This involved recipe for tomato sauce did not really turn out very well. Should have used Rao's.

 

Reading With Aggles

 

My sister Aggles and I are 3,000 miles apart, just how we would have liked it as kids. But despite the distance, we're reading together. The book is Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days. We started twelve days before Christmas, and we read one story every night. 

In last night's story, the dog just started talking! I'm not sure how Winterson made that work, but it did, and I'm going to read it over again and see if I can fathom it.

One Christmas Aggles chose Moominland Midwinter to read together, and then we couldn't stop and ended up reading all of the Moomin books. She just reminded me that another year we read Entertaining Is Fun! by Dorothy Draper (her choice for my benefit). This year's book was my choice; next year it's up to her.

Joy

FOG Solstice Celebration (Barbara and Stephen)

Ocean Beach   5:08 pm

Beach Glass Thief

Jeanne is actually just borrowing my sea glass to do a 12-panel ambrotype photograph.

Christmas Card

I know what you're thinking. "My six-year-old could make that."

And you're probably right. But I'm not six anymore and so it was harder for me, and it took lots of steps to pull it off.

It began when I downloaded a free trial of this new watercolor software Lee White told me about called Rebelle. I thought, "Why not do a Christmas card?"

I decided to keep it simple. I did some sketches.

And then I did some more sketches. I got one I liked and I thought about color.

I figured out what simple shapes I would need to make, and put each shape on a separate layer.

I tried out some tiny googly eyes.

But who was this cat?

Type or hand lettering? Ah well. Enough's enough. If you would like a card, email me your address!

 

The Coastal Trail   4:44 pm

Ocean Beach   5:05 pm

Ocean Beach   4:52 pm

 

Trying out a new painting software

 

Coastal Trail   4:47 pm

Anne, Barbara, Julie

Ocean Beach   5:13 pm