Not The Latest

This is not the latest date that I've swapped the lawnmower for the snowblower, but it's close. I was just happy that it started. They're predicting sleet or snow arriving overnight and us having 1-3" by 9am tomorrow. Which is just dandy because I've got a doctor's appointment across town at 10:30am. I'll be leaving early so that I can creep along like an old lady if I need to so I get there safely. With any luck it won't be cold so whatever falls will melt on contact but I noticed that the city has sprayed brine on the streets which keeps ice from building up on the pavement. It's supposed to get down to 32 degrees overnight so we'll see how the morning looks.

Because they're predicting snow I filled all the birdfeeders after I moved the snowblower and this Chickadee was the first taker. It sat there for the longest time (for a Chickadee) so I got to take two shots, one of which was blurry of course.

Then this squirrel discovered that I'd refilled the suet nuggets. Gobbling ensued. It stayed a long time, the glutton.

When I refilled the suet cakes I looked under the roof of the feeder to see how big the hornets nest was. All summer long I have to dodge hornets when I fill the feeder because they move in under the roof. I was surprised to discover that there were two nests. I'd spray under there with hornet killer spray but I don't want it to get on the birdfeeder parts or the suet cakes so I guess I'll just keep taking my chances with the hornets. I haven't been stung yet. Now that I've said that I'm sure to get stung next summer.

I pulled out the other Dr. Seuss book I have, Dr. Seuss's Animals, to draw from this morning. I don't know what kind of animal this is supposed to be. It had a yellow body, a pink face, and a white ruff around its head. I didn't color it because I had to leave for an oil change appointment. It's okay.

However I really like today's painting of Forget-me-nots. I like the shade of blue that I made with a tiny bit of pink and I like the leaves. I'm not so crazy about the stems but I can tolerate them. I'm getting better at making them narrow and smooth, I think.

You know you're old when half of your calls about appointments in any week are for doctor's appointments. It was scratching at my brain that I needed an eye doc appointment in November so I called the clinic and I was right. I have an appointment in early December.

I've taken the week off writing. I watched an Ad School advertising video this afternoon that I thought was going to teach me about making Facebook ads but it only talked about them and didn't teach me how to make them. I need someone to tell me what to do. Next week I'll get back to rereading and editing the manuscript on Kindle but for now I'm letting it rest so I can look at it with fresh eyes.

--Barbara

ALL The Laundry

That what I did most of today. Sorting laundry. Washing laundry. Drying laundry. Hanging up clean laundry. But first I had to fold the sheets I left in the dryer the last time I did laundry. I plan the loads so that the last one doesn't have anything in it that needs hanging up so I can let it flop around until it's dry and just leave it, especially if it's sheets because I purely dislike folding king-size sheets. I'm considering trading down to a queen size bed just for that reason.

I caught sight of this Downy Woodpecker pecking hopefully at the holes in the empty round feeder. I think that there's a bit of seed in the bottom that they can't clean out so there's the promise of something there. It keeps them coming back.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker proved to be just as much of a bully as the male Cardinal is by driving off any Sparrows that dared to land or try to land on the suet nuggets feeder when it was there.

For today's drawing practice I opened up Seuss-isms and drew one of a line of little yellow-haired guys following The Cat in the Hat across a couple pages.

And I drew a gratitude journal page today. Actually I drew two of them, one for yesterday and one for today, but I'm only posting today's.

I got some yarn in the mail today. I've been on an extended yarn diet trying not to buy yarn but knit up the too much yarn that I already have. The green Alpaca Waffle Hat is an example of that effort. But this yarn is for a special project that I can't divulge. 'Tis the season of gift knitting so I'm not telling what or for who.

I had a haircut appointment this afternoon and just wore a long-sleeved tee and a sweater. No coat or jacket. That is about to change. They're saying that temps are going to plummet and we might have sleet/snow on Thursday. Uh, kind of abrupt since it was 57 today. Maybe it's time to get the snowblower out and put the lawnmower away?

--Barbara

Just One Thing I Forgot

I was so proud of myself for putting the birdbath heater in yesterday afternoon. When I opened the drapes this morning I looked out and there was a Sparrow standing on the water in the birdbath. Yep, it was frozen solid. At first I thought the heater was busted and I'd need to buy a new one again. Then it occurred to me. There was just one thing I forgot yesterday. I neglected to plug the other end of the extension cord into the socket. *head, slap* I plugged it in and the next time I looked out the ice was all melted and the water was wet and not solid.

The Sparrows have done a good job emptying most of the feeders I filled the other day but there're still suet nuggets in that feeder. The Red-bellied Woodpecker stopped by for a bit and the Sparrows mobbed the feeder but the squirrel was the winner. It hung there for the longest time and you can see that it's nibbling on the bottom of the feeder. I've said it before, I don't know how it manages to get anything out of there through the little square openings but it must because it's persistent.

I went back to Drawing Cute for today's drawing practice. I chuckled when I saw what it was because I had knitting with friends tonight so drawing yarn was a good thing. Even though I'm knitting with green yarn I colored the yarn red because red is my favorite color.

Here's the green hat I'm knitting. I got to the crown decreases tonight and I only had to unknit about a third of a round because I was talking instead of reading the pattern. This alpaca yarn is so soft. I don't know why I haven't been knitting it up all along. It's such a pleasure to knit with. It doesn't hold its shape the way wool does and it tends to stretch if you try to make a sweater out of it but it sure is soft and warm. I'll make mittens to match the hat.

We didn't starve at knitting tonight. The hostess KE made ham and cheese sliders and had a bowl of Cheetos, DM brought a plate of cheese and crackers, I brought veggies and dip, and CS made raspberry crisp that she served warm with vanilla ice cream on top. They had wine, I always have water. I don't drink, I just don't have the head for it.

Oh, I almost forgot. I painted Buttercups today. I like the way they turned out. Buttercups. Is anyone else thinking about The Princess Bride or is it just me?

It's time to sign off. It's late and I have to do laundry tomorrow because the chute's full. I hate when that happens.

--Barbara

Hurry! Get Dressed!

That was me this morning. There I was lounging on the couch in my jammies when I got a phone call from the landscaper that they were on their way to my house to do the fall cleanup of the yard. Yikes! I had no idea how close to the house they were so I raced to get dressed and comb my hair so that I didn't look like a tornado had hit me. I was presentable in time and they made short work of the yard and hadn't raised their price from last year which I thought was wrong so I paid them a little extra since I had them do a little extra.

 

The Christmas cactus bud is growing nicely and a couple of the tiny ones are a tiny bit bigger.

 

The books that I'd ordered on Nov. 1 arrived today by mail instead of Amazon Delivery. One of the copies of Open For Business had the wrong name on the spine again, but only one. I don't understand. I think I'll take the six misprinted ones with me to the market on the 30th and sell them for $10 marked "cover misprint." People might buy them. I loaded up this stack of books, all autographed and stickered, to replenish my market supply. I realized that I hadn't ordered enough of some titles so I ordered more today. They should arrive around Dec. 1. How can they get a single copy to you overnight but it takes 2-3 weeks to get multiple author copies?

I picked the two tiny tomatoes today. The bigger of the two looks like it's changing color a little. It can finish the job on the counter. The tomato flower looks like it's been hit by the latest cold night and started to shrivel up.

 

Today I drew the Ninja Squirrel from Half Hour of Pencil Power. It's kind of goofy looking but then a ninja squirrel is kind of a goofy idea. And I don't like its feet.

 

Before supper I went out, scrubbed the birdbath, and installed the birdbath heater. I think it's time. It's supposed to get down to 30 degrees a couple overnights this week. Yeah, it's time.

 

I drew a gratitude journal page for today. In the afternoon I took the leaf blower out and blew the leaves off the patio because it's supposed to rain in the next day or so. I didn't want them to get soaked again, they were already pretty wet. The odd thing was the farther I blew them toward the curb the fewer leaves I had to blow. When I ran out of leaves I looked behind me to find a sprinkling of them all the way to the patio. Oh well, if they blow back they blow back. I'll either blow them away again or leave them to deal with in the spring.

 

And my favorite bird picture today is this one of the Red-bellied Woodpecker shooing away a Sparrow from landing on the suet cakes.

 

 

All day I kept having to remind myself what day it was. Now that I'm retired all days are Saturday so I have to keep a good calendar so I don't forget stuff like writing Zooms, knit nights, and haircuts.

--Barbara

An Excellent Day

Today was an excellent day! It started out frosty. The birdbath was mostly frozen so I guess it's getting to be about time to install the birdbath heater. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow if it doesn't rain.

I met JB and GBB at the Market on Military where we hung around from 9am to 1pm hawking our books. I sold six books. Six! That's the most I've ever sold in one market day. Watch now, I won't sell a page for the next two markets but today was great. I had three of each title on hand and sold out of Better Than Mom's. Woohoo! It was also lucky that I use Venmo and Square because I used both of them today. They each take a few cents from each transaction but not a dollar so I don't really mind. I'd rather sacrifice a little not to miss a sale.

I was quick enough to snap a photo of a Red-bellied Woodpecker just as I got home from the market but had the edge of the patio screen in the shot and the camera focused on it so the bird is blurry. It had just nabbed a peanut so it flew away.

And there was a Downy Woodpecker not too much later that was on the round feeder, found a peanut, and flew off just as I pressed the shutter so we have blurry bird here too although the Sparrow is pretty much in focus. Not my day for bird pix.

I pulled out the Cute Chibis drawing book because I wanted to use a set of colored pencils that have the tones that the author used in the book. This skunk is brown instead of black but I followed the book. I'm a sheep that way.

 

My little maple tree is finally almost all turned colors. There are a few green leaves on the lowest branches but I have to say that the colors are beautiful.

I texted DD this evening for help finding a hotel in Lexington with an indoor pool (for ITMM) that had availability on Christmas Eve and she found me a place not too far from her house that was reasonably priced so I booked it. And she has the rest of the week off so I don't need to rent a car. Also my hotel has free breakfast. Yay!

Spent the time after supper immersed in gift knitting. Part of me regrets embarking on this lace and cable project because it's fiddly and requires me to pay attention all the time but I hope that the recipient appreciates it. I know they will.

--Barbara

Lots of Birds

The word must have gone out that I filled the birdfeeders yesterday afternoon because there were lots of birds in my yard today. The Sparrows were here in great numbers, maybe a couple dozen but they were hard to count because they move around so much. The Starlings were all over the grass on the slope below the retaining wall and one of them spent some time on the suet nuggets. The first bird I got a decent picture of was the Cardinal defending its place on the platform feeder. It had just run off an invasion of House Finches when I managed to snap this picture.

The bird I saw the most times was this Red-bellied Woodpecker. It kept coming to the round feeder because it learned that there are peanuts mixed in the "no-waste" seed mix so it contorts itself on the perch to be able to prospect for a nut. Then it hold it in its beak for a few seconds before flying away to wherever it lives or eats. It also spent a little time on the suet nuggets but I didn't get a picture.

In the afternoon I spied this male Downy Woodpecker on the last of the suet cakes. The Sparrows have done a good job pecking away at the suet cakes and the woodpecker took advantage of what was left. Also in the afternoon a couple Bluejays spent some time pecking at the cob corn but they're so fast and so far away that I've stopped trying to take their picture.

I wasn't much motivated to do anything today but I found this trio of tulip-ish flowers in Draw 500 Fabulous Flowers, liked them and decided to draw them. I do like the way they look in just ink.

And then there's today's watercolor of Foxglove. I was a little reluctant to paint it because it looks complicated but I thought I might as well give it a go. It's not as pink as it's supposed to be but it's not too bad. I can't decide if I'm improving or if I've hit my peak. I'm going to keep wasting paper and paint.

Tomorrow is the Market on Military indoor farmers market. It's from 9am to 1pm so if you're in the neighborhood, stop in and say hi. We're in the left hand store next to Skechers in the Green Bay Plaza at the corner of Military Ave. and Mason St.

I got to do the school run this afternoon and took my dishcloth knitting along with me. This little bag of simple knitting used to live in the pocket of my driver's door but I took it out when lockdown came and never put it back. I put it back today. Now I'll always have knitting handy when I have to wait for something.

After supper I squeezed in a few minutes to draw a gratitude journal page while I listened to an audiobook chapter. Actually I drew two of them--one for today and one for yesterday. I was impressed that I remembered what I did yesterday.

 

I emailed the latest manuscript version to my Kindle today. Putting it on there lets me read it like it's a book so I find all kinds of edits and places that need a little something. I find it easier than reading it on the laptop screen. I can't make corrections on the Kindle but I can make notes on a little pad and transfer them to the big manuscript. Works for me.

--Barbara

Dreary

With a capital Drear. That was today here in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It's a good thing I mowed the leaves yesterday because it rained overnight and kind of spit and drizzled today. Not really rain but the roads were wet enough that I had to use the wipers to clear the spray. I filled the feeders this afternoon and saw one Sparrow at the round feeder and three Juncos on the ground but it was so dim and dreary I didn't even try to take their pictures. I heard the weather guesser say that it's supposed to clear up tomorrow afternoon. Let's hope he's right.

This morning I decided to draw out of Drawing Cute. Here's a Popsicle (which is a brand name so I hope she had permission to use it) and cotton candy. The color's kind of pale in the photo but I like the way it looks in person.

Then after lunch I painted these poppies. They turned out okay. Even the leaves are okay.

I knitted after supper but I can't show you because it's a present. Shhh!

I signed in to the Page Pals Zoom room at 5 o'clock hoping to work on the ending of my manuscript but I've always thought that I had the ending already. I read it and reread it, took out a couple hundred words that I'd tacked onto the end of it, and wrote a couple paragraphs to wrap it up. I'll probably change it sixteen times but I think I can safely say that the first draft is done. I hope. Whew.

And I got the Final Jeopardy! My Catholic grade school days paid off! November 1 is All Saints Day. So the answer had to be, Who are the New Orleans Saints?

--Barbara

I Leaf-ed

My writer friend, GBB, told me last week that I could mow my leaves with the mulching mower and cut them into tiny pieces that can stay on the lawn so I didn't have to rake. (I hate raking almost more than I hate vacuuming.) But I thought what the heck and tried it today. It worked! It was partly sunny and kinda windy but the leaves stayed put, well most of them did, and I mowed up and down like usual and almost all of the leaves are now itty bitty pieces mixed in with the grass. Score! This area was solid leaves and look at it now! There are still a couple small drifts of leaves against the house that I'll have to move with the leaf blower but I can manage that. I'm just waiting for a day when it isn't too windy.

While I was out there catching my breath after a couple rounds of mowing I saw that the milkweed pods had split and spilled out their seeds. Some of the fluff was hanging on so I took its picture. Did you know they used to stuff things with milkweed fluff? I wonder who got the job of collecting it.

The watercolor today is called Yellow Rocket or Winter Cress. This is not one of my better efforts. I seem to be surging in writing and slumping in watercolor which is okay. I'd rather surge in both but if I have to choose one I choose writing.

Speaking of which I hit 81,976 words this afternoon. Hooray! I'm over 80k. Now I can relax and figure out where I need to add to the story without worrying if I'd find enough words. I tried to take a picture but the numbers were so small they were just a blur.

I added a few more rounds to the Alpaca Waffle Hat. This yarn is so soft that the pattern isn't as crisp as it shows in the pattern photo but I love the softness. I even like the green. It's better than blue.

I made a gratitude journal page for the first time since Sunday. Why don't I make them? I don't know. But I was grateful for the sunshine and the lawnmower starting (finally!) so I could mulch the leaves. I was especially grateful for making over 81k words and tucked the watercolor at the bottom to fill in the space.

I'm sure my neighbors are relieved that I went out and dealt with the leaves that were covering the side yard. The neighbor on that side is diligent about keeping up with clearing away her leaves and here I am being all lazy waiting until most, if not all, of the leaves are down before I deal with them. I can't help it, I'm just not a yard person.

--Barbara

It Works In Daylight Too

Since I had someplace to be at 5:30pm today I couldn't sign into the Page Pals Silent Writing Zoom so I decided that I'd pretend it was 5:00pm this morning around 11:00am and try writing something. It worked! Look! You can see the sunshine reflected in the laptop screen. I slotted in the scenes I'd written the last few days and then I wrote the ending to one character's part. It's a permanent ending but not one of the main characters. Whew. This afternoon I listened to something my critique and writing partner, cda, said last week and started writing another scuba scene to tuck into a spot I found for it. I was going to write that I think I'm on a roll but suspect that'd be jinxing myself so I'm not going to write that.

One of the squirrels showed up on the suet nuggets feeder that I thought was empty. Evidently not because it stayed there for a good long time nibbling away. I saw crumbs falling so there must have been something in there. The Red-bellied Woodpecker stopped over too but not in a place or position that I could take its picture. Dang it.

Like I said, most of the day I sat here writing but I did take a few minutes, a very few minutes, to draw these flowers out of Draw 500 Fabulous Flowers. The lower ones were black with white lines in them in the book but I'm not good at doing that so I have white ones with black lines. It's the same, only different.

I got to spend some time with the small people this evening while their parents went out to supper. One of them was wearing a big clown nose she found under the basement stairs when I arrived. It was a very good look for her. While they played and then took showers I knitted on the Majolica scrap washcloth. I see that I will run out of the cool colors yarn before I run out of washcloth. Before I add on the garish yellow/pink/orange yarn I'll check downstairs to see if I have anything that will match or at least blend. Maybe a solid color will work.

Oh, yeah, the Christmas cactus bud is getting bigger and the teeny tiny ones are sticking around and are a teeny tiny bit bigger too. You can see one of the teeny tiny ones in the upper left of the picture. Maybe more than one will bloom again this year.

And that's my day. When I walked the trash bin out to the curb an hour ago I realized that I could see my breath. Does that mean it's time for the birdbath heater? Maybe. Does that mean my tiny tomato flowers will soon turn black and fall off? Maybe. Only time will tell in these unpredictable times.

--Barbara