Author: -N-

Restless

After weeks of gloom and rain, frost and ice, this California girl is welcoming with open arms a day of warmth and sunshine.  I admit it – we are spoiled here – and I have totally been enjoying actually having weather, but when the flowers begin to bloom, trees bud, and the sun comes out – well, how can one not get spring fever?  I’d been wandering around the house, fidgeting, until I finally decided to go outside to see what is coming up in the neighborhood.  We have some bland gardens here, and some that are filled with wild and strange plants, as well as some which are just a pleasure to look at because of the variety of foliage, flowers, and trees.  My walk was quite satisfying!  Below are just some of the things I saw.

Dragon Stone

We are still moving things around since my brother moved out last year.  Needless to say, we are slow!  In that process of making room for him, a lot of stuff was shifted, stored, and forgotten.  Now that the studio is being revamped, I am refinding things, namely, two ink stones, one Chinese, one Japanese. Today I will write a bit about the dragon stone.  Clicking on the image below will take you to a larger image which will allow you to see the in greater detail.

Dragon Stone - Dragon on Upper Left, Clouds and Tail on Upper Right - Smaller Dragon Along Left Edge

The above stone is Chinese and measures about 8.5 x 6 inches (22 x 15 cm). What kind of stone it is – most likely a slate – I cannot tell you for sure, but I will say the design is more Chinese, from what I know, than Japanese. The stone has a rather bell-like sound to it when tapped. Breathing on the stone shows little retention of surface moisture, as do some other stones, but a thin layer of water holds to the surface, then vanishes. I have not ground any ink on the stone as of this writing. Also, I have no idea where or when I purchased this stone! I expect I bought the stone because I like the carvings of the dragon in the clouds more than anything else – I’m a water dragon myself.

Repairing Chips on Lower Right Side of Dragon Stone

Unfortunately, when I unpacked the stone, a number of chips were in the box. I managed to salvage a few, and, not knowing what type of glue to use, decided to just try white glue. As the stone is porous, and white glue works well on porcelain, I decided to give it a shot. Admittedly, it doesn’t look great, especially in large pictures, but the mending is not too noticeable in the large picture of the stone itself.  The stone seems rather soft, which may account for the issue of low moisture retention on its surface, so it may be rather porous as well.  However, until I use it to make ink, I really cannot assess its grinding qualities.

Top of Stone - Dragon

I love the energy of the carving!  You can just imagine wild, stormy weather, and a fearsome dragon flying through the clouds.

Dragon Tail - Upper Right

The carving on this stone is quite fine, with thin lines being well expressed in the undulating lines of the dragon’s body as he flies through the clouds. Scales are small and subtle; the whorling clouds undulate gracefully over the carved surfaces.

Left Side Carving - Smaller Dragon and Clouds

There are also small, light inclusions in the stone, which probably to the knowledgeable will give a lot more information about the type of stone this is, and its origins.

This stone is enjoyable for its carving and size. I’ll ink it up in the next few days and tell you what I think. And, hey, maybe I’ll even do some painting (at last!).

Satisfaction

There are days which are filled with peace, harmony, interest, delight.  Saturday was such a day.  We got up early, did a few bits about the house, and then set out to the Valley to shop.  First stop was a camera store to find a storage bag for lenses.  I found the perfect one.  Next stop was the brew shop for a thief to replace the one Josh broke awhile ago, some specialty grains, and to renew membership in the Maltose Falcons.  On the way down, we passed by Wade’s Wines and told ourselves, yes, we are going there on the way home.  And then, indulge in some junk food which we both love, and never eat.

The camera bag, grain, and thief hit the “spot” – but Wade’s Wines was a shock!  What a fantastic store, filled with fantastic people, and a fantastic selection of wine, beer, hard liquor, and nearly anything alcoholic you may wish to drink.  Reasonable prices to the rare and expensive.

When we walked in the door, it looked like a warehouse, and it really is one!  It is on the backside of a bunch of buildings in a commercial park, with the front door facing the freeway.  Once inside, we were given the “tour” – and you do need one, as around this corner are the discounts, here are the beers, here are the rare wines, the cigars, tequila, whisky, rye, Scotch, madeira, and on, and on.  The warehouse is the perfect place – they can keep adding on!  I was so impressed with the staffing at Wade’s – friendly, knowledgeable, personable, friendly, and low key.  No one forcing us to make decisions, everyone answering our questions.

I like Scotch.  I like the earthiness of Laphroaig, and the sherry oak of Macallan’s.  Talking to Marty, their resident expert, was so much fun!  He loves what he does, and finally, after pointing out so many different Scotches, I asked him which, of all the sherry cask and peaty ones we talked about, would you want to buy?  He had to think a bit; his face lighted up with thoughts of the flavor and memories of it as he made his decision.  How could I resist?

Josh got some beer – microbrewery beer, domestic and Finnish sahti – and I got Marty’s recommendation:  Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1991 – peaty, aged in Pedro Ximenez casks – and to die for.  When I came in from yesterday evening’s chilly photo shoot, I had some of the Lagavulin’s, and never have I had such a lovely Scotch!  I can drink this straight, no ice, no water, simply a shot in a glass, and savor it for an hour or two.  Smokey with peat.  Sweet follow-through.  To rhaphsodize more would be absurd!

My Saturday was heavenly.  Yours?