Poster v.2

This morning I ordered the second version of the poster early enough that I was able to pick it up this afternoon and it's just right. It's difficult to see but it no longer says "Available on Amazon" on the bottom. I really like the way these posters have turned out and hope that they're durable enough to last for a while. They gave them to me in big plastic bags so I can protect them from getting scratched, etc. when I'm hauling them around. That should help.

 

The male Downy Woodpecker showed up this morning and politely ate on the near side of the suet cakes so I could see him and the red swoop on the back of his head. Thank you, Mr. Downy.

 

The male Oriole enjoyed the soupy grape jelly. The dish that the jelly is in doesn't have any drainage so when it rains the water collects in there and the jelly dissolves a little to make this gelatinous goo. The birds seem to like it. 

 

This afternoon I made Farro Salad to take along for my weekend knitting getaway. Farro is an ancient grain that cooks like rice but has a nutty taste. It has all sorts of good things in it--white meat chicken, shredded carrots, diced scallions and bell pepper, basil and parsley chopped together, fresh lemon zest & juice, Dijon mustard, and sesame oil. I double the dressing recipe and it's delicious. I WW-ed it so it isn't too off diet, not that the rest of the weekend's food has any resemblance to WW but we start out that way and quickly veer off. Can't wait!

 

Today's drawing is Jewelry. I tried my hand at drawing my watch, which is so retro that it has hands, and then my favorite earrings and a few other pieces I made up. I have a hard time drawing a circle within a circle and keeping the circles an equal distance apart but I keep trying.

 

I got the revisions recording for the Spies Don't Retire audiobook this morning and quickly listened to them, approved them, and paid the producer. Now it goes through Quality Assurance with ACX which takes about 10 business days, then it'll be up and available for sale. 

Also I dug around in my closet looking for my old pair of red Converse high tops but couldn't find them anywhere. In fact I dug around in two closets, but no luck. So I had to go online and order some new ones. I want to be cool like LC. Mine aren't custom, just plain red, but I'm looking forward to getting them all the same. 

I won't be back here to blog until Sunday. I'm going up to CS's cottage in the northwoods with knitting friends. We'll spend the weekend making sure the chairs on the screen porch don't blow away and making sure that many subjects get mulled over and discussed. Should be fun.

--Barbara 

Not Fast Enough

I was pouring my Cheerios this morning when I looked out the kitchen window and saw an Indigo Bunting on top of the suet cakes feeder. I dropped everything and sidled over to the table, laid my hand on the camera, and it flew away. Dang it. I watched and watched but didn't see it come back so I had to go into the photo archives for this picture of one. It wasn't sunny this morning but this is what I've got. In the Audubon Backyard bird book it said that Indigo Buntings are just passing through so I don't expect to see one again.

 

The Orioles showed up as usual. He was on the crook again. It's where he flies to once he's done with the grape jelly. He sits up there for about a minute, fluffs his feathers, and takes off.

 

She's more restrained. Today she worked hard to get bites from the orange half. This morning when I opened the curtains the orange half was in the jelly so I went out and put it back. Who moved it? Haven't got a clue.

 

For all of you who ordered Girl Scout cookies from LC here's something that she earned with her sales of 850 boxes (a number I can barely comprehend). It's a custom pair of Converse sneakers--pink with flowers and stars, a turquoise tongue with oranges on it, and glitter shoelaces and soles. Very gorgeous!

 

First thing this morning I finished the watercolor I started yesterday. It's supposed to be apple blossoms but I think they're too dark and aren't pink enough. I like them and the way they turned out but they're not exactly right. Not that it matters. They look good.

 

Both baby bunnies were nibbling away under the feeders this afternoon. They're not so little anymore. One of them usually races across the patio and the other one kind of galumphs across stopping to look around. Flash and Bobo, that's what I call them.

 

I finished listening to Spies Don't Retire audiobook files this afternoon and I only had six revisions to send back to the producer. She did an awesome job and I look forward to getting the corrections back and giving final approval to the audiobook. Then ACX/Audible will spend a few days sending it through their approval system before it's available.

 

This afternoon I picked up the poster I had printed at Office Max. I love it! It looks so professional and it'll look great on display next to my books. I was gazing at it, happy that I'd have it for my book signing on the 7th and then it hit me. It says on the poster "Available on Amazon," not what I want it to say when I'm trying to sell books at a bookstore. So I quickly emailed KM and asked her to redo that part of the poster to say "Available online and at select independent bookstores." Much more politically correct, don't you think? It wasn't too expensive to have the poster printed on foam board and it only took a day. I'm so glad I noticed that one little thing before it was too late. I don't want to offend people who have been so supportive of my writing and publishing.

 

Tonight was OJ's first soccer game of the season and, of course, it was cool, damp, and drizzly this evening. They didn't win, not that they officially keep score, but the other team was much bigger and looked more experienced. I was pretty chilled when I got home so I made some hot chocolate to sip while I drew a gratitude journal page for today. Mm, hot chocolate.

 

This morning I looked up the incubation period for turkeys. 28 days! I don't know how long she's been there but it's been at least a week since I saw her in the neighbor's yard. Twenty-eight days is a long time to sit on eggs, I think. And it said that the tom turkey doesn't help so she's stuck there for the duration. 

That's it for me today. I wrote the June 1 writing progress email this morning and spent a little time thinking about what to put on Substack next week. I'm thinking I'll pull out a much longer story and publish it in two or three sections. I did want to say, if you read my Substack posts and like them, there's a tiny little heart way at the bottom you can click on to let me know that you "like" them. It'd be fun to see more "likes." Thanks.

--Barbara 

He Makes Beer

My son, DS, makes beer almost every day. He makes big batches and small batches and very small batches. This little tank is one that he uses for the Brewer For a Day beers. He's cleaning it to get it ready for another BFD in a day or two. The program continues to be very popular. Some people from last year have even come back this year to do it again. It boggles my mind how many flavors and styles of beer people come up with. Somebody made pickle beer, which I wasn't brave enough to taste, and Peeps beer around Easter. That one wasn't too bad. It tasted a little like a bite of a s'mores after a sip of beer.

 

The Oriole were back again today. He was first, as usual, and I caught him on top of the crook just before he flew away.

 

She comes later in the day probably after she convinces him that she needs a break from the nest. I caught her on the crook too, and this time she's in pretty good focus.

 

And I caught the Gray Catbird on the third or fourth bounce. It went from the ground to the birdbath to the crook to the platform feeder all while I was getting the camera ready. I guess that's four. They're fast and skittish.

 

The Bleeding Hearts are blooming. They're not as thick as they've been in the past but they're just as pretty.

 

Today I drew Shells. They look like shells, unlike the feathers the other day that looked like leaves. I drew them with a pen and then colored them in with colored pencils. I like the way they turned out. I started a watercolor after supper but had to let it dry between steps so it's not done. I'll finish it tomorrow and then you'll get to see it whether it turns out or not.

 

I got to do the afternoon school run today so I only was able to listen to four chapters of Spies Don't Retire. That means only nine more to go before I'm done and can let TH know of the few revisions I found. Six so far but the two from today are the same mispronounced word in two places. The word is "cay" but it's pronounced "key." I can't fault her for that one. Who decides stuff like that?

I also got the final files for a poster of The Seaview Series. I hurried right over to the Office Max online and ordered one so I'll have it when I got up to OtherWorlds Books & More for a signing on June 7. Now if my bookmarks only arrive in time I'll be happy. I keep checking the tracking number and it hasn't changed in five days. I'm hoping it's a clerical error and the package is even now winging my way. Fingers crossed. 

And the turkey's still in the same place. Makes me want to go back there and poke her to make sure she's still alive. But that's probably not a good idea.

--Barbara

Gobble Gobble

I know it's not Thanksgiving and I'm not hungry either, but I've got turkey on my mind. One particular turkey. I was weeding the rest of the retaining wall, the parts I can reach anyway, and was just about finished when I was walking my bucket of weeds over to the corner where I dump them so they'll compost. I saw some little thistle-y looking weeds in with the day lily leaves and started pulling them out. I reached toward one in the middle of the plant and saw something huge and dark behind the plant. "Holy Jesus!" I said and took a few steps back. That's when I realized that the hen turkey has moved into the day lilies. She didn't move when I tried weeding right in front of her nor when I came back to try for a picture. She's a little hard to see. All you can really see is the arc of her dark brown back in amongst the green leaves in the middle of the picture. (click on the picture to embiggen it) I assume she's on a nest. Later on I saw the leaves moving so I figure she's still alive.

 

I got a better picture of the female Oriole today. In fact I got two, but I'll only post one. This time she was on the jelly, not the orange half, so my theory that the orange glass ball pulled the focus yesterday pans out. 

Guess what I drew today. I went back to the Birds prompt and drew the turkey in the day lilies.

 

Then when I was drawing a gratitude journal page for today I included the turkey with my walk and the sunshiny day. I told you, I have turkey on my mind.

 

I listened to thirteen more chapters of Spies Don't Retire this afternoon. Only thirteen more to go and I only have four revisions listed. There were a couple more small deviations in the chapters today that didn't seem worth making an issue of. She's doing an awesome job. Well worth the fee.

I finished weeding what I can reach on the retaining wall. It isn't perfect, not by a long shot, but it's better and I promise to do a better job keeping up with it through the summer. I noticed a few big thistles in front that I need to get some leather gloves on to deal with. Maybe tomorrow.

--Barbara

Mr. & Mrs.

Both of the Orioles stopped by today. First he showed up and went right to the grape jelly. After he'd had a few nibbles, he shook himself and flew up to the crook to preen a bit, then he flew away. 

Late in the afternoon she showed up. She visited the orange half and worked hard on getting bits out. Then she flew over to the jelly but only took one nibble before flying away. I'm not sure why she's so blurry. Maybe because that orange glass ball is forward of the orange half. Anyway, she's there, just a little fuzzy around the edges.

 

You know how they say day 2 of an injury is the worst? Well this afternoon I noticed that my knuckle that got clonked by the embosser crank has turned red. All I had yesterday was the little blood blister and a faint bluish tinge under the skin. Today it looks like I punched somebody. It doesn't really hurt but it feels a little stiff.

 

The drawing prompt today was Feathers. I copied her drawings from the book because I was too lazy to come back here to get the feathers I keep in a jar. I think they look like leaves. Don't you think they look like leaves? Somedays I despair.

 

After my walk, I sat down and cast on a hat with the green alpaca yarn I wound up yesterday. I knitted a few rounds of k1p1 ribbing. This is about 7 rounds, I need 22, but it's a start. I'll save it to knit on next weekend up at CS's cottage.

 

In the morning I slid the cards I glued up yesterday into sleeves with their envelopes. I like 'em. I was running low so now I have plenty more. I even have two I think would make good Christmas cards. I wonder who I'll send them to.

 

I listened to 12 more chapters of Spies Don't Retire audiobook and only had to make one revision note. There were a couple little booboos that I let slide because they just weren't worth the trouble. Twenty-six more chapters to go!

After lunch I decided to go out and weed a little on the retaining wall. I confess that I didn't do a perfect job but I yanked out a lot of viney weeds and some fluffy weeds. I'm too short to reach all the way back to the fence behind the wall so I am unable to do a more thorough job. I'm too chicken to climb up there and crouch on that narrow ground to weed it all. Then I moved down the wall to a spot across from the patio doors and pulled some perennial weeds that I can never get rid of. On my way to dump the weeds in the corner I pulled a bunch of leafy things that look like some kind of thistle that spreads by the roots under the ground. It's kind of fun when I pull up one and a long horizontal root comes up with two or three smaller plants on it. So I guess I weeded about half of the 110'. I'll go back out and do more. Maybe tomorrow since it's sunny but not too warm. 

--Barbara

Backyard Tour

This morning I noticed that the lone yellow iris has started flowering. There's just one of them up there on the retaining wall so it's got a lot of showing off to do.

 

The purple irises are still going strong. It hasn't been windy or stormy so all but one of them is still standing tall.

 

I don't remember if this is purple sage or purple salvia. I remember that it's a perennial so it comes back every year and every year I'm surprised to see it. The buds aren't quite open yet but soon.

 

The ferns below the kitchen window are shooting up. I love the bright yellow green color and the curlicue at the tops of the fronds. Did you know that some people pick them and eat them when they first sprout? They must have a lot more ferns than I do or a different variety because I don't think mine would be very tasty. I just remembered, the kind they pick are fiddleheads. Mine aren't that kind.

 

In the bird news, the male Oriole came back a few times and once he stayed long enough to have his picture taken. The sharpest one is this one with his beak buried in the jelly so you can't see his face or his bright orange breast but like I said, it's the clearest shot so it's what you get.

 

The House Finches have taken to the orange half in a big way. I watched this male sink its beak in so far that it had to really pull back to get it out. That didn't keep it from going back in for more.

 

And I spied the female Hummingbird coming in for a snack. They're so fast and so skittish that it's rare I get a picture. I confess I had to go into the photo archives for this shot because she was just too fast for me today.

 

This afternoon instead of painting, I sorted through my new watercolors and cut up the ones that weren't pleasing to me. I ended up with 19 little sections that I embossed and then glued onto cards. Some of the embossing folders are thicker than others and those are difficult to crank through. One time I lost my grip on the crank and it sprang back and whacked me in the finger. Ouch! I have a lovely bruised finger and a little blood blister but it doesn't hurt anymore and the finger works just fine.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Botanical Study. Which means taking a real close look at a plant and trying to draw it just right. I have some Lilies of the Valley in a vase on the table so I chose one of those. It isn't great but it's drawn, colored, and done.

 For most of the afternoon I sat here at my desk listening to the audiobook of Spies Don't Retire. I got the email from the producer this morning so I listened to the first 12 (of 50) chapters. So far I only have three things that need fixing. I think that's a pretty impressive job. I hope it continues to be this flawless. The last few publisher-generated audiobooks I've listened to have had mispronunciations in them. Makes me wonder if the author didn't have the opportunity to listen to it first or didn't take the time. I'm glad I can make it as perfect as possible and I'm lucky to have a nice producer who's willing to make changes.

 

DS invited me over for lunch today for a very belated Mother's Day celebration. They're so busy that this was the first day he had time. We've seen each other a few times and he's apologized for the delay but I don't mind. DIL1 and LC were off on a Girl Scout camping night so it was just the boys, me, and one of OJ's school friends. We had a lovely lunch of grilled brats, watermelon cubes, and delicious broccoli and cashew salad from the deli. I love that broccoli salad. OJ's first soccer game is next Wednesday so I'll get to see them all then.

I also watched a 45-minute webinar about book descriptions that I'd signed up to attend on Thursday, forgot about on the day until it had been on an hour, so I watched the replay today. It was informative and I feel good about my book blurbs.

--Barbara 

Bait

I had a small assistant today and he was enthralled by the baby bunny that visits my patio. He decided to put out some baby carrots (even though he said carrots give bunnies diarrhea!) and some birdseed to see what the bunny liked and who else would visit. I'm charged with taking pictures so I can share what's happening. First to visit was a very skittish Sparrow, then the chipmunk found it and the chippie was a big fan of the seed. Just before I closed up shop for the night I saw the bunny had come back. Something had taken one of the carrots and moved another one, maybe a squirrel because a couple of them were hanging around too, and the seed was seriously depleted. I blame the chipmunk. 

 

We got to see the male Oriole twice, both times on the grape jelly. I was impressed that OJ knew it was called a Baltimore Oriole. Sharp kid. We also were lucky enough to see a male Hummingbird but he sipped on the back side of the feeder so we only saw him when he flew up and back a bit before taking another sip.

 

I found out today that the Gray Catbird is also a fan of the orange. We didn't get to hear its call though and the call I found on my phone didn't sound anything like a cat. Disappointing.

 

I got a delivery from Amazon today of the remaining 36 books in my order of author copies. I'd hoped that they'd break it up into two boxes since they'd sent 19 books in the first shipment. But, no, they crammed them all in one box that weighed a ton. There were "Heavy" stickers all over the carton and "Two Person Lift" stickers too. Well, there was only one adult person and one 9-year-old person so we rolled the box end over end and got it into the kitchen where I unloaded it, signed all the books, stickered them, and put bookmarks in all but the last 5 because I've run out of bookmarks. But, never fear, more are on the way!

 

Today I drew Mushrooms. They were fun to draw with a pen and then color in with colored pencils. I was supposed to draw Fungi too but aren't they the same things?

 

I only managed to knit five rounds on the Llama Gathering Hat tonight at Friday Night Knitting. Partly because it's slow going since I'm following a chart and that takes me a while. We only met for an hour and a half because KW wasn't feeling well so she went to bed and LB and CP were going to bingo at Ikea. If you get bingo you get a $25 Ikea gift card. That's worth a couple hours of play, I think.

 

So I went downstairs and unearthed some more alpaca bulky yarn to cast on another simple hat . I'm determined to knit up the bin of alpaca and llama yarns I have. This is some yarn I got in Indy about 7 years ago when I was on my way to Lexington to visit DD. The color isn't my favorite but it's pretty and somebody will like it--and the needles match.

 

I worked on the manuscript a bit on my Kindle this afternoon. I'm about halfway, I think, and have made lots of notes. When I write a manuscript for NaNoWriMo I don't use contractions to up my word count so then I have to go back through and fix them all when I'm turning it into a real book. It takes time. 

Time for me to hit the hay. I'm kind of tired and I've run out of things to blabber about.

--Barbara

The First

This afternoon I filled the bird feeders and watched to see who would be the first to discover it. This Sparrow was the first. It landed on the suet nuggets feeder and got right to work pecking away at them. Every type of bird, except for the ground feeders, takes a turn on one of the suet feeders. It's mostly Sparrows and Woodpeckers but the Starlings get in there too. And, of course, the squirrels take their turns too.

 

And this House Finch was the second to arrive. A pair of female House Finches were on the platform feeder but they're such blah colors that they didn't show up in the picture. So you get to see this male House Finch in all of his mating colors glory. Sorry he's blurry.

 

I'm including this picture of yesterday's Hummingbird just because I want to.

 

Today's drawing prompt was Symbols & Signs so I drew street signs, dollar signs, punctuation marks, musical signs, any signs I could think of. I just used a pen so they're not colorful but I like them.

 

I took a walk in the late afternoon and couldn't take my eyes off some birch trees in the neighbor's yard. They haven't leafed out yet but the trees behind them have. So I left out LJ's house behind the trees and painted the birches. I think they turned out quite well.

 

As I was putting away my painting stuff I saw that the sun was setting and tinting the clouds pink so I went out and took a picture. It wasn't warm.

 

I watched a YouTube video from ProWritingAid yesterday about Showing vs. Telling so I had it on my mind when I was skimming through the manuscript today. I found some telly spots where I added some dialogue and some action so that they're more showy. I think it made it better. I found out the other day that ProWritingAid is AI. I don't know why that surprised me; it's great with punctuation and grammar but I don't take its rewording suggestions. Sometimes I look at them when it points out passive voice but I fix it myself. I also realized that near the end I referred to something that isn't earlier in the manuscript. Oops. I'll work to fix that this weekend.

Do you realized that this weekend is Memorial Day weekend? Doesn't it seem early? It's been chilly, in the low 50s here all week and rainy, not exactly feeling like the start of summer. I'm planning to ignore it.

--Barbara