The Finished Art Project!

In my last post, I showed you a colored pencil drawing that I'd made for the wife of son #5 as a belated birthday gift.

That's just a photo of it taken on my phone, and the color is a little off...but essentially, that's how it came out.  (I know I should have scanned it, but I've had trouble in the past scanning these sorts of pastel-colored drawings, because often the colors look too muted.)

I texted the photo to son #4, who is so talented, and he was able to add some subtle translucent shading on the left and two streaks of sunlight on the glass of the door.  Then I adjusted the color just a bit using basic computer editing (because the photo came out a bit darker than the original) and sent it off to Walgreen's to be printed.  My drawing was 9x12", but I had it enlarged to 11x14", thinking that at that more common size, it might be easier to find a frame for it.

Amazon had the perfect matted poster frame.  And voila!  C'est finis!

We are heading to Savannah today, for the Saturday morning wedding of one of our nephews, the oldest child of one of my husband's sisters.  We have been up in NY for the past two weeks or so, spending time with another sister of his who is battling cancer.  I haven't mentioned her plight yet here at the blog, due to privacy concerns that are too personal to go into; but I think what she'd appreciate now more than ever is any and all prayers.  She has a PET scan this morning (in fact, I think she's about to go in for it any minute now).  Months ago, she got PET scan results that were truly miraculous: she'd been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that had spread to all different parts of her body; but after a number of treatments, every single tumor was gone without a trace, except for the one in her colon--and that had shrunk!  Please pray for another miracle for her today, dear readers. 

I'm going to see my D-I-L in Savannah, and I can't wait to give her the picture, which was a fun joint project with son #4 and truly a labor of love.  Have a great weekend!

When Artwork is a Labor of Love

A while back, my daughter-in-law (wife of son #5) showed me an old photo of the firstborn of her two little girls with one of the cats they used to have (and had to give away to family members out in the Midwest, due to allergies--but that's a story for another day).  It was so adorable: the two were sitting side-by-side on the floor, a toddler in footie PJ's with her pet kitty-cat, gazing at the world outside the front storm door.  I told my D-I-L that I thought it looked like it should be a painting, and that I wished I had the talent to do it justice.

When her early-April birthday was approaching, I actually entertained the idea of doing that for her as a gift. I thought I could make either a painting or a colored pencil drawing inspired by that endearing photo. I started working on a rough sketch; but a bit intimidated by how difficult the project seemed (I mean, the photo was tad dark, and there were objects blocking a perfect view of the two sweet creatures I would want to highlight), I ultimately put it aside.  We never did get a gift in the mail on time for my D-I-L's actual birthday. Then when I asked her during a FaceTime birthday call if she had any special wishes, she mentioned that she would like me to try to do what we had talked about.  If I was up to it, of course.  

I don't like to say no to my kids if at all possible.  And this was going to be a very belated gift, but... I got right to work after that call, excited to pour all my love and energy into this gift.  The first thing I wanted to tackle was the star of the scene, my sweet golden-haired granddaughter, and here's what the piece looked like on April 9, which was day one. (Excuse the poor lighting/quality of the photos I’m about to share.)

When it comes to drawing or painting, my very favorite subjects are living, breathing creatures: people and animals (especially cute furry ones).  I'm not very interested in--or good at--landscapes or buildings or vehicles. However, some of those not-so-fun-for-me inanimate objects were part of the scene these two were looking at in the photo I was using as inspiration.  So I added them.  But honestly, I would have loved to just stop after my granddaughter and her cat were finished. Maybe have a blurry garden or woodsy scene showing through the glass door.  But I sketched in the details (poorly) and forged ahead.

As I told son #4, who is a gifted artist, my go-to style seems to be "children's book illustration."  My work is not at all realistic, and when I do colored pencil drawings, I always default to using a fine-tipped black Sharpie to outline everything.  (Self-trained artist, here.  Obviously!)  I was going to try something different with this piece of artwork, but I'm an old dog and you know what they say about new tricks and whatnot.

I worked on this project diligently for close to two weeks, in fits and starts.  Here's how things were progressing on April 18. 

As you can see, my humble little labor of love barely resembles the photo that inspired it.  I call "artistic license!"  Yes, that's it, that's the ticket!   And thank goodness I can erase colored pencil marks, because I had to do lots and lots of tweaking and fixing.  Also, I decided to add a little bird to the scene.  No doubt these two would both be fascinated by that.  By April 21, I decided the picture was finished.

I sent a photo of the drawing via text to son #4 to see what he thought.  He has this very cool art program for his tablet, with which he creates truly professional works that blow us all away.  He said that if I wanted, he could add streaks of light on the glass of that front door, or blur the scene showing through it so that the two figures in the foreground are the main focus. I was excited about the idea of collaborating with him. This will be the first time we've ever done anything like this!

Once my talented boy has edited it for me, I'll be back to show you how it came out.  (I'm sure you'll be on tenterhooks until then, ha ha!)

Happy Sunday, dear readers.  😊

Easter 2026

Yes, this is my Easter post.  And I'm a little late, I know—but what else is new when it comes to me and updating this blog?!  I think it's a good thing that I'm having hardcover blog books printed up yearly now as family keepsakes, because it makes me more determined not to let too much time pass between posts!  If possible, I'd like all of our most important family get-togethers to be included in those books. Also, technically, there are still four more weeks of Easter!  We are still in Easter celebration mode, liturgically; so I guess this post isn't so late after all.

On Easter Sunday, we had a lovely after-Mass brunch at our house, with 12 adults and 17 kids in attendance altogether. Joining us were: our three VA sons and their wives and children (which means 14 of our grandchildren); the parents of one of our daughters-in-law, who are local; an old college friend of two of our daughters-in-law; and our niece (with whom I share a name) and her three girls.  It was so much fun—a bit crazy, of course, but we like it that way.  We set up the dining room table with a buffet that included egg-and-spinach casserole, quiches, hash brown casserole, sausages, fruit, cinnamon coffee cake, and assorted pastries.  One daughter-in-law brought a Greek salad, her friend brought deviled eggs, and our niece brought two dozen out-of-this-world doughnuts. Oh yes, and we had lasagna, too—-although everyone was more into the breakfast fare and that was mostly ignored.

We were able to get everyone assembled around the table so that my husband could say grace before we started eating.  And he ended with, "He is risen!"  To which we all enthusiastically responded, "Truly, He is risen!"  It was wonderful.

We had an Easter egg hunt afterward, and all the kids (ranging in age from two to twelve) got along extremely well and kept themselves happily occupied with—minimal adult intervention—all afternoon, so my husband and I were able to really enjoy visiting with our boys and their wives and everyone else who'd come to celebrate with us.  

Easter might be my favorite holiday (although check in here again in early December, and you might get a different story, LOL).  It fills me with such joy, it truly does. Because it’s springtime, and the days are getting longer and sunnier, and the earth is blooming once again. But mostly because He is risen.  Truly, He is risen.  Alleluia!

Now for the proverbial photo dump:

I absolutely love the days leading up to events like this, when I am in party-prep mode and making whatever dishes I can ahead of time, and then deciding how I'm going to set everything up. And post-party, I always think of how I could have made things better.

This was the first time we ever set up the food buffet-style in the dining room, because we usually like to keep that table free for anyone who wants to eat there. But when it’s set up in the kitchen, it gets so crowded and chaotic when everyone is trying to fill their plates. Now that the grandkids are getting older, I really wanted to try it this way. I thought it would seem special, and it did.  But…for future Pearl brunches, I'm going to work on making the spread look truly spectacular and inviting, with foods set up on all different levels (and I have plenty of footed bowls and tiered cake plates that I could use for this, I don't know why I didn't break them out on Easter!). I’m going to have more savory dishes and fewer sweets! Also, I think next time I’ll pre-cut the quiche slices and arrange them on pretty platters (or better yet, make mini quiches instead of big pies!), so that it will be easier to get them served. That goes for the coffee cake and pastries as well—plates of bite-sized squares might work better, especially with all the littles we have at our shindigs.  I have lots of other ideas, too—I guess I tend to overthink everything...but that’s all part of the fun for me.  And now I can hardly wait for another excuse to have my gang over!

Happy Easter, dear readers!  And God bless you all.

Three Beautiful Moments in an Ordinary Day

I’m on Substack now, and I recently saw a great post on my feed by one of the people I follow there (because her thoughts on homemaking and motherhood are profoundly beautiful, and I think her writing is a wonder).  She called it “6 Beautiful Moments in an Ordinary Day,” with captions for each of the six pictures.  I loved that idea: showing gratefulness for all the small, ordinary moments that we experience in the course of a mundane, average day, which are actually blessings and even almost miraculous.  So I thought it would be fun to try a similar post here at the blog (or better put, to be a total copy-cat!).

Here are three beautiful moments in my day, from about a week ago.

1

I was out walking in our neighborhood, and looking at this view of our house really struck me. It got me thinking about how much I absolutely love springtime in VA, when the cherry blossoms are blooming on our tree out front.  Between that glorious tree, and the white picket fence, and our garden statue of Mary near the front walk, I think this scene looks almost too beautiful to be real. As I stood there on my interrupted walk, I was reminded of the movie The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara (one of our very favorites, which we always watch on St. Patrick's Day).  O'Hara's Mary Kate Dannaher and Wayne's Sean Thornton get married and move into a darling thatched-roof cottage with an emerald green door, the most perfect little Irish cottage imaginable, but they have a rocky start to their union. Mary Kate is a girl who loves keeping her home, loves to have her things about her (I can totally relate to her!). Twice in that movie, she says to Sean, "It's a pretty cottage, isn't it?" To which he replies, "I think so."  That's the way I feel when I look at this house: I think it's such a pretty little cottage, and I couldn't be happier to live in it.  I feel so blessed to have it!  When we moved here nine years ago, leaving behind a much bigger house that had been our home for over a quarter of a century, I never would have believed I could feel this way about another house.  But oh, I do.  It will be the house that my grandchildren remember.

2

Speaking of how much I love springtime in VA--look at this spectacular view!!  Two of our boys, sons #3 and #4, live about 35 minutes south of us, and this is a view from the highway that connects our town with theirs.  We pass it every time we go back and forth to visit with them.  There are lots of similar views along the route, but this particular spot is just the best of all, with the wooden fence, the sprawling green fields, and the outlines of the Blue ridge Mountains in the distance--and no houses or other structures in the way to spoil its perfection.  For years, I've meant to take a picture of it, but it always rushes past before I remember to pull over.  Well, last Sunday son #4 and his gang were at our house for after-Mass brunch, and our daughter-in-law Braveheart mentioned that the view from this spot was better than ever right now. I mean, it's always so lovely, at any time of the year; but she said that there was currently a riot of daffodils blooming in the foreground.  Later that day, close to the dusky time of day photographers call the "magic hour," we were heading over to have dinner with son #3's family, to celebrate the fourth birthday of his fifth and youngest child; and my husband, God bless him, made this moment happen: he remembered to stop on the side of the road, so that I could snap a few quick pictures with my cell phone camera.  This scenic vista is just breath-taking; to me, it looks like an oil painting.  Almost too perfect to be real.  It makes me feel blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

3

And finally, here is maybe the most beautiful moment of the three, captured for posterity: our sweet little grandson, the newly minted 4-year-old, playing with the present I made him for his birthday.  He is an absolute animal fanatic; so I painted a giant canvas play mat for his toy creatures to inhabit.  It's 24x36", so pretty good-sized, yet not nearly big enough for the extensive menagerie that he has these days!  But he did seem to like it, and watching him put it to use made his Grammy very happy.  Watching the grandchildren do anything at all tends to do that, actually.  Those are always some of life's most beautiful moments.  And I feel so blessed that I get to experience them on a regular basis.

There are so many moments to cherish, such beautiful daily proofs of the existence of God, on even the most ordinary of days in the most ordinary of lives.  God is so good!  We just have to keep our eyes open so that we don't miss them.

Have a blessed Easter, dear readers.