Fellow eclectic blogger Ally Bean of The Spectacled Bean fame put out a bunch of questions to the Blogoverse a short while ago, and I thought it might be a good idea to try and answer them. Ye Olde Blogging Well has run a bit dry of late, and I could use some prodding, to get more…ahem…product out, you know? Here are Ms. Bean’s questions, and here goes nothing…
- Q1 – What’s your
favoritefavourite movie? - A1 – It used to be Moonstruck, but I guess I snapped out of it (see what I did there?). The last movie I fell in love with was Rocketman…I saw it 3 times at the theatre and I bought the DVD. I think that makes it my new favourite!
- Q2 – When trying to buy shoes, what’s your biggest problem?
- A2 – Dealing with the guilt of buying yet another pair. It doesn’t stop me from buying them; just that now I have to bring home some guilt along with the footwear… 🙂
- Q3 – Ice cream cone or cupcake?
- A3 – Ice cream cone, definitely! Cupcakes are pretty, but I find them to be kinda dry and boring. And the frosting is usually a disappointment too. Good quality ice cream almost never lets me down.
- Q4 – What’s one good thing you have learned about yourself during this pandemic?
- A4 – I unintentionally timed my retirement from working to basically coincide with the beginning of the pandemic so I got a “crash course” in slowing my life waaaay down, which was and continues to be a good and necessary thing. I learned that I like living this way.
- Q5 – Any eccentric people in your family? Discuss.
- A5 – My paternal grandmother was a warm and wonderful woman who had some…um…peculiarities. Oma told me she couldn’t wear nail polish because it made her finger tips feel too heavy. And speaking of heavy, she liked to have a heavy purse on her arm. So much so, that if she felt her purse wasn’t heavy enough, she would add a few stones from the garden (washed, of course) to her bag to help with its weight. There were probably more eccentricities, but those were the only ones I remember from my childhood. Apparently I am the spitting image of her. It must be true because lately I keep seeing her face looking back at me when I catch myself in a mirror!
When not running down the hill to the beach like a mad fool in the wee hours in order to catch the fleeting sunrise (see above photo), I am spending a lot of time getting covered in paint, in my spare room/studio space. I’ve been taking a couple of online art courses and feeling inspired, after a long dry spell. And I actually did an underpainting. The old WB would never have taken the time to make an underpainting. You mean I have to paint a painting to go under my painting?!?! Who’s got time for that?!?
See how much I’ve been able to slow down? 😉
Well, friends – do you feel inspired to answer any of Ally’s questions on your own blogs or in the Comments below? Has March and the spring equinox brought any more energy, creative or otherwise into your life?
Do tell all, and keep on rockin’…
The WB
We have similar lives, I retired prior to covid too, so staying home was easier for me than for others. I also started painting this year, little water color cards. Hoping the pandemic let’s up soon, though, for everyone’s sake.
Thank you, Dawn 💕 Yes, I think we both exhibited impeccable timing to retire! I certainly would not have wanted the additional stress of trying to lead my team (and myself!) through a pandemic.
March has had me marching….my walks have lengthened and become less of a challenge and more of an inspiration as my stop and stare in awe time is no longer partly to cover how out of shape I was. I think the birds and the colours are the right tonic….and I shall March on through “April”.!
Excellent! I think I will follow your lead and March into April as well. Thank you 💕
Adding rocks to your purse? I have a permanent dent in my shoulder because of a heavy purse, I can’t imagine adding more weight. That’s the definition of crazy!
Yeah, I thought it was weird, even as a child. My Oma came from the time of handbags though…no shoulder bags for her. Still…as far as crazy goes, this was pretty harmless except to my grandmother. Now, my late husband OTOH…..😫
Thanks 💕
Good questions, great answers.
Personally, I would take the cupcake. Ice cream is predictable, but you never know what the cupcake will deliver until you try it. Call me the eternal optimist 😉
… and rocks in my purse? I’m carrying enough weight on my hips without adding the additional challenge of rocks. Oh wait, I distinctly remember picking up rocks on our hikes in Nfld and carrying them all the way back home to Toronto. hmmm – maybe I have a wee bit of that Dutch crazy too 🙂
You ARE the eternal optimist! Yes, you did pick up a few rocks as I recall 😁. But not to add to your pack because it didn’t feel heavy enough to you, so you’re safe from the Dutch crazy! At least in this one little instance 😉 Thank you, Joanne 💕
Hi Deb – those sunrise shots are just beautiful … this one too. Gosh I’d never carry around rocks in my bag – way too heavy already … I’d go for ice-cream, definitely not shoes – books yes! Your art work is fabulous to have and to enjoy, when you feel inclined. Stay safe – and enjoy freedom when it arrives – Hilary
Thank you, Hilary 💕 I’d never carry rocks either. I am forever looking for ways to lug less weight around, not more! I will try to share more of my artistic forays on Ye Olde Blogge, if people are interested.
Thanks for linking to my post and answering the questions. I remember the movie Rocketman and now I want to see it again. I loved Moonstruck, of course. Ice cream cone has been the most popular answer to that question. If nothing else about the timing of your retirement it was memorable. Many people seem to cling to who they were and do the same old things, but not you. You became a new version of Deb immediately. I’ve never tried painting. I wonder if I could do that? A thought, now that I’m blogging lite for the spring.
Oh Ally, please do try some art. I think you would enjoy it. It is very meditative, I find. Everything else falls away when I start drawing or painting. Thank you so much for the questions and your comment 💕. I AM reinventing myself, like Madonna. But without all the plastic surgery 😉
I’d hate to be socked by your grandmother’s purse. Maybe that’s why she liked a heavy purse. Perhaps it was her secret weapon against any and all marauders.
I guess my favorite movie is The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I can’t get enough of Clint Eastwood shooting the hanging ropes of the outlaws he captured.
I never thought of that, TG. Perhaps you are right about the reason for the stones in the purse, and I was told only the PG version. 🤣 I know my Oma did not suffer fools gladly. Once the parish priest came around and started mealy-mouthing about he needed “stones” for the church building project and would she contribute? She pointed him to the yard and told him to dig up all the stones he could carry. Thanks 💕
That was smart. I’ll bet that priest never returned with a shovel.
I’m pretty sure he never returned, at all 🤣
Come to think of it, maybe the stones in her purse were for the collection plate 🤣🤣🤣
😄
I love blog posts like these! I also love that it includes two of my blog friends.
I really need to watch Rocketman. I LOVE Elton John and I know I would love it. Elton John was one of the first musicians I ever remember hearing when I was a child. Carole King was the other.
Moonstruck is a good movie too; I haven’t seen it in many years, though. I might have to watch it again.
I love your painting. 🙂
Thank you, Kari 💕 I will try to remember to post more pictures as the painting progresses.
Your grandmother certainly was eccentric! I never knew my grandmothers but I do know that neither of them spoke English.
Oma certainly was. She was so memorable in many ways. She immigrated to Canada late in life and set to learning English right away. She got quite good for someone whose job was looking after the home and didn’t get out much, other than shopping (with her bag full of rocks).😁 Thank you, Kate 💕
I 💘 your answers here, Deb. And I 💘, 💘, 💘 your under painting! I can’t wait to see the final version@
Thank you, Donna 💕 Right now, I am thick into a mandala painting (for my Sacred Geometry class). But I will get back to the Bowser sunrise one when this class ends.
Great start to your painting Deb. Sometimes the colours in nature are so incredible that when you try to reproduce them they are almost outrageous. Nevertheless, just keep going and watch come together.
Leslie xoxo
Yes, indeed, Leslie. The sunrise photo I took looks digitally enhanced or altered but it is most certainly not! Thank you 💕
My Grams had a heavy purse too. She was widowed fairly young and I think it made her feel less vulnerable walking around (as she never learned to drive.) The underpainting is lovely….can’t wait to see the next phase!
My Oma was widowed early too. My paternal grandfather died in his early 30s. Oma remarried, but I guess the need for a heavy purse remained. Perhaps to smack my step-grandad with? 😉 He certainly did warrant it, at times. Thank you, Tracey 💕 I think I will try to paint the picture in an Impressionistic style.
Hi Deb! I LOVE how your underpainting came out. I’d never heard of that before you mentioned it the other day and I just love the idea of it–and the result too of course. As for being eccentric, I can certainly see some possible similarities. Sadly all of my relatives were rather pedestrian and I’m probably the most eccentric of them all. A badge I wear proudly! ~Kathy
You shine your eccentric self on, Kathy! The world needs more of this, I feel. “Normal” (whatever that is) is kinda boring. Thanks 💕
Cracked me up what your grandmother said about wearing fingernail polish. I will use that line if I ever get a chance. I don’t wear polish because I hate how I get obsessed looking at my nails. Not good if you’re driving. LOL
HAH! Yes Jean, I was more bewildered by the nail polish problem she experienced than the rocks in her purse, as a child. Of course, I was dying to be allowed to wear nail polish as a pre-teen, and was only allowed to put on clear polish for special occasions. My mother was wise like that…when I was finally deemed mature enough to wear nail polish it was a very special moment for me, and I love doing my nails to this day! Thanks 💕
Deb, that certainly was good retirement timing. Some people might have been overwhelmed by it, but no, you embraced it, moved and started retired life with a new set of cards. Well played!
Oma ~ Dutch background? Growing up in South Africa, many of my friends had an Oma and an Opa in their lives… Love the story of the heavy nailpolish and the rock packing Oma. Made me think of my own granny who when taking “leftovers” from a restaurant, which was not something one did back then in South Africa, would calmly roll up her napkin with the left over fish and plop it into her handbag.
Ahh the beauty of the underpainting is that it gives you a skeleton on which to build and in most cases adds to the final glow especially when the underpainting is done in a bright color, much like you show here. Love to see some of the finished products. I just started archiving two decades worth of paintings on instagram @petakaplanpaint.. Stop by and say hi….
Enjoyed all the questions and answers too. Ice cream one hundred per cent for sure!
Peta
Thank you Peta! 💕 Yes, Dutch background! I am late to the underpainting game and have to wonder why I resisted for so long. Dutch stubbornness, I am sure. Wooden shoes, wooden head, wooden you know 🤣. I am having trouble commenting on your blog. I think I might be in your Spam folder. Anyways, please know that I am reading and enjoying it, as always!
Heading to your IG now!
Hmm please try re signing up or email me at petakaplan@hotmail.com and I’ll post your comments. Thanks
Underpainting? Not heard of it, so read your link – thank you for it! Will be interested to see how it goes and what you think of the final effect. Sorry, can’t really think of a favourite movie at the moment… enjoy ice cream, but love dark chocolate more. Your gran sounds quite a character!Love the story about the priest wanting rocks! 😆
Thank you, Del 💕 Oma was quite the character. She and Opa lived on the other side of a big farmhouse from our family, on the outskirts of town, so I saw her every day. It was like having two moms…wonderful!
What kind of farm? Bet you had some great experiences living that close to your grandparents, along with all the energy of farming life!
It was basically a hobby farm by the time my parents bought the property as most of the land had been sold off…leaving only the farmhouse, some outbuildings, an old apple orchard…all on 2.5 acres of land. Still, I grew up with chickens, pigs, a cow, and the occasional horse.
Ah! Hopefully just enough farm for all the good experiences without the headaches. 😉
What a beautiful use of your time (and retirement) by chasing the sunrises and learning new forms of art. And the art IS beautiful. So, do you paint over it? I love it as is.
I’m with you on the shoes, cupcakes vs ice cream and I enjoyed both of your movie favorites, the new and old.
Hilarious about your Oma and the nail polish AND her need for a heavy bag. Maybe it made her feel like she had more money in there?
Who knows why the bag had to be heavy, Suz. It just HAD. TO. BE. HEAVY. 🤣 Yes, I will be painting over the underpainting, using it as a guide for placing the colours. I am going to try a technique called “tache” that Monet perfected, if not invented. Wish me luck! Thanks 💕
Your heading photo is stunning, Deb. I saw Ally’s post and it looked like fun. I am with you on the ice cream cone. A great question about eccentric people. We all seem to have at least one in our family. Difficult to imagine the stones. The underpainting is another unusual concept. I have heard about it from long ago paintings. I was not aware it is also done now. An interesting post, Deb.xx
I guess if you can’t think of anybody in your family as the eccentric one, it means YOU are the eccentric one. 🤣 Underpainting is very much alive and well. A painter I admire who lives back in Ontario always does an underpainting using a deep, rich red colour first. He says it makes the colours he puts on top “pop”. Tim Packer paints a lot of northern scenes of evergreen, maple and birch trees, with the sun peeking through the branches. Thanks, Erica 💕
Those stories about your grandmother are PRICEless.
Thank you, Luanne 💕
Three times?! You really liked Rocketman! It was good. I read that Elton insisted that Taron Egerton sing those songs himself, which I thought was brilliant. – Marty
Yes, I did! I have never done that for any film, ever. Thanks, Marty 💕
Ugh, with my very difficult to fit feet, shoe shopping is a painful experience I procrastinate about (and I *love* Rocketman as well).
Thank you, AJ 💕
Deb, I’m glad to hear you are painting. I haven’t painted a single brush stroke since the pandemic began — but I’ve been writing lots. Often when I paint, I’ll do an under painting first, usually in the complementary colour to the main colours in the painting.
Jude
I can definitely see the value in doing an underpainting. Thanks, Jude 💕