This week in The Pearl – Colorado


This last week we were in Colorado, not at home in The Pearl. Our friends, Lisa and Tim, invited us to join them on a trip to Glenwood Springs. The objective of the trip was so Lisa could put her parents ashes to rest at the top of the Aspen ski run, a place they…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip – How to travel with pens


When flying with your fountain pen – keep it full and upright. First my credibility, and some blatant bragging. I spent 25 years traveling the world as a seminar speaker. On Alaska Airlines I hold a Million Miler card. Before I stopped flying on United there were years I logged over 200,000 miles a year…

This week in The Pearl – August 8, 2025


Our week was a bit slower paced, with just enough activity to make it interesting, as well as a lot of cooking. Last Friday we had salad for lunch, always a favorite, we usually construct our own, here is mine. There are a few foods that sound good to me, that should work, yet when…

This week in The Pearl – June 13, 2025


Last Sunday we got back to our longstanding practice of Le déjeuner dominical (it has been jokingly called le messe du ventre – the mass of the stomach). Tricia and I both cook, I resist using the phrase “cooking duties” as that implies a burdensome task; for us it is a pleasure. The Brits use…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip – June 3, 2025


To make your bright areas more intense make your darks darker. I did the painting on the left first, it really did not look too bad. The Sunset at Otter Crest was quite dramatic so I wanted it to “pop”. I darkened the rocks and even the distant, dark, part of the ocean, as well…