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A blast from the past in a way. I actually finished this painting in March of this year but haven't shown it yet.
This was done from a sketchbook page dating back to July of 2006. Holly and I were at a park in Bellevue on the 4th taking it easy and enjoying the day with a picnic. I brought my sketchbook and she brought a book to read. When I was almost finished with the sketch I asked her what she thought and she said, "Can you put a little white scoty dog in one of the squares?" I did just that and promised her that if I ever made a painting of this that I would include the little white dog. And there it is the lower right corner.

The two bears I painted for one of Holly's Xmas presents 2006. The Profile of the woman was one of her favorites that I painted. The hip couple was always looked at by friends as being Holly and me. RIP sweetie!
I'll be playing a few hours of pool (Her favorite game outside of Scrabble) in her memory this evening at The Garage in Seattle on Capital Hill. Come by and say hello if you in the neighborhood.

Here in Fangorn, as the estimable Kelly F. so aptly described it, folks are slowly returning from the abyss of fever and illness.

I am feeling better but my voice has assumed either a basso timbre or gasping squeak reminiscent of small animated animals. Therefore I am forgoing speech altogether this morning or as Treebeard pointed out to Entling no. 3, "Be alert, she's using sign language."


This has reminded me of the time I totally lost my voice when I was librarian-ing full time.

As each class came in I seated them and began to write on the board that I had no voice and they would have to follow written directions for our lesson that day. I don't recall exactly what I had them do but I had the directions on the overhead projector and I revealed each step as we proceeded.

Amazingly, as I was silent, so were the kids. They read my instructions (and interjections, "Horatio, stop tipping your chair) aloud as I wrote them on the board but as they realized that I was truly voiceless, they lowered their own voices to the point where everyone was whispering. I daresay the effect would not have lasted an entire day but for the 45 minutes they were in the library, we experienced some of the quietest lessons and browsing ever in my usually noisy and boisterous library.


Ha, I just pointed to my coffee cup ="please refill my coffee!" and Entling no. 3 did so, whispering, "here you go, Mom."

How it is spread, I don't know.

First Entling no. 3 began to cough and sniff, then the low grade temp took hold.

Entling no. 2, preparing to make her way back to college, began to sniffle a day later.

Entling no. 1's low grade temp began to rise and the cough set in with a rhythm and cadence of its own.

"Really, I'm feeling pretty good," said Entling no. 2 as we drove northward towards her college.

The next day I am at the doctor with Entling no. 3,

Entling no. 2 has called for help with dosages of decongestants and for help deciphering Rx labels.

The next day Entling no. 2 texts me with the news she is at the college clinic and has a temperature.

I email Treebeard to let him know and he answers back that his throat is beginning to tickle and he thinks he might be running a temp. Oh no. We are in serious trouble now because he takes care of all of us in so many ways.

He gets home early and succumbs to a temperature that way too high for a grown-up to have.

Entling no. 1 checks in, hale and hearty and obviously relieved she escaped our holiday revelries and contagion, just in time.

We have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow. The fact that Treebeard has agreed to go the doctor, is an indicator of his weakened state.

Listening to the local news tonight, I note the sports guy sounds...just like my family. A friend called today and she sounds...just like my family.

I don't know when Miss BookMoot will be back to post again...I have a tickle in my throat and I've started to cough a little bit... Read the rest of this post