With so much going wrong these days in the world, the state, the city, a small thing going right is our local Georgetown Farmer’s Market. It is in its infancy, its very first season, and lots of new merchants and farmers are setting up their stalls and trying their luck at open market each Saturday from 10 until 3. I have been delighted with some of the new vendors, we had Indian food featuring fresh Naan, Argentinian Empanadas, Vegan chocolate cake, a northern Italian selling pasta made from chestnuts, a southern Italian selling eggplant casserole, and lots of organic farms selling gorgeous fruits and vegetables. Some of them seem to have already given up on our small market, I haven’t seen them come back after the first few Saturdays. So it seems I have a huge emotional investment in this market succeeding. This past Saturday, there was a cookie seller. And the woman who ran the booth called herself “The Cookie Lady.” There she was, the kind of woman who clearly could do anything if she wanted, surrounded by all kinds of wonderful concoctions – her creations. We asked for samples. Each tidbit we sampled we ended up buying a batch. Her stuff was good. She was sassy and confident. We’ll be back! (I hope she comes back too) This is a watercolor on 9 x12″ arches paper and it is for sale. Photo reference by Donald Boothby.
Archive for July, 2010
The Cookie Lady
Friday, July 30th, 2010
By the big barn
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
From the number of dilapidated huge barns that we see on our bike rides, western Washington state used to be a big dairy producer. Every one of these barns shows pride, industry and independence to me. Some of them are unique.
This is another painting based on my husband’s collection of photographs. We rode by this barn on our tandem and had to stop to gaze at it. I confess that it is actually more decrepit in person than it appears here.
A log cabin past its prime
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Bicycling is one of our hobbies, we cover a lot of miles on country roads at a leisurely pace. Unlike traveling in a car, we are exposed to the elements, the smells and the sights that you might miss at high speed. On a bike it is easy to stop to pick some flowers, or feed grass to a friendly horse. Near Winthrop, Washington, we found this cabin in a field. It was important to take a photo of it, because we knew that it would eventually collapse. Many of the barns and buildings that my husband has captured with his camera are now gone. The reference for this one was one of his photos.
How does a cat smile?
Monday, July 26th, 2010
There are two kinds of animals who chose to live with human beings for companionship. The domestic cat is one of them. How well we get along with each other is partially measured by how well we learn each other’s language. This little kitty is air kneading, to show his pleasure. His eyes are also half-closed, which means he is really relaxed and happy. I’ll bet he’s purring too. Everyone has had a tuxedo cat. I had one named Figaro before I was born!
Thanks for the Reference Photo, Jeannie! This painting has already sold..
Giuseppe Mercurio – 1942-2010
Sunday, July 25th, 2010
2001 was the first year that my husband and I went to Italy together. One destination was my favorite grandfather’s birthplace Sersale, situated in the toe of the “boot”. We met a lot of family during that visit, but one person stands out in our memories, Giuseppe Mercurio, the only surviving son of my grandfather’s little sister Rossina.
One of the things we learned quickly in Sersale was that no one there spoke Italian! they all spoke an incomprehensible dialect. Fortunately, all the people our age had adult children who could speak Italian and translate for us. Giuseppe and his wife Santina had three sons and three daughters who clearly worshiped him. He invited us to dinner and we sat down with the whole family – Giuseppe taking the stage. Giuseppe had no concept of another language and was convinced that we could become fluent in his dialect in just a few weeks. To prove his point, he had us all gasping with tears in our eyes when he tried to pronounce the single word “PICKLE.”
He was a master of storytelling, of drama, of humor. Whenever he would start to spin a yarn (with a lot of repetition to make sure we understood) the rest of the table would become silent – no one wanted to miss a word. Besides his hilarious stories, he talked a lot about family and love. He remembered my own grandfather who also had a big heart and faithfully sent money and packages to his family in Sersale and because of this, he said, because we a part of my grandfather’s family, we were always welcome in his home.
He also walked his talk, as every time we saw him, his adoring children and grandchildren surrounded him. I cannot imagine how devastated that family is to have lost him. I know that my life will forever be richer having known him.
Meet one of my neighbors
Monday, July 19th, 2010 
I live in South East Seattle, and we are understandably very proud of the goodness in our neighborhood.
I’ve recently gone on a couple of neighborhood tours, and discovered that right down the street from my house a little shop where they do alterations and clothing repairs called New Holly Gift Shop & Alterations. I’d been past it hundreds of times but never looked inside. Well, the shop was on the tour, and they interviewed the seamstress, whose name is Phuong. She came out, all smiles, I was certain that she’d be shy, but she was not. When asked why she liked her job; her quick response was “I like my job because I get great satisfaction out of seeing how pleased people are when they see my work.” We’ve been back to that store twice now, she does great work!
Giuseppina – incredible lady
Friday, July 16th, 2010
When my grandmother, Lucy Melino Fressola died, she left each of her descendants; children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren some money. With part of mine, I took my entire family to Italy; my husband, my two young adult sons, and I. We decided that it was about time to go visit my grandmother’s home town, Sant’Agata di Puglia, one of many picturesque hilltop towns in Southern Italy.
There was one little lady who still lived there that remembered my grandmother, her name was Giuseppina. She was short and spry with twinkly eyes. She welcomed us to her town with smiles and told us how she was the oldest of 8 children and how they had absolutely nothing. She was not able to go to school because she had to work instead and never learned to read. She eventually married my grandmother’s cousin, Saverio Fabbiano. They bought a house with the sweat off their backs and raised their children in this pristine little village. She radiated joy as she reminisced my grandmother’s last visit. It seems that the day my grandmother arrived, Giuseppina’s daughter had a baby. I later met that baby, a woman close to my age.
There was nowhere to park our car near her home or near our hotel, so this 80 something year old woman led us around on foot, we had to work to keep up with her. Every one of us has a story about our time in Sant’Agata di Puglia, but each of us remembers this smiling old woman who shared her town with us.
Recipe for a bookmark
Sunday, July 11th, 2010Last winter I made a bunch of bookmarks and they were so popular, there’s only 1 left in the house. Today I went to Susie Short’s demo for painting negative flowers for some inspiration. She was focusing on Irises, so I thought I would too. Here’s my finished painting:
Then I cut it into handy bookmark sized pieces:
The first three people that want one and leave a comment here can have their own original handpainted book mark. Leave a comment and I’ll contact you via email for your address. Thanks everyone for responding. I’ll have more bookmarks available at a later date.
A tiny glimpse of the woods
Friday, July 9th, 2010
On Monday last, we had a holiday. My husband and I decided to hike to Annette Lake and back, a 7.5 mile hike. Neither of us has done any hiking for years but although it was a rather ambitious outing, we had a great time. I found it rather amusing that while we were walking through the mists, the rest of the USA was roasting. One of the more beautiful vistas I saw on this hike was the misty shadows of distant trees covered by the mid day fog shrouding part of the mountain. This painting measures 2.5″ x 3.5″.
Liberty Bell – Mazama out and back bike ride
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Someone heading north and east on Highway 20 on their way to Twisp might never see this incredible spectacle. On the other hand, someone riding a bicycle slowly up this mountain westbound from Twisp cannot fail to see it. It vaults higher than it seems it should, and the shape is so much like a castle with ramparts that it seems almost man-made. but men don’t make things on this scale. What men do (and women too) is try to scale formations like this. This popular bike route starts at Marblemount and goes over both Rainy pass and Washington Pass (the one right past this rock formation. then after this summit, there is a screaming descent down to the Mazama Country Inn, where good food is served and comfy beds await. In the morning, after a delicious and large breakfast, the mountains await and the intrepid cyclists must now climb back out over those same mountain passes.
