A Very Diverse Amount of Topics

Posted on by Sandy Webster

Spring is arriving here.

Some walks these past few days were refreshing.  First at the river…

Some serious trimming going on there.

And ducks….always ducks.  But surprisingly no geese…maybe next week when I return.

Then back out to the dam.

With a kayaker and loon to keep her company.

Now back to the kitchen…remember the last post had that recipe from the Cookish cookbook? Well here are some of the leftovers with shrimp, spinach and more lemon added.

And yesterday I did an intervention on things left a bit too long in the refrigerator…

I rescued two cups fresh kale, seven little baby red potatoes, one third of a yellow pepper, one onion, some garlic started in olive oil….added one large carton chicken stock, 1/2 lb cut up roasted chicken, dash of cayenne pepper, some salt, and a can of great northern beans (because there was not a single can of cannellini beans in the store), and when it was cooked to just right, I added 3/4 cup heavy cream. Asiago bagel made the perfect addition. It was a lot of food so I opted for popcorn and wine for dinner…but this soup is delicious and there is quite enough for three more meals.

Speaking of food, my takeout place is now open at 7 a.m. for breakfast and was a good place to kill some time after the gym and walk.

And this French toast that made two meals. The grits on the side were the best I have ever eaten!

Also, the Bird Stories Book is complete! Ending with a Sandhill Crane, her baby and a hatching egg on the final page.

And another drawing in the house building book….manhole cover behind the house by the only tree growing out there.

I have been working on the illustrations for the Burke and Wills story. I start with a fairly detailed pencil drawing…

And then get out the watercolors to fill in.

I am using the left side and mostly lower corner of the papers that are marked off at six square inches.

After Burke fell from the nest and told his mother he would be staying with Wills (the bunny he fell on), she did not totally abandon him and nicked some socks off a clothes line for Burke and his new friend to spend the nights in.

Wills realizes he has to help Burke learn to fly.

Boris and Belinda, a couple of river rats turn over their house to Burke and Wills so they are more comfortable. Boris and Belinda are rafting South in search of warmer climate.

Here is Burke and Wills in their new place.

So far I have eight illustrations and will likely do some over again as I get better with each one.  There is no telling how many adventures they will have but I am very much appreciating them taking me along.

Not much else new going on. The house is so quiet.

They gave me extra copies of the floor plans for the new house and each time I go inside and wander through the two by fours I see ways to adjust where the furniture will go. It is one thing to look at the bird’s eye view of floor plans but quite another to wander the space.

More packing up to do. Then the builder, realtor and I will have another look at timing.

Til later….

 

Days Are Flying By

Posted on by Sandy Webster

This morning a walk at the dam after the workout at the gym.

Home to balance the books, hug the cats, catch up on the news, then back to town to meet a friend for lunch. Today it was Angelo’s Pizza in the small town where I am moving.

Here are some other views around town…just a ten minute walk up the hill from my new house.

The town square where they have music on Friday nights when the weather is nice.

Across from the square where I think you can buy an ice cream.

Along another side of the square.

Another side behind the square on the way to Angelo’s. At the end of the covered walk is a place to have wine tasting and tapas once a month. I believe they also have story telling once a month there as well.

Near the square.

And near the post office is this Chamber of Commerce building celebrating the native Cherokee.

It is fun walking around town before anyone is about. And a great time to walk down to the house to see how it is coming along.

The den/office walls are in. I will tell visitors to turn right into my driveway across from the house painted like a Van Gogh sky.

Laundry room coming in from the garage.

This side of that wall will be the start of the kitchen. The other side is front hall closet, doors to guest bath and guest room.

Also added some drawings to the house sketchbook.

And the Bird Stories book. A killdeer and red wing blackbird…..both singing their hearts out and seen in the field between the gym and my house site.

Only three more pages and the book is finished!

This past week I had facetime calls from friends in Australia. They showed me the work they had done in their workshop and several other pieces done the last few years in Covid lockdowns. It was wonderful to see such amazing women and equally amazing art books. Special! They have included me in the monthly goals for the next year. Very thoughtful and so appreciated!

Last night I cooked this from my new cookbook, Cookish – just throw it together.

I halved the recipe and had enough for at least two meals.  I liked bursting the assorted cherry tomatoes to make the sauce. With the leftovers I think I will add some cooked shrimp and lemon zest. So many possibilities with this dish. Pistachios and Parmesan, a great combination.

The week before this one my sewing machine was fixed for $100. The repair man called me “dear”, which I quite liked. Nice old man. He was afraid for awhile that the “Er” message would not go away but persevered and told me it works beautifully now. He also said to get it out once a month and stitch forward, backward and sideways ie the zig zag stitch just to keep it moving and happy.

Writing that word “zig zag” made me wonder if the Australians spell it that way. They have a “z” in their alphabet but are loathe to ever use it. Maybe like most of our “z” words, they just use an “s” instead.

That’s all for now.

Til later…..

Updates

Posted on by Sandy Webster

A busy last few days. Yesterday and today was a focus on car maintenance….oil change, tire rotation, new brakes and front axle. All good now and nothing but an oil change was urgent. The rest was preventative steps taken before issues occur. It is nice to have people you can depend on to look after things like this.

A few days ago, the walk at the dam.

A beautiful full moon morning.

My other walks after going to the gym were over to the new house. Progress there! Siding is pretty much finished and as of yesterday the roof shingles are all on.

Fireplace delivered.

View of the walk in closet from the dining area, accessible from the master bath.

And a view of that closet’s interior. Plenty of room to put put my Migun massage bed in there.

And a view of my little screen porch. I talked to my yardman the other day and he is willing to put a Japanese garden off my porch and back yard. A small pond with waterfall and some fish would be nice because I will miss the sound of that trickling water.

No sketching or drawing done these past few days…maybe today. But since I have been getting wonderful facetime calls from friends in Australia while they are gathering for workshops in the Grampians, I have pulled out my crushed leaves of lemon myrtle and flavored some gin…..a different creative endeavor.

I set the bag of about two teaspoons leaves in two cups of gin until the color changed and the flavor was altered to something more “lemony”. I know from experience that leaving the herbs in too long will cause it to go too bitter….ie. my bay leaves in vodka. So now I have a pint of this to make myself a refreshing gin and tonic with a twist of lemon when we schedule our next visit. I can sip a bit of Australia and pretend I am there!

Also the weather has been very nice so I am sitting on the porch a bit more. It still feels odd to be there without Lee.

The abundance of wild turkeys make up for it…especially when they come calling.

I have not been interested in having flowers in the house since Lee left. But with the quince and forsythia in bloom, and the encouragement of my house cleaner, I picked an armload between downpours Wednesday.

They did make me smile.

There is not much else that is new, I think I will go and draw some while I wait for a conference call from my financial advisor later. He will want to know how the house is coming along. And I can give him the latest because after the gym this morning I parked my car in town and took a walk down to check it out. The carpenters were getting ready to finish up the studs for the interior walls. It won’t be long now and I will meet with the electrician to set where outlets go. Did you know they have ones now with places to plug in your computers and Iphones? I will put two in the kitchen island, one at each end. And I told my builder that I did not want tile between the cupboards and counter because I will hang artwork there like I have here. He thought that a splendid idea.

I continue to rearrange furniture on the floor plan to get a better idea of what is really necessary. Hopefully Patrick will be down in a few weeks to help me pick out light fixtures and refinish the old dining room table. And we can have the first fancy dinner out in two years or more.

Better get going if I intend getting something done.

Til later….

 

A Busy Weekend

Posted on by Sandy Webster

Three days ago the house was this far. Some of bedroom interior walls in place and soffits all finished.

So rather than go back on Friday i drew what I had photographed into the Riverwalk Sketchbook.

I also added a floor plan to the book. And it was then that I realized I still had too much furniture. So my office furniture that I have now will go north to Amy. I need a more practical desk and shelf unit for the limited space in the new den. I also rearranged where the living room furniture will go in the next place….a more open view through the house. And making the studio side of the garage more practical.

These are back from the framers and are still going to hang over the mantle.

I added another bird….a goldfinch.

Plus I treated myself to this cookbook. Anything with an “ish” at the end is where I am at.

Only six ingredients and suggested substitutes. I made a pot of this delicious thick soup. Kale, tomatoes, chicken, rosemary, garlic, smoked paprika, scallions with broken mafalda pasta…nice flavor.

And this beauty I did not make but got as a take out….lobster in red pepper bisque. Really beautiful and tasty.

And just a few minutes ago I took this quiche out of the oven.

It was a good place to put overly-salty deli turkey and loads of kale, spinach, yellow peppers and cheeses. All thrown together as the book suggests.

Yesterday I cut sheets of 140 lb Arches to draw Burke and Wills illustrations. I was thinking a 6 1/2″ square would be nice, so marked them all off to that measurement. Then took the corner one with the watermark on it to test using colored pencils with the graphite.

I used the graphite tinted Prismacolor pencils and then added more color with the regular Prismacolor pencils. Today I am going to try doing one using watercolor with light graphite drawings. This just seems too blurry. But I need to get on with making a decision on how to proceed. (I love that last sentence and how it reads as an impossibility.)

And finally, the comforting eyes of affectionate cats.

They make me feel better when I get a bit down and we all think extra treats are in order.

Baking cookies later today and then stop cooking for awhile.

I talked to the builder a few days ago and he thinks in a few weeks he will be able to say when I can be in the house. I am trying to decide if I want a back splash on the kitchen walls between counter and cupboard. The sink is on a separate island so it would just be for whatever I am splattering about while mixing. I am leaning toward just leave the wall like the rest. I like hanging small artworks between counters and cupboards and that would be difficult with tile or granite like the counters.

Silly really, wondering about things like this when there is such brutality in the world right now. If you haven’t already done so, I hope you will support the Ukrainians as best you can. Heartbreaking to watch, but at least it has toned down the whingers in this country.

Til later….