Oof! Well, I started watercolors because they taught me to give up control. Maybe I start oils to teach me patience?

I’ve been eyeing oils recently, but think I might try gouache first - some opacity would be nice sometimes. Heat gun is a good plan. A bit more control than a sunny spot in the windowsill.

Exercises are hard, but so good when you don’t have to follow them directly.
Watercolor is the best! (I’m biased, I never took to acrylics) But the patience for the many layers of washes to get the right depth is so hard.
…I should go paint for morning teatime. But kitten purrs are hard to leave.

I like the way the dark background makes the citrus slices pop!

Oh. And if you put the masa on top and bottom, then each slice is kinda like a segment of a tamale. Not the same! But close. (Also. A lid on the pan or cheese topping help steam the top a bit better instead of drying out.)

This is also the way. I make a variation of this for work and all the kids would always go for it. But I replace the cornbread with masa harina mixed with fat and water and salt, much like tamales. (For the Thanksgiving version, I add sage too.) Simpler ingredient list, and super allergen friendly!

He’s wrong. It’s amazing!
We have this recipe for a sausage and fennel cornbread stuffing that has been my family’s stuffing for years, and a few years back when we learned about masa we turned the stuffing into tamales. So. Freaking. Good. Granted. Not the turkey ones, but still. They’d rock too.

And books! Building a useful reference library is my dream.
As well as a good selection of fiction to read. Especially since physical libraries in Europe are not as impressive as the ones back home…and my German is not yet to novel-reading level.

My mom calls it booksulation. Someday…

How wrong I was.

See, you fluff all the floof to one side, and then lay the pillow flat, so the excess fabric slopes smoothly and there’s no harsh pillow edge at your neck.

Then, when you lay down, your head and neck and shoulders are cradled in the sweet wishes of ducks.

I am converted./🧵