Snowy

But just a dusting. I didn't even try to go out and clear the thin layer of snow off the driveway because it was wet yesterday so I'm sure the snow turned to ice on the pavement. Yuk.

This Mourning Dove was pecking around under the feeder this morning. I don't think it had a lot of luck finding loose seeds.

The Chickadee made a few forays into the platform feeder today. I even saw it nab a peanut half out of the tube feeder a little later in the day.

I tried my hand at Lesson 2 in the new drawing book. I had to dig out a bigger format sketchpad to follow the directions but I think I did okay with the drawings. The author/artist emphasizes that you need to use a feather touch when you're drawing. That's hard for me because I want to grip the pencil and make firm lines but I'm working on it. That feather touch also makes it hard to see the drawings. Sorry about that.

At the end of the lesson I copied her sample of a way to incorporate all of the designs from the squares. It's not original but I think it's okay.

Then I decided to use the remains of the rotisserie chicken from last week and make soup. Thank goodness I had some scallions, baby carrots, and dried celery flakes. It isn't one of my better efforts but it's cold enough outside that a steaming mug of soup is a real treat.

I have no intention of staying up to ring in the New Year tonight. In fact, I'll be snuggled up in bed within an hour. It'll be the first day of 2024 tomorrow whether I stay up or don't. I wish you all a Happy New Year.

--Barbara

Frosty

You can see the thick layer of frost on the grass behind the birdfeeder with the female Cardinal and the female House Finch on it. It took a long time for the weak winter sun to burn off the frost but it finally got up to 37 degrees and it melted away.

You can see that there's no frost on the grass in this Downy Woodpecker picture taken a few hours later.

This is my new drawing book that I got for Christmas from DD. It starts with lessons on drawing with graphite pencils so I had to take my "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" Michaels gift card and go shopping.

I spent all of the gift card and a little bit more but got this set of pencils in a nice tin, a couple sketchbooks, and a few Micron markers.

Lesson One was nothing more than measuring out a scale of boxes and then gradually shading them in using increasingly dark pencils. I'm hoping that the next lesson involves some actual drawing.

My fingers got cold while I was drawing so I treated myself to a mug of hot chocolate. I know it doesn't look very thick but it's made with water and has powdered milk in it. Besides it's Weight Watchers so I can have it when I want it.

Once I had the new drawing lesson completed I pulled out the Zentangle book and drew these. They're the Day 3 tangles and I feel like I did a much better job of them this time around. Maybe practice does make perfect, or at least an improvement.

Oh, another of the artsy gifts I got was this pad of watercolor pages. Each one is about bookmark size and has a perforated strip of watercolors on the side. I painted the first one yesterday and like the way it turned out. There's even a paintbrush in a slot carved into the backing cardboard. It's a fun gift.

DD texted me just after 7 that they were home safe. She said it felt like they stopped every 20 minutes but she persevered and made it. I advised her to take tomorrow off. She said she planned to.

--Barbara

One Woodpecker

The Red-bellied Woodpecker stopped for a visit this morning and I managed to snap a photo so that you can see his red head. I haven't seen his red belly lately but I assure you that there's a red smudgy patch on there.

I pulled out Draw 500 Fabulous Flowers this morning before DD and IT arrived and drew these so-so flowers. I wasn't in the mood for any precise drawings so these swirly flower heads fit the bill very well. I also delved into the new drawing book that I got for Christmas and, darn it, I have to go to Michaels with my list and my gift card because I need graphite pencils for the early lessons in the book and all I have are no. 2 pencils and that's not enough. I have to go pick up a prescription tomorrow so I'll swing by Michaels on my way home.

This afternoon I cast on another dishcloth so I wouldn't have to think much at Friday Night Knitting tonight. I was late to the zoom because DD and IT were here but they left earlier than I thought they would because DD has to pack and wants to leave around 7 in the morning for the looooooong drive home. The good thing is she's going tomorrow so if she gets too tired she can get a motel and sleep overnight and get home refreshed or at least not so road weary she's not safe.

I had time this morning before they arrived to take a shower and wash out my compression socks. After supper I ran the dishwasher for the second time in a week. Company uses up plates and bowls, also silverware.

--Barbara

More

I had a lot of company today, big and small. The small stayed the longest and made the most noise. Naturally.

It was 38 and rainy today and the birds were very active. At one point there were 21 Mourning Doves lined up on top of the fence. The Nuthatch made a visit to the tube feeder and found a half-peanut that it flew off with. Then there were the Sparrows. They made a flutter around the tube feeder and also the birdbath.

DD and I sat at the kitchen table knitting on our respective socks while the small people played in the living room. I have one more inch of foot to be knitted before starting the toe decreases.

In the afternoon I sat down and redrew the second Zentangle. It turned out just right, I think.

Oh, I almost forgot. LC and OJ got a really fun game from Santa. It's called Buildzi and you get a card with a tower construction on it and you have to build the tower using blocks from the pile in the center. It takes real balancing skill and is a challenge. DD, LC, and I played for at least an hour this morning and had a blast.

--Barbara

Grandkid Day

I got to spend at least part of the day with almost all of my grandchildren, the little ones anyway. IT and his mama spent time playing with the Lego bin. They played out in the backyard but it wasn't as much fun since we have no snow. We even played a little hide & seek in the basement. IT is fascinated by the basement; mine is the only house he knows that has one.

We had a big flock of Sparrows around and under the tube feeder today. There must have been two dozen of them.

The Nuthatch was back too. It flew around the suet feeders and landed on the tube feeder with a Sparrow companion.

While IT and DD went back to their hotel for a swim I did this Zentangle. I kind of like it but I'm not sure of the four round whatever they are on the right side are supposed to be. They kind of look like boobs to me. Or maybe targets.

We had a perfect kid supper--chicken nuggets and tater tots (which, by the way, do not bake at the same temperature so I had to improvise)--then they spent some time watching videos and finally reading right before bed.

IT brought me this Ty unicorn this morning as a present. They looked for a giraffe (which is my favorite animal) but had to settle for a unicorn. DD explained to LC that a unicorn, a horse with a horn, is a lot more believable than a camel/leopard/long-necked/moose-thing. She has a point.

--Barbara

Early Birds

I was awakened this morning at 7:15 by a text from DD that they were all loaded up and setting off so I decided to stay up. I opened the patio door drapes and was treated to a bird parade. First I saw a Cardinal on the platform feeder. He spent time fending off the Chickadee and the Nuthatch.

The Nuthatch flew over to the top of a nearby crook and posed nicely so I could take its picture. Then it flew down to the tube feeder where it communed with a Sparrow for a couple slow spins of the feeder. I love how the feeder rotates from the inertia of the landing birds. They hardly weigh anything but they can get that little rotation going.

Then a Downy Woodpecker showed up on the suet cakes feeder. I took his picture but missed the female (or juvenile) that landed there later.

And at the same time a Red-bellied Woodpecker was clinging to the suet pellets. It was just barely visible alongside the Oriole feeder.

I spent an hour trying to replicate a Zentangle that's on the cover of the book. For some reason it intrigues me so I tried my hand at it. Again, I'm not so good at layering but it's definitely better than the last time I tried it.

Late in the afternoon I went to Papa Murphy's for a pizza to bake for supper when DD and IT arrived. They got held up for a few minutes by an accident less than 5 miles from here but made it. We had a little pizza and then they left for their motel. IT sleeps better that way. They'll be back for breakfast.

--Barbara

Merry Christmas!

And more to come! I got to spend time with DS and family this afternoon and evening, playing games and eating supper. Then tomorrow DD and IT are driving up from KY to spend the rest of the week so my Christmas is carrying on. See what I got from LC? It's a little corked pot with "World's Best Grandma" printed on it. I don't know what I'll keep in it but it'll be something important, let me tell you.

This morning I baked the second log of toffee shortbread cookies and I have to say that these didn't turn out much better looking than the first batch. I had to cut the slices thick because I didn't get the ingredients mixed as thoroughly as I would have in the big mixer so I had to bake them longer. They still taste good even if they look a little rough.

 

The new tangle today was a feather. It took a lot of concentration to draw it and I think it turned out okay. I like the swoop loops under it, the rest of the tangles are so-so.

From DS's family I got a Michaels gift card. I can always use art supplies. The best part of it is that DS was a late shopper so all of the Merry Christmas gift cards were gone so he chose a Happy Birthday one and wrote "Jesus" on it. Clever, don't you think?

LC also made me a card and tucked inside was a little embossed metal heart ornament. She's such a sweet girl. Now I wish that I'd put the tree up so I could hang it on there.

We had a lovely ham dinner and played a couple games afterwards. LC and OJ liked the gifts I got for them and the Seroogy's candy was well received too. Everyone likes chocolate for Christmas. I hope everyone's day was merry and bright, even if it was overcast and dreary like it was here. Although it got up to 51 degrees so people were outside even in the drear. It's supposed to start cooling off tomorrow. And raining.

--Barbara

Overboard

I wasn't thinking of Christmas candy until Friday Night Knitting when KW said she had her son take her to Seroogy's which is a local candy maker store. It's been on my mind ever since so I checked to make sure they were open today, checked what time the football game was on, and went over there. The place was nearly deserted so I had free rein. I kind of went overboard but I'm sure that it'll all disappear in time. I bagged up some of it to take along tomorrow and I'll make DD take some of it away and we'll eat some while she's here. Like I said, it'll go away.

Yesterday I put out a couple sticks of butter and this morning I mixed up a double batch of Toffee Chip Shortbread Cookies. I over-baked the first log of dough so there are no pictures. I'll make those go away and do better baking the second log of dough.

I'm amazed at how camouflaged Sparrows are when they're on the ground under the tube feeder. They just these little brown blobs that blend into the lawn, fallen seeds, and blown leaves.

Then one of them decides to have a taste of suet cakes so he's visible. I'd rather see a woodpecker but any bird will do.

Drawing went a little better today. First I opened 20 Ways to Draw a Tree from the back and drew the last five figures. I like the root vegetable (I think it's a leek), the peeled orange is kind of okay, the butterfly looks more like some kind of fly, I like the thistle, and I'm a big fan of the dandelion puff and seed.

Later on I pulled out the Zentangle book and decided to go to the next page instead of trying my hand at yesterday's tangles again. I like these better.

--Barbara

Whew

The last gift came today. It was scheduled to come tomorrow but I am so glad that it came early. Now I have time to wrap it and get it into the box with the rest of the presents to go across town on Christmas Day. Thank you, Amazon!

I was watching the flock of Sparrows clustered under the tube feeder this morning when I saw a flash of red and there on the suet pellets feeder was the Red-bellied Woodpecker. I took one shot and the flash went off but it didn't scare him away, thank heavens, so I had a second chance. And he's looking right at the camera.

The last Christmas cactus blossom is fully open now and the other three are fading fast. This season's crop of four separate flowers is the most I've ever had on this plant. *whispers* it's my only plant like this.

Today was not my day to draw. I tried drawing a Zentangle with the tangles from yesterday but it for sure didn't turn out well at all. Yuk. I'll try to improve tomorrow.

I hand-washed my compression socks this morning and got them hanging (and dripping) from the shower rod, then I came back here and read 53 pages of manuscript in the afternoon. Mostly I just took out more "just"s and tidied up the chapter numbers because I added in a couple chapters so the numbers are off. And I spent two hours watching "Love Actually" on Netflix because I wanted to.

--Barbara

Again

The Nuthatch was back today, poking its beak into the tube feeder, looking for a peanut. I think that's what it is prospecting for because when it finds one it flies away. It came a few times that I saw it and I managed to snap this one, slightly blurry photo.

The first bird that I saw today was this Junco pecking around in the fallen seed under the tube feeder. Juncos aren't quite as camouflaged as the Sparrows that cluster down there. And they have to think they've gone to the tropics because it's been so mild and we have no snow. I'm fine with no snow but LC is steamed because she loves the snow.

I turned to the next Zentangle page and found these three tangles. I like the first two but I'm not sure about the last one. Maybe if I draw it in a Zentangle I'll like it better. Maybe tomorrow.

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting I finished the heel gusset of the Summer in Monaco Campfire sock and started my way down the foot toward the toe. The foot measures 7" from the base of the heel so I have a ways to go.

I got the preliminary results of the echocardiogram this afternoon and my heart function is good. She said that the murmur may be some calcification so the next step is to have a stress test. I'm sure I'll hear from the scheduler either next Friday or after New Year's. So far, so good. Still getting out of breath too fast but I'm working on being a little more active, climbing down and up the basement stairs a few times a day.

--Barbara