A Holiday Gift for You

Every year since we all can remember, we pulled out hand-made advent calendars from the boxes marked “Christmas” in the attic, as well as the sparkling new one Santa sent us from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and hung them, anxiously counting down the days until the Grand Event.  With family and friends scattered miles and time zones apart, and many children grown up, the fun and anticipation of traditions like this are sometimes difficult to share and do.

With that in mind, and the wonderful connectivity of the internet, Carol and Julie wish to take you on an Advent Calendar tour and share memories and talents past and present.  It is our sincere hope that the next twenty-five days of fun and remembrances will tickle your holiday spirit!

DECEMBER 1

Looks like you made our Advent Calendar List!

 

Theater Revival!

Garden Theater, Frankfort, MI

Frankfort recently revived its community movie house, the Garden Theater.  This miraculous feat was accomplished by several businessmen and volunteers working together to resuscitate a neglected and unused downtown building.  I recently saw “Julie and Julia” there (in the comfort of new seats), and I highly recommend both the movie and the theater!  Their website is:  www.frankfortgardentheater.com

The Garden recently held its first film festival, and it was nice to see cars lining the downtown curbs in an otherwise quiet time of year.  Tickets were only $35 for the entire weekend! 

All of this activity of recent has brought to my attention our family’s involvement over the years in our local theaters.  My husband, Burt, worked at his hometown theater in the seventies running a 1929 carbon-rod projector.  For those of you who wonder what a carbon rod is, it is like those kind of sparkler things called welding rods.  That was the technique used to light the projector.  Since he grew up in Mississippi, you can imagine how hot it got in the projector room!  Thank goodness that hot and dangerous way of projecting has been improved upon. 

Elkin, Aberdeen, MS

 In the eighties, the theater was closed and for sale when a group of forward-looking people bought the old Elkin Theater, and dedicated it to community use and not-for-profit movie showings, run entirely by volunteers.  I remember attending an exhibition of young musicians that had attended a “blues” workshop lead by an ancient African-American that one of the volunteers had written a grant for.  The kids were incredible, especially for the short week he had worked with them.  The funniest part was he insisted they wear suits and ties to do their performance,  I had never before seen most of them out of their tennis shoes and t-shirts!

My sister, Kelly, and her daughter, Bailey, work for the Lyric downtown Fort Collins.  It has been reclaimed and opened for use, too.  It also has a cafe’, and has cartoons and all-you-can-eat cereal daily from 10am to noon(it’s a college town, you get the picture!).  Check out their website:  http://lyriccinemacafe.com

Kelly's Lyric, Fort Collins, CO

No theater revival tribute would be complete without mentioning the State Theater in Traverse City.  No matter how you feel about its benefactor, Michael Moore,  it has sparked new interests in many ways.  Its film festival is now a large yearly event, involving many volunteers.  It is truly an amazingly well-run and organized event, and my sister hasn’t missed it in the last several years.  She plans her Michigan visit around it!

One evening late last summer, I went down to the turnaround to see the sunset.  It didn’t turn out to be much, but when I headed back toward home, the Garden was lit up and beautiful.  For the next several evenings, I walked down there and watched the activity, and took pictures. 

"Going to The Garden"

This is my homage to the Garden Theatre, long may her lights warm the Frankfort nights and her movies bring the world to out doorstep.      Julie

Better Late Than Never, Did You Miss Me?

Okay, okay, I have been conspicuously missing of late as to my blogging duties, so sorry!  I will endeavor to post more consistently. Maybe I am just acting like the fall season, which was also missing in October, but has made up for it in November!

 A couple of things have kept me from this rewarding task.  One is I haven’t had time to do one painting since “End of Season” (which I sold right off!).  Two is that I went to Astoria, Oregon to visit my son, Caz.  Third is that I have been somewhat busy at Century 21/Sleeping Bear Realty, at least with tire-kickers, and have also taken my turn hosting the little euchre group we have.  Yes, I had to actually clean house and put up things that have been piling up since I have done so much art the last few months.  Let’s see if I can catch you up!

Bicycle fence near Astoria

Astoria and the Pacific Northwest was delightful!  I saw Mt. St. Helen’s and Mt. Ranier when we landed, and the drive from Portland to Astoria was along the Columbia River pretty much the whole way.  There were some interesting little houses on piers and floats stuck here and there, lots of ferns and moss everywhere. 

View of Astoria from the Column

View over Caz's house

I stayed with Caz and Melissa in a 1930-ish house with wood floors and a walk out basement in the side of a hill at Uniontown near the piers, and the former canneries. 

One of many sets of steps by Caz's house

Astoria is a town of 8500 souls, but it feels much smaller and personalized.  For you trivia buffs, Astoria is where Clark Gable did his first acting on stage.  We walked everywhere, rain or shine!  At least is was in the mid fifties most of the time, so rain wasn’t cold. 

Caz at coffee emporium where Melissa works

Melissa works as a barrista at a local coffee emporium, and Caz works at Fort George, a micro-brewery and restaurant.  In the summer, cruise ships unload close to their house, and flood the local shops and restaurants.

The Columbia River hits the Pacific near Astoria, and is one of the most dangerous body of waters to enter in the world.  Over 2000 ships have wrecked at the bar at the mouth of this river, and the ocean tides against the current of the river cause harsh riptides.  Many pilot ships and pilots that get dropped onto troubled boats via helicopters are stationed here.  The coast guard is huge in this area.  We crossed the scenic bridge to Washington and Cape Disappointment (what a name!).  Waves crashed over rocks along the highway as the tide and winds hit, and sprayed passing vehicles on the way.  At the state park, I practically walked up on this deer.  There was a store, and Caz went inside to inquire about the deer, thinking is was a pet.  The shopkeeper replied “what deer?”  We wound around ferns and huge spruce and fir trees, until we came to the lighthouse area.  The lighthouse was perched on the rocks, almost hanging on to the cliff’s edge!

Any visit to Astoria has to include a visit to the house the Goonie’s was filmed at.  It is privately owned, and is perched up on a hill overlooking the town.

"Goonies" house

View from "Goonies" house

  We went from there to a hiking trail and visited Cathedral Tree.  It was raining, but when you are climbing uphill, you don’t really notice.  I saw the biggest slug slithering its way up a stick, and I never want to see one that big again!

Restaurants and brew pubs are primo in this part of the world, as well as fair-trade coffee.  The funniest thing is there are espresso stands everywhere: antiques and espresso, bait and espresso, oil change and espresso, etc.  Many you just drive through!

The Art Community was alive and well, and I enjoyed its ”everyone’s invited, come and enjoy” presentations.  Melissa and I went to a gallery opening, and really enjoyed it.  She hadn’t gone to many, but recognized several of her customers!  One artist did watercolors on yupo, the colors were very  intense, especially his river paintings.

Caz and I went to Astoria Public Pier and visited the cool boats, and the sea lion lounge area.  They are such funny critters, and one of them is always “barking”!  

We also visited the Maritime Museum and toured a Light Boat, which is a floating lighthouse, and was used at the mouth of the Columbia until the 1960’s. 

Since the sun was almost shining, we ventured down to Seaside and Cannon Beach.  If you are a” Goonie’s” fan, you will recognize the rock formations.  Caz said there are really neat tidal pools in the summer, but high tide was around noon everyday, so both low tides were in the dark, so we couldn’t explore them.

Cannon Beach

The last night I was there, we ate Bosnian at Drina Daisy’s downtown Astoria.  If you go there, go very humgry, the food was fabulous and plentiful.  Caz’s boss and his wife, and some co-workers and their families joined us.  It was a good thing, as we had plenty of food to polish off!

Caz and Melissa at Drina Daisy's

After being “unplugged” for over a week, I had a lot of catching up to do!  Burt got his real estate license in October, and listed his first property! 

I hosted euchre, and the amount of food everyone brought was criminal!  We don’t play seriously, just have fun getting together and laughing and being silly.

Sorry I don’t have any new paintings, but with the holiday season upon us, I thought you might enjoy a painting I did of Jessie when she was about 8 years old during the holidays.  Hope you enjoy!           Julie

October goes

There is a song I have always enjoyed written by Barry Manilow and Johnny Mercer that goes “No matter how old I grow, I hate to see October go.” Well, we didn’t have much of the usually glorious October this year, so I haven’t played my song at all.  Ah well, next year.

There were beautiful dark clouds,however, over my distant view of Empire bluffs and Sleeping Bear and lots of wind blowing the orchards and big pines.  But hey, there were some wonderful visits from old friends and a chance to get out and enjoy the color on the partly sunny days.  To see the morning sun shoot down the valley, illuminating and singling out groups of golden maples and the sun and shadows of a hilly road.  Those sunny moments were keepers.

The daughter from Colorado was here for a few days to enjoy the color that she misses there.  She also busied herself making bread and one of those “round things” (pie) for Dad.  And helping put away the sailboat for another year.

We explored the county and bought pumpkins and apples from the roadside wagon, watched Lake Michigan beat against the breakwater from the Elberta bluff, and enjoyed the view of Frankfort across the bay.

The birds are beginning to come back to the feeder; it seems as though there are even more than last year—and early, too.  Do you suppose they know something about the winter to come?  They line up on the twig tree next to the feeder waiting their turn like airplanes in a landing pattern while the jay hogs the stand.

All the local Fall festivals are over and the Elberta farmer’s market is through for the year.  Only Halloween is left for October; all the witches and pumpkins abound.  Frankfort has a very special pumpkin carver, Ed Moody, who does huge 800 pound pumpkins with ghoulish and comic faces.  Do look at his website.  It is:       pumpkined.com

As the wind and rain blow me into November, I’ll hope for sun and some nice days for all of us!       Carol

Tucking Up

We have had our first frost, and the inevitable coming of winter has raised it’s cold head.  We have all been scurrying around tucking up our boats and summer toys, winterizing engines and plumbing, stocking wood for the fireplaces, and enjoying the blazing finale of the trees before we have to rake their leaves from our lawns.  The apples and winter squash are plentiful, and the farmer’s markets are brimming with the last of the season’s bounty.  Every town has a celebration of some sort, and if you try, you can plan to go to one every weekend this month.

Burt and I took one last canoe trip around the Betsie Bay recently.  We explored Luedtke Boneyard, where they keep their barges and tugs when not in use, and got some great pictures and reflections. 

 

There is something so fascinating about those tugs!

I got my birthday order of art supplies in and I’m happy as a pig in slop!  I like that Wallis paper, even if it sanded my finger prints off when I blended my colors!  Here is the result, hope you enjoy it………Julie

"End of Season" pastel

Color Tour Time

The summer and September have raced past me, and October is one-third gone already!  Have no fear, as the month of my birth won’t leave without me celebrating Her blazing retreat!  The Harvest Moon has been glowing golden between storms, peeping around illuminated-edged clouds at times.  Frankfort is just starting to get color, and it looks like peak time might be in the next week or two.  The experts say all this rain will help the trees hold on to those sunset-hued leaves a little longer before they return to earth. 

With the days of riding my bicycle  numbered for the year, I have been taking advantage every chance I get.  I rode down an alley in town the other day, and was greeted by these happy sunflowers, nodding at me in the breeze.

Frankfort is having its 3rd annual Fall Festival this weekend.   The streets are decorated with hay bales and interesting Halloween characters wrapped around light poles.  There will be pumpkin-carving contests, pumpkins catapulted into Betsie Bay, and of course, the Great Pumpkin dropped from a large crane onto a junked car!  Last year the winning bid to drop it was $200!  It is a fun family day with lots to do for all ages.   Last year, Amy and I entered the costumed dog parade  with our corgi’s as “Wizard of Oz” characters.  We won first place!  Fixit didn’t speak to me for several hours, he didn’t like the lion’s mask over his nose!

This isn't Kansas.......

October is always a personal time for me to review what I have (or haven’t) accomplished in yet another year on this beautiful orb, and possibly re-align some old goals and set new ones.  I am very pleased that Carol and I have been allowed the time and privilege to paint more with each other, and to spur each other on.  We tend to post brand-new paintings we have just finished, but we have many others you may not have seen, and I am posting a few today. 

Empire Bluff Walk Watercolor by Julie

"Shelf Life" by Julie

 ”Shelf Life” was just in the annual juried art show at Crystal Lake Art Center. 

Old Chairs by Carol

 This one I bought from Carol before she even had a chance to exhibit it anywhere, I liked it so much!

The Folks gave me a very generous gift card to Dick Blick’s art supply (Carol said it was Pete’s idea), and I just spent two hours online judiciously picking which items I wanted the most.  Yes, I bought that really expensive Wallis pastel paper!  I may lock myself in the studio when my shipment arrives so I can play with all the goodies!  Stay tuned for the results!……Julie

Stormy Skies

It has been a crazy couple of weeks, almost like July!  Robin invited me for a ”girls time” where we doodled supplemented by a good Malbec.  Here is my doodle of her doodling. It must be said here that she was a total moving target!

 The last few days have been blustery and/or stormy.  We have had up to fifty mile winds, knocking several trees down and leaving many inconvenienced by power outages.  All of this atmospheric activity has caused me and Burt to re-aquaint ourselves with the scenic skies and their clouds.

Burt called me on the way to his work and told me to go to the turn-around and check out the clouds around the lighthouse.

It was quite a humbling site.  

I had to go down near Arcadia Friday night to take a new listing, and the skies were showing out again.  Of course, I was almost out of gas, so had to detour to Bear Lake before I could come home.  This was inspired by the view from a public access site. 

A Moment of Calm

I hope you enjoyed  ”looking at clouds from both sides now” (boy, did I just date myself or what?).  Until the next adventure………Julie

Celebrations old and new

Julie and Burt have been doing such a wonderful job of picturing September in all its glory here in the North.  It has been a busy month for all and  Amy’s birthday party was one of the best.  But there was another celebration we attended that made me think  of how wonderful it is that we are able to celebrate not only an eighth anniversary (Amy and Tony) but a sixtieth.

Our friends, Chuck and Bea, celebrated this one with a fun open house which included a hotdog vendor with his cart outside—with all the toppings— and a finale of Dove bars from a decorated freezer in the living room.  There was time for all to visit and enjoy and relax and that is the way to celebrate that many years.  Here’s to them and may there be more such joyous occasions.

On another beautiful September day we were invited to go sailing with some old friends on their Pearson sailing ketch.  The sun shone, the waves sparkled, and the wind was just enough to make us heel a bit .  We sailed about 7 miles out of Frankfort harbor to look back at the lovely coast of Michigan, always a different view.  I tried to get a good picture of our return and the Frankfort breakwater and light but leaning over the side was not the best advantage point.  Ah well, a lovely day for all eight of us.

The painting day with Julie and other artists at the farm in the national park was a perfect day to paint and to socialize and hopefully to remember how to do it!

Julie at work...

 She, Julie, has been great in getting me places  whether it be in a kayak or exploring art galleries or sitting in a field for a day.  The painting I did was of the old farm house there.

As I look out the window to the hills and orchards I can see the first hint of changing colors and then I think of the changing colors of old friends over the years.  A little grayer, a little heavier,  but the bright colors are still inside.  Let’s enjoy September.    Carol

First Day of Autumn

The weekly ramblin’s of Burt and Julie took us in search of the local harvests.  We turned inland, more or less, and travelled the blue highways of farm country.  I so love the fact that there is roadside unattended fruit and vegetable stands at the various farms, and we live in an area that trust in your fellow man still allows for coffee cans to receive the money!  We stuffed our dollars through the slot and took a quarter peck of Honey Crisp apples to snack on.  We wound our way to Lake Ann, where we had lunch at the LA Cafe.  They pride themselves in serving non-processed meats on their sandwiches, and I had a Reuben.  Burt got a burger and home-made onion rings, Yummy!

I navigated as usual, and have to say here that I have not found an accurate map of Leelanau and Benzie Counties yet!  The names or numbers on the maps don’t coincide with the name on the  road sign (if there is a road sign), and there is no clear discernment between paved and gravel, or two -track roads.  No matter, we have no train to catch, and keep ramblin’.  We came across an ancient falling-in old house that even I don’t think can be fixed up!  It made for some interesting shots though.

We wove our way to Cedar, and then north to Good Harbor.  The milkweed, favorite food of the larva of  Monarch butterflies,  has it’s pods on ready to burst and spread the mini parachute-like seeds.  Fixit took a quick dip in Lake Michigan, and we headed toward Leland.  We hoped to see Salmon jumping the dam, but saw none while we were there.  We walked around historic Fishtown, and then through a couple of galleries.  Some of the shops were closed for the season, while others appeared to be “casually” open.  I got tickled with this one, the lights are on, doors open, and a rope stretched across the doorway with a sign attached proclaiming ” be back at some point”.  We started weaving our way back toward home, and came up on a pumpkin patch.  Fixit looks good in pumpkin!

We got semi-lost again somewhere south of M-72 and county 610.  The sky had become very overcast and we were headed in when I spotted this field of Llamas.  I made Burt stop the car and I took several shots.  There were so many you could hear the chorus of them grazing.  Look closely, the baby brown one looks like a cartoon character that got squeezed! Now I know what rail thin is!

Sleeping Bear Dune Climb

Last Tuesday’s trip around Glen Lake yielded this pastel. 

Thanks for tuning in….Julie

Tweddle Farm Paint Day

Artist Ellie Harold from Atlanta came and stayed with me at the Artful Lodger last fall expressly to paint.  Weather was not on her side, and she didn’t get to paint as much as she wanted to, but she bought the house next door to the Lodger when the sign went in the yard during her stay.  Oil is her medium, and she paints mostly en plein air.  She was selected Artist in Residency at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park this year, and today she invited several other area artists to come and paint, photogragh, write, or whatever muse calls them.  She is staying at Tweddle Farm on Norconk Rd., and Carol and I went to join the fun. 

Morning at Tweddle Farm

The old farmhouse was charming and relaxed, filled with light, and showcased her works well.  We cased the joint out, and scattered to try our hand in our mediums in the wonderful September sun. 

Painters Afield

Painters in the Shade

 It was both scary and exciting as we worked feverously to not lose our shadows or light that we started with. 

Carol painting the farm

 Ellie pushed herself to do two demos while we were there. 

Ellie doing a demonstration

 

Ellie and Susan with the Park Service

People came and went all day, some painting, some just checking out the projects.  Even the Park Ranger came by and checked out all of our works!  The fields and vistas around the farm were decked out in the early fall hues, and the later the day became, the more the barns glowed in the sun.  Well, of course my camera battery died before I could take all the pictures I wanted to, but I think you can get an idea of the wonderful day we spent.   Here is my rendering: 

Old Tree at Tweddle Farm

 You can check out some of Ellie’s works at www.EllieHarold.com.  Goodnight!…….Julie