Fireside Dreams: Across the Way

I will be posting my Fireside Dreams each Monday, that being rather a slow day for our family and I will have had time on the weekends [perhaps] to make up my painting or sketch. Today I betook myself out to the front porch to capture the scenery Across the Way. That is how I always think of it. At one point I was assigned (as a school project) to name places on our land...the Maidenhair Mirror is one of the only names that stuck out of the several places we named. I don't think I ever did choose a name for the field Across the Way...one field around our house I lovingly call "Nettesheim Moor", but that's another story.
How often I have sat on the porch or peeped out of one of the dozen windows on the front of the house admiring the view! Last year the colors were so vibrant I still cry "Shame!" that I didn't paint them.
I delight to watch the seasons changing in that little band of brave trees. Many's the time I've watched the trees pencilled black against a fiery sunset, or the merry greening of the woods in May when it all looks like a Kentish orchard and the wheat is just growing tall enough to play with the wandering breezes. At the time of this painting the sun was a good deal Westward already and shone with a fierce intensity upon the band of trees across the way, showing them all black and purple and other broody colors, while it paled the field and everything else in a reckless sheen of hazy light. A queer sort of day to paint on, but now was my chance, and I'm rather pleased at how it turned out. :)

 In the top left-hand corner you will see my "Bear-tree". It is a tree that looks precisely like a lumbering bear rising out of the trees to look around and view the countryside or keep an eye out for a shooting star. :) At the bottom right-hand corner you can see a patch of the volunteer sunflowers, randomly planted by the flock of wild canaries. [or goldfinches, as we generally call them] And last but not least you can see our mailbox at the end of our driveway where I await the delights of the P.O., wondering if an adventure will come today in the form of a letter.
I hope you enjoyed this peep into my life! And feel free to begin a series of Fireside Dreams yourself! :)

Fireside Dreams: A Memory-Catching Blog Event

I happened to catch my sister in a moment where I thought, "Jiminy! This would make a smashing painting!" and I then and there promised myself I'd do a little watercolor of her later on. I began thinking how many of these quaint moments I let slide through my fingers, and what a treasure they'd be if I could capture them in a quick painting or sketch. It wouldn't take that long, and oh, how precious they would be later on in life! So I'm pledging here and now to do a sketch or painting each week of a family member, a memorable occasion, a familiar view from a window, or anything else that catches my fancy, and share it with you along with the story behind it. It'll be a weekly blog event, so mark it on your...whatever you mark these things on! :D In fact, I challenge you, if you have even the smallest amount of skill with a pencil, pen, or paintbrush, to catch these moments. I'm doing it part as a reminder of myself to remember these moments, and also as a heritage project--each sketch or painting will be put away in my hope-chest for later amusement.
I'm calling it Fireside Dreams--a Memory-Catching Blog Event. :) The name comes from the captivating moments by a fire when the cares of present and future fade away and we are left pondering the past. Memories are so golden and beautiful in those moments--any pain or embarrassment are dropped away like a sheer curtain, leaving only the polished beauty of old times. This blog event is designed to help us capture those Fireside Dreams in the present, that we may never forget them. Ready? If you want to join, just leave a comment with a link to your post below, and even if you don't have skill in this area, please spread the news around! :)
Now for Fireside Dreams Week One: "Oh, Fudge!"

My youngest sister, Gracie, is absolutely incorrigible. She's got so much personality I constantly expect to her explode. The other day I was making fudge and Gracie ran in, hair flying, cheeks dimpling. I had to pay homage to her adorableness in some way, so I handed her the fudge spoon. A moment later I peeped into the study and saw Grace standing on a strange contraption of chairs and pillows, her mouth, nose, and hands covered in fudge, with Supreme Happiness written on each cheek. :)
When asked what on earth she was doing, she shrugged and replied [in between two huge licks of the spoon] "Doing my Gyn-nastics!" I suppose she had been inspired by Curious George that morning and decided to make some sort of gymnastics set-up. Silly girl! So I painted her, much to her satisfaction, this morning. In the picture also is her Dolly, [a very real person in her mind] her crazy purple-fuzzy-hat, and several other tokens of her eclectic dress-up style. :)

There you have this week's edition! :)