Friday, April 30, 2010

Going to Playgroup with Gwen Wren




Today we walked with Gwen to her playgroup just down the street, picking flowers along the way.




At playgroup, everyone leaves their shoes outside the door.




Gwen claps to the dancing--









and tries some steps herself with her friend Freya





Then there are snacks, and home in the stroller




to say "hi" to Graciela, Gwen's wonderful nanny. I love the way she says Gwen's name: "Gwendoline", with the "line" at the end rhyming with "scene" and very lingered over.



A few things Toby and I have noticed on our walks:



How robust the figures are on the street signs, like this warning about children possibly running into the street,






How big some of the cockroaches are!




And how sleek and fast these agoutis are, the equivalent of our squirrels. This one's after some milk Toby poured out. They are very shy and everywhere.


Thursday, April 29, 2010

Panama!

Last Friday we arrived in Gamboa,
a quiet, pretty town on the Panama Canal about 40 minutes from the airport.




The rainy season was just beginning. Gwen wearing her new boots, feet switched.




Sunday morning, Toby and I climbed up a nearby observation tower for great views over the tree canopy. Here we're at Rachel's new office to measure for a desk. Gwen decided to help out by giving the tape that much-needed sag in the middle.




Yesterday was sunny and hot so we went swimming in the turquoise pools at nearby Hotel Gamboa.




Gwen talked to her doll and bounced her on her knee, cajoling her up the green stairs to the kitchen.




In the evening the fam cosied up to watch a dvd on the new blu-ray set.




We are REALLY happy to be here!!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Tulip's 14-Year Old Check-Up




Tulip had her annual check-up today--her 14th,
I believe (if indeed she is 14 years old).
She hates the exam but likes the staff
and really likes the abundant supply of biscuits.





We anxiously waited in the examining room.





Dr. Evans and her assistant kept saying
how beautiful she was.




All Tulip wanted was another biscuit.




Afterward we walked on the RISD beach




where she discovered a house of branches
made by RISD students





and halfheartedly tried to scare two Canadian Geese.




On our way back we come upon some young artists
intent on sketching the Narragansett Bay,





some having taken over Tulip's house!





Tuckered out, it was time get into the old blue Volvo and go home for dinner.


Friday, April 16, 2010

A Visit to Bill and Lenore's


A few days ago I went to Hull to take some painted things
to Bill and Lenore's gallery, Art on the Avenue.



They're just setting up for the summer season.
Some of Lenore's paintings are in the background




and Bill's acrylics are on another wall.




Linda's masks look great on all this white.




We had a nice lunch together overlooking their dock and
a great expanse of water.




Counting calories ( Bill's lost a lot of weight!)




He turned 74 on April 3rd. Here he is
with the childhood statue of him that Tante Ann
did many (many) years ago.





Saturday, April 10, 2010

Limited Editions

Yesterday Margot and I drove to Newton, Ma. to the gallery where I sell my painted furniture.

Limited Editions is an art in itself--full of fabulous things and great colors.



Margot's admiring a bamboo slat rug with Chinese designs.





Lots of glass reflected in the mirror,





fun things arranged by color,





little lamps cozying up this kitchen hutch.





Here's the mirror, finished at last,





and Joanne and Liz wondering which wall to put it on.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Apres La Deluge

The rain has stopped, the flooding is beginning to end, and now, finally---



Spring has come.




The daffodils and forsythia are out,




and the azalea about to bloom.





But it was the tough little snowdrops (planted a long time ago by Sam)
that once again, despite snow and cold and heavy rain, came up first.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Bailing out the Basement

As you might have heard, Rhode Island recently got a LOT of rain. Rivers crested over their banks and houses got inundated.

We've been relatively lucky. About 10 years ago
we filled and carried more than 100 buckets of water out of the basement (remember Sam and Rachel?).
So we had a sump pump installed and for the past week it's been working around the clock.


We sweep water into the sump pump



and wet vac the rest.

It's still coming in but I think (fingers crossed) that we've seen the worst of it.