Thursday Art Walk - Yard Care In The Outback?

In Which I Drew Another Cute Pic!

Blogger is being a bit finicky today, so I'm trying to copy/paste images as opposed to use the tool they built into it.

Also, it's really beginning to alarm me that the underline under my title keeps turning red...

Regardless, I have, in fact, drawn a picture! And it's another Australian mammal! Specifically another marsupial!

It's another wombat - nature's lawnmower/tiller.

"Lawn Care Down Under"; graphite on printer paper; 2021

This is a Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat who has just finished grazing the lawn down to an appropriate height. She's quite satisfied with herself and the enormous meal she's given herself lol!

I should draw more of these odd, large-nosed marsupials. I love how they waddle along, how their butts are both a shield and a weapon, and how they're just so cute! Just... wonderful critters :)

There may not be a drawing next week - I'll be getting my second Moderna shot shortly before then and may be out of commission for a bit.

How are all of y'all doing?

Until next time, then,

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday: Sleepy Days And Sleepless Nights

 

In Which I'm So Sleepy And So Stupid

I need to stop drinking caffeine right before bed lol! In my defense, though, I was trying out that Pepsi Mango, and now I'm in lurv with it.

On the other hand, I didn't get to sleep until 2 or 3AM and woke up for the first time around 6AM when my dad had to go to work. Didn't end up getting up until 9AM because I'm lazy, and didn't get showered until after 11:30AM because.... I'm lazy. What can I say besides that? I just don't like moving around for the most part.

Except I did go for a walk today!

The weather was gorgeous, all sunshine and a balmy 65℉ (18.3℃). There was a strong breeze from the mountains that kept me in my flannel shirt and jeans, despite yesterday having been so hot that I regretted my capris and tee! Amazing what 12 hours can do.

And of course, tomorrow is supposed to be hellishly warm and thunderstorming. While my poor dad goes camping for the first time in maybe 8 years. In a camper he rebuilt by himself. Except for the half-rotten canvases he's been trying to repair...

Poor dude.

Anyway, I've been keeping busy. I'm trying to figure out how to make a two-toned panel, trying to make an oval filet crochet piece, working on old projects. I've been writing more in my wrestling novel, which I had to restart the second part of (again). Been playing more 3DS and Switch Pokemon games (New Pokemon SNAP! especially lol).

My big problem, as I mentioned, is caffeinating too late in the day. My cutoff should be 7PM, but... I've been getting sugared up past 8 lately and I'm suffering for it.

That's on me. I'm being dumb.

I have plans this week that involve finishing up some of the above-mentioned crochet projects, working on some art (maybe physical art this week?), and trying to remind myself that I can only drink herbal tea and water after 7pm.

I'm also going to try to walk 7 miles at least between today and next Tuesday since we've got our treadmill up and running again lol.

I think that'll do it for me. I've been dithering around on this blog since probably 10:30AM and it's 10:30PM now... Am geniuz.

Oh! One last thing - my alarm clock is possessed! Came back upstairs from my morning coffee on Sunday and my clock radio was playing static. I had not turned on my radio. Instead, the alarm light was flickering on/off rapidly and I could not at any point turn the radio off. It's currently still staticky, but I've turned it as low as possible so I can't hear it.  Now I will probably be looking for a new one lol!

RIP alarm clock radio - you've served me well since 2004.

G'night, y'all!

And Enjoy Something!

Thursday Art Walk: The Drip

 

In Which I Practiced Some Art!

I've been very busy the last 9 days!

Okay, that's not 100% the truth. I've been doing a lot of things, but I've also just not been thinking about the blog for the most part.

Exactly 7 days ago, I turned 32. I was busy last Thursday, as you may imagine, but an idea for more weird stuff I could do in a paint program came to mind and I decided to play with it!

That's where The Drip comes from - me playing with colors, layers, and just bein weird as heck :D

"The Drip"; digital; 2021

I won't go into the math I did planning this out (spoilers, it wasn't enough and I should've resized the canvas first!), but I will tell you it was so much fun! Was it frustrating at times? Yes! Was I annoyed when my computer installed updates and ate the original try I took at it? Very, Yes! But I'm glad I tried it!

Obviously there's a lot I'd like to experiment with, here, and you can bet your sweet bippy I'll be doing more of this style in the future, maybe playing with antializing, nearest neighbor, resizing, etc, but for now, I'm just happy it exists. 

I should be back on my nonsense come Tuesday, but for now, I got dinner to eat and pixels to place :)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday - Where The Heck Was I?!

 

In Which I Explain Myself
Probably Poorly

It's somehow been since the end of April since I last blogged. Yikes! I hope I didn't worry anyone! I promise, there's not really anything wrong.

Time just kinda got away from me.

I've been working on some big projects for family (which is my fault - I am not yet at the stage where I can make clothing patterns on the fly, but I tried it anyway!), playing around with digital art, working on my novel again, and...

not sleeping.

At all.

Kind of.

Let me explain:

Sometimes I go through these cycles where, instead of sleeping like a normal human being, my body does everything in its power to keep me awake for several nights. Sometimes it's triggered by stress - say, the anxiety of getting an inoculation when I'm scared of needles, having to do things by myself instead of with a support buddy, frustration of trying to do paperwork, etc - and sometimes it's just natural.

This time, as you may have guessed by my super specific examples, it was stress. And it was my fault.

In order to get a vaccine for the 'rona, I needed a valid photo ID. I did not have a valid photo ID at the time of my setting up my appointment, and had not realized I'd need it when I signed up. I noticed after I'd confirmed both date & time, and... had to cancel. Then I had to go get my ID, which was an hour of my life wasted at the DMV, five dollars down the drain, and a moment of panic beforehand when I realized I didn't have any recent mail with my name & address on it. Which it turned out I didn't even need for the ID.

Then I had to wait a week for the ID, during which I was panic-making a birthday present that just wouldn't come together dammit. The birthday was missed. By nearly 2 weeks. Because I gave the gift on Sunday the 9th. Oops.

The ID arrived the day after my original appointment, which the system did not cancel when I cancelled it, so I had to call the helpline which... not very helpful the first two times I tried, as robots tend not to be. The third time was the charm and last week I got my first dose of Moderna! The guy at the door complimented my Creature from the Black Lagoon shirt, and I bought myself sushi and dumplings and it was actually a great day!

So you'd think I'd be able to sleep again, right?

Lol no.

Instead, I got to have very mild muscle aches in my left arm and neck for two days (normal! All normal!) and then my body was just so used to not sleeping that I still can't sleep!

In fact, on Sunday I was operating on maybe 5 hours for the last week and that is Not Alright.

So I cut back on caffeine.

Fun fact, caffeine headaches will also not let you sleep.

So I added caffeine back in.

And finally I started feeling sleepy last night...

Except now my room is about 75℉ (23.9℃) and my optimal sleeping temp is in the low 60s (16.7℃)... I was roasting. And my head hurt. And my neck was sore from pressing my head into my pillow to sleep. And then my jerkwad neighbor decided that 5:30AM was a great time to start revving the engine on his crappy Cutlass.

So I woke up pretty cranky.

At 11AM.

I'm a mess, basically, is what I'm saying.

But! There is hope for a nap!

If the New Pokemon Snap doesn't consume me alive lol!

But seriously, on the second day of Moderna soreness, my copy of Snap came in and I. am. addicted!

Even though the underwater level is going to terrify me at some point. And even if there are some really upsetting moments (that poor Corsola! That poor Pyukumuku!!!) so yeah...

Uh...

Posts may be sporadic for a while due to a combination of temporary insomnia and a shiny new game :P

I do want to start posting again, though it'll be tough on Thursday, since it's kinda my birthday that day.

I have plans for Thursday.

They consist of sitting on my ass and eating Thai food.

I'm exciting.

So aside from all that and the surprise hailstorm we had today (which the ducks next door loved, fighting over the hailstones like they were peas from heaven lol), that's pretty much all I have to say!

Sorry for the radio silence, but now you know that I'm half-vaccinated, sleepy, and obsessed with fictional photography?

Anywho, Go Enjoy Something!

FC

PS It's raining on my roof but not the road. The weather is freakin weird, yo.

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which There Is A Lot Of Cold and Cheese...

I've been hard at work drawing today! Feels good to get something I said I'd do done. Which is a horrible sentence, but hey, I drew! I don't care!

And what did I draw?

Well, a couple of things, to be honest.

See, it's suddenly freezing (literally) cold again. It was all of 31℉ (-0.5℃) when I got up, and there were these horrid little flurries coming down. The birds outside were very confused.

Someone else was furious...

"What the Heck, Spring?!"; colored pencil on legal size printer paper; 2021

Poor Dedbert is not happy that his nice warm days have suddenly been interrupted by fluffy white nonsense fluttering down from a gray, dreary sky!

Thankfully, though, the snow isn't sticking around, and we should get back to springtime sooner rather than later!

Now, my other piece is somehow even sillier, and it also has to do with something white, though this something is delicious rather than precipitous. In fact, it's so delicious, it's begun to infuriate my partner with its awesomeness.

It's cheese, guys.

We're both obsessed with cheese, to be fair.

My partner is also obsessed with wombats - the adorable furry tank of a marsupial that digs burrows in Australia and whose closest cousin is the adorable, yet incredibly dumb, koala.

So I combined those wonderful things :P

"Triple Cream?!?!?!"; colored pencil and gel pen on legal size printer paper; 2021

This is Wommie. He is 100% obsessed with how perfect and delicious brie is, and he's just discovered triple cream brie - which is, in his opinion, overkill. I mean, he's still gonna eat it, don't get me wrong, but he's a bit overwhelmed at the thought of that much cream!

A minor disclaimer here, though - 99.999% of the wombat population cannot and should not eat brie, since they're herbivores and tend to have a hard time digesting dairy. Wommie is special. He's downright magical.

He also has a hard time with his R's, but that's because of the way his mouth is built. It's made for eating roots and grasses, not pronouncing silly human words!

Anywho, I'm ready for a break! If you've made something today, go ahead and tell me about it!

And Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I've Been A Busy Bee

Good evening, folks, it's your friendly neighborhood couch potato! I haven't been lazy today!

Instead, I have:

• Done some cardio (danced like a moron to City Pop)
• Worked on my sibling's birthday present
• Started rewriting Part 2 of my novel because I realized one of the Big Important Plot Points... kinda sucked and betrayed the character.
• Got the plastic spoon my cat became obsessed with out from under the stove
• Got the cat wrangled into her harness so she could go for walkies with my mom
• Detangled a crapton of yarn from Gordon
• Ate cheese

It's been a lovely day, too, except for the wind! While the high was around 60℉ (15.5℃), the winds were just as strong as yesterday. They've dropped off almost entirely, now, and it's a pleasant 56℉ (13.3℃) out there. Sun and clear skies as far as the eye can see, too! Just... fantastic!

My plans for the week are:

• Detangle more of Gordon
• Write more of the novel
• Art on Thursday
• Maybe food if I remember lol
• Fiber updates Monday
• Blather next Tuesday

If it seems like I'm minimizing my commitments, I am. I'm trying to focus on writing and crochet a bit more, though art is still a very necessary outlet! I'm also planning to exercise more, since I'd like to be able to ride my bike without my fat-encrusted heart exploding. The pandemic and my own lack of motivation have been very unkind to my health, so I'm working on that!

I'm also looking at more watercolor pencils, since I miss the medium. If you see any deals and you know my socials, let me know!

That'll about do it for me today, it's just a quick lil update!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday - Procrastination Station

 

In Which I'm Working...
Just not on what I'm supposed to be working on...

I have been the busiest little bee when it comes to crochet this week!

Just... not the projects I was supposed to be working on (Lady Sibyl shrug I've been working on since 2018 says W H A T?!).

See, I get distracted easily, and when I fight that distraction too hard, I develop project block, which means that now I can't work on literally anything until I find a way around the block. It happens with writing, drawing, crochet... even reading! Yeah. Try and figure out that one :|

Regardless, I got very, very distracted this month, and now I've got about a dozen UFOs (Unfinished Fiber Objects) in my room. I'm working on categorizing those, but mostly, I've been distracted by a Very Old Problem and a Very New Toy.

New Toy First!

I BOUGHT A DROP SPINDLE!

That's right, folks. I'm one step closer to fiber self-direction! Now in order to make my own yarns all I need are materials which.... uh... I ain't buying sheep or alpacas. Maybe I'll learn how to sow, grow, rhett, spin, and dye linen? Maybe? idk.

Regardless, that is a cheapy drop spindle from Amazon and a package of silk mawata I'm looking forward to experimenting with. What's annoying is the silk was cheaper and easier to get than the spindle, but I can live with that :P

That's a project for another day (and believe you me, you'll be hearing alllllll about my botches with this new thing lol).

Instead, I present to you The Old Problem:

Meet Gordon.

Gordon, short for "Gordian Knot", is a pound of blue sport-weight yarn I bought ages ago. Probably 2012 or so. Wow. Wow I totally lost track of how long it's been. I guess I'm not exactly a beginner, am I?

Anywho, Gordon has been an incomprehensible tangle of blueness for ages and I'm more than ready to have him in working order.

Which he is graciously allowing.

Apologies for the blurriness of that photo - I was on tip-toes trying to get it all in frame.

That's not a tablet, guys. That's a laptop in the middle of Gordon's loop.

Hand for scale

Yes, that's how much yarn I've wound up from Gordon. His messiness means that I cannot use the fantastic ball winder I now own for him. I'd have no way of taking the unfinished ball off of the winder, passing him around the mass or through it and then reattaching the ball back onto the winder. It's just not a possibility. I have, however, learned one of Gordon's deepest, darkest secrets.

He's not truly tangled at all.

He's just awkwardly and unbelievably twisted on himself.

So I have him rounded out on my bed, where I put on a playlist of really fun vaporwave/mallcore ambience playing in the background, and I wrap yarn while slowly wrestling with Gordon.

Eventually, I may even get him put to rights and be able to use him, because that's been the goal for 2021 - USE THE YARN I'VE GOT.

Which is hard when 75% of it looks like Gordon. Or worse.

But if I can prove to myself that poor Gordon is not an overwhelming foe I cannot defeat without a knife, then I can untangle every single skein I have. Eventually.

For now, though, since Gordon is literally the only sport-weight yarn I own, I'm going to look for some nice patterns. Maybe a vest. It's a truly shocking cobalt blue, but I think it'd look quite nice as a fancy vest.

I just like vests, to be honest.

Well, that's what I've got going on. Apologies for the lateness of the blog - I've been running all over creation trying to put my bike in the shed, lower the treadmill (I... desperately need to up my stamina, hence the treadmill), burn some of the brushpile, look up videos on how to spin from a mawata (it sounds simple enough...), etc. Basically I'm pooped lol!

It's beautiful outside, though, despite the 21mph (33.8kph) winds. It's a sunny 56℉ (13.3℃), and it's finally drying off. I could do without the barking dogs, but it's spring and that's what dogs do.

Regardless, I've got some quality time to spend with Gordon now, so I must bid you adieu!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC