Summer-ized

 
 

The last time I looked it was Memorial Day, but now the calendar is telling me it’s August. The whiplash is real. It’s late summer because the freckles are in full force, I can’t remember the last time I wore socks and ice cream suddenly seems an acceptable supper. But aside from that:

  • I watched Wildcat this past weekend. I’m still thinking about it nearly a week later. To be honest, I’d cued it up with considerable hesitation. As a diehard O’Connor fan, I feared Flannery being reduced to a caricature: a cranky southern lady with a bird hobby. Those fears were unfounded. Are there things a purist will take umbrage with? Sure. I’d have cut Robert Lowell and introduced Erik Langkjaer (which would have enhanced the “Good Country People” scenes). I wanted more Wiseblood. But overall? This is an absolute gem of a movie that stays with you long after the end credits have run. And Wildcat’s examination of suffering really, really resonated.

  • The thing making me the happiest in the garden this year are the Pepperoncini. I’m hoping to pickle some and this recipe looks great.

  • Anne Dreams comes out next week! More on that soon.

Forgotten/Remembered

 
 

I am whittling away at work. Carving prints and sketching for a picture book dummy, still chipping away at the longer book. And I am trying to get back into the habit of sketchbook keeping (above). Once finished, she looked like she needed some forgotten blooms. So I picked a few, then walked back to my studio, carrying a bouquet of dead flowers through town in February. I hope my neighbors enjoy the free entertainment…

Assorted things I liked this month:

  • The Who Killed JFK podcast (because I have never met a Lee Harvey Oswald conspiracy that I could say no to).

  • To say I am obsessed with this toy instrument cover of “Don’t Worry Baby” would be a vast understatement.

  • Collingwood-Norris Mending is a terrific resource for visible mending techniques.

  • I watched Elizabeth is Missing last weekend. A murder mystery told through the lens of memory, it’s a splendid story of loss and justice (with just enough humor to keep things from being too heavy). Glenda Jackson was pitch perfect in the part; if you’ve ever had a loved one with Alzheimers or dementia, her acting resonates deeply.

The Fairy Fighter

 
 

For years, I’ve said I wanted to write my own books. And I’ve made attempts at this with results ranging from passable to flat-out dreadful. But ultimately, nothing ever quite resonated. Whatever this is, however, has clicked. So since September, I’ve been working through an outline. Plot lines would get jettisoned when walking the dog, character quirks added when sitting in traffic. I began scripting this month, and then began writing, because I second-guessed the scripting. Which is a round about way to say that I am trying to make a book and it’s more like hiking up a vertical cliff in a snowstorm than traipsing through fields of unicorns and daisies. This story has gotten under my skin and I hope that this time around, that counts for something. Also the main character’s hair is all wrong and her look is proving elusive in all things but the determined glint in her eyes.

What else?

  • I’m knitting the DRK Everyday Sweater at the moment. I’ve been on the hunt for a top-down knit pullover for awhile and this pattern ticks all the boxes. I’m on the first sleeve and have knit through with zero modifications (other than lengthening the torso by an inch).

  • Spy thrillers set in the 60’s are generally catnip for me, so it seemed like a foregone conclusion to stream The Courier. It’s a gem of a movie — what really struck me was its affirmation of the fact that it’s often very average people who do very remarkable things.

  • Local to Seacoast New Hampshire? The Artists of Salmon Falls Open Studios is this weekend. I’ll be open for at least part of Saturday and potentially Sunday. If you’d like to check on hours before coming, drop me a line here and I’ll do my best to be open at a convenient time. And on Saturday, down the road a bit, is the Winter Farmers’ Market at Wentworth Greenhouses and the Christmas Fair at St. Mary’s. So if you have a hankering for original art, fresh veg and homemade cookies, the town of Rollinsford, New Hampshire has you covered this weekend.

Not Yet

 
 

I started spring cleaning earlier this month. Then I started moving furniture. After single-handedly moving a couch, a coffee table, one chair and a houseplant that weighs more than me, things are looking up. There is far less dust and much less inertia. In the process, I unearthed a few sketches and assorted book ideas. I loosely based the sketches above on an autumnal road trip my grandparents took us on, as teenagers. The highlight of the trip was definitely eating fried chicken and brownies outside the legendary Willey House on a glorious October day.

Other things:

Navigations

 
 

I should probably tattoo this on my forearm and refer hourly to said inscription.

And…

Dystopian Daydreams

 
 

Earlier this month, I hopped my first flight in three years and headed out west for a family reunion in Oregon, near Crater Lake. There were lots of campfires, cups of coffee and catching up, after years of not seeing one another. All in all, it was 110% worth the 21+ hours of travel time to get home.

During the visit, my 13-year-old niece told me her genre of choice is teen girl dystopian novels. I applaud her taste. So the above is an attempt at something dystopian for her, which just ended up looking steampunk.

But who’s to say you can’t navigate the apocalypse in a hoop skirt?

Obligatory Crater Lake National Park snap. Snow! In June!

The Nineteen Hundreds

 
 

Doing a deep dive into some Edwardian photo reference and this wistful guy felt like he deserved a portrait. Cheer up, buddy, electricity and antibiotics are on the horizon.