Happy New Year!

Well, not yet, but it's close enough and I figure most of you won't read this until tomorrow anyway so--Happy New Year!

I was going to fold a basket of clean laundry today but instead I sorted through my oldest watercolors, picked out a mittful, cut them to the correct size, ran them through the embosser, and glued them onto cards. The cards are still nestled under a couple of thick books weighing them down while the glue dries so all I've got to show you is this mess of watercolor cuts.

The birds were slow to arrive this morning and one of the first was this Nuthatch that landed on the round feeder and spent a few seconds, maybe barely a minute, poking around looking for a sunflower seed. Right after I took this it took off. Shortly after that a Red-bellied Woodpecker landed for a nanosecond, too short a time for a picture.

The fat squirrels had a field day on the various suets and the cob corn. This one was happily clinging to the crook with its hind feet and picking off one kernel at a time. Three or four of them were tag-teaming the suet nuggets feeder for quite a bit of the afternoon until I chased them all away by going out to re-wire tie the Slinkys to the crooks. The squirrels had managed to pull down five of the six Slinkys or break the wire tie that held them. I don't have a lot of confidence that they'll stay in place but I had to try.

The next video in From Beginner to Full Sketchbook was drawing everyday objects. We started out with a single line drawing, which means you don't pick the pen up as you draw. It's all one line. She had a clementine with leaves on it but after showing it for a few seconds all the video showed was her drawing so I grabbed a fake plant and drew that. It's not bad.

Then she drew a basket of clementines, again not showing it so the students could see it too, so I drew the plant again, followed by a pen/pencil holder that's on the table, and a squeezed tube of paint. These aren't bad either. I'm dreading the next lesson. It's doodling people. Yikes. I suck at drawing people.

After Jeopardy! I cued up an old Finding Your Roots on PBS Passport and watched/listened to that while knitting more rounds on the cuff of Alpaca Mitten #3. I figure I'll add five more rounds to make it a little longer than the cuff of the last pair before changing to the larger needles and starting the hand and thumb gusset. P.S. I did not know the Final Jeopardy today. Didn't have a clue.

There is no way I'll be awake at the turn of the year. I figure it'll be 2025 when I wake up whether I'm awake at midnight or not so why stay up. I have to fold the laundry tomorrow; I'm wearing my last pair of clean, not handknit socks.

--Barbara

It Might Be Considered Cheating

I made an executive decision last night and when I went to the grocery today I bought a week's worth of frozen dinners. Lean Cuisines so they fit with WW but it's still not suppers that I've cooked. I have one more week (and maybe a day or two more) of Investment Cooking meals in the freezer but right now I'm not in the mood to cook for days. So I'll feed myself this way for a while. It's not exactly cheating since there's no real rules but it feels a little decadent. I like it.

This morning a few Mourning Doves showed up in the frosty grass pecking around for fallen seed. The feeders were all completely empty but there must have been some morsels they could find because they were busy.

After going to the birdseed store, Michaels for a frame for IT's school pic, and the grocery, I filled the feeders and this squirrel was the first to arrive at the small amount of seed I spilled while filling the round feeder.

It quickly climbed the crook and contorted itself around so that it could nibble away at the newly filled suet cakes feeder. It had quite a time figuring out how to position itself to eat and not fall off but it managed. Then it went up to the suet nuggets and was much happier.

I watched the next video in From Beginner to Full Sketchbook and really enjoyed it. First we drew bears' heads, then painted them with watercolor, then painted a floral frame around them.

Next we used markers to draw cats, used a fineliner to outline them, and more markers to add markings. I confess I like the bears more than the cats but thought I'd show you both.

These two small washcloths were my airport and hotel knitting while I was away. The scrap one was first and I still have a bunch of the pink and yellow yarn. The sherbet colored one came next and I've started another one with that yarn but I know I'll have enough to make a whole washcloth out of what's left. Maybe I'll make one out of the leftovers of the pink and yellow and the sherbet. Time will tell.

As I suspected my UPS deliveries that never showed while I was gone somehow ended up in my USPS mail hold so they were delivered today with the mail. This picture is of the front and back of the bookmark. I like the way it looks. It's a little crowded but I still like it better than the old ones.

After supper I cast on Alpaca Mitten #3. I want to make another pair to go with the second Alpaca Warm One hat (or maybe they'll go with the first Alpaca Waffle Hat). Anyway, I got the first six rounds of the cuff knitted so I'm just about a third through the cuff ribbing. I enjoy knitting mittens more than I thought I would, especially using this pattern which is called The World's Simplest Mitten Pattern. And I think it is!

I got all my thank you notes written and out in the mailbox today so the mailman will take them tomorrow. There was an unexpected Christmas card from a cousin in the mail so I wrote one to her too. I finished unpacking and carried the suitcase back downstairs too. I'm about at the point where I'm going to cut up some more watercolors and make more embossed cards. The remaining ones are just so-so and I want to make more that I like better. Maybe I'll sort through some paintings tomorrow to see what I can find. It's very satisfying cutting up the ones that didn't turn out so great and making the halfway decent parts into note cards. People seem to like getting them too.

--Barbara

I Made It

Flying was an adventure both going and coming. Mostly going because my flight out of Green Bay left almost 2 hours late, cutting my 3-hour layover in Chicago to about 45 minutes. We landed at Gate G-18 and I had to hurry to Gate L-8 to make my connecting flight. I don't know when I've moved that fast because those gates are far apart but I made it with a few minutes to spare. My flight to Lexington took off on time and landed 20 minutes early!

 

Christmas was a lovely day. DD picked me up at my hotel and we went to her in-laws for breakfast, presents, and an afternoon of various appetizers. No real food was harmed in the preparation of the Christmas afternoon offerings. I got a lovely art set and pad of paper from DD's in-laws, an amazing t-shirt and brush washer from DD, SIL1, and IT.

 

One of the things we had to eat were these Christmas Candle Salads. Um, they don't really look like candles, do they? The funniest part is that SIL1's parents and grandparents made them for years and didn't see the humor in them. 

On the 26th we drove to Newport, KY to visit the aquarium where we saw this gigantic green moray eel, a giant Pacific octopus, and the tiniest seahorses I've ever seen. And they weren't babies, they were just itty bitty.

On Dec. 27th IT spent the day with his grandparents so that DD and I got to spend the day together alone. It was a rainy day so we spent most of it in my hotel suite knitting and chatting but we went to lunch at a very nice cafe. We met the rest of the family at a BBQ place a ways out of town for supper. I had ribs. They were wonderful. And I didn't get any sauce on my shirt. A triumph!

Yesterday on the 28th DD and IT came over to my hotel to swim in the afternoon. We had a rollicking time in the pool splashing and swimming and laughing. IT wanted to hang with Daddy instead of going to supper with us so we went to Oasis, a Mediterranean restaurant. We ordered falafel for an appetizer which was so good. I ordered Chicken Shawarma and rice which I ate and ate on and it didn't seem to get any less. It came with some good lentil or chickpea soup which I only ate a little of and I still didn't have room for all of my supper and there was no way either of us had room for dessert. We also had a pretty little glass of tea with our meals.

My flight today wasn't until 3:20pm so we went to brunch and I ordered a Dutch Baby which is kind of a pancakey thing and it was so delicious. It had fresh blackberries in it and some kind of whipped butter/cream stuff dolloped around. Divine! DD and IT had pancakes; they were outstanding too. DD shared a bite with me. I got to the airport way early so I sat around for a couple hours and during that time a wind and rain storm blew in. The time to board came and went and the time to depart came and went too. I was getting antsy because I only had 45 minutes in Chicago on the way home and was afraid I'd have a long way to go but fortunately the pilot made up some time in the air and I only had to walk from Gate L-8 to Gate L-4. That sounds easy but there were other numbered gates in between that didn't belong there. It was confusing but I made it. We landed in Green Bay right on time and I was disappointed to find no taxis at the taxi stand. I tried calling for one but they "weren't accepting calls at this time." What??? So I downloaded the Uber app and luckily a driver had just dropped a fare off at the casino across the street from the airport so I only had to wait a minute for my ride home.

I had a great time in Lexington with DD and her family. I liked the place I stayed; it was very comfortable and fairly reasonable. There was a Trader Joe's across the street so I walked over there for lunch when DD was busy with IT whose patience for eating out had reached an end. I couldn't blame him. What 7-year-old wants to drive around with his grandmother when he's got a pile of new toys to play with at home? Anyway, I'm home safe and happy to be back in my own house with my own bed and my own bathroom. As nice as it was to be with DD, etc. it's nice to be home.

--Barbara

No Ice

It was spitting little snowflakes when I went to the hairdresser this morning, not freezing drizzle. Whew. When I got up I opened the garage door and spread a bit of salt on the top of the driveway just in case it decided to ice up while I was gone. It didn't but I was ready. And we haven't gotten the 1-2 inches of snow they threatened us with either. It stayed just above freezing so stuff kind of melted a little.

I painted the next lesson video this afternoon. I was supposed to use gouache but decided to use watercolor instead. I think it turned out okay. You can barely see the white-ish flowers with the yellow brown centers in the middle and at the bottom but in person they're kind of visible. In some lights. At certain angles.

I got an email from the WI Department of Revenue billing me for my business license which also mentioned paying Sales & Use Tax which I didn't know about last year so I ended up paying it late and a penalty so I sat down and totaled up my sales and purchases and filled in the online form and got it all taken care of before the due date. There are no photos.

In the evening I sat down to watch back-to-back episodes of Maine Cabin Masters (all reruns) and knitted on the second Alpaca Mitten. I finished it except for weaving in some of the ends. I'll do that when I get back.

Speaking of going away and getting back, I worked on packing better today and figuring out how to take my little knitting bag on the plane with me. I dug out a cross-body pack I bought in Bozeman, MT a few years back and it'll hold my knitting, some dried apple slices for a snack, and my N95 masks.

I'm not taking my laptop along so there will be no blogging until I return. I'll miss you.

--Barbara

An Interesting Sunday

There wasn't an in-town football game today (it's tomorrow night) so DS finally had time to come over this afternoon with his old-but-mighty sewing machine to make a gift for his beloved. I have no pictures of this event because it's a secret but we spent an enjoyable and productive few hours of measuring, cutting, pressing, and stitching. I was just the advisor, he did the work. It was so special to spend time working on a project together.

This is the first pair of the flock of Sparrows that came around this morning. They didn't waste much time emptying the feeder over the last couple days so there wasn't so much for them to throw down to the waiting horde on the ground.

While I waited for DS to arrive I started the day's art project. It's drawing with markers and fine liner pen. She calls it flower doodles. I think they turned out pretty well.

I worked on the second mitten this afternoon and evening. I'm at the decreases for the mitten top. Then I'll pick up the thumb stitches and knit those, weave in the tails and it'll be finished. I probably could have knitted the six rounds of the top before coming back here but my eyes and hands got tired so I quit for the night.

They're talking about freezing drizzle tomorrow and I have a 10am haircut across town. I hope they're wrong about the freezing part. Snow I could handle but I'm afraid of ice. Wish me luck.

--Barbara

Just One

Today could have gone either way. Either people would be eager to find a gift for someone or they wouldn't be. Turned out people weren't looking for books, that's for sure. I sold one book, another of the authors sold three, and the other two didn't sell any. It was a long, disheartening day. But I said when I started selling at the market that my goal would be to sell one book which would pay for the booth for the day so I met my goal today. It's difficult to tell in this picture but my hat is a green felt Christmas tree with glitter pompoms on it and a yellow felt star on top. It was comfy and festive.

A Cardinal visited the platform feeder this morning before I went off to the market. It posed nicely and then flew away.

The video today was to paint "ugly birds." That's what she said and then we did this. I don't think the birds are ugly. I like the gray and brown watercolor that we started with, then we used a black brush pen to roughly outline them, then used colored pencils to "flesh" them out. I like the way they turned out.

And before coming back here I drew a gratitude page. I took a shower when I got home to wash off the grease smell; that was nice. Now I have a pile of clothes in the corner of my bedroom that smell a little like french fries. I think I should throw them down the chute. I'll go do that right now. There, that's better.

That's it. I thought more about packing, what to take, what I might need. It's been so long since I've flown that I'm a little nervous about it but I'm sure it'll be fine.

Oh, remember last week I ordered new bookmarks and business cards and I selected a shipping option that would deliver them after I got back on the 30th? Well, I got an email the other day and the business cards are coming on Tuesday and the bookmarks are coming on Thursday. Both of those days are before the 30th. Grr. Luckily I can ask my neighbor to come over and nab the boxes and just hold onto them until I get back. Just when you think you have things figured out life slaps you in the face.

--Barbara

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