Reub's journey

11 December 2013

Housebound



 I can't believe the whole neighborhood has been housebound since last Friday when we received a huge dump-load of snow followed by very cold, sustained temps.


 OK, I have been out once, on Saturday, to cut a Christmas tree with John and make a quick stop at a grocery store.


 
 We don't have good snow removal here, not like in the Midwest or Northeast where every town has lots of equipment and budgets for it each year. Our theory is that it will just melt in a day so why bother, take a snow day, people. But the schools have called four snow days in a row, and OSU has called three, right when final exams were supposed to start. All streets are snow-packed and icy.


 The rain chain at the edge of the house has been frozen for days. It's a bit much. I have cabin fever.



  I'm seeing things, like gargoyles on top of fence posts. You see them too, right? Depending on my mood they are irascible monsters howling at the sky, or nice little bears reading books. Every post has one.




Well shoot. Might as well put my dismantled little studio back together and draw some polar bears. 



They are images from my grandson's 22-month-old mind: the polar bear taking her morning swim at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, where you can watch her from below as she glides through the water with thousands of bubbles streaming behind. Not a bad thing to think about on a frozen winter's day, housebound, in Oregon.

29 comments:

  1. well, i saw a sweet bear reading a book on that post so i'm glad you ended with swimming polars. :)

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  2. They look like bears to me at the moment:) I don't want to draw monsters.

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  3. The only time I like to see snow is in pictures and sometimes not even then. It is cold and wet and when you get out in it, you are cold and wet. My year living in Chicago when I was 20 years old cured me of everything cold and wet, especially snow which turned dirty and icy. We had pretty much two weeks in a row with a few days inbetween of temps in the 30s and 40s with over cast skies. I didn't go out unless I absolutely had to.

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    1. Wow, you really did get cured, Ellen! Chicago is brutal.

      I love snow & winter doesn't seem complete without it. However I like it to be of short duration like it *almost* always is around here.

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  4. Your drawings/paintings are looking amazing, Mom!

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    1. Why thank you, Unknown. They're all flawed though, the paintings, drawings.

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  5. Beauty. Everywhere. Inside. Outside.

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  6. Snow is amazing awesome beautiful But can be a big nuisance too. The polar bear sketches are fascinating.

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    1. Snow is gorgeous, but I've discovered I have a limit to how much gorgeous-ness I care to have at one time. :)

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  7. Your artist's eye can help with the snowbound days. It is still lovely,if a bit suffocating.

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    1. Yes. Still at home: the road is still impassable for the old pick-up truck.

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  8. I hope you get out soon. I usually enjoy being a little housebound from snow now and then. Just not too often or for too long.

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    1. The first day of being housebound is pretty great, but then...

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  9. Winter provides some pretty photos, the caveat being that it isn't always easy to get around and about to take them. Nifty artwork.

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    1. I keep taking pictures AC! They all kinda look the same right now, though.

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  10. That ice storm wreaked havoc with my son's finals, too. He is so stressed since he has to now take all 4 finals today. LOVE your polar bear drawings. Really nice work!

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    1. Which storm, Gail? The one here in Oregon, or the others that have happened all over the place in the past week? It would be awful to take all those exams at once! Wow. :(

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  11. It is very frosty here in the Midwest as well.

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    1. Laoch, it's that time of year for you. But not usually for us.

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  12. The paintings are awesome! And the first snow thing does look kinda like a gargoyle. But the second one looks like a bunny rabbit. :)

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    1. RG finally the snow-rabbits and gargoyles have all melted! It's been raining since yesterday.

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  13. Absolutely lovely! Amazing how much snow you guys get, just a few hundred miles north of here.

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    1. Stephanie, the snow was gorgeous although it lasted a bit too long. I wonder if we'll have any more this season or if that was it. Might be all done.

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  14. My son in Eugene has been telling me about your unusual weather - and my sisters in Monmouth. The bears with books and gargoyles look interchangeable. We're getting the snow now - all told there will be about ten inches but we have plows and sand and salt at the ready. Hope things improve for you all weather-wise - cabin fever gets stressful after a while.

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    1. Ten inches is a lot! It's about what we got in our foothills above Corvallis. I finally escaped the neighborhood yesterday when it began to rain. I hope that you enjoy your snow.

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  15. Nothing worse than cabin fever. Oh yes, cabin fever from being snow bound and home bound with a killer virus at the same time. I couldn't even hold a paint brush in my teeth if I had to. You are amazing.

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  16. Oh no! What a bummer. Cup of lemon tea perhaps? Netflix? I hope you get well soon, Granny.

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  17. No snow around here yet but I think we'll get some soon. Temperatures have dropped massively. Beautiful photos.

    A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for you and your family.

    Greetings from London.

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