Grandma W's rocking chair

This child's rocker belonged to Bill's grandmother, for his uncle and dad when they were small. It was passed down to the uncle, being the elder brother . . . . but there were no grandchildren on that side of the family. So Bill's cousin brought the rocker to us, to pass on down to our grandchildren.

Generations of small children have rocked in this chair. We especially remember our daughter, Kristen, sitting in it dressed as a scarecrow for Halloween.

~ Noodler's red-black ink and watercolor ~

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

This box of chocolate-covered strawberries greeted me at the door yesterday. I'll miss out on phone calls from our four kids, as our phone is not working and a repairman won't come until Monday. (Oddly, we still have internet) __ But my thoughts will be with each of them.

a robin's egg

Many of my journal pages are kept private, where I write down things I wish to remember. But I decided to post this because I liked how this little watercolor turned out ___ a tiny robin's egg found on the sidewalk while walking my Scottie.

back to the dr. -- this time, for Bill

After a couple of years of unrelieved back pain, I encouraged Bill to see my spinal doctor for a second opinion. Taking his MRI from 1 1/2 yrs. ago with us, we found out that ___ just as in my own case ___ the local hospital simply cannot read an MRI correctly! In my case, they totally missed a facet cyst on my spine, clearly shown to be pushing against a nerve. In Bill's case, there is a large protrusion to the right of the base of his spine, probably from a past injury. And the local MRI dept. said that they saw nothing unusual!

While Bill was off getting x-rays, I thought I had time to do a bit of sketching . . . . but Dr. L. came to get me, wanting to show me Bill's old MRI and what he found. He'll get a more current MRI, then proceed to one of several possible treatments, none of which involve surgery. Thank God for more intelligent doctors!

drive through the Flint Hills

Last Sunday, we drove to Matfield Green, where friends are rehabbing an old house. Arriving early, I took time to draw this tiny house that provides their temporary living space. A springtime drive through this western edge of the Kansas Flint Hills is normally beautiful, but this seemingly endless winter has made it less so. None of the trees show any new buds yet, and cattle are out in pastures of dead grass. Who know what they find to eat out there.

This building used to be located at the couple's old house, used as an interior designer workshop by the wife. I once helped her with some sewing here, with it's huge work table, 2 sewing machines, and lots of bolts of fabric stored overhead. Now it has been transformed into a charming little home.

The tiny palette sketch is of my newest toy:

Recently, I found this cute little palette and just had to get one --- Yes, I am a palette junkie! With the addition of a waterbrush, it makes a great minimal kit to carry in a purse or pocket. It's sold by artist Maria Coryell-Martin, who travels to frigid polar areas, painting amazing works of art. The bottom of the case is lined with a thin magnet, which holds the metal pans in place.

Maria's web site is here, and this palette is found here. She has also put together a convenient Art Tool Kit, containing this palette, waterbrush, pen, and other tools in a ring-binder of watercolor paper and art tips.

birthday card for Dave

I usually paint a card for my big brother's birthday having a hunting or fishing theme --- he loves both activities --- but this year I went a different direction. He turns 60 this year and is now a grandfather. So I sketched our own grandfather's pocketwatch . . . . and some sticks of his favorite chewing gum. As children, we would ask Grandpa to stand on his head for us; he always had a pack of gum in his pocket, which fell out on the floor. We would grab it and run!

wee heiland hame

Scotland has been in my thoughts lately . . . . our daughter and her husband are going there in June and I am a bit envious! They are going with two other couples --- renting a house together on Loch Ness, then side trips all over, including a train trip across the highlands to the islands. How cool!

Meanwhile, I get to stay with their daughter in Houston while they are away --- We'll have to come up with our own adventures.

Saturday's sketchcrawl

On Saturday we drove to Kansas City, meeting friends for a sketchcrawl at the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center. Lots of areas to sketch, inside and out, but the wind still has a cold nip to it. (Goodness! They are predicting snow again in parts of Kansas this week! Will Spring ever get here?) This tableau was set up inside.

After doing very little sketching for over three weeks, I played a bit with my newest palette to get back into it. At first, I had filled this palette with as many colors as would fit --- now I've reduced them to some essential pigments, leaving room for some brushes. Surprisingly, my fat # 12 travel brush fits!

e-reading, even though I prefer "real" paper books

I haven't been sketching much lately but I've been reading alot instead. At the same time, I've been going through the excess *stuff* in our apartment, practicing "Discardia" --- giving away whatever we do not use or need. We have been talking about moving to Texas after Bill retires, in which case we would like to reduce what we would actually have to physically move.

Deciding to keep only books that are special in some way or will be re-read -- and with a small-town library that lacks much of interest -- I finally decided to buy an electronic reader. I love reading classics, many of which are free in this form. Easier when traveling as well.

old stone house

Last month we drove to the small town of Florence, KS to meet friends for dinner. Since they were non-sketchers, I took a few photos to sketch from later . . . . and didn't get around to doing it until now.

This old Victorian house may be older than the town itself. It sits in the downtown area, boarded up now. Mostly the same as it was when new, except for the odd wooden fence.

We passed this old grain elevator driving north along Highway 77, looking quite abandoned on the prairie.