Oh, my little pew. I love this piece so much. We have to move it behind the sofa every Christmas as the Christmas tree goes here. This year, when we were moving it back, Don said that he thinks this piece of McCoy is his favorite. He loves the shape and the bird. I have a not-quite-duplicate of this piece upstairs. The tail broke off and my efforts to repair it failed. I use it to hold jewelry, most of which I never wear. McCoy Pottery uses a lot of birds and I’m lucky to have several pieces with them.
It is rather deadly out there temperature-wise. Wind chills are well below zero and there is a lot of wind. You know that high winds make me edgy, so I suspect I’ll have my earbuds in today while I listen to classical music.
Another sketch, done rather quickly. I like it, but the vintage dollhouse is much wider than that so I expect I’ll try again soon. Nevertheless, it’s fun and I like the way my parents’ snake plant turned out. It is always a good thing to really look at something you see every day and often, barely register. I love this little setup in the kitchen and I actually do appreciate it every day, but to stop and try to record it in some way? That is the challenge. Since our house is FULL of stuff, I will have lots of subjects for sketching. In fact, I just thought of one!
So much of my time lately has been spent with pens and markers and paper. I love my planners, as you know. I use a specific pen for the planner and I sometimes add a sticker or two. Or I might take a Tombow marker and embellish something on the page. I’ve also been purchasing a few inexpensive fountain pens and I love writing with them in the planners I have, as well as using different pens/ink colors for my morning pages. I remember writing with a student type of fountain pen in junior high and high school. They were very common back then and almost universally used by students. That changed when Bic pens became popular and then it was gel pens, etc. and fountain pens fell out of favor. But not with everyone. I bought a fountain pen in the midst of lockdown; it was very inexpensive, as I just wanted to try one and I had been following a lot of people on Instagram who used them – but it didn’t take at the time. Recently, I gave it another try and I sort of fell in love with fountain pens. Of course, there are people out there who use them for journaling and writing and have big collections – all of which I find fascinating, because there’s nothing I love more than seeing a collection. But I only need/want a few and I think I’m all set. Writing by hand is such a tactile experience and every fountain pen is different. Somehow, for me, the experience of writing this way is much more visceral.
I have requested – no, insisted – that Don make an apple pie today. The warmth of the oven will be welcome and the scent of a baking pie is just what we need on this Frigid Friday.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
Another lovely sketch! A suggestion: try framing a few of them, I think they’d look great.
I haven’t even framed my oil paintings yet! Framing isn’t cheap.
Stay safe, Terri.
I’m enjoying your sketches…. very impressed with the snake plant. Along the line of the fountain pen, I love seeing beautiful handwriting from years ago…it was a real art. Sounds like a great day for apple pie…enjoy!
I know. People wrote so beautifully then.
Stay safe, Barrie.
yay … another great sketch! keep going!
i hope you can stay inside today. same weather here, but in a few days we are to get a week-long stretch of temperatures in the upper 40s! will encourage them to go your way, too. :)
apple pie sounds good. been enjoying some popcorn (every household gets a tin with three flavors at Christmas so we have lots of choices) and watching a couple episodes of “andy griffith” with members of my family lately … all wonderful. :)
hope everyone has a good day today … happy it’s friday! stay safe, too.
kathy
We have the 40s starting on Sunday. We just have to get through today and tomorrow.
Stay safe, Kathy.
My children and their dad used to get me stationary and fountain pens. I have a huge snail mail cadre, and we keep the post office humming. I have not found a fountain pen I like recently. However, have some great ballpoints that I like. My family still gets me notecards, journals, planners, etc. you are quite talented, but we know it is about feeling also…have a good day today…am adjusting to new meds…more concern over all the diseases I have.. it my life is so blessed. Everything we went through to have our children…worth every minute…prayers
I hope the meds are helping, Brenda. Keeping you in my prayers.
Stay safe!
Your sketches are lovely. I’ve never tried to sketch…might have a go at it. Your parent’s snake plant is a wonder. Still going strong…guess it likes it there.
Apple pie is perfect for today. I made soup last night just as the winds were kicking up. And it succeeded in warming us up. Next week looks to be warmer for us. Will it be warmer for you, too? I hope so….I think we all could use a big dose of warmth.
Enjoy your day! ;)
Snake plants are pretty easy to take care of. Neglect is the key, I think. They’re succulents and store a lot of water.
Yes, it will be warmer starting on Sunday. Temps will reach the low forties and it will get warmer during the week. No snow in the forecast, unfortunately.
Stay safe.
I love your sketches! As one who has sketched most of her life, mostly for other people—clients, teachers, etc. I have not done many for the sheer joy of it. If I haven’t let my hand go for too long unused, I’d like to try it again. But if my currently horrible penmanship is any indication, I may just be out of luck. Have to change my style to Picasso-esque, maybe?
In other (bitchy) news, every time you mention an apple pie, I’m reminded of the weird fact that I can’t find frozen apple juice concentrate down here! So strange. When I worked on low sugar and vegan baking at the magazine, I used the concentrate to sweeten lots of recipes and never had a problem finding it…but that was San Francisco and this is Daytona Beach. Sigh.
Oh, thank you, Shanna! How nice of you – you are an artist, so that means a great deal to me. Go for it. My handwriting is terrible after years of taking detailed notes in the dark during run-throughs and performances. Doesn’t seem to have an influence on the sketching, thankfully.
Darn it! I wish you could find the frozen apple juice! What about at a Whole Foods or something like that?
Stay safe.
No Whole Foods near me. I think I’ve seen it on the Walmart website, but haven’t yet resorted to online ordering, except from Instacart, which I do on a regular basis. I still limit my in-person shopping to the pharmacy for Fred’s many meds. I/we do make great hermits at this stage of life.
Publix has it
Not my Publix, for some reason.
Best to lay low concerning shopping. Especially with Fred’s health issues. I wish I knew the answer. I assumed you’d already checked the ubiquitous Publix.
xoxo
Claudia, you talk about Don’s apple pie being so good. Have you ever shared his recipe? If you have I must have missed it. Would you please repost it?
Yes I have posted it and if you go to the sidebar on the right, look for the search box, and type ‘sugar free apple pie recipe’ and hit return, the recipe will come right up. Enjoy, Deb!
Stay safe.
Thank you…….planning on making tomorrow. Just wont to tell you how much I love your blog. Your blog makes my mornings………..
Thank you so much, Deb!
xo
Another fun sketch; I’m really liking this pairing of the black and red inks.
Just hearing about your weather gives me the shivers. I’m glad you two are home, not having to be anywhere. Stay warm. I know somebody who just got the butt of that weather in Dallas. He didn’t go outside the house for three days in so much dangerous ice. Was going stir crazy; shut down. Actually didn’t even let the dog out; just put pee pads on the floor for her. But, yes, dangerous and frigid and slippery ‘out there’.
Couldn’t tell you the last time I ever used a fountain pen! But I love how it looks on a page.
It’s insane out there right now. Endless wind, sub-zero wind chills. Even Don is complaining about it.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Claudia, you are talking my language when you write about fountain pens, markers, sketch books, journals and paper. My favorite fountain pens, and I have a collection, are from Twisbi. Unfortunately I can’t do much in the way of writing or sketching right now. I tripped and fell 3 weeks ago and fractured the humerus bone in my left arm. My dominant side. I’m in a brace from my shoulder to my elbow and a sling. Everything takes twice as long when you are one handed. Some days I can roll with the challenges, and then there are days when I get very frustrated. I can’t drive. So right now I’m dependent on my two nephews to take me for X-rays and ortho appointments and occasionally help with household tasks.
Oh no! Hope you’re on the mend soon, Denise.
The orthopedist says I am healing well.
Thank you Shanna.
I’m so sorry to hear this, Denise! You poor thing. Hoping you will heal thoroughly and soon be better. Know that on the other side of this you’ll be able to get back to your creative pursuits.
TWSBI is on my list. I have to get at least one and they’re modestly priced.
Stay safe and feel better.
Thank you Claudia.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Denise S. So sorry you’ve got this to deal with!
Thank you Vicki.
Nothing better than baking an apple pie on a frigid cold winter day. It must have made your home smell so nice. Stay cozy. Hugs, Elaine
It did. We haven’t had any yet, but we’ll have a piece this afternoon.
Stay safe, Elaine.
Rick is such a sucker for fountain pens. He loves them — always wanted a “special one” and back several years ago when we were in London I bought him a beautiful one at Harrod’s. (This was after I think he tried out every fountain pen in the city!) It’s probably the most expensive thing I have ever bought him but I’ve never regretted it for an instant.
I love your sketch. The beauty of the every day. It’s a wonderful practice you are engaged in.
And I can see why that bowl might be someone’s favorite — the colors, the bird, the setting. Perfect.
How that you bought Rick a special fountain pen in London! What a lovely idea, Jeanie.
Stay safe.