“Wildflowers” drawing with Pentel oil pastels
Wildflowers
New Year’s Day Play in Cornflower Blue
I love cornflower blue. It might be my favorite color of all, so I thought I’d play with variations on the color with oil pastels on my relaxing New Year’s day. Happy New Year!
Tulsa’s Osher House
Today my friends and I toured the most beautiful home, Tulsa’s Osher House. Built in 1963, the Osher House was designed by Bruce Goff’s student Blaine Imel and is also known as “The Flintstones House.” The unique circular design shines with aqua glass.
Here are some highlights from the tour.
Sunday in the Garden
June and July have been even hotter than usual here in northeast Oklahoma, already reaching 100+ F temperatures, and this week we are forecasted for a 110 degree day, so a daily watering is definitely order for all of the plants.
After today’s watering I got a few garden diary pics: a ripening tomato, a flowering lotus, and watermelons in the shade of the leaves. The squirrels have nabbed a lot of the plants from my “vegetable garden,” leaving only watermelon and one little pepper plant. And I’m pretty sure they ate my first baby watermelon! Hopefully the new watermelons can grow big enough to elude the neighborhood wildlife.
Jean Sibelius – 13 Pieces, Op. 76: No. 3 Carillon
Saturday morning listening
First Tomato and Roe v. Wade
We have our first tomato coming in 💚
When my daughter was young, one of my favorite books to read to her was First Tomato: Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wells (and my blog subtitle is a little nod to this book). It’s about a bunny named Claire who is having a terrible wintry day, and finds solace when the bunny queen takes her to the bunny planet:
“Far beyond the moon and stars,
Twenty light years south of Mars,
Spins the gentle Bunny Planet.
And the Bunny Queen is Janet.”
On the bunny planet, Claire has “the day that should have been” and wanders through her mother’s wonderful earthy garden to pick the first tomato.
We love this book and my daughter and I have read it together many, many times.
Now, our first tomato came on the heels of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which my daughter, now 22, discussed with me this weekend. I don’t get on Facebook much because I don’t really like the platform but I do have one because some of my family members like to keep in touch on there and for events and site-related things. I have some distant relatives who were celebrating the court decision, and even though my daughter hardly uses Facebook, she asked me why I didn’t unfriend them, saying “how can you be friends with someone who doesn’t think you should have rights?” As usual, she had a very good point.
In real life, now that I think about it, I don’t have friends who don’t think I should have rights (and it applies to more than this situation). How can they denigrate women so much that they don’t trust their instincts about what is best for their own bodies? How can they stake a claim on such a personal issue? Pregnancy choices are complex, deeply personal, and private issues that should not be violated. The reality is, people will still have abortions, only the rich will find safe means and more poor people will die because of this.
Strange that my first tomato came at this sad time, but I still hope for “the day that should have been,” a day when women will be respected, and a day where all of our rights cannot be dropped alarmingly with a snap of a finger.
Sufjan Stevens – “Pittsfield”
June Home Tours
Yesterday my friends and I had a lovely day of touring homes and we got both a lot of sun and a lot of steps ☀️
First we toured the neighborhood where my friends live, Tulsa’s historic Lortondale mid-century modern homes. Here are some highlights:
Also, one house in the neighborhood had a beautiful wildflower yard! 😍
Next, we toured the Adah Robinson home, designed by artist and teacher Adah Robinson with the aid of her student Bruce Goff as well as assistance from Joseph Koberling. The Art Deco house features leaded glass windows, hollow tile, stucco, and terrazzo floors. The unique layout welcomes visitors with a stunning two-story living area with a huge open space, tall windows, and a beautiful light fixture. Adah Robinson was also a concept designer for Tulsa’s famous building, the Boston Avenue Methodist Church.
Animal Collective – “Loch Raven”
First Fruit: I Have a Baby Watermelon
The balmy, rainy weather we’ve had here in northeast Oklahoma lately has been perfect for my new plants. Yesterday was cooler so I spent some time pulling weeds (though it’s never enough!). Also, I have my first fruit of the year, a baby watermelon; I am so excited 💚
