tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49902635634022145362008-07-23T21:46:27.571+01:00DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-41939806437475865262008-07-21T11:16:00.017+01:002008-07-21T12:52:29.500+01:00

I'm spending much of many of my days up our local mountains carrying Jasmine, our African Grey parrot, in her backpack travel cage. As the temperature increases here during the summer, the air quality in the local environment of our apartment and its surrounds continues to worsen.When we got Jazzy at the local pet store she already frequently scratched herself around her neck, resulting in

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-50574298290783765202008-06-30T11:22:00.009+01:002008-06-30T12:32:27.027+01:00

It has been very hot this last week so we drove up the Jura mountains yesterday evening and went for a walk at La Col De La Faucille. It was amazingly fresh and cool. There was a pleasant breeze. The trees are tall here and smell strongly of pine resin. Looking out over the valleys toward the West huge stretches of sky can be seen. (As usual, click on photos to enlarge.) At

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-26544278651720027022008-06-14T15:43:00.005+01:002008-06-14T16:08:46.567+01:00

This week I finished an egg tempera painting of a starfish. I used a photo taken by Tony in the Maldives as reference. The painting is 7 x 9.5 inches. Probably due to my lack of expertise in photography and setting up the correct lighting I'm never able to reproduce the full vibrancy of the colors when I photograph the paintings. Try as I might I have failed with every single photo I've

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-69032644852744535972008-06-11T13:25:00.013+01:002008-06-12T16:42:43.841+01:00

Yesterday afternoon I came home to a bird, Jasmine of course, who asked to go for a walk. Jazzy said: "We're going for a walk", and she repeated this insistently. I had intended to take her for a walk that morning, but unexpectedly I had to go into town instead. It was rather late in the day, and laziness almost got the better of me, especially since it looked like it was going to rain. But

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-10421556476017191172008-06-06T12:42:00.015+01:002008-06-06T14:03:43.706+01:00

We've had a tremendous amount of rain these last weeks. It rains almost every day and the sun shines infrequently. This is great for air quality, but we're beginning to wonder if we'll all evolve into fish soon! The land is green, very green. The skies are often a dull grey, floating by in an amorphous mass. But sometimes the clouds transform into masses of shapes and shades. Every once

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-82882613409901001732008-05-29T16:21:00.010+01:002008-05-29T17:15:35.757+01:00

I've just finished another egg tempera painting! The painting is officially called 'Snail At Night', but I think of him as 'Mr. Snaily'. It has been raining here every day for quite some days and looks like it'll continue to do so for at least another week. This is great news for me because less laundry is being hung out and more windows in the nearby apartments are being kept closed, with the

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-78240486998587685922008-05-21T11:30:00.033+01:002008-05-25T19:24:52.430+01:00

I'm aware of almost every breath I take - and that's because most of the time it hurts to breathe. This discomfort increases or lessens with variations in the air quality in my environment. There are some positive aspects to this: I'm great to have around as an air quality monitor. Unfortunately there are rather too many inconveniences that arise from this situation to balance out the

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-40573742345933553512008-05-12T08:37:00.010+01:002008-05-12T09:49:28.086+01:00

The weather has been warm enough for us to sit outside the market cafe again. We noticed that the sugar cubes have changed. You can see the cute cartoon wrappers from last year in 'Sugar Cube Cartoon'. I was delighted to find that the wrappers now show portions of the Bayeaux Tapestry. The Bayeaux Tapestry is a 20 inch by 230 ft long embroidered cloth depicting in pictures the events leading

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-12976561156330132762008-05-07T18:08:00.011+01:002008-05-30T15:01:12.141+01:00

Here's the latest painting: 'River of Tulips', 16 x 10" egg tempera. The flowerbeds in Spring in Geneva, Switzerland are amazing. This painting shows a cascade of tulips one Spring at the Parc des Eaux-Vives. There were many more tulips than these, and in many brilliant colors. There are all sorts of arrangements and flowers. Stay tuned for a display of some of these in a future post on

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-6348114846954465392008-05-07T16:28:00.010+01:002008-05-07T17:17:40.008+01:00

A new site has just gone live today:  Shannon Ryan Art. Shannon Ryan does beautiful watercolor painting and the site showcases her art. She has also started a blog called Chipper's Alley.  I'm looking forward to reading her future posts which should be a lot of fun and interesting because, for one thing, she lives with four high-personality parrots.  You can meet Shannon and her four feathery,

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-38136312454261602052008-04-19T21:52:00.011+01:002008-05-25T21:13:04.599+01:00

These days Jasmine takes a shower every morning - a proper shower in the bathroom, but that will be the topic of another post coming up soon. She occasionally also likes to take a bath. Sometimes she splashes around in her water bowl, and even though this is far too small for her to fit into she can get herself and, most especially, her surrounds impressively wet. This is the signal that she

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-70527111330327798852008-04-14T08:56:00.026+01:002008-04-14T16:52:25.278+01:00

There are all sorts of things to do in Budapest. There are shops, shopping malls, spas and baths, cafes, restaurants, museums, grand architecture - there's even a zoo. There's a huge shopping mall next to the central railway station. The contrast of this bright, modern shopping mall with the old railway station and historic, but often run-down exteriors of the buildings surrounding it, is quite

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-34881575756280957582008-03-31T11:42:00.012+01:002008-03-31T16:13:14.771+01:00

Jazzy has seen it snow before, but last weekend she saw it snow heavily. The flakes were so thick and sometimes large that it wasn't possible to see more than a block or two away. Jazzy took this all in her stride. (She looks rather pterodactyl or tyrannosaur-like in this profile shot, doesn't she!?) She was curious to see the flakes and to see the white 'stuff'

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-25466222397708739402008-03-30T18:19:00.014+01:002008-03-30T21:15:59.904+01:00

I love snow. Most of my early childhood I only imagined what snow was like. The closest experience I had of what it looked like was one of those toys that, on being shaken, bring up fake flakes which descend through the liquid inside the glass globe onto a scene within it. And ever since whenever it snows, especially if it's heavy, I see it as though I were in one of those toy globes and it

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-5639832351331378822008-02-29T09:55:00.014Z2008-02-29T21:02:10.958Z

There are many grand and beautiful buildings in Budapest, Hungary. We visited for a short time so I didn't see them all, but I was very taken by the Fisherman's Bastion. Here is an 18 x 14 inch egg tempera painting of it that I completed a couple of days ago. I love its rounded contours, simple elegance and the warmth of its light-colored stone. It was built around 1900 and was named after the

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-2306259390403025162008-02-06T10:28:00.000Z2008-02-06T11:35:42.756Z

I'm currently working on an egg tempera painting based on a reference photo taken in Budapest, Hungary. This reminded me of the rather dramatic scenes from a visit which we took there over a year ago. The first evening we were there, after dinner, we walked down Andrassy Avenue and came upon Heroes' Square. The city is very grand and it almost feels like once upon a time it was inhabited by

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-40906169542370166592008-01-30T14:08:00.000Z2008-01-30T22:26:41.083Z

We went for a walk in the hills last Saturday. This was the sun through the foggy morning mist. It made for a very atmospheric view of our regular walking place. All of the photos in this blog post were taken with a mobile phone camera, as I hadn't brought the normal camera.You can see how it looks without fog in the previous post, New Year's Walk, which shows photos of the same scenery.

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-37891803414936725232008-01-28T11:57:00.000Z2008-01-28T13:06:52.382Z

Jazzy has amazing feet. Sometimes they look very compact and cute. At other times they look particularly prehistoric. She also has strong legs. She's able to do all sorts of quick manoeuvres to get around places. And she has a very wide stretch between her legs so she can reach across quite long distances. They hold her steady during otherwise engrossing activities, such

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-2250348053796051472008-01-22T13:48:00.000Z2008-01-22T14:16:12.655Z

Here is an egg tempera painting of a palm tree in the Maldives. I finished it about an hour ago. It's 18 x 13 inches. The photo I used as a reference was taken by Tony. I love the oranges and yellows and the contrast they make with the deep reds and greens. I think this painting is my favorite so far. .

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-57131563873609470442008-01-13T16:27:00.000Z2008-01-13T17:13:15.427Z

Shortly before Christmas we had a snap of very cold weather. The trees turned into beautiful crystalline entities. Each one displayed a unique structure. Some of the trees looked like they were especially created just for Christmastime. And when the sun shone pale through the mist it lit up the hillsides to display a fairyland... ...of sparkling woods.

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-72240824485425273052008-01-07T13:08:00.000Z2008-01-07T14:18:47.690Z

Ozone is a major component of urban air pollution and is associated with increased cardiovascular and pulmonary hospitalizations and deaths. An article published in the October Journal of Immunology and described by EurekAlert! says: "Ozone shuts down early immune response in lungs and body". The mechanisms for this remain unclear, and pulmonary researchers at Duke University Medical Center

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-5620807083134188012008-01-02T18:14:00.000Z2008-01-02T21:42:17.492Z

We started out the New Year by going for a really nice walk in the foothills of the Jura mountains. The ground is very coarse and bleak, but there's a rough beauty to the scenery. Looking out across Lac Leman are the Alps. They almost look like they're hanging from another world.In spite of the cold there are lots of birds around. We saw a kestrel hovering, intent on his hunt. To the

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-4577811559758529122007-12-21T16:49:00.000Z2007-12-21T17:17:29.372Z

It's Christmas time! There's snow on the mountains and it's cold and frosty outside. It's nice to be indoors, warm and dry with a pretty Christmas tree. This is our little tree - well, it's not your usual Christmas tree, but our ficus tree agreed to have lights and tinsel put on his branches. And it makes for a lovely warm sight, with a bundle of prezzies underneath. Jazzy too likes to unwrap

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-20207639765466464292007-12-14T12:11:00.000Z2008-01-22T15:15:19.909Z

The sun is shining for the first time in quite a while! I've been waiting to have enough light to photograph the egg tempera painting of Mirihi that I finished just over a week ago. Here it is, the painting is 20 x 15 inches: Mirihi is an island in the Maldives, Asia. I have never been, but my husband loves it there. I used one of his beautiful photographs as a reference for this painting.

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4990263563402214536.post-58557382703272097982007-12-09T17:01:00.000Z2007-12-09T17:46:34.667Z

Lac Leman, Switzerland, is home to a large variety of birds throughout the year. There are many seagulls, and on our last visit to Corsier, a tiny port on the lake, we saw an amusing gathering of them. They were sitting in a row apparently just taking in the day. As we got closer they stayed where they were. It was quite funny to see them sitting lined up as though watching a

DweezelJazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102237878838519049noreply@blogger.com