"Who is sitting in that empty chair?" (-Eugene Ormandy)

And in a chair well-known

My mother sat and did not tire

With reading all alone.

If I should make the slightest sound

To show that I’m awake,

She’d rise, and lap the blankets round,

My pillow softly shake;

Kiss me and turn my face to see

The shadows on the wall,

And then sing Rousseau’s Dream to me

Til fast asleep I fall.

(-William Allingham)

“People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.” (-Logan Pearsall Smith)

I’ve definitely been doing lots of reading recently,…

…but it hasn’t been books…

it’s been graduate school applications…

…lots and lots of graduate school applications.

February 1^st was the deadline for our applicants, and so for the past few month, and the next month, I’ll be busy helping to read and evaluate applications of prospective students for our programs, while they continue to tumble in and stack up higher in piles…so I’m holed up, busy, and trying to get to them all…

Lots of sitting…

And lots of reading…

“The more that you read,

The more things you will know.

The more that you learn

The more places you’ll go.”

(-Dr Seuss)

“A house is made up of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” (-unknown)

Joe came home from Barnes and Noble the other day with the winter issue of Watercolor magazine. It featured an article on watercolor interiors, which is something I had mentioned to Joe that I wanted to spend some time practicing.

As it happens, the magazine highlights the current exhibit in New York at the Cooper Hewitt museum on 19^th Century watercolorists painting interiors.

My sweet friend Carol Gillott of Parisbreakfast fame tells me she went to see it the other day. I’m jealous!

I have always enjoyed interior paintings. I also enjoy both making up interiors, and I enjoy painting those that I see in front of me.

Even as a little kid, I enjoyed riding in the car at night and seeing inside peoples’ windows—not in a prurient way, but I liked seeing the pretty rooms. I still do.

Quelle dommage for heavy, closed drapes, eh?

“Women have a favorite room, men a favorite chair.” (-Bern Williams)

It’s true: I do wind up having favorite rooms. I'm sure it has to do with a lot of things, like the light that streams in, the colors and the overall ambiance of a space: I’m attracted to soothing palettes best. But, that said, I do happen to like chairs...and I particularly like outdoor chairs. I always notice them in yards, and on campuses when I travel for Duke, and in gardens and flea markets.

There’s something very appealing about sitting comfortably ensconced in a chair and soaking up the sounds and smells of the great outdoors. Plus, it’s fun to think of the outdoors as another “room.” I like to create spots under a tree for one room, and in front of flower arrangements for another. This campus (St Olaf's in Minnesota) had ubiquitous adirondack chairs all over the hills that were beautiful resting spots for students to enjoy.<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
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I like when people incorporate chairs into a garden. We do this in our yard, and I enjoy seeing them out amongst the flowers. And then,... there’s also the notion of completely ignoring the chair’s primary purpose, and using it for something else entirely.

“All I want is a room somewhere,/ far away from the cold night air;/ With one enormous chair…/ oh, wouldn’t it be loverly?” (-Alan Jay Lerner)

I highly approve of that idea.