A Lily Day

I spent most of the day binge watching Last Tango in Halifax to make this a nearly completely lost weekend. I got through Seasons 1 & 2 and have 3 & 4 to go. I'm impressed with the depth and breadth of crisis they can heap on those poor characters.

I took a turn around the backyard snapping photos of the day lilies that are blooming today. This rusty red one with the dark yellow center and stripes is beautiful.

There's still a single yellow day lily blooming too.

And the last lonely Stargazer lily has buds on it. I'll keep an eye on it so that I can share pictures of it and inhale its heavenly perfume. I used to have a white Stargazer that bloomed under the living room window so I would open the window and have the fragrance inside but that plant got gobbled up by rapacious rabbits.

The next lesson in You Can Draw It In 30 Minutes was a grocery bag. Once again an odd subject for a drawing but it was quite complex with all the angles and shadows. It turned out okay. The Bonus Challenge was a stack of three cubes. Not very challenging so I'm not sharing that one.

I tried to turn out a decent watercolor of the rust red lily. I'm pleased that I got the yellow stripe up the middle of the petals but once again I'm dissatisfied with the leaves. If I try to replicate what's on the picture I get a muddle but doing what I'm doing seems skimpy. Maybe I need to flood the paper with pale green and then when it's dry paint a few leaves over the top. I'll try that next time.

Today's toss was a 2010 Page-a-day calendar. I don't know why I didn't use it, it had every page, and I don't know why I kept it. It's in the recycling now.

--Barbara

Look!

My new red Keen sandals came today! I opened the box and put them on immediately. Now I have red shoes appropriate for each season. My life is complete. Lala found them online and showed them to me. I had to have them. They're Keens, they'll last for years and years.

I was entertained and amused by the next figure in the 3-D book. It's a dinosaur with a thorn in its foot. Who thinks of stuff like that? I wasn't in a drawing mood so that's the only thing I drew today.

The daily art page said to make repeating patterns in the blanks between the stripes on this page. I glued some dots in the widest one and used brush pens to make patterns in the others. I'm really enjoying working through this book page by page.

I decided to paint the other squirrel in Durer's painting from the Page-a-day calendar. This one isn't as successful as yesterday's squirrel and my attempt to paint whiskers is a flop. It looks like he's eating a spider.

Today's toss was an old photo stock book that I had stuffed in a cubby in a closet. I saw a corner of it yesterday and pulled it out--and threw it out today. Well, recycled it.

Can you believe that tomorrow's the last day of July already? I noticed tonight that it's now full dark at 9 o'clock in the evening. That's crept up on me. Only one more month and it'll be my birthday. Already. Time sure flies.

I spent most of the afternoon and all evening binge watching episodes of Last Tango in Halifax. I'm definitely hooked. I'm starting the second season next. I should look up how many seasons there are. I could be at this for a while.

--Barbara

Halfway

I got to the mid-point of the cotton washcloth I'm knitting tonight. Next I do three rows even and then start decreasing back to the corner. Cotton yarn isn't stretchy, it doesn't have any sproing so it's hard on my hands. It makes my fingers ache but knitting a washcloth takes a whole lot less concentration than knitting on my brioche hat takes so it's easier at Friday Night Knitting.

I did manage to add six rounds to the brioche hat at FNK though. I have 3 1/2 inches to go before the crown decreases. I was very impressed with myself even though I noticed a booboo when I was taking the picture. I'll take a look at it tomorrow. Maybe I can figure out how to fix it. Or maybe I'll just leave it and keep going. It's just a hat for me, I won't be entering it into the fair. In fact, I'm not entering anything in the fair this year. I don't really have anything worth entering so I'm going to skip it.

The orange day lilies are blooming. Not big numbers of them like on the side of the lot line but there are spots of orange along the top of the retaining wall.

Finally a Cardinal stayed on the platform feeder long enough for me to snap a couple pictures. Usually they zip in, hop around on the grass pecking for seeds, and then fly off, but not today.

The next figure in The 15-Minute Artist was the Human Eye. This may be my best eye yet.I drew it twice but this first one is better.

Then I dug into Drawing Cute to see what she called a Clam and a Narwhal. Clams don't grow pearls, oysters do. In the captions by the drawing steps she calls it an oyster but the heading says clam. I wonder if she thinks they're interchangeable.

Yesterday's Page-a-day calendar page was a pair of squirrels by Albrecht Durer. I liked the way it looked and thought maybe I could paint a squirrel. So I did. It didn't turn out too badly.

Today's toss was a box of old random crap left from my mother-in-law. How this little pile of stuff survived all of my clean outs I don't know but out it goes.

--Barbara

Well, Dang It

I went down to the library this morning and got there too late to find any books to sort. There was somebody there ahead of me and there must have been only a few books because she signed out after half an hour. That's the second time I went down on a Thursday and got skunked. But I'll keep going back because I do like doing it and I can afford to lose an hour's parking fee. It's only $1.

I found a few flowers to show you. The one pansy plant that was a gift from the watercolor teacher is happily blooming away. It was the only yellow and maroon one and I was so glad to get it rather than a white or pale purple one.

Another different day lily is blooming too. I think that this is the second flower on this plant and it's yellow and maroon too.

The sedum is getting ready to blossom. The plants are covered in
broad heads filled with tiny buds. Once they open they'll be pink. Very pretty. I like the pale green buds too.

Today was draw a teddy bear day in You Can Draw It In 30 Minutes. I think it took me every one of the 30 minutes to draw this bear. The Bonus Challenge was what he calls a unibear, a teddy bear with a unicorn horn. He claims that it's the most popular of all of the things he draws. I don't see it, it just looks weird to me.

The next item in 10-Steps: Everyday Things was a bathroom shelf. You know, one of those ladder things that has shelves for towels and other bathroom doodads. It was surprisingly challenging to draw. I confess that I used a ruler to make the legs straight.

I made a special trip to the grocery store when I discovered that Nabisco Cinnamon Graham Crackers were in stock. I bought three boxes of them. I'm addicted to them and often they're out of stock so I laid in a supply. I also bought a box of Scooby-Doo graham snacks that the grandkids love. That's another item that's frequently not there. I have a supply of them too. Don't want to run out!

I didn't paint and didn't find anything to toss. Just didn't get around to it. I got the call from the eye surgery center with all of the pre-surgery instructions and questions. Happily I don't have to be there at the crack of dawn and they said that the procedure only takes about 15 minutes. !!! I'll be glad when it's over. I have a whole week to get nervous. I think I'll manage. I know, I know many people have had it done and I know it'll go fine but there's a little imp in the back of my head jumping up and down and bleating out dire warnings. It's very distracting. I'm glad that my knitting friend CS will give me a ride to the center and DS will pick me up and bring me home.

--Barbara

One Frustrated Squirrel

This squirrel had a bad day. First it tried leaping onto the green tube feeder and got bucked off when the perch collapsed. Then it attempted to climb a couple crooks by grabbing onto the Slinkys which sproinged down and it let go in surprise. After that it jumped up to the suet cake feeder but couldn't get into a good position to nibble away at the yummy suet and seeds so it dropped to the ground. I tried to take its picture at each stage of its troubles and finally managed it when it sat still on top of the suet cakes crook, staring off into space (or maybe in at me), and thinking about things. The last time I spotted it, another squirrel was chasing it around the yard. Not the best day for this little squirrel.

The milkweed flowers are still blooming and they smell very sweet. It's hard to see but there's a bee under the top leaf visiting the flowers for pollen and nectar.

Another frustrated creature was this juvenile Starling that was determined to find purchase on the suet pellet feeder and kept changing position and flapping its wings to stay there. It finally gave up and flew over to the platform feeder where it ate some seeds and grumpily drove away other birds that tried to share the feeder.

The only picture that I'm happy with today and willing to show off is this frog from 10-Steps: Nature. I drew the next figure in the 3-D book, it was an Othello board but my grid lines didn't line up with the edges and it's crap. I'm not showing that one.

I dug around in a box under my desk and found a couple old Bonaire week-at-a-glance calendars. I paged through them enjoying the pictures and memories of past trips so I decided to try my hand at painting a flamingo. I should have made it smaller because the postcard wasn't tall enough for the bird's legs. I had to stop just below the knees but I like the way the bird part turned out. The sea and the sky aren't bad either.

Today's toss was another pair of "fashion" Crocs that I never wear because they squeak when I walk. I am not a fan.

--Barbara

First of the Season

I went to the Sunny Hill Farm stand this morning looking for blueberries and another kohlrabi. Those things were there and I got the biggest kohlrabi I've ever seen. It was about the size of a cantaloupe! I had to get out the big knife to cut it into slabs and then into sticks for easy eating.

But the big surprise was the wagon heaped with the first sweet corn of the season. I picked out three ears to bring home and had one for supper. It was delicious. I was dismayed to realize that on the new WW plan corn evidently doesn't count as a (free) vegetable, an ear costs 3 points. Oh well, I can work that into my plan but maybe not every night until corn season is over like other years.

I didn't feel much like drawing today so I only managed to get the next figure in the 15-Minute Artist book down on paper. This anchor is not my best work. I didn't get the shading right but couldn't manage the gradations of tone that the example showed.

Then I turned to the next face in 10-Steps: People because I wanted to color something. I'm kind of happy with the way this turned out.

I spent most of the afternoon on the couch watching shows that I'd DVR'd and working a few rounds on the brioche hat. I'm about halfway to the crown decreases. Still a lot of rows to go, about 60 I figure, so I won't worry about decreasing anytime soon.

I didn't paint today and didn't paint yesterday. I got so frustrated with the outcomes the last couple days that I'm taking a break. Besides I can't think of anything to paint.

Today's toss was a pair of "fashion" Crocs that I never wear because they're pink and lime green. I like the lime green part but not the pink. I'm not a pink person. I ordered a pair of red Keen sandals today (thanks, Lala!) so I needed to make room in my shoe rack for another pair anyway.

--Barbara

Like a Real Lawn

It was a perfect day today, about 70 degrees at 10am and sunny, so I fired up the lawn mower and cut the grass. All the grass, even the new stuff that's been growing for a month. It looks like a real lawn. There's still some of the straw mat netting visible around the edges but I think it looks good. I'm so glad that the garden is gone. I reset the hose timer to only run once a day instead of twice, I'll keep that up for another week or so. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about that end of the hose that pokes out of the ground at the edge of the old garden/new lawn. I can't just leave it there so I'll probably cut it off at ground level and leave it at that. I don't think I can pull it through.

I got all excited when I passed the milkweed while I was mowing. I caught sight of a pale green pod and for a minute I thought that I had a monarch chrysalis but it's just the beginning of a seed pod. Dang. I keep hoping that one day my milkweed will have a cocoon on it. I heard the other day that Monarch butterflies have been put on the endangered species list because of climate change and habitat loss. So sad.

Right near the milkweed I spied this yellow day lily blooming...

 

... and on the west side of the house the spiderwort is blooming again.

 

 

The next challenge in the 30 Minutes eBook was a blender. What an odd thing to draw but I managed to follow the directions and get something that looks a little like the example.

 

Then I turned to the next page in 10-Steps: Nature to find a hedgehog. I thought hedgehogs were more roly-poly but this one seems kind of weasel-ish. Maybe it's a wild hedgehog instead of a pet one?

 

I got a haircut today and then went to the grocery for bananas and, of course, came home with much more than that. Almost $40 worth that all fit into one reusable bag. I'm glad I'm not feeding a family these days.

I finally gave in and watched the first two episodes of Last Tango In Halifax on Netflix. My knitting friend CS recommended it so I tuned in this afternoon. I may be hooked. Thanks a lot, CS!

--Barbara

Knitting & Beer!

I got a text from my friend CS this morning asking if anyone was available to knit this afternoon. I fired right back that I was. When and where? 12:30 at Zambaldi, came the answer. So I packed up my brioche hat project and a skein of cotton yarn to start another washcloth and I was ready to go. I got my usual half beer and spent the first part of the afternoon adding two rounds to my brioche hat but it took too much concentration to knit, talk, and drink so I put it away and started the washcloth.

While I waited to go, a Downy Woodpecker came to visit the feeder. OJ asked me the other day why the woodpecker wasn't visiting the woodpecker food and I couldn't tell him the answer. I guess it's tired of a diet of suet and bugs.

The next picture in the 3-D book was called Oooops! It's salt and pepper shakers with spilled milk in the background. The shakers were surprisingly challenging to draw but I finally worked out the geometry of the bases and got the job done.

I made a gratitude journal page today, mostly because I didn't drag out a couple other drawing books and felt guilty for only drawing one thing.

I made another lily painting and this one isn't very good either. I've got to figure out how to paint the arching leaves of the lilies without making a smeary mess of it. I'll keep trying, I guess.

Here's how far I got on the washcloth. The name of the colorway is Teal Meadow which seems like a better name than the last couple yarn color names.

That's it for my day. I spent the evening watching TV and not knitting, just staring at that lighted rectangle and zoning out.

--Barbara

All The Weather

We had hot, humid sun; cloudy, breezy but still humid; and thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. All today. The storms rolled in in the late afternoon and I suspect that they interrupted the special soccer match in Lambeau Field this evening but I hear loud music coming from that direction so I think things are back to normal over there.

I decided that it was time to weed the top of the retaining wall, especially behind the rental side of the duplex. There's a kind of vine-y weed with little white flowers that spreads out all over that side and even pops out between the blocks of the wall. First I went out at 11 o'clock in the blazing sun (I wore a hat) and managed to clear about half of it but it was just too hot and sweaty so I came inside to hydrate and cool off. I waited until the clouds rolled in and the breeze shifted from the south to the east to go back out and finish the job. It was a big job. I ended up with three bushels of weeds to dump in the back corner of the lot so it composts. I'm very glad that's done.

While I was out there I filled the bird feeders and a Bluejay discovered the peanuts before the squirrels did. I am thrilled that this picture turned out as clear as it did because the peanut wreath spends the summer at the back of the lot so that the Hummingbird feeder has a closer crook.

I wasn't too impressed with my drawing of a spinning top out of the 15-Minute Artist book so I'm jumping right to the Hawthorn sprig from 10-Steps: Nature. It's worlds better.

Then I paged back to the second set of facial features in 10-Steps: People and got drawing. For some reason I'm having better luck drawing these than I had drawing the first set. Maybe it's all the practice I'm doing or maybe it's a new sketchbook I started yesterday.

I thought that yesterday's watercolor lily was the wrong color. Then when I was pulling weed vines off the lily plant I popped off one of the blossoms so I brought it in, put it into a bowl, and set it next to the painting. They were almost the same color! Amazing.

So I tried painting it again. Not such a lucky attempt. This is what happens when I get frustrated and scrub the brush across the paper. Not my best effort but I'm determined to show off the bad and the good-ish.

Today's toss was a pair of bamboo cutting boards that I never use. I have a stack of nylon ones that I use all the time and can put in the dishwasher so I'm sure they're clean, so I wonder why I keep the bamboo ones. Not anymore.

I finally learned how to voice text on my phone. I had to Google it and watch a YouTube video and it was criminally simple to do but now I can do it. The temptation is to ramble, not be concise like when I'm typing texts but I'll get better at it soon enough.

--Barbara