when we were young, fucking fire hurricane, slow progress

I’ve had enough winter now. One more night tonight below freezing, our coldest night so far I think at 28˚, and that’s it for the foreseeable future (but we all know that can and probably will change) even though it will still get down in the 30s every night for the next five nights and then it’s going to yo-yo up and down between the 30s and 40s at night. Yesterday was cold and drizzly wet. 

Yesterday we started back up at SHARE after being closed the past two Thursdays and we were busy. We served 44 families with food orders. We also gave away lots of winter coats. A couple of the volunteers opened on Tuesday and Wednesday, days we aren’t ordinarily open, for several hours just for that and I think today also.

Yesterday morning I had a message from the son of a man who was one of Marc’s and my closest friends. In fact it was Tommy who initially got Marc and I together (I was dating his roommate and Marc was dating his sister which made Tommy the common denominator) and Tommy who married us all those years ago and we’ve know his son, Tommy (the 4th), from the day he was born. Our friend Tommy (the 3rd) died in 2004 of liver cancer and his som, the 4th, was going through a drawer crammed with pictures looking for photos of the 5 generations of Tommys for his son Tommy (the 5th) to take to school for show and tell when he came across this picture of me which he sent to me yesterday morning. This must have been taken soon after Marc and I were married and it looks to have been taken at our house from the blurry shapes in the background. I was 26. I’d forgotten how long my hair was then.

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We draw ever closer to Doomsday when that convicted felon and rapist and his company of unqualified billionaire goons formally takes over the government while he and his sycophants blather on about using economic and military might to take Greenland, annex Canada, take over the Panama Canal, and this is like the icing on the cake, rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and his idiot MAGAt congresspeople have already submitted a bill enforcing the use of the new name in reference and documents. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is burning to the ground while Trump spews his lies and lays the blame on Democrats, liberals, and DEI. Seriously. Why the fuck won’t Newsom tell Canada to just turn on the giant faucet preventing all that snowmelt from flowing into California. I mean, it can’t possibly be because of climate change and that California is experiencing a fucking fire hurricane (video Jeff Tiedrich posted) and the water is being used faster than the storage tanks with plenty of water can replace it.

But all is not lost. This guy, real estate developer Rick Caruso, hired some private firefighters to save his upscale shopping center while the homes around it burned to the ground. Where the fuck do you get private firefighters and why the fuck aren’t they trying to save Los Angeles from burning to the ground.

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Progress is slow on the new painting but here’s where I am so far. 

winter activities and the monster came to play

Here’s my annual cuttings of the yellow angel trumpet and the morning glory bush in water to root in case the ones in the ground don’t come back.

And it is cold out. Below freezing when I got up yesterday morning and when I wrote this it had just then creeped up to 33˚, clear blue winter sky and a little windy. My workroom was ablaze with prisms in the morning. Minnie and I ventured out before noon once it hit 40˚ and nothing looked damaged but we had another night a few degrees below freezing coming last night. This morning, obvious signs of damage, some total like the cosmos, others just bit like the fire spike, some still seemingly unaffected like the shrimp plant.

I returned the two books to the library Saturday that I’ve had out for over a month. One went back without even opening the cover and the other, that weird book by Keanu Reeves and China Milville, The Book Of Elsewhere, went back unfinished. After about 80 pages in I decided I was done with it. For one thing I haven’t had any real reading time as we’ve been streaming 6 seasons of (sci-fi) The Expanse and have started watching The Outlaws. Anyway, it’s rare for me to return a book unfinished. Usually I’ll plow through it on general principal even if I’m not invested in the story but the library called wanting their books back. 

Of course I didn’t just take books back, I also checked one out. It’s an anthology, Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits. Ellison was a science fiction writer (though hard to categorize his work) and one of my favorite authors back in my late teens and twenties when I read science fiction almost exclusively, before I started delving into the origins of religion and myth, buddhism and taoism, theosophy and new age, Campbell and Jung. Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve read Ellison’s works so this will be a little walk down memory lane.

So, The Outlaws. There’s three seasons and we just started season 2. It’s a British crime thriller comedy on Prime. We started watching it because it has Christopher Walken in it so we figured it had to be good. The premise is 7 individuals from completely different walks of life thrown together doing community service instead of jail time for their infractions as they get drawn into some serious crime while trying to save their lives and the lives of their families. 

This little monster came over Sunday and played while her daddy worked across the street in the shop. I was instructed to draw camping and then rain. She colored in my outline of the tent. Also drawn on demand was fire, an octopus, and skipping (a little human figure with wild arms and legs and wild hair) while she drew snakes and many legged octopi that turned into spiders that turned into birds.

The blue leg kicking up is from Paisleigh skipping, the pink is me not skipping and her octopus/spider/bird.

I’ve started on the new painting, putting the first underlying color on the anthers. This first image is very frustrating because it doesn’t look anything like what is actually on the paper. What I have so far is almost consistently a lighter lemon yellow with some overlay of an oranger yellow but still very subtle all done while it was still wet. This picture is more like the direction I’m going to take it as if it’s a future picture, work I haven’t done yet, and no amount of dickering with exposure, shadow, temperature, contrast is getting rid of the intensity or the enhanced color value.

preparing for a week of winter

I’m seeing house finches and goldfinches on the bird feeder lately as well as the usual cardinals, chickadees, and titmice. White wing doves were abundant for a few days. 

Spent yesterday morning pulling four plumerias and the pink angel trumpet in, pruned back and covered the porterweed and the two small yellow angel trumpets that are in the ground. Then Robin and I got the ponytail palm covered and that was a chore. it’s grown quite a bit this year. 

Still had some smaller pots to bring into the garage but I wanted to get the last two plumerias and the cereus in first so waited on my grandson for that. Also to move the stag horn in as last year I could barely lift it and this year I can’t.

And now that’s all done and I’m squared away and ready for the cold weather to come barreling in today.

So hollering for the dog over at the shop yard after covering the ponytail I saw a car move slowly down the street, turned around in the drive of the Wicked Bitch of the West’s lot and came back slowly. I purposely watched it as it seemed like suspicious behavior to me. Coming back across the street I saw it had pulled into the drive of my neighbor who lives on the corner and there was another unknown car there as well and two people were standing around. Once I crossed the street a young man approached me since I was looking their way. Turns out they are my new neighbors, young couple about the age of my grandkids. Montreal had told me he was thinking of selling the house and a while back there was a man taking pictures of the property but no for sale sign ever appeared. So I’m glad to have a young couple next door and they seemed nice enough and perhaps when they get in and settled they’ll strike up a friendship with Robin.

Friday I transferred the faint lines of the next painting to the paper so I’ll be starting on it during our week of winter.  

Sunday morning and it’s 74˚, supposed to climb to 78˚ before plunging nearly 50˚ to a low of 30˚ tonight. I have the door open. It’s becoming overcast and the wind is gusty, the wind chimes are active, and thunderstorms are predicted.

many thanks and imminent winter

First, thanks to all for all the feedback on my painting as I progressed. Your honest critiques, suggestions, and specific remedies helped me make it better. I might go back at some point and work on the trunks a little more or add more sprigs popping up from the green or see if I can make the yellow a little brighter at the top but right now I’m putting it aside and filing those suggestions away for future paintings.

I’ve already written about how I decided I wasn’t a painter way back in my 20s (you can read that here if you missed it and want ) so five decades later I’m trying my hand at it again and of course I would pick the most difficult medium, watercolor. But that’s me. Screw baby steps and go straight to the thing that takes the most skill. 

My first introduction to watercolor was via two six session classes taught by a woman here in this small town who taught art in school for many years and is an accomplished watercolorist. The first was in January of 2020, the second in March of 2022 and I did nothing in between the two sessions. Beyond the class exercises/paintings I have only done four paintings on my own. The first was a copy of another artist’s watercolor of birds and pink flowers as an exercise in technique though I changed the birds to different ones. I did that one on my own at home during the time of the second class. The second was in June of 2022 of the yellow trumpet flowers.  Most of ’22 was spent making my last major piece of pate de vere, the Coral Box and then I went into a creative funk. I didn’t do glass, I didn’t draw, I didn’t paint until August of last year when I got out the watercolors a friend had sent me that she no longer used. The result was my third painting, the landscape of the dead tree in the lake. My fourth is the just finished aspen trees. Also did three drawings, the tallow leaves, the buckeye butterfly, and the honeybee. My intent is to have either a drawing or a painting going at least every month for 2025. I’ve been collecting photographs for inspiration but I think the next painting is going to be one I first did in glass and then a drawing, a close up of a female zucchini squash flower. It’s small, only 4” x 4”.

I check the forecast every day and currently predicted lows are two nights at 29˚, two nights at 31˚ during a week with lows in the low 30s. Sunday it’s going to plunge over 40˚ from 75˚ to 29˚. I started bringing plants in yesterday. I’ve got all but three in of the plants that come in the house, one of which is the big stag horn (that empty space on the table is for the stag horn). 

I’ll bring those in today and tomorrow I’ll bring in the big ones with my grandson’s help, the plumerias, pink angel trumpet, and the night blooming cereus, that go in the garage and cover the ponytail. I went ahead and cut all last years growth off the two bridal bouquet plumerias today for two reasons; one, they will be easier to move and protect and two, I cut them back in the spring anyway because they just get too damn tall over the summer.

Today I went around and took the last pictures of blooming things I'll get because Monday everything will be frozen. In order: pink trumpet flower, all the roses of which these are just some, lantana, shrimp plant, a little ground cover, and the cosmos. Most everything is on its last legs anyway.

so much for the mild winter, painting update, and mysteries

Our mild winter is scheduled to come to a screeching halt the second week in January as a polar vortex comes spiraling down dropping us into the 20s for two nights. Damn. Everything blooming and still green will die back. This is what's left of the monster rose bush. All that growth was upright but without all the growth underneath supporting it the first windy day blew it over to rest on the ground but I love the puddle of petals at the bottom. Sorry the picture is so dark but it was midday when I was over there and I was facing the sun. 

I’ll have to deal with dead banana trees which is a major pain in the ass chore. And I’ll have to cover the ponytail palm which is another pain in the ass chore especially if it’s windy which it usually is when I’m trying to cover it. And I’ll have to bring in the plumerias and the night blooming cereus which are even bigger than they were last year. The cereus is going to get pruned back some because it is just a monster. The biggest plumeria is planted in the ground and two pots are sunk. I’ve already talked to my grandson about helping me get those out and in the garage next Saturday. In anticipation, I rearranged the garage Sunday and brought the extra folding table in and set it up in front of the etched glass windows in my bedroom for the smaller things and the stag horn which is also bigger and almost too heavy for me to lift. Guess I’ll start moving things in towards the end of the week.

I worked on my painting all weekend. I’m not completely satisfied. I toned down the yellow a little more by adding a light blue wash as suggested by a commenter. The green at the bottom still needs…something. Composition-wise, the green is too even across the top for one thing and I’m thinking the background needs some subtle vertical elements. Also I can’t decide if the green is too dark or not dark enough at the very bottom. If it’s too dark overall, there’s not much I can do about that. So I’m going to just let it sit for a few days. I’ve removed the cut outs protecting the trees so this is how it looks now. I don’t think I need them for whatever I do next if anything but if so I can put them back on. Most of all I keep telling myself that this was a learning exercise. As usual the colors come out a little more saturated than the actual painting with my phone camera.

We’re all aware I’m sure that Jimmy Carter has left this earth. He was a better president than he got credit for I think and robbed of a second term by republicans. Carter had already reached an agreement to get the hostages freed from Iran but Reagan did an illegal backroom deal with Iran to hold them until after the election. Reagan won and thus began the movement of wealth up to the richest Americans and the hollowing out the middle class. After leaving the White House, Carter devoted his life to living his religious beliefs, doing what he could to help and lift up those less fortunate, a rare thing these days. The world is poorer in deed and spirit with his passing.

Two mysteries…

I got an anonymous comment, which I allow, on my last post yesterday, but mostly they are legitimate comments. Not this one. It was one word repeated at least 100 times, one big paragraph of the word ’die’. Why is it haters are always anonymous? Such a cowardly act. Was this supposed to make me sad or fearful? Did my art offend them? They don’t like roses? Or just some rando picking me and that post at random to vent their own unhappiness.

The other big mystery happened today. Got a package delivered from Amazon addressed to me and with the correct address; a bottle CO Q-10 gel caps. I didn’t order them, there is no charge on my credit card, and there is no record of the purchase on the account our family uses. Ah, mystery solved. My brother ordered them but his app had me as the default from when he sent me salmon for the holiday and he didn’t notice.

 

dreary day

I have poison ivy on my face. How the fuck did I get poison ivy on my face! I also have it on the index and middle fingers of my left hand and the thumb and middle finger on my right hand but I know how I got it there. The back edge of my property where it meets the wild space is lined with poison ivy and that's where I throw the banana tree mush. There's no leaves on the poison ivy, just the bare stems. I didn't think too much about it because I figured they would be dry and dead after the temps in the teens and twenties but obviously I was wrong about that and I brushed up against it when throwing the banana tree sections into the wild space. But how I got it on my forehead is a mystery.

Our warm spring like weather is over for at least the next two weeks. It was already as warm as it was going to get when I got up this morning. It's a dreary day in deep contrast to the previous warm sunny days, cold overcast windy, and a little wet. The birds continue to mob the bird feeder. I tried to get a picture but I was shooting through the door glass on magnification and it's too far away for a good shot but there's a big flock of goldfinches along with cardinals, chickadees, titmice, house finches, warblers, and doves. I think I have finally foiled the squirrels! It's been a week and a half since I have seen one on the bird feeder. Fear not that they are starving. I put cracked corn out every morning for them. The cardinals and blue jays like it too.

Things that were on the to do list this week...drop my poop test off at the post office, I know TMI but tough shit. Ha ha. Get more bird seed, take the recycling in, goop up the split in the collar on the water pipe into the shop, cut back the roses. Go to yoga class. Continue to look for a picture of me in my prom dress which I made, very hippy dippy. I know I have that picture, I can see it in my mind, and the other ladies at yoga want to see it and I thought I had it on my computer but apparently not.

I made it to the post office, took the recycling, cut back the roses, cut back all the dead wild Mexican petunias, went to yoga (and I've been very good about my home routine when I don't have class), got bird seed, volunteered at SHARE, haven't found the picture. Nothing is getting accomplished today. Dinner. I have to make dinner later.

Don't even have a picture to post except this dandelion.

Almost lunch time and then I hear a couch and book calling my name.

regeneration and weird dreams and weird weather

I got a text from Abby Monday that she was ready to start her yoga class again after taking the month of December off and though I'd been fairly good at doing my home practice during that time and pretty consistent in January, had even already done my routine that morning, I had more than one muscle speak up Monday night during class. I'm glad to be back to the Monday and Wednesday routine.

Weird dreams last night that I sort of remember. In one I was sleeping and woke up to see my husband dressed in a button down shirt tucked into his pants (you have to know my husband to know how unusual that is) as he was leaving the house early. Asked him where was he going and he said he wanted a chance to win one of the seats on the Endeavor (a shuttle ride into space) and he was going to give his presentation (why he should get a spot). I was so angry. And you didn't tell me? I'd like a chance to do that too. You were just going to sneak off? Did you not want to share the experience with me? Weird, right? Everything about that was weird. The other dream is much foggier but I was home asleep when I heard a commotion. The 'authorities' were coming to get me (I have no idea why) and we were trying to keep them out and then I and some guy managed to escape out of the house and into van and drive away but they managed to follow us and we abandoned the van. They caught up with the guy but I ran off through some dense growth and around some houses and then I climbed over a sheet metal enclosure and fell in where there were two children playing and the caregiver came out to see who I was and that's all I remember. What was that all about. The unconscious mind can be truly bizarre.

Lots of bird activity at the feeder...cardinals, chickadees, titmice, inca and white wing doves, house finches, sparrows, bluejays, warblers, even a goldfinch or two. I came back from my sister's house Monday to see a damn squirrel on the bird feeder. Chased it off. Didn't see how it got up there but I moved the ceramic elephant plant stand much farther away in case it had jumped from it. So far haven't seen another one manage to get on but I did watch one squirrel try several times yesterday without success. It seemed a little flummoxed by the hood like what the hell is this.

Some regeneration going on out there. So far the crinums, spider lilies, ground orchids, roses, and rock roses.

My potted red bud tree is totally confused by the warm weather, currently 75˚ and still climbing. Three weeks ago we were having lows in the teens.

as is the maple tree which lost its leaves only a week or so ago and started blooming almost the very next day.

Too soon ladies, too soon! But yeah, no such thing as global warming even though the last 7 or 8 years have been the hottest on record. Even the birds seem confused about if they should be stocking up seed for the winter or flirting for mates.

I mentioned previously the yew trees were going through a major leaf drop as a result of sustained temps in the teens and twenties the week before Christmas. Here's the deck today with some oak leaves mixed in. I had already cleared off one carpet of leaves.

I need to cut the frozen and falling over banana trees down to the ground but It is so windy out there today, sustained 8 mph with gusts to 13 mph so says the weather app and the wind chimes are ringing steadily. It's the kind of wind that runs you indoors after awhile. Maybe Friday as tomorrow is my volunteer day.

 

winter prep and let the circus begin

I know I'm behind reading and returning the compliment of a comment but this time change back to standard time has me sleeping late cutting my morning time short. I'm trying to catch up or at least get current but the business of the day is hindering that.

The weather is just dreary, cold and overcast when it's not raining and it's going to stay like this for the next 10 days. And we are keeping the thermostat down when the heat is on (and off at night) because we are on propane and need to get the tank refilled but it's expensive so we are nursing it until we get our next SS deposits. But do not fear, we are not freezing in the dark. We have two HeatDish electric space heaters that keep us warm wherever we have settled down. Plus I have a dog and a cat that share their warmth as I share mine with them.

Wednesday I finally moved all the tenders either into the garage or the house. Well, most of them. It may not look like it but I've actually winnowed out some of the small stuff. If they survive the winter I'll donate them to the garden club plant sale. 

The begonias will only get moved if we have threat of a freeze and I don't know what to do about the enormous pink and yellow angel trumpets. I'm disappointed in the yellow, it has not bloomed at all this year whereas the scrawny one I planted in the ground over at the shop that freezes to the ground every year has been blooming it's little heart out.

And yes, no progress on the vines. Just can't make myself get out there when it's overcast and in the 40s and 50s.

The republicans have officially taken the House if only by a slim margin, though they don't take control for another 7 weeks, and they are already proving to engage in the vendetta to smear Biden that they promised to do. They have already been in closed door meetings to extract a promise to investigate Pelosi and the Justice Department for their treatment of the defendants jailed for their participation in the J6 attack on the Capitol as well as pledging hearings on the FBI's retrieval of classified documents from Mar A Lago and an impeachment of Biden having just announced an investigation into Biden's and his family's ties to China to see if he is being compromised by foreign money, (ignoring that Trump asked China to interfere in the 2020 election and Ivanka's patents in China that were fast tracked after Trump was elected and that Trump has business dealings in China). One can only hope that those they subpoena to appear for questioning will ignore it just as the republicans themselves have done. And while the republicans turn the House into a circus and show themselves for the clowns they are who have no intention of governing, or even the ability to, (already threatening to shut down the government and force it into default if Biden doesn't reduce Social Security payments), top democrat strategists have already launched the Congressional Integrity Project to investigate the investigators, to expose their political motivations and the money behind it, and to hold them accountable for ignoring the actual work of governing and put them squarely on the defense. Politico has a good article about this. 

So maybe this is not the disaster we may think. It's doubtful that whoever ends up being speaker will be able to control the far right MAGAt wackos, they won't introduce any meaningful legislation and will obviously obstruct for the sake of obstruction showing the American population just how inept they are and I think Americans are weary of Trump/Republican divisiveness and meanness and hate and obstruction and vindictiveness now that they've seen what a real leader does, what Biden has accomplished for the country. Perhaps their antics will guarantee that democrats retake the House, keep the Senate, and the presidency in 2024, especially if they are stupid enough to give that loser Trump the candidacy for president.

Speaking of loser Trump...Rupert Murdoch no longer supports Trump and that means Fox and the New York Post and I read that three of Trump's top donors have also withdrawn their support. At his announcement at Mar A Lago, Fox news cut the live feed before his speech was over and people started to gather around the door to leave while he was still talking and security would not let them leave!

Good times. Just remember...it's their circus, their monkeys.

 

ice and egg rolls

Friday morning at 8 AM when I got up the Accuweather app on my phone said 24˚ in Wharton. Everything looked crispy or had a coating of ice outside because the front came in with freezing rain. The roof of the bird feeder had a coating of ice, birds tried to perch on it and would slide off. The bird baths are frozen solid. At 11:30 it's still only 28˚ and the bird baths are still frozen solid. 

Marc reminded me that the station that records the temperature for Wharton is out at the airport, wide open space. Still below freezing here. It took the dog three tries to finally brave it to take care of business. First time she got about 5' before turning around. Second time she got halfway across the little backyard before turning around and coming back in. Sweater on, sweater off, sweater on, sweater off, sweater on finally, she went through the open gate to the big backyard. I've been out once to spread some birdseed on the ground and put out more pecans for the squirrels. I have no intention of going out again.

I've been getting lots of cardinals and titmice and chickadees. I looked out just now to see that the house finches and goldfinches have arrived giving the cardinals a run for the birdseed.

I've been wanting to make egg rolls again for a while but it's so time consuming and once you buy the bean sprouts you're pretty much committed to doing it within a couple of days. This time I decided to make the filling one day and roll them up and cook them the next. So that's what I did Thursday. Not my night to cook but he had a roast in the oven so I had the kitchen. It was different cooking when I wasn't having to produce dinner. I could take my time to make the filling, not worry about the time, and so I did.

Tonight it is my night to do dinner so I'll make some fried rice and roll up the egg rolls (I wonder why they call them egg rolls when no eggs are involved) and this time I'm going to bake them instead of frying them. We don't do deep frying anyway so they have to be turned and it's messy, can only do a few at a time.

Today, Saturday, it's warmer, in the 40˚s and a blue sky which when you are out of the wind makes it not so bad out there. Lot's of freeze damage on the things that made it OK through the first dip into the 20˚s a couple of weeks ago. The blooms on the woodland lilies all froze but I think it's early enough that we'll still get some new bloom stalks. The easter lilies that were wiped out by the arctic blast last year seem to be OK so far though we have one more night in the 20˚s tonight and the banana trees seem firm but they could still be frozen as we still have big chunks of ice floating in the bird baths.

I did bake all the egg rolls last night, flipping them halfway through the cooking time and they turned out OK but chewy and are definitely better fried. They didn't get nicely browned and crispy like the recipe I looked at said, mainly only where they were touching the pan. I froze what we didn't eat so maybe they'll soften up during reheating.

Tomorrow we should return to our regular winter weather...lows in the 30˚s and highs in the 50˚s and 60˚s.

 

winter, winner, water (color)

Wednesday...It's supposed to get up to 72˚ today before it plunges to 40˚ tonight and tomorrow the temperature will rise only one degree and then three nights in a row below freezing. Of course, the woodland lilies are really coming into bloom.

The weather people have been warning of the coldest longest front for about 10 days now. First it was two nights below freezing, then one night, then three nights, then four nights, and now back to three nights in the mid to high 20˚s. I'm going to cover the porterweed but I don't expect it to survive. It's already frozen almost to the ground. And I'll cover the yellow angel trumpet in the big pot that's already putting out new growth and I think maybe the ponytail palm too. I plan to do that today instead of waiting til tomorrow when it will be mostly in the 30˚s and guaranteed to be windy from the north. (That chore is done. I covered the angel trumpet, the porterweed, the gardenia, the largest patch of the ground orchids, and the ponytail palm.) Other preparations are done as well...more bird seed, a suet feeder, and I walked down the road to a native pecan and filled a small container for the squirrels. My trees gave me not a single pecan for the second year in a row and there's just no food for them. Hopefully this will keep them off the bird feeder. Hahahahahahahahaha. I'm so funny.

Of course our republican government claims that the problem with the energy grid has been fixed and there will be no power outages like during the arctic vortex last year when people lost power for a week or two and many people died during which Texas Senator Rafael 'Ted' Cruz bundled up his family and took off for Cancun while his constituents froze and AOC in New York was sending relief supplies and generators to the people in Texas. Because freezing in the dark wasn't enough hurt, those that survived and had heat were hit with astronomical energy bills. Do I believe the powers that be fixed anything? No, I do not. Not in this anti-regulation state where profit is king. And now of course our governor is hedging his bets telling us that he can't promise there won't be any power outages because that's not really a priority for him. He's too busy taking bodily autonomy away from Texas women, sending our National Guard to the border for a non-existent problem and screwing them over in the process, forcing governmental control over private businesses and schools by prohibiting mask or vaccine mandates, and banning any school curricula and books that tell the truth about our country's history as it pertains to genocide, racism, and segregation because it might make those poor little white children feel bad.

The first of 8 watercolor classes was Tuesday. The sign up for the class suggested a one time donation of $35 to help defray the cost of the supplies but was not required. I got there first and placed my $35 in the donation envelope. I watched as several other people also donated. When it was time to start, one of the volunteers got up and passed around a sign in sheet, she mentioned that the donation would be appreciated but not required. A few minutes later one of the women got up and took her money back.

Instead of starting with making a color wheel and a chart of color combinations like last time she had us start right away with a winter landscape. This is the instructor Joy's (unfinished) example.

All we needed to do yesterday was draw three horizon lines and four lines that loosely delineate the two trees and paint in the sky and snow shadows. It was all loose and free. Aarrrgh! I don't do loose and free. All my artwork, from the etched glass to the pate de verre, is very controlled. I couldn't visualize the hills and mounds of snow we were supposed to be painting the shadows of. It's OK to make a mistake, it's OK to mess up she says. Don't over brush, don't over brush she kept telling us. Too late. I did just finally let go. Anyway here's my sky and snow shadows, yesterday's effort.

During class, Stephanie came over from the new house to tell us all hello and brought me a basket of goodies. At the open house there was a raffle for a chainsaw sculpture of a pelican by a local artist which I did not buy a ticket for and they had a drawing for 10 door prizes which I did put my name in for because, why not, and apparently I was one of the winners.

The basket, 2 large mugs, instant latte mix, and 3 hand embroidered dish towels. The dish towels are huge, 30” x 30” lightweight cotton.

In retrospect, we all would have been better served had I not won. I'm not a basket person and will never use it (it would be perfect for keeping yarn in but I don't knit or crochet), we will never use those large mugs, probably won't drink the instant coffee mocha mix, we're not big candy eaters but the dish towels will get used.