Coming Home

I hope you all had a nice holiday. We certainly did. We were worried about an ice storm that went through the route we would be taking home from Saratoga, NY. But the ice had melted by noon and as we came down off the high hills, the temperature kept going up until finally at Binghamton it was up to 43. It's risky to travel on some of these highways in upstate NY. It's a plan ahead thing.

I'm working on the 4th clown book. This one features Frankie and friends. But unless the weather gets better, I haven't got any more art paper for the illustrations. There's always tomorrow.

The picture is a sketch of Frankie and friends learning a new trick. The 3rd one - the highest - is hard to see since it is only in pencil as yet.

Winter Solstice

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE DAY!

Each year my husband balances an egg on solstice day. It's not an easy task and as far as we know, it can't be done any other time except during the spring solstice.
The sun is just about ready to set, so we quickly got a picture of it before the darkness set in.

A Poem by Elly

I wrote this poem about 10 yrs ago.

AIN'T SO BAD

I got my social security check,
it ain't so much but heck.

I can bag the groceries down south,
an look at pretty girls with red on their mouths.

Five bucks an hour ain't so much,
but I got me my trailer, food an such.

I got myself a colored TV,
so's I can choose what ever I wanna see.

Don't know how much longer I'll live,
but I'll go by what the boss upstairs is willin to give.

Don't know what more I could ask for,
if ya got lots of money, ya just want more.

I got all the folks at the trailer park,
and they never lived on a big ole yacht.

So guess I'll just thank my lucky stars,
the guy upstairs' been good to me so far.

cold & cozy

It's soooooo cold today. But our house is cozy with 2 gas fireplaces keeping us warm.
Bridget, our Cairn Terrier is like the bears - she lays around all day and sleeps. It's hard to get her to go out. I'm sure she has owl in her blood because she likes to go out at night. She hears animals out there and she has to tend to the estate with her threatening bark. The only way I can get her to come back in (when I'm ready to go to bed), is to get the cheese out. She comes running when she hears the wrapper.
My husband has a ritual with her every night. He whispers "brush" to her and she looks up at him in anticipation, then leaps off the couch, runs to the brush cupboard, and waits. After a nice fur treatment, she gets a treat. She is a smart little dog.
Maybe Santa will leave a toy in her stocking.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanakah everyone!
Eleanor Russell Brown

I have an idea for the third clown book. It's going to be about Morris the monkey, who is part of the A. C. Robat gang. I'll get busy this week on the illustrations, after which I'll write the text.
We put up the Christmas Choir on our antique buffet this last week. We began to collect the figures many yrs ago. They were given to us as gifts from students, my husbands civic band members and we purchased a few from holiday shops. In front of the singers is the Christmas Village. It is a glass collection of children doing their outdoor things in front of a barn that is lit up.
I love to decorate with things that have memories from many yrs ago. Students have made and gifted us with little tree ornaments that still grace the tree. They may not be in great condition and are crudely made, but they mean so much.
I hope for everyone who reads this a wonderful holiday. Peace.

ellysblog: Book Signings

ellysblog: Book Signings

Sweet Millies Blot

Book Signings

What a nice weekend it was. Saturday I was a vendor at a Community Center in Logan, NY. It's an old church that is gradually being fixed up. There were many people who came around noon to eat the great lunches they offer, and there were all kinds of cakes, cookies, pies, etc to buy. At one time, a group of hunters came in and bought a bunch of sweets, then left. They were not interested in anything that the vendors had to offer.

I sold a lot of books - mostly the clown books. Warm clothes were needed because it is a hard place to heat and the doors were opening all the time. 

It started to snow around noon and by the time it was 2:oo there was an inch of snow on the ground. That's when we all began to pack up and leave. It felt good to get home to my warm fireplace.

Today I signed my books at a charming place in Millport, NY. The Millport Mercantile. It is owned by an exceptionally creative girl who has a blog called Sweet Millies Blog. She served coffee, lemon water and Christmas sweets to everyone who attended the open house. I didn't sell as many books as yesterday, but did a lot of networking.  Great fun to just be there.

Calla's blog

You may be wondering why I have another blog on my blog. The other one belongs to my Granddaughter, Calla Brown. She is a med student at the U. of Rochester. She will return for her 4th year after her work in El Salvador, where she and her fiance are medical volunteers. 

I love her stories and the picts she sends and I hope to make a little book when she is finished, about the children there. 

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving - we certainly did. About 3lbs worth.