The annual Spring Tease is on – a few days, even a week or two, of wonderful warm sun that entices us into thinking that spring and summer have arrived. Though I know that summer does not start around here until July, I throughly embrace these days. They are some of the best days of the year. I got out a bit and did some actual urban sketching.

My DIY watercolors from the Roussillon pigments took a bit of tweaking. Researching on-line was little help as each writer had there own ratio of pigment to gum Arabic. My first mixture had far too little pigment, it took two more attempts to get it to work well. After all that effort it seemed a semi-monochrome sketch of Roussillon just made sense.

One of the traditions that kept us sane this last year was our Sundays. Long Sunday lunches are ubiquitous in France. Friends and family gather for most of the afternoon to cook and eat multiple courses, which they will gladly admit is just an excuse for conversation and a bit of debate. Most Sundays Tricia and I have our own déjeuner français even if it is just the two of us, it is the highlight of our week.

While Tricia started some prep work I sketched some ingredients. Check her instagram for photos of the finished meal.

The Mukilteo Beacon still carries my column, I am so grateful. My current quest is to find unfamiliar places in the city. I stumbled on this place, if you know where it is send me an email and get a free copy of my book Let it be Hot!. And if you know some obscure interesting spots let me know.

Tuesday morning I sat at Grounds Coffee Co. which is a 446 ft. walk from home. The trees are starting to bud and bloom, people were walking by, across the street is the 10th Tee of the golf course; you can see the golfers as they swing.

Wednesday I started the morning with un café noisette at Urban Espresso on Magnolia, sketching the Starbucks across the street. Then I moved on to Maggies Bluffs on Elliott Bay for lunch and a sketch of Mt Rainer with the container terminal and the bay in the foreground.

A good week, it felt just a bit normal. Hoping you are getting out as you can, getting a vaccine, and of course traveling and sketching along the way.