Shells on the window sill

My mother always had shells that she'd collected on various beaches on her window sill in Austin.  I followed that practice on my window sills:  in Statesboro, GA, Clemson, SC, and now in Asheville, NC.

I've added beach stones to the theme (in various copper saucepans, wooden bowls, etc. around the house) , but still have her vintage glass holders, perhaps from her mother (Mom had sand and shells in this one on her Austin window sill).

A subset of the normal shells

Looking for something to draw this afternoon, I spotted the beautiful shell (shown above) in this dish.  I don't remember where it came from;  we've been fortunate to have visited so many wonderful beaches; the beach stones are more singular.

Interrupted in my drawing by needing to pick up my car (from its winterizing check-up prior to our January Quebec adventure), I finished it in lamp light.

I'd forgotten I had a working small lamp on my studio desk.  Its burnt-out incandescent bulb was replaced by a new LED one this evening.  A bit brighter, but still nice.

My studio desk at night

I'm so fortunate to have a snug space in which to write and reflect;  the on-demand hot water heater in the adjoining "mechanical room" spills out lots of extra heat!