Sip and Paint

 

 

It poured rain yesterday, always a drag on the freeway, but traffic was light and I left early. The worst traffic and drivers are just getting out of Seattle. 

The trip was uneventful and a sugary peach smoothie (spring tradition) at Lone Pine fueled me up for the last 60 mile leg to Twisp. 

No painting there, but last night I went to a watercolor class. Art books and YouTube can only take you so far-- there's nothing like live demonstration, especially for a dynamic medium like watercolor. 

Our next door neighbor, Bethany Wray, is a well-known  artist in the Valley. She sells her art at the Twisp Saturday Market, on Instagram, and at Arrowleaf Studio at Twisp Works. 

She also teaches popular watercolor classes in the community and I registered for "Sip and Paint" at Ryzo Wines in Twisp.  

Bethany taught art at the elementary school for years, so she knows how to break a project down into steps with easy-to-follow instructions. And keep people's attention. A group of talking women friends with wine is like trying to wrangle a third grade class! 

I learned how watercolor is a process like anything else, it gets better with practice, but some basic tips really help. There were quite a few aha moments for me. 

And look at that. A good teacher is always defined by the results! 

 And mine-- not bad for a first attempt.

 

We were all copying Bethany's print (above) of a wildflower meadow. 

Speaking of flowers, the Arrowleaf Balsamroot are just starting to bloom, everyone's favorite time of year. They grow in great abundance here, turning the hills golden for a few weeks. 

Unawares

John mowed yesterday and how nice it looked.  Not exactly all downhill from here, but this is the prettiest time for the yard, everything so lush and green. Soon the grass starts to turn brown...

Anyway, that first real warm day always seems to catch us unawares, when the temperature outside suddenly gets higher than inside the house. We keep the furnace set at 68 degrees, and the thermostat hit 70 yesterday. My, how nice to open a few windows for the first time. Fresh air. 

 

And that day called for a steak on the grill. We shared it, then I generously let John gnaw the bone. Ha.

I have a tricky grill master job when we share, as I like steak on the rare side and John more well done. "Pink not red" he always says, which they hate to hear in steak restaurants. (Red and grey are easy, pink is hard.) Anyway, most of the time I manage to please us both, and if not, marriage is about compromise.

Before we get too complacent, rain and cool weather return tomorrow, just in time to drive to Twisp. At least it won't be snowing. This is a solo trip, and I have some fun things planned. More on that later. 

 

 

Something different

 

 

The famous "Wedding March" from Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is instantly recognizable, and the Overture is a wonderful old chestnut in the classical repertoir. 

He wrote that Overture at the tender age of 17, then many years later composed incidental music for a stage production of Shakespeare's favorite comedy. I expected "just the music" yesterday, but we had the full show on stage with actors narrating and the Symphony Chorale in the background. It lasted over an hour and and very entertaining from the 4th row. 

More ducks and daffodils? OK. 

 Their first introduction to water yesterday, and well, they took to it like-- ducks! 

The pear trees just coming into full bloom. A magic time, with the full promise of Spring. 

 

Golden days are here

 

The Carlton pear orchard just coming into bloom...including hundreds of daffodils planted by the previous owner to deter moles. What a beautiful way to do it.

Too cute

 

But ducks are famously messy, far messier than chicks because they love to play in, drink, and splash their water. They also poop about every 10 minutes. Liquid. Oh, well. Most people say they are worth the trouble. 

Amanda says these are very friendly and cuddly, born and bred to be backyard ornaments (pets.)

All of this takes me back to early childhood on our Pennsylvania farm when Dad tried chicken farming. We loved the boxes of chicks and ducklings behind the wood stove in the spring. Of course they weren't pets. And those colored chicks handed out at Easter back then? Something to play with before they showed up on the dinner table. Different times for sure. 

Anyway, I've been busy lately and nothing much fun. I spent 2 hours on hold yesterday morning to resolve a small fraud charge on my credit card. Something that should be a simple fix, but turned into a big hot mess. 

Of course a new credit card was immediately issued, then another fraud charge appeared on that number before it was even mailed! Sounds like an inside job to me. How bizarre. 

So now things are in limbo. My replacement card (in the mail now) is useless when it arrives so I need a replacement for the replacement. There's a good 45 minute wait to get a human being on the fraud line, and no guarantee they are "empowered" to resolve your problem. This does not inspire confidence in the new Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Visa. Fancy name, bad service. 

We have a nice weekend of weather coming up, and a symphony tomorrow with one of my favorite works. Felix Mendelssohn was 17 when he composed the famous Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream. Wonderful music for a warm spring afternoon. I'll get back to the credit card project on Monday. 

Oh, so peaceful

 

I've asked John what he's looking forward to on this mostly German river cruise, and he says "Black Forest Cake." 

Well, as it happens, one of our cruise excursions is a bus ride out to the Black Forest where we will apparently see many cuckoo clock stores and a Black Forest Cake making demonstration.  

At the grocery store yesterday he found one, and they are hard to come by around here. Of course he bought it. He doesn't go to the grocery store often, so impulse buys whatever strikes his fancy. 

Not complaining-- it is quite delicious. Just something about the tart cherries and dark chocolate combo. Mit Schlag. We'll see if the Germans can top Alki Baking Company. 

I'm enjoying the peace and quiet this week as Seattle School District is on spring break. During the school year, we have to time our coming and goings around drop off and pick up time. Not to mention, the street is always parked up with staff cars. It’s la-di-da until Monday morning back to reality traffic.