I don’t usually use exclamation marks in the titles of my blog posts, but this announcement deserves one! (again with the exclamation mark!)
About a week ago I reviewed Vivian Swift’s When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler’s Journal of Staying Put. I was so taken by this beautifully illustrated journal, with its succinct hand-lettered prose and observations, that I wrote the author, asking if she would be interested in doing perhaps an author interview or a giveaway of a copy of the book.
Imagine my surprise and excitement when she offered an original watercolor that was used in the book! Now, there are thousands of copies of this wonderful book available, but this art is one of a kind!
Vivian calls this piece Song of Seasons. It’s a composition of four 1 3/4-inch square landscapes, signed by the author/artist, and matted to fit an 8×10 frame. All you need to do is to have it framed and decide where to hang it.
The watercolor will be mailed directly from Vivian. That way she can hand-address the package, and maybe add a doodle or two, giving you an additional keepsake. Plus, you won’t have to worry about me telling you “it got lost in the mail” while I hang it in my own little nook (only kidding! I’ll be incredibly envious of pleased for the winner, of course!).
I’ll leave this open for about two weeks, until midnight December 22, with the winner to be randomly drawn and announced on December 23. You’ll receive the watercolor after the holiday rush, when you can relax and really enjoy it. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to leave a comment stating your favorite “pleasure of staying put.” If the whirlwind of the holiday season does start to get to you, take a moment or two to journey to that place, if only in your mind.
And go ahead, buy the book for yourself or for a gift. Click here to get to Barnes & Noble online.
Oh, how much I would LOVE to win this! I absolutely loved this book and would give it my strongest recommendation. It would, as I pointed out in my own review, make a lovely gift in this holiday season.
my favorite “pleasure of staying put”…hmmmm…it is maybe finding some new surprise in my garden, a volunteer plant or the reappearance of something and watching the garden mature over the years. As am I also…lol
Wow! The exclamation marks are very deserved. Please enter me for this one. My favorite pleasure fo staying put is to be able to watch the change in the trees around me, all year long.
I have heard wonderful things about this book and the artwork it beautiful! The exclamation points are well deserved. Thanks for a wonderful giveaway. One of the pleasures of staying put is the comfort of a favorite spot. Be it a quiet corner with a book, outside with pets, or baking up a storm in your kitchen.
The pleasure of staying put is my husband because he is the homiest homebody ever.
That is beautiful! What a wonderful give away.
Not surprising for a book blogger, but my pleasure of staying put is getting to curl up next to my husband and read. Especially if its cold outside (like today) and there’s hot chocolate. Mmmm… =)
What an intriguing book. I have ordered one for me and one for a friend and can’t wait to get them!! I went from Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict’s website to sheistoofondofbooks. I have just started organizing my lists of books and trying to enjoy the quiet moments of life. My pleasure of staying put is a good book, a fire, an afghan and a comfy couch. It is nice if the kids are having playdates or are at school but as long as they are peacefully (hah!) playing that is okay too! I will definitely check out some of these blogs mentioned!! It is nice to confirm that there are others who read as much as I do!!
This is the best giveaway ever! I love When Wanderers Cease to Roam and I love art! The biggest pleasure I have from staying put is watching the birds migrate. I especially love seeing hummingbirds and Canada geese come and go. Thanks for this fantastic contest!
[...] Comments « Giveaway of original watercolor art from *When Wanderers Cease to Roam* by Vivian Swift! [...]
Staying put is great to just sit around and watch the nature around me. I love to watch the animals
As already mentioned, this is a beautiful book. I highly recommend it, and I’ve purchased several copies as gifts for friends as well. My favorite pleasure of staying put is snuggling up on the couch, getting lost in a book, and dreaming about being somewhere else!
This is a great giveaway Dawn! My favorite pleasure of staying put is the luxury of waking up and reading until I’m ready to start the day. that only happens on Saturdays, though.
I love this watercolor art-so pretty! When I need to escape and stay put I go and walk through my flower garden and in the winter I bury myself in flower magazines and catalogues!
What a wonderful giveaway for a wonderful book! My favorite pleasure of staying it lounging on my couch with my 2 dogs, a blanket, a good book, and some refreshments-doesn’t get any better:)
I’ve posted this unique giveaway on Win A Book. No need to enter the contest.
Oh please please please I want to win this picture! I will be really good all of 2009 if I win this picture. (And you have NO idea what a sacrifice THAT will be!)
I just love Vivian’s book. It’s by my bed right now, later it will be by my chair in the den. And it has been on my kitchen table. I have read it cover to cover 4 times!! And I am still picking through it.
What a gift she has given all of us already. Happy Holidays!!
18 books bought and presented to friends who absolutely love it too.
Staying put is reading in bed with three dogs of three sizes atop my down comforter on a country-cold winter’s morn.
I also reviewed Vivian’s book on my LoveThisJournal.com website – maybe the most glowing review I have ever done. I love this book and Vivian’s artwork – and would treasure this painting.
My favorite pleasure of staying put is sitting on my swing in my courtyard garden and sketching in my art journal.
My favorite pleasure of staying put is sitting in my breakfast nook with my hubby, the paper (or a good book), a cup of coffee, and the morning sun streaming over my shoulder.
I have the PERFECT spot already picked out for this watercolor. PLEASE enter me in the drawing.
Thanks!
Wow, this is an amazing giveaway. I would love to be entered. My pleasure of staying put would be a nice warm afghan and a cup of hot chocolate in winter.
What a beautiful painting! I love the soft shapes and colors of watercolors. I’m already a homebody so my favorite pleasure of staying put is to lay in my hammock in the summer and read a book in the great outdoors or in the winter I snuggle up on the couch near the fireplace ( often with a book) while my family and I enjoy a movie together.
Gorgeous art! What a wonderful giveaway. I think my favorite thing about staying put is curling up under and afghan, with the dog at my feet, a cup of hot tea and reading a good book. With a big snow storm heading this way, I may very well be staying put tomorrow!
So pretty! My favorite pleasure of staying put is being able to sit on the porch as the sun goes down with my mom and possibly read a bit as well.
-Lauren
lauren51990 AT aol DOT com
My favorite pleasure of staying put is curling up with a warm throw and drinking hot chocolate. . .
Wow, I love the painting!!! That is so me!!! For, I love all 4 seasons…I love what each season brings us and what it takes with it until the sametime next year. This is one of the reasons I live in KS; we really get a good taste of all 4 seasons here!!!
My pleasure of staying put is either reading or beading, either one I seem to loose a tremendous amount of time….yet my mind is at peace and every so happy! Oh I guess I enjoy a long soak in a bubble bath too! ;-*
Thanks so much
Darby
darbyscloset at yahoo dot com
My pleasure of staying put is when my daughter and her two daughters come to stay the weekend with me. Mind you, my daughter only lives 30 minutes from me but we are incredibly close. The times that her and the girls spend with me is priceless. I am one lucky Mama. The painting is beautiful. I would like to present it to my daughter on her next visit as a thank you for turning out so well. That is if I were to win it.
That looks stunning! What an awesome giveaway, is it open to international readers? (meaning me!)
What a beautiful watercolor! The change of seasons is certainly something we experience and appreciate here in Wisconsin. We’ve got a snowstorm brewing right now! Thanks for the giveaway.
How beautiful!!!
Please enter me in the contest. Thanks.
avalonne83 [at] yahoo [dot] it
How I love When Wanderers Cease to Roam! There is a lot to be said – especially these days – for enjoying what you have right this very minute.
My favorite staying put exercise is puttering around my house – putting things away, lighting candles, turning on lamps, putting out pillows, snuggling with my cat. Home should be a sacred place.
What a great idea for a giveaway! This book is on my wishlist.
My favorite pleasure of staying home is more time to read!
Please enter me in the contest.
My favorite pleasure of staying put is to get in touch with nature and weather in a deeper way – how the sun moves through your windows in summer, how high the moon glows in the sky in winter, the swirling way a leaf floats down from a tree in autumn, and the sweet flower fragrance in the air at spring. You make new discoveries about where you live when you stay put.
My favourite place of staying put would have to be in my own bedroom on my bed. I love just sitting there with a book or my laptop to watch a movie. =)
Please enter me in the giveaway. The watercolor looks amazing.
What an awesome giveaway!! Exclamations are very well deserved! I have a copy of this wonderful book and cannot wait to sit down and devour it! I’m waiting for a special moment to enjoy it as it is so beautiful. I would love to win this beautiful watercolor art piece.
For me, my favorite pleasure of staying put is spending time with my family in the winter inside while there is a raging snowstorm outside. We are playing games or reading around the fire and just enjoying the peace and quiet and our time together!
Vivian Swift’s book sounds like a treasure. I’ve never been one to roam preferring instead to minding the garden and such. But I can relate when Vivian writes, “My tea cup collection is my passport.”, because that is what books are to me. Her watercolors are just beautiful and yes I would love to own one, so please enter my name as well in the giveaway.
Thank you.
It’s so pretty! I love watercolors
Oops. I hit the enter button too soon. My favorite “staying put” activity will always be reading.
My pleasure of staying put is being by myself on my couch, blanket and a good book
wow that is amazing! i think i can find pleasure by reading a great book when all my kids are asleep!
I find pleasure in nature! being able to breathe in the crisp forest air and hear the birds sing and the tree leaves rustle
mmm, my favorite pleasure of staying put, is lieing down and reading a book, the best place to do this is at my mom’s countryside place, in spring, out in the garden, it’s just perfect, the sun is there but the bed is in underneath these lovely trees, and whenever you look up you can see the gold of the sun around the edges of the green leaves, and you can hear the birds busy in the garden and the sound of running water and there is you having nothing to do but stay put and read, perfect!
My pleasure of staying put is just being able to breathe in and then exhale. My life is always go, go, go and I sometimes forget to stop and chill. I love having nothing to do about one day a month. I enjoy being busy and enjoying life to the fullest, but I sometimes need to recharge.
Today, on my SNOW DAY from school, (I am a teacher,) my pleasure of staying put is that I am dreaming of and full of hope about all that I can accomplish on days like today! Journaling in Ms. Swift style, photographing the fluffy white new-fallen snow, decorating my skinny, little Christmas tree, and maybe putting in a few more quilting stitches on that batik quilt that I have been working on for years. Then again, maybe I will sip my hot tea and read my new book!
For those who have not read Vivian’s book yet you will LOVE it! So beautifully written and illustrated.
I just got Vivian’s book today and am totally mesmorized by it! I’d be honored to win the lovely painting. My favorite way of staying put is going from book to sketch to book to sketch. Torn between my two favorite things!
Thank you for doing this.
Lisa
Oh how lovely- I love that poem
And what a wonderful give-away!
Sometimes I draw it. Other times I imagine things while reading 
It’s being in my home- my ‘piece of earth’. Travelling is a lot of fun, but coming home is great!
Now- my favourite pleasure of staying put… I think just ‘being home’. Sometimes I like to just sit by the window and look at the world- or in the garden and just breathe in the air
What a lovely picture for the very lucky winner!
Then, I like to light the fire and bake
“Staying put” is something I rarely do -except for the week before
Christmas( avoiding the crowds) or when there is a big snow
storm – like today! I just saw the first flakes
coming down
something with apples and cinnamon and curl up with a good book
or watch a rented movie with the teenagers…
I like “staying put” when I am with my close friends and just
hanging out, making dinner and joking around. They rock my world. My apartment really needs some nice art work so I hope I am the winner… Happy holidays!
How lovely to run across your blog! I’ve just recently purchased When Wanderers Cease to Roam and absolutely love it (though I haven’t finished yet–I’m about halfway through).
For my contest entry, my pleasure(s) of staying put is…
Watching the tangy colors of twilight kiss the lake while a cool breeze grazes my bare arms.
Watching my two-year-old niece run up and down the block (closely guarded, of course) to ooh and aah at all the holiday lights.
Warming my bones with a piping hot showers followed by sipping a cup of cinnamon-laced hot chocolate while tightly tucked under a thick hand-made comforter with a good book close at hand.
In the grand scheme of things, the pleasures are innumerable.
I do plan on buying this book. Would, of course, be so excited to win the watercolor. My favorite thing about staying put is not having to pack for the move.
The best thing about staying put is being able to enjoy all the seasons and how things change, and yet some remain the same.
What a fantastic prize! I love to stay put and sew all day.