I've been happily busy the last few weeks, practicing my new design skills, doing a little cleaning/organizing, and trying to prepare for Christmas. This time of year is the calm before the storm, so I'm trying to appreciate every minute of it. Here's a glimpse:
On My Work (Art) Table
So much going on here! I'm working on Christmas ornaments, testing gel pens for drawing, and assembling some charm earrings.
In the Kitchen
The October issue of Food Network magazine is full of beginner-friendly basic recipes for pasta, bread, fish, roasted vegetables, etc. I'll definitely try some of their roasted vegetable ideas as that's a technique I use a lot and I'm always interested in new takes on it.
Also, did you hear about the new cookie from the Girl Scouts? You can read about this new raspberry treat in "Move Aside, Thin Mints: There's a New Girl Scout Cookie in Town."
And speaking of cookies, OMG how cute are these calico cat cookies? [photo]
What I'm Reading Now
I just finished Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break as research for an upcoming Spoonflower design challenge. (You'll be able to see my entry on September 22.) It is mainly a recipe book, but there are short sections of text explaining the many occasions for fika, special ingredients, or the history of individual treats. This article "What is Fika?" provides a good introduction to this coffee habit which is meant to encourage people to slow down and appreciate life.
During Stampington's annual summer sale, I bought three discounted magazines: Mingle (entertaining), Art Quilting Studio, and Home. The Art Quilting Studio (Summer 2020) with the little turtles on the cover was my favorite of the three. The designs are gorgeous and I like reading the project descriptions which are a mix of inspiration and concrete, practical details.
On My Library Hold List
A.J. Jacobs has a new book all about puzzles: The puzzler : one man's quest to solve the most baffling puzzles ever, from crosswords to jigsaws to the meaning of life. As I'm still playing Wordle every morning, this book feels like a good fit.
I'm also on the wait list to read the book chosen by Fort Collins: World of Wonders by poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
A New Word I Learned
Splooting is what squirrels were doing in California during the latest heat wave to try to stay cool. This article in the Sacramento Bee gives a short overview of the phenomena.
If you like new words, you'll be interested to know that Merriam-Webster has added 370 words and phrases to its dictionary, including pumpkin spice!
Awww. . .
A 92-year-old grandma is visiting all 63 national parks with her grandson. [video]
Art I Admired
It's hard to believe that these soup cans by Lucy Sparrow are felted! [photo]
And talk about innovative! Artist Linda Finstad used coffee instead of paint when it was hard to find during the pandemic.
Bookish Notes
Oakland Public Library has an exhibit titled "Found in a Library Book" about (you guessed it!) things that people have left behind in their library books. I don't think I've left anything more incriminating than a grocery store receipt in a book in recent years, but it does seem possible that I could be one of those people featured in a future exhibit.
Made Me Laugh
At a recent fashion show, Anne Hathaway dressed like her character in The Devil Wears Prada and sat right next to Anna Wintour, the inspiration behind the editor/boss in that movie. It made me smile to see this collision of real life and film life.
New in the Shop
Recently I made limited quantities of postcards with some of my abstract paintings (a few older ones are listed there, too), as well as snowflake Christmas cards in non-traditional colors.
As for the jewelry side, these large treble clef earrings are new. I have fallen in love in rainbow-y charms, so you'll likely see a few more other earrings with this type of metal in my shop at some point.
See you in October!