A bit from my second book, ROUGH TERRAIN:
So now Al was alone at the lake.
Mallards quacked at his feet - hoping for crackers and bread.
Al kicked the drake into the water. A calm, lovely, high arching kick.
Plop! Swim swim.
The duck was fine.
And Al was better.
These days it didn't take much.
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I have no idea why Al is at the lake, if he knows these ducks, or why he decides to make the drake fly a slightly different way. Thinking in snap-shot form is my usual way of working. I am in awe of the novelist's way. What? You can see more than one picture? Your characters are in view for more than a minute? How do you do that?
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Anyway, back to work. Pastels or acrylics? Business or art? Greeting cards or new stuff? The afternoon is zooming past, and the patio will too soon be in complete shadow. Time to head for some art supplies and see what happens.
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If needing a heady dose of inspiration, check out the blog untitled "Roz Wound Up." You'll not be disappointed!
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Fare-the-well,
Sue
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Year-long 30 Day Challenge
Good Morning -
It's 5:04 AM. As a challenge, and in honor of TED Talks, it's the first day of following Matt Cutts' suggestion to try doing something new for 30 days. Big, little - it doesn't mater. It's the doing.
So. For the next 30 days I'm challenging myself to post 30 blogs. Maybe not one per day - but a total of 30.
You may want to try something, too.
1) Today's topic is: Cayenne Shortbread. This is a "savory, not sweet" cookie offered by A Gourmet Thyme Too and available at The Golden Fig shop on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, MN. A sleeve of these cookies is almost reason enough to hop in car and head to Grand. )And while on good ole Grand stop in at Wet Paint and buy an art supply or twelve.)
Why? Although a small cookie - each bite packs flour, butter, sugar, heat, and a crunch of Kosher salt into a wonderful mouth treat. One cookie is just enough. But it's lovely to know that there are others waiting. (Not anymore...) Note - Some folks I offered a taste to thought the pepper was too peppery for their taste. More for the rest of us!
The package's hang-tag read: Wonderful as an hors d'oeuvre base. Press some goat cheese in place; top with your favorite pesto, hummus or chutney. Simply enjoy plain with a sip of wine or expresso.
I munched all of mine plain and with a spot of tea. I wish I'd purchased two sleeves.....
On to the day's Grand Adventures -
Sue
It's 5:04 AM. As a challenge, and in honor of TED Talks, it's the first day of following Matt Cutts' suggestion to try doing something new for 30 days. Big, little - it doesn't mater. It's the doing.
So. For the next 30 days I'm challenging myself to post 30 blogs. Maybe not one per day - but a total of 30.
You may want to try something, too.
1) Today's topic is: Cayenne Shortbread. This is a "savory, not sweet" cookie offered by A Gourmet Thyme Too and available at The Golden Fig shop on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, MN. A sleeve of these cookies is almost reason enough to hop in car and head to Grand. )And while on good ole Grand stop in at Wet Paint and buy an art supply or twelve.)
Why? Although a small cookie - each bite packs flour, butter, sugar, heat, and a crunch of Kosher salt into a wonderful mouth treat. One cookie is just enough. But it's lovely to know that there are others waiting. (Not anymore...) Note - Some folks I offered a taste to thought the pepper was too peppery for their taste. More for the rest of us!
The package's hang-tag read: Wonderful as an hors d'oeuvre base. Press some goat cheese in place; top with your favorite pesto, hummus or chutney. Simply enjoy plain with a sip of wine or expresso.
I munched all of mine plain and with a spot of tea. I wish I'd purchased two sleeves.....
On to the day's Grand Adventures -
Sue
Friday, September 16, 2011
Home. Alone.
Wow. A quiet house. This truly hardly ever happens. And I don't know if I like it. Todd's bowling, Tara is off at a wedding rehersal, and I just got back from walking up the hill from downtown Stillwater. I'd thought the art crawl was going on tonight, but, nope...., it's next Friday.
One week off is not too bad. Some things in life - especially art-wise - are one YEAR or more "off." Then there are the notes one should write, the notes one wants to write, the vegetables to be harvested, the clothes to be folded. The plans one plans to plan. All the while we ARE doing stuff, and even wonderful things. However they zoom out of mind so quickly, only to be replaced by big clunking chunks of Nagging Guilt. Hmmm. A year already. That cannot be possible. But, yes, it's been twelve months since the Fall Edina art fair, and, yes, you have just put up the booth for this weekend's festival at Marine-on-the-Saint-Croix. The Green Bay Packers are done playing practice games and have already won their first "real" contest. A year has truly passed.
Sigh. So now the choices are: relax and read a book, work on greeting card orders, or start a new acrylic bruin "just for fun." First, it's tea time, and list-making time, and looking-out-the-window-at-darkening-sky time. Sigh.
I'm glad that there is still a wee bit of moment awareness - and a half-hour of silence - every now and then. Sit back and try five minutes.... It may be hard, but it might get easy. And even though we are weeks and years "off" on somethings, it might help to give yourself a five-minutes-right-now every now and then. Today the five minutes found a goldfinch at the bird-feeder. It might be a year before one comes again. We will hope time doesn't fly quite that fast. So on to a few more silent minutes, than back to the joys of sound. Tonight I think Jim Morrison and The Doors will break the silence well. Or Bach. Or Buddy Holly. I'm home alone. And the ears are missing their music.
On to the evening. On to some art. On to the joys of tea and toast. A toast to days and weeks and years and lives of sound and silence.
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
One week off is not too bad. Some things in life - especially art-wise - are one YEAR or more "off." Then there are the notes one should write, the notes one wants to write, the vegetables to be harvested, the clothes to be folded. The plans one plans to plan. All the while we ARE doing stuff, and even wonderful things. However they zoom out of mind so quickly, only to be replaced by big clunking chunks of Nagging Guilt. Hmmm. A year already. That cannot be possible. But, yes, it's been twelve months since the Fall Edina art fair, and, yes, you have just put up the booth for this weekend's festival at Marine-on-the-Saint-Croix. The Green Bay Packers are done playing practice games and have already won their first "real" contest. A year has truly passed.
Sigh. So now the choices are: relax and read a book, work on greeting card orders, or start a new acrylic bruin "just for fun." First, it's tea time, and list-making time, and looking-out-the-window-at-darkening-sky time. Sigh.
I'm glad that there is still a wee bit of moment awareness - and a half-hour of silence - every now and then. Sit back and try five minutes.... It may be hard, but it might get easy. And even though we are weeks and years "off" on somethings, it might help to give yourself a five-minutes-right-now every now and then. Today the five minutes found a goldfinch at the bird-feeder. It might be a year before one comes again. We will hope time doesn't fly quite that fast. So on to a few more silent minutes, than back to the joys of sound. Tonight I think Jim Morrison and The Doors will break the silence well. Or Bach. Or Buddy Holly. I'm home alone. And the ears are missing their music.
On to the evening. On to some art. On to the joys of tea and toast. A toast to days and weeks and years and lives of sound and silence.
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Dealin' With the ADD...
Boo. Hoo. The almost-finished post just went away.............
Just writing about dealing with the friendly-foey ADD stuff today. One can not make bread without finishing the deed. So. Bread. Got. Mixed. Kneaded. Raised. Panned. Raised. Baked. Sliced. Eaten. Wow. One task accomplished while batting around so many others. Did. Play. Tennis. Too. didn't take headphones. So. Was. Distracted. By. Large. Slowly-flying. Bird.
And now I can't find my car keys. Am. Hoping. They. Were. Left. At. Post-office. Yesterday.
Did finally maybe name the events I'd love to have a go at. Round tables of interesting people talking, creating, sharing, eating, drinking. Without butting heads, arguing points, etc etc. A safe haven sort of event. Gotta do some. Gotta dare to fail. Gotta have more fun.
Gotta keep going on the actual "to do" lists and the invisible ones as well.
Time to cross off "blog" - whew.
Yesterday's learning - If you give a friend a tiny inexpensive notebook she might appreciate it more than one would guess.
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
Just writing about dealing with the friendly-foey ADD stuff today. One can not make bread without finishing the deed. So. Bread. Got. Mixed. Kneaded. Raised. Panned. Raised. Baked. Sliced. Eaten. Wow. One task accomplished while batting around so many others. Did. Play. Tennis. Too. didn't take headphones. So. Was. Distracted. By. Large. Slowly-flying. Bird.
And now I can't find my car keys. Am. Hoping. They. Were. Left. At. Post-office. Yesterday.
Did finally maybe name the events I'd love to have a go at. Round tables of interesting people talking, creating, sharing, eating, drinking. Without butting heads, arguing points, etc etc. A safe haven sort of event. Gotta do some. Gotta dare to fail. Gotta have more fun.
Gotta keep going on the actual "to do" lists and the invisible ones as well.
Time to cross off "blog" - whew.
Yesterday's learning - If you give a friend a tiny inexpensive notebook she might appreciate it more than one would guess.
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 12
These hot days in the Upper Midwest will be coming to an end soon. I am not complaining about the heat, but am pretending the days are simply extra hot short days we have hooked on to the end of an especially short-feeling Summer.
At the U.S. Tennis Open Rafa Nadal is having a tough time this late afternoon. I admire the great effort of both men. Sports can seem shallow in light of Sept. 11, but often they can inspire.
It's time to go buy art supplies. Treat yourself to a bit of something new every now and then. Don't wait till Winter. And make an effort to enjoy at least a bit of every shortening day -
-Ever onward-
Sue and crew
At the U.S. Tennis Open Rafa Nadal is having a tough time this late afternoon. I admire the great effort of both men. Sports can seem shallow in light of Sept. 11, but often they can inspire.
It's time to go buy art supplies. Treat yourself to a bit of something new every now and then. Don't wait till Winter. And make an effort to enjoy at least a bit of every shortening day -
-Ever onward-
Sue and crew
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Summer's Almost Over
Wow. 2011's Summer is almost at an end.
Did you do all that you had planned?
Not us.
But we did do lots, and other stuff than first was "planned."
Some folks like to live all figured out. Some folks enjoy the take-what-the-day-brings approach.
We are in the midst of both.
So some days are too interesting.
Most are at least not boring.
Now that we are superbly busy our garden has decided to explode with produce. I have learned to make pesto. We are still waiting for the huge globs of tomatoes to ripen. Our first try at cauliflowers is looking good. The sunflowers will inspire the planting of many more next Spring.
The new acrylic bear paintings are sold. Red Charlie and Nine Blue Thomas went to new homes from last week's Artstreet show in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
We learned that it's possible to drive a manual transmissioned truck home across Wisconsin without a clutch. It's possible - but not recommended.
So one to September's adventures. May yours be good ones.
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
Did you do all that you had planned?
Not us.
But we did do lots, and other stuff than first was "planned."
Some folks like to live all figured out. Some folks enjoy the take-what-the-day-brings approach.
We are in the midst of both.
So some days are too interesting.
Most are at least not boring.
Now that we are superbly busy our garden has decided to explode with produce. I have learned to make pesto. We are still waiting for the huge globs of tomatoes to ripen. Our first try at cauliflowers is looking good. The sunflowers will inspire the planting of many more next Spring.
The new acrylic bear paintings are sold. Red Charlie and Nine Blue Thomas went to new homes from last week's Artstreet show in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
We learned that it's possible to drive a manual transmissioned truck home across Wisconsin without a clutch. It's possible - but not recommended.
So one to September's adventures. May yours be good ones.
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Just for Fun
Early this morning I chalked It's all downhill from Here. on our sidewalk, because from there, in that direction, it simply is.
May your day go in the direction that you choose!
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
* Dare to do something today Just for Fun.*
May your day go in the direction that you choose!
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
* Dare to do something today Just for Fun.*
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