upon reflection

I hope you folks all go HERE and watch this, as i think she's got a good point
i wondered today how many twists and turns have led all of us to where we are now?
i know for me, as a kid i wanted to be an artist on a farm
art wasn't easy for me, as there wasn't any place for me to actually make art, to paint or such
i had to find a way around that
it wasn't encouraged much
actually a lot of the time it was discouraged as my father wanted me to be a secretary.
my mom's uncle issac who also was an artist however DID encourage me. (and i recently found his only grandchild, my cousin candi)

when i finally landed in art school, my instructors (all working artists ) told me i was good, and with a live model or from life, really really good but i was uneven
and i knew they were right
i didn't know what to do about it however.
it turns out time was the answer as it is for so many other things
time
all this time doing other art, first graphics, then dolls & miniatures, then package design for my toiletries company.
all the while my eye was maturing, (yes bonnie NOW i do have a good eye, when i was younger it was there but at times it was obscured)
when i went back to my illustration roots last year, i wasn't sure what i had matured into.
i figured i would be rusty and need to loosen up my hand/eye so to speak
i am almost there
but i discovered a mature artist that i really like! i didn't expect that.
i didn't expect to be able to see how a drawing is progressing and when to stop
or where it needed more. i can do that now and it blows me away after i realize that i made a conscious decision to add darks here or leave off there......because it is WHAT WAS NEEDED
the fact that now i know
i remember not having a clue when i was younger
i wish i could go back to my younger self, and say......
'look, you have a lot of living and looking and 'seeing' to do..... life has to beat you up a bit and soften your edges so that you can understand how to make it all work'

it's the coolest thing to look at what i've done and say 'it's good but the darks need to be developed'
and i realize it!
i ask you guys for opinions, but a lot of the time, it's just validation of what i already know (and sometimes you folks don't answer me, but i keep going)
LOOK at how smart you get when you age! maybe it's cause all the perky shit needs to fall out of the way so the smarts can get in?

anyway, there is a benefit to aging, that i didn't expect and this is it.
now that isn't to say i don't suffer bouts of artist fears, oh boy do i
i got through periods convinced i am a no-talent hack but on a level a bit different then a lot of folks
and what gets me through that is remembering
i am doing this all for fun
and if nothing comes out of it
it was still fun
i learned stuff
when you have to draw something i think you see it much differently. i know i do
i can't draw something unless i am really seeing it
i have to somehow feel it in my bones
then i can draw it

i think that deep seeing is some of the stuff that keeps an artist hooked (that and always the thought, 'i CAN do better then that')
each time you start a drawing or a painting is the opportunity to learn more, to connect more.
each time you learn more you are anxious to see what you can do with it

when i did those ducks with the leaves, i did it a few ways.....first the ducks themselves
then the ducks on an abstract faintly leaf shape (still my favorites of the color work) then the ducks on a 'real' leaf then the black and white
i settled on the blk and white as the way to go but that abstract leaf shape background was a go also, if i wanted to go in that direction
the fun was seeing how the idea looked in all the different expressions
and it WAS fun for me
so much so that i am attempting (as you all saw me fail miserably ) to do with the polar bear one..... the original black and white is very sparce but i think visually wonderful
(i can't get a good scan of it as it's too big for the scanner bed) i am going to do it again a few more times in color.... and maybe once more in black and white and see
i still have the original one with the killer whales which is sparce like the original polar bear drawing
oye
this is what i mean by being rusty and loosening up......... i literally ran through all the ways i drew from when i was drawing actively and went beyond it to what i am probably going to be doing for this section of drawing life.
*** i can't WAIT to see what i will sculpt like now as well....... i imagine larger and with a ton more soul***

i am also thinking of doing some still lifes (even though i don't really enjoy them ) as i want to relearn how to *see* glass and water...... (and goldfish)
and instead of thinking

'groan.......damn i don't want to have to do that'

i am thinking

'how freeken cool is THAT to revisit sunlight on glass and water...... or even gray light THROUGH glass and water'

ok i told you all mine.......... now
what brought you folks to your present state in life? what is your learning? how do you see things differently as you have matured?

progress but i have to wait to work on it until my hand is better

ok here are the two 'big black & whites'.........so how do you all think they compare?

not quite alive...... but not quite dead yet

first off i didn't sleep, between thaddeaus sneezing on my head and BERNIE snoring...... yup up watching the clock.
then my hand is still killing me, my thumb is a bit better but my wrist is not happy, and the whole hand is swollen
oye
no drawing today

since i couldn't draw yesterday i read the book 'the immortal life of henrietta lacks' (amazon has it for like 15.00 or so) this is the new one.
and i would recommend everyone read it
then imagine this lady as your mom or sister or daughter
this story does need to be told
i know PERSONALLY of two people who have worked with the HeLa cells....hands on so to speak.
and we all know of the advances in medicine since the 50's
all due to these cells
read the book

bernie's second dvd of his three part bd present is at the po, and as soon as i finish my coffee and my blog post i am going to go and get it for him
thankfully my mongol queen book is in there as well.

i have to say, i am a very very fast reader, and i always was- voracious is more like it.
i tend to devour books.
when i was sick in bed,(too many times over the course of my life)  first my dad, then bernie would get me books by measuring how thick they were.... 2" for a paper back would hold me about a day or so
and it didn't matter to them after a while what the subject was...as long as it was thick and in english
that's how i ended up reading all of dickens
anyway, i have to tell you.......... i had sort of given up buying books, as we ran out of space, and we couldn't afford it..... folks would give me books here and there, i reread what i have (my personal library actually fills the entire house......don't ask as it is embarrassing) well lately, i have been buying books again....
it started slowly, mostly used books ( there should be a 12 step program for bibliophiles)
but now i have been getting books at borders and b&n, both online and at the stores....and amazon as well.
( i don't like the new owner of the used book store that i used to go to so i don't frequent her anymore)
so to be able to have not one but TWO new releases (although i blew through the first in a couple hours) is actually a luxury for me- HUGE luxury.(so is this jamacian coffee, thank you again susan) i had a couple of 5.00 off certificates and that helped a LOT
i still don't have any ROOM for them all though

anyway, on the henrietta lacks book.......... pick it up at the library, don't wait until it comes out in paperback. but read this book.

let's see, the small amount of art supplies i ordered at the huge sale are on their way to philly to be sent north to me ( i am so weak, i couldn't afford them either)
i track them daily
i have another order i need to put in but won't get to it until the next big sale..... which is good cause i blew the art supply money on books and dvd's (and just as well with my hand right now)

ok the chicken stock made out of the BAD pullets is very good- i had a bowl last night.
today after the po, i am going to finish the chickens pens and if i still have energy, i am going to start in the garden
we'll be needing a new hose for out there too
bernie said that tomorrow we are going to be doing my garden...... so i have to make sure we got the water out to do the lasagna layers
and tonight i need to skim the books over outloud for him
as soon as the beds are prepped i'll be planting peas and beans.....late i know
oh man......
the garden is going to be a lot smaller then it was in previous years but at least i will have one, not like last year
ok i just gave the 'old' budgies their bath tub, so i am going to enjoy watching them bath
i hope you folks all have a wonderful day
ttyl
(someone pass the milk i need another cup of coffee)

Angie said...

Here are two URLs with titles. The first one has some of the Thornton W. Burgess books (like The Adventures of Danny Fieldmouse) among others, and the second, scroll down for the Newbery Award winners; I read The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs, and also It's Like This, Cat.

http://www.mainlesson.com/displaybooksbytitle.php

 

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/writers.html

today is not starting out the best of days

i wasn't doing too well last night, i was exhausted at 8 pm
i didn't do much yesterday at all, i went to the po, brought the ducks out, cleaned the stove (what a mess) plucked the last of the feathers off the pullets that the wiz bang missed when they were processed and started soup from them.
i did do dishes but that's an almost every day
i drew
i read
i couldn't wait to go up to sleep
i had forgotten until late to bring wood up (i did it after i brought ducks in)
i started the fire at like 8:30 last night
we went up earlyish..... (considering how late we've been the past couple weeks)
9:30pm and i was reading and fell asleep by ten....
and woke up at almost 8am
huh?
i normally am up by 5
or at least 7
but 8?
and now i am in reverse- and not in the best of moods

i hurt my thumb yesterday doing pinfeathers, it's still feeling a bit numb
i think it is actually from drawing so much
since it's my right thumb. and drawing is a tight and very controlled motion
actually it IS swollen!
ok i better ice it

now today after ducks, dishes and drawing......i most likely will have to can the chicken stock and the meat from the pullets
i was going to see about running up to the farmers market and getting some greens to tide us over but forget that
good thing i mailed the taxes yesterday
and we are having soup tonight, actually i have ham too, and maybe..... with all the dried veggies.....hmmm
maybe minestrone? i dont' have little meatballs though, i didn't make them lately

i like to keep small meatballs in the freezer.....i usually make a batch and brown them up or even bake them and then freeze them for soups and fast sauces.
i really need to get to the packing plant or b&m and get 10 pounds of chopmeat to do that....i also need to pick up a couple cases of chicken breast at the purveyor and can them, as well as batter/crumb them and freeze them
maybe in a couple weeks? oye
and i am hoping to get some energy back cause i really have been not quite as productive as i would like
i realize i am not 20 but gees....

i am trying to figure out a better paint taboret/table/station....
i can't afford nor could i really justify those expensive ones, even if they were absolutely perfect, which they aren't
i need a U shape, i would like a couple of drawers for paper, (not under the painting area as i am a bit sloppy with the washes) storage for paint, area to hold porcelain palettes and trays, and brush storage.....i would like brush storage where the tips hang down instead of stand up......so the moisture doesn't run down into the handle, and the brush will last longer........
mmmm (that would mean silicone and wire no?)

EVERYONE FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN WITH IDEAS OK???

i am thinking if i can find something that starts out with a cabinet and wheels... i could maybe add a second top that has swing out arms....and a drawer thingie for paper, then some area for the plastic drawers i already have?  then where would i put the drafting table? i admit that the drafting table is huge..... actually too big for the space, but it's been my drafting table since..........i think i was 14.
i can't find my easel either (bernie 'organized it' in the basement somewhere)
anyway i am going to need to be doing something SOON
as what i have isn't going to work really well for some intensive color work
it's ok for blk/wht and the occational color painting but not for anything steady

oye
ok i am going to post this
sorry everyone, i am a bit out of sorts today
i should be ok tomorrow
i think if i massage my ligaments in my right hand with ice and rest it a bit i will be ok

5am, and stoking the stove

(apple blossom off one of our trees, i found it on the ground)

wait wasn't this finished last month?
nope as it's cold again so i am working that stoke again.
at least i got an early start.

bernie watched part of his dvd 2012, he sure didn't like the beginning of it- but just as we decided it was late and we were going up, it got exciting, and he was reluctant to turn it off
does anyone know how to book mark a place on a dvd?

now today, i have to run again to the po, as i forgot to mail the taxes yesterday. then wood, then dishes, then ducks.....possibly not in that order. with stewing some chickens and drawing on the side.
i really should be working on the planting, but i am going to believe bernie and see if he helps me over the weekend.....
we also need to remortor the side of the house.....stone houses are like that.
this should be, ahem........... FUN.......oye

we are going to be looking into a shed for the tax return, if i can squeeze out a greenhouse kit as well- that would be great or at least a cold frame........maybe some of that recycled never rot lumber for raised beds as well?......ok who am i kidding, that refund just isn't that large.
but maybe with really careful shopping?

btw, has anyone thought of any names for the new baby easter budgies? i think that the pastel blue/gray/lavender one IS a boy..... the yellow one is most certainly a girl.
they are doing well but i hate this quarentine in the bedroom. i just can't spend enough time with them. i may bring them down and put them in the studio at the other end......not that we actually have space mind you.....but i think we have to DO something as i think they need the stimulation

in duck news.......well there isn't really.....not anything new and earth shattering. still trying to find out where the hell momma is laying her fertile eggs (at least i am hoping they are fertile, but falstaff is really really old)

thaddeaus slept on my head again, as the fire died down overnight he naturally decided that he needed to sleep on my head..... oye
and fawn started to lay in bernie's lap first thing in the morning while he's getting dressed (or trying to) for work......she is so happy to greet him, that's really the only time she gets to see him
calpurrnia does her little wander around thing......
i did tell you all that calpurrnia caught a mouse the other night right? hahahah she said OOOOOOOOOOO and the mouse jumped in her mouth........ she ran inside startled and lost the mouse in the living room......we set the trap and we caught it sunday night.
good thing that little calpurrnia is very pretty and so very loveable.......cause if she had to earn a living catching mice........well.......... hahahahahaha

ok i am going to poke up the fire a bit more, and sit down at the drawing board.
i did get a few art supplies at the sale...( i couldn't RESIST the sale, come-ON, 30% off? and free shipping) they say that they are due on the 20th but they could come as early as saturday, depending.
that would be nice, although until i am finished with this current drawing there won't be ANY playing with new colors. (that will give me time to stretch the watercolor paper and hope for the best)
i need more palette space...... and i could use a decent taboret for watercolors and supplies that also holds the palettes at a height i can use... pre made are very expensive...... (as much as a shed AND a lawnmower- so that ain't happening unless i suddenly become world famous and very rich)
HERE is one taboret that's nice and HERE is another one that i like.....
and HERE.................. this one HERE holds water color paper! now if the one that holds the water color paper would get together with the one that swings out for "pastels" (cause i like the U shape, it works for me) i would be selling my socks to try and afford it.........
but since that isn't in the cards right now that i know of........i am going to attempt to rig something up
what i have now sort of works but doesn't hold the palettes.
and how can you work without access to the palettes with the paint on them?
oye

ok it's starting to get light out and i am thinking that i want to draw a bit until it's time to put the ducks out
i have knitting to do for my friend jen at spirit trail, she needs booth samples, i have a pair of socks and a scarf to do for her so my knitting is going to be socks...... now normally i can do a pair of socks in a week but these have patterned legs so we'll see

flicka, i am a bit lazy lately for me. i have a lot to get done, and i am not getting it done. the house is a mess, (dishes are done though) the garden isn't planted, and the winter clothes all need to be washed and put up. not to mention that the old chickens need their pen cleaned (and of course the sloppy duck crates that get cleaned at least weekly)
i am having to take on more and more of bernie's chores so i really need to get more done- not to mention the cooking, canning, baking stuff

don, you with us?
vicki, i couldn't help myself, i can't seem to stop drawing on this....... so i am doing it
catherine didn't you pipe up a bit? i thought i saw a comment

ok folks i am so sorry if i forgot to answer you, i do sort of think of us sitting here drinking coffee together
(and i am drinking that coffee susan sent me for my bd, i think she's spoiled me for all other coffee)

i keep thinking if i would just better organize my day........ oye

i have to ask everyone......... my friend deb in wa state said that i DO have a farm........abit small one...but i grow food, have ducks and chickens...... and she says that is a farm (tiny farm but a farm)
what do you all think?
i don't think so.
i think a farm has zoning and you can have roosters and lambs and a cow
could i have opinions?

vi

and it is raining off and on

my violet's are blooming!!!!! there are two more that have buds on them, i am so excited so i had to post again to show you folks (i showed facebook)
and flicka, really for me lately, i HAVE been lazy.
now today i got the ducks out, and brought the ash bucket down (it's way too full for me to carry but i got it down there) i got a load of wood waiting for my second wind out front,........i'll bring that in shortly, then water and feed the chickens. i had to start a fire this morning.
i SHOULD throw some hand washables into soak and maybe after i do the dishes i will. but since you have read this blog for a while, you know that these are lighter days for me lately
all because i can't stop drawing......
hahahahaha
btw, i see a for sale sign or what looks like a for sale sign on jackass neighbor's house
woohoo!!!! FREE AT LAST

i realized this morning, we are starting to get everything we've ever asked for....... bernie's job is good and he's happy but tired
we are financially in a bit better place (but still have debt, which i hate and am trying to get rid of)
there are a couple of other things i think i would like, of course the farm, but deb in WA pointed out to me on the phone this morning, actually i do have a farm, a very small one
i would like a larger one with a bigger flatter garden, an orchard, and room for the sheep and goats (and a milk cow please) one zoned for roosters too
i need my van fixed too, as i love that vehicle......i can reach the peddels, i can see over the stearing wheel and i can get in and out of it easily....
i don't want a new van i want THAT van, fixed and painted
and a larger house with closets, not too much larger, AND A KITCHEN ... that is nice and efficient and works well.......and is pretty and has a greenhouse off it............ ok so make the next house 1/2 kitchen and 1/2 studio, put a bathroom on the studio side......... my woodstove in the center.......and a bedroom/closet wing. have a cold pantry on the kitchen side and a real old fashioned butlers pantry..... with a green house to grow my stuff over the winter and start the garden plants ( and we can eat in the greenhouse...no?)

doesn't that sounds HEAVENLY........???
although i do like my second story deck in the trees.........
well lookie at this
two posts today
all cause i wanted to show you all the violets

busy busy..........goofing off

yesterday i should have: brought in wood, cleaned chickens, canned chicken, baked something, planted, washed hand washables.......... did some gardening,...... instead look at what i DID do ( bernie does think i am lazy, and i am beginning to think he's right) but i am really starting to get excited about how this is coming along. now TODAY i will have to bring in wood and go to the po and do something with the chickens, as really i can't take too many days off as things stand now. IF the garden was straightened out, and the chickens were in an outside pen (ditto the ducks) then life would be a lot easier for me but that isn't reality right now, so i need to actually do something around here..........ahem.......unless it RAINS today..... (checking the weather thingie....) HHHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMM the weather thingie says RAIN TODAY, maybe i need to draw some more? i mean if it rains i can't work the garden, or clean chickens right (but i do need wood in as it's to go below freezing this week) i may however have to clean the woodstove which will put a bit of a cramp in my plans unless i can figure how to carry the overly full ash bucket out to be dumped.

anyway, let's see what was for supper last night, .........ohhhhhh chicken, sort of a sticky chicken kinda sorta but not really.  i took a fryer and baked it in the oven with ketchup, mustard, honey and garlic..... breast side down in the mix and then flipped it up

it was moist and really pretty good. we had it with left over potato salad and spinach.

now today i should bake, snickerdoodles and peanutbutter chocolate chips

i got duck eggs but i think until this drawing is done i won't be doing too much of anything else

i looked through the duck drawing the other day, and there are a LOT, now that being said, there isn't enough of any one 'style' to do a cohesive story book. now a gallery show on 'the muscovy of vi's house' yup there is enough.........

and now i am working on these 'big' blk/whts

so i am at my wit's end now with this, i tried to redo some in color, and some in the more child friendly blk/wht, and there are so many in my customary style (which is what i been showing you all) so i am still faced with a delemia of where to go with this

 but i keep drawing and figure eventually i'll either end up with something or even if i just have a lot more of the same........ at least i am still drawing

no?

oye

now this would have been posted early but terri a chicken friend called and we talked about (what else???) chickens and ducks!

so i am going to post this now, as i have to grab a fast shower and get to the po for bernie's bd cd

(2012) and my book (the immortal life of henrietta lacks)

he's got avatar and harry potter 6 coming and i have the secret life of the mongol queens coming

but that will be next week i think

ok ttyl

everyone wanna sorta check in so i know you are all ok?

tricks & musings on art, knitting etc....

 on the right is the drawing as you would see it if you were in my studio, on the left is me flipping it so i can see how it's flowing.
my verdict? ...... i like the way it's moving along. i think at this point it isn't as powerfully quiet as the last big black and white, but i think when it is done it will be just as interesting.  in fact i actually like the flipped version, and if i hadn't been so far into it now i most probably would flip the composition of that drawing. i still have a lot of work to do on the ducks and the top and sides.
and i am still not sure if i am going to work this same idea in color yet, we'll see.  as to some color work, i intend on doing some still life over the summer, IN COLOR, just because i want to remember how to render glass and water, i used to know, and i want to see if i can still do it.... i imagine i could in oils, but it's been a real long time for a watercolor so naturally i have to try it. oh and next big art supply sale is going to be for gouache, paper and brushes..... oye, and most likely technical pen ink. everyone is having huge sales right now (tax return season so they want a peice of yours) i did end up having to put in a small order, as i am about to run out of bristol that i draw on so since i think i should continue to draw, i had to get more, i got two pads of it--- a plate and a vellum.

plate is extremely smooth, vellum has a slight roughness called tooth to the surface. i got the 100% cotton rag archival bristol. i don't think there is a better longer lasting bristol available, if there is i don't know about it.
i haven't drawn on plate in a LONG time, the surface of the last two black and whites is vellum, which has a slight tooth to it. i may not like plate for this stuff, i used to like plate for a lot of line work ........

now the knitting part, i am knitting another gaenor, which is because i am lazy, and i wanted to just KNIT and not think or design or anything, but i am planning on finishing this, and the emily dickinson, then doing a couple of easy lace things (small shawls or really large scarves) with just lace stitches out of the books i have almost all of the spirit trail yarn club yarn is going to be made up that way

in household stuff, i need to wash the winter stuff and put that all away, freeze the woolens for two days prior to putting them up
pull out and freshen up the summer stuff. i wish i had one of those small hand cranked non electric washers but i am sure that they will kill my shoulders.

so my new chore list is as follows

• clean the second chicken pen
• wash all the winter clothes and store
• freeze the woolens
• inventory the canning shelves
• clean the dehydrator
• work on the garden beds
• plant the garden
• studio reorganization continues
• decide on the color palette for the qouache
• decide on the size brushes and where i'm getting them (there are a lot of options)
• construct a cold frame
• make a temporary duck pen on the lawn
• order ducklings
• empty and refill the deck planters with fresh soil
• plant the blueberries

gees, no wonder i'm tired, i really need to get my assets in gear here...... and today i have to roast them pullets and then make soup out of them! that also needs to be canned as i don't have room in the freezer.
hey what am i doing sitting here sipping coffee? i got too much to do!!!!!!!!!!!!

talk to you all later

& the rains come down

naturally, as i left the Aframe uncovered!

ok well i needed to muck that pen anyway.
***progress on that drawing ...no it's not done but i think looks pretty good...maybe i won't entirely finish it!***
now a glance back to yesterday:up extra early and drawing in the morning,  i got the mail, then socks both for bernie and i, (heavy cotton work crews for bernie, light fun ped type summer socks for me....12.00 for 12 pairs)
i got wasp spray, as well as work boot inserts,  and got home just in time to SQUISH a giant hornet in the studio before thaddeaus got nailed.
then went BACK out to get bernie's icecream cake, and a few other odds and ends
with a bit of chicken pen cleaning....... then up to start cooking bernie's supper for his bd. ( beef cubes in wine sauce with garlic, mixed grain pilaf, and spinach)
he got home relatively early for him, ate his supper and opened his card.....
he had a terrible terrible day yesterday.
he said after he ate, 'i am so happy to be home'
we had his icecream cake on the deck under the icycle lights in a very nice breeze..

i think that underneath it all the 'i am so happy to be home' is what has always kept bernie and i together all these years through the ups and downs.
even though the house in spots is a mess...... and a big, ahem.....cluttered (no closets remember) even though there are times when it's all so overwhelming, the bottom line is
for us where ever the other person is....is home
and there is no place like home

we both sort of know that but it's good to be really reminded of it.....
(he had a REALLY bad day....... REALLY BAD)

now today, i have chicken pens again, i hope to get the baby pen finished, and then start the old hens-i don't actually have daily layers anymore but who needs chickens that eat the eggs? and then teach the OTHERS to eat the eggs?
i also need to get a decent tractor for these guys to go out to 'free range with protection' i may need to pick up an Xpansion pen. i would love them to go out permanently as long as i can safely get out to water them and feed them.......

i will miss birds in the basement so i would imagine that i would bring in silkies or something small to live in the basement...(and go out to forage)

i also have blueberries to plant ....i should do that today in the rain, as it's good for them

we'll see how much i get done

meanwhile this coffee is good (thank you again susan)

and i am taking my time today, since it's a bit gray out i can sort of fool myself into thinking it's still early.

i opened the back door to get some breeze in but had a wasp come in, so killed that and shut the door.....

i have to do that nest tonight or bernie has to do that nest tonight as it's on the deck....... RIGHT over the table plus they ALWAYS seem to get in the back door when it's open......i think i need to get a new cheapo screen door for that back door too. (the back door isn't too good either i got it taped together)

ideally if we can't move, then we need to add on.....and move a door and woodbox onto the north (lower) side of the studio..... which would mean an addition and closets, and a cold food pantry..not to mention northern light to add to the studio.

when we bought this house, we thought we could go up over the studio. and had planned on a master suite and storage. but found we couldn't do that with the foundation that is under the studio.

anyway an addition of about 44 feet down the side of the house..... as wide as we can get it (i think it could be 12 feet wide) would help some....... as would moving the front door.....(that would help a ton too)

oye

ok i have to start my day, i think i am going to draw a bit then start my chicken pens

ttyl

one pen down and happy birthday bernie

today is bernie's birthday, he is 55
i have known him since i was 15 and he was 17, give or take a driver's license and a few months
we've been married 33 years through ups and downs and all arounds
let me tell you, he sure doesn't look like what anyone would think a 55 year old guy looks like- but aging actually is agreeing with him, which it does a lot of times with men.
me, i am aging like entrails in the hot august sun.......basically sinking in and putrefying

the pullets are in the fridge, i was going to stew them but i am wondering if they would be ok to BBQ?
maybe not- they are 16 months old.
anyway, i started to clean their pen, and got that finished yesterday, i will move the old hens over do their pen and then do the new pullets pen

i also had a half a glass (with a ton of ice) of some home made  hard apple cider up the hill at georgie's house-
now i don't drink, and also with the pcos and the 11b it's really not a good idea for me to drink....at all PERIOD
this was a big first for me for the most part
i won't make it a habit but let me tell you, yesterday afternoon i needed something

i hurt all over, i think that i can't haul like i used to, menopause seems to have affected my strength, as i age i am getting weaker and weaker, even though i am trying to increase the load bearing work so that i stay strong- i just am not staying strong
it could be a cumulative effect due to the illnesses, they do mess with hormones big time-
i am taking on more and more of bernie's chores in addition to mine, and i am falling more and more behind in a lot of stuff.
if i do the wood or duck or chicken pens, really all i have time for after is some drawing and maybe start supper
i am going to have to see if i can start work at 5 am i think and work until bernie gets in
bernie's average day now is from 4:30am to 9:00 pm........ me, i fall down at about 4 pm
i've pretty much had it
if i push it much beyond that i start getting shaky

( and i don't get a whole lot of sympathy really from anyone, i keep hearing how 'i work ten times harder' not only from bernie but from a LOT of men either my age or young young women!- huh? anyone remember, i am actually a SICK old lady?)

so i am wondering if i need to make some decisions? now i won't give up the poultry, and i want my garden, and canning. so something has to give here.
i can't give up my drawing.
housework i think i can live without
and if i can just get poultry coops that are either easier to clean OR tools that make it easier maybe that would help.
i thought my wood cart would help but during deep snow it's not useful-
so i need to figure some stuff out
maybe a door on the 'low' side of the studio to bring wood into......
(maybe how about we move to a more user friendly house and neighborhood?)
anyway, this just proves that no matter what...... life is always a balancing act
(or that the more money we seem to make, the harder i seem to have to work physically......HUH? how'd that happen?)

duckie doings & chicken chores

here is a fast update on the latest drawing. i guess it's a good thing to show you folks my progress.
when i was an art director, i had built in check points, i would send work up to be proof read, and i would have other graphics people around.
i have to say that seeing the work up on the screen helps me a lot with decisions on which way it needs to be worked- i like seeing how the ducks start popping out from the background
and i also like how the deep forest is sort of working like a bit of a frame at that area of the drawing.....
i now pronounce this drawing really really interesting.
and a whole lot of fun
just remember............... degas had dancers, monet had waterlilies.....me i got ducks.....seems fitting somehow doesn't it??

ok now tomorrow is bernie's birthday, i plan on baking him a cake....... chocolate ewwwww........you know it's love when you bake someone a chocolate cake, and you HATE chocolate..
oye
i need to get back to town today as well and pick up my meds and chicken parts.... (my chickens are getting processed tonight but that won't help me for dinner, as they have to 'age')

if bernie was to get home early enough i would grill but he won't be home until 8:30 or 9 at least
and i need to plant the summer lettuces---yesterday it was 91 degrees on the deck, i didn't sit out but that's why i came in from town and basically flopped. i did check the lettuces and they had all sprouted but they are the winter types so i don't hold much hope for them.
the spinach most likely will bolt as well.
i will most likely thin the spinach and give the thinnings to the birds. i also got them french wholewheat couscous to mix up some cooked foods for them. i have to chop and dry carrots, but can't find my chopper thingie! cause i want it minced.
maybe i'll dry the spinach thinnings too?
i need to put together a bunch of this food for the birds for later, a mix of minced dried veggies and couscous plus some herbs in there like parsley and dill..... i should add some garlic too.
i got used to that 'beak appetite' and so did the birds but they don't make it anymore as the company went out of business, so we'll make due

now with the duckies...... momma jumped all over poor phoebe last night, so momma got put in repeatedly with falstaff. now speaking of falstaff, i don't think he is able to fertilize the ducks anymore.
i watched a bit while i was cleaning ponds and buckets and there wasn't any actual mating going on....it LOOKED like there was but there wasn't.
i think he's way too old now.
damn
that means i really DO have to get a new drake  and also then i won't have two lines like i wanted to.
thank goodness the FWS regs are being rewriten, as i am so going to need to get another drake.
i dreamt that i had lavender self diluted muscovys .......they looked like a very light lavender purple!
hahaha
actually i wouldn't mind that on my girls
or a nice diluted cream
ok i got a late start as i had a late night
so i am off to start my day

i hope you folks all have a wonderful day
and that the weather is good too
(btw, where is flicka?? you around dear?)

chickens and more chickens

yesterday we went to hinkle's poultry farm
jen got 7 hens and a roo
nice ones......related to my sussexXbuff orpingtons
woo hoo.......i so love me some chicken expeditions.....
it was wonderful to see charlie and jody again. they never age..........the rest of us do but they don't
and i like to see their place........all happy birdies all the time

so i never did get to town for bernie's birthday card
now today i need to get there........meanwhile i woke little linda up at 6:30 am this morning....... which means i got up at 3 am
so i wouldn't forget
i am actually pretty tired
i would have gone back up to bed but it's already light out
now in easter budgie news.....the little ones are coming around slowly
also last night i let the cats into the bedroom as soon as i knew the birds were asleep.......we had one minor problem but other then that fine
however during the day.......NO CATS in the bedroom and the door is shut to keep the birdies safe

i need to get bernie cards, seeds for the budgies, socks for bernie,
a water tube and cuttle bone for the budgies.....maybe i should go before i put the girls out?
maybe i should have coffee before i fall asleep again?
bernie got home at 9pm again last night
he better be putting this down on his time sheet, his boss left him that option.

i am working on that drawing in drips and drabs ............ 10 minutes here 15 there.... so it's growing but slowly
and i am taking a picture here and there so i can compare progress.
i really need to think about a better camera......and a better house
oye
ok i am still tired and i think i am going to lay down for 1/2 hour
ttyl

old budgie, new budgies

ok in THIS corner, ( pointing to the left) are the old budgies...........and in THIS corner (pointing to the right) are the NEW baby budgies!!!!!
i know it's hard to see them in the picture but they are very pretty, if you would take my word for it until we get better pictures
now we need names, starting with the yellow one, as i can't get a good look at the lavender/gray so we all have to crack open our dickens......and find a quintessential dickensonian girl's name, and 'emma' or meg need not apply...... (cause i may have to use those names down the road for goats)i'll get back to you all on what sex the other one is

now here are some better shots of the COLORS of mrs fezziwig on the left......and captain cuttle on the right...captain cuttle's chest is infused with yellow for a seafoam green, which makes him i believe a type 2 yellow face... mrs fezziwig is interesting in her opaline green/blue colors.....

which since she apparently has a dark factor makes the blue a sort of deep teal. either way they are pretty birds, and i am getting used to the greens for the most part......her greens glow

we had a good weekend, it was relaxing for the most part. bernie put the patio table, chairs and umbrella up on the deck. jackass neighbors weren't here.....and the uphill neighbors with the punk house guest have apparently talked to him...as it was quiet from that end too.........
today is semi busy, i will be on the phone a lot- i have to call the specialist in philly over a bill, and i know there were a couple of other phone calls i needed to make and can't remember at the moment

i am drinking jamaican coffee (thank you so much susan) it's interesting coffee, it's not bitter, and it's strong enough even with milk in it....i think i like it!

in other kitchen related news, i got another mouse in the kitchen....judging by the size of the poop it's a fat mouse that is well fed...... (phoebe isn't loose in the basement any more, so she won't be able to be our mouse catcher)we forgot to set the traps last night but we'll do it tonight.
we also had a small ham for easter, we cut slices off it- i glazed it with pineapple/brown sugar/mustard.... and we served with asparagus and roasted sweet potatoes...... nice, made doubly nice as we ate on the deck! then we went for a malt.
all in all i think it was a relaxing happy weekend. and we needed it desperately.
now THIS week is bernie's birthday on thursday. i have to get his card, as i haven't yet....and you all know how often i go out.....(not if i can help it anyway- unless it's really interesting like pet store or book store, or yarn store) so i have to do that today or tomorrow

i also have to make budgie mash, so make a 'trip to the health food store' part of the 'get bernie cards' errand, although they are at opposite ends of town.

phoebe appears to be over her egg binding.....but momma hasn't laid an egg that i have found in a few days..which isn't like her, as she's always been pretty regular. she's also a bit broody so she's squeaking at me, at the others, at bernie ........ a LOT ......tons of a LOT.
and now lilli is a bit too.
lilli made me laugh yesterday.....she ran out of crate like she has places to go and people to see....... RAN to the worm hunting fields....(so to speak) and then came waddling up to me to say good morning!
it was like 'oh wait, MOMMY is there........hey MOMMY pick me up!'
which of course i did so, and kissed her and hugged her and rubbed her neck .....then put her down to wander back to looking for worms
i love when the girls come over to be petted and picked up, just like i love when they suddenly realize, 'wait, mom isn't here, HURRY we have got to FIND HER'
hahahahaha
what?
you all knew i was soooooooo easily amused right?
well there you have it
duck devotion gets me
hahahahaha
oye
in drawing up dates, ......i AM, and it's coming along....i am liking what i am doing
in knitting i am also liking what i am doing, right now two shawls...... one very quiet emily dickinson in greige, and one multicolor bright and happy gaenor again.
i also realized i need to make something warm for here at the computer........for my back and arms and head
that should be washable i guess too.........damn that would mean redheart ewwwwwww.
ok well off i go, i already started drawing a bit this morning
and i want to get my gaenor and put a few repeats on that as well

til later

it's the EASTER BUDGIE charlie brown.............

yup yup.......for easter/birthday/missed me/ just because/ celebrate spring/raise etc......
bernie got me two new budgies that will join our flock in about 4-6 weeks- they are currently in quarentine....
a yellow lutino (she's a girl and bite bernie good when the little booger escaped and flew all over the studio....) and a lavender/gray with white wings and a the palest of yellow blushed face......
i didn't look close enough at that one to tell if that one is a girl or boy
i think it's a girl though as the cere was opague and there is a whitish line around the nostrils
i got EASTER BUDGIES!!!!! sorta like easter eggs but without the shell.
and we got a ham and a turkey (turkey in the freezer, ham tomorrow)
also i got a couple of bargin books on american women in history and paranormal events that changed american history.......(today's book store excursion was to the history section......and i am lusting after that 'secret life of the mongel queens' but until that book is under 14.00 at amazon i am going to continue to lust......i'll get it when it's used and cheap)

i got a birthday present today from someone else, COFFEE...... (you know who you are and you do love me!) oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh coffee........

tonight we went to see alice in wonderland and i didn't like it!
i am so upset about that......normally tim burton ........faaaagettaboudit....... i love his stuff
he takes me there and keeps me there and does it with such a unique and finished seamless style....this one no
i hated the dancing johnny depp
i hated some of the music (danny elfman no less......danny how COULD you? sniff... who didn't love his addams family theme with mc hammer?)
the scenery was good
the story........ well let's just say i have actually READ lewis carroll........ and this wasn't it.......we'll leave it at that....
the dutchess wasn't there..... the mock turtle.....and what was up with that BATTLE? damn
i am thinking someone slipped acid into the mr burtons coffee and not in a good way.......

8 years giver take that i go to a movie and it wasn't good for me......bernie loved it

ah... that brings me to art.....specifically MY art...another one on the board as you all know...and i am very pleased with it right now
i can't wait to work on it.....that is a wonderful sign- it will be a bit harder edged then the last one....after all that one was unfounded fears......this is couched more in the real world but i am really enjoying it this way

i wonder if it will ever get where the 'world' is real and the ducks unfounded? oh gees, i hope not....
ok this is being typed saturday night and i am very tired.......so ttyl
have a nice holiday everyone

we'll see how this one goes

i am not going to follow this drawing as daily i think as the last one, but i figured you all would like to see how this one started out....first there is the rendering and the ducks are outlined inked in, as you can see on the left that's the photo of our driveway looking up towards the road that i started with (this will be a first that i work a forest landscape off a photo, normally i am 'live' or out of my head........never before off a photo that i remember) the ducks are always a combination of live and photo's though. i really liked that photo of the driveway and i think i posted it here last summer but in black and white..... i took both color and black/white ones..... so again we start!!!! let's hope this looks as nice as the last one...... i think it will as it has the potential to.

i really like that whole dark surrounding the bright light in the photo of the driveway and couldn't wait to do this..... the ducks often try to run up there but aren't allowed. it's too close to the road and the neighbors property lines so they aren't allowed.

now this week i think i am going to be doing an art supply order-i need more bristol for the pen and inks, and i am going to try and get a few 300# watercolor papers, the twinrocker and the saunders, both hot press and cold press (i am going to get full sheets but they are not cheap....... 10 are over 100$)

in a few minutes i am going to be taking the ducks out.....

oh and to those who celebrate easter happy easter and to those folks who do the passover thing happy passover and happy ostra to the pagan folks...... to everyone else's holidays HAPPY holiday......happy spring....happy happy!!!

april fool's~!

and i don't have a good joke
sniff
damn............
ok i do however have a bit of artist block so i am wondering if i should start another drawing on the blog..... one part of me says, 'too much pressure' another part says, 'it's just like when you worked in the art departments or kept a show schedule'
anyway, i have done a lot of roughs and a bit of piddling but i need to do some serious stuff right now on the caliber of that last one.

i spent almost ALL day yesterday talking to my friend carol who is now officially a cancer survivor! however she is now having issues with eating, as in she doesn't
she's got me worried still.

in weather related, it appears that we are to get warm weather and that it would be a good idea to schlep the patio furniture up to the deck and put it together, then plan on a BBQ
oh and the lettuces and pakchoi have sprouted!
i should marinate some beef cubes and have the first official grilling session of the season huh? we'll see
meanwhile i should also light the woodstove this morning

mother nature is having mood swings i think.

thaddeaus aka DA BOY, got spanked sorta last night. he has been bugging the budgies to get my attention and finally i grabbed him and spanked him on the nose (more like a tap, tap, tap with my index finger) he's all out of shape now and slept downstairs
he'll suck his tail later
but he does have to remember....... NO to the birds, and if he wants attention he comes over
(it works with him on the bookcases too.....i ignore him there and he comes over- well i can't reward or ignore him when he's up on the bird cage so he got tapped......he's smart but he's humiliated right now)

yesterday in duckie news, phoebe and lilli shared the back pen without any visible fighting!!!!
next we need to get momma there as well.... it's a round robin of sorts lately
lilli bites momma, momma bites phoebe, and I grab phoebe and throw one of the others in the pool
oye
now last night, i washed buckets, the little pond/pool......feed pans and a piece of lattice that momma duck squirted poop on (they ARE ducks.......... they poop..... a LOT)
all the while listening to the annoying little dogs going off like alarms next door
they took the dogs in the second bernie got home however...... amazing huh?
but i had to make sure that this was all done just in case i have to take my cousin to the dentist.
i also refilled buckets and made sure each pen had one
i'll fill food pans in the morning.
i need a bark breaker or a high pitched dog whistle to make those damn dogs next door either stop barking or BARK AT 7 am....... when all the assholes next door are sleeping.......
and we should blow it at 5am, 6am, 7am, 8am, 9am....... cause no one gets up until the crack of 1pm over there....

momma duck laid a shell less egg and then broke it so i should muck that pen tomorrow.- i am going to up her calcium tomorrow too. they get granite sand and oyster shells but she needs to graze and such as well....... which isn't happening as often, since they like to graze as a flock and all they do is fight at the moment.

oh and the two egg eating pullets are going up the hill as soon as mark has time to do them, i was beyond mad when i heard them announce after one laid and i rushed in to find them both eating the FRESH EGG......the bloom wasn't even dried yet!
and all the OTHER chickens watching......
i can't tell you how many colors of red i saw when i discovered this...but i took the egg away

again thank you all for all the birthday well wishes........
now i just finished this post as well as giving the cats their hot fancy feast soup.....so let's all start our day

til next time
vi

post birthday recovery

first off thank you all for your birthday wishes, i do appreciate it.
we had a good day
i went out to lunch with jen and lesley.
we went to applebees, and i had some sort of penne with chicken and cheese sauce
we went to hobby lobby fast too, i got a pencil sharpener and two erasers .

then bernie got a raise, there was some confusion as to how much he actually was making at his job...... it still is not all straightened out but he is getting a raise........not the amount everyone (including his boss) initially thought.

we went to red lobster (finally) to lump all the celebrations together, from our anniversary, my birthday, his raise, and his birthday (in 8 days) i was exhausted
i did have cheesecake at red lobster.

this morning i naturally had trouble getting up!

now back to the real world, ..........DUCKIE news....... due to the extreme rain and flooding.....i had to bath duckies before bed last night...... lillianna was completely black and covered with mud
the black mud is my wonderful organic compost laden garden soil washing out...
oh man
that duck was filthy!
phoebe too and momma was but just a little....... oye
so before we could go anywhere i had three duckies one after another in the bath

we also stopped at petsmart and saw a few light gray parakeets with white wings, but they were older so i didn't bring one home...

it's supposed to get warmish this week and downright hot over the weekend so i may plant beans on the new fence. and my impatients are up!!!! oh and some of my lettuces also sprouted.
i have to fill a planter with leeks and one with lettuces as well..... i have so many chores now
oh and the bad pullets that i caught laying and immediately EATING the freshly laid egg...... they ARE going up the hill before they teach my other chickens bad habits

(i just asked mark on facebook if he has time....he'll get to it this week)

let's see, what all else........ we hopefully have decided to get a storage shed and a greenhouse instead of the lawn mower, so that when we do get the lawn mower, it will have a home...... i hope anyway.
i saw a greenhouse kit for 799. it's 10X12........ it would make my life easier i think..... bernie wanted to know where i was going to put it...
i think that with jackass neighbor's demon spawn kids gone.......could be out on the lawn there ( and then that further reduces the mowing area) and maybe we should put the shed on the back of the house........ where we have to take the wooden wall/door down to replace it.....why not just put a shed there and extend that area...?
i also need some cold frames for over wintering greens

we need to talk about this again...
now the weekend is due to be really warm so bernie just may put the patio furniture up....if he does i would imagine we'll grill
and i need to start more pepper plants today
oye

i am soooooo disjointed and distracted
later.......

today is my birthday *** warning, a tiny bit of MATURE content***

i am going out with jen, and i imagine lesley will join us
i have to put the duckies out
it's raining
i got the woodstove lit!!!
maybe today won't be so bad after all
of course there won't be any baby goats or lambs in it
which is really really sad.........cause that was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER (when i helped deliver triplet kid goats)
but i expect this one will be pretty good too

it's dark out though
and as soon as i finish this very fast post i have to go put the ducks out and then shave my menopausal chin

oh the joys of aging....... everything goes south, literally......... and if you live on the east coast you MUST go south at age 65, it's mandatory....... look at florida does that NOT look like a flacid penis to you??- just reflecting it's population no?

anyway i suppose considering all of the alternatives, a little bit of chin hair isn't too bad......of course it DID migrate down from my HEAD
but hey.......
i suppose by the time i am 70, i will have the HAIRIEST hobbit toes in pa............
i mean considering the migration that is going on NOW....

so anyway
i am going out with jen, bernie is going to try to get home early
and i better take supper out now while i think of it
i ate the angel food cake
yes the whole thing over two days, it wasn't that big anyway
i really love angel food cake (shhhhhhhhh maybe more then icecream and cheesecake)
i haven't had one for a few years, like ten

ok i gotta run
them whiskers ain't going to remove themselves, nor will my smelly chickens and adorable ducks feed and water themselves ( i have got to clean chicken pens, the ducks are all clean)

ttyl

the weekend and todays rain

one of my paper dolls that i am working on> we went out saturday night with my cousin nick and his wife michele, and their kids, and grandson.
it was a last minute for us, but since it was michele's birthday we went we had a good time
then we ditched the kids and closed down perkins again, and had a blast ---we laughed so hard that bernie spewed coffee numerous times out his nose
hahahah           
i knocked over a chair (all without anyone having drank anything stronger then coffee!)
and nick......while MOCKING ME.........got up laughing and knocked over his chair
he had to sit elsewhere until he could stop crying with laughter

yesterday bernie made me an angel food cake
he brought in wood, and i made shrimp scampi over angel hair

• melt butter (a LOT of butter, i used a stick) and saute minced red onion and garlic, add shrimp and cook until shrimp is finished add fresh ground pepper and some parsley, meanwhile cook whole grain angel hair pasta until al dente, and drain and toss into the finished shrimp/butter sauce......... takes about 10 minutes. serve with locatelli cheese over the top.

i knitted on my lace (the emily dickinson shawl cause i needed a simple project)
btw----i also spilled some melted butter on my lace yarn.......(oh man) so after it's done in addition to the regular blocking wet........i have to give it a real bath with most likely dawn detergent
damn
we were SUPPOSED to go to alice and wonderland, but found out that the gift card bernie had gotten from work for christmas was almost empty, we had used it during one of the middle of the night road calls
right now i am worried about the local taxes we have to pay, followed by the car insurance/homeowners insurance bill we have to pay, and of course bernie who is burning the candle at both ends, the middle, the top and the bottom....and who will not listen to reason.
he never does until after something happens

he wants a lawn mower with the tax return, originally i had thought ok....now i realize that without a SHED to put it in......that the very expensive riding lawn mower will just rot out in about one season
soooooooooo we are going to have a fight as we have got to get a shed for that and the snow blower...........which is under the deck and cluttering up the exit from there
we can get a lawnmower next season, it isn't like this is an entire grassy acre......... not at all
(although i wish he would get to the back more often- but i may pick up a walk behind)
he's never home to mow anyway.........

it's been chilly and woodstove weather again, and of course i have a full ash bucket, full woodstove and the bucket is too heavy to lift.
oye
right now i am watching my AGAIN cranky woodstove limping along
it's not too cold in here this morning though, yesterday was a nightmare.......2 HOURS to try and get it started.
i was freezing my assets off........

bernie made me angel food cake yesterday, but something was wrong with the oven, the top burnt, and yet it wasn't totally finished, (just THIS side of unfinished) but still eatable.
angel food is my favorite and i did ask for it
i guess i need to figure out how to get the oven calibrated or something
he isn't taking tuesday off for me, so i told him next weekend NO road calls......no working......no nothing
period
it's our celebratory weekend- ok so who wants to take odds on something stopping that?
oye

now today, it's raining HARD, it's also dark out. i am going to finish my coffee and take my ducks out even though it looks like 5am out
i am going to graze my girls a bit too, as i miss seeing little feathered butts up in the air while they work over a pile of wet leaves for worms, small bugs and sprouted seeds-
bernie put them out and took them in the other day, i watched from the window, lilli nibbled his pants legs.....she went running up to him to do it and then waggled her tail and took off to graze....
THAT'S the real reason i make him do ducks and chickens every time he can.....cause he does love when they do things like that
and i think he needs the grounding after a nightmare week

ok day's started ttyl

oye

just oye.

now today is saturday, bernie is working.
i tried to read but fawnie in her infinite cat wisdom decided (as cats do) that books will keep but little brown kitties won't and plopped her furry rug like butt on the book.
i spent an hour kissing her little head and petting her and all that.....she licked my eyebrow
and told me that it was a start...

i came down to find the woodstove pretty much out, the back door open, and thaddeaus with his nose out of joint..........HIS woodstove wasn't hot enough
the budgies weren't active enough

the good thing is bernie brought small splits in last night, to help the pile of large stuff i got off the deck
so lighting the stove wasn't bad
it was weirdly quiet outside this morning too, no bird noise, not a traffic sound either..........

now in knitting, i am knitting an 'emily dickenson' at first i thought the directions were wildly messed up.
i showed a knitter friend and she said that it was knit from the bottom up
i had been looking at the charts and it wasn't making sense....
it came to me last night
i am so used to looking at shetland lace charts or even estonia lace charts and edgings that i was looking for a regular edging chart, and this wasn't one
it's sort of an all in one....... as if you outlined the edging in one continuous line
i at first thought there was an easier way, but now that i am knitting it, i am thinking......'you know what.... it's maybe a 'cleaner' way' that doesn't mean that the shetland or estonia knitters somehow muddied up a simple process.........but for this it is a clean line-less solution....... without a provisional cast on

yes mo, i am an experienced knitter but i am used to picking up stitches to knit on an edging or even to have it knitted as one but a clearly DEFINED edging and this isn't
i guess i am trying to say it has 'flow'
so after this i am thinking of knitting one of the more traditional shawls to see the contrast, (although i have a lot of lacey scarfy amounts of yarn floating around)

when i get to the fiber festivals this year, i am going to pick up some cobweb and do another one of these i think.
i am also debating on another ice queen for my sister in law, this one in pink- and since she is a girly girl, most likely with pale pinkish pearls for beads

i am sorry about yesterday's post, it was sort of disjointed, i was running late EVEN though i had gotten up at 4:30......... and then i got a few phone calls....and had to make a few.
and i think i also forgot a few
oye
i had a bad shock when i discovered that our insurance no longer covers 100% of diagnostic, it has a 1000 per person deductible now, and it costs more as well.
i found OUT when i got billed!
another bill i was not expecting
this was for all that genetic testing......which isn't cheap btw.
i have never HEARD of insurance having a deductible just on diagnostics.......have any of you?
so this means no mammography, no biopsy on my thyroid, no T-3/T-4 tests for my levels for my meds
cause we can't afford it!
bernie won't be able to get his physical either, we don't have the money!
so effectively we are paying for insurance we can't use.

now, donald, i can't put a web cam up, i am going to have to get new batteries for the camera and do a few video's of the duckies..........and when the weather gets warmer and i can take the budgies out i will also do a few of them
the cats are pretty boring, they just basically sleep alot unless they are getting into trouble
ok so that would be DA BOY getting into trouble-- and then i am normally trying to rescue either one of the girls he's beating up or something he's not supposed to play with
oye

now it's going to be cold it looks like, all day.........so all day will be stoking the stove
i hope my baby plants outside are ok
i still can't believe that the back door was opened all night
oye

i am drinking Puerto Rican coffee this morning
vickie brought it back from puerto rico for me, i think that it was grown there, and it's really good......
it's a tiny packet so it won't be around too long but every once in a while i brew up a pot and today was the day.

i am hoping to get back to the drawing board over the weekend
i have two drawings waiting to be laid out
and as soon as the endless nightmare of tax season, and renew the insurances season is all over, i hope to make an art supply order....... bristol board, ink, watercolor papers (the good stuff) qouashe, brushes, and some odds and ends ...........meanwhile i am working on the paper doll clothing sheets and i will finish up the bristol with the next few drawings (i want the high end bristol now, i have been using the pro grade but now i want the next grade up......what's it called?  'insane artist' grade? and a plate finish)
i could use some drawing pencils as well.......not many, a couple of the higher range H
and one or two of the B's
like a B4 and maybe a B7
and a sharpener, as i am SICK of using the Exacto knife to sharpen the pencils

i really need to bake bernie some snickerdoodles........and my cousin nick as well.
i am going to put a few rolls of cookie dough in the freezer too
it will actually save me TIME that way.......do a few days of big batch stuff and then have it
oye
i need three of me.......... younger, stronger and with a lot more energy