A Book for Rick

A few posts back I mentioned that I was making Rick his annual Valentine's Day "yearbook." 

Book from 2015

Traditionally I have written poetry and compile it into a somewhat creative book. (Some years more creative than others!) Sometimes it is handwritten, sometimes typed, always a one of a kind. Usually there are 10 or so poems that cover a range of topics: biking, travels together, Lizzie (or before that, Gypsy -- the "cat in the hat" who brought us together), the kids. You get the idea. 

2015

Books have been large and small. The pop-up book nearly killed me. And I confess, I never seem to start this until far too near to Valentine's Day. I work well under deadline but sometimes that can kick you in the teeth.

2016

This year my muse vanished. At least, my language muse vanished. I couldn't think of a rhyme to save my soul. Well, a few -- trust me. Stephen Sondheim would not be impressed. 

2015

And really, when you think about it -- what was there to write about? After mid-March, the only place we went was to the lake. You could come up with a poem about masks (basks, casks, tasks...) or social distance (I had a few thoughts on that), but nothing was gelling.

Maybe 2014

But what I did have was a collection of photos from the year. Rick's January concert. Our rare but precious visits with the kids. Lake time. Cycle time. Our walk on Mother's Day. I had photos to work from and I had paint. 

This book ended up being a challenge because there were a lot of paintings and I'm no portrait artist! But as Monique reminded me, "it's the memory that matters." 

One of my favorite photos from our walk had Rick gazing into a reflecting pond. So, "Reflections 2020," came to be. 

This year's collection!

It features one adequate poem and 19 pages of paintings (some of those pages had two paintings) and written material chronicling our personal and world events in the year.

Here are a few pages: Rick's January concert.

Our dinner out, celebrating 24 years together.

Our walk on Mothers Day.

The introduction of masks to our lives.

A distant dinner with the kids.

Events at the lake -- on wheels, by the fire...

Rick's birthday, with his Cooper Hawk and bread and wine.

The flowers he brought me from his kayak paddle.

Hanging out at the lake.

Rick's take on Covid hair.

Lizzie.

Autumn at the lake.

A mortgage payoff and a ride with a friend.

Our last time seeing the kids in 2020.

A big project. And fortunately, he loved it! Maybe the words will return next year!

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