finally got ox gall

and a palette knife
more paper too

and approximately 48 mpg on the prius
which as a passenger is uncomfortable
due to no left arm rest
as a driver it's not bad except i felt like i was sitting in a hole

now onto studio news
i have finished a fourth frog in the series
i have two more to go but no reference right now

i am however going to revisit some goddesses/female myths
as a series
probably a horizontal format and maybe larger
(and i'm also looking at studio easels with a smaller footprint then mine has------ which is lost someplace in the recesses of the basement)

i would like to do half sheet painting (15X22) and full sheet paintings 22x20.........
so i need to get a big easel up here soon

ok now this morning (it is finally spring!) i transplanted some pansies and that petunia, and some baby lettuces (from the planter i seeded two weeks ago)
i've got more to transplant and some spinach too
a tiny bit at a time

i am also starting to get a bit used to my fawnie not being around....i miss her so much
sometimes i don't realize and i call her
the others still are looking and crying for her
it's so heartbreaking
i miss my ducks and budgies and mr quail too
i wish i could give mrs quail a friend ........... but with my health this rough .....no new poultry or cats
i may get the captain a friend but probably just one
he's doing ok again now-- however he does miss birdie friends
i play youtube budgie videos for him a few times a week

so that's about it
i have work to do
i am procrastinating
as i am still recovering from that fall and i tire very easily
i hope all of you are well and it's good weather where ever you are

i am hoping

that life can settle down again now
stuff is still up in the air for some things
however i took today to work ON the studio
washing brushes..... rearranging stuff
general things......

we got some plants yesterday that i am hoping to paint
*two pansies and a petunia*

they will be in the house for a bit as we got them, but then we got snow and tonight is going to be frost!
i am going to be lighting the woodstove in a few

i am having a dilemma, over my irl name for the domain or should i go with duck?
folks call me duck.....
(which makes me laugh whenever they do, i do actually like it)
or folks call me vi
which i am so very used to for 15 years now

i got a new site all set up that is optimized for mobile (it's not live yet though)
i need business cards now too
oye
and the other day while i was down at B&N i was trying to get my color nook fixed so that i could use it as a digital gallery and could organize the photos in an order i could live  with....... the 'expert' there was less then helpful
(and a bit of an attitude as well.....i sure wasn't impressed)

so now what?

a new to us car

after bugging bernie for forever......we have bought a PRIUS
it's the smallest entry level one
it's a 2013
we got a good deal on it
(i hope it's a good car, as it is 6K below list which makes me wonder)
we traded in my beloved van for it
plus put savings on it
and financed part (my calculations seem to indicate that due to the gas savings, we will in reality only be paying about 50.00 a month extra )
we're expecting in two years to get a second car and/or upgrade this one
i will miss my van so much
but the gas savings are not to be sneezed at

painting continues

i'm about half way through the orchid painting on black paper
it's ok
i'll see how it goes

i am thinking too, it's time to go back to a 'big' painting
something like wood ducks that is involved and takes a while
and is a part of a series
i would really like frogs
but i haven't gotten any to study so frogs it isn't at the moment

as the weather is warming up, i am getting a bit better, the neti pot is working on my allergies for the most part
i am trying to adjust to life after fawn
and after falstaff, phoebe, and the budgies

life isn't the same at all here
it's so much quieter

this week bernie has to take a trip through work for a seminar, and we arent' looking forward to it
i'll be without a vehicle
we're going to keep the ducks and chickens in, and double feed and water everyone

we talked about it and decided that risking another fall for me was not an option
so that is our solution

oh and i got some lightbulbs!

i hope you all are enjoying the weather where ever you are

i'm painting again

while i wait for a frog
i am working on an orchid on black paper
in gouache
cause apparently i have totally lost my mind

so i have laid in two of the flowers on the spike (my birthday orchid)
and i am continuing with the painting

i realize now that the lighting issue has become critical in the studio
and that the next burst of energy i get i need to finish with the rearrangement
as it's still awkward and it hurts my shoulder

spring has finally come it seems to us
for which i am grateful
although the furnace is continuing to run off and on
capt cuttle is touch and go
and thaddeaus peabody has had to be outsmarted again
this time with cardboard covering the screen door from the studio to the main house as he's figured out how to scale it and go through the screen

he's sleeping with me every night now and i am sleeping so much better
but he thinks he can go sleep with bernie during the day and he just can't

bernie's birthday came and went
he had a problem with the van....the power steering went
so we had to take it in for an emergency repair
(he couldn't do it in the driveway )
i think we really need another car

next week the van is going in for some much needed body work
while bernie is at a seminar
i'll be on my own with no wheels
in case of emergency

so that's what is happening in my neck of the woods

how about you folks?

continuing on

spring has finally arrived here in the mountains......
i saw snowdrops by the duck pens
it goes my heart good
today it is so warm out that i broadcast lettuce seeds.....the other day i broadcast some spinach
we'll see

thaddeaus peabody has taken to busting out of the studio ( he really is a card that one)
and coming up to sleep with me
we've decided that this is a good thing as i've been having problems sleeping lately
except when he's up there
i still am not sleeping well but i sleep better and stay asleep a bit longer
calpurrnia isn't interested in coming up so it's the boy only

in studio news:
i finished the study/painting of the shells......
it was done in watercolor with colored pencil
everyone seems to have liked it so while i don't think it would make a print on it's own
i think it maybe would make a card
next up..my birthday orchid as i don't have frogs yet
and my new work surface is wonderful- but i must deal with the lighting as soon as i can

this week is bernie's birthday....... it's a biggie--- 60!
and no one thought we'd last together past maybe a year!

other odds and ends:  my fibro is wandering around my body......my back is better only to have my wrist in pain
oye
capt cuttle is still hanging in there
i am not sure if he's better or worse
the others seem to be ok

and i am about to attempt to start some flower seeds

so that's it
that is the news
 take good care everyone

another month

april started with snow......
and with what looks to be another pending loss here
capt cuttle isn't doing well
i have hopes but not many as he wasn't doing well when stella died
but then rallied and i thought he'd be ok

i am meanwhile working on what may be a study of small shells that blaidd sent from florida....
i'm almost done
i couldn't use my arm to lift the paint brush so instead i just did watercolor washes with color pencil rendering
they (in the painting) don't look anything like the models
i am hoping for 'representational of the species'
sounds good right?

my birthday was subdued ..... i got a few wonderful presents and cards
lots of well wishes
a cake!
and a quiet day (bernie was sleeping as he'd worked the night before)
bern got me a miniature orchid so that's my next painting.....
(currently with the rush to paint the backlog i am just doing what i have and not worried about series too much, however i do miss doing my series)
maybe i'll do a series of just the orchid next.....different views?

in other local news, the up hill neighbor has put their house up for sale
i said that they were going to
i hope the next neighbor is at least civil .......... or stays on their side of the line and minds their own business

so basically that's all the news here
i've been having some rough nights with allergies and fibro pain
thaddeaus is sneaking up here and there to come sit with me
the little shit came up (with some help from daddy) this morning but started to stick his nose all over under the bed and such......then sneezed like crazy...only to do it again somewhere else in the room
i had bernie bring him down and i followed

now folks are telling me spring has come to their houses......but not in this area yet
so i hope soon
it's been a long cold hard winter here

i hope where ever you folks are.....spring has come to you