Today’s misc. updates include gardening, sewing, and painting. What a mix! Last weekend I got some gardening done. Did the preliminary clean-up on the monarch butterfly beds. Last fall I planted a cover crop and it didn’t die back, so I turned over the soil and put down heavy black plastic. Hopefully by April 17th the soil will be ready for planting arugula and radishes. It’s still well over a month before the rest of the vegetables can be planted. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be around 80 degrees, so it seems like we went straight from winter to summer. Bob put in the screen in the bedroom Sunday night after we got home from a bonfire at Cindy’s. The spring peepers were singing their love songs.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done any sewing, but this weekend I had a few mending projects to take care of and so I decided to make a pillow as well. I don’t remember why I bought this fabric originally…maybe for a skirt? I do love it though. It was nice to do a little sewing again. Maybe as I have more time off the next few months I will do a bit more sewing. Right now I’m working on a crocheted shawl and practicing at least half an hour an evening on the recorder.

This is painting #37. I was going more for the concept and of course the brush “lettering” is not real lettering as I couldn’t make it out from the reference image. I like the yellow lamp to the left best of all. It didn’t turn out quite how I had hoped, but on to the next painting. I’ve been having some trouble with inspiration, and clipped some photos from a travel magazine. I’m not sure what my problem is. I sometimes think the more you paint, the less your inspiration has to do with it and it becomes more about the act of painting. I don’t know.

I’m working on a new project, Bright Line Publishing. I’ll have some documentary film reviews coming up. Click here to check out the site. More misc. updates will be coming up here, with summer reads not too far off and the progress of spring weather. Hope your spring is off to a good start!