The Loneliest Blueberry in Oakland

Photo Taken on March 1, 2015

A little tart, but a nice addition to my morning's bowl of granola.

Drawing on What's Right in Front of You

I just finished reading American Mirror by Deborah Solomon, a new biography of Norman Rockwell, and really enjoyed it. And after having lived with an illustrator for quite a number of years, I have a certain appreciation of the demands that "art on a deadline" can create.

Watercolor Group in Parque del Capricho, Madrid

I was also struck how Rockwell claimed that he was unable to draw unless he had a model, a few costumes or props, a photograph or some sort of reference material right in front of him. Most people (and I include myself in this group) didn't understand: how could he not just draw something plucked from his brain or coughed up from memory, especially after spending so many years doing art full time?

In Spain last fall, the illustrator in my family gave a plein air painting demo to a group of painting friends. Mistake - it poured rain and soaked us all. But the Spaniards persevered, and took us to lunch for the traditional dish Cocido Madrileno.  And by the time dessert came, most of us were more tipsy than damp.

The following day - rain, rain, rain and more rain. So to me, it seemed like a great idea to make little "thank you" paintings for the lovely painters who had treated us so well the day before. I mean, what else to do when all the museums have been visited and painting in the Parque del Retiro is not an option?

Except, except, the painter had nothing in front of him to paint! He, like Norman Rockwell, just couldn't settle down. He whined, he moaned, he huffed and puffed, he paced and squirmed, but I didn't relent. I mean, what else did he have to do on a rainy day except bug me, right? Better to get to work than "help" me knit or read.

iPad to the rescue. Along with a coffee cup borrowed from the kitchen, a stack of pens and pencils, a new tall and skinny painting pad, and an unyielding partner. And in the end, I certainly think it was worth the bother.

A Day Off

Sutter Buttes Painting

One of the very nice things about retirement is the flexible schedule. My Wednesday can now be a "Saturday".

So while everyone else was tearing up the freeway, we tootled off to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area to check out the locals. I looked and listened to the birds; Michael painted.

Sutter Buttes Photo

White Pelicans

Wascally Wabbit

The Other Lobelia

When the rains end, the plants think it must be spring. And without a single, lonely drop of rain in January (a new record), spring may just be here. Yikes!

Many people have asked me about this little beautiful "lobelia" in the front yard which believes in spring and is beginning to flower. Yes, very blue like a lobelia, but actually not a lobelia at all. 

It's called Lithodora diffusa Grace Ward, an evergreen perennial which rambles along, entirely covered in blue for months and months. Quite drought tolerant, but is much happier with a drink of water every few weeks. 

I'm not the biggest fan of blue flowers, but if something is going to put out for me, year after year, with very little effort on my part, am I really going to care what color it is?

The Best Cheap Cat Toys #3: The Changing of the Bed

Yeah, yeah, I know it's not technically a "toy" but it sure qualifies as cheap. And for us, having a little furry helper means that bed-making is a whole lot more fun. Somehow there seem to be many fewer squabbles about how tight the corners are or whether the blanket is on straight.

Princess won't help with the daily bed-making chore, but only joins us when it's time to make up the bed with freshly washed sheets. I guess everyone likes the smell of clean laundry.

First step is to burrow into the pile of sheets, in the hopes of being discovered. Then comes the excitement of the sheet floating overhead, until it lands. Sometimes there is musical accompaniment in the form of purring.

Finally, the bed is put back together. A nap would be good, except that the bed-making team is simply too revved up to sleep.

New Year's Resolutions

My best guy calls them "resolvers".  It is rare that he is unkind, but for those people who show up at the gym right after New Year's Day (and generally last only a few weeks), he only scoffs.

My resolution? It's not about the gym. Actually, it's not even a New Year's thing. But I have been promising and promising to "do something" about lighting up the dining room for years.

We have loved the old fixture for at least twenty years. And beautiful though it was, it never put out much light (37.5 watts to be precise). Back then, we were younger and could see. So we lit candles and turned every dinner into a romantic evening.

Unfortunately, now that everyone's eyesight has gotten worse, it's mostly become just plain old dark. "Darker than the inside of God's hat," is how I have described the dining room.

But this holiday season, I spent some time in my studio (hard to do since there is so much junk to step over and around). But wedged in at my table, I listened to Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being and got to work.

It took forever. Designing, planning, cutting papers, fitting the mica panels - amazing how much you can forget in so little time. And switching out the fixture was a pain in the backside, but easier than I expected. Then again, I expected to blow up the house. Or burn it down, whichever came first.

But the real question is: shall we continue to light candles every night?

160 watts

Peace on Earth

The Christmas creche is a long-standing tradition at this Oakland home. Tradition yes, but not very traditional. It's a bit multi-this and multi-that, and all of it has meaning. 

Yes, the "shepherd" watching his flock is actually a caveman from a set of Pleistocene Epoch toy figures. Sadly, the mastodon and saber-toothed tiger wandered off years ago, although the woolly mammoth is still around here somewhere.

This year's flock is composed of mostly white-coated figures - no, not medical professionals - but sheep, goats, rams and lambs, poodles, polar bears and pelicans. Owning four stomachs is not a requirement for membership.

Here it is considered an additional benefit to have any number of deities and other religious VIPs participate in the celebration.

The Laughing Buddha is always in attendance, as is the trio of Kitchen Gods (at least I think that they're Kitchen Gods). No one has yet put a name to the Old Guy God (on the left in the photo), but he sure looks prayerful, so he is welcome too.

Finally, as a bow to the original Nativity story, our creche includes the serpent from the Garden of Eden. And a fighter jet that was found in the yard serves as a token for the state of affairs in the Middle East today. 

Each year when I set up the creche, I hope that the jet will not have a place in the scene. This year, I arranged the creche to the sound of police helicopters - a loud and sad reminder of the police and demonstrators battling it out in Oakland and Berkeley.

A Holiday Shopping Idea

Yup, just one. "Cause these days, I pretty much only remember one thing at a time. Really, it's one thing, period, and forget the "at a time" part. So what was I going to tell you, anyway?

Lava-lava Painter

One of my most favorite places to "shop" is the Kiva website. Kiva is a micro-lending program which connects people with money (you and me) to entrepreneurs from around the globe who need a little support to move ahead. Yes, sometimes the words "poverty" and "empowerment" are thrown around, but really, it's all about shopping.

Here's how it works: you commit to a minimum loan of $25 (remember, it is a loan, not a donation. So unless disaster strikes, it is your money and you can get it back once the loan has been repaid. Or if you are giving this as a gift, the happy recipient can get it back.)

Next you go scroll through all of the proposals from interesting people in far-away places and consider which one(s) you plan to support. Shall I invest in a lava-lava (think "sarong") painter in Samoa who needs new brushes and paints? A rice farmer in the Philippines who requires additional organic fertilizer? Or what about that knitter in Bolivia who needs extra materials to make ponchos?

Poncho Maker

As I mentioned, once the loan is paid back, you may pull out your cash. Better still is to go back to Kiva for another fun shopping experience. We started with Kiva in 2007 with a $100 commitment. Since then, we have participated in 45 loans for a total amount of $1,150 lent out. We've never lost a dime on a bad loan (yeah, I know, there's still time) and only one was slow in repaying.

So you guessed it, I went with the poncho maker. Partly because the loan term was shorter (shorter term = help someone else with a loan more quickly). Also because anyone who washes sand to earn extra cash probably has the gumption to make her business a success. And really, who could resist that hat...

Sources:
Kiva.org

For a fun read about a Kiva lender:
The International Bank of Bob

Photos: Screenshot from Kiva website (bad, bad girl - didn't get around to asking permission, yet)

The Season of Giving and Giving and Giving

December 5, 2014

It's December, and the small tromboncino summer squash has decided to go big. Big time. Although it was planted in May, and had all the light and sun and water to grow up big and strong, it really didn't do poo-poo. Until October. And then, finally, we all had to jump back.

Last week

Starting in November, the plant has been pushing out new baby zucchinis for some very fine eating. I'm not exactly sure who has been doing the pollinating - the bees from the hive have long since gone to bed for the season, and I sure haven't been out there with my little Zucchini Sex Goddess Wand.

I'm not complaining, mind you. Just wondering though: where were you in July?

This week, so far

Yet Another Birthday

Five Years Old