Ahh, Thanksgiving. A time for a gathering of dear ones, a feast, and a few extra days to get things done. Here’s an update on T-day, and the weekend as it is unfolding.
We began on Thursday morning to paint the studio. Amy realized that the rugs were coming back from the cleaners next week, so we had to get moving to get the room done before then. Our painting system involves Amy as the cutting-in artist, and me as the wall-paint-roller. As she cuts, Amy assumes one of her positions that absolutely mystifies me – if I did this I would fall over in a nano-second. Take a look.

We are on the hunt for a second work table, which will go along the wall where Amy is in this picture. Then I will have a table to write on, and a table to draw and paint on. I can hardly wait. We have been prowling around but haven’t found just the right one yet.
The other side of the studio looks like this, below. Yes, I did put all the books in the bookshelves before the painting, but so it goes.

The color we are using is called Elephant Tusk. Go figure. Anyway, it’s really taking shape now – Amy spent this afternoon pushing things along – and we should finish it tomorrow or so.
After a few hours of painting it was time to shower up and get ready for our T-day outing to join Nancy Buckett and her three daughters and their kids for the feast. We had an absolute ball – tons of laughing and teasing and tall tales of all kinds. A really warm and wonderful time with this crew.
Nancy has three daughters, Deirdre, the eldest, Laurie, the middle one, and Kristine, the youngest. The feast was at Laurie’s, with her and her husband Scott, and their kids Emma and Cody. Kristine came with her terrific son Lawrence. And then there was Deirdre and Amy and I – ten of us in all. Oh, and Stan, Cody’s parakeet. Who bites.
Here is, from left to right, Scott’s left arm, Kristine, Laurie’s daughter Emma, Laurie, Deirdre, and Nancy’s right arm, as they pick names from a bowl. The three girls, Nancy and Scott exchange gifts at Christmas, and each one draws a name from the bowl to determine who their gift is aimed at. A Buckett family tradition at Thanksgiving. They had to redo the lottery many, many times because they kept picking their own names. It took 20 minutes before Christmas was set.

As Laurie darts in and out of the kitchen, Nancy does the honors while Amy supervises. 21 pounds of roast beast – yum!

Amy took this picture, below - the groaning board. The food was great, and there was so much. We sat and ate and gabbed and laughed for quite a while.

From in front, on the left, Lawrence, Emma, Cody, Kristine, Nancy’s left arm, HD, Deirdre, Laurie, and Scott with his quaff.
We headed home after the gathering along the scenic route – a very lovely drive through nearly deserted Rochester. What a nice afternoon and evening.
Yesterday, Friday, it dawned sunny and absolutely gorgeous – take a look out the library windows into Washington Grove.

The morning light here is astonishing. The dog house, however, will go, as soon as we can find a suitable taker. Or any taker. It’s free folks.
Even though the day dawned clear, it soon clouded up and rained – not much though. After breakfast we ran over to see Nancy O’Neill. She is staying with her friend Kathy as she nurses two broken ankles. Yes, two. We gabbed for a while – she is doing mostly okay – and then came home for lunch via Mayer’s, our local hardware and neighborhood shrine. What a great hardware – and only blocks away.
After lunch, Buckett came by and we continued planning for the installation of the Hecker-Decker collection at 347. Huge progress. And so today, after multiple errands involving the Public Market, Wegmans, and yes, Mayers, I hung artwork while Amy continued to paint the studio. Here’s a couple of views of the hanging.

Illinois landscape painter James Winn, who lives in Sycamore, Illinois, takes the honors over the fireplace, flanked by a painting and an etching by Ivan Summers (1886-1964, Woodstock, NY).
And here I am hanging an etching by Robert Marx. Interestingly, Marx has a lot of pieces at Davidson Gallery in Seattle, and pieces in the Seattle Art Museum. It turns out, though, that he is one of our neighbors here on Cobbs Hill – a block and a half away. He is a good friend of Nancy’s, and Amy got this piece from Nancy when Nancy had her gallery here.

So that brings you right up to the minute. Dinner is percolating in the kitchen, and I’m hungry, so off I go. More soon.