Bascomb's Regrets

My neighbor Tom is a real artist. (He has committed: he is making his living this way.) Every Friday morning, he opens his studio to friends of his–also real artists, mostly–for portrait painting, coffee and discussion. A model arrives, and sits stilll for 25 minutes at a time, 6 periods. When the model is done, presto, you’re done. His talking birds fill any gaps, if the model should decide to stop talking or the CD should run to the end.

The first two weeks, I just got through a series of sketches. The second two weeks I actually painted something. My next goal is to paint something that looks like the model. Will keep you posted.

A few weeks ago the school board gave us a bigger-than-usual discretionary budget, plus the keys to the activity bus. it was a week to remember: a field trip every single day!

Giants Game with Dean
I thought Dean might want to go with Eli, but was happy to discover that Eli is still a little afraid of crowds. Did you know that in ‘Club Level’ you can order big sudsy beers and hamburgers and garlic fries (sorry, Lorraine) right from your seat?
Jewish Museum
I don’t know how long we’ve been looking at the construction fence around this site, but it’s finally open. I give the building a big thumbs up (Daniel Liebeskind does no wrong)–but wished they had spent some of the time during construction on the content of the permanent collection. You have to check it out even if you’re just going to eat your Beard Papa creampuff while looking up at the funky exterior.
Midweek Volleyball
I know, in your book this doesn’t count as a field trip. But do you know how hard it is to find four people in the Bay Area who can all make it to the beach on Thursday by 4:30pm?
Camping
Lormot and I found our way down to Big Basin before dark, and wound up at the top of the park in a happy walk-in campground complete with stretching facilities. Most comfortable first-night-on-the-ground I’ve had in a long time. Note to those who become restless and stiff sleeping on the ground: stretch your legs and back before getting into the tent and you’ll sleep much better…

Sailing with Tall Ships
Bonus points for naming the ship that’s coming through the Gate! Barry and Sylvia got us in prime position aboard Iolani for checking out all the ships in the parade.