Arkansas Adventure Day Eight

Arkansas Adventure Day Seven Part II

This evening Joanna and I planned a meal and cooked it together. It is one of those things that we have always said we wanted to do together, but it is just another thing for which we never have time at school.

Here's a short list of some of those things:
- Cook Together (Check!)
- Watch Episodes of Miranda Hart's Show
- Go Hiking
- Make Macaroons 
- Take a Martial Arts Class
- Go For a Joy Ride While Blasting Music

Yesterday Joanna got out her big Julia Child cookbooks and a couple others. She sat down in a big chair and began to map out our plans for our dinner. We decided on this menu:

I am currently digesting this gourmet meal and Joanna just slipped away to change into a looser fitting garment in order to accommodate the recentness expansion of her waistline. She toiled for four hours on this meal. I helped a lot, but she really did the bulk of the work. We shared it with two of her six sisters, her mother and a special family friend. 

It was like Babette's Feast, in the amount of work it took to prepare, the artistry and in the special fellowship of friends it provided. That film is actually the first one Sheldon and I ever watched together. I even think it was before we were officially dating. 

Babette, AKA Joanna

Arkansas Adventure Day Seven Part I

Dear Friends,

I have been in Arkansas for a week now. I brought a big suitcase along. I will be going to England for six weeks soon and I consider Arkansas to be my packing trial-run. I don't want to bring anything excess to England, so I need to streamline what I bring and what stays behind. This week I have used some items a lot and other not at all.

I hope this proves helpful for your summer travels!

Love,
Lucy Rose

Some Packing Mistakes

Number One: Too Many Socks
My Friend Joanna was making fun of me for having brought 15 pairs (does anybody out there say "pair" for the plural of Pairs? Sheldon does and for some reason I really don't like it...) of socks for my short stay. She was right. So far I have defy lately not needed this many socks. I love my socks and I don't like to leave any of my lovely heavy duty hiking socks behind, but I think I only need one pair a day. Sometimes I only need one pair for two days! Shhhh...

Number Two: No Jewellery 
I brought a small bag with some jewellery in it. It was just a few pairs of earrings and a bracelet or two, but I have not been motivated to wear any of it. I will not be bringing much jewellery to England. In one of my favourite films called Rear Window, Grace Kelly says that no woman ever travels without all her jewels. Wrong.

Number Three: Not Enough Shirts
I am sitting here writing this in one of Joanna's T-shirts. I did not bring enough tops that I genuinely wanted to wear. You have to be very selective about what clothes to bring on a trip. Some of it you will just plain not want to wear. Only bring what you really like. If you never really wear it at home there is not way you will wear it abroad.

Number Four: No Medium Bag
As you may know from a previous post about travelling, I like to carry a tiny purse when I travel for all my documents and wallet and gum. I also had my suitcase, of course. But I have found that while I have been here I have been using my sketchbook and books a lot. I take them everywhere we go in case there is a free moment for some doodling. But I have to carry them around in an old T.J. Max bag because I didn't bring a purse big wrought for them. I will bring some sort of canvas bag to England. It will be compact and a little cooler than a plastic shopping bag.

Arkansas Adventure Day Six Part II

Jo an I spent the day in Nature (Yes, with a capital "N", because it was extra buggy). 

I made some illustrations to accompany it. 

Arkansas Adventure Day Six Part I

This is an illustration I made this morning of my time with Joanna yesterday by the pond. We took a long ramble around their property and she let me sit by the pond and sketch for a long time. We chatted and she watched all the tiny living things move around. The funny thing is how when you sit still for a long time you begin to notice how much movement is happening. There are actually tons of tiny creatures moving in the water and by the bank. There are Spring Peepers, inchworms, water beetles, worms and dragon flies, not to mention ticks and tiny spiders crawling over your body. 

Things I Learned About Arkansas

Arkansas Adventure Day Five

Dear People,

Here are some sketches that I made today. The first is of my friend Joanna sitting on the porch this afternoon. She was wearing her yoga pants and a giant comfy sweatshirt fro her boyfriend. That is why she looks so bunchy. 

The second is an odd sketch I made when we walked down to a beautiful, frog-infested pond on Joanna's property. Apparently the frogs are called "Spring Peepers". This is because they make a loud noise with their throats. It is a surprisingly loud noise for frogs the size of quarters. I like to call them "Spring Loud Raspy Croakers". 

The last sketch is the dogs. They move around a lot, so their faces are not great. 

I'll see you all tomorrow, my friends. 

Goodnight,

Lucy Rose

Arkansas Adventure Day Four

Arkansas Adventure Day Three

Arkansas Adventure Day Two

We stayed in a hotel last night and I experienced a new side to friendship with Joanna. It was rough. I still love her though!

Arkansas Adventure Day One

School is finished at last and I am on a trip to visit my dear friend Joannna's home in Arkansas.