Frosty

When I put the shade up this morning I looked at this house across the street and its roof was covered with frost. Frost! I am not psychologically ready for it to be that cold.

I tapped the weather app on my phone as I walked from the bedroom to the kitchen and it wasn't freezing but it was nearly there. I had on a tee shirt, a cotton sweater, a windbreaker, and wool fingerless mitts (thanks, CS!) when I took my walk this afternoon because it had only warmed up 10 degrees throughout the day. It was sunny, I liked that. It was chilly and breezy, I wasn't such a fan.

The cat spent some time resting on top of the retaining wall this afternoon. When the shade came over and covered it the cat wandered off. Maybe that cat is why I don't seem to have any chipmunks eating birdseed anymore.

I pulled out my new Sketching book and tried my hand at extemporaneous sketching. I like my little scuba diver and I'm pretty happy with the rest of the page too.

Then I turned to the next page of 10-Steps: Everyday Things. It's a stapler and two pens. What can I say? I draw what it tells me to.

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting I knitted the rest of the Get Off My Lawn! Sock cuff and started down the leg but it's such a radical change to go from size 11 needles and super bulky yarn to size 3 needles and fingering weight yarn that I had a hard time getting my fingers to work. 

So I pulled out the Guacamole Washcloth with its size 5 needles and worsted weight yarn which felt better and went a little faster.

This morning I went down to Zambaldi Beer to visit with DS and he was making Meatball Man Amber. Here he's getting ready to transfer the beer from the kettle to the fermenter.

I stopped at The School House store on my way to the brewery and found some goodies for LC and OJ that I can give to them right away, and something for each of them that I put in the Christmas pile. LC is interested in learning cursive which they don't teach in school anymore and OJ loves to draw so I found a doodling book for him and a cursive workbook for her.

For the third day in a row I neglected to find something to toss but I did manage to haul myself out for a quick walk around the block. I don't go far but I figure it's better than nothing. I'll extend when I'm not so winded.

--Barbara

Hat or Cap

 I finished the Autumn Desert cap this evening and I like the way it looks. The odd thing is that in real life the yarns that I alternated kind of blend together but in the picture you can see the dark and light. I'm going to try not to cast on another of these caps right away. I've made four of them in a row and think it's time to move on.

This looks like the same picture of writing that I blogged last night but it's a completely different manuscript. Today I pulled up Better Than Mom's and wrote another scene which puts me closer to having it finished. I've got about 65k words and hope to get up to 80k before typing The End. What I wrote today totaled up to about 1,500 words so that's only a tenth of what I think I need. I sure hope I can think of that much more story.

Today's lesson in You Can Draw It In 30 Seconds! was Pegs. I worked my way through the skill levels but played a little fast and loose with the drawings. I confess that I didn't draw every one of the nine skill levels but I did seven of them (the rest are on another page) so I'm counting them.

Then I talked to Aunt B this morning (she's doing okay in post-Ian Florida) and she asked about painting which made me feel like I should drag out a postcard and the paints and make a painting. I searched the photo gallery on my phone and found a picture of LC posing in a long ruffled skirt the last time we were at the museum so I painted my interpretation of that. I think it turned out okay.

When I came back from my walk this afternoon I was surprised that the tree in the front of the rental half and the one in the neighbors' yard have suddenly burst into red. The sun shone every once in a while which really lit up the leaf colors but, of course, it wasn't shining when I went out to take a picture.

Oh! I looked out the patio door when my supper was heating in the microwave and I think I saw Dark-eyed Juncos pecking around in the grass. Eek! Those little birds are harbingers of winter and it's barely autumn. It feels way too soon for them to show up. Go away and come back later, little birdies!

This morning I went down to the Library hoping to find a few books to sort for the Book Sale but when I opened the door and turned on the lights, here's what I found. A long row of empty tables. So once again I've paid $1 to park for 10 minutes. I don't know if there are fewer donations these days or if Thursday is the wrong day to go down there. I'll keep to my schedule and hope for better days.

--Barbara

Rekindled

My writing brain and fingers were rekindled by my week-long stay at The Clearing. I can't seem to stop working on my Island Dreams manuscript. I finished another read-through today and need to put it away for a while. I'll fall back to Better Than Mom's tomorrow because that one isn't done and needs an end quarter and I don't know what to write, but I'll figure it out. I have a small starting place and will get more ideas as I type, I always do. I have to keep working on that one because I found the perfect free photo to use for the cover and I can't let that go to waste. And I'm excited about the prospect of figuring out The Seaview II during next month's NaNoWriMo. I'm so happy to have my writing brain back. It was dormant for a couple years and that made me sad but now I'm back, baby.

I saw a Cardinal in the backyard this afternoon and I haven't seen one of those birds in weeks. I was so glad to see him I shot a picture through the screen just in case he didn't move so that I could take a non-screen filtered picture but he flew down to the spilled seed under the feeder so I got this shot of him looking a little belligerent.

One of the Stella d'Oro lilies sent out a flower today and I was lucky enough to see it and take a picture to show you that even though it's October there are still flowers blooming in my yard. Flowers that aren't chrysanthemums.

I pulled out the Draw Sea Creatures book that I bought to give to OJ today and tried my hand at drawing the first few creatures just to see if I think he'd like them. I don't know if he will but he complained that he hasn't had any ideas lately and it's upset him so maybe a book with drawing steps in it will help ease the frustration.

I didn't do so well when I got to the pelican in Draw Like An Artist late this afternoon. Maybe my eyes were too tired from squinting at the computer screen but I don't think that this is my best pelican ever. It's his feet and legs, they're too thick and stubby. Maybe I can fix them tomorrow.

I cast on a sock this evening while watching TV and knitted just a few rounds of the cuff so that I had something to take a picture of. The name of the yarn colorway is Get Off My Lawn! I had to buy it just for the name. There's only a little green and lots of white which is okay because I don't have any white handknit socks.

Today was furnace tune-up day at the duplex. I had the nicest service guy come. He was here in the spring to service the air conditioners and I was happy to see him again. He's efficient, friendly, funny, and kind of cute. Everything you want in a service guy.

Oh, you know that yarn that kept breaking so I threw it away last night? Well, I couldn't stop thinking about the color and how I really want a sock made with that yarn so I went online, found the company it came from, and ordered another skein. With two others of different colors. I seem to be on a yarn buying jag. Somebody stop me!

--Barbara

A Hundred Thousand Fruit Flies

Okay, maybe just a hundred but when I went out to tie up the garage garbage bag to put it out for pick-up tomorrow a huge cloud of fruit flies rose up out of the bag and engulfed me. Yuk. That explains the fruit flies that are buzzing around in the house lately. I consistently put food garbage out in the garage bag so that I don't have an infestation in the house but I guess I should have put the bag full of apple cores and banana peels out for pick-up sooner. Maybe it'll freeze soon and kill all the little pests off.

A quartet of Sparrows landed on the birdbath and it looked like they were discussing whether to all jump in for a communal bath but by the time I got the camera up these two were all that were left and the one is about to fly away. I don't have much luck photographing wildlife these days. I looked up from a yoga pose this morning to find the cat standing at the edge of the patio staring at me then it sauntered over to the birdbath and stood on its hind legs for a drink. Naturally I was in the middle of my yoga practice so I couldn't grab the camera. Drat.

Last week I was at The Clearing and they served the biggest breakfasts ever. Each morning there'd be a bowl of oatmeal with dried fruit, brown sugar, and cream, a bowl of fruit, some sort of egg thing, sausage or bacon, AND a muffin or coffee cake. Gluttony ensued on Monday and I ate it all then proceeded to feel sick all morning. After that I skipped the oatmeal and just ate the "good stuff." This is my normal breakfast--yogurt, granola, fruit, and coffee--a more reasonable amount of food to start the day. Although I do miss the homemade breads and the camaraderie of my excellent roommates and the writing women. I sat working on a manuscript this afternoon and missed having cda to bounce ideas and questions off of.

This evening I went downstairs to wind up a hank of sock yarn into a cake so I could cast on another sock. I started winding it and it broke, so I found the end, tied it on, and started winding again. It broke again. I eventually had eight ends and realized that the yarn was defective and not a good candidate for knitting a sock since I don't want to put in all that work only to have the darned yarn break and destroy all my work. I threw it away. It broke my heart but I threw it away.

I took a walk this afternoon and when I rounded the second corner from home I saw these trees had suddenly burst into color. It was a gorgeous afternoon, warm and sunny, so the colored leaves were a pleasant surprise.

The sedum up on the retaining wall is still blooming. The pink variety is just about done but these burgundy ones are still going strong.

The next page in the 3-D drawing book was the first "R" page so I drew the letter five different ways but then I pulled out my favorite 10-Steps: Nature book and drew this feather. I wasn't at all sure that I'd have much luck drawing it but I like the way it turned out. My colored pencil-ing seems to be improving.

I forgot to find something to toss today. Oh, wait a minute, I tossed out that broken yarn so I didn't forget. Yay, me!

--Barbara

But No Squirrel

 Just as I snapped the shutter button the squirrel dropped off the peanut wreath and scampered through the wide spot in the fence so all I'm left with is a picture of the peanut wreath with a few remaining peanuts. *sigh*

The gold mums are lagging behind in the blooming but are doing their level best to catch up. This is another color that I love. Maybe I should snip a few gold flowers and a few terracotta flowers and make myself a bouquet.

I pulled out the Sketching book that I bought on Saturday this afternoon and filled the page with little quick sketches of things in the book and on the table. It was fun but I should have colored some of them because they look a little dull. Oh well.

I cast on another washcloth this evening and knitted a few rows just to start it. I'm calling it Guacamole because of the colors.

Then I worked on the Autumn Desert cap. In real life it's hard to see where I'm switching yarns every three rounds but it's a little more visible in the photo. I don't really care, it'll look fine when I'm done.

OMG, I had such a day. I sold four copies of The Seaview--one to my hair stylist, one to her next client, one to JR my used car guy, and one to his mechanic. I was gobsmacked that people actually paid for it, one of them a complete stranger. Amazing!

I have to start talking up Horizon. It's another story about a widow and her adventures in life, love, and watercolors. You should read it too.

Today's toss was a couple rolls of washi tape that don't fit in my tape case and are too wide to use in my Bullet Journal.

--Barbara

So I Filled the Birdfeeders

 And the peanut wreath and I didn't see one bird or squirrel to take a picture of. I did see the peanut wreath swinging back and forth so I assume that a squirrel had just dropped off of it but I didn't see it so I can't prove it.

Dad's rose is blooming again. It seems to send out one blossom at a time. I guess it doesn't want to overwhelm me with an embarrassment of flowers. Or it doesn't want me picking the excess blooms to have inside where I can enjoy them but they don't last very long. Anyway, here's the latest.

The terracotta mums are all blossomed out too. I'm very tempted to snip off a handful to put in a vase but that would make the mound of them look odd so I'm leaving those out there to enjoy in the wild too.

The next lesson in the 30 Seconds book is Arches. I didn't have too much trouble drawing them today but never managed to draw them under the time limit in the book. I guess that I don't sketch, I draw, so that means I'm deliberate, not daring. At least I managed to get them all drawn today. I confess that I put the book at the back of the pile even though there are two more figures to draw in the skills level portion of the lesson. For some reason this book isn't doing it for me this time through. Maybe I'll get out some of my new drawing books to see if one of them is inspiring.

Speaking of my new drawing books, here they are. There are six of them and you can see that each one has a bright orange sticker on it. Some of them were originally $19.95, others were $14.95 but I bought them for $4.95 and $3.95. See why I had to bring them all home?

I cast on another cap tonight. The two yarns I'm using are Autumn Trails and Desert Spring so I think I'm calling this one Autumn Desert since Autumn Spring sounds very wrong. Who cares what I call it, I knitted the ribbing in the Autumn yarn and now I've added a few rounds of the Desert yarn. I'll switch back to the browner yarn for the next few rounds and switch back and forth to make a striped hat. Juggling dangling yarn is a bit of a pain but it'll look good when I'm done.

Being a good Green Bay-ite I checked the Packers score and discovered that they won in overtime. Good job! I don't watch the games but I like it when they win. Does that make any sense? And I didn't get outside in time for the flyover--again.

I talked to Aunt B this morning. She said that their house flooded during Hurricane Ian and their cars are destroyed. Her son came and got them and they've got temporary housing for a few months until they get their place figured out. I'm just glad that they're physically all right. That was a happy phone call.

Today I had two requests for a Seaview sequel, not something I ever thought of. So I sat down and did a little brainstorming on the laptop. I can't say that I had any brilliant ideas but at least I'm thinking about it.

--Barbara

Back In One Piece

Not that there was ever a question about whether I'd make it back but I got home from The Clearing at about 11AM today and by 12:30PM I had unloaded, unpacked, tossed the dirties down the laundry chute, got my computer set up again, and put my suitcase and milk crate away. Whew! It was a beautiful sunny day today, a day that we'd have given money to have early in the week when it was rainy and so chilly I went to the TC bookstore on Tuesday and bought myself two more warm, long-sleeved shirts so that I could maybe get warm. I was very glad to have my alpaca fingerless mitts to wear when I was writing Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday it started to warm up a bit, was even better on Friday, and today it was nearly 70 degrees. Oh well, I survived and got two new tops out of it. This is me on Sunday in the middle of the Labyrinth--before it started raining.

This was my writing spot for the week. I was glad that I took a little adjustable table with me so that I could plug my laptop in, adjust the height so that it was just right when I sat on my bed, and there was room between my bed and BAW's bed for me to leave it up all week.

For years there was a carved dragon's head sticking out of a tree on the path to the Workshop but last year someone stole it. I know! The nerve. This year someone carved a new dragon's head and added two little dragons and it's back in the tree on the path.

I took my knitting when we went back to the classroom to visit and play games at night after supper and over three nights I finished the Country Meadows Cap. I really like the way it turned out. Can't wait to cast on the next version. Maybe tomorrow.

When I got home there were two big, heavy cartons waiting for me and inside were my author's copies of The Seaview and Horizon. I promised my car guy and friend JR that I'd bring copies up for him to buy so I guess that's what I'll be doing on Monday. This is so exciting! I'm thinking that I might approach the library and maybe the local bookstores, if I get up the nerve.

I didn't draw a thing while I was gone so I was happy to get back to the sketchbook this afternoon. First I drew a Tern out of Draw Like An Artist...

...then I went to Hobby Lobby (which I try not to patronize but they have lots more drawing books than Michaels) and I found six of them (6!) for less than $5 each. I had to buy them. So I opened one of them and it's about learning to quickly sketch things which I'd like to learn so I drew these bowling pins.

This evening I got out my watercolors and made this painting of some red nasturtiums that were cascading over a wall near my cabin. They turned out okay. I might try them again and make more of the wall, if I can figure out how.

I guess that's everything. I'm sad to be away from my friends and the writing workshop but I'm glad to be home and back in my little nest. Can't have it both ways, I guess. 

Hope you and PR survived the hurricane, Aunt B. I'm thinking about you.

--Barbara