Personal | Cabin Art

Central California Artist in Texas

Traveling is difficult, and it about broke my heart to leave Three Rivers while it was still green and full of flowers. The logistics of a trip can cause one to wonder if it is worth the effort.

It was.

I first spent time in a suburb north of Fort Worth with a dear friend who has young children and a new-to-them fixer-upper on a huge piece of property down a long driveway. They had three pallets of sod coming for a front lawn, and I was right on time to help with the project, because her husband had fallen and broken both of his arms above the elbows. (Don’t land hard on your wrists if you fall, okay?)

The greenery and scenery just blew my mind (figuratively speaking—not literally). I had no idea that Texas is so green this time of year, figuring I’d missed the best part of spring by waiting until the end of April.

Enough ogling. There was work to be done, and we were shocked by how hard it was. The plan was to rent Mantis type tillers, but neither one of us could get them started (nor could the Home Depot employee), so we rented bigger machines. They ’bout dang near vibrated our arms off, but there was no time for wimpiness.

There was time for a few walks, and we had to stop each time the sky let loose with a mess of rain. We also stopped when we heard thunder, because too many people have recently been struck by lightning for our comfort.

The husband keep the logistics moving ahead, coordinating, keeping the Littles busy, looking up instructions, doing what he could like bringing tools, and encouraging us. I had to drive his pickup with him to get a load of fill dirt in a pouring rainstorm because he couldn’t put his arms in driving position. Yikes, such terrible timing for him, but it was a great project and a privilege to be able to help.

The city yard where we got the fill dirt was fantastically organized, affordable, and easy to access, unlike in Tulare County. The last time Trail Guy and I got mulch at our county yard, it was full of plastic. Sigh.

Let’s take a break from the sod project and admire the property a bit more.

We were enormously grateful when the grown son arrived with a friend to finish the tilling and help lay the sod, since our arms were like limp spaghetti. We had planted many flowers, dug and lugged many rocks, and of course stayed up late catching up because we couldn’t talk when the machines were going.

The sod squares will not be evident as squares when the grass has an opportunity to do what God designed grass to do.

It was hard to say goodbye when my other set of friends, N & J, came to get me for the rest of my stay at their place south of Fort Worth. So interesting to have all of us together, both sets of friends formerly of Three Rivers, all now Texans, and just meeting for the first time.

There were so many things that would make beautiful paintings, but my audience (“collectors” in Artspeak) isn’t really interested in generic scenes. They want to buy paintings of places they know. Maybe I’ll paint some Texas green scenes when I retire (fall down laughing — why would I retire when I love what I do??)

To be continued. . .

While in Texas…

Yeppers, still here in the Lone Star State. It’s a bit late for the bluebonnets, we’re having lots of rain, there are fabulous other wildflowers, and I am learning much.

Here are a few teaser photos.

Bluebonnets are lupine; this is up close, looking straight down.

Gave a drawing workshop-that makes this a business trip.

One Final Peek at Spring in Three Rivers

May Day! Happy May Day, which I think traditionally includes flowers. (Then why do captains of planes and ships yell “MAY DAY!” when they are about to crash?)

A few days before I left for Texas, I spent a day working in the yard. Whoooo-eeee, it was hard to leave home.

Tucker joined me in the herb garden. He likes to meet me there for coffee in the mornings.

Good thing it was almost dark when I left home because otherwise I might have been tempted to cancel the trip.

Three Rivers

Six New Things Learned in April (plus one re-learn)

I know Easter was last month, but barely. . .

I started reading Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman, a book about accepting the fact that our time is limited and we won’t ever get our to-do lists finished. Alas, it was taking too long (heh-heh), so I went to Bookpecker to read the five bullet points. They are: 1. Accept your limits; 2. Focus on Meaningful Tasks; 3. Prioritize quality over quantity; 4. Live in the Present; 5. Embrace uncertainty. (I summarized the summarized bullet points for you. You’re welcome.)

Vermeer’s Milkmaid. I painted this with the idea of quality over quantity, BEFORE reading the summary of Burkeman’s book.

2. Did you know that you can substitute 1/2 milk with 1/2 yogurt for buttermilk in a recipe? (I haven’t tried it).

3. Slippers: I was sorry to see that mine were wearing through on the soles, and especially sorry to learn that the yarn for a new pair was $40. WHAT? Then I learned that they have faithfully served my feet since 2010. (Life is like a roll of toilet paper—the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.) Finally, I learned that I cannot stop and restart the agitation segment of the cycle on our fancy washing machine (many of our appliances croaked in 2020). I also (re)learned that I am not very good at following knitting pattern directions, but once again, I got away with it. (notice the 2 new slippers don’t exactly match each other.)

4. Have you ever heard of a yogurt strainer? I hadn’t, and learned of this item on The Frugal Girl blog. It is a convenient way to drain the whey from yogurt so that you have “Greek” yogurt. (I just pour mine off as it accumulates in the pan I made it in and save it for making bread.) I am tempted by this item but my policy of no unifunction items in my kitchen keeps me from succumbing. The woman who told me about it also uses it when making lemon curd and almond millk, two items that are not on the menu here. (Here is a list of the various yogurt strainers on Amazon.)

5. Did you know that there is no cure for neuropathy, particularly idiopathic neuropathy, which means the kind for which no reason is known? Sigh. I learned this from a friend who has had it for 30 or 40 years. (I have an appointment in June with a neurologist anyway. So there.) My hands are over my ears chanting, “LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!” as I refuse to accept this information.

6. I found this book in the library in Three Rivers and checked it out because of the title. The characters were too weird for me to relate to, so I quit after the first two chapters. There are too many books that I want to read to bother with those that don’t hold my attention.

The Lemon Cove Woman’s Club asked if they could print my drawing into cards. I said yes, if they could find the original. They couldn’t. Then I remembered that it is hanging on the wall over my dining table!

7. This is a relearn: The women’s club in Lemon Cove has the actual historical name of “Lemon Cove Woman’s Club”. Isn’t that funny? (Exactly which woman did it belong to? Did Nora Pogue Montgomery call it this because she was reluctant to give up her family home?) You can read about it here: Tulare County Treasures.

P.S. By now I’ve probably learned many more things while in Texas. Although it will still be April while I am there, I’ll probably put them in the Learned in May post. Or, in Texan, “I’m fixin’ to put them in May’s post”.

Farewell to Spring in Three Rivers, Part II

By the time you are reading this, I hope to be on a flight to Texas. The way flights get cancelled these days, who knows? I could be sitting in a airport, fuming. I hope you are not fuming; instead, I hope you enjoy these last photographs of the most beautiful month in my yard and around its edges a bit.

Stop scratching your screen—it won’t make the scent of the lilacs come alive.

“Lilac” and “lavender” —two words for light purple with origins in very scented flowers, both in bloom at the same time in my yard.

Dutch iris all around my yard, and just a few with the yellow parts; not my favorite, but certainly nothing to ignore!

This one was falling over, so Trail Guy picked it, added fairy lanterns to the vase, and put it on the kitchen window sill.

This is a tiny weed/wildflower down the street; this is the first year I’ve noticed it.

Lemon geranium was taking over the herb garden chair. Too bad you can’t smell this.

I pruned it, and then put many clippings in pots to root and share with friends.

It makes a little pink flower. If it doesn’t look like a normal geranium to you, that is because this is a true geranium, not a pelargonium. (As if you care. . .)

Man oh man, the hillside will be all brown and/or weed-eated by the time I get home, and the Lady Banks rose will be finished, and so will the lavender. . . it is SO HARD to leave home, especially in the spring. (But I haven’t ever visited my dear friend in Texas during the 30 years she has lived there; I always wait until she comes here for a reunion, so it is past time.)

Farewell, spring in Three Rivers; hello Texas!

Three Rivers

Farewell to Spring in Three Rivers

Maybe. Maybe not. However, I am heading to Texas tomorrow*, and when I return, I think the green in Three Rivers will be finished, or close to it.

My dear friend the Texan and I planned this visit to coincide with the blooming of the Texas bluebonnets (a variety of lupine). I think someone miscalculated, but I didn’t want to bump my trip earlier because there was just too much to adjust, AND I didn’t want to miss spring in Three Rivers.

So, let’s just enjoy the last hurrah of spring in Three Rivers. I might post while in Texas; I might not. More will be revealed in the fullness of time.

Instead of doing his business, this tom kept stepping on the hen’s tail while strutting around.

Jackson, you will miss sleeping at my feet while I paint. No more campouts, you delinquent! You’d better be around when I come home.

North Fork of the Kaweah River with Blossom Peaks in the distance.

I hate leaving but am so eager to see The Texan, another dear friend who is also a Texan, and yes, The Silos in Waco.

P.S. The Things I Learned post will appear on April 30. The Blog Equipment allows me to schedule posts ahead of time.

*Normally I would not post about being gone in real time on the World Wide Web, but the house won’t be empty so no squatters will take up residence while I’m away.

Three Rivers

Painting With a Few Interruptions

Another beautiful spring day, accompanied by the desire to just be outside and pull weeds.

Nope. It’s a workday, chica.

But wait! There’s an eclipse! I joined Trail Guy for a brief look at the weirdness of shadows and light, with the help of a colander and a piece of white paper.

Back to work.

Two paintings now drying, so that tighter detail can be applied in the next session.

How about another break to enjoy the wildflowers?

Back to work.

In spite of succumbing to a few temptations, it was a very productive day. So, here is our final reward of the day.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Stroben!

custom art oil paintings

Some flowers, a painting, and a lost and found sketch

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I decided to ride bikes in Lemon Cove, because there are flat roads down there. We parked at the Lemon Cove Woman’s Club (I think that is the odd way the name is spelled), and we were just slayed by the orange blossom scent and the incredible Lady Banks rose at the clubhouse.

As wonderful as it all was, it was still a workday, so we headed back up the hill (in a car with a bike rack—remember, we were seeking flat roads to ride.)

Kaweah Arts sold a painting on their opening weekend, and I needed to replace it.

It was a bit of an overcast and chilly day, so I moved into the studio to begin a commissioned pencil drawing. (I’ll tell you more about this one later, as the details unfold.)

After studying 5 not-so-great photos, I made 3 sketches for the customer to determine if I could capture the Minnesota cabin for her parents’ anniversary gift. Then, I lost the sketches. Good thing I scanned them —HEY! I BET THEY ARE IN MY SCANNER!!

YIPPEE SKIPPEE, SURE ENOUGH THEY WERE!

Alrighty then, let’s just calm down. I worked off the laptop to start the drawing (because I couldn’t find the sketches).

About an hour later of checking angles, drawing, measuring, erasing, and repeating the dance several times, I ended up with this mighty impressive foundational drawing.

Gotta draw the dog before you draw the fleas. . . and this dog has many challenges. Never fear—I am up to the task.

commission pencil work pencil drawing

Eight New Things Learned in March

For some reasons, I couldn’t scrape up appropriate photos for this month’s Learned List. So, let’s enjoy a few photos that Trail Guy took on a recent walk.

John Bray Estates is a website for luxury coastal property in Cornwall, England. If you like to look at homes, both inside and outside, this site is like See’s Candy to a sugar addict.
Skills Millennials Won’t Use is quite entertaining. There are things I’ve thought about for awhile, such as the ability to drive a three pedal car, reading a face clock, dialing a telephone, reading a map. There are other things that I agree with—not liking meatloaf or jello, not using paper napkins. There are things that surprised me—not wearing Crocs was the largest. Enjoy this list! It is very long—almost 200 items!
I read this quote in the memoir Driving Hungry by Layne Mosler: “A rich man isn’t the one who has the most; he is the one who needs the least”. By that definition, I am very wealthy!
The two most common reasons for neuropathy are unmanaged diabetes and back trouble. I have neither, so the mystery and saga of my feet continues. . . (what I learned is that my back is fine).
Surgery is very stressful; I had the privilege of sitting with a dear friend while waiting for a delicate surgery on her husband. We simply chatted about this and that, nothing too heavy or scary or formal. She hadn’t asked me to be with her, but I insisted, because I knew in my gut that this was scarier than they made it out to be. We both learned that the presence of a friend is a valuable comfort even when it wasn’t requested. I also learned how much I truly care about these friends.
A thymoma is a tumor on the thymus gland; it is better than thymic carcinoma. I would like to not know this, but a dear friend is now experiencing it, so here we are, learning about unwelcome health troubles.
Have you ever had rutabaga? We got a couple and didn’t know what they were. A friend enlightened us, and I cooked them without any idea of how they would be, figuring anything is good if you add enough butter. Turns out they are actually quite good for you, sort of a mashed potato substitute with fewer carbohydrates and lots of good nutrients.
There is a website which summarizes non-fiction books in 5 bullet points. It is free, because they make their money by people ordering off Amazon through their site. It has the weird name of BookPecker. My hope is that it will speed up my journey through my To-Be-Read towers of book.