2232 Thinking ahead

Be sure to stop by next week for Monday Memories and Thursday Thirteen. I'm thinking ahead. At this time, I've decided to write about why my grandparents in the 1920s were better prepared for a disaster than I am in the 21st century (hint: lack of technology). In 1993 I interviewed my father about his growing up years, and learned things I'd never heard before--like he grew up on a farm. Sure, I knew where he lived--I'd been past it once on a drive in the country, but I had no idea they were actually farmers. I'd only known my grandparents when they lived in town while my grandfather worked at a printing company or was retired. I wrote it up (about 7 pages single spaced)and distributed the story to various family members at a reunion that year. Then after 2001 I looked at it again and realized there were many advantages to living low-tech, and so I'm looking at it yet again for Monday Memories.

Then for Thursday Thirteen I think I'll write about 13 reasons I like a new activity I'm in. So far, I've just taken a few notes but it seems to be humming along, and I'm having such a good time it shouldn't be hard to come up with 13.

Here's the painting I'm working on in art class--obviously not finished yet, so don't twist your neck too far. But it's been a lot of fun chatting via e-mail with Sylvia (who is not in the painting but is in the photo it is based on) and JoElla. Each of us saw something different. I immediately noticed I was wearing a bracelet, a gift from my Sunday School teacher Mrs. Green "back home." I was the new kid in town, so I think it was my way to say, "I'm not from these parts." The reason I can remember it is that it was probably my only one. I'd forgotten that my mother always had an array of ribbons for our braids to match our dresses. In the photo, there is no cat, but JoElla had a cat that is probably the ancestor of most cats in Forreston, Illinois, so I added in "Butch." I need to put some dots on Jo's dress and work on the skin tones So unless I ruin it between now and next week, you should see the finished piece soon.



Thursday Thirteen
Monday Memories
watercolor