silent dance

the silent dance of breakfast

sleepily waltzing around each other

in our small kitchen

real coffee for you

decaf or tea for me 

we sit quietly with our cereal

and watch the trees in back

gray squirrels climb up on the railing

and eat the seeds you set out for them

a flash of red as a cardinal

sneaks a seed when they leave

in spring the door is open

and we hear them singing

but each morning I love

our quiet time together

before our hectic day starts

no words are needed

after 25 years together

just a glance, a smile

and the day begins

©2010 Linda H Feinberg

author's note: it may be spring today, but I saw snowflakes and had to put on the heat to take the chill off the house!

Alton Home Show

Joe & I did the Alton Home Show this weekend, sponsored by the Rotary.  It was in their beautiful high school and there were over 100 vendors.  Interesting, but tiring.  I sold two prints and quite a few cards.  Joe sold some books and had his new book on display http://www.tovabook.com/  He's ordered the books and they should be here in a couple of weeks. The books look beautiful and I'm proud of him.  Some of my photos, one sketch and a few poems are also in the book.

Arts Award

I entered one work in this art show and was pleasantly surprised to get an award.  There were over 60 entries and four prizes.  The piece I entered was posted on the blog in May 09, Autumn Leaves on Belmont Street.  I had matted and framed it with a barnboard frame.  Received many compliments :)

This is the second time I received an award on this piece. My original posting was in May of last year: Autumn Leaves Painting

I received the first award in September 2009 from Manchester Artist Association for this piece. I rarely submit my work for voting. Usually I just make cards, but I have the original of this one for sale on my web site and hope to sell it eventually. Linda's Store

Pulpit Rock, Bedford, NH

We had an easy hike last weekend in nearby Bedford. We hadn't been there in many years and we were surprised at all the development, lots of big houses where there used to be woods. I guess people still have money for mansions.

More photos at: Pulpit Rock photos

Self-Portrait/Pencil

I have been working on this pencil self-portrait on and off for a few weeks, just a few minutes at a time. I started from a photo to get the angle and shape of the face, but then I bought a mirror to put up on my easel.  I think it looks like me but I certainly need more practice at this. When I started taking art classes 10 years ago, I never imagined I would be drawing at this level, so I am pleased but still see room for improvement. My next class starts in a few weeks, botanical illustration. I'm looking forward to it. For those of you who think I should have done a smiley face, I preferred my half smile expression. It's a better reflection of my inner self. Of course, one of the problems with drawing in pencil (grayscale) is that I couldn't figure out how to portray my white hair.  Maybe someday I'll do a color portrait.

We are having a beautiful day today, so now I'm going out to play in the dirt and do some more yard cleanup.  I can actually plant my onion sets today. I have some coming up from last year, so I know it's safe to put them in.  It's too early here to plant anything else.

Spring is coming . . .

Spring is slowly getting here. We did not have much snow this winter (it all went south to my family & friends in NJ). It was strange to see bare ground in March.  Our house faces west and we see beautiful sunsets. The first picture is of the house across the street.

My tiny little windflowers came up already. We cleared the ground in my vegetable garden, put up the fence (to keep out the neighborhood cats) and I saw some scallions coming up. I bought more onion sets to plant in April.  Last weekend was a delightful preview, but it's cold again today. I'm looking forward to Passover next week and to the month of April. Happy holidays to all.

Cards, Prints & Art by Linda

Setting up a new web page (an actual internet store) has been quite a challenge. Joe & I tested it out and it works! Please let me know if you find any glitches. I am new at this and would like to correct problems quickly. Readers, thanks for your comments. I have not had any time to write or create new art in the past few weeks, so I hope to get back to that soon. Meanwhile, spring is coming and we have lots of yard cleanup to do from the big windstorm. Happy spring.

If you click on the title above, it will take you to the store. The actual web address: http://www.lindafeinberg.com/

windstorm

breathe

move through the cold,

the dark, power out

wind howling outside

grab flashlight

silence the chirping alarms

breathe

snuggled under the quilts

warm with my hot flashes

wearing long johns,

socks and sweatshirt

cold nose tonight

breathe

God exhaled

and breathed Adam to life

“Ruach Elohim”

light had already been created

when Adam drew his first breath

not cold or dark then

breathe

can’t sleep

the windstorm outside

and the mindstorm inside

flow together

breath by breath

inhale, exhale

mind jumping

from thought to thought

image to image

no peace

no answers

no freedom

no messiah

some search

to connect

to belong

to know why we are here

is this all there is?

religions have answers

but no one size fits all

each one claims to be true

if you accept one

you reject another

can we live with questions

that have no answers?

do we live with answers

that have no questions?

breathe

© 2010 Linda H. Feinberg

Windstorm last week

Just some photos of the damage from the windstorm last week. I have a few more to post later. I'm off to a web seminar in a few minutes. Thankfully our house was spared, but we have lots of branches to clean up in our yard. We were without power for 2 days.

Reflections

Photo by Dina Freedman - Salt Lake City. My daughter is a meteorologist and likes to take photos of clouds. I thought this one was beautiful.

I have had no time to post while catching up on my work. Today is finally a little calmer. The windstorm we had last week left us without power for two days. I didn't mind the cold, but missed the light. Dina is sending us headlamps for the next time. Reading by candlelight is not fun.

I also thought about the windstorm outside, lots of damaged trees, and the windstorm inside my mind. I think there is a poem in there somewhere. It just needs to percolate a bit more.