Come and Get It

This afternoon I filled the birdfeeders and this squirrel was the first to arrive. It clung to the suet nuggets feeder and had a nice long nibble.

 

After I'd filled the round feeder there was a bunch of seed stuck to the bottom of the bag so I dumped it out on the patio. That little pile of birdseed attracted another squirrel and a chipmunk. The chipmunk (or a couple chipmunks, I can't tell them apart) was very diligent cleaning up the spill.

 

That one Stella d'Oro lily plant is still popping out one flower a day. I noticed that there are three more buds behind this flower so the blooming will probably continue.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Pets. I don't have any pets and am not much of a fan of pets so I copied a few of the dogs that the author drew on her page and I added a goldfish which is one pet I actually tolerate.

 

The next watercolor in the book, Art for Joy's Sake, is this flower and buds. I was happier with it before I added the last brushstrokes so I think I might take another stab at it tomorrow or Saturday.

 

And here's today's gratitude journal. I was happy to have a sunny day and to fill the birdfeeders. I also spent a couple hours working on a story start but didn't get very far.

 

I had a haircut appointment this morning and when I was halfway there got a text from the stylist that she was running 15 minutes late. Well, it takes about 15 minutes to get there so I arrived on time for my original appointment time but early for the delayed time. So I sat in the car listening to an audiobook for 15 minutes until time to go into the salon.

In the afternoon I got a call from Angi asking if I still needed lawn service. When I told her I'd hired Cutting Edge she asked if I needed anything else. I decided to see if they'd recommend a pest control company to see about how the mice got into my basement last winter. I'm waiting to be contacted. I'd rather not host mice next winter.

--Barbara 

The Weekly Mowing

I was working on my daily drawing when I heard a loud noise outside. It was the lawn mowing guys! They came back, right on time, and mowed and trimmed just like they did last week. I purely love that I hired them. Really. I love it. There is no way my knee would tolerate me walking up and down the hills in the yard. It's better when I wear the neoprene brace but still complains when I walk a lot. Sucks to get old.

 

Here's the drawing I was working on when they showed up. The prompt today was Numbers, so I drew a page of them. Not very artistic but I kind of enjoyed picking the colors and varying the sizes.

 

I got a package from Amazon today. It was the author copies of my earlier novels so that my stacks are replenished again. I'm so afraid that I'll run out when I have a sale every weekend in November that I keep ordering a few books here and there. I'll probably order more books around the beginning of October after I've had a signing in Sturgeon Bay and been to The Clearing and maybe sold some books there. I haven't gotten the author copies of the Christmas novella yet. Those should come in about a week. I hope.

 

When I went out to pick up the package I noticed that Dad's rosebud had turned into Dad's rose so I came in, got the camera, and took its picture. They smell so good. I love the little raindrop on the front petal too.

 

I painted the same landscape I've painted the past two days and can't decide if it's better or not. Yesterday's and today's paintings are better than the first one but I like parts of yesterday's and parts of today's. And it isn't well centered on the paper. I'll move on.

 

And I drew a gratitude journal page after supper. No sunshine today, only clouds, but I spent a lot of time working on Amazon Ads. I asked the coach at my session on Monday about running ads to the second and third books in The Seaview Series and she said to run ads only to the first in the series so I paused the few ads I'd made for the subsequent books. I don't get a lot of clicks but why waste the money?

 

I got another email from an author that came out of the blue. That's the third one and they've got the same phrases in them. Makes me suspicious. I replied to the first one but haven't to the second and won't to the third. I want to think someone's interested but the similarities disturb me.

I tackled another story start this afternoon and made some progress. Went from half a page to three pages and I think it's done. I'll let it set for a few days and then revisit it. I'm enjoying this short story writing.

--Barbara 

Birdies!

Today the Sparrows were mobbing the feeders. In this picture there are four of them on the round feeder, the maximum that fits, and one on the Slinky on the next crook flapping one wing and waiting its turn. I couldn't decide if it was trying to keep its balance or fluttering to be fed.

 

Shortly after, a Goldfinch landed on the round feeder to have a little poke around to see if he could find anything good to eat. I filled the feeders on Friday so I'm surprised that there's still seed for them to eat. Usually it's all gone by this time.

 

And a House Finch and Chickadee shared the platform feeder today too. They're kind of blurry because I was hurrying to capture the Chickadee because they don't hold still for long.

 

I took this Dad's rosebud picture the other day. Now it's starting to open but I still wanted to post this photo because it looks so sweet all tightly closed with potential to be beautiful.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Paint & Paintbrushes. This time I didn't draw the jar of brushes that seems to live on the kitchen table these days. Instead I drew a squeezed-out tube of paint, a couple blobs of paint, and a couple brushes.

 

And I got out the watercolors and repeated the landscape painting from yesterday following the author's non-rules method. The colors are definitely brighter but I'm not thrilled with the way the water turned out. I'll probably do it again to see if I can't do it better. Practice makes perfect, they say.

 

 After supper I drew a gratitude journal page for today. I treated myself to a ribeye steak at the grocery this afternoon (and they were on sale), fired up the grill, and ate the whole thing for supper. I meant to take a picture of it but took a bite and didn't stop until it was all gone. Oh well. Imagine a charcoal grilled piece of beef and then a nearly empty plate with a few globs of fat and some juice on it.

 

I got the replay video of my Ads Analysis coaching session this morning so I watched it again and can honestly say I actually understand all that she told me to do. I'm amazed and a little impressed with myself. 

I texted my neighbor this morning to ask whether the new downspout arrangement kept their basement dry in yesterday's rain and it did. Hooray! That was a simple and easy fix, and it was inexpensive too. Less than $50! So much cheaper than replacing the gutters so the downspout is in a different spot. It isn't particularly aesthetically pleasing but then neither is a wet basement. I'm pleased.

In the afternoon I worked on a couple short stories. I'm determined to get a few of them up to snuff so I can breathe a little easier about things to put on Substack. Every week I get another subscriber or two so I think I'm making progress there. 

--Barbara 

Rainy & Cool

It was raining when I woke up this morning. I lay in bed listening to the sound of the raindrops hitting the window over my head. It rained off and on all day. Sometimes heavy, sometimes just a drizzle, but quite a bit of the day. Here's the rainy birdbath to prove it. Hm, I should have checked with the tenants to see if our efforts to divert the rainwater from their window well was a success.

 

I looked out and spied a Downy Woodpecker at the suet cakes. Naturally the back side of the feeder has the most suet cake left so luckily the bird clung to the side so I could see it and take a picture. I'd turn the feeder around but wasps have built a nest under the roof of the feeder and they don't really like it when I fool with it.

 

When I tried to take a picture of this Dad's rose I had to tip it toward myself and it was full of rain so it splashed me in the face. Refreshing.

 

Under the roses the purple mums are blooming like crazy. They don't show signs of slowing down or stopping anytime soon.

 

I had my Ads Analysis Coaching Session zoom this morning and I think I understood most of what she told me. Then I took the information she gave me and I made a couple more ads and changed one Category to maybe make my ads work better. This is one of the ads I created today. One thing I learned was that making a few ads and leaving them to run doesn't work. You have to keep creating new ads to keep Amazon's algorithm entertained and "serving" your ads. This part of writing is like a job.

 

The drawing prompt today was Shopping. Since I wasn't going shopping I drew something I bought the last time I went shopping. It's the downspout adapter fitting that doesn't fit the downspout. I'll be returning it in the next day or two.

 

I got smart this morning and put a compression sleeve on my sore knee. That made a world of difference. The knee barely hurt all day and the sleeve reminded me to take it easy. Win win.

--Barbara 

Fixed!

I teamed up with the neighbor today and he and I managed between us to get the downspout fixed--we think. I bought the long black hose and fitting yesterday. The fitting that didn't fit. He searched online and found that Ace Hardware might have what we needed. So I gave him some cash and he went to see. They did have exactly what we needed so he got it and installed it. Now we need some rain to test our fix. They're saying it'll rain tomorrow. Time will tell. I'll return the fitting that didn't fit. This morning I bought some caulk that he can use to seal up around the glass blocks in the window well. Hopefully that'll take care of that problem too, at least for now.

 

Look who visited the backyard this morning. The hen turkey and the poults (aka babies). They were under the birdfeeders and as soon as I came into the room they took off running so I could only photograph them through the screen and reflection on the patio door. I was glad to see them even if they did run off.

 

Yesterday afternoon I made more Jello. This time it's cherry. Not as good as lime or the other citrus flavors but good for a change. Plus I love the deep red color. It's probably not good for me, artificial color and all that, but it's pretty.

 

This morning after my shower and other hygiene pursuits, I colored in the mandala instead of drawing a new prompt. It was kind of fun but a lot of tiny places that needed coloring. I had to sharpen quite a few of the colored pencils so I could squeeze the color in between the lines. I like the way it turned out.

 

Dad's rose is blooming again! See the pretty bud opening? It's covered with raindrops. Very artistic.

 

In the afternoon I worked on another story start, trying to turn it into a short story. It's another pretty short one, just 3 pages. There have to be some that turn out longer. I'll keep plugging away at them. With 47 of them, there's bound to be another one that's longer. It stands to reason.

 

Here's today's gratitude journal page. I'm mostly grateful for having the downspout fixed but also for the dishwasher. I purely dislike washing dishes by hand so being able to stash them in the dishwasher and run it when I'm running out of silverware is lovely.

 

After supper I decided to paint. This is a project out of Art for Joy's Sake. It's not my best, not by a long shot. This is painted following the layering rules and I think it's too pale and uninspired. I'll do better when I paint the next one using the author's method of slapping on vivid color to start.

 

My stupid knee is still hurting me. I keep rubbing arnica gel on it and taking a dual pain reliever. It starts out okay in the morning but I usually manage to irritate it by bending down or walking too much. It's really starting to irk me.

--Barbara

So Frustrated

And rained on. This morning I went to Home Depot to see if I couldn't find a way to send the rain water farther away from the renters' patio and window well. I found a short downspout extension but it wasn't long enough. So I asked a guy in an orange apron and he showed me a white fitting that joins a rectangle to a circle. Just what I needed. Then I just had to find a longer hose. He sent me to the Garden department. I wandered around there and ended up at the dark end of an aisle and there was exactly what I wanted. See? Once I cut the strapping holding it together it's pretty long and gets longer when you pull on it. The only problem is that the end of the downspout isn't crimped so it's about half an inch too wide for the fitting and I couldn't squeeze the end of the corrugated hose to make it fit there either. Naturally it was raining a little when I was trying to accomplish this so not only was I frustrated, I was also wet. I'll get the renter husband to help me get it fixed up tomorrow. Of course it has rained a bunch today which needed diverting but that can't be helped. I'm only one little old woman and do what I can.

 

This Cardinal came to the platform feeder and actually tolerated a House Finch to be there at the same time. I'm coming to think that the bully Cardinal has moved on and the current males are more tolerant. Fine with me.

 

There are still lilies! The old fashioned orange day lilies have a few flowers left on them.

 

And the Stella d'Oro little golden yellow lilies are still showing up. I don't think this plant bloomed earlier so it's late to the game but I'm happy to see its cheerful flowers on such a rainy day.

 

The drawing prompt today was Mandala. That took some concentration. I inked all the shapes and will think about coloring it in. Maybe tomorrow.

 

In the afternoon (once I dried off) I worked on the story starts. One in particular about a woman and a whale. Not a Jonah story. I enjoyed writing on it. I also reread a few that I completed last week, decided they were done, and transferred them to a Prose file so they're easier to find when I want to post them. 

 

And I drew a gratitude journal page today. My favorite thing was when the sun came out after a bunch of rainstorms rolled through for most of the day. We even had thunder and a little lightning.

 

Look what UPS brought me today! The Christmas at Seaview bookmarks. Now I have to wait for the author copies to come in about 10 days so I can tuck them inside and have more to give away at signings and fairs. (I love the way the UPS guys play 'ding, dong, ditch' when they leave a package. They ring the doorbell, shout "UPS" and run away. Makes me giggle.)

 

I got a call from DS asking if I'd please pick OJ up from a birthday party in the afternoon. Seems an out-of-town account wanted to meet with him at Zambaldi kind of spur of the moment, and DIL1 was busy so it was Meemaw to the rescue. It was nice getting to spend a bit of time with my grandson. I haven't seen them for about 10 days. That seems long.

--Barbara 

Squirrel!

I went out and filled the birdfeeders this morning and this squirrel was the first to notice. It leaped from the birdbath to the top of one crook to the next crook and then down onto the suet nuggets feeder. It didn't stay long but I'm confident it'll be back soon.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Something Cold so I drew an ice cube melting on a blue table. Not very creative but I didn't want to draw an igloo or a snowman.

 

 I worked on Amazon Ads again today. It wasn't very satisfying because I figured out my cost per sale and it's dismal. I'm underwater when I compare ad spend vs. royalties. I've got that Ads Analysis coaching session on Monday and today's computations tempted me to cancel but it's included so I might as well go. Maybe I'll learn something that will turn the numbers around. That is, if I can figure out how to do the things she recommends. I still can't figure out some of the things said last September in my first Ads Analysis coaching session. Thank goodness I had KM watch the session video and she sent me an analysis with the suggestions outlined. That's the only way I'd know what was said because I kind of zoned out re-watching it. This graph shows Impressions (light blue bars), Clicks (dark blue line), Ad Spend (green line), and Sales (magenta spikes). Impressions are free, I pay for Clicks but set the bid when I make an ad so I can kind of control that. Sorta.

 

When I wanted to paint this afternoon I didn't want to do another "atmospheric" painting so I pulled out Art for Joy's Sake, flipped to pages with various leaves, taped a couple postcards to a board, and played around with brushes and paint. It was kind of relaxing.

 

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting I first worked on the Doublethick cloth. It's pretty good knitting for chatting and I've learned to "read" my knitting so I can glance at it and know what stitch comes next.

 

Then I pulled out the Iron Pyrite Sock to start knitting on the foot. I like the way the yarn striped across the instep just below the leg.

 

And after supper I made a gratitude journal page. 

 

I planned to try taking a walk today to see if my knee could tolerate it but the knee complained when I walked up and down the hill to fill the cob corn feeders and I didn't want to irritate it more so I didn't. Plus it was pretty hot today. I'm such a wimp sometimes. Actually I'm a wimp a lot of times.

--Barbara

My Beloved

I can't let the anniversary of Durwood's passing go without sharing my favorite picture of the two of us. Above water, that is. His retirement job was with the portrait studio in Walmart so we got to get our pictures taken once a year without the sitting fee. I don't know who suggested this pose but we obviously liked it and the photographer was a good friend so there was a lot of laughing and smiling going on. I really miss the old guy. There's so much I'd like to tell him and he'd love watching LC and OJ grow.

 

This afternoon I attended a webinar about making our 7 KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Keywords work the hardest for us. I didn't learn a whole lot that I hadn't heard before but it motivated me to examine my KDP keywords for The Seaview and change out the ones that weren't working as well as they should. Since that book's the first in the series I concentrate most of my ads on it hoping that once people read the first one they'll go on to read the rest of the series. The keywords tell Amazon's algorithm where to put my ads so that they have a better chance of attracting a reader. Then I made some more new ads for the algorithm to play with. He said in the webinar that keeping creating new ads helps Amazon keep learning where to place your ads. It's complicated but I like making ads and it doesn't cost anything but time.

 

I was surprised when I glanced out to see one lonely little Stella d'Oro lily blooming among the weeds and leaves. The weeds are taking over so I hope the Cutting Edge guys come soon to rescue the plants. I spent some time this morning on stick patrol. That little fierce storm we had the other night, which also knocked out our power, flung a lot of branches from the neighbor's tree into my yard so I went out to gather them up to put at the curb.

 

Just down from the lily is this sedum plant. There's no color in the flowers yet but they're kind of pretty in their shades of green.  

 

Today's drawing prompt was Something Hot so I made up this red candle with its orange and yellow flame. Candles are hot as are red, yellow, and orange on the color wheel.

 

And I even drew a gratitude journal page for today with my pitiful gratitudes on it. 

 

I think I'm most grateful for the chocolate yogurt I whipped up after supper. It's a snap to make. I found a recipe on Facebook that I've adjusted to my taste. I use 2 cups of Chobani Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt (because it's thinner than other brands). Then I stir in one 4-serving-size package of sugar free Jello Instant Pudding mix. The original recipe called for two packages of pudding but that made it taste so artificial and metallic I tried it with one package and that's better. The original recipe also used lemon but I love chocolate no matter what flavor it is so that's what I make. The recipe makes four servings and they're zero points so I can have it as an evening snack without guilt.

 

One of the window wells on the rental side leaks in the rain so I spent some time with the husband trying to figure out a way to divert some of the rain water farther out into the lawn so it flows away from the window well instead of into their basement. We discussed a few ideas that he'll try before I consider having the gutters replaced because there's a downspout right by the window well which, I'm sure, contributes to the water problem. It's always something.

--Barbara