Cactus Flower

I have to show you this Christmas cactus flower first because it's so beautiful and amazing. When I looked at it this morning I saw the stamens or pistils or sepals, whatever those white things are coming out of the middle and the dark magenta whatever-that-is coming out of the center. Looks very cool.

 

First thing after I did yoga and then got dressed was to go out and refill the suet nuggets. I'd barely gotten back inside when this squirrel leapt from the chair to the birdbath to the suet cakes feeder to the top of the crook and then swung down to hang on the suet nuggets and have breakfast. It spent a lot of time there, moving around to get the best angle on the nuggets. They must be really tasty, but I'm not tempted to try them.

 

The gratitude journal page for yesterday was easy to draw since I was monumentally grateful for the book sales at the craft show and for having GBB there to keep me company. The sunny day was nice too.

 

I'm very happy with today's drawing. It's called a Harvest Mouse and although I am not a fan of indoor mice, I don't mind an outdoor mouse. I like everything about this from the mouse's fur to the top of the stalk of grain. I can tell the book's from England because they call it corn when in America it'd be called wheat.

 

I'm wearing my favorite boots today. They're red Italian leather and I got them in Gardiner, Montana which is the town at the northern entrance to Yellowstone. I tried them on when I was there, didn't buy them, and called the store when I got home to have them mailed to me. I'm so glad I did. Also the leaf collectors have been by and scraped all the leaves out of the gutters, well, most of them anyway, so now it doesn't crunch when I walk.

 

Most of the leaves on the trees on Mennen Court have fallen but the big tree on the corner is still holding onto its leaves. And they're still mostly green!

 

I saw the sky turning pinkish orange this afternoon when the sun was setting and went out to take a picture. I was a little late but you can still see the orange sky and my little maple tree holding onto its leaves like the big tree up the street.

 

Today wasn't much of a writing day. I met friends for lunch and a long visit, then came home to zoom with cda until almost 4 o'clock. After a walk, I sat down and pounded out 604 words that might make it into the manuscript. There's a huge leap in them switching from anger to reasonable conversation so I'm suspicious of that part but overall I kind of like it. I ordered another book about cozy mystery writing that's a workbook so I'm hoping it helps me get back on track. I'm kind of lost but keep writing to maybe find my way.

GBB showed me a video yesterday of a high school girl playing Thunderstruck by AC/DC on the marimba during halftime at a football game. She is AMAZING. This is why they shouldn't eliminate music programs in schools.  https://buff.ly/dbyPb9T  

One other thing, yesterday two people looked at the poster I had displayed offering The Seaview Series at a $10 discount and at the rack of novels and asked if I was a travel agent. Maybe it was the lighted palm tree? Baffling.

--Barbara 

Holy Moly!

I had a great day at the craft show today. I sold a couple of books and then a woman came up and bought three copies of Anneke's Legacy for herself and her book club friends. I had only brought two in with me so I had to go to the car for more. Thank heavens for my box of books there. Then another woman, who didn't look like she was in a good mood, stared at the books while I gave her my spiel. She looked at the poster advertising the lower price if you buy the whole Seaview Series. Then she said, "I'll take the series. Oh, I'll take all of them." She bought one of everything! When I'm ready for a show, this rolling backpack bag is full to the brim with books. It was appreciably lighter when I hauled it home because I sold 14 books. Fourteen!

 

I don't have a lot of pictures to post tonight, so here's my display setup. I love my little lighted palm tree and the flamingo head sunglasses holder under it. A woman took a picture of the flamingo to send to a Florida friend. 

 

In the morning I saw two birds playing nice together--one Sparrow and one Junco. I snapped a quick photo before getting ready for the craft show.

 

I was pretty pooped when I got home and it was difficult to write anything today. I only managed 329 words but I'm ahead for the month so far. I'm not worried about it. Tomorrow is another day.

 

Here's the flashiest of the Christmas cactus flowers. I couldn't resist taking its picture.

 

I didn't draw or paint, didn't draw a gratitude journal page for yesterday, all I did was get dressed and drive six miles to Townline Pub & Grill to set up and sell books. And sell books we did. GBB sold a bunch and I did too. We kicked craft show butt today.

--Barbara 

Frosty Morning

When I opened the patio drapes this morning I saw that the birdbath was frozen solid. Oops. It's been so warm that I didn't remember to get a new birdbath heater for the coming cold weather.

 

The roofs of the houses across the street were frosty too. I was lucky to get up before the weak sunshine melted the frost so I could show you that the seasons are indeed changing.

 

After my shower (and getting dressed, it's too cold to go out undressed!), my first stop was the Family Pet Food Center down the street where I buy all my birdseed and squirrel corn. They also have birdbath heaters and I got the last one. It's not the same design as the one I had last year but I suspect this one will work just fine. The first birdbath heater I ever had was a flat rubber/plastic mat shaped like a partial circle that lay down on the bottom of the birdbath and curved around the center disc like they were made for each other. I wish they still made those, but they're not even on Amazon. Good thing I have that nice white rock to keep it in place. I'll just have to keep an eye on it so that the heater element stays underwater.

 

I promised someone whose Substack I read every Friday, that I'd paint today. She wrote yesterday about doing something creative even if you're not too good at it. Well, I said I'd pull out my brushes and paint a flower today. So I did. These are Johnny Jump-ups and I think I did rather well. I have a notecard with them on, so I had something to copy which we all know is the only way I can paint and have a chance of it looking halfway decent. It'll be a great painting to cut up for greeting cards. My supply is running low so it's time to sort through my paintings and pick out some for the chop.

 

Once my errands were accomplished and the birdbath heater was installed, I loaded my show stuff in the back of my car all ready for tomorrow's show at Townline Pub & Grill out in Howard, which is about 6 miles from home. The hardest part is having to take our own tables and chairs. The table is big and heavy but so far (fingers crossed) I can still carry it. It just takes me a few trips to get it all into the building. Wish me luck! Selling books, I mean.

 

Yesterday's gratitude journal page didn't get drawn until this evening. I was so busy this morning and afternoon I thought I wouldn't get to it but I did. I'd forgotten how many words I wrote yesterday and didn't check before I put it on the page, but I didn't hesitate to scribble out the too-low number and replace it with the highest-so-far number.

 

Here's the other side of the Christmas cactus plant. I think there are more flowers on this side. I should probably count how many buds and flowers are on the plant. This is definitely the most it's ever bloomed.

 

I happened to see this Red-bellied Woodpecker on the suet nuggets as the sun was sinking in the southwest. The sun doesn't really make it to shine on the feeders these days but you can kind of see the bird and it's red head. Once again, it's on the back side of the feeder so all I see is its head and the tip of its tail. I don't mind. 

 

Between my shower and errands, I sat down and started writing for today. I got about halfway to my word goal, went on errands, and came back to finish with 1,730 words for the day. I don't know if all of them will make it into the final manuscript because I kind of went off on a tangent but I'm not arguing with words when they come this month. All words are welcome!

I've got my alarm set so I don't sleep until time to leave for the show in the morning. When I set an alarm, I usually wake up at least an hour before it's supposed to ring. So frustrating. I'm sure it won't be like last night when I slept straight through and didn't get up to pee in the middle of the night. When you're my age, that's the definition of an all-nighter.

I'm debating about wearing the same top tomorrow that I wore up to Marinette because maybe it was the reason I sold so many books up there. Or maybe not. Am I superstitious? I might be, but it's one of my favorite things to wear so I'll probably wear it anyway. Pretty soon it'll be too cold to wear a cotton patchwork jacket with made with fish fabric.

--Barbara 

That Big Tree on the Corner

That big tree on the corner's leaves are still mostly green, and it's holding onto them. You can see the difference from the last time I took a picture down the street. Most of the trees are bare branches except for a few yellow ones way down the block, the big tree on the corner, and my little Pacific Sunset maple.

 

Here's my maple tree. A few of the leaves on the ends of the branches are turning a deep orange-ish red. I don't think any of them have fallen off yet. The lawn mowers came this morning and mowed and de-leafed the lawn. The kid that's too young to ride the mower went around first to blow all of the leaves close to the house out onto the grass so the mower could pick them up. It looks so nice when they're done.

 

Here's today's squirrel on the suet nuggets feeder. It's a popular spot for squirrels and I can tell that they're really fattening up for winter. They're not wasting any time eating all the kernels off the cob corn and out of the horse head feeder, either.

 

As soon as another squirrel hopped down off the round birdseed feeder, this Sparrow flew over and started pecking away at the feeder port. There had been two Sparrows but as soon as I picked up the camera one flew off. Camera shy, I guess.

 

Yesterday's gratitude journal page was an easy one. I wrote over 1,700 words. Well, one over but still over. I took a walk while I waited in the afternoon pickup line and I got to see LC and OJ for a few minutes. Always good times.

 

The drawing today is Honeysuckle. I miss my honeysuckle bush. Dad brought it from his mom's farm decades ago and it finally gave up the ghost two or three years ago. I keep thinking I'd like to plant another one but that would mean digging out the stump of the old one and I don't know if I'm up to it.

 

This is the other Christmas cactus flower that's just about in full bloom. Tomorrow I'll take a picture of the many buds on the other side of the plant.

 

Knitting on the Alpaca Sophie scarf on Wednesday evening and tonight got me to the middle so now it's time to start decreasing. It'll go just as slowly as increasing because the pattern tells me to decrease one stitch every eighth row.

 

Writing went well today. I wrote 1,951 words which is where I stopped. It was the end of a sentence and it's also the year I was born so I thought it was a good stopping spot. I might actually be getting the hang of this writing thing.

--Barbara 

They're a Match

It wasn't nearly as warm today as it was yesterday and there was a sharp chilly wind blowing off the bay to make things feel like November. A few weeks ago I was shopping the Land's End clearance sale and found a golden tan colored vest that was very reasonably priced, cheap even, so I ordered one and I love it. I wore it this afternoon on my walk while I waited in the pickup line but I needed some fingerless mitts to keep my hands a little warm. I had some silver gray ones in the car that I wore but they weren't the exactly right ones. When I got home, I found the pair of mitts that my knitting friend, CS, made for me a few years ago and they're a match. Don't they look just right together?

 

This squirrel curled itself around the round birdseed feeder this morning and had a lovely long eat. It excelled at tossing seed down to the ground.

 

At the same time right below it, this squirrel reaped the benefits of the falling seed. If you look closely you can even see some birdseed caught in the fur on its back.

 

When I got home there was a big flock of Juncos pecking away at the seed fallout in the grass and on the patio. I don't know when I've seen that many Juncos together. Usually there's one or two, not six or eight. They kind of blend in but, trust me, there are a lot of them.

 

Yesterday's gratitude journal page was pretty simple to draw. I was mostly grateful for the number of words I wrote. 1,769! That's a lot. Then there was hosting knitting with friends. We ate and talked and exulted over the blue wave, and knitted. And I sold two Sailing the Seas. Thank you, CS!

 

Today's drawing is Cornflowers. They turned out pretty well. I wish I'd had more blue colored pencils but since blue isn't one of my favorite colors, I'll make do with the ones I have already.

 

And speaking of flowers, the Christmas Cactus buds are opening. This one is the most open, another one isn't far behind, and there are at least five more getting ready. It really pays to water plants. 

 

I sat down to write this morning, picked up where I left off yesterday, and it went well. I finished the scene I started yesterday and then moved on to a surprise scene I hadn't anticipated. It's so much fun when the characters take over and take me places I hadn't planned on or thought of. I love it! My day's word count is 1,701. Not bad. Anything over 1,667 is gravy. I've still got one chapter's word count I haven't entered in the total, but I'm saving that for Sunday because I've got a show from 10-3 and won't have a lot of day left to write. And maybe no energy for it either.

--Barbara 

Unbelievable

Today is November 4th. I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin which is about 50 miles south of the 45th parallel. It's supposed to be cool this time of year. Yesterday and today it was in the 60s. I had the window over the sink open all day. In November. In Wisconsin. It's supposed to cool off into the 50s and 40s the rest of the week, but I remember times when I had to bundle the kids up in snowsuits for trick-or-treating. Crazy weather.

 

My Pacific Sunset maple tree's leaves are finally starting to turn. I looked out this morning and thought for a minute I was looking at the neighbor's pumpkins but it was my leaves turning dark orange. It's about time. Just about every other tree in the neighborhood is nothing but bare branches, but my tree is clinging to its chlorophyll for dear life. 

 

This has got to be the worst bird picture I've taken in a really long time. It's a Downy Woodpecker and just as I depressed the shutter it leaned over to peck at the feeding port on the side and then it flew away. Now it just looks like a black and white blob clinging to the feeder.

 

As soon as the Woodpecker left, a Sparrow flew up to the feeder. I snapped the picture and evidently moved because it's blurry. I think a Red-bellied Woodpecker was on the suet nuggets at about the same time but all I saw was a flash of white and the feeder swinging as it flew away. Just missed it.

 

A squirrel had the suet nuggets feeder in a stranglehold for a long time. There were about 3 inches of nuggets in the feeder so it had to work hard to stay in position. After the birds and squirrels left for a break I went out and filled all the feeders so they'd have lots to keep themselves busy with.

 

The only drawing I did today was the gratitude journal for yesterday. I'm always grateful for the right to vote. I vote every chance I get and I'm excited by the changes that yesterday's voters made. It'll be interesting come January 4.

 

I spent most of the day writing. I sat down here determined to just pound out today's words. And I did. I made up my mind that I was going to send my sleuth detecting, interviewing suspects, and I got her there and talking to the suspects. Now I have to figure out how to maneuver the conversation around to the murder. That'll be on tomorrow's agenda. Today's words totaled out at 1,769. Almost makes up for yesterday's paltry 826. Almost. It's a good thing I have chapters 1-5 to beef up my overall word count.

I was even smart and took a break in the afternoon to take a walk.

Tonight I hosted knitting here. I made a batch of curried chicken salad with grapes and bought a box of mini croissants to make little sandwiches. KE brought chips and hummus, CS brought fruit, and DM brought apple pie and ice cream. We did not starve. I also forgot to take a picture of the table before we started in on the goodies. Oh well.

--Barbara 

Lots of Water

Making beer takes a lot of water. I went down to Zambaldi Beer this morning to visit DS and the floor was awash. In water, not beer. He was emptying out the sanitizer and flushing with clear water (I think), anyway there was a lot of water everywhere. He was making Cherry Air which is a very popular winter drink in the taproom. They heat it and add mulling spices. People clamor for it. Hot beer? I don't really like cold beer. I'll stick with root beer.

 

I skipped yoga this morning and went right to getting dressed and getting to the polling place. I anticipated a line and there was one, but not too long. The longest wait was for a voting booth after getting the ballot. There were three referenda and one question. Those took a lot of reading and figuring out what they said because they're always worded so obscurely you'd need a political scholar to interpret them. I wore my pearls to honor Ruth Bader Ginsberg and my dissent collar earrings too. I was ready. I was voter number 178 in my district.

 

It was a crap day, weatherwise. I wanted to take a walk but it spit rain most of the day, just enough to make it uncomfortable to be outside, just enough to make the streets wet so I needed my wipers on intermittent to keep the windshield clear. I didn't sit at the kitchen table much so I didn't see much wildlife. Just a few squirrels scampering around. One posed next to the birdbath just as a few raindrops made rings in the water. I'm always glad to take pictures of those rings.

 

Yesterday's gratitude journal took some thinking but I managed to figure out four things to put on there. I'm pretty happy with my drawing of a hamburger and tater tots. That's the only drawing I did today.

 

Last week I read an essay on someone's Substack and then read the comments. One of the commenters linked to a website called cronehub.org, which is a curated resource for women over fifty. Most of my books have a main character who's over fifty so I contacted them asking them to consider listing my books on there. Tonight I got an email from them that they're listed! They sent me this badge to put on my Facebook pages and website. I haven't done a lot of exploring on the site but it looks interesting. It lists articles, movies, books (of course), podcasts, and a whole lot more.

 

Today was not a very productive writing day. I had too much other stuff going on to really sit down and concentrate for a couple hours. Plus I'm not at all sure what I'm doing vis a vis cozy mystery tropes. I need to read the how-to book more. I dashed off a few words after lunch, then a few more after the Writers Guild meeting for a grand total of 826 words for the day. Not even half of the 1667 that are required to hit 50k in 30 days, but I'll get there. I have confidence.

--Barbara