Ahhhh! It's Back!

I got a phone call yesterday at 4:58pm saying that my laptop was ready to be picked up. They close at 5:00pm. There was no way I could get there in time last night so I had to wait until this morning. Luckily I had to be up and moving around by 8 o'clock to sign onto The Clearing's site so I could register for the Women Writers Retreat in September. Which I did. Last year they instituted an online way of registering so that Life Members, of which I am one, don't have to dial and redial hundreds of times to get through. Anyway, as soon as I was done registering I bundled up and went to Cyber Works and retrieved my laptop. I had them take out McAfee because that's who the scammers pretended to be and I signed up for Cyber Works' Peace of Mind plan which is a weekly virus scan and remote troubleshooting for a lot less per year than McAfee. And they're not going to invade my bank account.

 

I bundled up to go on my errand because the weather on my phone said it was 9 degrees this morning. NINE. Two days ago it was 64 degrees. Look at the ice on the birdbath. It's like it was flash frozen.

Yesterday morning here's what the world looked like when I opened the drapes. We had a little over an inch of snow but the wind kicked up and blew like crazy all day which shifted the snow around quite a bit. Not enough that I felt compelled to go out and shovel the stuff, it wasn't that deep. Plus it's been sunny yesterday and today so a lot of it melted. It got up to 34 today and with the sunshine that nearly cleared the driveway.

I went onto Creativebug on Monday and am going through a watercolor class I took last year just for fun. I'm not doing the days that I don't like but here's what I painted today. They're a mix of watercolor, alcohol markers, and watercolor pencils. I like 'em.

Oh, on Monday I spied a Goldfinch on the new finch feeder. I was so excited to see it and to be able to take a decent picture of it.

And a Bluejay stopped by on Monday too. I managed to catch this shot of it as it hopped along the retaining wall. I'm impressed that it's in focus or nearly in focus.

On today's gratitude journal page I had to include getting my laptop back, of course, and I also sat here and called up all of the auto pay accounts and changed them from the closed checking account to the new checking account. And I had to chat with a helper on only one of the six. Made me feel accomplished. And grateful.

The other day a Hawk landed in one of the big trees behind me and I tried to take its picture but all I got was a blurry blob that looks vaguely birdlike but I was really glad to see it. Maybe it'll swoop down and nab the rat. Hey, I can hope.

It was very strange how rootless and adrift I felt without my laptop. I missed working on my manuscript, checking my emails (which I can do on my phone but it isn't the same), and of course, blogging. I'm just glad that I thought of the old tablet with a keyboard that I got going so I could register for The Clearing and get into the classes I wanted. You might know that when I'd really need my laptop it'd be in the fixit shop. But now it's home and I spent a whole lot of today just mooching around on it--because I could. I'm glad to be back.

--Barbara

Almost

I almost got scammed today. I dialed a phone number from an email and didn't look up the right number on my own. I know better than that but I did it and came within a hair's breadth of losing my savings. I thought I was smarter than that. But I kept the scammer on the line, drove to the bank, and told a banker what was happening. The scammer was furious but I hung up on him and the banker guided me through changing my bank password and opened a new account. He also advised me to unplug my computer when I got home and take it in to be cleaned of spyware and malware. So I won't be blogging for a few days until my laptop is safe to use. I'm on an ancient tablet with a keyboard right now but it isn't something I can easily use to blog. It's a pain. It keeps highlighting everything and then it disappears. Frustrating.

Anyway, I'm fine, my money is fine, and my laptop will be fine and squeaky clean in a few days. Take care and I'll talk to you later this week, I hope.

--Barbara

Too Busy

Today I was too busy to spend time watching for birds at the feeders or squirrels getting a drink and taking pictures of them. I got to spend most of the day with LC and OJ. We returned a stack of books to the library, delivered Girl Scout cookies to one of my knitting friends and all of the residents at her apartment complex who ordered from LC, went to the Zoo to feed the giraffes and have lunch, went to a park for an hour of play, and finally came back here for snacks and some quiet reading time.

Mark Making today was Birds. Neither of these birds really pleases me although OJ said "nice" when he peered over my shoulder when I was drawing so maybe they aren't as bad as I think they are. Or maybe he was just being nice to his grandmother.

After supper I pulled out my first daily drawing prompt book that I never finished and plunged back in. This far into it the author assumes a level of competence that I don't achieve but I'll give it a try. I quit drawing in it last year when I felt like I'd make a hash of the remaining prompts. I guess I'm feeling braver.

Last night I finished the fourth ball of yarn on the Cashmere Sophie scarf and tonight I added on the fifth ball of yarn and knitted the first decrease repeat. From now on every eighth row it will get one stitch shorter. It'll take quite a while to get back down to however many stitches are enough to bind off and call it done but I'm on the downhill side of the project.

I also listened to/read a chapter in my new writing book. What I heard today did not contribute to my understanding of what she's talking about. I have high hopes that as she finishes the overview and digs deeper into each feature of the method I'll suddenly understand what I'm supposed to do to ramp up my story. Fingers crossed.

I'm so excited. Tuesday I get to log onto The Clearing website and sign up for a watercolor class in May. Then on Thursday I get to log onto the site again and sign up for the Women's Writing Retreat at the end of September. This is what I save up for every year.

--Barbara

Starlings Are Too Big

A trio of Starlings came to the feeders this morning and once again they proved that they're just too big to eat from the round feeder. This one is perched on a peg and trying to contort itself around to peck in the hole that's opposite its chest. These are not the smartest birds.

Now this Downy Woodpecker is just the right size to eat from the suet cakes and he landed on the side so I could see his whole back. Naturally the camera focused on the lawn behind the bird so he's a little fuzzy but you can see him okay, I think.

Today's Mark Making is a decorated pot. I think this is overdecorated and I left off a couple of her additions (believe it or not) but it turned out okay. I'm pleased that I managed to make both sides of the jar about the same. Usually I have one nice curve and one wonky one. I'm improving.

But first I pulled out Draw 500 Fabulous Flowers and drew these two that look like they have blueberries dangling from them. The artist of this book is the same one that's teaching Mark Making. I like her drawings, I'm not so crazy about her marks.

LC and I went on her much-delayed birthday lunch today. We went to Olive's which is her favorite place. She had a turkey and cheddar sandwich on delicious toasted homemade what looked like French bread and I had a pesto, chicken, bacon, and onion flatbread pizza. We were both happy with our choices. After lunch we went to Barnes & Noble because I had a book for OJ but not one for LC so I said that she needed a book. Evidently I needed one too because I found this Sketchbook Challenge book that looks very interesting.

I had a lot to be thankful for today. Sunshine, lunch with LC, and laundry among other things. I filled the page for sure.

Out the front door I noticed that the hyacinth and daffodils that are tucked into the corner where the stoop meets the front of the house have sprouted. They're usually the first to pop up but the crocuses, tulips, and daffodils at the outer edge of the bed beat them to it. The rabbits are making sure that the crocuses and tulips are disappeared but the daffodils and hyacinths must not taste good because they leave them alone.

I spent time while the laundry was sloshing around and rolling around in the dryer listening to my new writing book while reading along in the paperback copy. I think that the info is sinking in a little better than just listening. I hope that it helps me learn how to jazz up my novel manuscript. I see the reasoning behind what she's saying and maybe I can figure out how to do some of this stuff to my book. Fingers crossed.

--Barbara

Not Warm Today

Nope, not warm today. Today it was cold (25 degrees) and windy (15 mph) and there were even tiny snowflakes flying around. Not enough snow to make anything like a snowball or snow drift but enough that it showed up on the frozen part of the birdbath this afternoon. Yesterday it was 55 degrees and it got progressively colder as the day wore on.  When I opened the drapes this morning the birdbath was all open water, no ice, and as the day wore on the ice shelf got bigger. By Sunday it's supposed to be in the 50s and on Tuesday in the 60s. *shakes head*

This squirrel found the peanuts the other day and has spent the last couple days systematically emptying the wreath and then scampering off to bury the peanuts. Except for this afternoon when it sat on the top of the wall and ate the peanut. It also discovered the cob corn and spent time on top of the crook that holds the feeders nibbling on kernels.

But then it (or one that looked like it) tried to figure out a way to get onto the finch feeder. It must smell good because there were other feeders it could have gotten to more easily but it kept trying to get over to the finch feeder. Never made it and eventually gave up.

I ordered a new writing book and it came today. It's called Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. I've had the book on Audible for a couple years and haven't been able to retain what I was hearing or visualize the points she made so I decided to get a paperback copy so I can read and listen at the same time. I have high hopes that this method will help me add stakes and conflict to my manuscript. *fingers crossed*

Mark Making today was drawing mushrooms. I enjoyed drawing them and I like the way they turned out. Finally.

After supper I drew a bit out of 20 Ways to Draw a Jellyfish. It's a sea turtle, a cormorant, King Neptune, and a mermaid. I like the way they all turned out today. Must be my lucky day.

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting I worked on the Cashmere Sophie scarf. I'm this close to finishing the fourth little ball of yarn and when I add the next one I get to start decreasing. That means it'll get very gradually narrower until it gets down to three or five stitches (I don't remember which) and I'll be done. Of course, by the time I'm done it'll be too warm to wear it until next winter but that's okay. It's pretty easy mindless knitting. It was getting too long to comfortably turn after every row so I rolled it up and pinned it right under the needle so it's easier to wrangle. My knitting friend MW makes a lot of scarves and shawls and that's what he does when things get too long.

I had a haircut appointment today but when I got to the salon one of the stylists told me that JS had been taken ill and had gone to the hospital. I texted her to tell her I hope that she's okay but haven't heard from her. She's probably a bit distracted, don't you think? I stopped at the grocery on the way home for watermelon and pineapple and got the last bowl of pineapple. Whew. I love having those bowls of fruit in the fridge so I can snack on them whenever I get the urge. I was thinking of my Grandpa Stephan when I picked out the watermelon. He always said that he'd give up watermelon and ice cream for Lent because in those days fruit was seasonal and you only got ice cream in the summer. Oh, and I got a text from one of my cousins that Aunt Ginny passed away Wednesday night. She always sent me a birthday card and a Christmas card. I'll miss those. She always remembered Aunt B because they worked at Mead Johnson at the same time when they were young and unmarried.

--Barbara

Another Warm Day

It started out frosty this morning. You can see the frost on the bare grass behind the platform feeder with the Cardinal on it. I love that he's basking in the morning sunshine. It stayed sunny all day and got up to 57 degrees. In February. In Wisconsin. But there's a cold front sagging down from Canada tonight so the next couple days are going to be in the 30s. I hate to say it but that's more seasonally appropriate. After that we're supposed to have three more warm days with Tuesday a predicted high of 64 degrees. And then it's going to cool down again. What a yo-yo winter we're having. Yikes!

Mark making today involved drawing an owl. Not just any owl but an owl with marks on it instead of feathers. Soon this torture will be over and I can find or go back to a drawing or painting class that lets me make "real" stuff. I may just re-watch one of the painting classes I did last year and see if I can learn anything new from it. I've got a stash of empty watercolor sketchbooks that I can dive right into.

A Downy Woodpecker showed up on the suet pellets this afternoon. At least I think it's a Downy. The more I look at it the more I think that it's a Hairy Woodpecker instead of a Downy. It just looks too big to be a little Downy but it didn't stay long and never got around to the front of the feeder.

I spent part of the afternoon on the computer looking at watercolor classes on Domestika but I didn't find anything new. Instead I dozed off and spent a nice half hour snoozing away. That little nap was one of the items I put on my gratitude journal page today, along with the blue sky and sunshine, my Zoom visit with LL who is the leader of the Novel Writing group, and I'm happy to say that at least one squirrel found the peanut wreath and has made off with almost all of the peanuts over the last couple days.

 

I spent the evening finishing the heel flap of the Sockeye Salmon Hermione sock, turning the heel, and picking up the gusset stitches. And I did it all with a Magic Loop circular needle. Usually I drag out my US3 double point needles and transfer the stitches onto them when I get to that point so I can see what I'm doing better. I'm trying to figure how to not have to switch. We'll see how frustrated I get tomorrow night and if I fall back to the DPNs. It was a good thing that I stopped knitting the heel flap the other night because tonight it occurred to me that I'd cast on fewer stitches than the pattern called for and I'm using a bigger needle so I had to adjust how many heel flap rows I knitted and how many stitches to knit to start turning the heel. But I did it and it turned out. Yay, me!

LL encouraged me to take a break from the manuscript to do an outline of the story to get my thoughts straight. I've never outlined a novel before and I'm not sure how to do it. I googled "plot outline" and found a couple websites and a few examples of ways to outline a plot. I printed out one template but can't bend my mind around to fill in the spaces. So I went on Amazon and ordered a book that I have on Audible but I've never been able to visualize what the author is telling me to do so I thought maybe a paper copy would help. I could have gotten it immediately on Kindle but the paperback was only fifty cents more so I decided to have a real book. Maybe that will jog something loose in my old and feeble brain and help me figure this thing out. Maybe I'll put this story in timeout until it agrees to behave.

--Barbara

And They Came

I had a lot of bird visitation today. I even saw a Chickadee land on the Finch feeder but it didn't stay there long. But then Chickadees don't stay anywhere for long. I did see the Red-bellied Woodpecker land on the suet pellets feeder three times--that I saw. He might have been there more but I was busy.

This House Finch perched on top of the crook waiting his turn at the platform feeder. For a few minutes there were two pairs of House Finches on the feeder but then the other male chased this one away, then he chased away the other female. Another avian bully, I guess.

It was so warm today. It got up to 54 degrees and was partly sunny. This little male Sparrow
decided to take a bath. I tried to take his picture when he was splashing around but all I got was blur so this is the best, most in focus shot.

Mark making today was drawing a building. I thought we'd draw a skyline but it turned out we drew just one big, basic building and then divided up the facade and filled it in with lines and marks. I guess it looks okay. Tomorrow we'll draw an owl. That should be good, right?

I felt like painting this afternoon. So I did. I painted this trio of Cornflowers. Grandma Angermeier used to grow them and she called them Bachelor's Buttons. They remind me of her. I like the way this turned out.

Today's gratitude journal page was an easy one to draw. I had to put the Red-bellied Woodpecker on since I saw him so many times, then I had my Novel Writing Zoom, and finally I was so happy with my watercolor. I didn't put on the sunny day or the warm day because I ended up drawing things too big to fit it all.

Like I said, I had my Novel Writing critique group this morning where I got some great comments on parts of the manuscript that I think I'm going to abandon, I quick fixed some lunch, and almost as soon as I was done eating my cleaning lady arrived. She does such a good job of cleaning my not-too-dirty house. It smells so nice when she's done and everything just sparkles.

Tomorrow morning I'm having a meeting on Zoom with the moderator of the Novel Writing group to talk about my struggles with Point Of View and how I'm doing adding conflict. I spent a little time looking at the 1st person manuscript this afternoon trying to decide which part I'm going to submit for next time's critique. I don't want to waste the efforts of the others in the group by giving them more of the version that I think I'm not going to continue with so I want to talk to LL before I leap into something new. She said today that there will be another session of the course in April, May, and June and I think I'm going to sign up for it even if I might miss one of the May sessions because the watercolor class I want to take at The Clearing is from May 19-25. And next Tuesday and Thursday are the sign-up days for Life members of The Clearing so I'll get to sign up for watercolor and writing next week. Hooray!

Yesterday I got out my wedding rings which I haven't worn for a couple years and put them on. I've been missing them lately. My left hand felt empty and wrong so I'll see how long I keep them on. My finger is skinnier than it used to be so the rings slide around a bit. Maybe I'll investigate having them made a little smaller but I suspect that won't be cheap.

Oh, and I got a text from my tenant saying that her husband saw a "young" rat on their patio. Dang it! I know it was naive of me to think that the one that was dead in the backyard earlier this winter was the only one but I was kind of hoping that it was. I'm sure another rat moved in to take its place. I'm not going to quit feeding the birds. I can't imagine not feeding the birds but I keep the seed in small aluminum trash cans with lids so nothing can nibble its way into the seed, they can only get the stuff that falls from the feeders. Stupid rats.

--Barbara

Here, Birdies, Birdies, Birdies!

While eating my breakfast I saw a bigger bird flash by and looked up to see the Red-bellied Woodpecker perched on the suet pellets feeder. I didn't get the camera ready in time to take his picture with his head poking up above the feeder but I did get him in his usual horizontal position. I do love seeing him at the feeder.

 

First thing, well, the first thing once I got moving this morning, I went to the polling place and cast my single vote in the alderperson primary. There was only one race on the ballot so I only got to fill in one little oval. I got there after 11am and I was #65. Not a big turnout but not many districts were voting and I suspect that many people didn't realize that today was a voting day.

On my way home from the polls I stopped at Family Pet Center for birdseed and I happened to look at the finch feeders. Last year I bought a couple of those finch seed socks and some rodent, a squirrel or a rat, gnawed through them quickly spilling all of the seed and ruining the feeder. Today I found one with metal screening instead of fabric and for not too much money. Which meant that I had to buy a bag of wild finch mix in addition to the two bags of regular birdseed that I went for. I filled the feeder with the rest of the nyger seed that I had left from last year and then topped it off with the new finch mix. Now I have to wait until some smart bird finds it and tells the other finches about it.

While I was filling feeders I scooped some peanuts-in-the-shell into the peanut wreath and put some cob corn into those feeders. Now I wonder how long it'll take this generation of squirrels to figure out that those are for them. I suspect it'll take a while.

Today's Mark Making was to draw trees. Not normal trees but they look enough like trees to be a little satisfying to draw. The left one was drawn with a regular pencil and a jillion little dots. It's okay. The right one I like better. It was more fun to draw and I like the way it looks. I suspect that filling things in with dots or lines will be a theme of the rest of the lessons in this class.

 

The gratitude journal page for today has my I Voted! sticker, the afternoon emergence of the sun, the new finch feeder, and working on the manuscript for a couple hours to finish this read-through. NOW I'll give myself a rest from it for a few days and then go back to the beginning and start again trying to add conflict. I added some over the weekend but spent this afternoon fine-tuning and not adding anything of note.

I started knitting the heel flap of the Sockeye Salmon Hermione Sock after supper and got halfway before I put it down. You can't see the texture of the heel flap in this picture but it's kind of like the texture on the leg but more concentrated. I put it down when I knitted, unknitted, reknitted, and unknitted one row before realizing that I was mixed up as to what I was supposed to be doing. Time to quit.

Tomorrow morning I have Novel Writing group from 10-Noon and then my cleaner is coming to dust, vacuum, and flush. I had to cancel her last month because I was in the hospital so my house really needs her ministrations. I know, I know, I could clean my house myself but I like her and like the way she gets through the place in a couple hours. It would take me all day and I wouldn't do as good a job as she does.

--Barbara

More Art Supplies!

I got my critiques done this morning once I got dressed. I even figured out how to make my comments show up on the submissions after last time. Seems a copy of the pages with my comments gets saved in OneDrive and I can attach that to my email after the session. And it only took me six weeks to figure it out.

 

Sparrows and Mourning Doves were the only birds at the feeders today. You can tell how deep the fallen seed is by the edge of the patio by how deep the hole is that the back Mourning Dove is in. It's crazy. They peck away and the hole gets deeper and deeper. I'll have to find a little soil to fill it in when Spring comes, I guess. I think I have a bag of soil in the shed.

After lunch I went to Michaels where I spent my $5 voucher (three times over!) and a 25% off everything coupon and got myself some more markers (different colors), a tube of pink watercolor, and a package of shamrock cocktail napkins (because it'll be my turn to host the knitters in March).

When I got home (after a cruise through the grocery for bananas, grapes, and lunch foods), I booted up my iPad and tackled Mark Making Day 21. We drew leaves! That look like leaves! It was so refreshing to draw something that looked like something.

Then while I was art-ing, I drew today's gratitude page. Again it was a sunny day so that went on the page, along with drawing leaves, getting new markers, and visiting with my neighbors who were out on the driveway playing with their 2 year old because it was so nice, sunny, and fairly warm. The little one likes to sit on my front stoop but not when I can see her. She scooted around me when I stepped away from the step and climbed up to sit down. When I looked at her she climbed back down. Kids are funny.

After supper while watching Maine Cabin Masters and Antiques Roadshow I knitted on the Sockeye Salmon Hermione Sock. Now the leg is long enough that I'll start the heel flap next. I've been a little disappointed that the sock looked so flat because the picture shows a pattern of stitches. I laid the sock down and turned off the light behind myself and, lo and behold, the light from the lamp on the other end of the loveseat made shadows that showed the stitch pattern. I had to turn off the camera flash to get it to show on the picture. 

In a little quiet instance of sucking up, I ordered 3 novels (1 paperback & 2 Kindle) by the woman leading the Novel Writing group. I haven't decided if I'll tell her that I'm the one who bought them or not but I wanted to see what her writing looks like compared to mine. I read a couple chapters. It's too soon to tell.

 

One more thing, there was a pretty sunset tonight!

I have to remember to go vote tomorrow. It's a primary and I try to never miss an opportunity to cast my ballot. We're voting on district alderpeople so I'm voting on the lowest level of government that has a direct effect on my life. It's important. And I'd like to vote out the incumbent alderwoman in my district because she led the "stop the steal" rally in town in 2020. That isn't my only reason but it's a big one. Sheesh.

--Barbara

Procrastination

That was my morning. I slept until 8:30am, had breakfast (not rushing), spent 1 1/2 hrs. watching CBS Sunday Morning that I DVR'd, then I got dressed and prepared to tackle my manuscript. After 11am. *sigh* Soon it was lunchtime. I gave myself an hour to eat and goof off (more) then I buckled down and worked my way through the rest of the manuscript. I added a scene about one of the guests but from Rose's point of view, ramped up some of the hurricane damage, but didn't add any more Calvin scenes because there was plenty of him in the last third of the story. I gave Rose a few more doubts about her ability to afford to pay Geneva and to repair the storm damage. I'll give myself a few days to decompress and finish critiquing the two Novel Writing submissions that came in this weekend and get back to the manuscript on Thursday.

During my lunch break I bit the bullet and did the last (thank heavens!) collage. She called it an abstract collage and encouraged us to use the off cuts from our previous 3 collages. I laid it out, glued the pieces down, and called it done. When I was about halfway done gluing the pieces I realized that I'd used up a whole glue stick because I got out a new one when the whole collage thing started. Good thing I had a four-pack.

The only other thing I did today was do my gratitude journal page after supper. I hadn't seen any birds or squirrels, there wasn't a pretty sunset, so I was reduced to being thankful that today's was the last collage, that I had all day to work on my manuscript, that I made a fried egg sandwich for supper, and that it was partly sunny today. I made do with what I had today.

The only other thing of note I did today was take a shower after supper and after journaling. I am so slow in the mornings. Not only do I wake up late but I putz around on my phone and the computer so much that it's nearly 11am by the time I get in the shower. Not that it matters, I have nowhere to be most days, but I thought it'd be nice to be clean and just have to get dressed in all clean clothes tomorrow morning. Well, late morning. Then I can go over to Michaels and see what I can spend my expiring voucher on. More art supplies!

--Barbara