I'll meet you for a swim!

I've been learning German lately, and I'm finally able to correspond a little with a penpal in Germany.  During a recent Skype, we discovered that we also share an interest in swimming. We were both lamenting the fact that we didn't live closer, since neither of us knows anyone local that likes to go swimming.  At one point, Beate said something like, "Vielleicht können wir auf halbem Weg treffen!" (Maybe we can meet half way!)  So I painted her a watercolor postcard with my concept of what that meeting (somewhere in the Atlantic between Spain and Maine?) might look like. Yesterday, I got an email back from her saying that she just got the postcard, and I've learned a new German idiom: Ich lache mich tot!  (Literally, I am laughing myself dead!)

New Sketch: Tea for Two

Watercolor pencil and micron pen

Covered Bridge near Ludlow, Vermont

White Cedar

Crocheting

Vermont Country Store

Dinner with Cheryl, Chris, Stacy, Olivia, Michelle, Sarah, Breidy, Vicky, and Betty at the Bryant House Restaurant in Weston, Vermont.

Star Anise

I just discovered the spice, Star Anise.  It smells so good!  As an alternative to hot coca, you can place a star anise in a mug of skim milk, add a packet (or less, to taste) of stevia for sweetness, and microwave for 2 minutes.   Or try adding a Cardamom pod (or both!).  Very relaxing and comforting.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus Rubra)

We were in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania this past week to hear the third Festival Chamber Orchestra Concert at the Shippensburg University Luhrs Performing Arts Center.  On the program was Mozart's Requiem and Schubert's 3rd Symphony, both performed magnificently!

We had stopped in Shippensburg on the way home from visiting family in New Jersey, and as soon as we got to the hotel, Dan got a call from work and found he needed to spend a couple hours reviewing a contract proposal. So I went up to campus to get a better photo for a blog post I made last December. The weather was so comfortable -- 70 degrees and sunny, so I decided to sit awhile and do some sketches. 

Feeling at home in the Cumberland Valley again

We are passing through Shippensburg again.  Tonight we had dinner at the Boiling Springs Tavern up near Carlisle, and after dinner, we finally found the spring that the town is named after. It's right behind the tavern! 

The water actually does seem to bubble and boil right out of the ground:

Afterwards, we drove back to our hotel in Shippensburg and took a stroll up Orange Street.  The Martin Luther stained glass window at Memorial Lutheran Church was especially beautiful tonight, because I am in the midst of reading Here I Stand, a biography of Luther by Roland Bainton.

I can't decide if I like it better from the outside or from the inside (photo below taken in May 2014).  I will have to get better photos next time we are in town.

Martin Luther window, from indside, at Memorial Lutheran Church, Shippensburg, Pa.

We passed by this sign at Messiah United Methodist Church.  Sounds like good advice! 

Mouse Studies

Sketches of mice for an illustration course I'm taking. 

Experimenting with color

Nests, drinking, studies of feet.

Sleeping, running, eating cheese

View of Lake Erie from Geneva-on-the-Lake

After lunch at The Lakehouse Inn yesterday, we went to the park, and while Dan dozed off in the warm sun, I sketched our view from the bench where we sat.

EDM 2015 #30 Bird House and #31 Eggs

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #30 Bird House and #31: Eggs

I wouldn't mind having one of these bird houses that attaches to your window with suction cups so you can see the eggs and hatchlings!

This was our final sketch assignment in the Every Day in May Sketch Event on Facebook.  This year I managed to complete all 31 sketch subjects, although on several days (like today), I combined two subjects in one sketch. In any case it was a lot of fun seeing everyone's work and the discussions that ensued.  It was really inspiring to see the various interpretations for each subject assigned, the wide variety in sketch media and style, and the sharing of tips and techniques among the nearly 1200 participants.

EDM 2015 #28 Yard Ornament and #29 Faucet

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #28: A yard ornament or statuary, and Sketch #29: A faucet (combined sketch)

EDM 2015 #27: Something furry or fuzzy

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #27: Something furry or fuzzy

Chipmunk in the garden at Quail Hollow

EDM 2015 #26: A Sign

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #26: A Sign

We saw this at Kedleston Hall outside of Derby, England.  They had a problem with all their sheep devouring their lawns!  This sketch was a pretty slapdash effort, as I was getting several days behind in the EDM Sketch event.

EDM 2015 #25: An Apron

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #25: An Apron

Since I got the apron a little too much off center, I decided to crop this one and turn it into note paper.

EDM 2015 #24: A Key

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #24: Key

A Harp Tuning Key

EDM 2015 #23: A interesting detail of a building

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #23: A interesting detail of a building

The Hotel de Ville, in Tours France has four of these very tired looking men holding up the roof of the building. They've been holding up the roof for centuries and look completely exhausted!

EDM 2015 #22: Something that hangs from or is attached to a wall in your home

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #22: Something that hangs from or is attached to a wall in your home

EDM 2015 #21: The spot you regularly sit to read

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #21: The spot you regularly sit to read

This is actually my friend's favorite spot to sit and read. My spot is not nearly as pretty :-)

EDM 2015 #20: Your Wallet/billfold.

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #20: Your wallet/billfold

Well, this is really my great-grandfather's wallet (Wilhelm Christoph Schmidt, born 1854, Elmshorn, Germany, near Hamburg, died 1915, East Orange, New Jersey, USA), but it belongs to me now. I found it in a box of my grandmother's memorabilia, and inside the wallet was his passport from 1872! His brother's birth certificate, and a poem written in old German script for someone's funeral, were also in the wallet, so it was a great find!

EDM 2015 #19: Cupcakes

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #19: Cupcakes. (I see these in stores around here: One Angel Food; One Devil's Food)

EDM 2015 #18: Lipstick/Lipgloss

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #18: Lipstick/Lipgloss

EDM 2015 #16 and #17: Ingredients for a favorite recipe and Something used for measuring

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #16: Ingredients for a favorite recipe (Rote Grütze / German Berry Compote) and #17: Something used for measuring (Measuring cup and spoons)

EDM 2015 #15: Something that can be thrown/given away

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #15:  Something that can be thrown/given away

Preliminary sketch of Bamboo on Buddha Board.  Bamboo is a good ecological alternative for disposable products because it is biodegradable, compostable, and this high-yield plant grows quickly, without the need for pesticides and chemical fertilizers -- an easily renewable resource that produces more oxygen than trees, doesn't deplete the soil or water supplies, and saves world hardwood forests.  My sketch was water on Buddha Board. The water behaves like ink, but then evaporates back into the air, giving you a blank slate for your next sketch.

EDM 2015 #14: Something you use everyday

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #14: Something you use everyday (piano)

EDM 2015 #13: The last thing you bought (A Fitbit fitness tracker)

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #13: The last thing you bought. (A Fitbit)

EDM 2015 #12: Some stairs or steps

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #12: Some stairs or steps. (Grand Degrés Saint-Louis, a small street in Blois, France.)

EDM 2015 #10 & #11: Something that can be turned on/off, and #11: A hat

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #10: Something that can be turned on/off, and Sketch #11: A hat, a cap, or other type of headgear.  (I was getting pressed for time, so I combined these!).

Battery-operated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Hat with a Light-up Nose!

EDM 2015 #9: Something with a label

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #9: Something with a label

EDM Sketch #8: Something with handles

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #8: Something with Handles

EDM Sketch #7: An Envelope

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #7: An Envelope

EDM Sketch #6: Something with Bristles

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #6: Something with Bristles

EDM Sketch #4 Jars of Spices and #5 Something Hot

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #4 Jars of Spices and #5 Something Hot

EDM Sketch #3: Curtains

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #3: Curtains

EDM Sketch #2: A Nearby Tree

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #2: A Nearby Tree

EDM Sketch #1: A Favorite Food

EDM Every Day in May Facebook Group Sketch #1: A Favorite Food

#23: Three Cockles

#22: Valentine's Day Present from Dan

#21: Gray day on the Gulf

#20: Post and rope

#19: Red Clock

#18: Sailor the Yacht Club Cat

#17 Quintessential Florida