Grammy's tea cups

I thought it would be fun to sketch one of my grandmother's tea cups. She had many lovely things.

End of season treasure

Most of the leaves have fallen, the weather has turned cold, and most of my blooming plants have given up for the year.... But there are a few that still try to push through to continue sharing their gifts. What a treat it is to find a bloom this time of year!! A subtle reminder to me to keep pushing through and don't give up!!

Have a wonderful day!

Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

I may be a day late.... but I still want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!! Thanksgiving Blessings to you and your families! 

Leaf Reflections

I just love Fall leaves - all of the colors and the opportunity to go out and 'collect' them on a walk. I've found myself picking up leaves again this fall and I've even noticed my husband picking up a few also - he set them out for me to paint. Thinking of leaves takes me back years to being a little kid and the times I raked leaves, jumped or stomped on piles of leaves, and the quiet contemplative walks where I couldn't resist the joy of picking up leaves. Its sort of like walking along the water's edge at the beach and feeling the irresistable urge to pick up sea treasures - shells or rocks that have washed up on shore.  Ah... the wonder of fall leaves.

While painting these leaves I became eager to find some wise words that I recently read in a magazine at the Dentist's office. The quote was sort of hiding in the middle of the magazine all by itself - it wasn't 'featured' in any article. It was just sitting by itself on the side of the page - sort of as filler. But, the words caught my attention and once I read them I couldn't get them out of my mind. Yes, I have many things I need to let go of ..... and each falling leaf makes me think about them. 

One more hour ....

It started with the smell of fresh brewed coffee.... I took it as an invitation to take a break and 'smell the coffee'.

Fresh coffee ... well that sounded like the perfect reason to take out some home baked biscotti and gingerbread "Mini-Cooper" cutout cookies that recently arrived from my oldest son. So, I sat down with with a fresh cup of coffee in my neat Cool Moose coffee mug, with my new Cooking Light magazine and decided to just take a break.

I felt the fresh air from outside as the kitchen window was open, and I could hear the rain falling gently on the patio cover outside the window. A candle glimmered on the table providing a warm glow, and the smell of apples cooking on the stove for applesauce filled the air with sweetness.  

Ah.... a priceless 'extra hour'. Life is good!

How did you spend your extra hour today?

Reference photo:

Autumn Bounty

What a surprise when I came down to breakfast recently and spotted the grouping "at my place" on the kitchen table. I didn't remember seeing this arrangement when I went to bed the night before - and it really made me wonder where it came from. Perhaps it was a group of "midnight Elves". Ah.... after a cup of coffee I figured it out. Pretty sneaky Hubby!!

My husband joins his two older sons in providing me some painting challenges from time to time. The boys have given me multiple verbal descriptions of sunsets to paint, and even some beer labels. This challenge was different - it is sort of an odd collection of produce. My husband grew the eggplant in our backyard, the gourd was grown by local high school students, and the pears came from the grocery store. Quite a mixed bag!

Yali Pears from the Farmer's Market

I made a special trip in the rain recently to the Farmer's Market in search of pears!! Oddly enough it looked like I would come home empty handed. Apples are the big crop here this time of year. But.... just before I hiked back to the car I spotted some pears. I found my treasured pears and chatted with the saleswoman about them. She was quick to point out that they are not like the familiar Bartlett Pears. No, these pears are a special Chinese Pear called a Yali. Unlike Bartlett they are not soft when ripe. Instead, a Yali is crisp when it is ripe. They also didn't seem as colorful - the only colors that I noticed were yellow and green with some raw sienna markings. When I told the woman I wanted to sketch them and I asked about other colors .... she did a quick check and brought out the smallest pear that is in the left side of my composition. That pear had a bit more contrast between the yellow and green.