Feels Like Monday

 But it's really Tuesday. Since yesterday was a holiday everything this week is screwed up, like garbage day is pushed back a day. Confusing. Actually every day is Saturday for me. Thank goodness for the calendar on my phone which tells me what day it is or I'd be lost, staggering around not knowing what to do and where to go.

 

I went out when I got up this morning to clip an envelope onto the mailbox for the mail carrier to pick up and saw a glint of red among the green. The red day lily is blooming! This picture is going in the painting queue.

Speaking of painting, here's today's postcard. I decided to take another run at painting pansies and I think that this one is more successful, looks more painter-y. I still see monkey faces but the flowers kind of look like monkey faces so that's okay.

I did a lot of drawing today. The daily art was a fun challenge. It said to grab a pencil in each hand, find a mirror, and draw your face with both hands at the same time. The page was divided in half so I drew the left half on the left side and vice versa. I don't think I did too badly.

I started the lessons in You Can Draw In 30 Minutes for a second round today. The first lesson is to draw a banana. It isn't hard to draw but making it look like a banana with shading in the right place takes some work, and a bit of erasing. Thank god for erasers. I use one of those stick erasers--a lot. I'm forever blowing eraser crumbs off my paper.

This Sparrow was playing king of the feeder today. He chased away all comers and then liberally scattered seed on the ground like he was feeding the masses. I love watching the behaviors of the birds.

Today's toss was a knitting book that I don't use and won't use. It's called Knitting for Dummies and I ain't no dummy. Plus I have a knitter's encyclopedia that has all of the same info in it and more. (It's funny, when I type the word "encyclopedia" I hear Jimminy Cricket singing it. He must have been on some cartoon show I watched as a kid and it stuck.)

I got to go to see LC and OJ at school today. They had a school-wide "Future Me" event where the kids researched jobs they'd like to have and then made posters, dressed up, and gave presentations, like a science fair when I was a kid. LC researched veterinarian and OJ did dentist. They did a great job and were adorable. So glad that I was able to go.

--Barbara

Grandma Called Them Flags

But they're really iris. When I got home on Friday a couple iris were blooming. This morning there had to be at least ten of them in bloom, all purple, and some are so heavy that they're lying on the ground. Evidently I have weak stems. But they sure are pretty, especially against the weathered gray of the fence.

I managed to get pictures of a Robin taking a bath. I love watching them because they enjoy it so much. They really get into it, splashing and flapping until half of the water is out of the birdbath. OJ was horrified to discover that birds drink out of the birdbath since he's seen bird poop in the water. He notices stuff like that. What can I say, he's a boy and he's 6.

My first drawing subject today wasn't very challenging. The next figure in the 15-Minute Artist book was a tube of lipstick. I no longer own any lipstick. I don't wear makeup and when I did I'd usually rub it off before lunchtime since I can't seem to keep my hands away from my face.

Then I pulled out a drawing book that I haven't used yet and tried my hand at the first picture. It's an eagle. I think there's a look of seagull about it, especially in the beak area. It was a challenge.

Today's watercolor postcard is another attempt at painting tulips. I love the colors but the composition is all wrong. I'll take another stab at it another day. See the splatter dots across the bottom? I managed to get spots on my glasses too. I missed my clothes because I was wearing an apron. Smart.

Today's toss was Candyland and Chutes and Ladders games that the kids no longer play. I appropriated the shelf they were on for my art supplies.

I vacuumed today. I don't like vacuuming but I tracked in some grass the other day and it was bugging me so I did it. It didn't make it to 90 degrees today, only 84, but I still didn't go on a walk. Instead I made an Investment Cooking grocery list because next week is time to cook again. Time sure flies.

--Barbara

They're the Berries

Well, they will be. I found more flowers on the old blueberry bush in the backyard today. That bush is determined to make berries with no help from me. The landscaper is supposed to come and take out the garden area, smooth out the slope, and put in grass but hasn't come yet. I'll give him a call on Tuesday to see what's the hold up. There must be a reason they haven't come. Maybe they're really busy and I'm farther down the list.

Mixed in with the daisies and bee balm are some alliums. There's a bunch of them blooming right now. I noticed when I was mowing yesterday that something nipped off the heads of the alliums in front. If they're not going to eat the danged flower they should leave it alone. It probably tastes like onions anyway. That should be a deterrent. 

When I took the alliums' picture I noticed that the asparagus is popping up. A couple spears grew last week and have gotten too big to eat but I found two spears that I could save and eat with my little turkey meatloaf for supper. Yum.

I took a sunset picture last week when I was at The Clearing and tried my hand at painting it today. It isn't as bright as the photograph but I think it's okay. I don't know how to make the light in the picture brighter but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

Oh, speaking of The Clearing, KA, the watercolor teacher, also makes fused glass items and she brought some little sun catchers to give to us. This is the one I chose. I think the dark spot in it looks like an eye.

I started the "L" lesson in the 3-D book today so I first drew 5 different versions of the letter "L" (boring), then I took another stab at one of the faces in 10-Steps: People which turned out okay, but my favorite drawing of the day is the Dog Rose out of the 10-Steps: Nature book. I  have a lot of luck with those pictures.

Speaking of art, LC commented that I have a lot of art stuff spread all over the bed in the guest room so I decided to do something about it. I spent the morning in the guest room rearranging things, finding stuff to toss, and making shelf room for all of my drawing and paining things. It looks much neater in there now plus you can actually see the bed.

A Bluejay swooped down and landed on the crook today. There weren't any peanuts out but it took a look at the cob corn and then spent a few seconds pecking around under the feeders. I'm always happy to see a Bluejay. I like their raucous caw when they land.

Today's toss was a couple empty photo albums and some extra pages. I let go of a lot of things that were cluttering up the shelves in the guest room, some hard to get rid of and some of it easy to toss.

I keep waking up between 5 and 6 o'clock in the morning and I don't like it. It's barely after 9 o'clock and I keep wanting to doze off. I took a short walk around the block today hoping that would make my back stop aching but it didn't. Guess I've inherited Mom's sore back. I'd walk again tomorrow but it's supposed to be 90 degrees. Not going out walking in that. I have my limits.

--Barbara

Back in the Groove

I got right back into my art groove today, spending a little time painting a postcard of pansies, which I'm semi-happy with,

and drawing a hand, which I am also semi-happy with. I seem to have developed a permanent slump and ache between my shoulder blades so I have to remember to sit up straight when I'm not painting or drawing. I also have to do some rearranging in the spare bedroom. I have watercolor things strewn all over the bed and it all needs to be better organized on shelves since Lala is coming for the weekend in a few weeks and will need a place to sleep. Hooray!

I stopped at the Jensen Center bookstore on my way out of The Clearing yesterday and finally saw a Ladyslipper orchid on the path from the parking lot to the building. I had been hoping that they'd be out but all there was were aging, pink Trilliums and invasive Forget-me-nots until the very last hour that I was there. Whew.

This was the view from my loft window once I'd finished packing but before I shouldered the first backpack and went down the stairs/ladder. One of the downstairs guys helped me by stepping up on the first rung and catching the other backpack so I didn't have to haul them both down. I don't think I'd ask for the Loft again especially not for a writing class when I'd have to haul a laptop and maybe a printer but I'd stay there again in a pinch. Of course it turned sunny after three dreary weather days just when we were all packing and leaving.

Not many birds at the feeders these days. This House Finch had a little tussle with another male before settling in for a snack.

I mowed the lawn this morning before it started raining. It didn't rain much, just enough to be annoying, but I was glad to have the grass mowed. I probably should have bagged it but I left the mower on mulch and went slowly where it was thickest and it went okay. I got to have a couple assistants this afternoon. We had fun with slime and a couple bubble shooters I got at Target, then we made cornbread, carrot, cheddar waffles for supper with baby carrots and fruit on the side.

I don't remember if I tossed anything today... oh yeah, I found a quilted bag downstairs that's been in a pile for years. Out!

--Barbara

I'm Home!

Back to the blog after five days' posting pictures of my Clearing adventures on Facebook and Instagram. I had a great time but was chilled much of the time, except when I was sleeping because heat rises and I was upstairs so I slept in a t-shirt under the sheet most nights. I also started waking up at 5 o'clock in the morning on Wednesday and did it again Thursday and Friday mornings. I am not a fan. Also I am really sleepy right now.

In the "Spent $20 to save $10 Department" I ordered an Otter case for my cellphone because my Pop Socket wouldn't stick to the cheaper phone case I originally got. I really missed the Pop Socket, not just because it's cool looking (which it totally is) but because I have a holder glued to my dashboard so my phone can rest up there which keeps it from slipping around on the seat and also makes using Google Maps a whole lot easier.

KA, the painting teacher, had a short stack of white plastic soup plates and some square bowls that she gave out to students who needed a place to mix paints. I didn't think I needed one because my palette has big mixing wells but then she mixed a big batch of glaze in one of the plates and it made me wish I had gotten one from her. So I stopped at the Green Door Thrift Shop in Sturgeon Bay on my way home and, lo and behold, I found this white ironstone soup plate marked eighty-five cents. Even better, everything in the store was half-price. Score!

KA also brought pansies for each of us to take home. She planted them in inverted glass globes from a light fixture that she got at a Habitat store. She put a stone in the hole where it fits over the bulb to keep the soil from leaking out. I got the only one this color. It was the one I wanted most of all, the rest were plain white or purple, I was thrilled when no one else picked it. I think I'll try painting it next.

When I got home, not only did I see that the lawn really needs mowing or maybe even baling, but some of the iris up on the retaining wall have started to bloom. They're so pretty.

And the lilies of the valley are blooming too. They had just started to open when I left last weekend and when I went out today to fill the birdfeeders I could smell them. Heavenly.

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting first I knitted a few rows on the Simple Alpaca Shawl but it was slow going so I went downstairs, found some dishcloth cotton that appealed to me, grabbed some needles, and cast on and knitted on a simple dishcloth. I'm tired enough that it was at a level of complexity that I could manage.

Today's toss was a long-sleeved t-shirt that doesn't fit me.

I'm struggling to keep my eyes open and to keep my head from hitting the keyboard. I think it's time to sign off and hit the hay. Nighty-night.

--Barbara

Can Robins Hear Worms?

I watched this Robin tugging a worm out of the ground this afternoon. How did the bird know that the worm was there? How did it know where to jab its beak? I can't figure it out.

The female Cardinal came to the feeder this afternoon after I'd filled everything. I wondered if the male had agreed to sit on the eggs so that she got a break to go find something to eat.

I found a bunch of new buds in the yard today. One of the Stella d'Oro lily plants has this little cluster of buds on a stem just popping up.

There's this little cluster of blueberry flowers on the biggest blueberry bush. My poor blueberries are at least 10 years old and they're tiny. Two of the bushes don't really make many leaves, flowers, or berries anymore but this one bush keeps trying.

On the west side of the house one of the poppy plants has a fuzzy bud just barely visible in a whorl of leaves. Maybe by the time I get back from The Clearing next Friday there'll be a flower!

This bumblebee was buzzing around in a window well. Here's its butt, but there's no pollen to be seen.

The next figure in the 15-Minute Artist was Chain Links. This was like drawing an optical illusion. It amazes me that merely erasing a couple lines here and there you can make it look 3-D.

I let myself draw the next thing in 10-Steps: Nature, the strawberry. I think the leaves turned out well and I especially like the tiny immature strawberry dangling at the bottom. I'm happy with just about everything that I draw out of that book.

 

Today's toss was... hm, seems I forgot to find something to toss. Ah well.

It was chilly enough today that I was comfortable outside in a t-shirt under a hoodie. As much as I love my Zambaldi Beer hoodies, I'm kind of ready to retire them for the season.

--Barbara

Well, That Was Quick

I finished the Ashes Hat tonight at Friday Night Knitting. I guess that's what you have to expect when you use fat yarn and big needles. I do love the colors in this yarn. And there's enough left to knit a toe cap too.

It was a dreary, overcast day today and I took the camera out to take closeups of the flowers in the yard. First came the bleeding hearts.

And then the lilacs. No bumblebee butts in evidence. (BH read a poem that included a reference to bumblebee butts covered in pollen that struck all of us today on a Zoom.)

The last figure in the "K" lesson of the 3-D drawing book was Kooky Keyhole. I was sure it would be a pain to draw but I followed the examples and quickly had this.

The next page in 10-Step: Everyday Things was a stack of books. It was more of a challenge than I thought it'd be. I drew the top book easily but then had the devil of a time making the two books under it look right. I did a lot of erasing and finally got a ruler to help make the lines behave.

I took another stab at the second Face but ran out of time to color it before time for knitting so I left it black and white. I drew this one from memory. Not too bad.

Today's toss was another shirt that I never wear. I like it but I don't wear it. Not keeping it.

I saw a new bird in the backyard today. It was a Wood Thrush, reddish brown on top of its body with a white breast and pot-belly with black spots on it. They say it has a nice song but I didn't hear it and I didn't get a picture. Dang it.

--Barbara

I Keep Trying

 This is the third try to draw the second face in 10-Step: People. My critique of the drawing is getting picky--crooked mouth, too narrow eyes--I guess that means I'm getting better at drawing faces. I'm not giving up.

The daily art page said to make a simple pattern with pieces of cut paper. I was going to dig out some origami paper to cut with the circle cutters but then I remembered the circles of watercolor paper that I already had so I grabbed the glue stick and made a pattern. Is it art? I'm not sure.

This Cardinal made a lightning visit to the feeder today. I was lucky to snap this photo because it flew from the Adirondack chair, to the birdbath, to the crook, to the ground, and then to the feeder. Didn't stay anyplace for long. Like I said, I was lucky to catch it.

The next lesson in You Can Draw in 30 Days was the human eye. I drew it three times as a right eye like the pictures show, then I decided to try drawing a left eye. Whoa, what a difference. I'll have to practice eyes, left and right, a bunch to get better at it. Amazing the difference changing the direction makes.

Tonight I got together with a couple friends to knit. We had delicious nibbles, more like food than appetizers. There were chicken meatballs in a french onion sauce, BLT dip with toasted baguette slices, tiny little caprese toasts, and cheese and salami with crackers. My contribution was some cashews and banana chips. What? I had the munchies when I was at the store figuring out what to bring. I even got some knitting done.

Today's toss was an old shirt.

Today I repacked my clothes for next week in a backpack. I am amazed that I got all my clothes into one pack. I'll have another one with toiletries, water bottle, and other necessities but two backpacks will be easier to get up into the loft than one medium-size suitcase. I promise to post a picture of the stairs/ladder on FB and Instagram on Sunday so you can see the challenge I'm facing. I'll be really good at climbing by the time next Friday rolls around.

--Barbara

Up High

I stopped over at Zambaldi to visit DS this morning and found him high up on the ladder pouring hops pellets into a fermenting tank. There is no freaking way I would climb a 12-foot ladder much less carry something up there to pour into a tiny hole in a stainless steel tank. He's also making a honey peach beer for summer and has to pour fifteen 40lb. bags of peach puree into a different tank through that little hole in the top. Eesh. Makes my skin crawl just thinking of all those trips up and down the ladder. That's real dedication.

The bleeding hearts are really blooming now. See all of the arches of little pink heart-shaped flowers? And there's lots more to come.

The next figure in the 15-Minute Artist was a Maple Leaf. Not such a big deal except that instead of drawing lines the directions said to make dots. It's called stippling and it took forever to fill in the leaf shape. I drew it first with pencil lines and then dotted my way over them before erasing the pencil and then I spent an hour filling in the space with tiny dots. I thought about digging out a pen with a bigger end but just kept on stippling until it was filled in. Interesting technique.

Next in 10-Step: Nature was a Peacock Butterfly which was really fun to draw and color in. I could see making lots of different butterfly designs some rainy afternoon.

Knitting the Simple Alpaca Shawl has turned into a bit of a slog so
I went downstairs for some thick yarn that I used to cast on a hat for charity. I needed a palate cleanser and something with big yarn and big needles does the trick for me.

Today's toss was a trio of mismatched silver forks. They don't match my silverware and they don't match each other. I bought them at a thrift store when we were using stainless flatware just to have a little silver in our lives but now that I'm using Grandma's silver I decided to get rid of them. They don't stack nice in the flatware tray.

I had to call The Clearing today to clear up a billing question and got an excellent packing tip. I'll be in the loft of the Professor's Quarters. It's an enclosed room and the stairs up to it are a lot more ladder than staircase so I was concerned about hauling a suitcase up there. The tip is to pack in two smaller cases rather than one large one. I can do that. In fact I may pack in two backpacks to make it extra easy and safe to traverse the stairs. Three more days to live through and then I GO!

--Barbara