Remembering Cindy on her birthday

Cindy was a great friend and an interesting, unique person. Fiercely independent, incredibly talented, unbelievably brave, extremely curious, amazingly witty, all of those descriptions fit and are opinions held by many. However, she was also exceedingly thoughtful, unwaveringly generous, perceptively kind, and undauntedly loyal.

She loved The Virginia Home and considered the people in it her family. Although she often ventured away, via excursions in her chair, on trips farther afield, exploring the Internet or into the world of her imagination, she always returned to the place she felt the most comfortable and to the people she held dear.

I urge everyone to visit her drawings, either on line or in person. Her spirit is there in every line and her love is there in every deftly felt portrait.

http://learndaily.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/me303/

We miss you, Cindy!
Love,
Ronda

A Fun Find!
Looking through some of Cindy's pictures today, I found this great unintentional self-portrait. She just meant to capture the rig we created to make the hotel's bathroom sink accessible for her. [That's the shower head taped to the fancy tissue box.] But, she also gave us this gem showing the mastermind at work. Love it!
Ronda

Cindy's plaque at The Home

I pass this honorary group of Cindy's drawings several times a day. often with a smile and a pang of sadness.
The right side group, all still here, so they see themselves often!
The center panel includes a self-portrait, a Bygones window and others she crossed in her travels. The center section was from the front page of her water color book, and includes my favorite dog drawing ever!
The left group.
The nameplate at the bottom.

In honor of Cindy's birthday

Cindy by Evan, a photo by Cindy Woods on Flickr.

A favorite from the portrait party she had with her family for her birthday in 2008.
Add a little whimsy to your day!

Ectasy to help with the agony

The Agony and the Ecstasy
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Ice cream eased the pain from a recent illness, and made me think of this drawing.
It's March, Cindy's birth month, and a good time to remember her and explore her drawings.
There's so much life in them....and so much of her.
Ronda

Christmas preparations

the cat takes a holiday, originally uploaded by Cindy Woods.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to take a nap like Callie?

I hope all are well and that the Holidays are good.
Ronda

Rosa's Thanksgiving Lunch: A Tribute

Start with a beautiful salad of lettuce, avocado, dried cranberries, walnuts, pear, bleu cheese, and Rosa's homemade dressing.

Savor a wonderful and beautiful medley of mushrooms with chestnuts, roasted sweet potatoes topped with Parmesan cheese, green beens, and "just right" Brussel sprouts.

Finish with a yummy pumpkin flan, topped with whipped cream encrusted with crystallized ginger, and accompanied by crisp almond cookies.

You've just experienced the magic and majesty of one of Rosa's best lunches!

And, even more, by featuring all of Cindy's favorites, she was able to sprinkle the entire meal with the joy of recalling similar meals shared with "our dear friend".

Thank you, Rosa!

Love,

Ronda and the lunch bunch

Posted this day in 2007

lunch at baltimore museum of art, originally uploaded by Cindy Woods.

One of many lovely drawings of table settings, a Cindy specialty. And, one of many great meals we shared together. This one happened to be Miss Jean's Red Crab Soup at Gertrude's (inside The Baltimore Museum of Art).

Ronda

Posted this day in 2008

Susan Greenbaum singing at "Make A Difference Day", originally uploaded by Cindy Woods.

She spent more time outside than she should have, but captured a this moment so beautifully. It was a lovely Fall day enjoyed out on The Home's porch, overlooking the Park where things were being built and planted for Make A Difference Day.

Ronda

Happy Halloween!

Gail the exotic bird for Halloween Party, originally uploaded by Cindy Woods.

We had another great Halloween party at The Virginia Home last night. So, it's a good time to revisit Cindy's fun drawings of decked out revelers. See her Flickr stream for more!

Ronda

Cindy and Ronda and a Calder

CindyDCCHI 030
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Chicago August 2008
See more newly added pictures of Cindy at her Flickr site.

In honor of Cindy's birthday

In honor of Cindy's birthday, originally uploaded by Cindy Woods.

Always willing to get into the spirit of things, Cindy eschewed her normal aversion to wearing bright colors for a few minutes, thereby cracking up the lunch crowd in Rec. Therapy and bringing light to a tough time.
We miss you, Miss Woods!

Happy Birthday to Annie

annie's birthday!
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

As a frequent character in Cindy's drawings, Annie's great wit and charm was captured well.
She continues to grace The Home with her warmth and sense of style.
All the best and many more to her!

The result

Crowded
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

I always loved Cindy's horse drawings, but this one is one of my favorites and always makes me smile!

The inspiration

3's_a_crowd
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Cindy liked this old picture and it inspired the "crowded" drawing. That's my Grandfather's plow horse, Billy, escorting me, my cousin, and my sister.

Welcome to March

Fragile Beauty, originally uploaded by Cindy Woods.

A favorite, originally posted in March 2005. I love that the butterfly's book is on a stick!

The Home's atmosphere

Shady Character
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

is captured in this lovely drawing.

Cindy's original caption and note:
Shady Character
Oscar and the security guard closely watching a suspicious looking lamp.

Happy January

Edgar Meyer
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Eventhough it's almost over already.

A great memory from a January past. I love the date attached to the end of Edgar's bow. Seeing this reminds me of how much Cindy loved listening to these guys, her tapping foot keeping time as her pen flowed!

Condiment Angel

Condiment Angel
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Christmastime memories

Patti and Gerri
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Let's enjoy some great drawings Cindy did in Decembers past.

Aquathon 2009

AquathonBillGerri
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Each year, the residents of The Virginia Home swim lengths of the pool for pledges, raising money for a charity of their choice. This year, they picked The American Cancer Society, in honor of the members of the TVH family lost or affected by cancer.
Bill and Gerri did their part!

Catching up

RosaLunchDEC
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Rosa's Lunch for December

Roasted vegetables with Parmesan cheese, kale, and spoonbread.

Gloriously good!

Still hard to imagine

1_ronda&me
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Still thankful.

Thanks to everyone remembering Cindy today.

Rosa's Lunch for November

RosaLunch111809
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Rosa created a plate that Cindy would have adored, many of her favorites, in glorious colors:
sweet potatoes with Parmesan, mushrooms with chestnuts, fresh green beans, and shredded fresh beets.

It's November

cows, originally uploaded by Cindy Woods.

and a good time to spend some time with Cindy's drawings. You may come across one you might not remember, as I did with this charming depiction of the Maymont cows.

Sitting, waiting, watching the clock

3 doctor, 1 ellwood
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

So, this drawing struck a chord!

Hope all are well.

Happy July!

flowers from Rosa
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Hope all are well and enjoying their summer.

This lovely drawing shows how much Cindy loved and appreciated the flowers Rosa would bring her from her garden.
Thanks to Rosa for brightening Cindy's room each week, and thanks to Cindy for capturing their beauty for us to enjoy and remember.

Azul

Yo-Yo Ma
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

is an interesting and beautiful new work by composer Osvaldo Golijov. A wonderful version of it, featuring Yo-Yo Ma, was played this morning on Performance Today. I encourage everyone to listen to it on their site:
[url]http://performancetoday.publicradio.org/[url]

It made me think of this portrait.

Mark Russell Smith

Edgar Meyer playing with the Richmond Symphony
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Thank you for your ten years with the Richmond Symphony!

Happy May Day

Wendy
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Here's a great portrait of Cindy's sister, Wendy, from last May Day.

Hope you're still drawing, Wendy!

In honor of Shakespeare

Lear doodle
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

From a series Cindy drew when reading King Lear, inspired by our plans to see the production at BAM with Ian McKellen.

The hands and legs tell the story, don't they?

Enough to make you drop your sword!

Lear doodle
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Love the teeth and ears.

Love the hair

Lear doodle
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

and the shoes!

Hope you participated!

record_store_day
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

I had a great Record Store Day 2009 and did my part to support our great local record store, Plan 9 Music.
I wish Cindy had been there to capture the frenzy when the door opened!

Lucky me!

Eddie Vedder at the Warner Theater in D.C.
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

I was able to get tickets today for Eddie's concerts in Baltimore coming up in June. It felt weird not getting one for Cindy.

Happy April!

Pink Musicians
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

In honor of Cindy's birthday

me3
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Strive to participate in as many of these as you can:
have a portrait party, observe something interesting, listen to music you love, have a hot chocolate, eat some vegetables, discover a new artist on the web, share a laugh with a friend, get outside, greet life with joy.

Thanks to everyone who will be thinking of her today.

Carrying on a tradition

birthday lunch
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Rosa and I plan to go to lunch together tomorrow, in honor of Cindy's birthday. I expect it to be both odd and wonderful, as we gather with other friends to share stories, thoughts and good food.
I hope you all find a moment to hoist a glass to her and say hello, although I'm sure she would prefer that it be an ice cream cone or a nice piece of chocolate!
Thanks to everyone who holds Cindy in their hearts.
Ronda

Drawing with Cindy

Drawing with Cindy
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Isn't this picture great? They had fun drawing and Cindy got them sitting still for a few minutes.
That's the post she maintained on the weekends and is the perspective from which she drew most of her resident portraits.

Some hard thinkin'

Some hard thinkin'
Originally uploaded by TiaMija

Cindy looks happy. Taken 7/21/07.

Cindy's legacy

Tre
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Tre' and his brother, Brandon, drew with Cindy often. She encouraged Tre' to draw and delighted in the fanciful monsters he created.
I'm proud to say that both Tre' and Brandon carry a journal book around in their school book bag, each devoted to and filled with drawings!

In honor of Ten's re-release

Pearl Jam in Camden
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

The remix is luscious and brought back memories of our Pearl Jam tour trip last year.
This drawing perfectly captures the atmosphere and most of the spirit of that night. All that's missing is the sound!
I like that she wrote down the songs she particularly liked while she was drawing it ("Who You Are, Small Town" in the lower right corner).

I still marvel at Cindy's eagerness to explore and openness to try new experiences. How cool she was!

How did I miss this one?

maybe when you're older
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

What an odd but totally fun composition, beautifully executed. The folds of the clothing are so lovely. So like Cindy to surprise you, make you smile, and then inspire you to marvel at the nuanced and touching portrayal of a couple of mannequins.

Happy Birthday, Annie!

annie's birthday!
Originally uploaded by Cindy Woods

Annie's spirit and sense of fun is infectious, in person and in the numerous portraits that Cindy made of her. Thanks to Annie for always being a willing, interesting portrait subject.
All the best and many more!