Surgery Cancelled

Well I was at the hospital ready, willing, and sort of able, but the weather was against it. We had a storm the night before and it knocked out the electric in the area of the hospital. When I got there, they were prepping some (they were in gowns but back in the waiting room). My doctor was the first to cancel all his surgeries for the day. So back home very frustrated.

I thought I was going to have to wait till Nov 20 or Dec 4, but they found me a spot for next Tues. So here we go again and another week to wait.

Besides being frustrated, I was exhausted. So once home I called the doctor's office then took a nap. Most of the day I was out of sorts and a little lost. That happens sometimes when plans don't happen the way expected.

I did fit in another Christmas card in colored pencil. We have lost a couple of the participants, and gained one new one. So just in case of any more new additions, I will be making a few spares this week. I will also try to do some sketches for the Sketchcrawl even if from home. I won't be going on the plein air outing. I plan to do some relaxing this week and try to be stress free. Like that is going to happen with surgery pending. But at least I don't have the worry of tax classes. So I can concentrate on art.

Click here http://wetcanvas.com/Community/Projects/index.php?cmd=browse_final_all&proj_id=1138 to see all the cards I have done for the Christmas Card Project.

Surgery Eve

Well tomorrow is my surgery date. I was told to be there at 10 am, but about half an hour later I got a call and now I report at 8 am. Someone probably had to cancel. I will be in the hospital 3-4 days, so I won't be able to post anything new on here until about the weekend.
See you then.

One More Day

I have decided my office is now mouse free. I spent the day moving my stuff back to my office. And trying to clean up the clutter I had caused in the other room. I still have a few things to move but I am pretty much using the office again.

My hubby said it's about time. Our cockatiel, Bozo, was starting to get very mean. She tries to flog us every time we go near her cage. She is in the office and was spending way too much time alone while I was in the other room. She already seems a little calmer. Just in time for me to be gone for 3-4 days for my surgery.

Done, Da Done, Done

Tax classes are now completed. Now I can once again play and rid myself of the stress. I worked late into the morning from last night and again thru a good part of the day to finish, but it was worth it. I had decided today I would finish or else. That will give me 2 whole days to be at peace and do some art.

Here are a couple sketches with my new Lamy pen and Hunter's Green Noodler's Ink. And in my small moleskine which I haven't used for quite some time. Just some trees in front of the healthcare place we went to yesterday.

Playing catchup

Hubby and I spent the day doing some errands. Trying to second-guess what might come up in the next week or so that we can deal with today. Make sense? Probably not. But makes sense to me. I know, I am weird. I don't like surprises and try to prepare for any and everything.

I wanted to get supplies in so that hubby won't have to stop on his way home to "pick up" things. He works long enough hours without doing errands each night. Plus for a week he will be dealing with the dogs, household things, and visits to the hospital. Since he likes hospital food, he won't have to cook. But the dogs also like to eat, and they don't like their routine interupted.

Four more days left until surgery. The time is passing fast. The dog goes to the groomer on Monday. Another thing out of the way for a month. This weekend I plan to devote to getting a few things around the house in line, tax classes, and packing some art supplies and other incidentals that I will be taking to the hospital. I will take too much, but that is me. If I don't have it packed for hubby to bring, he won't be able to find it later. He is lost when it comes to finding anything. For one reason we have a small house and lots of stuff. We are both pack rats. Another reason is he has no patience.

I ordered and got some new pens. Anita Davies was always singing the praises of the Lamy fountain pens and Noodler's Ink she was using. Well I couldn't resist any longer. I had to have some.

I wonder why it is that all artists never have enough supplies no matter how many they have. One set of colored pencils is not enough...have to have a set of each brand. Then spares need to be horded. Then when any other person tells about a new item, we all have to have it. But without that shared knowledge, we would never learn about the new items. A lot of which make our art journey easier or more pleasureable.

The Lamy pens are so nice. So smooth. I hate scratchy pens or pencils. I even get scratchy leads at times. They get tossed. I can't stand the sound or feel. That may be one reason I don't like charcoal or pastel. The sound they make (as well as the "messy").

I now have 3 of the Lamy pens. One bottle of Hunter's Green Ink, some adapters to use with bottled ink, and some prefilled cartridges with blue and black ink. I will keep one pen for the cartridges. The other two will be used with bottled ink. I still need to buy another color. Haven't yet decided which color. I like the two colors that Anita uses (red/black and a greyish color).

I do have a couple bottles of Sennelier stain. It says a "traditional shellac based ink with a transparent satin finish. Thinned with water and superimposable, the inks can be intermixed. Apply with a brush or drawing pen". I have sepia and walnut

I would love to try these but am afraid to ruin my Lamy pen. So I won't take the chance. The pens cost me plenty especially as I had to order them online. Maybe I will buy a cheap fillable pen to try them on. If anyone knows anything about the use of the Sennelier, please let me know.

Well time to get something done. I had a late nap, so will probably be up awhile but things are pressing me and I am running out of time to get things done.

Photos taken at the last outing. Click the photo for a larger version.

Counting down

I am counting down the days now. 6 left till surgery. And only 6 more to finish my tax classes. No stress, right? I have been so stressed lately plus I had trouble getting onto blogger.

I had thought I wouldn't go to anymore plein air outings until after my surgery, but today the outing was at a private garden. The same one as my first time out with the group.

Since I had not done any art in about a week (dratted tax classes), I went for some relaxing time. It was fun but after that and a couple errands after and a doctor appt, I was exhausted. Had to take a nap. But as usual, when the dogs thought it time to get up and eat, they kept bugging me until I got up. They eat once a day around 5-6 pm, and you had better not be late with their food. Penny especially is persistent and knows when its 5pm on the dot.

Here are the two items I did at the art outing today. We had 9 people there, lunch after art, and a critique/showing after that. The hostess is part of the group and is fantastic. She has a beautiful home that has one of the best studios I have seen. A full wall of windows looking out to the yard, several work spaces, flat files, and even a separate walk-in closet for storage with shelves. An artist's dream.

New WW Sketchcrawl

World Wide SketchCrawl # 16 is November 4th !!

Mary's Green Thumb

Mary is my neighbor across the street. She has a green thumb. Flowers everywhere in her yard. The front fence is covered in roses of several color. The mailbox and post are covered with vines of Morning Glories. And all around the front and back yard there are many other plants and flowers.

I am enthralled with morning glories. I don't know why. I have never had any. But when I was in grade school, the house where we lived had a scraggly vine. I do remember they were there. I think I was probably fascinated by the way they vine and climb attaching to different things.

Mary gave me a smaller morning glory she had started. If hubby doesn't let it die while I am in the hospital, maybe I will have my own to photo.

Wednesday I did my walk over to Mary's to photo the flowers. As usual the morning glories beckon to me. I made it to the back yard this time, and she has several more vines of them back there. One is covering a light and post. One vine is mixed colors, one has purple, and one has all white. Others have white with a streak of purple or blue. All so beautiful and so bountiful.

I took photos of some of the roses too. This one is one of the prettiest I think I have seen. In person it looks like it is glowing with sunshine. I think it will make a beautiful colored pencil drawing.

Wash that Grey

I had my monthly hair appointment to "wash that grey right outta my hair". Then I bought some groceries. Lots of fruit and vegetables and stocked up on a couple things. Then I came home and because the gardener didn't show this week, I was the poop patrol. That was such fun and great for my knee. Afterwards I unloaded the car and put away the groceries. That finished, I had a long nap.

While at the hair salon, I did a sketch/design for another Christmas card. I did the drawing on a card and finished that one tonight. I now have 18 finished with one of the 18 still missing in action. I apparantly am at an age where I put things away for safe keeping, and then promptly forget where that is. It is my favorite of all the cards because I took more time and did all the layers on it with colored pencil. I now have 7-8 left to do depending if I find the MIA one.

No plans tomorrow so that means more cards and more tax classes. Then Wednesday is my physical appointment with my medical doctor while my plein air group goes to a farmers market without me. I have opted to miss the next two outings left before my surgery so that I can keep from stressing out my knee any more than I have to. The outings have been pretty strenuous for me lately. Hobbling around on crutches, carrying art supplies, and trying to take pictures is not easy. Can't you just see that picture in your mind?

Ouch

Only fifteen more days till surgery. It's getting here fast. And time is running out for my Christmas Cards and my tax classes. I have 15 more hours of classes to do and I think 14 more cards to do. Plus one ATC Christmas card.

Today I did a little housework but not much art. I did one Christmas card tonight but haven't scanned it. Surfed a little on the net. Someone in the scavenger hunt mentioned painting with coffee. I think I will do a little research on that.

Marching Along

I am making headway on the Christmas Cards for the exchange. I have 13 now completed. I have to take a break from them and do some tax classes. What a change of pace. And a less fascinating one. Here are the 3 I just finished.

More FACT photos

F.A.C.T.

Our group went to the local university for our outing. They have a program called FACT (Facility for Animal Care and Treatment). http://www.csub.edu/FACT/

At FACT they have birds that have been injured or unable to fend for themselves. They take care of them and release them back into the wild. Students get to be involved in the process as part of their education.

The birds couldn't be seen very clearly as they are behind wire in the cages. But they were beautiful animals. The owls were even out. The barn owls were huddled on a wooden box and looked like a scared little family.

We had about 10 people at this outing. It was a nice pleasant day. Even the sun wasn't too bad for awhile, but the best place to sit was under the huge shade tree.

Afterwards we took our lunches and visited the beautiful house of one of the ladies in the group. She has a great secluded yard/garden. It will be a nice new place to do our outing one day when we need a shady spot. I could have sketched all day in her house. Full of family heirlooms. Beautiful antic furniture. And her studio puts my art room to shame.

Here are a few of the 59 photos I took today. Click on the photos for a larger view.

Eight down Sixteen to go

I finished another 6 of the Christmas cards for the exchange today. that is 1/3 of the ones I need. Sixteen more to do. I just hope I don't run out of ideas before finish. They are a little rough around the edges, but I think that is the joy of receiving a handmade card. It doesn't look "cookie cutter" perfect. And each one I have done is different. Only one is done in colored pencil only. That was the first. But that one took way more time. So now I am doing a mix of watercolor pencil, watercolor, and pen and ink.

Candy Corn

I finished an ATC tonight of some candy corn. I like candy corn. I like the look of a bunch of candy corn all piled together. I decided to do an ATC and used colored pencil.

I was going to use it for the Halloween exchange project in Wetcanvas (all those were done in watercolor) but I had already finished those. I have a couple more that I had started the drawings for and will continue with them but they will just be spares.

I have all the 10 cards finished, addressed, stamped, and ready to mail on Monday. One project down and two to go. And 24 days left before surgery. And still no tax classes finished. Where do my priorities lie? Art, art, and more art.

I have 3 of the Christmas cards done for the Christmas card exchange project. One I'm not certain will make the cut. I still have about 22 -23 left to do. And for the third project just one Christmas ATC.

Halloween/Fall ATCs

I finished two more ATCs for the fall/Halloween exchange in Drawspace. These are both in watercolor. Tonight I bought some miniature pumpkins, two orange, one green striped, one solid light green, and another with gold stripes. I plan to photo them and also draw/paint them in different combinations. Of course they may be cropped. I tend to crop things in unusual ways. I enjoy doing ATCs that have an "in your face" look to them. I like the impact of them when they are cropped and very close.

Hubby and I were doing errands most of the day. He uses his company's diesel truck and flatbed trailer to haul the senior float during homecoming game. This is about his 7th year. He started when this one group was freshman and followed them thru all their grades. Then he was going to quit but they requested him and he enjoys it so much. Now that one family whose daughter was in that freshman class, has another daughter who will be a freshman next year. That means 4 more years. She has ridden with him during the parade most of the years he has pulled the floats.

One Mouse Down

Caught one mouse. Took a whole day but late yesterday evening, he went to his mouse rainbow bridge or wherever mice go. Haven't caught another yet but the trap is in place. The pest control was supposed to bring the sticky traps but they didn't show up. I'm afraid my dog will get in that room and get caught.

My bird is not happy. I am not in the room with her. She is in the "mouse" room and I'm not. She is getting lonely in there. I only look in a couple times a day. She is not talking at all with no one there. I guess I should turn on the tv for her. She likes being in the same room with me and talks up a storm all the time. Gets upset if I don't talk back.

My camera hookup is also in mouseland. I haven't downloaded my photos from today's outing yet. May go in there and drag all that out to the other computer too. If I don't catch any more mice, it will probably be about surgery time before I feel I can return to my room. And then I will be spooky every time I see a flicker or hear a tiny sound. I have the hall door closed and a towel across the bottom. I will probably do that to the closet from now on. I told you, I am really spooky about mice.

My husband laughs at me. The last mouse we had, he cracked up when he came home and I was standing in a chair and bending down taking laundry from the washer to the dryer. But drats can't get up on the chair now.

Mouse in the House

I am petrified of mice. I don't think they are cute, I don't care if we shouldn't kill them, I just want them gone. And now there are signs of a mouse in my home office. And what's worse that room has my computer and is also my studio. I grabbed what I would need and moved out. I won't be going back until I see a body. EEEEEK. I get the creeps just thinking that I have been in that room where he (or she as I found a lot of chewed up paper in my closet behind my clothes). I am now walking around on edge expecting the boogie man to jump out at me any time. I am nervous enough without the help of outside help.
I have read that they can come into a house thru a hole the size of a coin and can jump a foot or two. I believe the jumping part as the last one we had, jumped on the bed. Now that scares me silly. Last night I slept with the light on. Hubby is not going to like that. But I need to see if something gets on me. We did close all holes when he painted the outside but I know the doors have gaps at the bottom.
My mom used to have the same phobia. When I was a baby, she had to get over the fear as she had them in the house and wanted to protect me. I don't have kids and my dogs are on their own.
My mom now will chase them with a broom and she has even hit one with a hammer. I don't want to be that close. One ran up the inside of her pants leg. If that happens to me, you may as well bury me.
Wish us luck catching it, as I won't come home from the hospital unless I know my house is mouse free.
No new art today. I hadn't even started my Bible study questions and the study is tonight. I worked on that most of the afternoon. Maybe tomorrow will be better. but I sure miss my room.

CALM

California Living Museum (CALM) is the destination for our Wednesday Plein Air Outing. We took a breather for two weeks, so this is our first one back. CALM is a zoo/museum. Animals are here that can't be sent back to the wild. The duck area is a stopping off motel for all kinds of waterfowl. It is in the flight path of several species. They stop off, rest, eat, and then go on their way. And in a safe environment for them. Here is the website if you would like to browse thru: http://www.calmzoo.org/

I am behind as usual. No tax classes are done, no dinner started for tonight, and bills are not yet paid for the month. But here I sit on the computer. And I am happy.

I worked yesterday on my first Christmas Card for the exchange on Wetcanvas. Not too many have posted a complete card. I think I am the third one with a finished card.

I have spent several days looking thru sites to get ideas for cards. Nothing is really jumping out at me. I did find one and made something similar but totally different. Does that make sense? Well sorry, it does for me. I used watercolor pencils and pen and ink but didn't add any water to it. The paper is similar to cardstock, so I didn't want it to buckle by adding water. I bought these already made into cards and with envelopes so wanted to use them.

Well time to get something from the freezer to cook, get my shower, find some lunch, and pay some bills. Still no tax classes?