Checy, again

This morning, well more like 11:00 am, I went back to the Checy view and had at it again in the overcast morning light. Of course as soon as I was well into it the sun comes out a-blazing. I have learned to mix in a good dose of "retarder" to each pool of color when I'm stuck in full sun..still if feels awkward, and well, yeah...retarded. But it helps a bit. I have to scrape down the clotted bits from my palette very frequently to avoid a brush full of "bestioles" (I made that up, but I think it works) and recharge the colors when it's so hot and dry. But besides those technical difficulties it was kind of fun. Wish I had gotten started earlier before the sun, Oh well.

Then it was family time, and I spent the better part of the afternoon thinking about and preparing food. Made a beautiful dish of linguine with eggplant, tomatoes and crispy bread crumbs. Searched "Eggplant, pasta" in the NYT Bitten blog and bingo. Big hit with la famille. Jean arrives tomorrow pm with all 3 kids in tow. Will be a dose of family time until Sunday, most likely, but I hope to post some pics of the Claude's birthday bash on Saturday. Stay tuned, will involve lots of good food and wine!