wonderFULL: 2020

December 24, 2020

Merry Christmas to everyone. Today i've made one of my earliest posts the Featured Post. May you be inspired by the mother of our Lord as we celebrate His birth.

Holiday article from the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, and a Max update

As usual, Max is looking forward to Christmas this year. Hopefully MyGuy and i can prep ourselves mentally to put up our living room tree - tt means so much to Max, but the most initiative he'll take in getting it up is to wish us "Merry Christmas" out of the blue.

However, he has two small trees up in his room. One is a new, 4' prelit one, which he is enjoying.

It seems in a sense especially important to keep this tradition in this year of universally lowered expectations.

The IRCA has prepared their usual article

of tips to help us help our children on the spectrum cope with the upcoming holidays. https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/articles/making-the-most-of-the-holidays-for-your-family-and-your-son-daughter.html

Here's a short quote listing some items to be sure to mention:

Where and How Christmas Dinner Will Occur
Who Will Be Present at Christmas this Year
How Family Will Meet Virtually This Year
Where the Family May or May Not Be Going This Year: In other words, what family traditions cannot happen.
If Others Come Over, Rules about Wearing Masks, and Other Safety Precautions.

At the end of the article are links to specific tips, including social stories about home and visiting, and a fill=in calendar.

Words on Wednesday: More on the Lord Peter books

This post contains an annotated list of the Lord Peter novels.

But first, a question for you:

How do the Lord Peter novels and stories resemble the Big Bang Theory TV show?

Gratitude Attitude in a Confusing Scary World

William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) left us many beautiful, sadly nearly forgotten hymns in his troubled life.

My favorite Bible study teacher, Dee Brestin, shared in her email list a link to a beautiful video of a song of his i'd never heard of.

May you find your celebration of Thanksgiving enhanced by the words and music.

Links disappeared in the text? Here they are separately:

Reading Old Mystery Novels in Time of COVID

Like usual, these are novels i've read before. Most recently, it's been several about Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, as well as some of Sayers' other short stories.*

This go-around, i've been more than usually impressed by the signs of the times, especially regarding:

Holiday Art Gifts for Kids

i'm guessing you pretty well know if your kid will enjoy an art-related gift this holiday season. But you may feel lost about choosing.

First, there's those got-everything little studio cases. Like most things, the quality would vary from kit to kit. More than the quality, however, i would expect the giftee to quickly use one medium completely up, and have most of the rest unsampled or barely touched.

You'd probably be best off choosing your own.

What medium or media does the young artist work in? Or like to work in?

Feeling out of your depth? i do understand that! That's how i feel with tech stuff. However, you can find all sorts of people who want to help you.

Your nearby (probably chain) craft store likes to hire employees who can do just that.
Your student's art teacher could help.
Instead of general stuff to do art with, think of a project and buy parts and instructions.
While i'm not really into tech, the internet can definitely help. Most every artist out there has recommendations, and the online art and craft stores, some with local outlets, can help.

As i write this, my go-to supplier, https://www.dickblick.com/ offers gift suggestions on the homepage.
https://www.unitednow.com/ is for artists and educators, as well as family of same.
https://www.cheapjoes.com/gift-ideas.html sorts ideas by medium. Some of the Unique gifts ar the bottom of the page look fun.

If you go online, be sure to Contact the company or artist for something more specific.
Of course, colored pencils are my thing. Reviews of scholastic grade colored pencils: https://www.bestcoloredpencils.com/scholastic-grade-pencils/
Kathy Barbro does her entire website about making art with kids. She offers an art teacher's recommendations, but her ebooks would be a solid choice too for the right artist. https://artprojectsforkids.org/best-art-supplies-for-kids/

Questions? Leave a comment below and i'll see if i can help you, or point you in a good direction.

Oh, the very best art gift, or perhaps any kind of gift, is one that involves spending time with the kid. But you knew that, right?

Thanksgiving Infographic from IN Dept of Health

i don't want to dwell too much on COVID here, but the fact is it is a part of our lives these days.

This link goes to an article with suggestions to make this a safe Thanksgiving, but also there's an good .infographic

https://www.in.gov/dhs/get-prepared/thanksgiving-safety/

To print the infographic separately

This week's blogpost: Changes to Google photos

i use computers. i don't like them.

That's something i might put in a wordart frame. But not until i figure out what to do about the Google photo situation.

i won't be posting photos for awhile. It seems that Google photos will no longer be a free service. Ok, the cutoff is over six months away, but that's not long to find and move pictures.

... it's not just photos and videos here. All those Gmail emails with attachments that you forgot to delete also count, as does anything else you do on Google. (Our friends at Google tell me that my Gmail alone counts for 40 GBs of online storage.

quoted from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2020/11/11/google-charge-photos-options-icloud-dropbox-microsoft/6253280002/

i have never consciously used Google photos, but they do have a tendency to mix their services up, so i've no idea how many will be affected. Tons of undeleted emails. And photos with texts.

Wikipedia seems to have a good article on Google photos (ooh, and this raises the question, what's happening / has happened to my Picasa photos, another service that i didn't consciously use, but seems to have a lot of blog pics on it.).

This one seems to have a lot of useful info:

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-manage-your-google-photos-or-move-them-somewhere-1845657549

Any one with suggestions, ideas, i'd love to hear them.

Midweek Photo Two: You get fall colors anyway!

Midweek Photo: Pencil Storage Again

Two things i want to comment on:

My big pencil case holds 120 pencils.

You'd think that would be enough for everyday use. No, i've had to move greys and flesh tones to a smaller case. And i resorted them to put only the most used ones in, which works out to mainly the Faber Castell ones, moving out all but one of the Luminance ones and quite a few Derwents.

The amazing thing is how much lighter the case became, substituting narrower-barrelled FC and Lyra Rembrandts for the Coloursoft and Luminance.

Below, i've got a picture of my weirdly bent paperclip on a pencil case zipper. i should remove it, the paperclip. It's a relic of the days when i used primarily P rismacolors.

With the Prismacolors, i sharpened the pencils a lot, going through them quickly. And maybe 25-50 times in a two hour session i would have to use my paperclip to dig pencil parts out of the sharpener.

i don't need to do that any more. Though i do miss the fantastic range of Prismacolors.

Wordless Wednesday: Autum Leaves

"How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”

John Burroughs

Boom and Bride-in-need-of-a-Pseudonym went to the Houston Zoo last weekend and met the Great Pumpkin.

Wordless Wednesday: Trick or Treat Pumpkin

Wordless Wednesday: Cute Kid, Cute Toy, then. . .

Christmas, about 2nd grade, and on a vacation, possibly at age 3

Then, years later. . .

i thought i'd written about Hanna's Poirot before. Since i can't find where i might have done that, here's my impressions after the latest reading:

Wordless Wednesday: Whatever the timeframe,

little girls are cute.

Wordless Wednesday: Colorwheels Again

Back at it - this is an exercise that lets me find what my colors can do and work on smoothing the areas i'm on.

The photos are mostly in chronological order, and there are lots of free color wheel diagrams out there. But at the end i will include the links from which i got my predrawn wheels and an article about making your own color wheel in colored pencil.

Wordless Wednesday: from fellow blogger Kathy Barbro

i've started keeping a sketchbook by the computer. i don't do the grid lines like she does, but dash these off in a few minutes. You don't need any "talent" to make a nice one of these! Her recommended time for a classroom of kids working on this is 45 minutes. See https://artprojectsforkids.org/how-draw-statue-liberty/

Midweek Photo:Some of Grandad's Art

On the left, an image of his wife, from 1920s or 1930s?; gateway to Lincoln Castle, when he was stationed there, WWI

Wordless Wednesday: Vacation, 2000

We went to Wisconsin Dells in early August.

the only time we ever stayed at a hotel/resort with both a pool AND a beach

Wordless Wednesday: Sketchbook discovered from years ago

Not so many years, actually. The dates in it are 2009-2011.
i like the work i was doing. Too bad the sketchbook got "geysered" by our laundry room problems.

i'm not affiliated with Creative Memories, though if you've read my blog for long you will know that i am a scrapbooker who likes their products.
Today i thought i'd share an Autism Awareness package the company has come out with.
https://www.creativememories.com/shop-all/shine-bright-theme-pack.html

Midweek Photo: MINE!

Helping your kid (or you) get used to a mask

This article came in my IN*Source newsletter. With schools starting up, not to mention the autistic 3 year old & family removed from airplane, this seems like help you could use.
https://adayinourshoes.com/my-child-wont-wear-a-mask-school-and-iep-accommodations-ideas/

When i was in my mid-twenties, i enjoyed the swings on the playgrounds. Once, i realized i was late for work while doing this, and came to a sudden, feet hard on the ground stop, from high speed.
It hurt a lot then, but took awhile to catch up to me.
Last fall, i had one total knee replacement (TKR), and last month, i had the other.

My favorite brand of colored pencils these days is the Faber Castell Polychromos, but there's one thing the Prismacolors offer that Faber Castell doesn't: a fabulous color selection.
So i find i am trying

Headline News: Your opportunity to take home a gorgeous piece of art

The Society of Decorative Painters is moving to a smaller space and needs to deaccession many pieces in their museum.
So you have an opportunity to become the owner of one of the most beautiful pieces of decorative and folk art available. Many pieces have been prize winners.
A few brief quotes from the local newspaper:
https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/article244605107.html

Now (The Society of Decorative Painters) is selling about 850 items from its collection that had grown to include about 1,500 items. The collection had grown to include replications of items, rather than highlighting examples of different types of decorative painting such as rosemaling or stipple-painting.
The auction has multiple listings, for example, of painted metal document boxes and serial items, like multiple painted angels and St. Nicholas figures. It also has some unique items, including a confessional and a child-sized table with chairs created to depict different animals like a monkey.

Local artist and appraiser Trish VanOsdel said she was intrigued when McCurdy called her to help document the artwork for the auction. For years she had driven by the society’s Seneca and McLean location and didn’t realize the “treasures” that were included in the museum, she said.

“The work represents decorative art from men and women from all over the country and internationally as well from pieces from Russia and Japan,” Van Osdel said. “I have seen everything from painted clothing from the ‘80s to amazingly detailed floral bouquets on metal painted trays from Russia to intricate stipple painted furniture from Japan and everything in between including nationally known decorative artists.”
The auction also includes office furniture and display cases along with art supplies.

If you're local, the article includes info on a brief window tomorrow (Tuesday, 8/4) in which you may view the items live, as well as information about the Society..

Society of Decorative Painters museum collection auction
When: now through noon Thursday, Aug. 6
Where: online at mccurdyauction.com
Bidders can preview the auction items in person 2-4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the society’s offices at 1220 E. First St.

To view the online auction,
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/SDP.html?soid=1129271523015&aid=yybM-LgMI0g

Read more here: https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/article244605107.html#storylink=cpy

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday: Using a Coloring Book to Practice Skills

Some time back, i think i showed this coloring book here, though i'm not finding it now.
Seems maybe a bit silly to spend so much time with predrawn images, but i look at it as developing one skill which will transfer to another, to be worked on at another time.
Anyway, i'm consciously thinking of these pages as a way to work on my skin tones. Nowhere near where i want to be yet, but maybe a bit closer.
i've always had a big problem with

New Post on my other blog

i don't use my other blog very much, but i did just make a post.
It's more of a Christian and Bible emphasis blog. You might want to check it out.
https://judges2.blogspot.com/2020/07/waiting.html

A photographer photographs his autistic son

One of the email lists i receive is from My Modern Met.
i can't tell if they're a physical museum or just an online entity (including store!), but they do share fascinating arty things several times a week.

Today, they sent me a short blurb about photographer Timothy Archibald and the portraits he shoots of his autistic son. Interesting and unusual. The Modern Met article links Archibald's site. Check it out.

Words on Wednesday: Current Reading

My sister is clearing out books again, a never-ending job. She loves reading as do i.
i don't know if these are all of her Robin Jones Gunn books. i know she's still got a couple of Sisterchicks titles of mine somewhere, so maybe there are more of these.
Something she said about these books got to me.

Back to School in a COVID year

Sharing via my PTA npta.org newsletter:
Parents' Guide to School Online Reopening: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/07/16/back-to-school-reopening-online-parents-guide/5416528002/
Directly from the PTA, questions to ask as you consider what you need to do with YOUR kid: npta.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0zMDI2ODI4JnA9MSZ1PTM2NzI3NjM1NCZsaT0yNDgxMzI0Ng/index.html

Also from IN*Source: Recovery and Compensatory Services for those still in school

This is also from the Indiana Department of Education, via the above-mentioned IN*Source newsletter:

From IN*Source: Survey for family caregivers re dental health

IN*Source's newsletter arrived in my inbox today. One of the items it included is a survey for family caregivers of adult or child individuals with disabilities, regarding their dental care.

i have heard of many disabled individuals with difficulties regarding dental care. Max is blessed that we are able to keep him with his nonMedicaid dentist. The comfort the two have together is one of the biggest factors in his terrific dental health.

Here's the notice:

Calling Family Caregivers of Individuals with a Disability

Left: My father in law with his clarinet, and my dad, home on leave, with various medals and patches from his WWII service

Wordless Wednesday: Compare

From our 2008, 9day wonder, trip to Hawaii. The right image is a photo of Ka'paa in Kohala, while the left is a picture i did in art class in watercolor pencil. Looking at them this week, it seems that i have too much emphasis on the foreground in the colored pencil one. What do you think?

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday: A Happy Kid?

Yes, i really think Max was happy here. It was an exciting day: he got to ride in an ambulance!

Christie will put surprising autobiographical references into her novels.
She surfed a bit in the 1920s. This is referenced

Midweek Photo: Wet May Morning

Wordless Almost-Wednesday: Collie coloring test

How is a pencil made?

Artists and vendors are making lots of videos for us, instructional and behind the scenes.
i was sent

This one seems to have ice in the raindrops in its standard

Interesting link with parts of an iris: https://www.leonineiris.com/l9ie_partsoftheirisflower.php

Quaranitine Life with Max

This is, as everyone knows and is indeed saying, a totally weird time.

In March,

Originally published here https://wondersandmarvels-wonderfull.blogspot.com/2015/09/another-update-classes.html on this blog, this was done with Sharon's 12 recommended Prismacolors. There's a new version below with Dick Blick pencils.

These are Prismacolor Art Stix, two sets, which i inherited from my mother in law. i look forward to using them in laying down backgrounds - they are Prismacolor Premiere leads in stick form.

Current Reading

A few weeks ago, i included, two in one book club edition Wimsey novels. And about that time,

BOOM: You get a trophy! And you get a trophy!

Hi, I'm Boom. I was born between 1982 and 1997, which makes me a millennial. (Yes, that's right. Even by the most generously late definitions, there are no millennials who are teenagers anymore.) And I have been given a participation trophy.

Windflowers

How are you getting along during COVID?

One of my special needs resources sent me the link for this UCON survey. It's designed to help

figure out where the gaps are in caring for our special needs families in this crisis. It is NOT specific to Indiana.
The researchers have titled it, “The knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of parents of children with disabilities in response to COVID-19.”
Below is their introductory letter, though i've not copied their invitation to share. If you find a question difficult, skip it. You should be finished in about 15 minutes; i don't think it took me any longer and i was bouncing around other windows at the time!

Dear Colleague:

We are writing to ask your help to find out how families and caregivers with children, youth or adults with disabilities are doing during this unprecedented crisis with COVID-19, and what issues they are facing.

The survey

From my latest Autism Society e-newsletter:

The Autism Society is proud to present our State Advocacy Toolkit detailing Covid-19 policies that relate to the autism community, and how you can take action now! Check out this month's Ignite! Autism Society Policy Newsletter to download now, as well as an update on the Autism Society's advocacy efforts surrounding the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Alert Reader Matthew made a suggestion for a helpful autism link:

https://www.wizcase.com/blog/internet-safety-guide-for-people-with-autism-spectrum-disorders/#8

I've read a lot of similar guides before, but this one is quite thorough and opened my eyes to risks I never even previously considered.

Thanks, Matthew. As they keep reminding us these days, we're all in this together, and you're one of the people helping to make that true.

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