It's that time of year again...the first full weekend in June. I look forward to the Festival of the Arts all year. The smoke from the grills, and scents of spicy concoctions make my mouth water and my spirit soar. I love walking through the crowds of people and hearing snippets of conversations. The music for each of the stages is as varied as people and food. I enjoy finding a spot to sit, nibbling on a treat, and watching the people go by. This year, I already got an elephant ear slathered in cherry pie filling, and something new called a Polish Burrito. It had kielbasa, kapusta and mashed potatoes all rolled in a flour tortilla. It was MUCH better than it sounded. Yummy.

This Friday night visit, I remembered my sketchbook (but forgot my camera). So here is one sketch I did. I was trying to capture the light and shadow of the skyline view from one stage.

I look forward to my visit today....we're heading back downtown!

There is just something so HAPPY about Carrot Cake! It brings joy to me. It is currently the cake of choice on my birthday or on special occasions. I have Ruth and Diane Hogan to thank for giving me my first taste, as well as the recipe, for Carrot Cake. 

It makes me even happier when on the day after my birthday, when back to reality and the little bit of the 'specialness' has worn off,  I can walk into the kitchen and see that there is STILL enough birthday cake left for breakfast. 

So Happy Day-After-My-Birthday to me….it's a happy day…there is still Carrot Cake!

Seeing my dark green Collards growing a little more each day, makes me so happy.

On my journey to live with LESS, I am trying to have less processed food in my/our diets. It is not easy to give up old ways (bacon), and it REALLY is difficult to get everyone in the family on the same page (bacon). We are taking baby steps by trying to add in a few more greens. We planted Kale and Broccoli, too. What's nice is that it doesn't take a green thumb to grow them. I purchased a little plant (three to container actually), planted them in a sunny spot in the garden, and water them when they are thirsty.  They just need occasional weeding (once a week or so)  to keep the weeds from competing with them, and you just let them grow. They look lush and a deep colored green. They make me feel like I am doing something good, for the earth, and for us. They look beautiful and makes me feel like I accomplished something.

The Collards and Kale aren't even a foot tall yet, but already have leaves that we harvest. It makes me feel connected to the planet, to go out the postage stamp sized garden an pluck a few leaves to cook for dinner. Even though we in city-suburbs, and the sidewalk is a few feet away, and we can hear the traffic from busy streets around us, I still feel a sense of wellness and contentment when I look at that little garden.

I was given some great Collard Recipes, most have grease (bacon) and/or butter, and are heavily cooked (heavily delicious, too, did I mention bacon?) But we are trying to integrate them into healthier dishes. We love Kale Mashed Potatoes (recipe from Rick and Pamm). We started adding the chopped up Collard leaves to stir-frys and Herb-Linguine (just like you would spinach). So we're taking baby steps. Planning to add more 'good stuff' and buy less of the 'bad stuff' (BBQ potato chips which are my weakness). Here is a site that tells the benefits of Collard Greens.

So bring on the summer and sunshine, and let it feed my little green plants, and they can feed us! And keep away the little green worm that is trying to turn the leaves to lacework. I'm working on it.

The start of summer brings back good memories. Talking about books in a recent blog post reminded me of a childhood treasure….the BOOKMOBILE.

When I think of my summers when I was little, a few of my clearest memories are: waking up and putting on my swimsuit (in hopes of running through a sprinkler or a kiddie pool), waiting by the mailbox and checking it everyday until I got my report card in the mail saying I passed and could move on to the next grade, and waiting until Thursday so we could ride our bikes one mile to where the bookmobile was parked.

Ahhhhh I love that thing. We would park our bikes on a scorching, sunny, day, and step up into the narrow, dark, rolling library that smelled of old books. Not the musty kind, but the old polished kind and those with cloth covers and stitched bindings. It was floor to ceiling bookshelves, and the aisle was so narrow you would hardly fit through. I loved browsing the picture books and choosing a favorite, and filling out the little card in the back. Every book was a new adventure and the different drawing styles drew me right in.

When we were really young, our Mom would drive us, but as we got older, we could ride our bikes to where it was parked in our neighborhood.  We would sit on the little step stools and page through the books to get a favorite or two. We had to keep our voices down, because being in there had a certain reverence (policed by a strict librarian). It was such a great feeling being in there. I liked to imagine having a bed in there, and moving in so that could be my bedroom.

That bookmobile is such a fond, treasured memory. Did you have a visit by a bookmobile in your neighborhood?

Here are two sketches from my sketchbook done June 1999 on our family trip to Mackinac Island. 

I had glued some dark paper in my sketchbook so I could use chalk pastel. This location is the view from Mission Point beach on Mackinac Island. [Go to the navigation bar at the top of the page 'About. . .' to see more information about Mackinac Island.]

My process: I've used this technique in other drawings on this blog.  I use a medium value of paper, then I can add a dark line, and lighter color for highlights, and it hits the whole range of values and makes it feel complete.

Here's my boy!  This is a sketch from the same sketchbook, that I didn't complete in color. It is of our son, who was 4 at the time resting in the umbrella stroller, when we were on the same vacation on Mackinac Island. You can see the horse and carriage, and a bike in the background. It must have been at Arch Rock. 

There is something about this sketch I like (besides the subject matter), I think it is the varied lines weights on the darker paper. The tone reminds me of old master's drawings.  

Just for fun. This is a sketch that makes me laugh. I drew it from memory of posing for a photo at my Mom and Dad's house on their deck in front of a tree. I was just trying to work out shapes and proportions. I was trying to work out traits recognizable. If you know us, maybe you can recognize my husband, son, and me….not flattering in the least of any of us.  It's just a sketch, but something about it I like.

Showing this is my way of opening up and building confidence. Ordinarily, I'd NEVER show something like this to anyone. It is just a personal exercise. But I am realizing that I like drawing more when I don't have to be so exact and critical.  I like the gestural quality of sketching. So, maybe I'll explore THAT direction. Come along for the journey!

From my sketchbook:  Basking in the warmth of memories of the summer, here is a quick sketch I did of my sister Linda as she was chatting on the phone with her daughters. We were visiting a quaint little nook at an artist's store on Loon Lake while taking advantage of some wi-fi. Linda is currently busy, busy, working on a benefit for her husband. More on that later!

I did this sketch on the shore of Loon Lake, northern Lower Michigan, at Linda and Brian's Cottage. 

Over the last few days I've been thinking about the impressive conditions we witnessed when we visited the ice covered pier at Grand Haven, MI. I thought I might do some drawings of that, but couldn't bring myself to work on them. I've had enough of this relentless string of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures. I wanted some GREEN to warm the soul. I thought this was fitting to share because we are currently planning a benefit for my Brother-in-Law Brian. Because of his illness he hasn't been able to get up to their cottage. 

This is my way of spreading hope and looking forward to the warm days ahead when he'll feel well enough to get back to Loon Lake.