Not A Whole Lot

That's what I accomplished today. Not a whole lot. All of the birdfeeders except the platform feeder are empty so this Mourning Dove is the only bird that stuck around long enough for a photo. Although the seed isn't on the roof of the feeder... Sparrows showed up to double check that I hadn't refilled everything but theirs were just glancing visits.

Today's butterfly is a Swallowtail. It was fun to paint and I was glad to get to paint the flower that it was sitting on. So much better than the ghost flower of yesterday's painting.

A friend called this afternoon and needed a favor. I obliged. He bought one of my new books (Yay!!!) and came back in a couple hours with this aloe plant as a thank you. That was unexpected but appreciated. I hope I can keep it alive. I don't have a lot of luck keeping aloes alive. Maybe I'll google how to take care of it.

 

Here are more Stella d'Oro lilies. Most of the plants have stopped blasting out flowers but this one is keeping on. There are plenty of unopened buds on it so I expect it to bloom for a few more days at least.

I spent a lot of the day listening to more chapters of the audiobook recording of The Seaview. I'm halfway through. 22 more chapters to go. It's been a while since I read it so it's a little like a new story. Kinda. Not really. But almost.

I did "waste" an hour listening to the end of The Giver of Stars. When I forced myself to go to bed last night I didn't want to turn it off but I kept yawning so it was time. It's a good story. I recommend it.

--Barbara

And the Sun Was Back

Even if I don't go outside much during the day I still enjoy a sunny day. I went out after supper to take pictures of a few lilies and got some good shots.  The orange day lilies outside the kitchen window are blooming nicely. I love the look of the lilies surrounded by fern fronds.

The Stella d'Oro lilies are still going crazy. I thought I'd zoom in on one flower so that we could all enjoy its perfect shape and color. I really like it even though it isn't red. Yellow is one of my second favorite colors.

I spent all afternoon listening to the first 13 chapters of The Seaview audiobook. Most of the notes are about pronunciation fails so I spent a lot of time working out how to write them phonetically since I won't be talking directly to the producer, I'll be sending her a page of notes. It can be challenging but of the 13 chapters I've listened to so far 4 of them have no notes. I think that's an amazing feat of precision.

Today's insect in Ink & Wash is a Holly Blue Butterfly. I've never heard of them or seen them but it was easy to draw and paint. I'm not sure I'm on board with the outlined but not painted daisy that it's perched on but I'm nothing if not a directions follower. But I confess that I was sorely tempted to color in the flower, stem, and leaf when I put it on my Gratitude Journal page.

And the last item on today's Gratitude Journal page was rerunning the dishwasher because when I opened it this morning to unload it I realized that I ran it yesterday without soap in it. There was no way I could convince myself that running a cycle with nothing but hot water was good enough. So I ran it again, this time with detergent, and checked carefully as I unloaded it that the dishes were actually clean. I can't believe I did that. *head, slap*

Oh, I watched the last episode of Season 3 of Bridgerton Thursday night. I'm going to have to watch it again because I feel like I didn't catch all the nuances the first time. I also signed on to Disney+ which has recently been added on to my cable package. I get the feeling that they've included it to assuage some of the angst over the cost of cable. 'Tain't cheap.

I'm listening to The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. It's a story about the pack-horse library in rural Kentucky funded by the WPA and run by women. It's a good story; you should check it out.

--Barbara

Such a Dreary Day

It was cool and overcast all day today. Never got sunny, never got over 70 degrees. It started raining about an hour ago but not a big rain, just rain with a little distant thunder.

Here's another one of Dad's roses. This one is beautiful all on its own, although if the three buds around it hurry up and bloom it'll be another bouquet.

My favorite Gratitude Journal page entry was getting to chauffeur OJ around this morning to a birthday party. If I'd been busy he wouldn't have been able to go but I wasn't busy and was willing to be his wheels. He's such a terrific kid but he didn't share his slice of chocolate birthday cake with his Meemaw. Oh well, I didn't really need chocolate cake. It smelled good, though.

Remember yesterday I said that I was nervous about drawing and painting a Monarch Butterfly? Well, I took my time this afternoon and didn't do such a bad job. The secret is to let the paint dry between steps and take my time with the black parts. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Although the longer I look at it the more I think that the body is wrong.

At Friday Night knitting tonight I knitted one round on the Monterey Sea Life hat but my iPad was running out of battery which I need to follow the directions, so I put it away and cast on another Beachy warshrag. I got halfway and even managed to add a couple decrease rows before time to quit and give my hands a little rest.

I got notified this afternoon that The Seaview audiobook is ready to be listened to for approval. So far I only have one correction and it's the pronunciation of my maiden name. I also realized that the manuscript I sent her didn't have the final changes I made on the Kindle Create version but I don't think I can send that one for her to read from. It's all right, the changes are mostly cosmetic and who besides me is going to read along with a paper book while listening?

With ferrying OJ around this morning, an afternoon Zoom, and an evening Zoom I didn't do much else today but I feel like I got a few things accomplished. I signed, stickered, and bookmarked the copies of Open For Business that came yesterday and put 3 copies in the car box with 3 copies of each of my other titles so now I'll have books if people want to buy one when I'm out and about.

OJ's new favorite book is an old Al Capp cartoon book about Schmoos. Remember those? They were in the comics when I was a kid and were very popular in the '50s. He's fascinated.

--Barbara

I'm Ready Now!

I got an Amazon delivery this afternoon (finally, it was a very long 2 weeks since I ordered) and have 10 glorious copies of Open For Business to sign, put a bookmark into, and stash a few copies in the car box, keeping the rest handy for extemporaneous book selling. Woohoo!

Today the Cardinal played king of the patio umbrella for a very short time but I was fast enough to snap a photo. I'm glad I didn't wait for him to turn around because as soon as I took this he flew away. He was accompanied by a trio of fledglings that all looked kind of like a Cardinal female but all the first season birdies are colored like that. Happily Sparrows don't like safflower seeds so the platform feeder still has seed in it for the Cardinals, House Finches, and Mourning Doves to peck away at.

Dad's roses are blooming like crazy in bunches that look like bouquets. I can't remember a time when there were so many flowers all bunched together. And this isn't the only bunch. Beautiful!

And at the foot of the rose bush is the purple mum rushing the season AGAIN tossing out buds and blooms in July instead of September like all self-respecting chrysanthemums are supposed to do.

I was a little nervous about today's insect in Ink & Wash. It's a caterpillar, a little worm-like being, but I was sure that I'd do something wrong to goof it up. Well, I didn't. It turned out just like the picture. Even the leaf that it's on turned out pretty well. Tomorrow's insect is a Monarch Butterfly. Now I'm really nervous.

Today was a drawing day. I turned to the next figures in 20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly and got brave. I especially like the grasshopper because of the way it turned out and because I felt a bit intimidated by it.

I spent a lot of time working to add things to my manuscript and then breaking it into chapters. I'm not very good at chaptering but it has to be done. Oh, and I wrote the July Writing Progress email. Every month I'm sure that I won't have enough to write about and every month I find things to say.

I just finished listening to Kristin Hannah's The Women last week and I can't say enough good things about it. I know I'm late to the party on that book but it's a triumph.

--Barbara

I Filled the Feeders

Yesterday afternoon I filled the birdfeeders. This is what I saw for most of the day. Starlings clinging and flapping on the feeder and tossing seed out of there as fast as they could. Just to get a peanut. Tonight the seed level is below the ports, the cob corn is finished, and the suet pellets are all gone. It doesn't take them long to decimate the feeders. It almost makes me want to stop feeding them.

I took myself on a flower tour today. First thing this morning I went out to catch the Spiderwort before it closed up for the day. It blooms in the morning. Once the sun hits it the flowers close up. This picture is right on the edge.

This orange Day Lily is right next to the air conditioner and nestled under the forsythia bush.
 

These orange Day Lilies are along the west side of the backyard and creeping into the neighbor's yard more every year.

The Stella d'Oro Lilies are holding their own after the rain and heat we had last week. Today it was mild and sunny with blue skies and puffy clouds and a bit of a brisk breeze.

And the last bird in the bird section of Ink & Wash is a Raven. I thought I'd be using Payne's Gray for its feathers but she had me use violet and blue. It looks all right but it isn't very Raven-ish. Raven's are black with iridescent blue and violet in the sun. By the time I realized that I wanted the bird to be darker the first layer of paint was dry so I couldn't add a darker color and hope that it spread itself around. I suppose I could have wet the bird again and dripped in the dark gray. Ah well, I like the shape of it and the flowers behind the bird.  On to insects!

I had kind of a quiet day. I Zoomed with cda this morning, read a book most of the afternoon while letting paint dry, and went to OJ's soccer game this evening. They won. After I got back I watched Episode 7 of Season 3 of Bridgerton. Only one more episode to go. I thought about going right on and watching the last one but decided to save it for tomorrow night.

Last week I got an email from Caramel Crisp Bookstore in Oshkosh saying that they're out of The Seaview and Island Dreams and could use one more of the other titles. Did I want to drive down and restock? Well, yes I do! She offered a book signing opportunity but the dates available are in August and September and I don't think that I want to wait that long to restock the titles. I'm considering.

--Barbara

The Battle of the Bunnies

These two bunnies kept crossing the patio. The one on the right was the one chasing the other one most of the time. My favorite thing was when they were face to face and one would dash forward. The other one jumped straight up in the air to let the charging one pass under it. Very funny looking. Right after I took this picture the one on the left took off and the one on the right moseyed up to the fallen seed and got busy eating.

Only one Oriole sighting today. He came and sampled the jelly then left. After he left I went out and filled all the feeders which slowed down the bird visits for a while but within a couple hours the suet pellets were half gone and I could see that the seed in the round feeder was down a couple inches. Those little feathered Sparrows are pure gluttons.

I spent most of the day here at the laptop trying to get more words into the manuscript I'm hoping will turn into The Seaview3. I keep feeling if I read it just one more time inspiration will strike and I'll figure out how to proceed. Not so far. But I added a couple page scene at a snorkeling outing with Rose and the spies. One page at a time, I guess, is better than no progress at all. I don't need to hurry.

The watercolor bird today was a House Sparrow. We don't have those in North America, at least I don't think we do, so I just followed the directions and drew and painted what she said to draw and paint. I struggled to draw the bird small enough so that it all fit on the page and left room for the feeder alongside. I kind of managed it. One more bird to draw and paint tomorrow and then we move onto bugs and insects. That should be interesting.

And I even managed to draw a Gratitude Journal page today. I drew one for yesterday this morning too so in reality I did two today. We had a humdinger of a storm around 3am this morning so I drew storm clouds. I regretted coloring black around them as soon as I did it but you can't erase marker. 

MB, the cleaner came today and now my house looks and smells clean. She does such a good job and we have lovely chats while she's doing it. She was all excited when she saw the first copy of Open For Business on the desk but I haven't gotten the author copies yet so I had to tell her that she has to wait to buy one. It makes me feel great that she's so enthusiastic about my writing.

It was hot (88 degrees, feels like 97) today but there was a breeze that kind of made things better. I was glad to get back inside from filling the feeders. It's supposed to be at least 10 degrees cooler tomorrow. I'll be packing a hoodie for OJ's soccer game, just in case.

The other thing writer-y that I did today was listen to the 15 minute sample of the audiobook of Island Dreams. She read the first chapter and then voiced one of the other characters. It feels so momentous that it's just right. I listen and listen and hope for the best. The narrator does a good job and I can't wait to listen to the whole of The Seaview and then Island Dreams in July.

I attended the Wisconsin Writers Association Open Mic Zoom tonight. I didn't get to read. Only the first 10 who signed up got to read but there was a wide variety of genres and styles and it was a very enjoyable hour.

--Barbara

It Didn't Rain

For the second day in a row, it didn't rain. It was a lovely day with a few puffy clouds in a blue sky. It was warm, not hot, with a bit of a breeze. Ahhh.

It didn't rain on OJ's soccer game either. They don't officially keep score but OJ's team won. I'm having a great time sitting on the sidelines watching the scrum of little boys chase the ball and cheering for our boy and his team.

I managed to catch the male Oriole on the grape jelly this morning. He was beak-deep in the jelly when I snapped the picture. I thought about going out to fill all of the rest of the feeders but I only cleaned out the birdbath. That was enough for today. I'll fill the feeders tomorrow.

It crossed my mind to take more closeup pix of a few of the flowers blooming in the backyard. First I tried to get an artsy shot of a fern from the top but I couldn't make it focus on the center instead of the fronds close to the lens.

I had better luck with the orange day lily that's blooming outside the kitchen window.

And last but not least is this Stella d'Oro lily. They're so bright and cheerful.

Today's bird was a pigeon. Does this look like a pigeon to you? It doesn't look like a North American pigeon to me because it's not chubby enough. Maybe Danish pigeons are more svelte.

The fridge fixit guy showed up right on time this morning and it didn't take him long to diagnose the problem. As I suspected the drain hose was clogged. Actually it was frozen shut and he had a very ingenious solution. Once he had used his little steamer to clear the ice he cut a length of copper wire that he looped around the heating coil and then threaded it down the drain hose so that when the coil heats up, the copper wire heats up and prevents it from freezing shut again. Hallelujah! And it didn't cost an arm and a leg either. Naturally I had to empty the freezer for him to work on it and I found some very interesting and very old items that immediately went into the trash. How does stuff get lost in such a small space? I mean, I can see much of the walls and the floor of the freezer so I should be able to keep track of what's in there, right? Evidently not.

--Barbara

Finally Sunshine

It was sunny today! Hooray! I waited until after lunch so that the grass was dry before going out to mow. I have to confess that I am still so grateful that I can walk and breathe and exert myself, mowing the lawn in one stretch without having to have a rest after every pass like I did last summer. Anemia is no joke.

 

The orange day lilies are blooming like crazy. I had to turn the mower around and knocked off a whole bunch of spent blossoms which only made them look better. I was just glad that I didn't get pollen all over myself.

 

Instead of birds I give you this baby bunny. It's been hanging around the last couple days, nibbling on the grass and violet leaves under the birdbath. It hopped up onto the step outside the patio door this afternoon but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture. It was so cute scrubbing its little face with its front paws. Awww.

 

This last month or so I've slacked off on the Investment Cooking. I'll get back to it one of these days but this weekend I marinated a whole family pack of chicken breasts and grilled them today. Now I have enough grilled chicken for 2 weeks of suppers. Yum!

 

I managed to buckle down before supper and draw a Gratitude Journal page for today. It's not a big deal but I do miss it when I don't do it. I like trying to draw the little cartoons for the things I'm thankful for.

After supper and a shower to wash off the grilling and mowing dirt I sat on the couch and watched two more episodes of Bridgerton. Only two more episodes of Season 3 to go! The suspense is killing me. Will Lady Whistledown be unmasked? Will Penelope and Colin wed? I prefer to spread out my watching so that I can savor each nuance and intrigue. Life is so dull compared to what goes on on the TV.

Finally tomorrow morning the fridge fixit guy is coming to see if he can stop the flood of water inside the box. It's not a catastrophic flood just a little water on a couple shelves. Man, I hope it's just a plugged drain hose. I do not want to buy a new fridge.

--Barbara

Another Rainy Day

It rained most of the day today. Here's what the birdbath looked like almost all day. There were a few times when the rain petered out but mostly it just rained. The jelly dish is full of water but I'm not going to empty it and refill it with jelly until tomorrow when it's not supposed to rain.

Around suppertime the rain stopped for a short time so I went out to take flower pictures. The Stella d'Oro lilies are bursting in blooms. Most of the eleven plants along the retaining wall are full of flowers. They'd look perkier if they weren't weighed down by the rain but beggars can't be choosers. Rain is better than drought like we had last summer.

Then I went over to the orange day lilies and took their picture not through the window and the screen. Much clearer. These are a little fancier than the old-fashioned orange day lilies that live in the shadow of the forsythia bush and below the kitchen window. Those are just plain orange. 

Today's bird painting is a Hummingbird. This is not my best work. I drew it too big for the paper so the wings are stunted and the foxglove is crammed on the edge of the page. I like the colors even though they're not real Hummingbird colors but that's about all I like about it.

No bird pictures today. Most of them stayed out of the pouring rain except for a few Sparrows and a Chickadee or two.

I spent the evening watching episodes of Bridgerton on Netflix. I'd watched the first episode of the season and none of the others. Some of the chat at knitting on Thursday was about the show but they were careful not to give too many spoilers. I promised to spend the weekend catching up. Only four more episodes to go!

--Barbara

Darned Rain

I looked out the guest room window and saw that the orange day lilies on the side of the yard are blooming. Naturally I wanted to go out and take their picture but it was raining. Again. So I had to try to take a picture out the window. It's not a very sharp picture but you can see the flowers and that's what I wanted.

The other picture that didn't go exactly as planned was this one of the male Oriole. He was sitting on the jelly dish while I was doing yoga this morning and I grabbed the camera in mid-pose to snap a photo. Just as I pressed the shutter he flew away so what I got was this orange and black blur next to the feeder. I kind of like it.

Today's bird painting is a Cardinal on a nest. This is another bird that the author says she's never seen but managed to paint a pretty good likeness. I did okay.

At Friday Night Knitting I knitted a few rounds on the Monterey Sea Life hat and then downshifted to the Beachy Dishcloth which I finished. There is enough of this pink and yellow yarn left to knit another one so I'll cast it on one of these days. I like to have a dishcloth on the needles for mindless knitting.

And that's it for today. I didn't have time (or make time) to draw a Gratitude Journal page for a second day in a row. Maybe I'll sit down in the morning and do one for today, if I remember what to be thankful for.

cda talked me through her critiques of the pages I sent her the other day. Lots of run-on sentences that need shortening. It's been a long time since I submitted a first draft for critique. It was humbling.

--Barbara

Bunny vs. Squirrel

There was a standoff on the patio this afternoon once the rain stopped. The Sparrows had been diligently tossing out millet seed from the round feeder and the ground underneath was pretty well covered. There was a squirrel there eating and a couple bunnies came up and stopped to stare at the squirrel. It paid no attention, just kept eating.

All of a sudden the bunny in the front lunged at the squirrel and the squirrel lunged back. You can see by the photograph who won that standoff. 

We had drizzly rain almost all day. It finally slacked off late in the afternoon so I could run a couple errands and not get wet. I had enough getting wet at yesterday's soccer game. I'll get wet again in the shower tomorrow. It cooled off today too. The high was 70 degrees and that didn't show up until about 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

Today's bird was a Bluejay. The book's author admitted that she had never seen one but thought they looked beautiful so she included it. I was surprised that I managed to make it look like a Bluejay is supposed to look. I like the branch with the little flowers on it too.

Tonight was knit night with my three friends from the now-defunct knitting guild Board. I took my Monterey Sea Life hat along but didn't knit on it because there was no place to put my iPad so I could keep track of the chart. Instead I knitted on the Beachy Dishcloth. I got to the middle, remembered to knit three rows even, and then started knitting the decreases. It'll be easier to knit on the hat tomorrow night on the knitting zoom when I can prop my tablet up on the computer desk and follow along.

I spent quite a bit of the day working on the manuscript. I managed to eke out a piece of the story with Rose and Iggy tucked between the spies parts. Maybe I'll write separate chapters and weave the story together that way. I'm in a quandary about the whole thing. Maybe if I keep writing something will occur to me and I'll be able to see my way through. Fingers crossed.

--Barbara