The Days of Dirty Snow

It's March and the snow keeps melting a little every day. The birds and the rabbits and the squirrels are doing their best to dig down to the fallen seed under the feeder so I've got a wide area of dirty snow in the backyard. It isn't very attractive but it does attract birds. Before these Mourning Doves arrived and stayed long enough to have their picture taken, a Cardinal stopped for a heartbeat, and a couple Robins paid a glancing visit.

I thought it was appropriate that the next page in Draw 500 Flowers showed these stylized daffodils since the real daffodils are doing their best to sprout and send up some shy little buds in the front yard.

When I looked out at the bed next to the patio I was surprised and please to see the tiny day lily sprouts there too. This is a no-sun zone so I'm impressed that things are popping up.

The next critter in Dr. Seuss's Book of Animals was this creature with eight legs. I don't know what it's supposed to be, something imaginary of course, but it turned out okay.

I'm happier with today's Daily Practice. This is the little pot of fake succulents that I bought at Michaels yesterday. Not the same, not even similar to what the teacher painted. She used very thick paint, used watercolor like gouache, but I just stuck with the transparency of watercolor and I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Once again I spent a lot of the afternoon trying to learn how to set up an Amazon ad only to discover that because I checked the box that the books weren't for kids under 18 I'm not allowed to advertise them. Evidently they interpret that to mean that the books have "adult" content. Sheesh. That meant that I had to go back into Kindle Create and uncheck that box and then restart the review process. I tried to redo the cover of Better Than Mom's because one of my friends said she thought they'd sent her a cookbook when she got her copy but I can't figure out how to change the picture, only the layout, and I couldn't find one that I liked better than what I have. Some days I feel like I'm wading blindfolded through thigh deep water. I'll figure it out one of these days.

And I frogged (ripped out) the Ozarks Cap. It was growing wider at an alarming rate so I yanked out the needles and turned the yarn back into balls. It's better that way. I also put the bag of yarn into the toss box. I've tried to knit something with that yarn more than once and it always grows too big. I'm through with it. Now I have to find something to knit on Friday night once I finish the sock toe.

--Barbara

This is the Day We Wash Our Clothes

Today turned out to be laundry day. I went downstairs to sort the laundry in the chute and found that it was almost full so after sorting it I just threw in the first load. There are no pictures of my dusty, cobwebby laundry area but, trust me, all of my clothes but the ones I'm sitting in are sparkling clean. Not folded, but clean. Folded will happen later. When I run out of socks in a few days.

I am surprised to see that the day lily that's right up against the brick on the front of the house is also sprouting and wasn't hurt by the cold and snow last week.

I flipped through Sketching and stopped at a page of doodles. I like the clump of flowers but I really like the phalanx of singing bald guys. The author/artist made them smiling guys but I'm the one that made them sing.

The next lesson in the Daily Practice was to paint a bouquet. It went okay. I especially like the way the vase turned out and I like the little purple flowers.

Most of the day I spent reading this book. It's in English but I must confess that most of what it says makes little to no sense to me. I watched two YouTube videos about making Amazon Ads and they made a little sense. What I really need is someone with experience to sit down with me and guide me through making my first ad, explaining ACOS and other acronyms which loom large in the videos and manual. Gah!

I went over to Michaels this afternoon looking for a little pot of fake succulents because that's the next Daily Practice lesson which I watched and discovered that they don't show what she's painting very much and there isn't an image in the pdf's that I printed off so I want to have something to look at when I paint. It isn't exactly what she's painting but it's similar and I can deal with it. And it was on clearance. Plus I had a coupon. Score!

--Barbara

The First Day of Spring

Today might be the first day of Spring but the winter harbinger birds are still here and busily seeking fallen seed. The Juncos are daily visitors and they are diligently prospecting for something to eat. I do think that they're courting, though. I saw a couple of them flying around together and that usually means romance.

For further signs of Spring I only have to look out the front door and there are the hyacinth sprouts with the tiniest nose of a bud poking out. I was afraid that last week's 10 inches of snow would discourage or wilt them but they stayed strong and emerged as the snow melted away.

The daffodils were buried even deeper but they're doing alright too.

I drew the next page in Draw 500 Flowers today. I got confident and drew with a liner pen instead of starting with a pencil and then tracing over it. Then I dug out a brush pen to fill them all in. I especially like the bell flowers on the bottom.

The next flower in Watercolor Flowers the Easy Way was a Bird of Paradise. I had to draw the petals first because she had me wet one petal, drop in color, let it dry, and then move on to the next petal. I'm not very patient so I did every other petal so the paint didn't bleed, let them dry, and then moved on to the next ones. I like the way it turned out.

I knitted on the Ozarks Cap tonight but I'm considering ripping it out, casting on fewer stitches (or going to a smaller needle), and starting again. It's getting pretty big. I want it to fit a normal size head, not a Yeti.

DS texted me that he and the kids were coming to play at a park in my neighborhood and did I want to join them. Of course! So I got to spend an hour or so watching the kids play in the snow and visiting with DS. It was fun but my feet still haven't warmed up. Maybe I should make some hot chocolate. Or would that keep me awake?

I spent a lot of the day trying to figure out the story arc of The Seaview 2. I had a hard time ignoring what I've already written. I am so not a planner when I write a novel. This is hard.

--Barbara

A Sunny Drive

I decided to wait until after lunch to drive up to Sturgeon Bay to visit Other Worlds Books & More. The owners were gracious and enthusiastic, and bought two of each of my books to put in their store. They want to invite me up for an author signing and they will be hosting tour buses this summer that they want "their" authors to be there for. Sounds interesting and like fun. Can't wait.

It was bright and sunny today, a perfect day for a drive. Lots of Sparrows visited the round feeder this morning and a few Chickadees were among them but too quick for pictures. A Robin visited the birdbath but because it was frozen it flew away. Still no picture, dang it.

I pulled out 10-Steps: Flowers to see what the next blossom was and it was a spray of Jasmine. It was a more complicated drawing than I anticipated but I took my time and drew and erased until I was happy with what I had. 

The USPS delivered the gouache watercolors that I ordered from Michaels this afternoon so I was able to try my hand at the next painting in the Daily Practice class on Creativebug. I didn't have the exact colors that she had and I didn't paint as many flowers but I think it turned out okay. And now you know where I got the idea for yesterday's daisies on black paper from.

I reread the argument pieces from The Seaview 2 this afternoon when I got home and wasn't able to see how to improve them. I guess I'll let them marinate for a few days and then take another look at them.

I've been chilled all afternoon and finally dug out a shawl and put it on. So much better. I never understand how come I get cold when I'm wearing a shirt with a sweater over it but I do. Must be getting old.

--Barbara

Brrr!

It was sunny today but, man, was it cold and windy. I was so happy that I put on my longies when I got dressed for the market. I thought it was supposed to be cloudy so I was very happy to see the sunshine this morning. Not so happy when I got out of the car to walk into the market and the wind slammed into me but, hey, I'm a hardy Wisconsin girl. I survived.

Speaking of the Market on Military, I had a good day. It started slow, real slow, I don't think I sold anything the first hour and a half but then I sold one, then another, then another, then one to my knitting friend MW, and finally I sold one of each to the same woman. Woohoo! I hit upon the perfect sales pitch for Better Than Mom's. I reminded people of the old sitcom Mel's Diner, saying that I had a sassy waitress and interesting customers. That did the trick. And I got to use my new Square credit card reader too! There's a small transaction fee but it's a small price to pay for selling a book.

I decided to try painting with white and light paints on black mixed media paper. I like the way it turned out. I won't be painting on black much but it's my first not-copied painting in weeks.

Then I spent part of the afternoon working on the argument scene for The Seaview 2. I like it a little better and it's more physical, not quite as much dialogue. I'll keep working on it.

I didn't draw today. I just wasn't in the mood. Being at the market and being "on" for 4 hours is surprisingly tiring. Tomorrow I get to drive up to Sturgeon Bay to get my books in another bookstore. Yay!

--Barbara

Windy!

Man, it was windy today. Still is. I stopped to fill up with gas and stood out there in that cold wind shivering and wishing that the gas pumped faster. Now I have a full tank of gas for my Sunday trip to Sturgeon Bay to visit the bookstore. But the sun came out around lunchtime and it got sunnier as the day wore on. It got colder too but sunnier is the best part.

I stopped at Zambaldi Beer on my way to the gas station and grocery store (which was actually way out of my way) to drop off LC's repaired hoodie and found DS teaching his new assistant how to clean the brew system. There was water everywhere and in the middle of the floor was this barrel with foam coming out of the bung hole. Seems when you put carbonated beer into a barrel the carbonation has to come out. That makes sense.

I wasn't very motivated today so I only drew one page from Draw 500 Flowers. I was supposed to use a black liner pen to draw them and partly fill them in but I just couldn't be bothered.

After supper I dragged out my paints and an old photo to try again to make a decent picture. It's better than the last time I tried painting this, it's not good, but it's better. I think I was in too much of a hurry and didn't let the paint dry enough before adding the next layer. I'll do better next time.

At Friday Night Knitting I knitted the foot of the Trekking sock to time to start the toe decreases. I didn't get many rounds of decreases done so it isn't very noticeable but I'm there and the end is in sight.

I spent most of the afternoon trying to write an argument between two of the characters in The Seaview2. I wasn't very successful, at least I don't think I was. Seems I'm not a good arguer. More thinking needs to happen.

Tomorrow is the Market on Military again and this time I've got copies of  Better Than Mom's all ready to sell and my Square scanner doodad so I can take credit cards if someone asks. Watch, now that I have that thing no one will ask. Ah well, it was free.

--Barbara

Not a Ray

There was no sunshine today. Not a ray pierced the thick cloud cover. I hate dreary days like this. They make me feel low and I don't have much enthusiasm for anything.

There was a good amount of bird activity this morning. First there was a Downy Woodpecker on the round feeder, then a Nuthatch showed up. Naturally I was doing yoga and couldn't stop to snap pictures. Finally a Cardinal came by and spent some time in the seed pit in the snow. It was in the low 40s most of the day so the snow melted quite a bit.

It started raining in the afternoon and I captured the raindrop rings in the birdbath. Remember four days ago there was 10" of snow on top of the frozen birdbath. How things change. Tonight's rain is supposed to turn to heavy snow later tonight which probably means that everything will freeze again and be slick as glass tomorrow. *sigh*

While I'm waiting for my paints to come from Michaels I went back to the first lesson of the Daily Practice class and repainted the straw flowers but this time I had the India ink and pen so I could draw the petals and leaf veins like the teacher did. Or tried to anyway. It looks okay, I think.

After my writing roundtable, which went well, I pulled out Seuss-isms and drew this web-footed creature from the page about feet. I like the smile on its beak and its tail. I'm not crazy about its feet. It's the curse of the bird feet!

I went downstairs looking for another skein of the Mulberry yarn that I used for the last hat I made and found two more skeins. Hooray! But I also found a skein and a half of this super bulky Ozarks yarn so I brought it up and cast on a hat. It looks big but I'm keeping going. I've got the ribbing done so it's too late to turn back.

I have a lot to think about after today's roundtable. I don't give my characters enough trouble, I've always known that, but I seem to have slacked off of it even more. I need to dream up some real problems for Rose and the Seaview before the next and last roundtable. Maybe I'll beef up the hurricane.

--Barbara