A bookish post...

A promise of bookish stuff, but first...

Yeah, sick again! I came down with a fever and stomach pain Saturday night. I think I've contracted some sort of food-borne stomach thing. I'm still feeling weakish and my stomach is picky about what I eat. I'm hoping this passes soon. Folks, watch out about buying food at delis and restaurants. I guess we can't live in isolation but many of these places hire whomever they can get to work, and many aren't conscientious about staying home when they're sick or washing their hands, etc. Micah said that Sully has thrown up several times lately after eating potato salad she bought at the deli I used to work at. I told her to be sure to check the dates because I know the new manager isn't good about rotating stock and checking dates. Anyway, sick of being sick!

Also, my old country doctor has been in the news lately and has been implicated (along with another man who actually was murdered!) in a dishonest scheme to have older folks hand over power of attorney to them. Now, I have a hard time believing all of this. I've known my doctor for almost 30 years and he's always been a kind, Christian man. He has patients that have been with him forever and they've become his friends, so who knows where the line should be drawn between a friend helping an aging friend or something else. Anyway, the news has pretty much ruined his reputation whether deserved or not. SO, I guess I'll be hunting for a new doctor. Which means, I'm liable to just not go to a doctor unless things get really bad. Okay. Enough about that! (One of the Fox affiliates did a four-part report on this called Mystery in Menahga.  I linked to it at left in case Glenn and Mark might want to watch. Macabre, but interesting. )

Now, on a MUCH lighter note!

I just wanted to share some beautiful pictures out of two books about Tasha Tudor. I read these books many years ago, and I'm sure many of you have. I was just thinking of how wonderful they would be as photo references for painting! I'm only going to show a few, but there are so many gorgeous photos in these books. For anyone who isn't familiar with Tasha Tudor, she was a children's book illustrator and she lived this old-fashioned  life all of her life. She raised her family like this and her grandchildren also shared in her unique lifestyle when they visited. I'm assuming that her children inherited her pretty little farm. It would be quite a tourist attraction.

Both of these books are a feast for the eyes.

Though it talks about her garden, it also contains lots of indoor pictures.

Sharing the kitchen with a granddaughter (or maybe great-granddaughter).

I thought this little sloppily iced squirrel cookie was pretty charming.

She spun, wove, knitted and did a hundred other handcrafts. This lady kept busy!

Her children played with a large dollhouse peopled with handmade dolls. They had complex lives and sent each other tiny mail! She still had all of these things when the books were made. There are many more pictures in the Heirloom Crafts book.

She made countless dolls and stuffed animals, etc. over the years. She even made some marionettes and collected antique clothing.

Besides goats, she had sheep and spun, dyed and wove on her big loom.

This looks cozy, but I could never paint in that dim light! But it does make a good picture. ;)

She had extensive flower gardens and orchards. This looks like a painting by one of the old masters.

I don't think she had any plumbing or electricity in this house. So, that's a real oil lamp.

Every surface was full of interesting stuff.

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of that. I also purchased a Winnie-the-Pooh storybook which I had seen someone on one of my homesteading videos reading to their children. I love the illustrations and maybe I will do some reading aloud to the grands.

Many of the pages only have small illustrations.

Here are some finished ATCs that I showed in an earlier post.

Goblin shark

Red-lipped bat fish

Sea dragon

I'm not sure this guy's knee looks too stable...

 This was a few days ago. For those of you who are sunning on the beach and want to cool off.

 And pencil sketches of my next batch of ATCs...

Well, that's about it for now. Time for a nibble of food and a nap. Any recommendations for how to handle yourself when you have a stomach virus would be appreciated. I'm thinking just drink liquids and nibble crackers and take naps? I don't suppose a doctor could do anything about it except tell me to let it run its course.

Y'all be good! Spring is coming!
Shalom.