First trip post-vaccine protection: Palm Springs in April. Can’t wait! The girlfriend and I will hit the town. The husband disdains hot places, although P.S. in spring, nestled in its desert valley, can be chilly at night and tepid during … Continue reading
[Jab update: Fatigue was my grade two (moderate) reaction symptom from shot number one. The husband and I both found ourselves taking a lot of naps—although that could also be a symptom of general SARS-CoV2 pandemic malaise. Or that we … Continue reading
About this time last year I was blogging about my return to oil painting. Long ago in my life two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I instinctively took one rather than the other. I became a writer, pouring … Continue reading
Hi everyone! This weekend my daughter competed in the Regional Bands of America competition in Pleasant Hill, California. The good news is that they won their class and the final competition. They also won in all the competition categories. So … Continue reading
The Art Institute of Chicago is featuring a John Singer Sargent exhibit through the end of September. I hadn’t visited the museum in years, but a friend is a member and she and I both love Sargent’s work, so off … Continue reading
The local radio station is playing in rotation a song called “Gold Rush”. While the band, Death Cab for Cutie, explains it’s about a romantic break-up, it’s clearly a eulogy for what is being lost in the current development tsunami … Continue reading
I started asking myself why people doodle. As such musings necessitate a definition, here is what The New Oxford American Dictionary offers: (hardbound edition, 2001) doodle scribble absentmindedly: he was only doodling in the margins I particularly like the origin … Continue reading
I’m leaving DC on the way to Boston, then Salem, Massachusetts. I usually cancel my blog when I’m traveling but not this time—typing on a train is interesting. Typos obligatory. New thing for me, train travel. Only done this … Continue reading
by Brenda W. Clough This past Saturday was my last oil-painting class, and I have finished the fourth version of this landscape. My instructor assures me this is the best version yet. This was a paint-from photograph class, and as … Continue reading
by Brenda W. Clough I had dinner with my sister and brother this past weekend, and we were discussing (as one does) life. How do you know when you’ve ‘made it’? My sister said that she realized she had achieved … Continue reading
