Shark!

 I've decided that I'm done with the latest art assignment.  It was called Never Seen, Never Will.  Since I don't think I'll be going scuba diving ever again I've missed my chance to see a whale shark so that's what I chose to make a picture of.  In some ways my practice picture turned out better than my final one because the masking liquid I used to keep the spots on the fish white rubbed off the sketch paper I used to practice on but clung to the rough surface of the watercolor paper and didn't all rub off.

Since I'm never going to be a real artist and no one will ever see my pictures (but you) I'm satisfied enough with my efforts.  This one is the practice one.

Today's recipe was Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, which is basically cabbage, turkey, and tomato stew.  Yum.  I took CS's advice and spiced it up with a few red pepper flakes since the last batch turned out a little bland.

I finished the first mitten tonight, got all the tails woven in, and spent time admiring it instead of casting on the second mitten.  I'll do that tomorrow while the recipe of the day cooks in the slow cooker.

 

 

02 January--Barbara Malcolm, The Seaview. 

Chapter 31

            An hour before dawn the neighborhood rooster crowed his raucous song right outside my door.

            Iggy and I were entwined and I felt him chuckle.  "That old man rooster sure thinks a lot of himself, does he not?" he said into my hair.

            "I was wondering last week if his owner would notice if I made Errol-soup one of these mornings," I said, my lips brushing his smooth chest.

            "I think she would notice."  He paused.  "Why do you call him that?"

            I leaned back so that I could look into his eyes.  "I decided to name that rooster Errol Flynn after the old movie actor who was such a success with the ladies, on and off the screen.  I remember my mom and grandmother being big fans of his.  He made all the ladies swoon and so I thought that this loudmouth rooster should be named after him.  A bird with that confident a crow has to be a big success with the hens, right?"

            Iggy's arm tightened around me and I felt his penis stir to life between us.  "Rosie, I do like the way you think and the sassy smart way you talk."

            I slid my hand between our bellies to stroke him.  "Thank you, kind sir.  Is there anything else about me that you admire?"

            He found a few things about me to admire and pay attention to.  We dozed past nine o'clock when I got up to use the bathroom and put on a pot of coffee.  I stood naked in the kitchenette cutting a mango for our breakfast when he came out of the bathroom.

            He walked behind me and pressed his long form to my back.  "I like your outfit.  It is wasted in the kitchen though."

            I smiled up at him over my shoulder.  "Oh, this outfit is good for all the rooms.  Right now it's good for making breakfast since I didn't get any supper last night and I'm starving."

            He nuzzled my ear and wriggled his hips to tickle my backside.  "You are hungry?"

            I turned in the circle of his arms.  "Yes, I'm hungry."  I reached up and pulled his mouth down to mine.  "I'm hungry for food right now.  Maybe later I'll be hungry again for other things."

            He stepped back as the aroma of the perking coffee started to permeate the room.  "Now that you mention it, I am rather hungry myself."

            I smiled at him.  "I suspected as much.  What time is it?"  I checked the clock on the microwave.  Just after nine-thirty.  "Why don't we have our breakfast out in the courtyard?  I'll bet most of the guests have gone off already so we'll have it all to ourselves.  I made some muffins the other day that I can toast in the oven.  We can have coffee, mangoes, and muffins.  How does that sound?"

            His smile lit the room.  "It sounds like I have made an excellent choice in women."

            I threw him a smile in return and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash up a bit.  By the time I came back out he had straightened the bed and put on his jeans.  He had a pair of mugs, two plates, and two forks on a tray.  I split the muffins open and toasted them under the broiler for a minute while the percolator gave its final flourishes.  I pulled a sundress over my nudity and we went out to breakfast in the fresh morning air.

Today's toss was another trivia game.  And I spent part of the afternoon and evening taking my time and getting the few Christmas decorations taken down and put away.  I'm ever so glad that I didn't put up the Christmas tree this year.  It felt right.  You can call me Scrooge if you want but this didn't feel like a Christmas tree year.

I keep forgetting what day it is.  I read somewhere that this year every day is "blursday" and I think that's right.  The days kind of blur together.  For the longest time I thought today was Monday and it wasn't until I'd changed the TV channel to PBS to watch Antiques Roadshow, which wasn't there, that I remembered that it's Saturday.  Yeah, Saturday.  Sheesh.

--Barbara