Ice and Tea

Not iced tea. Ice and tea. Sunday's weather was mild and weird. Pouring rain in January. Not normal. Then, overnight, winter decided to come back. Yesterday was bitterly cold with high gusts of wind. So all of that rain and melted ice and snow from the previous day froze--unevenly. Meeko's and my walk in the forest was 'careful'. I wore cleats on my boots as I do most of the winter. Meeko is agile but even he had to carefully avoid patches of ice and the odd pocket that wasn't fully frozen. We only met one other brave soul walking so we kind of felt like adventurers. 

When it's cold and rainy or cold and icy, tea comes to mind. I need coffee to wake up in the morning but I love to drink tea the rest of the day as I find it to be very comforting. I was very happy to sell one of my Time for Tea prints over the weekend to someone who was giving it as a gift to her best friend with English roots. Two of my grandparents were born in England so I have English roots too. I'm not sure if that's why I like tea so much but it is a nice connection. 

When I photographed my Time for Tea print to post on Instagram the other day, I used one of my grandmother Viola's teacups as a prop. I am lucky to own her Limoges china set and really should use it more often. Yesterday, I was finally (finally!!!) sitting back at my painting table in my studio but wasn't quite sure what to paint. I have a painting I need to finish from before the holidays but I really wanted to do something new, just to loosen up and gain confidence again. (Yes, it only takes a few weeks of not painting to lose it. ) My grandmother's teacup was staring at me, delicately, and seemed to be the perfect choice.

This is more of a sketch than the paintings I usually do. I tried not to get too caught up in the detail and or to feel that it had to be perfect. The metallic gold paint I bought on a whim a long while ago was perfect for the china's gold trim. I like how the painting turned out and want to paint this cup again. It's nice to have my first painting of 2016 done. I am over that hump and now on to the rest of the year! Happy new year, everyone!

A Love Note to December

December has arrived. Our snow came and went and is, as of today, back again. Yes!

Last week looked oddly like springtime. It felt so strange to lose the snow so quickly. I didn't take photos then.

Here are some of the wintry photos I've taken in the past week or so when we did have snow. The forest walk that Meeko and I take once a day and occasionally twice is restorative for me. About 35 to 40 minutes surrounded by nature is a joy. Meeko bounds and leaps and then waits for his less rapid companion who is usually off taking a photo somewhere. We both revel in the sights and sounds of the forest, each other's company as well as occasional encounters with fellow nature lovers, both two-footed and four-footed.

Airborne! 'Superdog' in his head and in my heart. :)

If you look at all of the frozen water, you get a sense of why we can't walk here for three seasons.

Wrap yourself up. It's getting cold.

Autumn and winter. Soul mates.

Love in the forest.

Gorgeous spiky frost on the marsh. It reminded me of a feather boa.

Touchdown after leaping over the log!

Frost-tipped echinacea in my garden. (The only photo not from the forest.)

My beautiful heart tree. When I was trying to find it again, I actually said
'Where is my heart' out loud and then 'There it is'.  My heart.

More leaf love.

Is there such a thing as too much leaf love. I don't think so.

We have lived in our house here for over fourteen years. I didn't know about this beautiful path, even though it is just at the foot of our street, until we had Meeko.  I owe thanks to my furry friend for so many things.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤