Keep on Cooking



 

 

Keep baking and cooking! Run out to the store for cinnamon! Laugh! Hug! Have some hot cider and sit down with family and friends and enjoy!

Hunterian Art Gallery Whistler Collections



WHISTLER, James McNeill; (American; 1834-1903)

Whistler's earliest surviving oil is a portrait of Annie Haden (1848-1937), who later became Mrs Charles Thynne. She was the eldest daughter of Whistler's half-sister Deborah and her husband Francis Seymour Haden, a surgeon and etcher. This work is also framed with an 1845 portrait of Whistler's mother, Anna Matilda McNeill (1804-1881), by the British miniaturist Thomas Wright (1792-1849), a tracing of his mother's sandal and a lock of his hair at the age of two. Two drawings of Annie Haden as a baby, executed in 1848, are also in this collection (See GLAHA 46005/46006). She also appears in later etchings and oils such as: "At the Piano" (YMSM 24) in the Taft Museum, Cincinnati, USA and "Harmony in Green and Rose: The Music Room" (YMSM 34) in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., USA. Another supposed portrait of her is now in the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. It was lent to the 1905 Paris Memorial Exhibition (31) by M. Jerome Doucet, but it is now no longer accepted as being by Whistler or indeed of depicting Annie Haden. Birnie Philip Gift, 1935, not lendable.

Today's inspiration is family. I adore the cherubic face that Whistler painted of his little niece. It's unfinished look reminds me that children are continuously growing and emerging. My gratitude today is for the wisdom of children - their innocence and new eyes help us to see the world as it is and help us to always be open to change.

One interesting note about Whistler is that his signature was a butterfly with a stinger. He said it was "a mark representing both his gentle, sensitive nature and his provocative, feisty spirit." Much like a little child, n'est-ce pas?

Ornamental Alphabets


 
 
 
 
 
 
  Enjoy!
More Thanksgiving Greetings



from NYPL Image collection

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.
 
H. U. Westermayer
Thanksgiving Treats


Postcard from NYPL digital image collection.

A great place to visit for Thanksgiving traditions from all over is Bunnys Bungalow. She is hosting a "Sharing Thanksgiving" event. I found her after drooling over the maple cookies shared at Moore Minutes who made the most beautiful Fall leaf cookies and adorable Acorn cookies.

Just thought I'd share this adorable image from my new collection of old Children's Play Mate magazines. I wonder how many kids today get to hear the real story of the pilgrims and associate that to Thanksgiving. It's truly something we all should spend time reading and sharing because they were such brave people and what they built here became the start to a democracy and country like none other in the world.


From NYPL Collection

Hey, another beautiful day arrives for our pre-Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Next week this time will be the big baking day at the house. I'll be making pies and bread and maybe a few sides or at least prepping them for Thursday's cook-a-thon and feast. But today I'm getting some of the items I'll need next week, massive amounts of chicken stock, unflavored gelatin packets, cranberry juice, unsalted butter, spices, and canned pumpkin. 

That Williams-Sonoma is so divine. Along with their Thanksgiving brochure with some awesome recipes they give you a handy checklist for grocery shopping. I added my own recipes on to it - like my corn pudding which hopefully I'll find fresh corn ears next week for - I'm thinking Whole Foods will have them. Meanwhile my yellow and orange mums are barely hanging in there for me - I watered them this morning and told them - hang in for one more week for me and then I'll give you a break! My sister would know just what to do but I'm a lost soul in gardening.

Had a wonderful conversation with a friend yesterday whose son is also graduating this year and applying to colleges and universities. It's so much fun to see what your child likes in a school and what their newly forming dreams of the future are. My friend took her son to a nice prestigious school so he could stay overnight and get a real feel for the students and campus. Well, he came back talking about the great video game play stations they had in the student lounge and that the school provided them and unlimited game cartridges for them! It's a scary world out there for parents - we have to pray all the time - please let my son attend his classes and do his studying before he goes down to the lounge to play video games. Oh heck, what am I thinking, mine won't be a lounge player - he'll be much more social than that ... uh oh, new prayer coming up. 
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