and Meema told me that my great great great grandmother whose name was Alice was a milliner, which is a name for a lady who makes fancy hats. I think I am a milliner too.

                                                         

   Also I have a cape for being a super hero. 

Then, of course, my kids wanted to play dress up too.

I gave Margot a crown and the purple boa.

I told her she could be the Queen of the Princesses.

Dolly wanted to be a dinosaur so I gave her a green dinosaur costume and and green basket to be her dinosaur cave. Also a dinosaur friend. Dolly is the King of the Dinosaurs.

 

After nap, there was a wonderful surprise. Grumpy had brought up the mail and there was a package for me Josie from my friend Sandy. It was a bunch of Big Bug stickers! They are squishy and they can peel off so Meema said I could put them on the glass door...and on the fireplace.. and on the chest. I was so excited! These stickers are The Best!

A note from Meema. Josie aske me about doing something or other and I told her we couldn't. She gave me a long hard look and said, "Let me rephrase that."  And she did.

Evening Glow Looking East--Did Someone Say Easter?

In an ordinary year, I'd be awash in preparation for the annual Easter Party--buying food and paper plates, gathering quilts, getting ready for houseguests.

But with the pandemic still out there and so many folks still not vaccinated, we realized a while back that a big gathering would be a no go this year too.   And I put the whole thing out of my mind, only to have John ask last night if Sunday is Easter.

Holy moly, so it is! Caught me unawares . . . time to make an Easter basket . . .

 

Cory Is Enjoying the Spring, Kinda

It's pleasant out here and I enjoy a Spring saunter as much as anycat, but The Woman hasn't given the whole story.

In the Greenhouse and in the Yard

 

And the Progress of Work

This little exercise above was inspired by a memory (I didn't have it in front of me) of a picture (below)my friend Martin posted on FB. (I went back and found it after the fact.) The original probably isn't watercolor and I couldn't come near to the intensity. But what I was intrigued by was the simplicity of the shoreline and sky reflected in the water.

I wasn't at all happy with my effort so I kept fiddling with it. White ink streaks to denote the water, a few gulls in the air, and a tiny figure on the hill, singing the sun up. (Byron B., is that you?)

I'll try again with the original in front of me. Now that's a good picture!

But it was back to the basics for me with the book of four-step exercises. I chose the pear and the melon slice as they use the same colors and I could work on one while the other was drying between steps. (It's good practice in patience, this waiting for the piece to dry. I don't always manage.)

The melon slice was a bit of a botch as my drawing was slightly off and I tried to make a correction halfway through. You can do that with oils--not so much with watercolors. At least, I can't. Lesson learned: don't rush the drawing, even something so simple as a slice of melon.

I was happier with the pear. But the best thing is the sense of calm and peace that paying close attention brings. I've never meditated, as such, but I suspect this is similar.

Ommm.

 

Rainy Day and Work in Progress

 

The Seven Sisters

 

A recent read--though it was first published in 2002.

Back cover copy:

Recently divorced from her husband and alienated from her three daughters, Candid Wilton is seeking a fresh start late in her life. She moves from a beautiful Georgian house in Suffolk to a two-room flat in a run-down building In London and begins to pour her soul into a diary. In pitch-perfect voice, Candida describes her health club, her social circle, and her attempts at taking risks in her new life. . .

This book captivated me. It's not for everyone, I'm sure, but it's a magnificent example of how a person can be an unreliable narrator of her own life--even to herself.

Candida is wary of relationships, but somehow she falls into them and when she is the beneficiary of a financial windfall, she and an oddly assorted group of acquaintances, take a trip to follow part of Vergil's Aeneas's wanderings. (There is, as one reviewer noted, a scholarly sub-theme, and part of the tour is to the Sybil at Cumae and to Lake Avernus.)

As the trip progresses, we learn more and more about each woman . . .and more and more about Candida.

Or do we? Drabble plays some tricks with the narration but, for my part, the ride is worth it. Candida's struggle to find her place in the world and to come to terms with both her changed situation and her own mortality are painted with delicately beautiful prose.

The book was  a NY Times Notable Book and a Chicago Tribune and Newsday Favorite Book of the Year.

I don't believe I've read any other of Drabble's work but that's going to change.  Any Drabble fans out there? Any recommendations?

Along the Way

 

Josie's Amazing Day

Yesterday was the best! First of all (after pancakes and doing some letters in my workbook,) Meema and I went down to meet a nice lady named Suzie who came to bring us some books. But that wasn't all. She brought me this horse that she knitted! I named the horse Blackie and I love her. 

Then guess what we did!

We went to the playground at Lake Louise! It is in Weaverville and takes about a half an hour to get to but I had Blackie and Blue Elephant with me in my seat and I sang songs from Frozen to them.

It is the best playground EVER with lots of slides and different things to climb up.

There is a pretty lake and lots of ducks  but best of all, there were kids my age at the playground!

I played with a little girl and then with a little boy. We climbed and slid and ran around.

I went on the swings a lot too, but Meema didn't take pictures of that because she was busy pushing me.

I am super good at climbing. My sparkly pink Crocs help me.

It was a very fun day and Meema promised we will come back soon. I can't wait!

 

Bustin' Out All Over