Takers

I was so excited when I looked out and saw a squirrel embracing the suet nuggets feeder this morning. I had almost convinced myself that they weren't going to come because there's no longer any open water here but I guess not. I waited for it to go up to the cob corn too but no luck.

 

Then while I was eating lunch I saw something go by the patio door and looked up to see snow falling. Ugh. But also the Red-bellied Woodpecker was on the suet nuggets. Hooray! Naturally it was on the back side but I was lucky enough to catch a shot of it leaning away from the feeder so you can see it. Kinda.

 

The flower of the day is Hyacinth. I don't think this looks like the hyacinth of my imagination but it was fun to paint and she paints fast. The video lesson lasted less than five minutes! I rewound it and ran it again to paint the second flower on the right. I might try this one again and see if I can't make it look more like the flower in my head.

I decided to make Rose, my main character, sick in today's writing. She's too sick to do the regular Saturday chores like cleaning and laundry. She can't even be up long enough to check in new guests. Her husband Iggy and the housekeeper have to do all that. I don't like being mean to my characters but today I wrote 1,178 words rather than the paltry amount I've been writing. So a part of me must like being mean to them. And I'm not done yet.

 

I've been painting instead of drawing the last few days so I pulled out Drawing Cute and drew a Phone & Headphones because I want to get done with this book and move on. They're okay. Not as much fun as the Robot the other day or some cute animal but, like I said, they're okay.

 

I drew a gratitude journal for today. I couldn't think of many things to be grateful for, although I suppose I could have been grateful that the snow stopped before it piled up.

 

After a leftover meatloaf and baked potato supper (Yum!), I crocheted a few rounds on the Fiesta & White Crocheted Hat redo. I'm up to 12 rounds headed toward 17 when I drop the colorful yarn and finish the last few rounds with just white. I'm not any faster at crocheting than I am at knitting. Too bad. I'd like to be fast at one of them. My friend DM knits like the wind. I watch her hands fly in wonder.

 

 Oh, I almost forgot. Happy New Year! Let's hope 2026 is a better year for us all.

--Barbara