The evening is warmer than it has been in recent weeks. Even still, a cool draft from the window catches the heat from the coffee cup sitting on the end table, and swirls the steam up towards the vaulted ceiling of our town home.

Resting on the arm of the sofa, I set the laundry basket down and watched the swirl of steam float up the stairs like our very own little ghost.   Taking the coffee in hand, I sip it -savoring the quiet of the house and the beauty of the tree outside my picture window. This evening, its angled arms are set against a cloudy sky; a relief in deep to light charcoal reminding me of the Piet Mondrian's 1912 cubist painting, Grey Tree.
     Another sip of coffee and my mind drifts off.....remembering how D.H. and I discovered this little town-home in Oak Haven Heights barely two summers ago. Something about this town-home captured the artistic spirit that only appears when decorating the house for the holidays. One evening while taking a break from unpacking I decided to organize a few potted plants on the deck. I saw The Tree! For no reason whatsoever, I sat down to sketch and color a simple image of  The Tree in all it's summer greenery. I chalked it up to the influence of the adult coloring therapy trend.
     Still, that tree has become the object of my affection. Whenever, I need a moment to still the hurried day I find myself gazing at it and enjoying how it stands as a sentinel on the street corner, watching over us. The need to capture it artistically just wouldn't go away.  But how? Then came the day that I unpacked the knitting box-and found yarn in exactly the colors of The Tree. Suddenly, I found myself graphing my summer tree sketch, viewing Youtube videos on knitting with more than one color, and, to my surprise, actually knitting The Tree. Autumn followed and another knitted portrait of The Tree came off my knitting needles. Now, as I gaze out at The Tree....


The grey sky suddenly transforms itself into a white sheet of paper upon which I am certain a charcoal sketch of the tree will perfectly capture the shading on the tree. Graphing the thick tree trunk for a knitted pattern
will not be difficult, however capturing the thinner branches near the top will be a challenge. Would embroidered accents work?   A final sip and he coffee is cup empty. My little ghost of steam has snuggled in with the cat whose snores drift down the stairs from the second floor bedroom. Time to finish folding the laundry. Still, when that is done there could be time to sketch, just a little, before starting the Chicken ala King dinner. Smiling, I head up the stairs..