Things to Celebrate

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Not only is it Saturday—my very favorite day of the week—but it’s also my oldest and dearest friend’s birthday today. Hooray, and Happy Birthday, Sue!

Here we are, two Pisces, comparing notes from our respective lily pads. We don’t inhabit the same pond anymore, and haven’t in many years. But when we talk by phone (which is pretty often), it still feels as though we do.
Susan and Jean

In honor of her birthday, Sue’s clever cats have made her breakfast. (How thoughtful!)

Good Morning with Piper and Nick

Here’s to a great morning, followed by delicious surprises all day long—for Sue and for all of us. Happy Saturday!

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Sweet Dreams

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Even though it’s barely 9 PM here, it looks like the rest of the household has already tucked themselves in, and have embarked on their usual nocturnal reveries.

Cat and Mouse Dreams

I don’t know if it was the sun storms this week or what, but I’m going to head home and hit the sheets myself. Sending out best wishes for a restful evening and your own sweet dreams—“when you get there,” as my dad likes to say. TGIF!

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Solar Flare-up

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Solar Flare Up

Was anyone else feeling a little out of sorts today? Charlotte sure was, shown here heckling the bluebird of happiness during an impromptu concert she attended at lunchtime.

The good news is, Charlotte may well have been affected by the solar storm that’s been going on today—reportedly our most significant in years. (Good news, because that means “this too shall likely pass.”) While the increased solar activity was not supposed to affect humans, there’s been no mention of how it might affect cats.

The even better news, though, is that this increase in solar activity also increases our chances of seeing the Northern Lights tonight—even from places further south, like Illinois, where we live.

Aurora Borealis

As I write this, the cats and Flora Mouse have already headed outdoors with a warm blanket and a snack, hoping to catch a glimpse.

For more information about Aurora Borealis activity tonight, check out this article on The Huffington Post. It includes some useful links to find out whether you might see a light show in your own neck of the woods.

Have a stellar evening, Everyone, and see you all tomorrow!

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Fish Cakes

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Even though it was another truly beautiful day here in Chicagoland, Blackie spent most of it in the kitchen. Between the two of us, we have a lot of wonderful Pisces friends, all of whom either just had or are about to have a birthday. Blackie decided to concoct one grand cake, so that every Fish we knew could have a slice, and feel celebrated.

Happy Birthday Pisces Cake

This first version was pretty to look at—especially with Neptune and the Mermaid Queen sitting on top. But then Blackie remembered that not everyone likes anchovies.

Fish Cake II

This second attempt was a little closer to something our friends might actually eat. This time Blackie used a cream cheese frosting and made the fish out of marzipan, dipped in edible gold dust. (Just about everyone we know could use a little gold dust these days, edible or otherwise.)

Thinking of You CakeOnce the grand fish cake was done, Blackie had one more cake to make. This one is for all our friends who are having a challenging week. We just want you to know that you are in our thoughts and hearts today as well.

So Happy Birthday, Pisces, and sweet dreams, Everyone. And best wishes to all for an even  better day tomorrow!

 

Posted in Birthdays | 6 Comments

A Beautiful, Blustery Day

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Today was lovely and spring-like, around 60 degrees. A perfect day for Charlotte to venture out for a stroll at lunchtime, in between her late morning and early afternoon naps.

Birdwatching

Blackie Flies a Kite

She took Daisy Mouse along, and also her binoculars, hoping to do a little birdwatching. We live near a lake which hosts a heron rookery, so there are always lots of wonderful birds to ogle—not just herons—as they pass through or linger to roost.

Meanwhile, the boys had more athletic pursuits in mind, and took advantage of the 40 mph gusts to fly their first kite of the season. Miss Flora Mouse hitched a ride and had a wee of a time.

Will Wednesday be as lovely? I sure hope so, though I understand there’s a chance of rain.

Speaking of birds, sweet dreams to any of you night owls who are still up on this late Tuesday evening. Have a wonderful day tomorrow. I’ll see you all then!

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The Rite of Spring

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Charlotte Practicing Ballet

In the Spring a young cat’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of pink tutus. Or at least Miss Charlotte’s have, ever since it was announced that open auditions would be held for a new local production of Stravinsky’s ballet, The Rite of Spring.

Every night, long after the other cats and mice have gone to bed, Charlotte has been up practicing her arabesques and plies into the wee hours.

Today was her final tutu fitting with her personal costumer, Aaron, before tomorrow’s auditions. In anticipation, she’s been dieting—forgoing whole milk in favor of 2%, and limiting her intake of Girl Scout Cookies to only 2 or 3 per sitting, instead of her customary 4. And her discipline shows: Her costume fits like a dream.

Charlotte Costume Fitting

Blackie and CupidNever mind that The Rite of Spring is not really a pink tutu kind of ballet. Charlotte will undoubtedly find that out soon enough. In the meantime, I hate to burst her bubble, and she does look so pretty in pink.

Blackie definitely thinks so, too. In Spring, just as Charlotte’s fancy turns to thoughts of tutus, Blackie’s turns to thoughts of Charlotte, all the more.

Happy Monday Night!

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The Snow Must Go On

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

The Show Must Go On

I know I mentioned yesterday that I’d be posting about Max and Flora Mouse’s First Friday Art Event today, but it’s been a little hard coaxing Flora to talk about it.

Flora with Cheese ArtThe truth is, the night of the opening we got hammered with snow. Max took the whole thing in stride, but the situation made Flora tense, worrying that no one would come by to look at all her lovely cheese lithographs.

At one point Flora took it upon herself to enroll passersby to come inside by going out on the front lawn to create an impromptu snow installation.

Snow Cheese Sculpture

Blackie the Painter

Blackie, however, was unperturbed by the storm. He set up an easel and model inside and just settled in to enjoy the evening making art.

By that time, the snow had tapered off, the roads were wet but not as treacherous, and more and more folks showed up to enjoy the good vibes, good art, and good cheese.

Meanwhile, Max had taken his art supplies along with him and set up a table display, but then crawled underneath it and slept through the event until closing time. And so in his book also, First Friday was a magnificent success.

Pure GeniusHappy Late Sunday Night Everybody—And have a happy, creative, and productive Monday!

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Sisters, Sisters

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Last night was a very special First Friday event at Lakeside Legacy Arts Park, called Art in Action, where a number of the resident artists set up tables and did demos in front of their artwork displayed on the gallery walls.  I’m still in the process of debriefing Max and Flora Mouse, to see what their experience of the evening was, and hope to tell you more about that in the Sunday doodle.

In the meantime, though, I wanted to give a quick shout-out and say thanks to my sister Carol, who kindly drove down from Wisconsin to keep me company at my display table.

Carol and Jean

Here are a few snapshots of the two of us from the event—Carol on the left, me on the right—both wearing our lovely Dorothy Designs flowers.  One can never have enough photos of oneself and one’s sister, right? We took a couple of extra shots, just to make sure that at least one of them turned out.
Composite of Carol and Jean Photos

Carol and I had a wonderful time hanging out, drawing and doodling, and chatting with all the nice people who came by to say hello—including our extra special surprise visitors, Cousin Sandy and her husband Mark. Thanks so much guys for dropping by, and thanks again, Sis, for all the help and your great company!

Additional Thanks

While I’m at it, I also wanted to say a big thanks to everyone on the Lakeside Legacy Arts staff (& the volunteers) who made this evening —and make every First Friday event—work so well, and be so much fun: Erin, Terry, Amber, Ingo, Kevin—and of course Ginny, whose special touches and attention to detail are in evidence everywhere throughout the Dole mansion and annex.

Thank you Exclusively Napa for the lovely appetizers (especially that yummy olive tapenade bruschetta).

Hello and thanks to the other resident art partners who exhibited and demonstrated their (and their students’) work on Friday: Jeanine Hill-Soldner, Johanna Gullick, Amber Larsen, and Steve Ponio. So many wonderful things to look at on the walls, as well as on your easels and table displays, and so fun to participate with you all.

And lastly, thank you to the intrepid art-lovers who ventured out on such a snowy night. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with all of you—many of whom are artists yourselves.

For anyone reading this who lives in the Chicago suburban area and would like to see the Art in Action exhibit, the work will remain on the walls of the Dole Mansion and the Sage Gallery at 401 Country Club Road in Crystal Lake through the last week in March. Call Lakeside Legacy Arts at 815-455-8000, or visit their website for more information.

Posted in Artistic Endeavors | 4 Comments

Cousin Clotilde

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

Chloe the Cat

This morning’s doodle for Dad is really a bit more of a collage, but I think it will still make his morning coffee more cheery. This is a portrait of Charlotte’s cousin Clotilde (Chloe for short). We don’t get to see her very often, as she lives in France, but the household mice are very keen on our cultivating a closer association. (They’ve heard all about those fabulous French cheeses, and how well they ship overseas.)

Carol and Jean Tuttle drawingSpeaking of cheese, and therefore of Wisconsin, my sister Carol arrived last night from Madison for our little artistic adventure today, over at the First Friday Event, Art in Action, at Lakeside Legacy Arts Park (where I have my studio). In addition to having work on the walls, most of the resident art partners who are participating will be doing live demos of their art form, whether it’s painting, collage, drawing, etc..

I’ll have my laptop running a slide show of my digital work, but also plan to spread out my art supplies and make some doodle collages on site. I asked my sister if she’d maybe enjoy making one as well, and she sounds game. So now I can’t wait for tonight (even though I still have a bunch of loose ends to tie up beforehand). This may be the only time that she and I have sat side by side and “made art” together since we were kids, at the living room coffee table, drawing.

Collage in ProgressMeanwhile, back at the ranch, this is what Clotilde looked like “in progress.” It’s basically like any other doodle I might do, just on better paper, tarted up a bit with the addition of some pasted-on frou-frou, and popped into a vintage frame.

While we’re on the subject of collage, I wanted to let you know about a wonderful resource for digital ephemera (like the frame I pasted in over the image at the top).

Graphics Fairy Image

The Graphics Fairy is a blog that publishes some very beautiful vintage images to use in collages and such. Most of the images are from old cards, advertisements, etc., that Karen, the artist behind the blog, has scanned (and in some cases retouched), and is generously providing for other artists to use—both for personal projects and ones for resale. There are a few restrictions (for instance, a limit on how many images you might feature on a single Web page), but not many. Again, a really wonderful resource for everything from old perfume bottle labels to samples of Spencerian script. Do check it out sometime; it’s a wonderful site.

Meanwhile, I hope all of you have a Friday full of creativity and fun, however you decide to spend it!

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The 11:59 Express

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Jean Tuttle

I’m sure a couple of people must be wondering: What happens when there is just no time to make a morning doodle for Dad?

Rain check

The answer is that Dad always gets his morning doodle, waiting on the breakfast table for him, come hell or high water. —Just, some days the doodle is super loose, done in the time it takes for the coffee to brew.

That was the case today, when I had a heavy deadline this AM, which I knew would keep me tied up until late afternoon, after having been up all night working. He happens to like the looser stuff, but I made the concept of this one a rain check anyway — “Good for 1 More Finished Doodle.” He still got a laugh out of it, so I figured, what the heck, I’d scan and post it for you, too.

Hey, since this is called the Daily Doodle, I’m determined to get a post out there daily — even if it’s at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Have Sweet Dreams All, and see you all tomorrow. (TGIF!)

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