Sarah's Books - Used & Rare

Apologies for the hiatus. I've been working with the builder to finish the attic renovation, and I've been painting walls and ceilings for a week and a half, and am finally finished. He primed it, I painted it. A big job. I still have many window mullions, should I decide they need to be painted, instead of treated in some other fashion. But I can't face them just yet. I've been too tired to blog, and too tired to do much of anything else, either. The garden remains unplanted, to my chagrin. I haven't been at the easel at all, or read anything of note lately, or done much of anything except attempt to keep the house in order while this project wraps up. Of course it went on three weeks longer and cost twice as much as we'd hoped, but the result is worth it. The space is better than I'd ever dreamed it could be. Light-filled and old-fashioned and beautiful. I'll post some photos soon. Right now (or rather just before writing this post and resuming immediately after finishing writing this post) I'm moving in and setting up my studio. This involves two flights of stairs and four hundred paintings (give or take), many portfolios of drawings and watercolors, picture frames, three easels, a few tables and chairs, and several big baskets of art supplies. I'm taking an afternoon break, in the midst of all that, so here I am.

To catch up a bit, a few blog posts I mulled over but never wrote, during the last few weeks:

High points of home renovation (seeing the room primed for the first time, transformed from a big dark cobwebby space into a sunny light-box)

Low points of home renovation (dropping the shop-vac down the stairs, after vacuuming)

Visits with gallerists (two gallery owners/curators have been here recently to choose paintings for summer exhibits, details to follow)

Is there anything nicer than a room with absolutely nothing in it? (yesterday I almost wished I didn't have to move anything in there at all, except my yoga mat)

Rediscovering the library (moving all the stored paintings away from in front of the bookcases in the book room means I am meeting many old friends again)

Rediscovering the living room (moving all the recent paintings and easels and art supplies out of the living room means, well, we have a living room again)

Marathon roadside checkpoints (Ryan is running the Sugarloaf marathon in western Maine this Sunday - I'll be meeting him at points along the way, in the car, with extra shoes, clothes, calories, loud music, and anything else he might need to help him on his way to the finish line)

And finally, on a more serious note, one unwritten post has been particularly on my mind:

If you have your health, you have everything (a close family member will have an operation on Monday to remove a spot of lung cancer, which has me praying for him, and deeply appreciating the blessings of good health)

That's what's happening around here. I hope to return to regular writing again soon. Thanks for your patience, those who might still be reading.