Lately…Important Nothings and Downton Abbey!

Well we had a little breather with cooler weather last weekend. Mr. Walker and I enjoyed a good walk at Rowe Woods..such joy!!!

Ragweed season has started and our Darling Girl is allergic to it. Her skin gets so itchy and she starts wriggling and crying. So immediately of to the vet for her shot and on coming home, she made sigh of relief and continued with her favorite activity.

With apologies for this rather blurry photo…but all this packing material was used to send  the three little bottles of vitamins in the front of it….

The Walker boys and I text a lot and send each other photos during the day. The Youngest Walker Boy received some doodles making fun of the difference in height between him and his Princess (she is adorable) and him spoiling those cats! ( there is always a lot of teasing going around amongst the Walker Clan)

I showed the Oldest Walker Boy this book and we decided to challenge each other drawing a map…this was his, of course so creative and original!!

Mine…your traditional medieval map. Good practice but not very original.

And what a great book this is!! Cocktails and literature…best of both worlds and beautiful illustrations to boot! 

And I leave you with all these photos of the splendid costumes from Downton Abbey!!! The traveling exhibition arrived at the Taft Museum and my friends and I ordered tickets all ready last spring and were of in a thunder gallop as soon as our time came up!! There was a lot of ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aaahs’ ….and I would be very happy with that red coat!

Have a great weekend!!

Love and Liefs,
Johanna

Sketch Journal Project: Cats!

Although I am certainly not a cat hater..I cannot say I am particularly a cat lover.
To me, they are always at the look out of favoring my favorite dress with their claws and adorning my sweaters with their hairs.
But the Walkerboys do love cats and share their apartment with two of them. The Regal Leo was first and since a couple of months this rather chubby girl called Raine joined the group. My son are sensible and put her on a diet.
Raine does not see the benefits of that yet but she adores my sons and abides Leo, s all and all she is a happy girl.

So after spending so much time with them no wonder my pencils produced this page…

Wat schetsjes en foto’s van katten…niet mijn favoriete dier maar de Walkerboys hebben twee exemplaren. Meestal zetten ze t liefst hun nagels in mijn favoriet jurk of strooien hun haren op mijn trui…maar ach, t zijn toch wel schatjes en goed om es te tekenen ;o)

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Toronto & Art

 

You are probably familiar with the fact that both of my sons, The Young Misters Walker, study, work and live in Toronto. They are very close and share an apartment. We are close as a family and modern communication provides us with ample opportunities to be a close long distance family.

But nothing beats seeing my boys for real and since their schedule is pretty crazy, I travel to them more often. And often Mr. Walker, their devoted father, travels with me.This summer we went there a couple of times and here some snapshots from the family album.

Toronto is a great city (apart from its crazy traffic!!!) We love going there and visit its many beautiful museums and pretty neighborhoods. There is always something beautiful to admire.

The AGO is our favorite museum. The building itself is already gorgeous, Mr. Walker took a long time taking some good shots….

…Youngest Mr. Walker and I got impatient and studied some dance moves. The Oldest Young Mr. Walker considered giving himself up for adoption.

Best cup of tea ever there…that to me is art every day!

Oh, and the Bata Shoe Museum!! A must see for every fashionista! The best of both worlds, art and fashion!!!

 

Finally saw Casa Loma…as a little girl I dreamt of having a bedroom like this! Maybe more towards the Kitsch here?

Fantastic food is every where in Toronto but I highly recommend Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu Korean restaurant on Bloor street..this is the BEST food in the whole world and that is an art in itself! (they do not have a website)

Have a great weekend!

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Lately….

Little important nothings of the goings on at the Walker Residence. Like the summer nights that gradually start a little earlier, now midsummer has passed. It’s really noisy with crickets and cicadas chirping and buzzing like mad.

Charley adorned with her favorite jewel is looking out for those cheeky raccoons!

And what a glorious feeling it was, to safe together with a neighborhood boy and two police officers 11 little ducklings who had fallen in the sewer. Mama Wood Duck had alerted us with running in circles around the grate of the sewer. Amazingly, once we started hauling up the little babies, she settled herself underneath a bush in the garden calling to and collecting her brood.  The long limbed lady in hat is me, the handle of the net was a bit short and my arms were by far the longest…

Summer baking..a lovely lemon pie and an upside down apple cake.

Experimenting with markers…that’s actually quite hard to work with!

Summer reading consists of revisiting classics like ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Middle March’ .But I also enjoy this delightful 1930 children’s book ever so much! I am certainly of a later date but it still brings happy memories!

Youngest Mr. Walker was here for a week, and Charley enjoyed going for drives even more!

And I always enjoy watching water striders. They have so many different names. In Dutch they are called ‘skate riders’ .

But the Stars of Summer in my opinion are these elegant water damsels.

De zomer gaat door, met steeds langere zomeravonden, samen met politie agenten en een buurjongen eendjes redden uit t riool , taarten bakken, lekker lezen, experimenteren met stiften , een bezoek van de jongste Walkerboy en leuke dieren in de natuur als schaatsen rijders en waterjuffers.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Sketch Journal Project: Pigs!

 

Summer’s heat continues and twice we reached 40C/ 100F last week. So not much to report from the outside world ;o) Instead I studied pigs. The Youngest Mr. Walker has his birthday coming up and he always had a fondness for pigs. In his kindergarten years, he always said he would become a pig farmer when grown up but he would put a sign at the start of his drive that would say: ” Butchers Prohibited”

So this year’s birthday card in honor of that memory! He does not want to become a pig farmer anymore but he is still a great lover of animals.  

Och hemel, het is nog steeds te heet voor buiten activiteiten, van de week rees de temperatuur al 2x naar 40C! Dus heb ik binnen varkentjes bestudeerd. Toen de jongste Walkerboy op de kleuterschool zat, zei hij altijd dat hij een varkensboer zou worden maar dan wel met een bord op de oprit dat zei: ” Verboden voor Slagers!”. Hij was dan ook erg gesteld op varkentjes!
Binnenkort is hij jarig. Hij wil niet meer een varkensboer worden maar is nog steeds gek op dieren. Toch maar weer eens een gezellig varkentje op zijn kaart gezet !

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Lately…Lots of Important Nothings

Whilst I was still daydreaming a little about Yellowstone Park, life went on most pleasantly. Fall has started and most of you know how happy that makes me. Long walks in colder temperatures, enjoying the colors and all treasures Mother Nature leaves us whilst she is preparing for a good rest.  It gives me a chance to show this photo again…already 2 or 3 years old. But I love it so much and can you imagine how many shots that took?;o)

I love the atmosphere Fall brings into the house, so delightfully cozy!

Charley and I want to be outside all day and she is giving me the stare until I grab the leash!

Reading is so much better too when temperatures drop. I am really enjoying these books.

I was really happy to see this flyer from Rickey illustrated by me…

I also spent a week with my sons in Toronto for Canadian Thanks Giving and it was a celebration of so much to be thankful for indeed.

It made even worthwhile to endure the shenanigans of the most spoiled cat in the whole of Canada…

I cannot show much knitting. All these delicious yarns are going to be used for Christmas presents and I really have to keep my ninja needles clickety clacking to get it all ready before the end of December!

However, I will show you soon more of my experiments with pastels! I love working with it and it seems even lovelier on black paper.

But first I am going to spoil a very special person for a whole week. Was I so happy to meet up with one BFF in Denver..now I am again in high spirits and very happy because another BFF from The Netherlands is coming here. I am already at the airport, for I do not want to be late for her plane to arrive;o)

Ach de weken vliegen weer voorbij na de heerlijke reis. Allerlei belangrijke niemendalletjes die te maken hebben met een verrukkelijke herfst, geheimzinnig breien voor Kerst, meer oefenen met pastels, Thanksgiving vieren bij mijn jongens in Toronto en hun immens verwende kat! En nu ben ik al helemaal door t dolle heen omdat ik weer een fijne vriendin uit Nederland op bezoek krijg!!! Oei, ik zit al t vliegveld zodat ik haar aankomst niet mis ;o)

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Last Week…A Pain In The Neck And Artists In The House

I have not finished any drawing because of a neck injury, which drives me nuts is a little annoying.
But thank goodness, enough distractions. The Oldest Young Mr. Walker was here for a visit and he too brought a friend.

Both of them are very hard working young people and I loved giving them a well deserved mollycoddling. They were happy with just catching up with sleep, reading, walking and finally do some drawing. It was so peaceful in the house!

This is a project the Oldest Walker Boy is working on, every time he comes here. I love it, seeing it grow slowly and discovering new things in it. Very detailed.

And this is the second art work, his friend made. Isn’t this the best portrait of Charley??? Looking at her Catlike creature too…her work has the flavor of Dr. Seuss, right? And than the lovely young lady said: ” Would you like to have these drawings?”
I was speechless with joy…

And more presents: these two LOVELY Heager vases from the fifties I got from the Oldest Walker Boy as a “Thank You”…he knows his mom very well. They look splendid on the fifties side board in the dining room. This room is still a bit bare since it is newly renovated. Mr. Walker said, they might grow on him…

Talking about artists again: Mr. Walker is doing witchcraft on the computer with our photos and he came up with this!!! Would that not be perfect in the dining room as well??I love it!

Well I may not be able to draw but I still can knit…Charley and I keep Mr. Walker company in the home office.

And finished a shawl, knitted from merino and yak. I love blocking, the smell of wet wool (almost as good as wet dog;0)) and than gently laying out the garment, carefully stretching it, weaving in the blocking wires and pinning it down. Now it has to dry…I always keep it safe and let it dry for two days. A good use of the spare bedroom now the ‘kids’ have left again (sigh…)

And the Oldest Young Mr. Walker requested stylish fingerless gloves…all ready on it! (After those vases…)

I will leave you with this photo: I met these lovely people in the park and they did not mind having their photo taken. The little brown dog was just adopted three days before and he kept giving his mom kisses, as if he still could not believe his luck. The world can be a good place…

Een gezellige week, ondanks een pijnlijke nek! De oudste Jonge Meneer Walker was hier voor een week met een gezellige vriendin. Ze waren allebei erg artistiek bezig terwijl ze bijkwamen van hard werken in hun banen. De prachtige tekeningen heb ik cadeau gekregen van de vriendin! En de vazen van de Jonge Meneer Walker, die heel goed weet wat zijn moeder mooi vind…Meneer Walker zei, dat hij ze ‘best leuk’ vond;0)  
Meneer Walker is ook artistiek bezig, op de computer met onze foto’s. Ik vind t heel erg mooi worden!! En gelukkig kan ik nog wel breien met die zere nek…
De aardige mensen met lieve hondjes, kwam ik tegen in t park. De hondjes komen uit een asiel en zijn wel heel gelukkig terecht gekomen. Ook een cadeautje…om zulke fijne mensen tegen te komen!

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Photo Shoot at Smale Riverfront Park

Bliss at the Walker Residence because the Youngest Mr. Walker was here for a visit, after a summer of very hard working. And double bliss this time, because he brought along a great friend and co-worker. And before the study year starts again, I had a chance to spoil these to two!

Now it is clear that these two could not be more different from the outside: very tall Dutch boy and a ‘somewhat shorter’ Hong Kong girl. But believe me, it was like having twins in the house! No wonder they are such good friends.

Since we all love making photos, we went on a lovely summer night to Smale Riverfront Park here in Cincinnati and enjoyed how so many people love this place. To me, a great lover of city parks, it has everything! Artful waterworks, great sceneries, creative playgrounds.

We spent hours here and enjoyed the Blue Moon as well.

Gezellig, de Jongste Meneer Walker was hier voor een bezoek, en dubbelgezellig want hij bracht een goede vriendin en collega mee. Qua uiterlijk konden ze niet meer verschillend zijn, maar qua persoonlijkheid was het alsof er een tweeling in t huis was;0) We houden allemaal van fotograferen en deze foto’s zijn gemaakt in t prachtige Smale Riverfront Park hier in Cincinnati op een prachtige zomeravond.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

A Week in Toronto

I see many people making the most gorgeous photos with their smartphones…I am not one of them! This photo of Toronto, Canada was not taken with the smartphone, the others in this post are and I sincerely apologize for them;0)
So, Mr. Walker had to travel to Sweden for business and he discovered that it was easier to travel from Toronto instead of Cincinnati. “Why don’t I drop you of there with our boys and pick you up on my return?” The Walker Boys met the plan with happy yodeling and sending their wishes for the menu.
I love my sons and I love their apartment, so everybody happy!

Of course, both the Walker Boys had to work so I spent happy quiet hours with reading and knitting.

Left them with a freezer full of lunches and did some baking,which caused more happy yodeling from the Young Misters Walker.

Put up with the most spoiled cat of Toronto.

Met these jolly horses and discovered the most depressing art work…could not figure out what it meant or why it was there.

Both the Walker Boys managed to get some time of, and do fun stuff with mommy.
I went to the WONDERFUL new aquarium with the Youngest Mr. Walker and managed to make these rather blurry artful photos?

The Oldest Young Mr. Walker and I went to the Textile Museum of Canada and saw this great exhibition : Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol. All our favorite artists and we never knew they created all these wonderful designs for textiles. It was glorious!!! Here you see me in total bliss, admiring designs from Calder, Matisse and Miro..it made me very happy. You can also see that I am truly capable of flapping my ears with joy…

We also bought a new couch at our lovely Swedish friend Ikea and managed to assemble it with little problems. ( Yes, that Christmas Star hangs there all year…)

The result is stunning and comfortable!

Nogal wazige fotos van een wel heel gezellig weekje bij de Walker Boys. Meneer Walker moest naar Zweden en kon t gemakkelijkste reizen via Toronto. Hij zette me daar af en pikte me weer op. Ik had een heerlijke week met lekker breien, lezen, koken en een arrogante kat. Maar ook met gezellige tripjes naar t Aquarium, t Textiel Museum en Ikea!

Have a lovely weekend!!
Love and Liefs, Johanna.

Bumble Bee

I love Bumble Bees, flying little bears they are. I was very pleased with this photo! And I have a sweet little story.

The Youngest Mr. Walker was quite a feisty child with a huge imagination. And sometimes, his temper would flare up and he would explode with annoyance at me and the world in general. “That’s it, I have had enough! I am out of here!”, my five year old would exclaim and stomp of to his room to return with his backpack packed with his favorite cuddly soft toy and pj’s.
He would glare at me with red cheeks, scowling dark eyes…also expectantly.
I would then look at him, most sorrowful and I would say: ” But my little Bumble Bee..whatever would I be without you?”  He would contemplate this for a few seconds and then he would sigh:   “OK, if that is the case…I will stay.” I would laugh with relieved delight, he would climb on my lap and the world was perfect again.

Love and Liefs, Johanna