K--is for Kites

Today is much too windy for flying kites, but thought I might share some kite memories...

It was always fun when Dad would bring home a kite and a roll (spool) of kite string, probably from Shafers' variety store. It arrived as two lightweight joined sticks rolled up with the kite paper, which in my memory was always red. We would carefully unroll the paper, rotate the sticks to form a T, then hook the points of the diamond-shaped paper to the slots in the ends of the sticks. Next we tied a length of kite string to the ends of the shorter cross stick, bowing it up to just the right curve. Another length of string (maybe two feet long?) was tied to the longer stick through a couple of holes poked through the paper a few inches from the top and several inches from the bottom. The roll of kite string was securely tied toward the top of this string. A tail of old nylon stockings attached to the bottom was the finishing touch.

Then, it was time to go to a pasture at the edge of our small town and go fly a kite! If the launch was successful, the kite would soar up and up as the string unrolled in your hand! One had to watch as the string came closer to being completely unrolled, to be sure it was attached to the core of the roll. Otherwise the kite could take off on its own for parts unknown! When it was time to head home, the string was wound back up on the spool. This took considerably more time than letting it out! More than once I may or may not have been late getting home before the six o'clock whistle blew!

At some point we bought kite string winders, but even that took awhile, especially if we had combined more than one spool of string for reaching even higher heights with our simple paper kites.

Now, the kites we take out are most likely to be the two- or even four-lined stunt kites that I previously wrote about on this page. But the fun of those first kites, and the family and friends with whom I made and flew them, remains!

Just a Few

I wanted to get a quick sketch done to join in on Scribble Picnic's “A Few of My Favorite Things” theme, especially since I missed the last theme. The key word there is “quick”! 

Of course there are many other things that are also "favorites"–family, chocolate, the sky, fuzzy blankets...–but this is plenty for now! If you're interested, you can click back on these links to previous drawings or posts related to these favorites of mine.

Mail

Cats, cats, cats

Crochet

Music, music

Bible

Basket

See what the favorites of others at the Picnic are by going here.

Double Bubble Double Trouble

     Do you remember chewing pink bubble gum and making those fantastic bubbles? It was even more fun if your brother or a friend was doing so at the same time. Then the challenge began... who could blow the biggest bubble? Of course, eventually, someone's huge bubble would reach the bursting point with a sudden jolt! Somehow it wasn't nearly as much fun when you had to peel it off your face!

     We usually went with Bazooka gum, since from 1953–2011 it included a Bazooka Joe comic strip! The other brand of choice was Dubble Bubble. Now that spelling of double bothers me, but I probably didn't even notice as a kid. 

     Double your fun by going here, where others are also linking up with Scribble Picnic for this week's "Jolt" or "Double" theme.

Tiny Bottles

     

     Over the years I've come across a handful of small bottles that caught my eye. Some were found half buried, for who knows how long, in the ground around our farm house. Some just showed up in our belongings, perhaps from our parents' things, or again–who knows? I know the original contents of a few, but not all. There's a newer bottle that held liquid garlic; one was probably aspirin tablets; another still has some powder that looks like foundation; and the little one on the left was for Sweet Oil "For Earache". I don't know what the chipped and cracked bottle with the star on it is. But when drawing it for Scribble Picnic's bottle theme, and looking at it more closely, it looks like it might have the letters VRM in the center of it.

     I was too late to link at the picnic last time, but if you care to check out the chicken scribble I posted it's at this link.  See what others at the picnic have poured onto their drawing paper this week here.

Chicken Scratches

Scribble Picnic has started up again, (I missed doing an "Explore" entry) and here it is the end of the day that our Chickens are due to hatch. I almost forgot again, so scribbled out a few chicks and hens, just to try to get myself back in the drawing habit.

Wish I had time to post photos of some of the chickens we used to raise.  Maybe another time!

Ready for a Nap

I've gotten out of the habit of drawing something each week, so thought it was time to jump back in with Scribble Picnic's "Plump" theme. I'm thinking a nap with a nice, plump sofa pillow would be nice!  Yawwwnnn....

Check out other plump drawings here.

Strawberry, anyone?

Strawberries are one of my favorite things we grow in our garden. I was just out there pulling weeds earlier this week and saw some little green berries just starting to form. Hooray! Before we know it they'll be large and red, destined for topping a bowl of ice cream or shortcake, or going into a pie, or going into the freezer to be enjoyed throughout the coming year!

Linking with Michael's Scribble Picnic. Check out this page for more fresh-picked strawberries!

Thanks to Sketch Dirt for guiding me through this drawing with her great instructional video.

Hot and Spicy!

     Thinking about "spicy" for this week's Scribble Picnic theme makes me immediately think of hot peppers or chili. I didn't grow up eating much that was spicy, and subsequently don't cook with very many "hot" spices. (Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, etc. used in baking are another story!) According to an entry in Wikipedia, "Many spices have antimicrobial properties. This may explain why spices are more commonly used in warmer climates, which have more infectious diseases, ..." And perhaps that has just a bit to do with why my Louisiana born and raised daughter-in-law grew up loving her hot spices. Bless her heart, she has been known to tone down her use of them a little if she knows Benny and I will be joining them for a meal! :-)

     You can spice up your life a bit by visiting other contributions to the picnic here.

Yep, It's a Tablecloth

     Today's activities included hosting a few ladies for our monthly gathering of Friendship Club. It's a club that has been around since the 1930s, when my husband's grandmother was one of the original members. Many ladies have been part of it over the years, but there are very few of us in the group now. We always try to have a comforter or quilt made and ready to give in case we know of someone who has had a fire or something. Fortunately that doesn't happen too often. At our meetings we visit, send cards to people who are sick, plan occasional outings, play some simple games, and of course have something tasty to eat! This afternoon I served a Cinnamon Roll Cake that turned out quite tasty!

     At the end of the day I realized the Scribble Picnic deadline had arrived again, so I pulled out my trusty pencils and focused on trying to make a sketch that actually looked like a tablecloth. Went over the original pencil sketch with a water color pencil, then pulled out the Aquash water brush (thanks, Michael!) to see how that would change it. My mind didn't take me on any creative journeys, so it's just a tablecloth this time. You can go here to see how others covered the Tablecloth theme.

     Ah, I should have used a tablecloth for our Club lunch this afternoon. Maybe next time!

Cold... Hot!

After several weeks away, I'm hoping to get back into a posting routine here. Christmas was rather extended for us this season, with the immediate family not being able to gather until Jan. 7. We're just glad that everyone could be together then!

I know we were due for some COLD weather, which has definitely arrived, but I still don't like it. Brrr! Guess I'll have to keep busy using up the hot chocolate mixes I received as a gift. Yummm!

New year–fresh start. For those of you who participate in Scribble Picnic, I have visited and caught up with your blogs. But in the interest of doing that, I had to forego taking time to leave comments. Please know that I thoroughly enjoyed all the interesting activities, thoughts, and art projects that you shared over the past month or so!

Linking with Scribble Picnic. Fill your cup with more "hot chocolate" here.

Holy Night

Praying we keep Jesus front and center amidst all the hustle and tinsel that sometimes seems to have become the season. Merry Christmas and God's blessings to all!

Linking with Scribble Picnic for this week's "Christmastime" theme. Join the celebration in various forms here.

Cookies Are a Snap!

Gingersnap cookies have been a family favorite as far back as I can remember. Mom used the recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Sometime in junior high or high school I typed the recipe (using Dad's trusty manual typewriter) onto a pink 3 x 5 index card. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I've pulled out the card, mixed up the ingredients, rolled the dough into balls, dipped them in sugar, and baked up dozens of the tasty treat!

Scribble Picnic theme for the week is cookie, so of course I had to give these gingersnaps a try with my watercolor pencils. Couldn't figure out how to get the sparkle of the granulated sugar on them. I'm anxious to see here what deliciousness the other participants have stirred up for their cookie jars!

I was curious to see if BH&G still has the recipe, so went to their website. I see the recipe they post now is almost

the same as mine, but not quite. Plus, they call them "ginger cookies" instead of "gingersnaps." So, I'll just post the recipe with the ingredient amounts the way I grew up with it!

Gingersnaps

1 1/2 cups shortening            1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar                         4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup molasses                   2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 eggs                                  2 teaspoons cloves

4 cups flour                           2 teaspoons ginger

Cream shortening and sugar; add molasses and eggs; beat well.

Add sifted dry ingredients; mix well. (A wooden spoon works great, since the dough will be stiff.)

Shape dough into small balls; roll in additional granulated sugar; place 2 inches apart on greased (or lined) cookie sheet.

Bake at 375º until light brown and puffy. Do not over bake!

Let cool a couple of minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Makes around 8 dozen cookies.

Timeless Toy

It's so easy to get out of a routine if you miss a week or two. At any rate, it's good to be back with Scribble Picnic to join in on this week's "Toy" theme.  (You can click here to see the fun others came up with.) I tried to think of a toy that most people would have played with at some point in their lives. I'm thinking this works!

Covered in Love

     My grandmother (1900-1995), like so many of her era, seldom let anything go to waste. If shirts or dresses were beyond wearing, she would salvage what she could of the material, and piece that together to make blanket tops. I'm not sure that she did the actual tying or quilting, but none-the-less the resulting blankets were uniquely hers, with reminders of this shirt or that robe or this housedress or even that pair of pajamas. I ended up with some of these blankets, most of which have seen much use and better days.  But, I decided to go ahead and use them. After all, that's what they were made for, and despite their worn and torn areas, they are a lovely reminder of Grandmother.

     I started out sketching just a blanket, which quickly became a lap quilt, which had to be on someone's lap, which required a person, and she had to be doing something, so here you have it! I'm not entirely sure what she is reading, though quite likely it's her Bible; or it's also entirely possible that it's one of her old diaries.

     After doing the pencil version, I decided to add some watercolor to liven up the blanket.

      Scanning the painted version in black and white gives it another look.

     This page will take you to see what others are snuggling up with for this week's Blanket theme for Scribble Picnic.

Penguin Love and a Treasure Hunt

Penguins–what could be more black and white, which is the theme for this week's Scribble Picnic. Did this in rather of a hurry using a 4B pencil in my little sketchbook. I don't appreciate the imperfections of the paper showing up when scanned and enlarged, but can't put the blame for all of them on the paper!

I will be spending the next three days at our huge garage sale (with other families) as part of the annual U.S. Highway 36 Treasure Hunt (400 miles of antique and garage sales across Kansas!) I don't know how every year we manage to pull enough junk treasure out of the house to be able to keep doing this. Oh well, as long as it keeps going out! You can check out more black and white contributions to the picnic here.

All Tied Up

A gift package could be all tied up with string or ribbon.

A shoelace could be all tied up–either a good thing or not, depending on the knots!

A hammock could and should be all tied up.

Our little granddaughters could have their wispy hair all tied up in cute waterspouts.

Yarn could be all tied up in a ball, ready for knitting needles or a crochet hook.

Who knows... it might even get all tied up and turn into something like this...

Crocheted afghan I originally made for my Grandmother T.
approx. 4' x 6'

...or this!

Crocheted baby hi-top sneakers made for first grandson

Go to this page of Scribble Picnic to see how others tied up their posts this week. Sorry to have missed the curly picnic last week, but I was all tied up!

Draw the Curtain, and the Winner Is...

     The first time I remember paying attention to curtains was in high school when I was allowed to choose a new paint color (yellow!) for my bedroom. Then Mom helped me pick out material and sew new curtains for the two windows. I'm pretty sure they were pink with some kind of "modern" flower design! We slept with the windows open in summer, listening to summer night sounds and hoping for a cool breeze to blow through the screen.

     About five years ago I drew these mauve curtains that hang on our half-frosted bathroom window. If I were to draw them now, I'd probably try to make everything a bit darker (or in color) so as to show up better. But, it is what it is!

Thought I should try some new curtains. These remind me of the time my sister-in-law was watching some of her nieces (and nephews?) She couldn't find one of them, until she saw the little one's shoes peeking out from the bottom of the living room curtains!

     The host of Scribble Picnic had a prize drawing a few weeks back. I was pleasantly surprised to hear my name announced as the winner, and thrilled to open the fun package when it arrived. Michael had generously included everything you see here in the photo–an issue of Bella Grace magazine, a package of pencils, bookmarks, a fun pencil box, a decorated egg (how did he know I have a collection of Easter eggs?), a kneaded eraser, a fabulous watercolor journal, two kinds of chocolate (anyone who knows me, knows that's right up my alley!), a couple of tea packets, a notecard made from his original painting (how can I give it up to send to someone?), two different watercolor brushes (that will encourage me to try more than just pencil sketching!), and a lovely personal note. Thank you, Michael, for your generosity, for hosting the Picnic, and for encouraging us to keep stretching our artistic wings!

You can go here to see other curtains hanging around on this week's Scribble Picnic.

Scribble Picnic–Ladybug

Fly away home to this page of Scribble Picnic to link to ladybugs who are sure to be more creative and interesting than this one. She's not too exciting, just munching away on some aphids on a stem, but at least she's definitely a ladybug!

Scribble Picnic – Fill in the Blank

Did you ever play "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"? It was a common game at birthday parties when I was in grade school. It was also the first thing I thought of upon seeing this prompt for the "Fill in the Blank" theme of this week's Scribble Picnic. (You can see at least a dozen other takes on the theme here.)

I just did  a couple of initial sketches along the "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" line of thinking.

They didn't go any further, so instead I went with several dozen "pins" and multiple colors to come up with this.

Though at this point I prefer to stick with paper and pencil, I think this would have worked well for me to try on a computer program. Will I ever? We'll see!

Watermelon

     We had a great three days celebrating the Fourth of July, beginning at church on Sunday morning where the offertory was an inspiringly rendered patriotic melody. That afternoon we, plus my brother and his wife, joined up at our daughter's church for a pot-luck, patriotic service, homemade ice cream, and fireworks display. Attended a wedding on Monday, then spent Tuesday with family and friends. The Fourth was a beautiful Kansas summer evening for a picnic that included grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, chips, fruit, and of course watermelon–which was sliced into easy to handle pieces.

Grandchild #3 doing a great job balancing her plate of small watermelon pieces!

     Played some bocce ball, then Grandchild #1 found some fireflies to try to catch. (Edit: Sorry, I don't know why the video won't play. Guess I'll have to try another time.)

Catching fireflies!

     After that we lit our small collection of fireworks, and were also able to see many of those set off in town and in the surrounding countryside.

     Hope you all have a chance to enjoy some watermelon sometime before summer ends!

     I tried a watermelon sketch in my usual black and white first, but decided it might be better with some color this time.

     You can find plenty of other juicy watermelons here for this week's Scribble Picnic. P.S. If you commented on the fox last week, please check back for my group reply.