One Degree

That was the outside temperature when I got up this morning at around 8 o'clock. It catapulted up to eleven degrees around 1 o'clock. I went outside twice today. Once to deliver a couple books to my neighbor which means I walked maybe 25 feet, rang her doorbell, said hi to her and her kids, handed over the books, and walked back. The second time I went out to top up the birdbath because when the water freezes so much the heater is exposed. We don't want that. The furnace tech was here today to do tuneups on the furnaces which are working just fine, thank you very much. In fact, mine has been working overtime to keep me warm with the severe cold outside.

 

This morning I baked Mother Malcolm's Never-Fail Coffeecakes which made my house smell divine. Even the furnace tech commented on the aroma. They aren't very pretty. Two of them split, two didn't, but not too much filling oozed out. I was smart and put them on parchment paper so the little oozing that happened didn't bake sugar onto the baking sheet. All four of them have a destination so I won't be tempted to eat them all. Well, I'm tempted but I won't do it. I'll get a little of a couple of them but I won't devour them.

 

Another Christmas cactus bud is blooming. It's pale, not like the previous one which was a lot pinker, only the tips of the petals are dark pink, but it's pretty. I like it. One more bud to go.

 

The Red-bellied Woodpecker showed up on the suet nuggets today. The lower the nuggets get, the more acrobatic the bird gets to hold on and still be able to peck out bites. It stays a little longer each time until it gets a good-size chunk and then it flies off. I wonder where it goes. Does it have a nest? Is it in a hole in a tree? 

 

Instead of painting today, I drew a Christmas tree and a Menorah. They were pretty fun to draw. All those candles on the Menorah were a challenge to keep them from leaning on each other but I erased a lot and finally managed something satisfactory.

 

Speaking of Christmas trees, I carried my weird wire tree upstairs, set it up, put on the topper (because it's attached to the tree and would be impossible to do after it's decorated), and plugged it in. I crossed my fingers hoping that some of the lights lit. Instead they all did! I have a light saver thingy and a Tupperware of replacement bulbs, but didn't need either one this year. Elves are coming on Saturday to help decorate the tree because I can't carry the bin with the ornaments upstairs anymore. Plus it'll be fun to have help. There's a "show" of a fireplace on Netflix with Christmas carols that I put on when I put up the tree. Festive. And no ashes to clean up.

 

I was carrying the basket of laundry to fold into the living room when I saw the sky. It was orange and pink so I braved the cold (for the third time) to take this picture. I was very fast, believe me. 

 

After the furnace tech left, I wrote on the back of all of the watercolor postcards and addressed some to friends and relatives. I'm so glad I have a box of envelopes that the postcards fit in. I'd hate for them to be ruined by the postal sorting machines. I decided to do a few every day so my mail carrier has something to look forward to. 

I wrote 1,133 words today, a big improvement over yesterday. I got into a dialogue groove and the words pretty much poured out. Very satisfying. 

The reason I was so busy and focused today is because today would have been Durwood and my 49th wedding anniversary. I thought about him a lot today and wished he was here, but healthy. Here's what we looked like 13 years ago today. We went out for a steak dinner and the waitress took our picture for us. Don't we look happy?

--Barbara 

Afternoon Sunshine

It wasn't sunshiny when I was taking pictures of wildlife, of course. It was dreary and overcast. I laughed when I saw the squirrel perched on the side of the square green feeder with its hind legs under the snow-laden lid. It was eating out of the feeder ports and holding on for dear life. 

 

A couple hours later it had figured out how to get in despite the snow load on the lid and was digging in the seed like crazy. Of course you can't see that but, trust me, it's little front paws were going like crazy piling seed up under its belly and I could see it munching away.

 

The first time I saw the Red-bellied Woodpecker it was on the square green feeder and it was sunny so it was well lit. The next time it was on the suet nuggets feeder and the drear was back so it was barely discernible. On the fifth shot it moved to the side just enough that I could see it and snap a picture. I had to brighten it up quite a bit so it didn't look like a blob. And it still looks pretty blob-y.

 

I painted four more postcards (2 triangle trees & 2 snowmen) this morning and think I might have enough. I have 26 of them, one of which I probably wouldn't send, but 25 might be sufficient. I signed them all and have to start writing on the back and addressing envelopes. Maybe I'll do that on Sunday while the city is paralyzed because of the Packers-Bears game at 3:25pm.  

 

After supper tonight I finished the top of Llama Mitten #2 and put the thumb stitches on DPNs (double pointed needles) and knitted a few rounds. I feel so awkward sliding the stitches from the holder to the needles and then picking up stitches to fill the gap on the hand side of the thumb but I manage to get it done with the help of a crochet hook and a few choice words.

 

After Jeopardy! (didn't get the Final) I drew a gratitude journal page. I'm most grateful for mixing up a batch of Mother Malcolm's Never-Fail Coffeecake dough. You have to make it the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Tomorrow while the furnace guy is here to do the annual tune-up, I'll finish the coffee cakes, keep one out, and freeze the rest so I don't eat them. All. In. One. Day. I haven't made them in years. I hope Mother Malcolm (Durwood's mom) is looking over my shoulder from heaven so they turn out. Please, Vi, I suspect I'll need all the help I can get. Don't worry, I'll post pictures.

 

Oh, it was cold today. I did the afternoon school run and the kids could walk to my car so I didn't have to get out and stand in the cold wind. I felt lazy and kind of bad about it but I was glad not to have to be out in the cold. And this morning I awoke to discover that my tenant had shoveled the little bit of snow we got yesterday off my driveway. Thank you, MD! I really appreciate it.

After the school run, I sat down to write. I made 670 words behave. It wasn't easy but I pinned those suckers to the page and made them hold still. The hardest part was figuring out how to let Rose hear what was going on with the guests. I think I managed it. I'll reread it tomorrow and see. 

--Barbara

A Better Day

Today wasn't quite as blah and dreary as yesterday. I know there was more light because the Red-bellied Woodpecker showed up this afternoon and when I edited its picture, I didn't have to brighten it up. Definitely an improvement. I'm surprised I haven't seen either the feeder-invading squirrel or the chubby squirrel lately. They must be around because there's footprints in the snow around the feeders but I haven't seen them.

 

I painted a few more Christmas postcards today. Two wreaths and one tree. I'm getting slightly better at painting the little leaves on the wreaths. For some reason they're hard for me to paint with one stroke like I see people demonstrate. Maybe I need to paint a whole lot more of them?

 

Tonight was the Writer's Guild Christmas meeting. We do a secret Santa book exchange. I wrapped up one of my novels and also one of my favorite books of writing prompts in case someone didn't bring one to swap. They played Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and we passed books from hand to hand, singing along, until the end of the first verse. Whichever book we had then was the one we kept. I got a copy of Mitch Albom's book The Little Liar. I look forward to reading it.

 

I went to the grocery today for bananas and grapes and also found 25lb. bags of ice melt salt. I was down to my last bucket of salt and with my slanted driveway that's something I can't be out of. So I bought two. Twenty-five pounds is heavy--twice. Fortunately the checker scanned them on the cart so I didn't have to hoist them up again. And the bin that I store them in is close to the rear of the car so I didn't have to carry them far once I got home. Whew. I'm glad I'm done with that.

Writing went a little better today too. I wrote 1,021 words in about an hour. I sent Cecelia, the grandma, off with her family and then Arturo, her Italian boyfriend wannabe, showed up to gum up the works. Her daughter-in-law, Sheila, definitely doesn't approve. Should be fun to write.

I also stripped the bed and put on fresh sheets. It'll be nice to sleep on a fresh-made bed tonight but I've gotta say that having a king-size bed is getting old. I feel like I need a golf cart to stretch the sheets around it. And there's only one of me so it feels like a lot of bed for one little old lady. Maybe in January I'll go to Verlo and buy a queen-size bed. I'll get a queen so I don't have to buy new sheets since there's a queen-size in the guest room. 

--Barbara 

A Blah Day

Today it was overcast all day and started snowing in the early afternoon and it's still snowing. Not a lot but enough to be really annoying. It made the compacted snow on the streets and sidewalks very slick and hard to walk on.

 

I was lucky enough to see the Red-bellied Woodpecker on the suet nuggets feeder this morning. At first it was on the back side so I could just see its tail and the top of its head when it leaned over to peck at the nuggets. But I was patient and it moved around to the side so I could see all of it. You can see how dreary it was today by how dim the picture is.

 

The mail carrier brought me a box of bookmarks. I'm running low on them and I got fooled by an email saying 30% off so I ordered the bookmarks only to discover that the discount was only on envelopes. Tsk. I chose the least expensive shipping and they won't go to waste. Sometimes I'm a burden to myself.

 

Tonight I finished knitting the Landscapes Leftovers Hat. I have a few yards of the rainbow color yarn left but I was afraid I'd run out so I started the crown decreases. I probably could have knitted another round, maybe two, but it's better to have a little left over than to run out before you're done. It's small, probably kid-size, but I like it.

 

This morning I had a Zoom with cda. She gave good comments on the pages of the new Seaview story I shared with her. She shared a nostalgic piece about Christmas in the 1950s that really took me back to childhood. I met a few members of the St. Agnes Class of 1965 for our monthly lunch. They were all very impressed that I got caught speeding on Thanksgiving.

I tried writing this afternoon and mostly got nowhere. It's so demoralizing when that happens, when the words just don't come. Makes me sad and kinda depressed. I guess I shouldn't complain. I had 36 straight days of words coming pretty easily. I should be grateful.

--Barbara 

 

 

Not So Snowy

According to the voice on the shelf in my kitchen, we got about 4" of snow yesterday. That meant the big red snowblower and I had a job to do this morning. I procrastinated until after the snowplow had been down my side of the street--twice--before going out to clear the plow drift and the driveway. I even managed not to have the snow blow in my face much. Sometimes that's a difficult trick.

 

Before snowblowing, I went out back to top up the birdbath and it took over half a gallon of water to fill it to just overflowing. I always think that the heater will melt the snow enough to keep it wet but mostly it doesn't.

 

The Christmas cactus has two more big buds getting ready to bloom. The first flower is fading fast but these two are coming up, going to be ready pretty soon.

 

Today was the last official day of Novel November. I wrote 1,119 words today (fewer than I'd hoped) for a grand total of 55,617 for the challenge. Again I will confess that I started a few days early because of having a vendor or book fair every Saturday all month, but still that's a good total for 36 days. That averages out to 1,545 words a day. Lower than the recommended 1,667 per day, but still not bad.

 

I had to paint more postcards today. The red one with the shadowy tree dabbed out of it didn't turn out the way the demo looked but I tried. The mistletoe ones turned out pretty well and the red ornament one is the best. I keep finding other designs to try but think I'll stick with the simplest ones. I'm better at those.

 

And I sat down to draw a gratitude journal page for today. I'm most grateful for my big red snowblower. I'd be in a world of hurt if I had to shovel the driveway. Actually if I had to shovel it, I'd hire someone to do it.

 

I got another one of those "I run a reading group and if you pay us we'll read your book" emails but it had a lot of interesting comments about Christmas at Seaview in it. So I copied out the comments and used them to redo the keywords of the book. I also lowered the price of the eBook and paperback because I thought they were too high for a 111-page book. We'll see if they sell better at a more reasonable price.

I also added up the total $ of the books I sold at the various vendor and book fairs we've done. I was surprised to learn that yesterday's fair was the only one where I didn't earn my booth fee or better. That was a nice surprise. It pays to keep good records. 

--Barbara 

Snowy

The weather guessers predicted inches of snow to fall today. I was very nervous because I had a vendor fair in DePere, about 6 miles from my house, and I knew the roads would be slick or with deep snow when we got done. It didn't start snowing until later than they predicted and it's that small flake stuff that's wet and heavy and slippery, but it isn't piling up the way they threatened. Whew. I drove home very carefully after the fair and made it just fine with only a few instances when I felt my tires slip. Whew. Oh, and my snow brush was in the garage. Not handy for wiping off the car when I went to load and leave. It's in the car now.

 

When I got home this little Sparrow was sitting quietly on the snowy patio, hopping forward every once in a while. No birds were on the feeders, just this one little guy in the snow.

 

Once I had the car unloaded and all my stuff back in the house, I sat down and totted up how many books I've sold in all of the fairs I've been in since October 5 when this whole thing started. Today was the lowest sales day, I sold only 2 books. It just wasn't my day. Then I came back here to write the day's words. I was tired and a little discouraged, and only got to 781 words in an hour. That's okay, I'm happy with the way it's going and I've left myself somewhere to go when I sit down to write tomorrow, which is the last day of the Novel November challenge.

 

Just before I closed the patio drapes I looked out at the birdbath and realized that it's frozen up all the water. I should have gone out to fill it up but didn't want to go downstairs for the big boots so I'm hoping it'll be okay overnight. It's supposed to get really, really cold on Monday and Tuesday so I'll have to go fill it before then. And it's still snowing.

 

It was a long, boring day at the vendor fair. Thank goodness that GBB and EMB were there to talk to. There weren't a lot of customers, probably because of the threat of the weather, and those that came weren't interested in my books, dang it. I have one more vendor fair on December 14 and then I'll be done for a while. Maybe forever until the next book fair. Decisions need to be made.

--Barbara

More

I can't stop painting Christmas postcards. Some are better than others. I'm not totally thrilled with the balls because the glittery paint doesn't show well unless you turn the cards in the light. I love the snowman, wreath, and triangle tree. Maybe I'll paint more of those. I have lots of blank watercolor paper postcards to play with.

 

This morning the chubby squirrel landed on top of the square green feeder again looking confused but unable to figure out how to get to the birdseed. It tried a few times, leaping from the suet cakes feeder to the top of the crook and then to the square feeder lid, and finally gave up and went away.

 

I was very glad to have my little character notebook today when I was writing. I wanted a couple who met in the Christmas novella to come back to get married in Anguilla in this next book but I couldn't remember their names. Notebook to the rescue! Today's word count was 1,535. Not too shabby.

 

At Friday Night Knitting first I finished the hand and top decreases of Llama Mitten #2. I didn't have my tools with me so I couldn't finish the top off and move on to working the thumb. Maybe I'll do that Sunday.

 

Then I picked up the Landscapes Leftovers Hat and knitted that to the crown decreases. I might have enough yarn after all since the rounds are getting shorter all the time now. Fingers crossed.

 

I got the car loaded this morning. I put the back seats down then loaded up the table and my folding chair first, then the book backpack, the tote of miscellaneous supplies, the book rack, and the poster. I have to take everything out before the table can come out. I suppose I could load things the opposite way, with the books, etc. in the back and the table in front. Maybe I'll try that next time. There's only one more time after tomorrow. I think I'm glad.

--Barbara