E. E. Cummings (He never meant his name to go uncapitalized) wrote a short poem called In Just Spring which described the world as “puddle- wonderful.” It’s my hope that you will always see the world that way, because as Michael K. Williams noted, “Childhood is that state which ends the moment a puddle is first viewed as an obstacle instead of an opportunity.”
 

The Quirky Observation

Gustave Caillebotte’s “Paris Street; Rainy Day” is a wonderful painting in many ways, but it’s not the rain that appeals. In art, I prefer sun-shading parasols to umbrellas. And I am especially fascinated by Impressionist artists who painted women with parasols in dappled light. While Claude Monet’s “Woman with a Parasol” is far more famous because he is, I find the work of American artists such as Frederick Carl Frieseke and Richard Emil Miller more compelling. They were part of the Giverny Colony – a group of artists who bought or rented property adjoining Monet’s estate in the early 1900s. Shown here is a sample of Frieseke’s work. Click on the name links for more examples.

And did you know? It’s Creative Artists Month. Make something!
 

The Featured Product
Our Spring Fun Slide Show is full of that hopeful feeling when anything seems possible. The 116 slides cover trivia quizzes on umbrellas and the Kentucky Derby, several word games and discussion topics and reminiscing about youthful games and jump rope rhymes + much more. Guaranteed to give you spring fever. Order Spring Fun now!
 

The Kiosk of Resources

Answers to the quiz:

1.Smile     2.Rainbow      3.Cloud, Parade     4.Singin’      5.c      6.a      7.b