Simple Joys

I got a call today from my little 8 yr. old granddaughter. We talked about her day and she tells me what's going on in second grade. She told me "today was "lucky tray" day at the cafeteria, and if you got the lucky tray, you got a cookie. And I won the cookie today grammy!"

So we had a whole conversation about cookies, especially chocolate chip, and lots of giggles about eating cookies first, before broccoli! And I told her she had inspired the painting of the day.

Yeah, it was a simple thing, but somehow important also. Little things ARE important, little moments, small triumphs shared - they are the stuff of life. I think we'd all be better off if, every afternoon at 3, we all sat down together for cookies and milk. So, that's what I'm doing right now. Having that glass of milk and cookies. (this was a quick sketch: the milk is still cold!) Before supper, before brocolli. And they are good. And I'm smiling.

Three Tulips

Well, finally all those bulbs I planted last fall are beginning to bloom. I choose three tulips, two red, one pink, and tried to capture them in the light from the studio window. The little Limoges porcelain bowl , with tiny flowers of its own, made a nice addition to the arrangement.
Reds, particularly alizarin crimson, are sometimes hard to work with. Alizarin is very fluid, and seems to take forever to dry. I actually started this yesterday, and had to let it dry overnight in order to try to put the last touches in.
And two days of sunshine in a row... that's been unusual lately. I see clouds building up, so maybe its a good thing I quit work, as that nice sunny window light is about to go away!