"Mimsy" to be sure

To continue from yesterday's post---It was something of a fantastical morning, painting in the intermittent rain at Gasworks Park and Marina.

"A beautiful pea green boat"

A few of us wound through a narrow wooded path from Gasworks Park to a tiny houseboat marina for the last half of the outing.

And what should I see? A beautiful peagreen boat (house), apparently just sailed back from the sea by the owl and the pussycat! See what looks for all the world like a vintage Evinrude motor attached to the hull? I am told that these are true house BOATS, because they are capable of being navigated out on the water.

Kate posed us for a great group shot at the end of the outing and check the USk Seattle Flikr photo pool for photos of our work (Nice work, Tina and Peggy). Regardless of being a bit damp, we were all proud of ourselves for braving a few little summer showers. I, myself, looked a bit like a borogrove when I took off my hat.

"All mimsy were the borogroves," What is the meaning of the adjective, mimsy? Flimsy and miserable. "When I make a word do a lot of the work like that," Said Humpty-Dumpty, "I always make it pay extra."
A shabby looking bird. "...And a borogrove is a thin, shabby looking bird with its feathers sticking out all around- something like a live mop." - Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carol.

Sketching in the rain can be like that.

Seattle USk at Lake Union Houseboats

My two pages of sketches for the day

Photo Credit: MKBuike, Red Harp Photography

Here I am (blue jacket, white hat) on the dock outside Mary Lou and Sam's houseboat with Seattle Urban sketchers Peggy, Frank and Jess. See the Seattle USk blog for more photos of the day's outing. BTW, that's my new pared down urban sketch kit on my lap. It worked great this first time around!

An extra treat: Sam took some of us out afterwards on a cruise around the lake in his Lear boat, the "Plug N Play".

A view from Sam's boat

We saw another whole aspect of the houseboat community from the marine viewpoint.
Thank you, Mary Lou and Sam for your generous hospitality.