Carnet de gratitude : December 2025

December 2025 ! And still I'm drawing a page a day, and enjoying myself with this Gratitude sketchbook... <3
If you have ever felt drawn to sketchbooks, that you let your hand pick one in an art supply shop, that you wondered what would you use it for...
I recommend you give in to this attraction : you will discover a whole new way to see the world, and bring into the pages what makes your unique point of view.

If you want to know more about my Gratitude sketchbook practice, I answered an interview for Domestika's blog at the end of 2024. https://www.domestika.org/en/blog/13539-stig-legrand-s-journey-turning-daily-gratitude-into-illustrated-masterpieces

This project is published monthly and you can access the archives beginning in November 2021 from the Projects section on my Profile.

Sketchbook : Talens, Art Creation, 9x14cm, colour Fresh Mint
Fineliners : UniPin in Dark Grey, Light Grey, Black, size range from 0.03 to 0.5 - Colour Fineliners : Sakura Pigment
Brush Pens : Water-based Tombows AB1, Kuretake Art & Graphic Twin, Koi by Sakura, Pentel Brush Sign Pens, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist
I also use Notes to scribble what I notice or want to remember and share.
This geometric block isn't an actual supply, but I love this kinf of things and it brings me inspiration.

The tooth fairy is still after me : this time I broke my right premolar in half ! Before that, Kurumi made funny faces when he woke up, and much after we had melted cheese over potatoes and delicatessen, we call it Raclette. The raclette device broke down halfway through dinner so we searched through our old discarded devices and found the previous one that was still functionning.

Highlights of tuesday December 2nd : listening to Mohini Dey on the bass guitar, watching a program with brilliant young chef Danny Khezzar and feeling inspired, making a pudding with the leftover breads and raisins, rum, sugar, spices, milk, eggs... My sweet Tanuki falling asleep against me on the couch.

Remembering a nice moment from the past, with my favorite coat of then, from Cirque du Soleil, and Koralie's great Geishka mural... Listening for the first time to song "Molly" by Ecca Vandal, thanks to Nnedi Okorafor, being charmed by Pixel the Sphinx cat...

A miracle happened on thursday December 4th : my Kindle on which I hadn't been able to buy any new books in the last 2 years started accepting my credit card again ! I selected the novel "Breath, Warmth, Dream" by Zig Zag Claybourne, my first book by this author and it turned wonderful <3
Also, I found a handbag I had forgotten about long ago in a corner of the house, and it was just what I needed.

Wabisabi came next to me to sleep on the log pillow on the couch <3 I learned about Frank Gehry's death, and was inspired to draw a vignette of Bilbao's Guggenheim. I love architecture <3 And foraminifera came up in conversation on this day too, an old favorite topic of mine that doesn't surface often enough in my life.
Also, there is a cat hair on this photo.

On that day, I began working on November's publication on Domestika, then saw Kurumi playing with toilet paper rolls, cats are cats, then cooked a nice chicken in the oven, then watched Miss France beauty pageant while eating this chicken for dinner.

My friend Deer Bartok sent me photos from baby Diego, he got a new cat cave and she got a new sofa that baby Diego loves too. I'm so glad she saved this kitten who had landed in my garden <3 He lives his best life with her. Then I received lovely earplugs from Loop in my favorite mint color <3 I need them for quiet in my home even if I don't go out much. It's good to be able to mute TV when somebody else is watching it. Then I made home Ramen with broth from yesterday's chicken.

I hadn't gifted myself a Zuri dress in two years and a new one arrived on this day, called "It's Electric". I was thrilled !
Went to the dentist, who is a friend, and she devitalized my latest broken tooth. She shared a saying that her teacher used to say, and it turned out it was a saying from a person I admire, Ernst Haeckel <3 Husband gave a tiny speck of whipped cream to Kurumi, I'm not in favor of this, I don't want to make our Potichats sick with human food.

I listened to a song by Patrick Watson that I didn't know, then walked to my physical therapist using my Nordic walking sticks, then Miruku insisted on laying in the middle of my supplies when I was drawing.

When I came down to the kitchen, there was a cricket singing very loudly from under the fridge ! It sang, sang, sang all day and it made me happy, feeling like we were in nature, perhaps somewhere in Provence... I even gave the cricket a small salad leaf.
Kurumi looked very adorable laying on his duvet next to the cat tree. I used my small Swiss ball to try and strenghten my adductors.

Sadness when I heard only silence in the morning walking into the kitchen... The Potichats had got to the cricket and smashed it when they tried to play.
I listened to the song "Marquee Moon" by band Television <3 and old favorite.
Then I attempted to synchronize my audio book of Alan Moore's Jerusalem with my newly bought Kindle version and even opened the book in French to find the page that was being read. I managed to do this just on the feeling. This "Around the bend" experimental chapter has got me engrossed.

First I want to the podologist and he restored my feet to their previous glory <3 Then I watched a feature about singer Aurora and loved it. Then it was Hinata's turn to cat-bomb my drawing session by laying in the middle of everything as she is wont to.

Highlight of the day : a walk in our suburb's Christmas Market to stock on artisanal honey, pink garlic, spices, and to indulge in roasted chestnuts and melted cheese on fresh bretzels.

On that day I showered with rose perfumed Weleda, and dressed in pink. I shared a Salted Caramel Twix fingers with husband. Watched a feature about Asaf Avidan playing his music in an art gallery. Then we had a piece of the pear and almond cream tart I had made.

Ouch ! My gum was painful on that day from the treatments... I discovered the poetry of Mary Oliver. The vet suggested we could lower Kurumi's treatment and we started on that day.

I began the day with a tangerine and some necessary needle work. Then I found out that comic artist Edika had died... Then it appeared that all my old book reviews from 20 years ago had disappeared from the internet, and as I didn't have back up for such old items, they were probably lost for good... I was quite distraught.

In the morning, I followed an online tutorial where I learned how to make tiramisu bites that were dietetically OK. I wore my "It's Electric" Zuri dress for the first time and felt good in it <3 Listened to Annie Lennox singing Neil Young and shared the couch with Nori and Wabisabi for as long as they could stand sleeping back to back.

Sad again when I woke up and husband told me that our large goldfish had died suddenly during the night.
Anyway, we went to my dentist for the treatment then back home, Hinata insisted on laying in the middle of my drawing material while I was using it.

On that day, I was awed by Mohini Dey playing her favorite bass guitar in a very elegant setting.
Then late afternoon, husband dug a little tomb for our fish and we made a little ceremony.

It was the day that Jim Jarmusch's new movie "Father, Mother, Sister, Brother" came out, I hope I will be able to watch this movie on streaming soon.
For dinner, we had marinated wild boar steaks ! And it was Wabisabi's turn to sleep on the log cushions of the sofa.

It was Winter Solstice. We put up the little black paper tree and two electric garlands. I had a cup of my favorite cardamum spiced coffee. Kurumi made funny faces. As husband couldn't eat them, I had all the chorizo/burrata ravioli. I tossed them in a pan with melted butter, red onions and cherry tomatoes. I was utterly delicious.

On that day, what a relief, I found out that my book reviews weren't lost after all. It was the link pointing ro them that was dead. I felt very grateful that they weren't lost and began saving them to my computer as backup too.
Nori settled on the log cushions next to me and I had my first oysters of the season.

I listened to a podcast from "The Working Actor's Journey" with Simon Vance disussing, among other things, the challenge that chapter "Around the bend" in Alan Moore's Jerusalem caused for him. I had some more oysters. And my friend Caro from Belgium was selling dance paraphernalia on Vinted.

For New Year's Eve, I had more news from Diego and he received many presents ! We enjoyed a lovely dinner for the Reveillon and watched Mickey 17.

On Christmas day, I opened the large box my friend Deer Bartok had mailed and it was full of presents ! I dressed in my Christmas knitted sweater which has pixellated roses on it, then I watched the last episode of this season Plur1bus <3

On this day, I searched for my Spacesuit onesie and only found it after extented search. Then I learned that beloved author and friend Pierre Bordage had died. We watched a Ghibli Studio movie we hadn't seen yet : The Boy and the Heron. And I read Sabrina Salvo's story about the snowflake Sno.

I ended the year by trying to make some space on my Cloud, but it is very difficult.
The after having brought a bag of books to the Book Deposit Box of my neightborhood, I watched a circus show called "Festival du Cirque de Demain". It has young stars that were so promising !

Husband sent me photos of Kurumi drinking from the bath tub faucet. I brushed Yuzu a bit. Then we had small homemade croque-monsieurs for dinner.

After listening to a Minimalism album, I had some of the tchoutchouka I had made, it paired really well with tiny dry goat milk cheese.
We played with the Potichats and it was fun <3
And thanks to Eryka Badu, I discovered designer Myah Hasbany's cotumes.

On that day, I drew and painted a good wishes card depicting Tanuki in dream colors mode for the coming New Year, then I saw beautidul photos of an art show my daughter took part in : Rêves d'Opale.

We had a stay-at-home party for 2 humans and 7 cats for New Year's Eve with delicious food left-over from the earlier feasts.
Sadly, I heard that a beloved place in Amsterdam burned down to the ground : my dear little Vondelkerk...

I love to see how the paper hedge looks different when it is still untouched and when the pages are drawn <3