I Moved the Snow

I didn't hurry out to blow the 5" of snow off the driveway. I waited until the plow had been by so I didn't have to go out twice. It didn't take long and it wasn't too hard. The snow wasn't as wet as they'd said it would be so it was easy to snowblow and it wasn't too windy so it only blew back on me a little when I was downwind.

As I predicted there was a flock of Sparrows under and on the round feeder when I opened the drapes this morning. You can see them much more clearly on the white snow. They kind of blend in with the brownish, greenish grass and birdseed.

It's hard to tell but this is a nice Red-bellied Woodpecker that visited the round feeder right after all of the Sparrows flew away. It was too shady to really see his beautiful red head and striped wings and I couldn't use the flash because it would have glared on the glass. Trust me, it's a Woodpecker.

The second last bud on the Christmas cactus is blooming. There's one more pretty small bud that looks like it might open into a flower but I'm not holding my breath. Too often buds that size shrivel up and drop off.

The next video in From Beginner to Full Sketchbook was what she called a line landscape. We used watered down gouache and just made lines with a pretty big brush across the taped rectangle. Once it was all dry then we used markers and colored pencils to add the details. I kind of like it.

Before Friday Night Knitting I cast on the cuff of the second Alpaca Mitten and knitted the first couple rounds when I have to pay the most attention then I could knit the cuff and start the thumb gusset during FNK. I'm almost done with the gusset stitches. Three more rounds and it'll be time to put those stitches on waste yarn and get on with knitting the hand of the mitten. I won't be taking it along to KY with me because, well, because it's not something I can knit without having the pattern in front of me and the pattern's on my iPad and I'm not taking that along either. I'll take along a dishcloth project just in case I have some knitting time.

I even managed to draw a gratitude journal page for today. It's only three items but the second one is such a big grateful item that it deserves its own page all alone. It would have taken me at least an hour to shovel the driveway by hand and I did it with the snowblower in less than half that.

Time to hit the hay. Tomorrow's the last Market on Military before Christmas so I have to be there bright eyed and bushy tailed before the doors open at 9am. I usually get there around 8:30am so I have plenty of time to set up my display. I hope people are shopping for last minute gifts and some of them choose books. Fingers crossed.

--Barbara

It Snowed Almost All Day

I thought about going out to refill the birdfeeders when it started snowing around lunchtime but didn't manage to get out there until it had been snowing most of the day. I brought up my big clunky men's snow boots, got my coat on, and my winter-filling-the-feeders gloves and got out there. Even though it was pretty late in the afternoon when I filled them a couple birds showed up almost right away. I'm sure there'll be a crowd in the morning when I open the drapes. You can see the path I tromped in the snow walking up to refill the cob corn behind the feeders.

But before it started snowing I happened to notice a Nuthatch on the birdbath. They hardly ever land there and they for sure don't stay long enough for me to take three pictures. None of them are perfectly sharp but this one is the best of the three. I like seeing Nuthatches and I don't know why. I guess I like their streamlined shape and their focus when they're digging in the feeder for what they want.

In between doing loads of laundry and talking to my brother TW on his new flip phone, I painted, marker-ed, and colored pencil-ed this picture of lemons. She drew, painted, marker-ed, and colored pencil-ed figs but I like lemons. They're a shape that I'm familiar with and I like yellow so that's what I did. See? I don't have to exactly copy what the teacher does all the time. I have my moments of creativity. Some days.

I enjoyed watching this squirrel digging around in the snow looking for seeds and seeing the snow collecting on its fur.

This evening I finished the thumb of the first Alpaca Mitten while I watched Bette Midler in Gypsy on Prime. It was the TV version and I didn't recognize the young girl who played Louise but it was pretty good and I got to sing along on all the songs that I knew. I got so distracted that I didn't manage to cast on the next mitten. I'll do that tomorrow night at Friday Night Knitting... tomorrow IS Friday, right?

 

Just before I came back here I looked out the front door to see if it was still snowing. It was and I thought it looked peaceful out there all covered in white so I thought you'd like to see it too. Nobody's shoveled or plowed yet so it looks nice and clean. I wonder if it's good snowman snow.

Tomorrow morning I get to go out and shovel or snowblow the snow off the driveway. I'm sure the plow will come by and make a drift at the ends of the driveways that I'll have to move too. 

Like I said, I did laundry today. Three big loads. I like to save up until I have nice size loads, until I'm running out of either socks or undies. This time it's socks. That means I'll have to fold soon too.

I brought up a medium-size suitcase and have been thinking about what clothes to pack. Maybe I should make a packing list.

--Barbara

A New Place to Have a Beer

I stopped at Zambaldi Beer this morning to return the howlers (half-gallon beer bottles) from last week's knitting night and found DS rigging an extension cord to one of the igloos they've put on their patio. They were given two of these clear igloos, bought some comfy furniture on FB Marketplace, and are getting electric blankets (because the fire marshal says no space heaters) to keep people warm so that their patio gets used in the winter.

I saw a trio of House Finches flitting around the platform feeder and took their picture. It wasn't until I cropped the photo that I noticed the giant Mourning Dove sitting on the roof of the feeder.

I had another eye appointment today because yesterday's eye doc didn't check my vision he just checks my eye health so if I want new glasses (which I do) I had to make an appointment with an optometrist. I had a hard time picking out which frames I wanted--red or multicolored--so I picked both when I found out I got a nice discount if I bought 2 pairs. As usual, I asked that my bifocals be as high on the lenses as possible and it seems like for once that happened. I'm wearing the multicolored ones and I can see better without craning my neck.

This afternoon when I got home from my errands and appointments I spotted this male Downy Woodpecker on the suet cakes. I hope all of the birds have eaten their fill today because they're predicting a major snowstorm tomorrow that's supposed to bring 6" of wet, heavy snow. Ugh. I will be so grateful that I have a snowblower when it comes time to move the stuff.

The next video in the art course started with a page of tree blobs. She had us use markers to make shapeless blobs on the paper and then use a thin black marker to turn the blobs into trees. Not bad. "Pause" is my favorite button on the iPad.

Then the second half of the video was a page of monochromatic flowers and leaves with gouache paint, which is an opaque water soluble paint. She said to thin it at first with a lot of water and paint more floral and leaf shapes, then once they were dry to come back with a smaller brush and darker paint to make more details. It turned out okay. I'm not such a fan of blue and I suppose I could have used red but I was too chicken to stray from her color palette.

Tonight after supper I finished the hand of the first Alpaca Mitten. I put the thumb stitches back on the needles and will work on knitting the thumb tomorrow night. That way I'll have the second one all ready to knit on when Friday Night Knitting rolls around.

I wasn't the only one running around doing errands, having appointments, and getting gas today. A lot of people, especially people my age, were out and about so we can stay home tomorrow and not drive in the snow as it's coming down like crazy. It's supposed to start snowing late tonight and continue all day until Friday morning. Like I said, I'm grateful for the snowblower or I will be on Friday when it's time to move the darned stuff. I know that LC and OJ will be thrilled that we've got snow because they love to play in it, build snowmen, and ski but I'm so over snow.

I haven't been doing any writing this week. I finished rereading the manuscript on the Kindle and am letting it marinate until after the holidays. I sat down the other day to try writing a Seaview Christmas story (for next year), got about a page into it, and stalled out completely. Lots more thinking needs to happen.

--Barbara

I Almost Got It

I looked up this morning to see a squirrel balanced on top of the crook with the suet nuggets feeder just looking around so I decided to take its picture. I picked up the camera, turned it on, removed the lens cap, and focused. Just as I pressed the shutter button the little rascal decided to run down the crook so you get to look at a picture of a squirrel belly instead.

The next video in the Total Beginner to Full Sketchbook course was about patterns. I think I'm supposed to be doing these on the watercolor sketchbook pages instead of the vellum drawing pages because some of the markers bleed through the vellum paper. I confess I didn't make my patterns as big as hers. I am not enamored of this kind of art and for some reason I'm feeling like I'm backsliding instead of getting better.

Almost at the end of the video she switched to something she called Icons & Logos. She had us draw a simple shape that communicates the idea, like the swooping V for a bird or a heart for love. It was okay. I pre-watched the next video and it's another painting one. I'll give that one a try tomorrow. Or maybe Thursday when we're supposed to have a snowstorm.

I sat watching Jeopardy! after supper (and knew Final Jeopardy) and Midsomer Murders on PBS while knitting on the Alpaca Mitten #1. It says to knit even for 4" for the hand of the mitten and then start the top decreases. I'll have to try it on to make sure that it'll be long enough. Once that's done I'll knit the thumb. And then have to make another one--or three.

DS texted me before the crack of dawn but I didn't get it because Do Not Disturb is on until 7 but he called me around 8:30 to make sure I saw it because today was LC and OJ's winter concert at school. The concert was at 8:15 and 1:15. Well, I'd already missed the morning one and I had an eye doc appointment at 2:10 so I managed to sneak in part of the concert and still make my appointment. He promised that next time he'd let me know more than 6 hours ahead so I could make sure my schedule is clear. I only got to hear one song from LC's grade and I knew that she had a big part in the last song. DS promised to record it for me.

Time is whizzing by! I need to start packing.

I listened to Whoopi Goldberg's memoir, Bits and Pieces, last week and really enjoyed it. It's about growing up in NY and her mom and brother. There's a little bit about her career but it's mostly about her relationship with her mom. She reads it herself and I liked it.

--Barbara

Another Dreary Day

Dreary days make me tired. No, really, I droop around and yawn a lot and don't get much accomplished on dreary days. This squirrel found the little bit of cracked corn seed that I tossed on the patio when I filled the feeders yesterday. After the squirrel left a bunch of Sparrows crowded around and pecked away at the corn. There's still some of it there. I was sure that it'd be gone when I got up but it looked like nothing had found it in the night. The chipmunks are hibernating and evidently I don't have a rat this year so that's good.

I turned to the next lesson in the From Total Beginner to Full Sketchbook class and it's about the color wheel. She made one with colored pencils which I did too and then she started making patterns on a page of the sketchbook but she left out some important instructions. Like to lightly pencil four rectangles on the page before starting. I watched the next lesson where she erased one of the lines and that's the only time she mentioned it. I'm a little peeved at the lack of communication but I can't really complain because there's no one to complain to. The classes are recorded and I'm sure the artists are long gone when they get around to discounting the classes. I bought this one for 99 cents so I guess you get what you pay for. I'll keep going. Like I said yesterday, it's a good thing I can push "Pause" and catch up when I realize that she's leaped ahead. Maybe the editing is the problem. Oh well.

Before supper I knuckled down and drew a gratitude journal page for today. I wasn't happy with the day-long overcast but I was grateful that it didn't rain or snow or freezing rain even though I didn't go anywhere today. One more potato soup supper left!

I watched Jeopardy! (and didn't have a clue about the Final Jeopardy) and then Maine Cabin Masters while I knitted on the first mitten. I got through the thumb gusset, put the thumb stitches on waste yarn, and knitted a couple rounds of the hand before quitting for the night. Even adult-size mittens are small so they go fast.

My critique group Zoom was moved to the afternoon to accommodate cda's doc appointments. I got good comments and a few things to think about going forward. That was really the only thing I HAD to do today, everything else was at my whim. I love that about being retired. I got on USPS.com and put in the order to hold my mail when I'll be away over Christmas. And I have to think about what to pack. I think it says on my ticket confirmation that I have to pay for a checked bag so I'd better get my act together and prepay that because it's cheaper. I just checked the weather predicted for Lexington next week. It's supposed to be near 50 just about every day and going up. Crazy. I'm not sure I know what kind of clothes to pack for that but I'll figure it out.

--Barbara

A Foggy Day

What a crummy day! It was foggy when I got up, misty when I went out to refill the bird feeders, and it's foggier now. Ugh. I'm glad I only had to go out for a few minutes to fill the feeders because it was 40 degrees and damp out there. I snapped a picture of the first squirrel to arrive this morning and was highly entertained when it tried to shinny up the pole of the suet nuggets and slid right back down. It gave up and leaped up to the suet cakes like nothing had happened. You can see in the background that all of the pitiful layer of snow has melted away.

The Downy Woodpecker was back and so was the Sparrow. Today I managed to get a picture of them together. Today the Woodpecker didn't seem to mind the Sparrow as much as it did yesterday. It didn't try to shoo the other bird away, it just kept on eating and ignored the interloper.

 

I finished the Alpaca Warm One hat this morning. I mean, I only had three more rounds to knit and every round was shorter than the one before so this was no big undertaking. I got the tails woven in, turned up the brim, and it's done.

 

I was going to draw this afternoon but then I thought I'd try my hand at the first lesson of the other new Domestika course I bought last week. Or was it the week before? Oh well, anyway it's a conglomeration of watercolor, colored pencils, and markers. The class is supposed to be for beginners but she demonstrated the first three flowers and then said "finish up and let it dry" and went on to the next lesson where her paper had more flowers and lots of leaves that weren't demonstrated. Good thing I could hit "pause" on the iPad and catch up.

In the afternoon I also drew a gratitude page for yesterday. I meant to draw one for today but got caught up watching Finding Your Roots on PBS Passport tonight and ran out of time.

While watching TV I cast on and knitted the cuff of the first Alpaca Mitten. That yellow marker is where the thumb gusset will be. I wound up two skeins into yarn cakes so I'll have plenty of yarn to make a pair or maybe even two pairs.

That was it for my day. I'm still eating Ike's Potato Soup for supper. I think I have two more servings left before I have to figure out something else to eat. Good thing I stocked up on Lean Cuisines.

--Barbara

Getting Warmer

Against all imagining it got warmer overnight rising up from 19 degrees yesterday afternoon to 32 degrees at 7 o'clock this morning. Through the day it warmed up all the way to 34 degrees. You can see that the birdbath glacier was receding by the time I went out to fill it up this morning and it was all thawed by lunchtime. But it started snow flurrying after dark so all the snow that melted today is being replaced. I don't think we're supposed to get an appreciable amount of snow but they were also talking about freezing rain or rain falling on frozen pavement. Not good.

The Christmas cactus flowers on the back side of the plant are now blooming. There's one bud that's not opening yet but the other two are in full flower. This is a banner year for this plant. Now if I could only figure out what I did different that made it bloom so much this year so I can do it again next year I'd be happy.

The Downy Woodpecker swooped in for a suet cakes snack and I'm sure it had a much easier time of it since it was warmer so the cake had to thaw a little bit. I was amused watching it because a Sparrow would land on the suet cake and the Woodpecker would lean toward it and try to shoo it away. It had to do that a few times before the Sparrows left it alone to eat in peace.

And I decided to have a do-over with one of the Art of Sketching videos to see if repetition helped. It did a little but I still can't manage to draw without copying his sketches. I despair of finishing the rest of the videos in this class. Actually I'm intimidated by them. I keep looking at the titles and thinking, no I can't do that.

I spent a lot of the afternoon reading, rereading, and making comments on the submissions for Monday's critique group Zoom. It was a pleasure to read such good writing. I mostly have nit-picky punctuation and grammar comments and then finish up with a few comments about the way the stories are progressing. It's fun.

I paid the property taxes today. Well, I mailed the check. It's always a bit of a wrench to write that big check and send it off but it didn't go up TOO much from last year so I'm content. And I didn't have to raid my savings account to pay it. Whew.

I spent the evening watching White Christmas on Amazon Prime. I do enjoy it. I tried to watch It Happened on 5th Avenue on the recommendation of KW but it wasn't free to watch and I wasn't in the mood to pay to rent it. Maybe I'll see if the library has it.

While I watched the movie and a 2-part Midsommer Murders, I knitted on the avocado Alpaca Warm One hat. I'm three rounds from being finished so I didn't take its picture. I'll do that tomorrow night when I've finished it.

--Barbara