Paper and Threads

Our 3 children and 6 of our 7 grandchildren were together this past weekend at the beach.  Henry, age 9, is at sleep-away camp for the first time this summer and missed it.  We have great trouble getting a photo of all of them, but here is the best.

I still try to paint a page in my sketchbook while we are together - although it gets harder each year with so much activity all around. 

There was lots of swimming - and I sat on the patio and sketched the outdoor shower while they were all off for ice cream.

My daughter loves hydrangeas and all of the plants were in full bloom.  I can never remember the name of this variant - just one of the many types and colors around the house.

Yesterday there was an 8k race in town and our two sons and our son-in-law ran it.  But guess who else ran it and received a first place ribbon for the 9 and under group?

Trips to the beach, water balloons, and the ribbon - just a few more things to remember about our wonderful weekend.

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We are still at the beach, so these sketchbook pages were photographed, not scanned. 

Clam Bar in Amagansett- We took a ride out to Montauk, the tip of the South Fork of Long Island, one afternoon, and stopped at a roadside clam bar for a snack on the way back.

A 2 pound lobster, before he was boiled for dinner.  He was frisky, so this was a very fast sketch! 

I found two different varieties of whelk shells on the beach yesterday, and had to add them to my Southampton beach collection.

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This is our annual beach week with friends - and we've been lucky to have several hours each day to walk on the beach.  I love collecting and painting shells, but I haven't found many yet.  Here are two scallop and two broken moon snail shells.

My husband made wonderful, fresh black sea bass for dinner with a green sauce made from cilantro, lime, and several other ingredients.  I sketched the fish before it went on the grill.

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These are the journal pages that I did on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - the last until the end of the summer.

Sydney and I sketched together and she drew hydrangea blooms while I sketched her - which was her request.  It doesn't look like 6 year old Sydney, although she said I got the hair drawn correctly!  I never used to draw family members, so at least I'm now trying to capture a likeness.

I love sweets and was tempted by a freshly baked cookie and a Dunkin Doughnut most of Saturday afternoon.  I succombed to one, but not the other!

I was awakened when a bathroom hairdryer slipped in its holder, turning it on, and couldn't get back to sleep.  So I moved out to the sunroom and listened for the birds to wake up while I read.  There was suddenly a very different, insistent chirp, right outside the screen door and it was a beautiful cardinal.  This was drawn from a photo since he flew off pretty quickly.

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We were at the beach 3 times last month, including the 4th of July weekend with our children and grandchildren.  Here are some of my random journal pages for those visits. 

The Hydrangea Variant in my Daughter's Garden:

Poolside While the Children Swam:

Group Dinners on the Patio Next to the Grill (covered):

Rabbit Drawings to Remember How Much the Bunnies in the Yard Scared Annabelle (age 3):

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