Writing at my desk in bed, coffee, popcorn, Prosecco with orange slices, candles, fires, salsa, Barbara Pym, squeezing a bike ride in before sunset.
The Holidays
Le Chat Lunitique
I hate getting off my bike once I get going. I can hardly stand to stop in order to turn on my bike lights, to fool with my phone, make a rest stop, or to take a photo. But I had to pull over on my way home this evening! The air was magical.
We hung stars in front of our eight townhouses! They come on at 5:00 and turn off at 11:00.
With help from Tom and David.
Such a better deal than 100 bucks for a dead tree. Hope we can keep them alive for a little while! Bought a humidifier.
A not-so-successful tangle of lights. Left, a festive taco dinner.
A new viewing platform! A 5-minute walk from home. Benches. Sit and read, drink some wine, watch the sun set. Maybe see a flock of sandhill cranes.
My favorite concert of the whole year: Majel Connery performs The Rivers Are Our Brothers at Chatter and Late Works. You can hear this incredible piece on Spotify, and many other places.
October
Don’s birthday.
Opera: Bluebeard’s Castle
Albuquerque Museum
Carlito Springs
Dressed for the eclipse
Lunch at Los Poblanos
Don signs his book A Storm in the Stars, about Mary Shelley
Don’s book event
At Margy’s show
Bike-In Coffee
Hops
Thursday night musicians at Hops
Still Banned.
RILEY’s in the Rockefeller Center lobby Simon & Schuster window display. Banned Books Week is Oct. 1-7. I’m proud to be in the company of these great writers and illustrators.
Caroline Starr Rose Interviews Me
We talk about what it was like to do illustrations for Mem Fox’s book Our Dragon.
Hellnar
The beach at Snaefellsnes was made up of not sand, but of smooth stones. “Stories of Snæfellsjökull glacier‘s power and mystical energy have been around for centuries. It’s the reason Jules Verne chose it as the location of the entrance into the center of the earth in his novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth.”
I loved the stones so much. I kept collecting them, arranging them and photographing them, as they were too heavy to take with me!
This little café was a walk down the road from our house. When we first discovered it, it was closed. But the next day it was open, and we had fish soup and wine on the deck overlooking the water. Still searching for the perfect fish soup…
I found these treasures on the beach below the café. (See photo below.)
Lots of strange but beautiful vegetation
In Hellissandur we finally found the perfect fish soup. This is at Matarlist, our favorite restaurant of the whole trip.
By the side of the road
Another waterfall (Bjarnarfoss)
Budir Beach
Read about this woman! (Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir)
Found.
Our home in Hellnar
Hjalteyri
We stayed in what used to be a school–it’s now the Apartment Hotel Hjalteyri. The hotel might as well be an art museum.
a painting by Jon Engilberts in our Hjalteyri apartment
…and so many other incredible paintings in the hallways
Goðafoss Falls
Still searching for the best fish soup
Eyri Restaurant, walking distance from our hotel
Exploring, taking photos
Reykjavik
Waiting for Uber
John and Tom see us off in Denver
at the Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstaðir
Our room
Our home in Reykjavik
along the waterfront
This building (Harpa) was so exciting–inside and out.
at the Reykjavík Art Museum - Kjarvalsstaðir
What litter is like in Reykeyvik
Stomach aches
Tom and the most famous cat in Iceland, Baktus the cat.
Can you believe it? I found this sea glass outside the Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum, which is right on the oceanfront.
Found: a gift in the parking lot
Lunchtime in Reykjevik
On our way to Hjalteyri we stopped at the Settlement Center in Borgarnes, which includes a delicious restaurant built up against a rock wall. We happened to walk into a reunion of Borgarnes girls. My friend says she grew up here, but now lives in Spain. Doesn’t she look like she walked right out of an Almovodar movie?
August
I finally get to meet Thomas Christopher Haag at Chatter Late Works.
July
Alice, our newest resident at the compound, plays Mozart.
An early morning bike ride to Bike-In-Coffee
Farmer Linda, and Eileen of La Puerta de los Niños!
June
My bosses in San Francisco
May
new patio furniture for our birthdays
Mem and me at Bookworks down the street
birthday treat
birthday coffee
Our fearless leader, Michael Ottersen
April
Our painting class
March
After the bandages are removed
Before
Dorene sent me this photo of Don reading to Giacomo, Bruno, and Junie B, the Boston Terrier. A classic, innit?
February
January
The End of the Year
That’s our Santa Linda Claus on the left and Max on the right.
I was so happy to finish my Damien Hirst-inspired painting the night before Christmas! I obviously have a thing for spots. It’s painted on one of the two 30” x 40” canvases that Kathy gave me when she left. Bill and Holly have the other canvas. Kathy, I need some more canvases.
And why, when I was in high school, did I think I would never need math? It took me as long to map out the painting as it did to paint it.
Major Event! The 8th Chirri & Chirra book came out on December 27.
Do you read the NYTimes? This is what you miss if you only get the online version (above). On the other hand, though, if you only get the paper version you miss out on Wordle.
Anne Herbst Ocean 1 watercolor 26.5 x 35 in.
Anne’s show ends tomorrow, Jan. 1. She has sold 22 paintings as of today! Below are posters I designed for the next show. I love the work I do with Anne for her gallery.
