This week in The Pearl and beyond – April 25, 2025


Picasso painted his anti-war Guernica in 1937 in response to the bombing of the town of Guernica. It was a form of resistance that artists have often used. Another form of resistance in art and in life is “Illegitimi non carborundum” – don’t let the bastards get you down. Hope, joy, and beauty are a…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip – April 8, 2025


“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso These days it seems there is a lot of dust in life, sketching and thinking of a place I would like to be brings a bit of peace, I hope it does for you as well.

This week in The Pearl – April 3, 2025


We have had a good week in spite of all the negative news going on. We often watch the late night talk show monologues on YouTube since we don’t have live news. “A spoonful of humor helps the yuck go down.” (Apologies to Julie Andrew’s.) This morning I woke up thinking about the tranquility of…

This week in The Pearl – spring is coming


The buds on the trees right outside our fourth floor window are growing every day, new leaves cannot be far away. Last Saturday was such a good day. We visited Adam in the morning, then a quick stop at New Seasons to pick up the fixings for Sunday lunch – large portobello mushrooms and Yukon…

This week – stormy beginning


Sunday we went with Alexis and Joe to Newport on the Oregon Coast, for her birthday lunch. It was a stormy day, with wind gusts in the 50mph range. The rain was coming down at an angle, I even succeeded in slipping on wet grass so spent the day with soaked Levis, it was a…