Little guests visited Joyful Hermit’s hermitage this week, wherein JH had a project in mind.  Two unfinished birdhouses with red, white and green paints and brushes (purchased for $3.99 each at Tuesday Morning) seemed just the activity to enjoy on an April day that was too chilly and windy to spend much time outdoors.

Since Mommy and Daddy came along with Kelsey and Jocelyn, this project remained fairly tidy.  Joyful Hermit’s grandparenting job was simply to place out the birdhouses on old packing paper, open the paints, add some additional colors from Joyful’s stash, take photos, provide paper towels, and encourage the artists at work!

Kelsey brush-painted;  Jocelyn finger-painted.

Daddy helped Kelsey mix colors to see what they’d make.

Mommy helped Jocelyn glob paint and wipe messes.

Then it was clean-up time at the bathroom sink with parents literally carrying each artist down the hallway, hoping hands would not touch walls, with JH not minding if they did because most  joyful grandparents, hermit or not, have grown into a relaxed mode and are  so happy to have grandchildren visit that it seems these or any precious little ones can do no wrong.

In fact, Joyful Hermit would have had to work this project, solo, in an entirely different format.  There would be paper down on the table, and paints set out, but it would be a free-for-all in the hermitage nook paint studio.  Brushes, fingers, hands and faces, chairs and birdhouses would be open canvas for artistic endeavor.  Clean up at kitchen sink by standing on overturned bucket would work with paper towels, wet and dry.  Later in the day would be soon enough to wipe paint off chairs.  However, JH is going to prudently procure fun fabric to make pint-size paint smocks for artists’ future projects. 

After drying time, the artists posed for a picture holding their hand-painted birdhouses.  Kelsey practiced holding hers as a princess might stand; Jocelyn determined to go against her mother’s pleas to look at the camera.  Artists are known for being unique and individual in their temperaments.  They signed their works of art on the birdhouse bases, and JH dated each to memorialize such a joyful experience.