Scavenger Hunt from Life #178: Dec 16 - Dec 28

[Jo Castillo]

Thanks, Joan. I'm off in my numbering. Sigh... I like the little tree but miss the memory ornaments.

 

[Joan T]

Today my project is making pierogi for our Christmas Eve dinner. I spent about an hour getting the dough made. I sketched this while the dough was resting. I just finished rolling out (with my pasta machine) and filling 63 cheese pierogi. That took me about 1 1/2 hrs. Next step is to boil them. Before we eat them I pan fry them. Usually I make some sauerkraut pierogi too, but I didn't have any sauerkraut cooked so I decided to do without them this year.

5 - free space - watercolors and ink

Here's the real thing rolled out and filled.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Joan, your pierogi looks and sounds delicious. Your sketch is great. I made biscochitos (anise flavored sugar cookies with cinnamon sugar on top) Took me about 4 hours. We roll them 50 cent size and super thin so they melt in your mouth. Crazy..... Tamales are the next time intensive item for us to make. Jennie usually helps but she won't get here until Christmas Eve. I will try to have the tamale meat and masa (corn flour dough) ready so we can just put them together with Jennie and the boys to help. Ha.

 

[Joan T]

Jo, I helped make tamales one year when I was visiting my sister in CA. Her friend was one of her caretakers at the time and brought all the makings over and we had a tamale-making party. They were a lot of work too, but delicious...and we had margaritas while we made the tamales. That was the first time I had them.

I made a batch of cookie dough yesterday that will be baked today. I also have a few gifts to buy yet...and a few last cards to write out. Somewhere in that time I'll try to get a sketch or two done. lol

 

[jmfletch]

Joan - was sitting here admiring how you painted the distant trees fading into the sky when it struck me I am looking at cold feeling landscape done from life while it is 81°. Speaking of Christmas decorations, I put up wreaths and bows outside but inside we went with a ceramic tree we bought as a side decoration in the 90s. It is a little over a foot tall. Love the your tall tree and ’step one’. Pierogi look delicious!

Ai - Thanks for taking us along.

Jo -fun digital. Agree with Joan the pine cone kinda steals the show. Cookies sound yummy.

Jade, JennieJo, Ned , Robin & lurkers

No hunt drawing getting done but working on a cp winter landscape for a friend.

Keep sketching and learning
Fletch

 

[Jo Castillo]

Joan, good for you getting things done. I did get the meat and extras for the New Mexico Christmas.

Fletch, we are having warm weather as well. Hard to get in the swing of things, but I really do not miss snow. Happy drawing....

Happy holiday preparations all.....

 

[Joan T]

Two kinds of cookies baked this afternoon.
6 - baked goods - watercolors and ink
7 - cookie tin (sub for kettle)
8 - green napkin

Wrote this yesterday, but forgot to post it. I think I have "holiday brain." lol

 

[Jo Castillo]

Joan, looks like you are about ready for the holidays. The cookies and tin look amazing. Congrats on a great sketch. All your sketches could be cards!

Hugs all around to the artists here...happy preparations and holidays.

 

[jmfletch]

Joan, your cookies and painting look delicious.

Jo, fellow hunters and lurkers

Fletch

 

[Joan T]

Jo, thanks. I usually look for scenes that could be potential cards, especially for Christmas next year.

Fletch, I need to put the cookies high up on the cabinet so that I don't keep sampling them.

I was coming back from an errand and saw the sign for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Selden. I hadn't been there in a while so I stopped for a quick sketch.
9 - greenery - watercolors

Yesterday I was out east to pick up some kielbasa at a Polish deli (where I was the only one not speaking Polish or some Slavic language.) I stopped at one of my favorite farmsteads to do a sketch.
10 - outside decorations (wreaths) - watercolors and ink
11 - something red (umbrella)

 

[Jo Castillo]

Joan, what great opportunities and finds. Love the memorial tower and the red umbrella with the wreaths. Lovely..... We went to PT today, came back early, had to go pick up groceries, things I forgot the day before and cooked the meat for the tamales and chile balls. Larry came tonight so will have help in the morning. So making a bit of progress but no sketch....

Hi to all the rest, hope it is going swell.....

 

[AiArts]

Well I am back to Bangkok... been busy finishing up grading... turning in grades yesterday. No sketching for a few days....Today, we all four took time to have a Christmas's Eve lunch together. We did not want to go into the busy central downtown of Bangkok to enjoy the western style X'mas meal. We are OK with a nice meal together in our lovely local restaurant.

Jo: Lovely digi of green and Christmas pinecone ornaments.

Joan: Thanks. Wonderful scene from Brookhaven and all Xmas scenes, esp. from the Deli. The Xmas cookie tin, the free space, and the food you made were yummy. Lovely on all.

All: Merry Christmas and best wishes to you. May you have a better upcoming year of 2026 fill with peace, joy, health, and precious art time.


Edited:
I play a bit with my new set acrylic marker pens...still feel strange to use medium that they don't mixed together friendly like wc.

#5 green ...a part of our Xmas tree
#6 tall ...our giraffe ornament

#7 red
#8 pinecone ...a tiny pinecone replica on our Xmas decorations banner

#9 baked goods...a sweet bun from office meeting snack

 

[Joan T]

Jo, thanks. I'm picturing the tamale making that will go on! Have fun!!

Ai, Merry Christmas to all of you! I'm glad the four of you got to have a nice meal together to celebrate. Great sketches of the holiday items. Love the giraffe ornament...so cute! Using a different medium is always a challenge. I want them to work like watercolors but they don't blend well. Enjoy your celebration today.

I dug out a few ink bottles for this.
12 - ink containers - ink

 

[AiArts]

Joan: Thanks. Merry Christmas to you and Jerry too. Wonderful ink bottles. Love all variety, plus the extra pen.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Merry Christmas and happy holidays. We are cooking up a storm. Larry here, others to follow. I’ll get1 a photo or two. Sketch?

Ai, love the giraffe. I like your bun, I did a no no and had a donut yesterday. No sketch, though. Christmassy pine cone. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Joan, good line§s on the ink. I only have acrylic now, my other all dried up.

 

[jmfletch]

Merry Christmas to all!]

 

[jmfletch]

Joan. - Love the obelisk. Did you go in? The . from inside must be spectacular if
it is open to the public. In the wreath painting I keep trying to figure how firewood and cabbage get displayed together. Love the wash shading on the inks & pen.

Ai - New mediums are challenging but also make us look at things differently. Enjoy the day with your family making memories

Wishing all a healthy and happy 2025!
Fletch

 

[NedL]

Happy Holidays to all Scavenger Hunters!

A break in the rain, so I went to the beach...it started sprinkling before I could finish the ink wash but it was really nice to be there.

Power is out here because of the storm... posting from my phone.

#1 something that is sprinkled...

 

[AiArts]

Happy Holidays You all.

Ned: Thanks. Wow... such a majestic nature well capture. Love it.

 

[Joan T]

Thanks everyone! Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Fletch, I will have to go back and see if they allow visitors inside the memorial. I hadn't thought of that, but I should check it out. It is in a location that is high enough that there may be a nice view.

Ned, it is good to see a post from you. Glad you got to the beach, even if it was sprinkling. I always enjoy seeing your sketches of the rocky coast...so different from out here. Has the rain been heavy up by you?