Spring at Last!

I left Bangor March 21st for a lengthy family holiday; they were de-icing the plane that morning! Spring had already arrived in the South, and April in High Island was perfect. There were games of croquet, washer-pitching, and horseshoes. Even the real-life adventure of having to dig up and replace some plumbing pipes out in the yard was a satisfying activity (of course I only watched Carolyn, Daddy and Paul dig). We saw the beautiful birds, the Baltimore Oriole, Indigo buntings, and Rose-breasted grosbeaks. But the Rare Norton Birds were the main attraction!

Somehow the men back in Bangor got along without me and my cooking for all those weeks. Bruce and I are proud of our three fine young men. Soon Tom will head for UT Austin where he will complete his Master's in Eastern European studies. John graduates from Bangor High School at the end of June and will be off to college in the fall. Austin will leave for Washington, DC in August, where he's been accepted into Law School. So come September, Bruce and I will be on our own, alone together for the first time in 29 years. It's all good....
Janet

Snow, snow, and more snow

Greetings from the Badgers of Bangor! Here it is the end of February and it just keeps on snowing! I don't get out as much as I used to, but Bruce pitches in with the grocery shopping and Tom has cooked a few excellent meals from his Indian cookbook. And I have been busy in the art studio, working on my Musicians of Bangor series.

A few weeks ago John, Austin and I (Tom was in Texas) attended the Democratic Caucus here in Maine. It was a chance to be registered and cast our votes all on the same day. We stood in line together at the Civic Center for an hour and a half, grateful that most of the time we were indoors as it was snowing outside. Governor Baldacci made his way through our crowd and shook my hand, and then a little while later John Kerry shook my hand also. I was sorry there were no loudspeakers in our anteroom so we could hear the speeches while we waited to register.

But the important thing was, we did get registered, and we went to our Precinct Room, and were counted...we three voted for Barack Obama. For the first time in decades I felt an excitement about the political process, and that my vote counted. These are exciting times.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Anniversary

It's hard to believe it's been 35 years since two kids got married and headed off for Las Vegas in the '62 Cadillac. Then again, it doesn't feel like "only yesterday" any more! We're almost to the point of rocking chairs on the porch...no, maybe in another 35 years!

Blast from the Past

This is a recent linoleum print; I created the sketch on an Etch-a-Sketch and then re-created it with linoleum. The Women Printmakers of Austin are having a members show in December and this will be in it.

Trip to Portland (Maine)

Bruce and I went to Portland last weekend for a charity dinner. I glimpsed Glen Close in the crowd! It was nice to be staying at the hotel and not have to drive home afterward.We had an excellent meal and the next day went to the Museum of Art and an antique book store. I found two new art books for my library.

October in Maine

October is coming to a close; the leaves are still beautiful but falling, now. We still have flowers in our front yard; one purple gladiolus bloomed and I snatched it to put into a vase in the kitchen. I detected a chill in the air downtown and wore a jacket but of course the Mainers were all in their shirtsleeves. Winter is coming, but it isn't here yet!

You may notice the picture of me in front of a lot of portraits. This is my wall of linoleum prints, hand-painted. There are 20 in the edition of "Memory of Ofelia" and fourteen are exhibited at Ofelia's in downtown Bangor. It is a rare experience for a printmaker to have most of an edition up on the wall...kind of the Warhol effect! Opening night of the exhibit was a lot of fun, with music and refreshments and plenty of people enjoying the artistic ambience.