Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which The Universe Is Trying To Tell Me Something...

It was a very wet, very hot, very crappy summer here. My whole goal this year was to paint outside once a week.

I've done it maybe three times because the weather has Not Cooperated.

Today it was gorgeous out.

Puffy white clouds, slightly hazy sky, not that humid, gentle breezes, approximately 75℉ (23,9℃)...

I had to try it. I had to go for my stupid little walk for my stupid mental health! It was now or never!

Well, the walk was pleasant enough - traffic cooperated, I managed to check the produce that gets left out for free at the library (just kale and a few random peppers, but that's on me, I should've headed out before noon), and I even felt comfy enough to shed my flannel shirt.

Main Street was the kind of bustling you get from off-season tourists who just want to see what a small New England town is like when there are no cruise ships or leaf peepers (spoilers, it's cozy but largely boring unless you're into art and relaxation). I hopped onto a bench outside one of the bigger galleries and set up my clipboard and watercolor palette, sketching out a very sloppy view. My goal was to try out some brushwork ideas I'd had, practice glazing, maybe figure out how to do impressionism with watercolor if I was very very ambitious.

A gentleman set up near me with a violin. He had an interesting song selection that he was playing with speakers. Dunno if he was legit or one of the scammers, but that was besides the point.

The point is that this is when I started to get a familiar feeling in my gut that something might go wrong today.

I ignored it, because I'm anxious, so I feel that way a lot.

I mean, sure, I'm anxious because when I feel like something is about to go wrong, it does, but that's besides the point. People aren't supposed to give in to anxiety, right? So I keep painting.

I'm adding a bunch of dabbed brushwork leaves to a tree when I realize there's an older fellow in a western-style shirt standing close to me, watching me work. Okay, that's cool, he seems to be just watching my paints, trying to see what I see. It's a first for me, but I've seen other plein aire artists have this happen.

No sooner does he start asking me questions about my art (which I was really excited about, because this is new! People don't often take an interest in what I do in the real world!), than a yellowjacket starts hovering around me. We both remark on it and laugh it off.

Then it's joined by a friend, who lands on my thigh and starts moving... oddly.

And then they're both joined by a third yellowjacket who zooms aggressively towards my eyes. I hastily packed up and headed for home. I wasn't about to run because I know that a fast-moving target with hornets, bees, or yellowjackets around it is a stung target. I apologized for my quick departure to the baffled art enthusiast and trudged home.

The weirdly persistent bugs followed me.

They followed me for almost a half a mile.

They continued to aim for my face.

I finally lost them by leading them past a bottle redemption place with a whole swarm of drunken hornets outside. My stalkers decided that the booze was far preferable to my face, so they stuck around the pallets of broken beer bottles and crushed Mtn dew cans.

I bought myself a couple of 69 cent cans of soda at a nearby shop and went home, defeated.

Some days the universe just tells you "No, you're not allowed to enjoy yourself outside." This was apparently one of those days.

It's a frigging bummer.

No one has ever talked to me about my art on Main Street without prompting from someone who knows me.

Never.

So of course the one time it does, my stupid stinging-insect-attracting powers have to activate.

Heck.

Anyway, here's the watercolor sketch I was working on:

"God Said Stop Painting"; watercolor on paper; 2023
[ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, LOCATION]

As you can see, I was trying to use a flat brush and fill in the foliage of the tree I was looking at...

Those five dots in the sky are pigeons. Same with the dots on the background building.

And the buildings you can see are a secondhand store, a bakery, a movie theater, and a contemporary art museum.

I've probably just doxxed myself. It's been that kind of day.

Is this the universe's way of telling me not to freaking paint outside anymore? Telling me I'm not allowed to paint at all?

I feel pretty defeated, to be honest.

Weird crap happens every time I try to do anything like this.

Nature just likes to mess with me I guess.

Last time it was a freak rainshower. The time before that, a cruise ship arrived and I felt like I had to leave so that other people could sit down.

I want to sit somewhere with shade and paint.

Apparently the only place I can do that is at home.

That sucks.

Anywho, if you want me to make some art for ya, I'm happy to do that - you can commission me via Ko-Fi, DM me on Twitter (it's Twitter, not X, Elon's a doofus), if you're an IRL person I know, you can reach me via Facebook.

If you just want a say in what I post next week, feel free to drop me a small donation on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category you want to see (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Food, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll make it for next Thursday!

I'll just probably be painting or drawing it either at the local library or in my backyard.

Probably the library, to be honest, because last time my mom sat outside, she was swarmed by bees.

What the heck.

Anywho, Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which It Is Raining

Today's weather has been absolutely fall-like (which I'm very okay with). I'm in terry capris and a flannel shirt over a tank top, and I have been holed up in my room most of the day.

I'm so okay with that!

Today was rainy and windy and gray, and it was the perfect day to cozy up in my blanket fort and untangle a skein of yarn that I am now splitting the strands of. It's a cake of It's A Wrap, so that's not exactly hard, since it's just four strands held together to begin with. I'm not looking forward to dealing with the damaged strands, but eh, that's life.

I did 100 more stitches on each of the parts to the pouch today, too.

I also played a lot of Stardew Valley.

My farmer has a roommate! Yeah, I chose the bachelor option with having Krobus the Shadowguy merchant move in with you! Which means I demolished that friggin crib posthaste. Krobus is a premium roommate - he makes breakfast (fried eel! strange buns!), he brings in a little house plant to share with you, and he gives great hugs.

10/10 would roommate again.

I kind of wish that you could get Linus to move into one of your little multiplayer cabins for the winter or something.

I've made this playthrough specifically to make friends with The Weird Ones - Linus, Krobus, Rasmodius, etc. I have accidentally also maxxed out Friendship with Sandy, but that works for me. I'm always a bit alarmed by how easy it is to get Emily to her first cutscene.

Anyway, all I need are 2 more apples and I'll be done with the Community Center by the end of Year 2! Sadly, no one is willing to sell me apples, and my bats are apparently obsessed with Salmonberry, Blackberry, and Spice Berry...

Also I have a chicken named Frozzy and a Duck named Junabell. I love them.

But enough about the game, here's the plan for the next couple days:

1) paint something for Thursday!

2) work on more crochet!

3) sew the pocket linings for both Z's pouch and mine.

4) cuddle the cat.

I have great plans :P

I think that'll about do it for tonight!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

In Which I Learned A New Skill!

 Ages and ages ago, I bought a pack of silk mawata and a drop spindle off of the Internet Shopping Monopoly and swore I was going to learn to spin yarn.

Today I was working on the back/flap and gusset sections of the pouch that never ends and saw it sitting across the room. In a moment of impulse, I grabbed them and started setting to work.

They're so pretty, too!

Pulling one mawata from the pile is... not easy. And with my rough hands and fuzzy arms, it means that I now feel like I'm constantly under attack by spiders lol.

First you have to delicately tease one of the layers loose, then you need to find a point near the middle and wiggle your thumbs through, creating a hole. Next, you widen that hole with your thumbs, then your hands, then your wrists, pulling and smoothing until you like the thickness of the hank. Once you like how thick the big ol circle of silk is, you find a weak point and pull until it separates. With a long, wispy piece of silk roving at your side, you now get your drop spindle.

I looped the thin, wispy end of the silk around the hook on mine, holding the hank about 6" from the hook, and then I gave my spindle a, well, spin.

It took a bit for me to figure out how to draw the fibers to the right thickness, how to manage the thread, how to smooth the thread, and all kinds of other things, and I'm sure I still did it wrong, but I'm a little less than halfway through my stack of silk and, well....

I'd say that looks a lot like silk thread to me...

Is it even? No. Is it consistent? NO. Is it thread? Sure looks like it!

I'm... shockingly pleased with this. From some cursory research, apparently I can just... use this? But I'd really rather let it relax itself on a niddy noddy or something.

I do not have a niddy noddy.

I will have to improvise. I have some ideas, one of which is to use my easel, or possibly the tiny picnic table my dad made me. If there are enough leftover pipe bits in the basement I might use some of those. Hell, a long stick with two shorter sticks would do in a pinch.

So that was my Tuesday. I'm planning to do some fun art tomorrow for Thursday's blog, and also to work more on my various fiber projects for next Monday. For now, though, I'm going to go put some soothing lotion on my hands because I've got a hot spot on my left pointer finger (on the right hand side of my first knuckle from the tip) from pulling the hanks for spinning. Today was a blast, though, even with the intermittent downpours.

Actually, I have to talk for a minute about the weather.

We went from a day where the high felt like 94℉/34,4℃ to having the last few days being an ambient temperature of around... 74℉/23,3℃ . Sure, we've had rain every single day, and sure, the power keeps going out around town, but the weather has felt glorious.

If every single summer day could hover between 70-78℉/21,1-25,5℃  I would be very happy.

Especially with lower humidity.

Weather rant over lol.

I'm gonna go take care of that hotspot.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

In Which Slow Progress Is Still Progress

I am typing this from a room that is only now coming down from about 90℉(32,2℃). It was so hot today. Ironically, the day I hung out at a lake with my family was quite comfy, but today was hot and unpleasant. At least it's not as humid today as it was last week. We didn't use the AC.

Understandably, most of my progress was made at the lake, not at home.

As you can see, it's getting bigger!

Again, this is eventually going to be a pocket that will be dyed more earthy-tones. I've also made several test squares - 10sc x 10 rows - which I'll experiment with using various dye matter. Maybe the winner will be iron, maybe it will be coffee, possibly tea.

Maybe I'll just dip dye each panel of the pocket into tea, then coffee, then iron? Who knows.

All I know is that I want it brown, but I don't have any brown thread.

I have brown yarn, so if I cannot get the pouch to look right, I'll just use that.

But uh...

It's worsted-weight acrylic.

It's uh.

It's gonna be toasty as heck if I do that, and September might not be the month for a hot pocket.

That is an intentional joke.

But seriously, the acrylic is 100% final resort. Too sweaty.

My next closest idea is some wool sock yarn, and that, too, would be overwarm.

I hope this project works out, especially since I'd like to make a couple more of them...

As for tonight, it's finally down to about 78℉(25,5℃) in my room and I desperately want to lay down and vent the body heat I've accrued throughout the day lol.

Go Enjoy Something

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which Today Was HOT.

I am a delicate alpine bloom at the best of times, despising any temperature above 75℉(23,9℃) and melting in high humidity like so much cotton candy.

Today was absolutely not the best of times.

Today never actually got above 80℉(26,7℃), but between the sun and the mugginess, it felt like around 92℉(33,3℃).

Needless to say today sucked.

But I wasn't about to melt into the living room rug and let the vortex of the ceiling fan whisk away my consciousness like a massive hypnotic aide, no.

I decided, soon after waking up to an oven of a bedroom, that it was time to collect the air conditioning unit from the basement and put it in the kitchen so it wouldn't be disgusting anymore.

Now, I'm not an overly burly individual. I used to be able to do a lot more than I can now, but now I'm woefully weakened.

This is not a small AC unit. This is not a gainly AC unit.

It's not a window AC unit.

No, folks, we have one of those cabinet ones that you stick the hose out the window. The ones that are almost counter-height and weigh as much as an obstinate middle schooler and have handles that are only an inch deep and are about 3/4 as wide as the stairs while being a good 4" deeper than the treads.

So it's not an easy task.

At all.

We're talking a decent logistical undertaking for someone who has been awake for 20 minutes and has only just remembered how coffee works.

Needless to say, it must've been hilarious to watch me heave that stupid thing up the stairs. I had to go up backwards, butt first. I was literally sitting 3-4 stairs above the AC, desperately trying to hold it in place while the wheels debated sliding it away from me, struggling to get my feet halfway between the AC and my butt, and once I reached the top of the stairs, I had to practically lay on my back and scoot it into the kitchen. It nearly crushed me at least once. I nearly dropped it several times.

But I succeeded in putting it where it belonged.

I hooked it up and re-duct-taped the hose (the clips broke because of course everything is plastic and everything plastic breaks in this house), and cranked it to 75℉(23,9℃) before finally collapsing in an exhausted heap in the living room.

So of course, I scrapped the random sketches I did yesterday and instead scribbled out an homage to the effort of moving the stupid AC lol:

"The Struggle Is Real"; watercolore pencil & ink on watercolor paper; 2023
[DEDBERT]

I was tiredly chuckling the entire time I drew that lol.

I hope you guys are all holding up well during this trying time.

For now, I'm gonna go listen to some music and rest. I advise all of y'all to do the same!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Work

I have been a busy beaver the last couple days - ground some rocks, wrote some paragraphs, did some crochet, sketched, embarked on an ill-conceived art project, and even went for a walk!

The weather has been super weird - going from nearly 70℉/21,1℃ to being closer to the mid-40s(6-8℃), dry to wet, sunny to foggy - and with that weirdness comes the dreaded Insomnia. See, I require a very cool, dry room in order to sleep, and that's... just not happening lately. Either it's damp or it's warm or it's both. Tonight, I'll do my best to zonk, but it could take a bit. I'm jangly and weird when the air pressure changes.

Now, as for the coming week, clearly I've got art to finish for Thursday - both the Guaranteed category (Geometric this week), and a Suggested piece (Animal), so watch out for those.

Next Monday I should be done with the shawl. We've heard that before, but I really do think it'll get done this time.

Next Tuesday, I'll be back to blather!

Now, as for the manuscript, as you might be able to guess, not being able to sleep does mean that writing gets harder. I've missed a few days, wrote only a spare sentence here and there. Tonight I wrote a little over 200 words and I'm on the next chapter! The total words this week was a paltry 554. I'm so far behind, wordcount-wise, but at least the story is progressing.

It's fun writing alternating points of view that keep missing one another. It's cat-and-mouse but one wants to hide and the other just wants him to be okay!

Anywho, if you want to have further say in what I make for art this week, there's still time to shoot me a coffee on Ko-Fi and indicate which category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, or Word) you'd like to see!

I'm getting ready for beddy, so y'all stay cozy and

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which It's So Warm I Don't Know What To Do With Myself.

If you live in the US, you probably know that in the northeasternmost states, it gets... really cold during the winter. And that spring tends to dally and not show up in a timely manner.

We had snow not too long ago.

Today it nearly reached 60℉ (15,6℃), even with the wind chill. The breeze felt balmy. The sky stayed cloudy and gray all day but it was glorious after so long without being able to have windows open due to bitter cold and worse wind! I am wearing capris and a t-shirt! My window is open!!!

And it's going to be just as nice tomorrow!!!

I am gonna go for a walk. Art be damned, tomorrow morning I'm going for a walk!

Or not, we'll see.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I do have a history of Not Walking When I Say I Will.

THERE ARE PEEPERS OUT TONIGHT

IN THE SECOND WEEK OF APRIL

I am very happy about this. Fall is my favorite season, but the first notes of spring are to be savored, too!

I only did 865 words this week, since I skipped one night and only wrote a sentence on another night, but 206 of those were tonight, so I'm pretty proud of myself.

I did zero crochet or art today, despite my errands not even taking my time all the way to noon. Most of today has been spent being sleepy and warm and finishing off leftovers from a delicious Easter Dinner.

Art will be worked on probably tomorrow afternoon into evening, maybe Thursday morning. If you have a last minute addition you'd like to throw on, feel free to send me a category request over on Ko-Fi. I'll make it after this week's Mineral piece. Request categories are: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, and Word.

I... may also be a bit distracted by the book I've been reading - "Everybody Knows" by Jordan Harper. It's freaking. Great,

Great writing, great story. If you love Hollywood, intrigue, noir, and amazing writing, it's the book for you.

I will be crushed when I run out of book lol.

Anywho, the plan for the week is:

Art for Thursday (Mineral guaranteed)

Crochet for next Monday

Blather for next Tuesday.

I'm gonna post this blog so that it's not accidentally a Wednesday entry lol.

Also gonna take off this overshirt I put on when I turned on my ceiling fan.

It's toasty in here.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which Today Was Supposed To Be Productive

I was supposed to start writing early today. I was supposed to read. I was supposed to draw. I was supposed to crochet.

I did, predictably, none of this.

Instead, I slept til nearly 11AM, overcaffeinated, took the cat for a walk, and shed eyelashes directly into my eyeball like a dingus.

That being said, I have a couple of hours left to do some writing in at least lol.

I wrote 149 words tonight and have written over 1100 words since last Tuesday! I'm back on track :)

I do still need to draw - I have standing orders to do a Mineral and a Location this week (one is mine, the other was requested via Ko-Fi) so that's what I'll be finishing up tomorrow and Thursday. I'm actually pretty excited for these pieces. I have ideas.

As for the rest of the week, I'll be, as I said, doing art for Thursday. For Monday, I'll have more crochet done (possibly with pictures this time), and next Tuesday I'll be back to give y'all a rundown of my week.

Hopefully I'll also be more awake. I think the warm-but-not-warm weather today (high of 52℉/11,1℃, but windy and cloudy so it felt much cooler) really messed with me. I mean, I have my fan running and I'm still planning to change into summer pajamas.

What an odd April.

I'd like to be able to actually be conversant next week lol.

As for tonight, I'm going to go brush my teeth and go to bed. This blog should've been finished two hours ago!

That'll about do it for me.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Made Art!

This has been an eventful week. The storm knocked our power out from a little after 10pm to nearly 3am, and I don't handle power outages very well. I stress out because I don't like being cut off from my friends. That's the Millennial in me, I suppose. But yeah, the whole day was pretty wretched, and yesterday had me very anxious about the power because the wind was still high.

And yet, I still managed to do art! I was given a few prompts (Vegetable twice, Animal once) and I filled them!

"Roots"; ink sketch; 2023 [VEGETABLE]

"Bunnable 0.1" pencil sketch; 2023 [ANIMAL]

"Bunnable 1.0"; pencil & ink sketch; 2023 [ANIMAL]

"Bunnable 2.0"; digital art; 2023 [ANIMAL, VEGETABLE]

As you can see, I kind of got stuck on the bunnies this week lol! I love rabbits. Lop-eared rabbits are my favorites, and little loppy buns with pink noses are the best.

I used Krita to trace Bunnable 1.0, which I had scanned (which was a pain, the scanner did *not* want to work) and then I filled it in with color. Honestly, I think I've just been using the wrong brushes to trace in the past. I used a watercolor brush this time and I think it turned out well! I based the clovers all over the bun on a tablecloth my mother has, and I had a lot of fun working on it.

If you'd like to see me work on something, feel free to shoot me a coffee over on Ko-Fi and tell me what category you'd like (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Location, Dedbert, Geometric, or Word) and I'll work on that category! Sometimes, if I'm given one category and I can see how it would cross over with another, I'll combine it like I did with the Animal/Vegetable crossover for Bunnable 2.0!

As for next week's Guaranteed Category, we're looking at LOCATION, so I'll be doing at least one piece of art based on a location next week. What location will it be? Well, we'll just have to find out next week, won't we?

For now, I'm going to continue my new trend of getting ready for bed amazingly early and not falling asleep til about 2AM.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

PS:

"Lights Out, Dedbert"; Pencil Sketch; 2023 [DEDBERT]

There is text on the page I drew this on in my sketchbook. That writing reads:

"BC of course the power went out at 10PM on a Tuesday... 3/14/2023)"

At the bottom of the page, I scribbled:

"And right in the middle of work!!!"

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Could Do Without All This Wind

It is a wild, wet and wooly world out there right now. The wind is howling and rattling the siding and the roof, the snow is slapping the windows like it has a vendetta against us, and power keeps flickering. My mother thinks she might have seen lightning, but considering that the green flashes came from towards the distant power station, it might have been an overload or a transformer or something. Regardless, it's nuts out there. It's a bit frustrating, really.

I know I missed yesterday's blog - I haven't actually crocheted at all this week. For whatever reason, I've felt pretty bad all week. I've been tired - bone tired - and cranky, and a few days ago, I woke up and had to vomit. It sucked and I hated it, but after I went back to bed, I felt fine.

So yeah, no crochet blog this week. I hope to finish up the shawl by next week, but we'll see. I'm hoping that this week was a fluke and I feel better. I just get the feeling that what I need is about 12 hours of sleep and I'll reset just fine. I'll try it.

As for the rest of the week, I'll be making a fun drawing for Thursday - haven't decided the medium yet, but I'm starting with a sketch. If anyone else wants to have a say in the art department, there's still time to shoot me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category you'd like to see (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) and I'll make something from said category!

I've had some more progress on my manuscript, though I've missed a couple of days, sadly. Today's wordcount is 187 with a weekly count of 895. I've got a total word count of 10400! I'm very pleased. Even missing a few wordcounts here and there, I'm doing great!

I'll work on the manuscript some more, make some chamomile tea, settle in, and rest I think. Today's storm is awful and I hate it, but for now I'm safe and sound, snug and secure.

I hope you guys are having a good week! I hope your projects are going well, that if you've had setbacks you don't take them to heart and can keep moving forward.

For now, though, 

Go Enjoy Something

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Speak On The Week

Let's talk about what I've been up to since last Tuesday, shall we? I have done some crochet (as seen yesterday), and I have sketched a bit, and I've written so much! But I've also had a few fun little experiences.

Firstly, everyone survived the Polar Plunge as I'll call it. Yes, there are places that routinely get down to around -63℉/-52,8℃ with windchill, but this isn't one of those places. This place tends to stay around 10 to 25℉/-12,2 to -3,9℃ in February. Somehow no one in my county even suffered a cold-related injury! I'm very, very happy about that. Of course, that's not to say there won't be tragedies discovered later on in the quiet, tucked-away places that our unhoused population feel safest in, but for now, we don't seem to have lost anyone. I am unbelievably grateful for that.

No pipes burst, no windows broke, no cars failed to start. We were fortunate. Yes, the top step of our deck's stairs came off, but honestly? That deck's been rotting for years. I'm surprised it took that long.

Regardless, the weather was abysmal. And then yesterday got up to 41℉/5℃. And today was back down to about 25℉/-3,9℃. Yoyo weather.

Now that I've told you the weather, here's some storytime:

On Friday, which was the a bitter cold day hovering around -28℉/-33,3℃ with windchill, my boyfriend and I were hanging out in my parents' kitchen, enjoying some delicious brie and coffee when I saw something under the bird feeders. Something small was wriggling around and suddenly I realized it was a mouse!

Pretty much the second I pointed the mouse out to my mom and my boyfriend, a crow hopped down and...

Brutally killed the mouse.

Plucked it up into its beak and thrashed it around until it was limp.

And then ate it.

Nature! Nothing like it!

So guess what I'm drawing for Thursday...

I won't be graphic, don't worry.

Still, that was the most metal thing I've seen in a while. Our hawk hasn't been around to cull pigeons and doves, after all.

Death aside, I mentioned that I'm still writing!

I did miss a day or two of writing, including one day where I only got seven words down (ouch), but because I was on such a roll today, I still made my week's goal! This week, I wrote 1347 words! Guess how many I wrote today? No seriously, guess.

Okay did you guess over 100? Because you'd be right.

I wrote 948 words today.

Nine hundred forty eight!

That's over an entire week's expected wordcount!

More than that - I wrote an entire chapter in one sitting!!!

So that's the high I'm riding tonight!

And hopefully that will carry me through the sketching portion of my evening. I missed a sketch yesterday because I kept interrupting myself lol.

I may not be posting on time for the next couple of weeks, however, because I'll be helping some friends out on Mondays & Tuesdays. If I am overly distracted on those days, I'll try to write a Hybrid Crochet/Blather Blog on Wednesday, but I should still have my Art blogs regularly!

Speaking of art blogs - if you want a say in what I draw (besides my attempt to immortalize the intrepid huntscrow), feel free to send me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a message attached letting me know your preferred category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word), and I'll make your dream come true!

It might come true in a confusing fashion, but it'll somewhat come true lol.

As for me, I'm going to groove to Stuart Copeland's Spyro soundtracks and draw things.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which This Week Has Been... Weird

My insomnia has been misbehaving again this week, which means a lot of late nights spent too braindead to work on anything but also I wake up at noon so there's no point in starting anything (according to my brain).

That being said, today I finished a very big crocheted square, started a stitch swatch using some scrap yarn. I will have to remember to put my J hook back with the shawl before tomorrow otherwise I'll forget my place.

I also managed to write 131 words today! That means that, since last week, I've written 831 words! I'm really proud of myself for that. I only expected 100 words per day, so finding out that I beat my goal of 700 by as much as I have, I feel pretty great about it! Also, no one has been trapped in one place or one conversation for more than 24 hours of writing time. The action is moving right along. Pleased with that.

Artistically, however, I haven't been drawing or painting as much as I'd hoped. I just haven't felt artistic and frankly, I'm getting frustrated. This was supposed to be my year of art. I'll take a year of writing, but I'd hoped for more consistency with the art.

I'll just have to buckle down tonight, tomorrow, for the rest of the week.

Hopefully I'll manage to rein myself in and get to work.

As for the rest of the week, I hope to have some art to show you on Thursday, and then by next Monday, I'll have that shawl and probably some scrapwork (like that square and the swatch).

I'm going to focus on my art tonight, maybe finish this swatch, maybe add even more onto tonight's wordcount. I feel (for now) a spark of motivation, and I'm going to have to bully that little spark into a flame if I'm going to get anything done.

And I should probably ignore that urge to go play Pokemon SNAP...

Probably.

It's just that the weather has been so bad and my joints are all achey. It's very distracting. The last couple days have been constant ice storms and the whole town is a skating rink, so it's hard to go outside (also the air hurts my face).

Okay. That's the last whining I'll do tonight.

I'm going to go draw.

I promise.

Any minute now...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

(PS: if you want a say in what I draw this week, go ahead and drop me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a note telling me what category you want to see - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Location, Geometric, Dedbert, Word)

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I *should* do things...
But I probably won't.

I am both extremely bored and incredibly unmotivated today, and that isn't a bad thing.

I know, usually I complain about lack of motivation and I get concerned, but this doesn't feel like a Depressive Episode.

It feels like rest.

The most complicated thing I've done today was refill the kettle to make more coffee. I'm not getting anything creative done today, I don't think.

And why shouldn't I rest?

It was... not a great week leading up to Christmas. A lot of things went horribly awry, especially during that awful storm on Friday. People I love lost power, were injured by the storm, were incredibly stressed out, and/or were sick. Some were various combinations of the above. My father is one of the sick ones - he gets the Christmas Crud every year (possibly because he's the only one of us who plays in the pit band for the high school musical, now, and he gets exposed to all those teenager germs), and this year's is really quite nasty.

The difference between Friday and Sunday was indescribable. Not only did we get up to find a thin peppering of snow on the ground (not a white Christmas by any means, but better than we expected), but the winds, which had been howling between 35-75mph since Friday had finally calmed to a much more reasonable 10-20mph.

The day was made up of steady feasting, starting with a delightful set of cheese boards my mother set up - pepper jelly with cream cheese, cheddar jack, and white cheddar on some crackers. I made fancy Mexican hot chocolate that was thicker and richer than a millionaire mukbanger's arteries. Gifts were opened, joy was shared, and it was honestly just a fantastic day!

Yesterday was pretty great, too! I rested a lot, ate some snacks (I got so much chocolate), and just hung out on the internet.

Today, I've also been resting. I need it, apparently, since my elbows and hands are sore.

I plan to, tomorrow, work on some art. My friends got me a really neat watercolor set that I'll be checking out and photographing. First, I'll swatch the colors (which are helpfully labeled - a first for watercolor sets I've gotten since I got back into painting), and then I'll paint something! Don't know what I'll paint yet, but I'll be working on it.

As for the rest of December (which is only a few more days, yikes!) I plan to have one more post besides the Thursday Art Walk, and that will be on Saturday, December 31.

In it, I'll tell you my ideas for the coming year!

After that, we'll see how things go :)

For now, though, I think it's time to watch videos and relax for a few more hours.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which Today Got A Late Start

I prefer to wake up around 9AM. Today I woke up after 10AM, which is fine, but my day just refused to start. I have actually been staring at this blank blog page for over an hour, listening to old commercials. I worked on some crochet today, but mostly I've just wanted to go back to sleep.

Seriously.

All I want is to sleep.

But I must finish my gifts. Same story every year.

As for the schedule this week, here we go:

• Art for Thursday - you can have a say in what I make if you send me a coffee on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category you'd like to see (animal, vegetable, mineral, dedbert, location, geometric, word)
• I'll be continuing to work on gifts & snowflakes so that's what you'll see me talking about on Monday.
• Next Tuesday I'll probably complain and whine about how much work I have left to do leading up to Christmas.

Let's see... what else should I update people on?

Well, I got a new phone back in May and just now activated it. Why did it take 7 months? A couple reasons. One is anxiety - I stress about dumb things (and yes, it was dumb to stress about it), but also because it came with a year of service and I wanted to wait til the last second to roll that service forward. It's done now, and I have to say, new phones are weird. I miss buttons.

Other updates for the week include:

We have lots of deer - saw half a dozen at the bird feeders the other day.

It's been bitterly cold for the last few days, so of course we're getting spring weather again in a couple days...

We had some snow, it's gone now.

I tried a snickerdoodle flavored Lindor Truffle - 8/10 stars. It tastes just like a snickerdoodle cookie dipped in white chocolate and has little crunchy bits in it. Quite good, very sweet.

My cat sees the sun shining during the day and demands to go out. It is too cold to be out for long, so then she whines to come in. It's very cute, especially since she actually wears the sweater I made her.

I think that about covers my week? I'll admit that I just can't sleep enough to feel awake, so my brain is mush (as usual).

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

Crunch Time Approacheth

Well, despite my best efforts this year, The Christmas Crunch is coming.

That's what I get for having 3 siblings, 3 niblings, and several family pets, I guess lol.

On the one hand, I have plenty of snowflakes, and if I make more tonight (which is my plan), then I'll have more than enough to give as backup gifts. On the other hand, I've given my family members snowflakes for the last two years, so it'd be nice to change things up.

I've finished at least three non-snowflake projects, one of which is in use already (cat sweater), one is going to its owner tomorrow (a tree), and something that will wait until Christmas to go to its owner (it's a secret to everyone!). I'm working on another couple tonight, and hopefully that will leave me free to dedicate tomorrow to art.

And yes, it's still more than two weeks to Christmas, and yes, that's a lot of time....

Except that it really isn't.

No, it's not enough time that I don't have to worry about running out. I have 7 groups of people to make things for with a total of 24 gifts to make. Of those 24 gifts, half are snowflakes, which I already have done, so that's 50% complete there. Of the remaining 12 gifts, I've finished... 1.

Hoo boy.

That being said, having a 54% completion rate on gifts in the first week of December is unheard of for me, so maybe I should calm down?

That being said, a couple of my projects are... bigger. So I really should be working on them.

And the yarn is allllll the way across my room because of course it is.

Le Sigh.

Anyway, that's going to be my week - coping with the yo-yo weather (it got to 50℉/10℃ again today for some ungodly reason), crocheting till my knuckles ache, practicing my art on the 2-in-1, and posting that art on Thursday. Next Monday, you'll probably see my neatly pressed & starched snowstorm, and next Tuesday, I'll be back on the internet to probably whine and cry about how much work I've given myself instead of going out and buying gifts like every other sane human being lol.

Such is the life of the slightly mad crafter.

I think I'll get back to sewing beads onto surprise crochet projects with some Supplemax Ultra I bought ages ago. Maybe I'll surprise myself and finish something big tonight?

And if you have any interest in pushing me in a particular direction for that art on Thursday, feel free to send me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a message telling me which category you'd like me to work from (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word).

And don't forget to Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Have No Sleep Schedule...

So...

I don't sleep correctly. I try - believe me when I say I do my best to increase my sleep hygiene - but even the Military Method isn't reliable. Maybe it's the squirrelbrain thing I've got going on.

This means that I can't ever predict when I'm going to fall asleep or (more importantly) wake up.

Today I woke up at 10:57AM.

I have not felt awake at any point today, though I do otherwise feel pretty good.

This means that I have finished zero snowflakes today in my Snowmageddon 2022 endeavors. I haven't drawn, I haven't written, and I haven't even planned for anything. I just... flailed around doing self-maintenance (you know, eating and exercising and bathing, that kind of thing...)

It also means that my general cravings for caffeine have been off the charts.

I want coffee. It's 6:30PM. Coffee is a no-no. I will probably have coffee anyway and to hell with trying to sleep lol!

It was a lovely cold day today, too. Temperatures hovered between 30 to 40℉ (-1 to 4℃), the sun shone, the winds were still. It felt like a proper November day in the northeast!

So of course it's going to be anywhere from 40 to 50℉ (4 to 10℃) for the rest of the week with rains, heavy at times, and up to 65mph winds (105kph or so). Dandy.

At least Friday is supposed to be clear.

Speaking of the rest of the week, the plan is thus:

• Carry on with Snowmageddon by crocheting at least 1 snowflake/day until Monday!
• Art for Thursday. I have no plans but I have a new toy to play with so if you have suggestions for me to try out, feel free to buy me a coffee over on Ko-Fi (button in sidebar!) and leave a message with your donation telling me which category you'd like me to make art from. Categories are as follows:
• Animal
• Vegetable
• Mineral
• Dedbert
• Location
• Geometric
• Word
• Get pictures of all the snowflakes for Monday, possibly with some shots of them being blocked!
• Back again to blather on Tuesday :)

Hopefully I can rectify this sleep nonsense (Update: it's after 7 and I never got that coffee. I'm being kind to myself here), but until then, I hope you all...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which Time Is Still Quite Fluid

I woke up around 9AM today. It would stand to reason that I've done things, right? Not so. I have been mostly in bed today. It was a warmer day today, 40℉/4,44℃ and sunny, but inside was a bit chilly for my toes, so under the Red Blanket of Sleep I curled.

I have been dealing with a weird headache all day, too. It's been swimming in a circle around my head, though for now it's stalled out over my left eye. I'm sleepy, yes, but I'm also trying to figure out a couple of crochet projects I've been working on.

Cat sweaters are shockingly complicated, it turns out. You wouldn't expect a pair of rectangles and a weirdly sloped third rectangle to be so complex, and yet I'm on my 8th attempt at making the damn thing. this time I need to add an inch or so to the neckband so it's easier to slip over my cat's head.

I will also need to find a nice chunky button to use for the belly band on it. If I get that far.

Gotta admit, this is the most frustrating thing I've made in a long time. And I just used trash to help connect eyes to a project after misplacing my o-rings.

The life of a crafter with zero organizational skills.

Maybe the biggest issues I'm facing with the sweater are 1) I have that headache and thus less patience, 2) the green I'm using is way darker than you'd expect, and 3) my lighting isn't too great and I can't really see the stitches.

Regardless, my plans for this week are primarily Thanksgiving/Christmas related. I hope to do some art for Thursday, but I don't have a topic yet, so if you want to tell me which category to paint from (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Location, Geometric, Word) by donating a coffee on Ko-Fi with a message telling me which one!

Otherwise, I'll do my best just to do something.

Hate to admit it, but the post-Halloween letdown has been way harder this year than most. I just kind of want to hibernate. I might need to start eating more nuts & beets, apparently those can help boost your energy.

I want to say this, though - I'm not sad. Sure, I struggle with my usual ridiculous brain zaps and occasional bouts of despair (that's par for me, and I've taken to mocking the despairing voice in my mind mercilessly, which helps a lot), but mostly what I'm feeling is...

Sleepy.

I'm very sleepy lately.

And I can't help but feel like if I fluffed my blankets and wore thick enough socks and covered myself in softness and warmth, I could sleep forever.

But in a cozy, content, happy way.

Picture the fluffiest chipmunk you can imagine, dress it in the cuddliest pajamas you can find, and bury it in blankets next to a tall mug of cocoa.

That is how it be.

Instead, I have to be like the hilariously fluffy doe I saw yesterday under the bird feeders. I have to keep moving and doing and making. I have to nibble furiously at the millet of life and hare off into the thickets when the neighbors dogs bark.

That analogy kind of fell apart there.

Maybe I just wanted to talk about adorable over-fluffed animals?

Seriously, though, if you have never seen a white tailed deer's winter coat, look it up some time. They kind of look like those fluffy cows that went viral last year. All rounded and floofed up!

I just stood in front of the window, holding my cat so she could see. Evie was perfectly still in my arms, ears perked forward, tail swishing slowly and hypnotically. I was cooing at that deer the whole time she hoovered up the fallen seeds on the ground.

"You are so round! You look so sturdy! So chonky! So Thicc!" I kept giggling to myself.

Late fall/early winter is my favorite time of year because of this.

I may get cranky (who doesn't, when they crave coziness and instead have to do laundry?), but mostly I just muddle through days and cozy down into coffee and carbs and thick blankets. Do I sleep at night?

Absolutely not.

Nighttime is when I get to watch silly videos and slowly sink into sleep.

Daytime is for being sleepy lol.

Anyhow, how are all of you doing? I hope you're having a very comfortable November. I hope you're having a good time prepping for Thanksgiving (in the US) or just enjoying the week elsewhere.

And I hope you Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

In Which I Am Not Built for Yo Yo Weather...

This has been the weirdest fall, weather-wise. Yesterday was in the 40s (4,4℃), the day before was in the 60s (15,5℃), and today? I think our high was 38℉/3,33℃. And it's windy! We're talking gusts up to 25mph (40kph)!

Here's the problem.

My skull is a very sensitive barometer and everything that is going on with the weather has been wreaking havoc on my poor lil sinuses.

I have been coughing and sneezing all day.

Needless to say, I did not get a whole lot done today, crochet-wise. I tried to, but uh... I'm not a human being right now.

I'm a very sneezy potato.

Anywho, after about six and a half hours of crocheting and sewing and stuffing, here's the tree from last week!

It's a little under a foot tall!

I think if I was selling these, I'd charge about 30 bucks.

I also started work on a cat sweater!

I don't know if I can finish this...

I'm trying to make my cat a cute little sweater but....

I'm already out of sparkly green yarn.

Should I add that red & green yarn? It's lighter weight, so it could be trouble...

I could also just start over with the green yarn I used on the tree, of which there is a lot left...

I think I'll do that.

Maybe I'll also include some of the white metallic yarn I used for the flocking, too...

Crochet is hard, man.

Right, I think that'll about do it for me - I have sinus meds to take, water to drink, and thick blankets to cuddle down into...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC