12 Oakdale

I signed up for another 6 week course of watercolor classes at the Art Room on Tuesday evenings. This time we are painting 2 pictures of beeches, one with snow, the other with water, perhaps a lake. My Florida soul rebels, however the snowbirds are happy. The first week, we sketched, then masked all the trees. After painting in the backgrounds, we will remove the masking, leaving white trees to have their markings painted. While we were in California, I missed the second week. Not a problem because I can make it up Thursday morning. On the other hand, a problem, because I couldn’t find my drawings when I went last night. We put our projects in numbered slots to keep all them sorted. Of course, I couldn’t remember my number. I looked at every slot allotted to our Tuesday night class. Nothing. I looked at every slot for the Thursday watercolor class. Nothing. One of the instructors looked. Nothing. All I can figure is that someone accidentally took mine and painted them, even though ...

We decided to go on our planned trip to visit Mary even though she and Bella had been sick with A H3 influenza, and Remi was coming down with it. Mary developed pneumonia and was exhausted.  Crossing our fingers that the germs would be gone by the time we arrived. Fortunately, everyone seems on the mend. They all still coughing, and Mary is frustrated that she has no energy and is very short of breath. I have resisted (somewhat) telling her, “I told you that pneumonia takes a long time to recover from.” Mostly I try to reinforce that she should give her self a break, literally and figuratively. She is being pretty good about resting. Of course, her impulse to do too much (genetic or environmental?) comes up. Shortness of breath tamps it down.  Ash on the car To add insult to illness, the Border Fire is raging away about 10 miles east, and ash is raining down at their house. I think we are safe, but we encouraged Mary to put important papers in a suitcase, have som...

Anthony, an online watercolor teacher, had a set of free lessons for the 12 Days of Christmas starting December 27th. With this and that, I have just finished my paintings using his images and colors suggestions. I’m pleased 1) I finished the project, and 2) my paintings are recognizable, some I even rather like. I am getting better with water control. I tend to have too much in my brush, so I end up with the dreaded cauliflowers. Now I’ve started a 100 little 3”x3” paintings in 2025 with another online water colorist. I have even paid the $5/month Patreon app fee for her set of instructions which includes her live tutorials twice a month and other paintings several times a week.   Before I start adding the little paintings to my blog, I’ll have to learn a way to make them into collages. Always something.

Ube update:  Well, that was mortifying. After proudly taking the ube rolls I’d made to the Windermere Garden Club and touting ube as a fun crop, I learned from a Master Gardener that the plant IS an invasive and IS NOT permitted to be planted in Florida. I’d made the rookie mistake of searching by its common name when I was reading about it. Turns out University of Florida’s Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plant’s plant directory uses “winged yam”, rather than “ube”. Had I used its scientific name, the “Not Permitted” status would have popped right up. I wrote up a mea culpa email that I hope the club will send to members since I won’t be at the next meeting to take back my cheerleading. I’ve also email the 2 members to whom I gave ube potatoes, asking them to destroy, not plant them. Today I’m digging up the one I have in the ground and the one in my big pot. If there are any potatoes, I’m making more of the ube paste since we really liked it. Everything else is being chopped up a...

 Goal: clean a drawer, box, or shelf each week, shedding something in the process. Me: January 1: my underwear, wearing the old and throwing away after, not washing and returning to drawer. January 7: my sock drawer, letting go of handkerchiefs I don’t need/want anymore. House: January 5: Shelf under sink in garage. Figured out what spray bottles were. Decided to use up Pinesol before buying more clearner. Left water purifying equipment. Next time.

Resolution for 2025 - be more social. I could hardly be less, so to that end, we invited our neighbors and Steph et al for drinks and appetizers* New Year’s Eve. At 5:00 PM. I didn’t completely loose my mind and consider staying up until midnight. No, Gracie and I were happily tucked in bed at 10:30, listening to the fireworks. The theme parks started their shows, which we can hear but not see, at 6:30. Across the street, Vanessa and Ross shot off some at 9:00 for their daughters and friends. Gracie shot to the window to see what was happening. After that, she retreated to our bed, seeming unconcerned. I was surprised. The rest of the evening, especially 11:00 - 1:00, was a continuous thump from houses around the lakes. No need for the city to spend money when all the local residents will spend theirs. Grant came to bed eventually. His foot is still really sore, and it is swollen all the way of his calf. He got a by from exercising from Denny this week, which meant I got all the attent...