Peter Hogarth – Artist
@peterhogarthartist.bsky.social
Wednesday 9-2-2026
Boo – @333too3 on Substack
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I’m just back from the cafe. It started pouring just before I was about to go. I decided to delay my departure and see if the rain let up. Meanwhile, Brian texted me that he would walk me over when I was ready. See what a wonderful son he is? I got ‘my’ spot at the cafe and sketched comfortably for a couple of hours, finishing one sketch and starting two more.
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My latest.
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I had my gym time this morning without the companionship of the Ugly American. One can HOPE he’s gone, but I won’t hold my breath.
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I made a bit of progress on the chameleon puzzle, finally getting the two sides to meet. It doesn’t even bother me that it might take forever to complete this one. It adds so much nice color to that part of the room. :0)
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My friend Heidi leaves the country tomorrow 🥲 but she texted me to see if I could meet tomorrow before she leaves! I’m really looking forward to another face-to-face meeting. She will be back sometime next spring.
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I found a piece of bubble wrap in my closet and I’ve been popping bubbles like a fiend since I came home. This is probably a sign of my decline, but I just LOVE popping the bubbles! 🫧 😜 🤣
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Lavonne Weathermon
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
The Art of Christine Atkinson
I discovered Christine Atkinson’s Art recently on Substack and was blown away. I love the FEEL of her work. Then I noticed that she has a shop on Etsy, so checked that out. I found some seasonal prints that I think are wonderful.
Christine Atkinson – @creativewithChristine on Substack
And here is a link to her shop on Etsy
Filed under paintings I love
Tuesday 9-1-2026
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Today has been a mixed bag for me.
Brian and I visited Harvey at the nursing home this morning. We decided to do an experiment, since Harvey hasn’t been greeting me and it isn’t clear if he knows who I am. I entered his room first and greeted him. He said, “Hi, Babe,” so it was clear he recognized me this time – a relief. This was a better than usual visit, with him mostly making sense. He wanted to see my latest sketch, and talked about riding in his wheelchair to go to the shop (in Arkansas) to hang my paintings up on the shop walls. We adjusted his fan, put his socks on, and generally made sure he was comfortable. We each held a hand while we talked, and he squeezed ours from time to time.
I got an answer to an email I had sent, asking how my dog, Amber, was doing. I found out that she died suddenly a couple of months ago. The lady who adopted her hadn’t wanted to tell me. I realize that this email was really hard for her because we were both grieving. What I tried to tell her was that I appreciate her letting me know, giving me closure, and that I was so happy for Amber that she had TWO families who loved her with all their hearts. So now both Amber and Jet are gone – but they both had stellar families to love for the rest of their lives. Life doesn’t get better than that.
I was exhausted when we got home from visiting Harvey, so I took a quick nap. Then I went to the cafe, lucked out and got my favorite spot, and had a happy time sketching.
These are my two latest sketches –
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At the gym this morning, the Ugly American came up behind us, using our door opening as his entrance. I don’t know why he doesn’t go to the gym when the staff are available and make sure he has face recognition, or a QR code to get him in the door during this time when the card reader isn’t working, but he seems to think he is above all that. Not only that, he got on the treadmill right beside me today! He proceeded to hit the buttons that make a beeping sound the whole time he was on the machine. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say he hit the buttons 100 times in the 25 minutes he was on there. He then proceeded to walk up and down the length of the gym, talking loudly into his phone as usual. We left without my having told him what I thought of his manners or biting him in the leg. Brian said the understatement of the day when he said, “You really don’t like him, do you?”
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jimmy ssi
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Funny Animal Memes
“Funny Animal Memes”- Robyn Smith, Rugile Zemaityte – BoredPanda.com
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor
Mugs I Like – Pinterest Collection
I am displaying these mugs that I found on Pinterest that I call “Potential,” because the clay work is done but not the paint or glazes. Somehow I like them just the way they are and wish they could be used with further adornment. The workmanship is lovely. My dear, long time friend, Marsha, who died earlier this year, was a potter, and I learned a lot from her about the steps involved, the equipment involved, and learned to really be in awe of anyone who can do this well.
Pinterest collected these, giving no attribution, so I can’t give the proper credit. I’ll just ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh’ and appreciate…. I hope you, do, too. :0)
Filed under ceramics
Monday 8-31-2026
Tree P. – @tpjrm on X
I think this is SOOO cute – no matter whether day or evening or what day it is!
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August is biting the dust and hopefully Mother Nature and her summer mood will ease up on the U.S. very soon. The intense heat and then rain and back again has been challenging, to say the least. Maybe you’ll have a stellar Fall season to make up for this. (The mailbox decoration was one that caused a lot of comments from our neighbors when we lived in Arkansas.)
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Shutterstock_G&G Fitness Equipment
I did my mile on the treadmill at the gym this morning. The Ugly American made another appearance. I was hoping he had moved on. He rang the doorbell imperiously and then paced the length of the gym and back again over and over talking loudly on his phone. I tried to block him out, but wasn’t strong enough. Brian really doesn’t want me to confront him, so I’m trying to comply… I’ll also do my yoga stretches before I go to the cafe.
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Instagram (isn’t this a lovely sketch for the image?)
I spent the whole time at the cafe sketching the building I saw on the Chiang Mai University Convention Center park/campus yesterday. I base painted the sketch last night and will take it to the cafe this afternoon to work on the details. This has been a difficult one, but I hope I’m catching the flavor of it.
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Lotuss Aluminum Drying Rack (This is similar to the one I have.)
I took my clothes to the laundry this morning, then spent time washing my carrier and its inner bags in my condo. They’re all on my drying rack on the balcony now. Carrying a crocheted or cloth bag every day results in a quite dirty bag fairly quickly, and – since I love my crocheted bags – I wash them out every so often to keep them as fresh as possible. Happily, I have two of them, with two inner pouches for each. I have everything switched to my clean bag now, so it doesn’t matter how long it takes for the other set to dry. I’ve hung them inside out, so they will fade as little as possible, and I’ll turn them over, and keep moving them to get as much air to them as I can.
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Jeanne Pinkerton
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Sunday 8-30-2026
Dr. Amber Rose – @beevenomtherapyforever on Substack
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I had an okay session at the gym, shared a really nice breakfast with Brian, and then started to write this post. I got sleepy and just stretched out “for a second.” My phone woke me up with a text from Brian that there was a parcel outside my door. It was a small, fat bag of beef jerky. Who knew that would make me smile like a loon? Anyway, the jerky is stored to be opened later, if I get really hungry this afternoon when it’s too early for dinner and I’m again sitting down writing this post…
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I have a couple of sketches that I’m going to try to start at the cafe today. One is of a building on the campus of the Chiang Mai University Convention Center. The other is of a photo of a frog named Bob that I fell in love with.
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Today is exercise with water bottles, guitar practice, posts for the blog, and bringing in my laundry which I hope gets dry on my balcony before the rain for the day hits.
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Man v Fat
Getting the Lard off Progress/Accountability Report for August, 2026 –
Total Poundage off – 97.4 pounds
Total Inches off – 94.2 inches
I’m still watching my portions, but we’re branching out more on what we’re eating, enjoying more things sometimes that were on the ‘no-no’ list, enjoying every bite, ready to pull back if I start gaining weight again. I’m trying to stay in a 3-pound range around 110 as my permanent weight now. (I weigh 107 this morning.). I’m trying to continue my efforts to move more, although it’s difficult right now because I’m feeling tired and sleepy. I’m hoping we will hear from my doctor in the coming week or so when she is back in town. We have asked her to revisit my thyroid hormone blood tests results to see if we can lower my medicine dosage some more. When I have more energy, I’ll add back some of my computer video exercises.
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(This wonderful drawing was done by our family friends, Hal and Mary Ellen Thomson)
A hundred years or so ago, I played the guitar and sang in order to earn money for college. This included playing at a place called, “The Dust Bowl” in Tulsa, OK. It was a small place and I loved playing and singing for a small group of kind people. Since Brian bought me another used guitar, this one smaller with a much narrower neck, I’m trying to relearn how to play and sing one of the songs I used to sing in college and at the bowl – “Follow the Drinking Gourd.” Brian worked with me some the other day, showing me a way to add drum rhythm to my strumming, and showing me the chords he uses when playing the song. This is what I’m able to practice now! I’m loving trying, even though I sound awful and my playing is graceless, at best, at this point. At least I can hear an almost clear sound from the chords now… Whoopeeeeeeeee!
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Ellen Buesgen
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Saturday 8-29-2026
This makes my heart sing.
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I just got back from sketching at the cafe. It rained like crazy for a while, and then, when it let up, I made my way home. Brian texted me after I got to my place, telling me to look out the window. There was a gorgeous rainbow!
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We went to visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. I think I told you before that each visit is different. After all the glowing reports and pictures from the staff there yesterday, Harvey had forgotten all of that happened. We had to show him the pictures, and then he only looked confused. He was talking about throwing the suction machine (he calls it the torture machine) out the window again and burning it. He also talked about burning down a house he can see from his bed. When I asked him why, he said, “Because it’s there.” He also said he was going to “wreck Walmart.” when we asked him why, he never answered us. He did ask to see my sketches, so that was something good, and he WAS comfortable and calm, other than wanting to be an arsonist….
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Here are the sketches I finished today –
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I did well at the gym this morning. I was able to walk my mile on the treadmill without holding on to the handlebars. It felt good, too. My energy lasted until we were on the way home from visiting Harvey, then I was like a deflated balloon, almost falling asleep in the GRAB. I took a nap when I got home before going to the cafe. I’m HOPING that my change in thyroid hormone dosage is beginning to make a difference, but it may just be my HOPING that is fooling me. Anyway, it was good to feel energetic until noon…
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Filed under Thoughts on a ________
In Otter News – 6
I just can’t say enough about this Substack page. The person who writes it (I THINK the lady’s name is Carol Flansburg) has a terrific sense of humor, is very witty, and makes me laugh routinely. I look for the page every day.
“In Otter News” – @inotternews on Substack.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor
Friday 8-28-2026
Pamela Schifano – @pammypoo on Substack
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Here are my latest painted sketches –
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We just got some photos from the nursing home. Harvey was on the front porch in his wheelchair with some other patients, trying to sign his name on a big sign they put in his lap. First, he hasn’t agreed to allow them to try to get him into the wheelchair for quite a while. Second, he hasn’t wanted to meet anyone else there. Third, it looked like he was going to try to shake hands with another patient in one of the pictures. Definitely a good day for him. Brian just sent another picture and a video with Harvey having been wheeled out past the porch and outside the gate where he can see the progress in one of the rice fields. It looked like he was taking an interest. We will go visit tomorrow.
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I posted an article on Substack called, “Moving to Thailand – How Do You Pack 56 years into ONE Suitcase and a Backpack?”
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I had my massage this morning. Khun Weaw, my regular therapist, wasn’t there. Khun Sulee took her place. She is more aggressive than Khun Weaw, and did a fine job of folding me into a paper airplane in some cases, JUST on the edge of being too much. I drank a bottle of water when I got back to my place, hoping to prevent any soreness. I really feel good right now. I’m am very lucky to have TWO therapists that do a great job for me.
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Brian and I shared a treat at my place and then we went to the cafe to get of Khun Bpaum’s way while she was cleaning my place. I had a good time with sketching, avoided a hard rain shower, and we will eat dinner soon.
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Annette Tomplait
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
The Think Park Niman – Chiang Mai
One of the smallest shopping plazas in Chiang Mai and mainly in the outdoors, Think Park is best described as a Japanese-themed shopping plaza with several food, drink and fashion kiosks. It’s across a busy street from Maya, which I told you about before, on the same side of Niman Street. It’s emphasis is stalls outside – during the day – with a night market in the evening.
This appeals to me more that the larger, more commercial ones, to be able to see things that are handmade. These are small shops, more like a street fair, with the owners showing what they have made.
I HOPE these are being sold to be pets, rather than dinner, but I can’t say for sure.
This star of the show was actually riding on his owner’s shoulder, or held in his arms, causing ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ by most of the passersby, though some people did make a wide swath around him…
I wanted ALL of these, but have put it off for another day.
There is food and drink, wine in the evenings, sometimes live music. It’s a fun place to see.
Filed under Wonderful Things about Thailand
Thursday 8-27-2026
@shannonguerra on Substack
I’m sitting here wondering why the sign makes me want to do just that – 😜
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Here are my latest painted sketches –
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Brian texted me yesterday afternoon, asking me to unlock my door. When I did, he came in with a guitar! Somehow he decided that I had shown enough determination and had tried to fight with the fact that the guitar was large for me and the neck was so wide I was really having to work to get my fingers into position on the frets that he had chosen wrong before and had brought me a replacement!
It’s smaller, the neck is narrower, it FEELS better when I hold it. I was able to show him that I could move from one chord to another – not with grace – but showed I had been working hard to re-memorize finger positions and with the smaller neck, I was indeed, able to ‘keep my flesh off the box, dahlin” and make a pretty clear sound. To say I’m thrilled is such an understatement.
We will either sell or give away the other guitar, and I’ll start trying to actually PLAY something today!!!! There is still a LOT of work to do so I know what I’m doing again, and the sick frog voice is alive and well, but I will be grinning when I’m trying to work on an actual song today. 🎸😜
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When we were sharing breakfast, I mentioned that the next completely frivolous thing I would like to look for was a Thai broom. I’ve done a post where I showed you some of the wonderful brooms they make (and USE!) here. He got up, went to a closet, and pulled out this broom –
I have it hanging on my wall next to my little kitchen now, considering it a work of art. The workmanship is amazing. Brian says it was made by the ‘mountain people’ above Chiang Mai.
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Small Town Girl – @donna855789 – on Substack
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Wednesday 8-26-2026
This is particularly for Sheila, though I hope you all enjoy it, as I did. Spirals are a big part of her life, as she explains on her website.
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I had a laugh and a lesson at the gym this morning.
While I was walking on the treadmill, we were joined by our nice Thai guy who brought us the Rambutan fruit yesterday plus our Ugly American, complete with doorbell, walking, and loud talking on the phone again. As my irritation grew, I seriously thought about the fact that my hearing aids can be controlled by my phone and can mute the sound around me. (I have only used that once since I’ve had them.) While I was thinking, I realized that I don’t WEAR my hearing aids to the gym, so I COULDN’T mute him. My ditziness and the whole situation struck me as funny and I started to laugh.
It reminded me of when I was taking a course in speed reading as a part of my Master’s degree program. I was super irritated because while I was trying to do the lesson, or more important, complete one of the tests, people were coming in and out of the classroom, talking to each other, moving desks around, etc. making it REALLY hard for me to do my work. THEN it finally occurred to me that “I” was the problem and that THIS was a huge part of what we were supposed to be learning – to concentrate and function well in the midst of distractions and irritation!
So I’ve equated the two character-building exercises and declared it the same type of exercise. “I” am the problem at the gym. I will work on tuning out distractions and concentrating on the job at hand, keeping my balance while walking on the treadmill, hopefully without having to hold onto the handlebars…
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Brian has gotten us two new salad meals lately and both of them are completely yummy. The first is a salad with chicken, regular salad stuff, plus FRUIT, like pineapple and grapes. I never would have thought about putting those together, but it’s really good.
The second is a salmon salad. This one, in addition to the salmon and regular salad stuff, includes rice and edamame. I have no clue what the dressing for either salad is, but they’re different from each other, made at the place that sells the salads, and really, really good.
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I didn’t finish any sketches at the cafe yesterday, but should today.
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Christina
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Kelli McNichols Art
I discovered Kelli McNichols on Substack and was blown away by her talent. I looked on her Etsy site and found she does an incredible combination of watercolor and embroidery and wanted to share that with you.
Kelli McNichols Art – @Kellimcnicholsart on Substack – Kelli on Etsy
Filed under embroidery-sewing art
Tuesday 8-25-2026
Mind Shift Musings on Substack
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We went to see Harvey at the nursing home this morning. He was ‘with us’ part of the time, following things we were telling or asking him. The important thing was that he was calm, comfortable, and was NOT upset about the physical therapy session yesterday. The therapist is just moving his arms and legs, trying to prevent them from freezing up from being immobile in bed. We were afraid Harvey would strongly object, but he hasn’t, and said the man is NOT hurting him. Big relief. He DID tell us he opened the window, paid someone to come and get the suction machine and throw it out the window and burn it.😜. He said he worried all day yesterday because we didn’t come. I told him I was sorry, but that today was Tuesday and we were here now.
When we got home I had a text from Heidi, my new friend who made the butterfly collage for me, saying she was at the cafe. I immediately went to join her and we enjoyed coffees and some good conversation. I will miss her when she has to leave soon.
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These are my latest sketches.
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I’ve told you we’ve had some challenges from the card reader that gives us access to the gym. One day a Thai man was checking in before us and used a facial recognition feature to get the door to open. He then let us in. We saw him again today. He went in, and then Brian used the QR code to get us in. The man was waiting for us with some Rambutan that he gave to Brian.
Credit: Getty / Karl Tapales
Rambutan is a fruit aka “Cow’s or Dragon’s Eyes” a really sweet fruit that’s delicious. We enjoyed some with our breakfast today.
Contrast this with an American who got there after we did yesterday. I was on the treadmill and Brian had finished his and was doing other exercises. The man rang the doorbell repeatedly until Brian stopped his exercises and let him in. (This is a big “no-no” in gym etiquette. If you can’t get in, you go do something else. You don’t bother people in the middle of their workouts. He didn’t even bother to thank Brian for letting him in. Brian went back to his exercises and the man proceeded to walk the length of the gym talking loudly on his phone – another no-no and highly distracting. I had to grab my handlebars as he kept going back and forth and I couldn’t keep my concentration. This is the example of why we are called “Ugly Americans” in so much of the world. An attitude that the rules don’t apply to you, that common courtesy is not important, and that you’re the only one that matters. It’s embarrassing. I thought about biting him in the leg and then telling him I hadn’t had my rabies shot…
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Ellen Buesgen
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Monday 8-24-2026
TinaAnn
From May to October is Chiang Mai’s “Rainy Season.” While this doesn’t cause people to have to curtail activities, it does take some adaptation and a deep appreciation for water.
Last year, due to really leaky windows all around my condo, I created the “Towel and Bucket Brigade” – a one-person effort to sop up the water before it rain down the walls and soaked the floor. I used every towel I had in every size to roll up and put on the window sills around my place, then carry the bucket around, wringing out each towel and putting it back up until the leaking stopped. Then I would wring them out a final time and hang them on my drying rack on my little balcony, trying to dry them out before the next rain…
Now I am sitting in the lap of luxury. The Brigade has been dissolved, no longer needed since we replaced all of my windows, sealing them well, and installing some extras that channel the water away from my windows in the first place. I can now look and enjoy the rain – never taking for granted that I’m no longer leaping around with buckets and towels.
I do, however, carry my umbrella in my carrier, as well as my rain suit. One minute the sun is shining The next minute it’s POURING. Some of the places we go have flooding problems, too, so we need to be mindful of that during this time of the year.
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This is my latest painted sketch – the first in my “butterfly” series. I’m trying to be as careful as I can to get the butterfly details correct, but sometimes artistic license is necessary (meaning it didn’t go as well as I would have liked.) 🤭
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I told you a couple of days ago that our former hairstylist (and good friend) Michael had a stroke. He seems to be okay. He is, of course, supposed to rest and not work, but reality rears its ugly head. He HAS to work. He is self-employed and can’t afford to take any time off. Fortunately, the majority of his clients are willing to work with him on scheduling. I have sent him some unsolicited advice, plus the URL to an exercise for seniors website that I use myself that I hope he can work into his evenings, as well as a daily walk with his doggies. Prayers and good thoughts are very appreciated.
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I also told you that I was a bit disappointed that my doctor didn’t lower the dosage on my thyroid hormone prescription when we saw the latest lab work results. We wrote to her, asking her to revisit our question, but just this morning were notified that she is out of the office until early September. We have decided to experiment a bit and see what happens. We will be careful, but the symptoms I’m having are the same I used to have when I had Graves Disease (out of control hyperactive thyroid) before it was radiated.
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Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Dave Mottram Art – 5
Old Timer
Old Timer Closeup
Traveling Friends
Dave Mottram – “Dave’s Sketchbook Life” – @dmott70 on Substack
Filed under drawings