Well, this has been the Monday-est Tuesday I can remember! I spent almost my entire morning on the phone with tech support because of a Carbonite (backup) glitch that put a 4.2 terabyte log on my hard drive, taking up over half of my enormous hard drive and choking my computer. Anyway, I’m relieved it was a simple problem, but it’s thrown my day off schedule. Anyway, such is life. I wanted to share a few of the gifts I received for Christmas since some of you might enjoy them as well…
Manet & Morisot – I was so excited to receive this book on Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot. After reading Paris in Ruins a few weeks ago, I was more interested in seeing the “conversation” the pair had in their paintings. This book shows them side by side and covers their professional and personal relationship in more detail. The book is beautiful, and the reproductions are high quality.
Berthe is not my favorite artist, but I do love the undone-ness and scratchy suggestions of her paintings. It inspires me to loosen up.
John Singer Sargent: The Charcoal Portraits – I don’t think it’s possible to have too many books on JSS, so I was pleased when I saw another book featuring his stunning charcoal portraits.
While this book does have several large and medium-sized reproductions, which is what I like best in an art book, the vast majority are thumbnails. It’s a catalog more than a book to reference for master studies (although the thumbnails can be valuable for studies as well).
It is well made and nice to see all the portraits gathered in one book, but if you’re looking for large reproductions, John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal is a better choice.
Florence: The Paintings & Frescos – There were so many paintings in Florence that I fell in love with, and I wanted to get a book that had information on all of them. This book is extensive, but it is missing some of my favorite portraits, specifically portraits from the Uffizi self-portrait gallery and the newer works (1850s+) from the Pitti Palace. I found a couple of books on Thrift Books that are supposed to cover those paintings, so hopefully those pull through! The book is still wonderful, though, and will be a great reference as I reminisce about my trip. I can’t wait to share about the Florence leg of my visit to Italy in October. That’ll be coming up on the blog soon.
Marshall Portable Bluetooth Speaker – I have the larger, plug-in Marshall Bluetooth speaker, but I’ve been thinking about this portable one for a while. Jeff took my Bose portable speaker, and a small one I got this summer doesn’t hold a charge very long. This one is supposed to play music for over 80 hours before needing to be recharged, so that sounded perfect for me! I love listening to music, books, and podcasts when I’m cleaning the house, painting, gardening, working on projects, etc, so now I can take good sound along with me.
Jeff and I had some homemade pizzas from a portable propane-powered pizza oven last year, and it was so amazing! We have been talking about getting one since, and finally asked my parents for one for Christmas. We are big fans of artisan pizzas (as someone who eats mostly vegetarian, it’s a great entrée option), and now we can make them at home with bubbly, crispy crust that only comes from a high-temp pizza oven. I will be sharing how we used it and like it once we get it set up and start making pizzas. If you have one (or something similar), do you have any tips?
Ooni Koda 12 Pizza Oven
I also got the annual haul of wool socks, a UVA hoodie, and a few other things.
What was your favorite Christmas present this year?
Tiny tip — I appreciate the tips — super useful and friendly. Will try it.