This year instead of a partridge in a pear tree, my song was about a parsnip in my sketchbook.

I spent the holiday with a terrible head cold. To keep myself occupied while everyone else celebrated, I asked the kids to find something in the kitchen for me to sketch. They brought me a parsnip from the crisper. I'm not even sure why I had a parsnip in the crisper since I've never cooked or eaten a parsnip in my life. But, at least I can now say I've sketched one.

A cellphone shot of another small nativity scene I made this week. Same characters, slightly different wardrobe. I really want to work on some wise men, angels, and shepherds, but time is running out this season.

Getting back to the sketchpad after a long break.

The busy fall season is over. Whew. I'm hoping to get back to the drawing table now.

In the meantime, I found out there is a craft fair this weekend in the neighborhood. I didn't have much time to make many items to contribute to the fair, but I did manage to finish a few things.

I crocheted some bears and outfitted them in tops and accessories.

And I made a small nativity scene made from wool felt and a bunch of pipe cleaners. Gotta love crafts with pipe cleaners.

update: everything sold out, plus I got orders for more bears, more nativity scenes, and a request for some flower drawings. Whooohoooo.

September Sunday in a Brooklyn park.

D train, last stop

Still waters. I like still waters.

I like the warm sand, cool and damp when I dig my toes into it. I like the sound of the waves, I like the white bright light of the sun, and I like the horizon so far away. But I don't like the feel of the water that moves and moves and moves without ever stopping. Lakes and pools - where the water stays in one place - are where I like to swim. When I went to the beach last week, I kept my notebook next to me, dry.

The girl in the yellow shirt was at the beach with her family. Her father, dressed in slacks and white button-down shirt, stood the entire time he was there. Her mother napped on a blanket. Her little sister fussed in a stroller and the girl in the yellow shirt sat with the toddler in the sand and built a castle, topped with a small umbrella she took from the stroller. Her father told her the stroller umbrella didn't belong in the sand. A vendor walked by selling peeled mangos on a stick for $3 and the girl in the yellow shirt asked for one, but her father said no. Then the girl in the yellow shirt stood up without a word, pulled a shower cap on her head and walked to the shore. When she came back, she brought a handful of broken shells and she quickly added them to the castle because her father said it was time to go.

Still waters.