Hello,
Thanksgiving is next week (here in the US) but gratitude and delicious food is a worthy goal every day of the year. This year our feast day will be hosted by my daughter and son-in-law and we’ve got family coming in from the north, truly an over-the-river-and-through-the-woods holiday. While I’m slowly coming back into my body after surgery, I’m still up against limitations. My contribution will be cranberry sauce — the kind that the angels prefer, right from the can, jellied ridges intact. I may not be able to cook a feast but I can create pantry provisions, simple concoctions using kitchen staples that when combined add up to far more than the sum of their parts. Like citrus salt (see below). Brighten your day with homemade granola topped with runny plain yogurt and a sprinkle of citrus salt. I’m so glad you’re here.
xo Lorene
Coloring the Days
November 8, 2023
Even though I’m a bit clumsy, it feels good to be back to painting. Here’s a little illustration of the inside of my head:
A slightly weary Iceland poppy laid out in a familiar and comfortable grid spread.
To the right is a picture of my wild itching to get outside and into the garden. I can’t think when I was last indoors for 2 weeks.
Today’s the day. I’ll gather potting soil for the paperwhites, harvest the last stems of the Japanese Indigo, and pick all the remaining zinnias. Couldn’t do any of this without (protective) husband. Thanks honey!
November 9, 2023
It feels so good to be back in my colors, even if it is a temporary set up on the kitchen counter. Without access to the upstairs (and my art desk) I’m restricted to a limited palette, which is giving me time to explore my paints from Stoneground Paint Co. These tiny roses are remnants from a hospital bouquet.
November 10, 2023
“We are whirlpools of meaning.” - Phillip Ball
Most mornings, but especially on Fridays, I give myself time to read the many emails/newsletters I subscribe to. Sometimes these make me hungry, hello — stuffing recipes! Sometimes I find inspiration, and on a good day I stretch my mind to consider another way of being, scribbling notes, marking links to add to my “index of things I will never let go of” and promise myself to hold onto these discoveries.
From advice to not hold back but give every project your last good idea to a radical new look at biology
My takeaway from this morning: Spend and spin it all today.
Oh, and while I’m still painting with limited colors on the kitchen counter, I decided to use my DryColor watercolor sheets from Peerless Watercolors, wonderful saturated colors and smooth washes.
November 11, 2023
Oh (geranium) Rozanne, you are so faithful with your iridescent streetlight-purple blooms from early spring until now. And still going.
November 12, 2023
A couple of weeks ago, we got our windows cleaned for the first time in forever. So long that I can hardly remember a time when this wasp nest didn’t live on the inside of the skylight over my art desk.
I’m fascinated by the even papery cells, each one built on another. Clarity and connection are dim in a broken world keening in anguish. Sad colors seem fitting. In the midst of it all, I’m grateful for my clear corner of the sky.
November 13, 2023
Think twice before you plant a pleached hedge. Essentially a tersely pruned hedge on stilts, pleaching is not for the lazy. Neither is it for those averse to constant shaping to control growth that dares extend beyond the imaginary geometric form in my head.
Ten+ years after planting four ‘Evereste’ crabapples in the back garden, I know that now. My slightly-shaggy hedge is both a chore and a celebration of moments in the growing year. Just now, ruddy fruits are ripening and it’s only a matter days until the rest of the leaves drop, revealing — if only briefly — a picture that I had in mind when I invited this relentless taskmaster into my garden.
The birds and squirrels are delighted, as am I.
November 14, 2023
Buck up buttercup! Putting myself back together is complicated. It’s been two and a half weeks since I had back surgery and while everything is SO much better, I’m learning that recovery is not a even progression.
On my first foray into the garden last week I plucked these last stems of lavender — okay, I had to ask my husband to cut them because “no bending.” It’s beyond delightful to be back at my art desk (stairs!!). All I want to do is drown out the pain and the noise of returning to a life of deadlines with colors not words.
And yes, I know I misspelled lavender! I always misspell lavender.
In the Store
As we enter into the gifting season, I invite you browse the collection in my online store where you’ll find 2024 calendars — choose from botanicals or shells, signed copies of Color In and out of the Garden and my other titles, and postcard collections to share or frame as a small print.
These colorful choices make a simple hostess gift, a thoughtful way to show teacher appreciation, and pleasing presents for neighbors, friends and family. Best of all, Newsletter subscribers get *free shipping on orders placed through the end of November. Just enter the code: FREESHIP at checkout.
*domestic orders only
Citrus Salt
What do you get when you combine an edible rock with the the essence of the sun? A seasonal salt that brightens everything it finishes.
On a small cookies sheet or tray, combine 1 tablespoon of fresh citrus zest with 1/2 cup of flaky sea salt. Gently massage the zest into the salt to release all those flavorful oils. Spread the salt out into an even layer and leave overnight on the counter to dry.
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