Oh, No Bother

"Birch Stand" - watercolor on paper, 4" x 10".  Ready to frame.  Contact imajenation@gmail.com for details.

We had a bit of a" lie-in" today (we slept late) after Pub Theater at John B. Keane's last night.  The wind howled and the rain fell all night and into the morning, thwarting our plans for an early morning walk and paint.  It is both delightful and surreal to be wearing heavy leggings and sweaters, while back home a swelter-fest is in full swing.

We're still gobsmacked over the pub theater experience.  The community gathers for song, poetry readings, small bits from plays, storytelling and a big group sing-a-long at the end.  For twenty-two years, this has been the twice weekly tradition at John B's.  As a woman in search of some connection to her Irish roots, I was emotionally overwhelmed at this experience.  I wonder if my grandfather had similar traditions in his hometown here.  I don't know much about him (Nils O'Logue, later shortened to Logue) as he passed before I was born.  But a part of me last night felt very much at home.  

We stopped for fish and chips before pub theater, and had the cutest wee Irish lass as a waitress.  No matter what we asked for, she replied "oh, no bother" sweetly.  It was a karmic counterpoint to Winnie the Pooh's "oh, bother" - the addition of one word and a bit of an Irish accent and negativity becomes transformed into delight.

The piece at the right was inspired by our rainy walk in the Garden of Europe and a stand of white, papery trees with brown knobby bottoms.  Even trees are sweeter here.