apartment sketches

Now that we soon plan to sell this old apartment building, my eye is continually drawn to bits we will leave behind. We purchased it in 2000, then gutted the thing inside and rebuilt it. First came the upstairs apartments, finished within 6 months, so we could have rent money coming in. Then we spent several years combining the 2 downstairs apartments into one large 3-bedroom apartment for us.

This is an old sketch I once drew of the front of the building. I used to grow herbs in the containers on the stoop. The 1920 brick building has a spacious 2-story front porch.

Upstairs, the woodwork is painted --- easier to keep up between renters. But downstairs we have gorgeous oak trim and built-ins. There is a structural beam in the kitchen where we took out one load-bearing wall . . . so Bill added two fake beams so the ceiling balances out visually. In the eating area, he built an oak sideboard with vintage leaded glass salvaged from his grandmother's old farmhouse. The nickel-plated brass light fixture is one of two salvaged from this building. We also salvaged 3 other original lights, as well as one of the original claw-foot tubs.

The walls are not really yellow --- they are a lovely paint called "Hyacinth White". But when the sunshine streams in from the south windows, it appears a warm yellow.

Bill made the bookshelf on the left side of the upper sketch from 2 discarded kitchen cupboard doors. A cabinet-making friend of ours had a customer who ordered them and then changed her mind. So Bill used them as doors for this cabinet.

Here is another sketch from the livingroom, showing the oak mantelpiece and side cabinets Bill built around the fireplace.

simplifying and reclaiming

As we wait for Bill's bypass surgery, we are moving forward in plans to move to Texas. At the moment, that includes going through "excess stuff", getting rid of what we don't need to move with us. Over the weekend, we cleaned through a junk drawer in the top of Bill's dresser. Among the junk, we found this old belt caddy for a long-gone tool. As Bill was tossing it in the trash pile, I latched on to it --- It perfectly holds my three favorite travel brushes!

Which frees up a row in my favorite watercolor palette. Now I can fit in all twenty of my paint colors. Part of my simplifying and reducing includes cutting down on the number of watercolors I own. I once had around 40 --- ridiculous, I know, since so many were simply convenience colors easily mixed. While 20 still seems like a lot, it's greatly simplified for me.

While I'm at it, I went ahead and copied Cathy 'Kate' Johnson's idea of modifying this fountain pen. I took the bent flexible nib off my Hero M86 pen, which had an over-heavy cap that would not post on the end, and installed it in this Noodler's Creeper pen body. Much easier to use now!

no longer cell phone free

 

I relished the fact that I was not in fact joined at the hip with a cellular phone. I do not like talking on the phone and do not like them interrupting my thoughts or whatever I am spending my time doing. But now, through no fault of my own, I am now the not-so-proud owner of my very own cell phone.

Bill's cell phone belonged to his company and has been turned in now that he is retired. We do like having one at hand when traveling, for emergency, so we went to buy a simple one for him. And found out that it is much cheaper to have two cell phones than to have one cell phone and one home phone line. So we got a two-phone package deal.

Of course, that means the end of my high-speed internet, which was through the home phone line. Now I have this wee device that provides internet wherever we are through the cell phone towers. Good for traveling but a lot slower. Maybe I'll spend less time on-line . . .

First leaf of the season . . .

. . . a bit ahead of its peers. I noticed this leaf on the ground under our Autumn Blaze maple, though no other leaves have even begun to turn color yet. This is my favorite tree on our property. We have been looking at places for sale in Texas that have pecan and oak trees instead --- I love trees.

retirement arrived sooner than expected . . .

. . . in a totally unexpected way. On Saturday, Bill had a heart attack.

While looking forward to taking early retirement the end of October, he was preparing to work on our daughter's new kitchen cabinets in his woodshop when he began to experience an unknown pain. Sitting down a bit did not help, so he drove home (about 12 blocks) --- upon entering our apartment, the pain increased tremendously and he said "take me to the hospital, I'm having a heart attack". Scary.

Instead, I phoned 911 --- and so thankful I did! The EMTs began treatment right away and, instead of taking him to the hospital 3 blocks from our home they drove him to a hospital about 15 miles away. I wasn't even aware of this medical center, it being only 10 years old, but they are set up especially for heart conditions. The Lord clearly prepared the way: both cardiologist and heart surgeon just happened to be there when he arrived.

After 2 stents and a few days in the hospital, he is now at home. The doctors conferred and decided that the best course of action is to have him on Plavix for 30 days, then double bypass surgery set for 30 Sept. (There is still blockage in one artery.) So far, his attitude is good. And the Lord is good.

The bit from a devotional penned on the above sketchbook page "just happened" to be the next daily entry from something I'm reading on my Kindle. It seemed to be timely words of encouragement directly from the Lord to me. I love when He does that.

recent sketching

waiting room, KS Spine Hospital

More waiting room sketching on Friday as Bill underwent the "long-term" pain relief procedure, where they go in and "microwave" the offending nerves. Supposed to give a year free from pain before the nerves grow back. . . . . So why is he still hurting so much 3 days later?

Then I did a bit of random sketching at church yesterday while noting down bits and bobs.

sewing again!

 

Though I sewed most of my own clothes during junior high and high school, I stopped sewing regularly many years ago, when our children thought home-sewn was dumb. The last clothes I made was an Alice-in-Wonderland dress & apron for a granddaughter last year.

Now I'm sewing a costume for myself, planning it out in my journal. In November, we are attending the Texas Renaissance Festival (never been to one before!) and I have decided to dress up for it, though in a very simple peasant style. The "blouse" would actually be the upper part of a long shift, but I've divided it up to a blouse and underskirt of the same fabric. This way, I can also wear the blouse later with jeans.

My mother will sew the bodice for me. She is a much better seamstress and I don't want to mess with the stays or boning or whatever it's called. Billy gave me a tartan stole for my birthday; we will be going to the Scottish weekend of the festival, so I'll pin that over one shoulder. Not sure if I'll mess with the kertch or not. Our son-in-law will be wearing his new kilt purchased in Scotland in June -- can't wait to see that!

secret to quicker sketching

Normally, I am a very slow sketcher --- slow at choosing a subject and slow at determining how to place it on a sketchbook page. Usually penciling in the basics (or more) before ink, then inking in just the most important lines, erasing the pencil lines, and finally adding watercolor washes. Overall, a very slow process!

Lately I have been trying to streamline my process. I've been carrying a pen, one small plastic pill box, a waterbrush, and reusable cloth. I'm getting braver at drawing directly in ink, though sometimes I'll use a blue-gray watercolor pencil which does not require erasing. But the best thing I've found to speed things up has been to cut down to only 2 watercolors: ultramarine blue and burnt umber. The above sketch was painted using only these (except the tiny diagram of optional color). When drawing on-site, I add just the warm and cool shadows. Later at home, I can add a bit of color if I wish. This really lightens my bag as well as taking away distracting options that slow me down.

If I think I'll have time to add color on-site, the second pill box holds 3 half-pans of basic color: quinacridone red or rose, a cool yellow, phthalo blue, goethite brown umber, and quinacridone burnt orange. All my recent sketches have been using these, and I am actually getting better . . . more confident in drawing as well as faster. Maybe I'll get more than one thing drawn at the next sketchcrawl.

Mikala has gone home . . .

. . . but not before I sketched her new mate, MacKenzie. Her parents brought this wee fuzzy friend home from Scotland. (plaid letters: fun!)

I doubt that her other best friend, Oreo the cat, has let her out of his sight since she arrived back in Texas. She has been away from home a lot this summer, with church camp and time in Kansas. But school begins Monday. . . . Sorry, Oreo!

mining salt under the Kansas prairie

It's always good to know the way UP and OUT.

On Saturday, we took our granddaughter Mikala, visiting from Texas, exploring the underground of Hutchinson, Kansas. One of the world's largest salt deposits was discovered there in 1887 (though I'm sure that Native Americans knew of it much earlier), spanning across Kansas, Oklahoma, the pan-handle of Texas, and into New Mexico. Still actively mined today, they also have a museum and visitors' center in one of the older sections of the mine.

We let Mikala ride in the front with Bill (sometimes she gets a bit queasy in cars). I sat in back, sketching her bucky pillow (filled with buckwheat hulls), and the two of them as they teased and laughed with each other.

Mikala looked cute in her hard hat.

Lots of hands-on exhibits showed how the salt deposits formed (when an ancient ocean covered this land), the variety of salt found here, and unusual formations such as fluid inclusions (pockets of ancient sea water trapped inside particularly pure specimens). Hard hats were required to be worn by all, as well as our being issued emergency breathing apparatus in case of fire . . . . even though salt can not burn.

Lots of discarded mining equipment was scattered about --- workers were told "what goes in the mine, stays in the mine", the company owners not wanting to tie up man-hours and equipment for hauling it out. Piles of lunch wrappers and other rubbish from previous generations of miners are now museum artifacts. At the end of the "dark ride" through the tunnels, we were able to choose some bits of salt as souvenirs. Mikala found the prettiest red salt sample, as well as a pure bit with a fluid inclusion inside -- we didn't discover the water bubble until later at home, holding it up to the light.