#3032 injury update and February art gallery

I want to start by telling you I was able to watch the overtime period of the men's hockey match this morning, and I got teary-eyed when the U.S. scored and won the game. I did! I'm such a sucker for stuff like that! If you watched, you no doubt know that it was 46 years ago today that the U.S. hockey team beat Russia in Lake Placid. That was not the gold medal game, but it is the Miracle on Ice, and the U.S. team did go on to win the gold that year, and haven't done it since...until today.

I love watching the Olympics, and I think the winter games are my favorite. Of course, in a couple of years, when the summer games roll around, I might say those are my favorite. I really just love the Olympics. Watching the Games these past couple weeks has trained me for sitting in front of my TV for a few hours every night, and I am okay with that!

So it's been nearly two weeks since I had the splint removed following the surgery to put my wrist back together. I am wearing a brace about 60 percent of the time, including when I sleep. The wrist is getting stronger and has more mobility. It is also still tender, a bit swollen, and tires easily. Do wrists get tired? Yes. The scar is healing well, and I'm glad about that. I put Vaseline on it several times a day to keep it from drying out and to aid in the healing. Here is a a photo of the scar when I first got the splint off, and a photo I took earlier this week.

February 10

February 18

There were 12 stitches and a lot of bruising. You can see the bruising is mostly gone now - in fact, you can't see any in the bottom photo, but there is still a bit of bruising on the arm below where this photo ends. My next follow up with the surgeon is on March 17. I don't think I will have to do any physical therapy. I move the wrist every day and gently squeeze a stress ball to gain some strength. I do have some pain on the knuckle of my bird finger on the right hand when I make a fist. I'm hoping I can work through that with the stress ball.

I think I'll make my own little art gallery logo!

Since it's the last Sunday of the month, I thought it would be fun to show you some of the art I've made this month. Most of these are responses to Jill the Artist's prompts.

This first one I did on January 25, the day before the wrist injury. The prompt was "texture" so I attempted to create texture on the flowers by putting water down and dropping paint in. Then I scribbled around the flowers with marker. 

"Arrangement"

This next mess was done on Jan. 29, the day after the surgery. The prompt was "bridge." In my Percocet-clouded mind, I saw myself making a cool abstract of the Pont Sant'Angelo in Rome with St. Peter's Basilica in the back (the pink splotch.)  This was all done with my left hand. Umm...okay.

"Abstract Pont Sant'Angelo by Lefty"

I took a little time off to heal after the bridge prompt because it just wasn't very fun or comfortable to pain with the splint. The prompt for this next one is, big surprise, "owl". I did this one in watercolor pencil, and I think he turned out pretty well.

"Owl in watercolor pencil"

Usually I draw and paint my wee calendar before the end of the month, but this little piggy happened right around Valentine's Day. I think I might do all animals for the calendars this year.

my February wee calendar

The next prompt from Jill was to make yourself a Valentine. I went looked at some ideas on Pinterest, and I really liked a wreath of hearts that I saw. I finished it, then had the idea to add paint droplets to it, but some of the droplets were kinda big and reminded me of something yucky, so I decided to smear the paint and draw some extra hearts. It's not as cute as I wanted it to be, but that's okay.

"Heart Hug"

The prompt for this last one was "path". I took up a gray colored pencil and got after it.  

"Late Winter Path"

Yes, I do name all my little drawings because why not? I did do one tonight, but I just shared it with the Underground group (Jill's art and writing group), so I'll share it with you next month.

There are many things I haven't liked about breaking my wrist. It's been pretty sucky overall, and not being able to write or draw was one of the things I missed the most. I still have to limit the time I spend without the brace because like I said, my wrist gets sore and tired, but I am so glad to be able to write in my journal, and here on my computer. It was uncomfortable to type with the splint on. As for drawing and painting, I have a lot of enthusiasm for it, and I like to do it every day.

That's all I've got for tonight. Take care!

xo

#3023 weekend wrap-up plus art gallery

 

my January wee calendar

Good afternoon! I hope you are having a delicious, relaxing weekend.

MT and T were here this weekend. They arrived on Thursday just in time for MT to go with me to the Red Butte Garden volunteer dinner and reception. It was a fun event. We sat by my friend Liz and her husband, and I saw my good friend Wendy B, along with many others. The best part for me was getting recognized for being a volunteer for 10 years!

10 years!!

I write about how much I enjoy volunteering at the Garden, and it's absolutely true. Red Butte Garden has been a sanctuary for me. It's a place I can go to clear my head and to be completely present. One of the "jobs" I have there, bloom recording, requires me to be focused and observant, and I relish the hours I get to spend noting what I see blooming. Last year, I had nearly 159 hours of volunteer time. I have no idea if that is average or below average; there were 572 volunteers last year, and the volunteer hours ranged from 30 to over 600. (The over 600 hour woman is there nearly every day!) My hours goal is always at least 101 hours, so I am fine with 159. Maybe I'll aim for 200 hours this year since I will have more time to give. We'll see. Anyway, I was glad MT was able to come with me to the reception this year.

MT also helped me solve the bird seed situation. He has lots of empty buckets from Lowes in the garage. We filled two of the buckets, then bought a lid (he just had one lid that was available), so now the birdies can have seeds again. I've filled the feeder a couple of times this weekend and it sure doesn't take long for the birds to empty it.

T was a total hero on Friday. He came with me to pick Stella up from the groomer. On the way out of the store, she got a little spooked and slipped right out of her collar in the middle of the road in the parking lot. She had a lot less hair around her neck than when we went in to the store that morning! T calmly scooped her up and carried her to the car. You might not think this is anything heroic, but it is, and I'll tell you why: Stella does NOT like to be picked up. We have had her for three years, and I have never picked her up. I've seen people do it; I think T even did one time before here at home, but in general, she doesn't allow the behavior. So for him to walk to her and calmly tell her it was okay and pick her up, man, that was awesome. He was amazing.  I'm so glad he came with me.

Other than that bit of excitement, we had a nice quiet weekend. Yesterday the three of us had lunch at Moochies. I cooked a couple of T's favorite dishes for dinner on Friday and Saturday - pasta on Friday and croquetas on Saturday. MT worked on a puzzle and the two of them watched some shows on TV. I read and puttered around.  The two of them left this morning, so here I am again, just me and the puppers.

I've got a couple of things coming up this week. On Tuesday, I will take Stella to the vet to have her vaccinations. I'll be sure to tighten her collar. On Thursday I am planning to go to my former office. I need to do some business at the credit union, plus they are having Dip Day and I was invited to come over for that festival. I even bought a dip to take with me, because you can't show up to a party empty-handed. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, having a snack, hearing the gossip, and leaving.

I don't think we've had a little art gallery for awhile, so here are some things that I've made recently.

This first painting is from October. It was inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram from a guy I follow (provencallife) who takes beautiful photos of his home in Provence. This is my interpretation of a photo he took:

Provencal Doorway

These next two pieces are from a prompt from Jill the Artist. She gave a list of adjectives and nouns and the prompt was to select one word from each list and do an artistic interpretation of the words. Both pieces were inspired by art I saw on Pinterest.

Unfinished Spark

Green Balloon

The next one was also inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. It's how I felt one morning when I was out walking the dogs during one of the very brief  and infrequent snow episodes we've had here in SLC this month.

In the Snow

This last one is from my still unfinished travel journal. I bought the pretty postcard in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic and I really wanted to try to duplicate it, so here it is:

my take on Cesky Krumlov

That is all for today. Have a great week!

xo

#2990 pdin 9 - vacation memories day 14 Amsterdam (Thursday 18 Sept)

A quick follow up to yesterday's post: I am feeling a lot better today. The amount of sleep I got was a lot. I was in bed by 8 pm and woke up around 5:30 am. I'm happy to say that I have been up and moving around all day. My body feels better, not as achy. I've been a little dizzy, but mostly okay. Whew. That was rough.

Now on to the good stuff!

ussie with Sunflowers

This was our last full day of vacation. The plan for the day was to visit the Van Gogh Museum, stop in bookstores, go on a dark history tour, and pack.

After breakfast in the hotel, Lizzie guided us to the Van Gogh Museum which was about a 30 minute walk from the hotel. Of course it was raining, so most of my view was from under my quickly deteriorating black umbrella. It was a nice walk, though, as I was getting used to walking in the rain, looking our for bikes, and enjoying the ambience of Amsterdam.

We purchased our tickets well in advance and had a timed entry, so we were able to skip the long line and go right in. The museum is modern with lots of natural light in the common areas - not where the art is, of course. The first thing you see is a three story screen with changing photos of Van Gogh's paintings, and on another wall, a few of his quotes. I loved this one:

inside the Van Gogh Museum

The museum is beautifully laid out on three levels. The first level is his early work when he was developing his style. The most famous painting on this level is probably The Potato Eaters...

The Potato Eaters

...but I like his self-portraits better. Since he didn't have much money, he painted self-portraits as a way to develop his skill and style. 

Self-Portrait with Straw Hat

On the second floor of the museum, the star of the show is undoubtedly Sunflowers.

Sunflowers

Seeing this painting in real life brought me to tears. I could have slithered to the floor and cried ugly tears. Why? I guess when I see something like a painting like this, something that I've seen a hundred times in books or on the interwebs, something that is just a fact, a given, something that is so common you might overlook it and take it for granted, to see it in person is a little overwhelming, I guess. I felt the same way looking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, especially the first time. I got teary-eyed seeing the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and Angkor Wat. Maybe it's that young Sandy would have never imagined that she would have the chance to see these things in real life. I believe that part of the emotion from Sunflowers is the story of Vincent Van Gogh himself: the remarkable self-taught talent, the mental illness, the tragic end. Through all of that, he painted this simple, glorious work. The colors are so vibrant and the imperfections make it perfect, and I loved it a lot.

Also, did you know that Van Gogh actually painted seven versions of Sunflowers? Five of them are in museums around the world. One was lost in World War II, and another is owned by a private collector. 

On the third floor, you can see Irises.

Irises

This one is so beautiful, too. I love the dark flowers and the simple vase. The background color is so wonderful. I like his use of yellows. Here, the yellow background emphasizes the dark blue flowers. I was reading that the flowers were originally purple, but time has faded them to this dark blue.

The final painting on the third floor is Almond Blossom.

Almond Blossom

What I loved the most about this one is the story behind it. Vincent had a brother, Theo, who was his best friend. When Theo and his wife, Jo, had a baby, Vincent gave them this painting as a gift. Isn't that blue background breathtaking? The child was named Vincent Willem, and it was Vincent Willem who founded this remarkable museum. 

There were so many other paintings that made me stop in my tracks and sigh with pleasure. I was going to post some, but I got to six and decided that could be a post for another day. I do have 21 more posts to write in November!

After we explored all three floors of the museum, we went back for another look at Sunflowers. I scooched my way right up to the front to get a full on pic of the painting. I didn't cry on the second look. I was too busy smiling. 

We ended our hours in the museum - I don't even know how long we were in there! - by doing some serious power shopping in the gift shops. No regrets. I love everything I bought. Thinking back, if there was one thing I wish I had purchased, it was a book called Life According the Vincent: 150 Inspiring Quotes. (BTW it is available on the museum website, and Christmas is coming!)

Dazzled and stunned,  we stood outside the museum for a few minutes deciding our course of action. We decided to wander back to the hotel, taking a different route. It was our hope we would find a cafe where we could have some lunch and find some shops so I could get a t-shirt for T.  We accomplished both of those things, and as a bonus, we got to walk through a bit of Vondelpark, a lovely green space.

Vondelpark

Here are some photos I took of Amsterdam that day as we wandered:

Rijksmuseum - the National Museum of the Netherlands

another charming street

I think I could live in this house

classic! iconic!

a cute area right behind our hotel with a giant bookstore

We did stop in bookstores - nearly all that we passed by, I think. Most of the time we didn't buy anything. When we did buy something, it was postcards and/or magnets. I liked going into the bookstores. There were always lots of people in them, and I guess it made me feel happy to know that people still read actual books. 

In the evening we took a dark history tour. Amsterdam does have some serious dark history. We were the only guests on the tour, and our guide was a bit twitchy. She kept touching the ends of her hair and rubbing her mouth, nose, and eyes and she kind of made me uncomfortable. She seemed surprised when we weren't interested in going through the Red Light District. As it was, we were on the outskirts of it, and that was enough for me. I saw plenty.

When we got back to the hotel, we got a few beers in the lounge and spent some time tipsy packing, which may be the best way to do it, honestly. 

Sadly, my umbrella did not survive the trip. She stayed in Amsterdam.

RIP umbrella

So that's it! The next day we went to the airport and spent our waiting time in the KLM Lounge; that felt really nice. The flight was fine, and then we were back in SLC. Lizzie stayed over Friday and Saturday and went back to LA on Sunday. I was back to work on Monday, and just like that, eight months of waiting and two weeks of traveling through Central Europe were done. I loved every minute, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. So. Fun.

I hoped you enjoyed reading through the vacation memories as much as I enjoyed reliving them through writing and posting the photos. Where to next? I'm not sure, but I'll come up with something!

#2967 looking ahead and art gallery

The good news is that Mac is back to her usual playful self. I really think she ate something on our Wednesday morning walk that was bad for her tummy. Even though I try to watch what they sniff and put in their mouths, I don't see all the things, and I know she was chomping on something Wednesday morning. 

The best things I can say about Friday is that the temperature was not over 90 degrees, and I was in bed by 9 PM and sound asleep by 9:30. I'd put clean sheets and a light blanket on the bed and it felt luxurious. I find that I am usually really tired by 8:30 or 9, but I push myself to stay up a little longer, and then it's midnight before I get to sleep. I woke up around 6:30 Saturday morning feeling refreshed and ready to go. I really need to make an effort to get to bed earlier during the week.

Saturday was pretty mellow. I recorded blooms, paid the bills, and did some laundry. I bought a couple of clothing items to take on the trip next month that I'm certain I will wear often. I did a little writing and went to bed by 10 PM. 

Today I worked the docent shift at RBGA. It was really slow - we only had 13 guests take the complimentary tour, and one driver did all four tours. The other driver hung out and chatted with me, which was nice. The weather this weekend has been incredible with highs in the mid to upper '80s and lows in the 60s. Such pleasant sleeping temperatures! I didn't even have the swamper turned on last night and it was nice and cool anyway. We've got some hot days coming up, but I feel like fall is coming! Another tell-tale sign of fall: anemones have started blooming in the Children's Garden.  I love fall.

I've got a busy week coming up: 

• On Monday, Mac is going to the vet for a checkup and vaccinations. That night, I will do a recycling shift during the My Morning Jacket concert. 
• On Tuesday, T has an appointment with a physical therapist. His quad muscle has healed, but he has pain in his calf muscle and numb toes, plus, he can't stand all the way upright. I figure we'll go to the physical therapist and move on from there.
• On Wednesday, Stella has an appointment at the groomer for a bath and a haircut. That night, I will do a recycling shift during the ZZ Top concert.
• Thursday and Friday are clear. Friday is my 32nd wedding anniversary. It will be the first anniversary MT and I have been in separate states. (He is doing fine, BTW.)
• On Saturday, I'm planning to take my car to the emissions place to renew the registration. I'll also record blooms, then that night, I will go see Chris Stapleton in concert at Mountain America CU Amphitheater (formerly USANA Amphitheater.) I may take a Lyft to the show, but maybe I'll just pack some water, a snack, and my kindle and hang out in the parking lot after the show. It's always a shitshow getting out of the parking lot, so I might as well relax.
• Next Sunday, the 17th, I'm planning to just stay home and rest. I even put up my docent shift, so I won't be going to RBG. I want to clean up the house and seriously prep for my September trip.

It's fun to have things to look forward to, definitely, but I realize it's a lot. Maybe that's why I like fall and winter. More low-key!

Want to see some art I've made in July and early August? If you don't, stop scrolling now! Otherwise, scroll on...

All of these pieces were based on prompts from Jill Badonsky, aka Jill the Artist.

The prompt that inspired this one was self-portrait with butterfly. I took a photo of myself, then drew it without looking down at the page (blind contour.) I added the blue butterfly in the center afterwards and laughed.

What I Would Look Like If There Was a Bug On My Face

The next prompt was a Marc Chagall appreciation. I looked at several Chagall paintings, and I really liked this one:

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) L'Oiseau Bleu, 1952

Here's my take:

Inspired by Chagall's L'Oiseau Bleu (Sandy's Version)

The next prompt was Black Bird. Scrolling through Pinterest, I saw something like this, and I really wanted to try it. I ripped a page out of The Time-Traveler's Wife, glued it into my sketchbook, dabbed some paint on it and drew some birds. 

Birds and Words

The next prompt was pretty interesting. Jill posted a pic of a woman holding a giant pink owl. The instruction was to render it anyway we wanted, but to be quick about it. I did a partial blind contour, meaning I mostly looked at the image, only occasionally checking where I was on the paper. I used a gel pen to draw, then dabbed some water on the sketch in places. I did all of it in about 90 seconds.

Mystery and Wisdom

The prompt for this last sketch was to make up a celebration for the month of August since it doesn't have any holidays. I love to eat outside, so I decided that August could be National Dine Al Fresco Month. The tiny umbrella and chairs are kind of Seussian, maybe.

That's all for today! Have a great week. I'll likely check in here on Thursday with a report of the week's adventures.

#2958 Sunday funday and art gallery

My mom has a shirt that says "Sunday Funday" and  I think it is so cute! I might have to find one for myself. As I was driving home this afternoon, I thought, "Wow, this has been a fun Sunday. I might even call it a Sunday Funday." At least it was fun for me, so let me tell you about it.

Of course I started my day by playing with the dogs and taking care of my outside plants. I have really come to enjoy my morning routine. I hit up Starbucks and made my way to Red Butte Garden. It was quiet there today with not too many guests. The holiday weekend probably factored into that. 

After my shift, I went to Sticker Con! I just lucked into finding out about it. As I sat here on Friday night, I wondered if there would be a Sticker Con, so I GTS (Googled that shit) and learned that it was today from 1 - 4. Perfect! This is the second annual event, and it was bigger than last year. There were over 20 local artists who had booths set up to sell their art that had been made into stickers. Some of the artists also had other items like tote bags, prints, key chains, etc. There were gobs of other sticker lovers there - I am not alone ! I bought nine single stickers and a page of pumpkin item stickers. (I love fall and I love pumpkin sweets.) I could have bought more, but I had to remove myself from the scene. So cool!

My next stop was Lowes because I wanted to buy a plant. One of my outside plants did not survive. RIP Iceland poppy. Of course, I didn't get just one plant; I had to get two. I got a sweet little red coreopsis, and a lavender plant. I think I might be the only person in Utah and maybe the world who cannot grow lavender. I try every year, and every year, it shrivels up and dies. Maybe I should plant it in the ground? I always keep it in a pot. I'll keep you updated on her health. Right now she is acclimating to the deck with her new plant sisters. I do plan to go back to Lowes soon, maybe even tomorrow, because there are some beautiful guara plants and Russian sage. I have a Russian sage plant, but I feel like she needs a friend. And guara is just so pretty. I had one last summer, and I loved watching her sway in the summer breeze. 

Next, I picked up a couple of things at the grocery store. I filled some Kongs for the dogs - they love their Sunday Kongs. The menfolk are watching a movie, so I'm here at my desk painting and writing while the paint dries. 

So, yeah, maybe today hasn't been the best Sunday ever, but it was/is pretty fun for me. My next thing is to make some carne asada tacos and perhaps sit on the deck for a bit with a book and a beer. That is my idea of  a good time. 

I haven't posted art for a minute, so here are some things I've done over the past couple of months.

"Tomato Toad"

 The toad is from a Badonsky prompt. The instruction was to take two nouns that began with the first letter of your last name. 

collage bird

I really like collage. I think it's fun and cool. I made this for my mom using a little painting that I'd done for her but didn't like. Actually, I liked the painting, but I didn't like the paper it was on, so I cut it into bits and made a bird.

"Wanderlust"

This is for another Badonsky prompt, suitcase.  I've always liked old suitcases with travel stickers on them. I guess those were mostly trunks, right, but I made mine a suitcase. Those are stickers I had that I thought would be fun to use. 

"

"found poetry 1"

I am sort of obsessed with the idea of found poetry. I look at so many on Pinterest and I want to do it myself, so this is the first one I've done from a book. I tore a page out of a book (The Time Traveler's Wife, btw) and found some words that I thought went together in a sort of poetic way. I sent this one to my mom, too. I don't know if she keeps my creations, but she might.  I don't think she hangs them on her refrigerator, though. LOL

"5 Balloons"

This is from my "I saw it on Pintrest and wanted to try it" collection. Actually, I don't have a collection of art, just pins that I want to turn into art in my sketchbook. I thought this was fun. I liked layering the colors. 

Okay, that's all for now! Have a great week. Stay hydrated!

 

#2943 taking a break from reality with art

 

current mood

Listen...I am cranky today. Sometimes the state of the United States just makes me want to yell, scream, cry, and finally curl up in a ball. I don't know if it's better for me to hear the news or not. I want to look at pics and videos of dogs and cats, but I can't resist watching videos of people like me who are worried and annoyed and angered by the trump Regime and all the things that are happening.

So...I decided to make some art. I've been busy with a bunch of stuff lately and haven't had a chance to listen to my muse. I let her all the way in this morning, and I feel a little better. Here is my wee calendar for April:

I got impatient and started erasing the pencil line and smeared the M and the T. Oh well. Wabi sabi and all that. 

This next work of art (heheh) is inspired by what happens in my back yard every night when I play with the dogs. First the tale, then the art. 

There is a bird feeder hanging from one of the maple trees in the yard. It is a late-budding tree. The other maple already has baby leaves, but the bird feeder maple just has little buds, so it's just bare branches. Along the fence line right behind the bird feeder maple, there is an enormous juniper tree/bush. It's got to be at least 15' wide and probably at least 20' tall. It's huge and dense. You can't even see the fence through it. The birds love it. Hummingbirds love it. Mac and Stella like to lay in it's shade. I like it and MT doesn't. It likely does need to be trimmed, but we'll deal with that later. 

In the evening after work, the dogs and I like to go outside to play. Stella chases after her frisbee, of course, and the big dogs snuffle for kibbles and chase each other around. Usually the bird feeder is empty at that time. As we play outside, I watch the little birdies come to the juniper and start to watch us. At first there are just a few, but the more minutes go by, the more birdies come to the juniper. They start to chirp and make a bunch of noise, which I interpret as them saying, "Feed us! Feed us!" One day I counted around 20 little birds in the juniper at dinnertime, with various doves and other small birds nearby, like on the wire fence between us and the neighbor, and in the cypress trees at the house behind the back yard. It's a little intimidating.

Bird feeding time correlates with dog feeding time, so I'll fill the bird feeder, then take the dogs inside for their dinner. I love to watch the flock of birds descend onto the feeder, the tree, and the ground under the feeder. They can have the feeder empty pretty quickly, but then there are the seeds they kick out on t the ground, so we have birds in the yard for awhile. It's pretty cool to see them all lift into flight when the dogs go back out after their dinner. 

I never knew how much pleasure I would get from watching the birds in my yard. It's really cool.

Anyway, here is a little thing I did today to remind me of bird dinner time:

That's all for today. I'm off to Trader Joe's for some groceries. Have a lovely week.

 

#2923 three things: Thanksgiving weekend edition

 I'll take a small break from writing about Italy to tell you what I've got going on this weekend.

1. Wicked. I got off work at noon yesterday (Wednesday), so I went to the 12:10 showing of Wicked at the movie place close to my house. I read the book about a jillion years ago, and I thought it was weird. I saw the play here in SLC several years ago and wept because it was so good. I was looking forward to seeing the movie, although I'm not a big Ariana Grande fan.

The theater was pretty full. I had empty seats on either side of me, so that was nice. I love that feeling of anticipation when there is a movie everyone is excited to see, and I could feel that excitement in the auditorium as the lights went down. 

I'll just get this out of the way: Ariana Grande was excellent. The woman can sing. She was funny, she looked pretty, and she more than held her own. Cynthia Erivo was phenomenal. That voice, the poise, the fearlessness. She made green look GOOD. 

My eyes leaked and my throat got tight several times. It's a long movie, over two and a half hours, and it is just the first act of the play. I am pumped for part two which will come out sometime in 2025. I actually can't wait to watch part one again when it is streaming. Of course I say that now, but will I actually do it when it becomes available?

2. Swap my clothes. I think I mentioned early in November that I was going to swap out my warm weather clothes of the cold weather clothes. I haven't, but I think tomorrow is the day! It takes a few hours because I Marie-Kondo that business. I take everything out of the drawers and off the hangers and get serious about winnowing. I hope I have it in my\e to winnow severely tomorrow. I may have mentioned that I have A LOT of clothes, and I want to have less. Thoughts and prayers, please.

3. Art time! On Saturday I am planning to be creative. I'll take the time to create the December zine as well as paint the wee calendar. I have a plan for the calendar, but not for the zine quite yet. Still kicking around some ideas. I'll also write in my journal. I think it will be a pretty great day for all of that.

BONUS THING: On Sunday T and I are going to the Jazz game! I got tickets from work. We haven't been for awhile, and I think it will be fun.

Here's hoping you all have a great weekend!

xo

#2920 welcome lunch on Montallegro

 Ready to go to Rapallo with me? Let's head up to Montallegro for lunch.

On our first full day in Rapallo, the art group took a walk through the town to the funivie station. It's a cable car that takes you to the top of Montallegro. The day was overcast and a little drizzly. The view from the funivie was beautiful. I love the Liguria region for its mountains that seem to come right up out of the sea.

view of Rapallo from the funivie

At the top, there was a little confusion because some construction work was being done, so the way Suzy and Jeanette from The Blue Walk usually take their clients was blocked. We walked up a paved road to another access point. There was a glass elevator that did not look operational, and a steep muddy path with a chain across it. We ended up walking back to the funivie station and cutting through the construction area. It wasn't a problem. We then walked up pretty path to the bottom of a big staircase. At the top of the stairs was the Sancutary of Our Lady of Montallegro church. She is lovely.

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montallegro

Ussie from the piazza in front of the church with Rapallo below
photo by Lizzie

We did not enter the church. There seemed to be some type of service going on inside, so we stayed out. After we all took photos and caught our breath, we had a short walk through an old oak forest to reach the restaurant.

mossy!

Lizzie and the funky, mossy oaks

The welcome lunch was held at Casa del Pellegrino restaurant. Since the day had been drizzly and overcast, a large table was set up for us inside. It was nice enough, but very close quarters. Fortunately the sun peeked out from the clouds and soon, tables were rearranged outside to accommodate our group. It was so much nicer! It is always more fun to eat outside, I think. 

We all settled at some tables, and the food started coming out. There were five people at our table: Lizzie and I, Scott and Laurel, and Jeannette. We sipped wine and had a nice conversation until the food came out, after which there was reverent silence, clinking silverware, and groans of delight over the meal.

tomatoes with fresh mozzarella; anchovies

a classic tray of cured meats

these might be sardines in lemon juice and olive oil

pansotti in walnut cream sauce; pasta with pesto

I confess that I didn't have any tomato with mozzarella or anchovies. I did try to sardines, and they were good. There was also some pickled veggies and something else that I didn't take a pic of or partake in. I did get after the meat tray, and the pasta was excellent. Liguria is known for pesto and focaccia, so if you are in the region, be sure to try those specialties. The pansotti in walnut cream sauce was so, so good. Pansotti is similar to ravioli in that it is a stuffed pasta pocket. Instead of being filled with meat, pansotti is lightly filled with cheese and greens. I think ours had spinach. This dish is also typical of Liguria. 

A plate of desserts was brought out, but I didn't take a photo because by that time, we were painting. YES! A bit of plein air painting time in Italy. How marvelous! Here is a pic of the group:

There was plenty to be inspired by.

 

Here is what I came up with:

After a wonderful afternoon, it was time to head back down the mountain to the town. Lizzie and I stopped for some gelato:

salted caramel gelato

We went back to the hotel to drop off our art supplies and chill for a bit before we took a walk along the lungomare to admire the full moon.

full moon over Rapallo

The evening ended with a nice aperitivo at Il Papi Neri. I had a Limoncello spritz; Lizzie had an old fashioned, and the tray of meats and breads came with the drinks. The total cost was 16 euros (8 euros per drink.)

aperitivo time!

What a great first day!