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It feels a little silly in April, but I've gotten chilly on damp evenings a few times lately, and I'm ongoingly grateful for these gas logs that bring happiness and coziness to just such days. Mr. Darcy is quite happy about them too.
I've been working on commissions the last few days. It's lovely to have some short term structure to supplement the very long term museum show I'm working on. It's surprisingly happy to cross a finished project off the list. So I took a break from the journal while I worked on a couple of those, but last night it felt good to get back to it. I froze some individual slices of my birthday cake last month when I realized it would be me and a whole cake alone in the house. Last night I got a slice out for after dinner. I'm glad I spread out the enjoyment of it. And so are my jeans.
I've been working on commissions the last few days. It's lovely to have some short term structure to supplement the very long term museum show I'm working on. It's surprisingly happy to cross a finished project off the list. So I took a break from the journal while I worked on a couple of those, but last night it felt good to get back to it. I froze some individual slices of my birthday cake last month when I realized it would be me and a whole cake alone in the house. Last night I got a slice out for after dinner. I'm glad I spread out the enjoyment of it. And so are my jeans.
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It's not that I don't ever cook. In fact, I eat at home most of the time and cook chicken for salads/toasted sandwiches, and I have a go-to spinach/black bean/feta recipe that I make a lot. But I've been trying more new things lately, getting tired of my old standbys with no break. The NYT has been running some comfort recipes. My pantry looks as if I don't really cook a lot, so I had to substitute rice for small pasta and swiss chard for kale (better to my mind anyway). I was skeptical as this was cooking, but it ended up really nice and especially good with an egg on the side. So I marked the moment in my journal.
For anyone who would like to try it, I'm writing out the recipe as I did it below.
Chickpea Stew
olive oil
1 med. yellow onion (or a handful of white onion chopped in my case)
2 tsp. fresh rosemary (this I DID have, right out my door in the new herb bed!)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 c. tomatoes (either canned or diced -- I used small ones cut up)
4 c. swiss chard or other greenery
vegetable or chicken stock as needed
cooked rice to add (or pasta, or whatever -- jasmine rice was lovely)
grated cheese for topping (which I forgot, and with the egg didn't need it)
Brown the onion (plus garlic, if you want it), add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook till soft. I probably did 10 minutes. Add rosemary, red pepper flakes. Smash about half the chick peas to thicken the stew. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in rice and swiss chard and wilt down. I added a little vegetable stock at this point to keep it a little liquidish, and I simmered covered for another 5 minutes or so while I cooked the egg.
For anyone who would like to try it, I'm writing out the recipe as I did it below.
Chickpea Stew
olive oil
1 med. yellow onion (or a handful of white onion chopped in my case)
2 tsp. fresh rosemary (this I DID have, right out my door in the new herb bed!)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 c. tomatoes (either canned or diced -- I used small ones cut up)
4 c. swiss chard or other greenery
vegetable or chicken stock as needed
cooked rice to add (or pasta, or whatever -- jasmine rice was lovely)
grated cheese for topping (which I forgot, and with the egg didn't need it)
Brown the onion (plus garlic, if you want it), add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook till soft. I probably did 10 minutes. Add rosemary, red pepper flakes. Smash about half the chick peas to thicken the stew. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in rice and swiss chard and wilt down. I added a little vegetable stock at this point to keep it a little liquidish, and I simmered covered for another 5 minutes or so while I cooked the egg.
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I intentionally got back to more color today, and it felt really nice. Mr. Darcy and I walked over to the park and sketched Brooks after my bike ride this afternoon.
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Today I carved a small version of the pelican block I did several weeks ago. I'd like to be able to do a note card too. I decided it was the right size to just paste on into the journal, so this is mostly sketches but with one real print added in. Print work is more and more what I'm doing these days. Sometime I need to sketch my press, but this was an easy way to add it today. I'd like to get back to more color. This one is very monotone, and color was the primary thing I wanted when I started this. But it does describe my day pretty well.
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It was a cold, gray morning today, and I decided to extend my holiday a bit more. I've been needing to mark this moment, since I usually spend it with family and also with a very dear second "Easter family." So I played a lot of music last night, had a little champagne with my farmers market dinner, and today I got out my great grandmother's violets and daisies china that I love and lingered. It felt nice to draw through breakfast, read the paper, and spend some time on the sofa with a new book that came in the mail today from my sister.
Now the sun is out, which helps amazingly, and I'm going to lock into a little more work and a walk this afternoon. But I figure we all need to give ourselves a little self grace these days to be less productive than we might otherwise be. I'm grateful my WAMA show is a good ways off. I'll have plenty of time to do it well and still give myself some half days when I need them.
Now the sun is out, which helps amazingly, and I'm going to lock into a little more work and a walk this afternoon. But I figure we all need to give ourselves a little self grace these days to be less productive than we might otherwise be. I'm grateful my WAMA show is a good ways off. I'll have plenty of time to do it well and still give myself some half days when I need them.
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I got really deep into print work for several days and didn't take time from that to do any Quarantine Journal, but last night I was missing it. I also got my first ever groceries delivery, and that seemed worth celebrating. I'd gotten some lettuce from the open air farmers market, but it had been just on a month since getting any other groceries. My milk lasted amazingly, but it was finally time to get fresh. So morning tea today was a treat as well.
The other provisions I got were books from Burke's Books here in Memphis. Their website is open for orders, they have free local delivery, and there is also curbside pickup. I took a break from work the other day and got on my bike for some loops through midtown and new books. Milk, avocados, blueberries, and books make for a good home life.
The other provisions I got were books from Burke's Books here in Memphis. Their website is open for orders, they have free local delivery, and there is also curbside pickup. I took a break from work the other day and got on my bike for some loops through midtown and new books. Milk, avocados, blueberries, and books make for a good home life.
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As I approached my fiftieth birthday, a lovely minister friend of mine reminded me that Biblically every 50 years, fields lie fallow, debts are forgiven, and there are parties all year. I loved that. I had already set a goal for myself at age 49 to get my family house in the shape I would like to live with for the next 25 years of my living here, and not wait till I was ready to move out to do nice things. It was helpful to have time to think ahead, and I did do a good amount of cleaning up, repainting, fixing things, and buying a few new things (stained glass lamps, a comfy loveseat, etc.). I had planned to have the house ready for a Jubilee on my birthday, a party with music and dancing and all my favorite people. But the world had other plans.
My birthday was right as the ground shifted underneath everyone (except for Washington State, who had already gotten the preview). So no party. But I could not have done better work to make my home, if not magazine ready, a place I am very happy to be in. I think of myself as someone who does appreciate the small beauties of daily life. My show last year was Daily Pleasures, a still life show of tea things and farmers market bounty. But I also know that I have a tendency to be rushing out of town on a regular and frequent basis. It seems that this year I am getting a master class in the Jubilee of daily life.
Instead of the dance weekends, adventures, and new places I had planned, I am walking every day in the forest. I am home to see the bulbs give way to the wildflowers and the wildflowers give way to the blooming trees. I am sitting nightly with my dog. I am chatting with neighbors (from a good distance away), tracking the sunbeams' journey through my house, reveling in my newly blue-green bedroom, knitting, reading books, and drinking tea. I know there will be hard times to come, but there is great beauty to be found in the every day. So instead of thinking of my jubilee as being postponed, I am thinking of it as unexpected but still beautiful.
My birthday was right as the ground shifted underneath everyone (except for Washington State, who had already gotten the preview). So no party. But I could not have done better work to make my home, if not magazine ready, a place I am very happy to be in. I think of myself as someone who does appreciate the small beauties of daily life. My show last year was Daily Pleasures, a still life show of tea things and farmers market bounty. But I also know that I have a tendency to be rushing out of town on a regular and frequent basis. It seems that this year I am getting a master class in the Jubilee of daily life.
Instead of the dance weekends, adventures, and new places I had planned, I am walking every day in the forest. I am home to see the bulbs give way to the wildflowers and the wildflowers give way to the blooming trees. I am sitting nightly with my dog. I am chatting with neighbors (from a good distance away), tracking the sunbeams' journey through my house, reveling in my newly blue-green bedroom, knitting, reading books, and drinking tea. I know there will be hard times to come, but there is great beauty to be found in the every day. So instead of thinking of my jubilee as being postponed, I am thinking of it as unexpected but still beautiful.
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I've been able to do more of my regular, intricate work the last few days (see the last blog post for the print currently underway). That's felt good, and it's also had me sitting at my work table more. This is my view when I'm working. I've got small treasures gathered from around in the window sill and (outside the frame) hung around the window. Jars of various glues and pastes perch below the table level on the window sill behind. I've made a mobile of the bits and pieces I pick up, based on a wreath of ivy I pulled out of the Old Forest (sometimes I take advantage of wet soil to do a little invasives pulling on my walk) and a graceful stick (at top) from the forest I walk in in Washington. It's nice to anchor everything else from those two places. Feathers, a robin's eggshell, a heart shaped rock, a piece of bark with a heart shaped hole, and those maple (sweet gum?) flying pinwheels that I love. Plus two handmade beads from a friend, years ago.
The tea set is by my friend Melissa Bridgman, and I've got art and cards from friends, plus a statue based on the Cross of Moone from my sister - the same cross that inspired the quilt I'm working on. It's a happy space.
The tea set is by my friend Melissa Bridgman, and I've got art and cards from friends, plus a statue based on the Cross of Moone from my sister - the same cross that inspired the quilt I'm working on. It's a happy space.
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I've really locked back into my main print work in a satisfying way this weekend, and I've also spent some nice time outside, since it's been flat out gorgeous. But it was also good to get back to the QJ after taking yesterday off from it. I have a friend who uses the hashtag #dailyish, which I love. It has an intention of frequency, but with enough grace and flexibility built in for a little breathing space without guilt. That's what I aspire to for any project.
Below is the new print I'm working on for my WAMA show in 2022. It's a gorgeous place called Barnaby Slough (it could maybe use a slightly more poetic name) outside of Concrete, WA. I find that when I work on prints from places I love, I end up mentally still in that space while I'm working. So it's nice to take a mental trip at the moment while we're all sticking so close to home.
Below is the new print I'm working on for my WAMA show in 2022. It's a gorgeous place called Barnaby Slough (it could maybe use a slightly more poetic name) outside of Concrete, WA. I find that when I work on prints from places I love, I end up mentally still in that space while I'm working. So it's nice to take a mental trip at the moment while we're all sticking so close to home.
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I was late doing a journal entry last night because I'd dived back into a new print, and that felt great. I had two really happy days in a row and then made the mistake of reading the NYT over dinner which brought down a bit. So I got out the sketchbook and sat by the fire, and all of that was good. I'm grateful for this cheerful project, and I'm grateful for my cosy space. That stained glass lamp is one I found last year at a local antique mall, and I had a sudden realization of how happy stained glass makes me. I've been buying lamps and one panel for my landing window ever since. I'm looking forward to getting out again someday and seeing if I can find any more pieces of stained glass happiness. It's a fun treasure hunt.