Half-Birthday

Posted on by Sheila 2 Comments

A trip to the Mall with my daughter, who invariably offers thoughtful commentary on her surroundings, whatever they may be.

EonMall

I post this sketch in honor of her half-birthday today. Long ago, when the children were tiny and each week seemed to mark another milestone, we developed the habit of celebrating their half-birthdays every year, as if they weren’t already sufficiently doted upon… But it’s a modest celebration, with a candle in a pancake, a little package beside the plate, and a rousing round of “Happy Half-Birthday.”

Yahrzeit2Ruthie

Boat-builder

Posted on by Sheila Leave a comment

Tomorrow my husband is scheduled for heart surgery. Here he is a couple of years ago, reading a boatbuilding book, because until his heart problem was diagnosed he was (when he had time) in the process of building a small wooden boat and restoring another. I am trying not to be anxious, and we are all hoping surgery will go well enough that he can eventually return to this project he so loves. Please send your good thoughts and healing wishes his way.

J&BoatBook

CakeBerries2Dorothy

Stonehenge

Posted on by Sheila Leave a comment

Stonehenge

I hate to tell you how old this drawing is—it dates from my freewheeling pre-parenthood days. But I selected my sketch of the ancient stone calendar in honor of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, a day on which you have the greatest amount of daylight to deck yourelf and your doorway with flowers, bathe in the local river, build and leap across a bonfire, and any other of various joyful means to celebrate light, fertility and the perpetuation of life. Happy Summer!


Little Mountain

Posted on by Sheila Leave a comment

Monticello

When Thomas Jefferson finally retired from public life to his beloved Monticello, a steady stream of visitors made its way up the hill to visit and pay homage. Debts led to the property’s sale upon his death in 1826, and the house fell into a sad state of disrepair. It was rescued at last by admirer Uriah P. Levy and his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy and, later, the Monticello Foundation.

I wonder what Jefferson would make of the fact that the procession of admirers continues today, bearing digital cameras to record his gardens, his architectural innovations, his books and tools and inventions. None of us, however, is invited to stay for a month or so in one of the guest rooms. Unfortunately.

CakeWeddingDawn and Emily

CakeSprinklesIan

CakeChocCurls2Benjamin

Yahrzeit2Marion

River Farm

Posted on by Sheila Leave a comment

J&E-RiverFarm

Our family spent a morning along the Potomac River at River Farm, the 25-acre headquarters of the American Horticultural Society. The AHS provides gardening information through programs for adults and children, and is a very lovely setting for a quiet stroll. River Farm itself has an interesting history, which I will cover in more detail in a later post.

CakeShellsBryant


Flag Day

Posted on by Sheila Leave a comment

PeruvianDance

The story of the Stars and Stripes, as passed down through the family of upholsterer Betsy Ross, is that George Washington visited her and asked if she could create a flag from a sketch he presented. Upholsterers commonly took up other work to keep bread on the table (for a while Betsy Ross also made musket balls for the army). The finished product was adopted by the Continental Congress on this day in 1777 as the official flag of the new United States. I post here a sketch, from the Palisades neighborhood Fourth of July parade, of the Peruvian dance troupe’s young standard-bearer. The scene struck me as so, well, American.

Company for Breakfast

Posted on by Sheila Leave a comment

Mockingbird

Sometimes when we have breakfast outside, a mockingbird lands on the Japanese maple in front of the house, then hops down to the porch flower box and eyes our plates. After an offering of scone or toast, he/she flies off with it, then returns for more. I wonder if there are little ones in a nearby nest? One morning I had my sketchbook with me.