Happy Easter, or Spring, or Passover!

And a comparative day of rest.  Yesterday too busy even to blog, which will tell you something.  So this is a kind of six word Sunday instead.  With good wishes to all, whatever the significance of the day and the season.

Much happening yesterday, involving buying another gallon of paint since the free paint, as expected, was two walls short of a studio.  The studio having a kind of entryway, the place has six walls, and I've done four of them. This involved moving furniture and art materials yet again, but the nice thing about painting is that you can see what you accomplished, unlike other domestic labors.

And here's an incredibly transformed window area, after genius handyman Mike, heretofore referred to as GH, replaced the entire sill which had been flooded years ago in a dramatic spill in the course of making art despite cats, and rounded off the front edge, very nice detail, he's good at this.  

It looked too desperate to picture before, too depressing, I hate before pictures, so here's the lovely result.  The paint looks pinker in pix than in life where it's a softer shade, but still very nice as you see, as a backdrop to the art and ideas that get put up on it.  

Here's a handmade paper piece and a wire and found metal drawing.

And there were numerous other vital errands, such as getting the prosecco to celebrate Easter with HS today, kitty litter and new boxes for the cats, they're thrilled to have new bathrooms, DVDs for our viewing pleasure, the humans that is, the cats don't care as long as they can sleep on top of me while I watch, and various other items that kept on occurring to me as I was out.

All in all, I was in three towns shopping yesterday.  I went specially to a hardware store that is not the hated big box type place which shall remain nameless, but a real one, complete with people who know what they're selling and actually talk with the customers. And give advice, and know how to match paint from a little board I'd painted to show them, and how to figure out an equivalency since their paint is not the original brand I had, and how to advise me on the most economical way of doing all this.

In the space of less than five minutes I was complimented three times on the hat and scarf I was wearing, each time to say that the color was very good on me -- these are paint specialists, very tuned in to color -- which cheered me up no end.  

One of the wonderful features of having your hair turn silver and grey is that you can wear different colors.  This color didn't look half as good on me with very dark hair.  I pointed out, too, that the scarf was a mix of string from the hardware store and yarn, and they were amazed to find that they sell art materials.  

I dyed the string after all the knitting was done, and was happy with the result  It's surprisingly warm on those nippy spring days where the wind is not your friend.  Recognize this, Mare? it's like the one I made for you.  Just right for crisp Bay Area days, too.

It's knitted on big needles to create the openwork effect, with tapering ends. No idea where I got that idea.  I can't remember what pattern I used for the hat either, but it's somewhere in my Big Book of Saved Patterns I've Knitted.  The yarn was a gift of Stefi, so all in all, this set doesn't owe me much!

And now the table's laid, the scalloped potatoes just need to finish cooking, the ham ready to slice, Danish canned, since I think their farming practices are somewhat better than ours, politics gets in everywhere..the corn and peas and carrots to gently cook, separately, that is, with a chunk of thyme pesto, lovely springtime flavor. The mustard and the plum sauce and the tamarind sauce all set out. Tea tray is set up. Handsome Son will bring the cheese and crackers and the Easter chocolate and jellybeans for dessert.

All set to enjoy a lovely afternoon, sunshine today, maybe a walk  later, always a good feature of time together.

The Easter setup all ready, too, despite spirited attempts by Duncan to play hockey with the painted eggs.  And Dollivers dolled up to wish you a good day, too, before squabbling over who gets which egg.  Greensleeves, a model resident, never fusses about new dresses, perfectly satisfied with her outfit, what a contrast. Bunniver, having brought all the eggs, looks on wisely and lets the Dollivers argue.