dailydoodle7-26-09

We actually made it out of Mom’s without a week’s worth of leftover  overcooked meat. She still insisted we take food with us. We got a half dozen cucumbers and a couple of tomatoes. Both items which we had forgotten in grocery shopping yesterday. And if I understood my mother-in-law correctly came from my sister-in-law’s garden.

Lunch today was mounds of mashed potatoes, enough for 8 people. (There was just the three of us, as usual.) Also, about a half dozen pork steaks; breaded and fried, then baked in cream of mushroom soup for an hour. My husband, bless his heart, tried to consume all of them in one sitting. I ate about a quarter of mine after doing my best to scrape the mushroom soup and breading off. Neither one of which I should be eating as they both contain items to which I am allergic. *sigh* You would think after knowing  me for nearly a dozen years, my mother-in-law would realize I have food allergies. The cans of vegetables didn’t make it to the table today. I ‘forgot’ to get them out of the basement. I did cut up one of the cucumbers and one of the tomatoes my MIL handed me. The other 3 I put back in the fridge.

My niece and her adorable son who’s about 2-1/2 showed up in the mid afternoon. He was a very crabby baby and was making his mom a very frustrated one. He was in his third time out for misbehaving as we took our leave and headed for home. Neither one of them looked very happy. He had tears on his cheeks and my niece looked about ready to spit. LOL I am so glad those days are behind me.

We then went to the market for the other half dozen things we forgot while shopping yesterday. Among them fresh butter.

I used some of that fresh butter to make chocolate chip cookies. The timer is telling me it’s time to take them out of the oven. Yum. I make them with extra-dark chips and walnuts. The house smells delish!

dailydoodle7-25-09

For the next series of doodles I decided the focus should be on the letter forms of the date. (Numbers, too.)

When I started doing the daily doodle challenge I figured it would be a simple matter of snatching a free 30 minutes every day to do a few scribbles. After all, I used to doodle constantly as a teen. I have piles of sketchbooks gathering dust in the basement to prove it.

I guess one of the problems of being an adult is all the things you ‘have to do’ interfere with all of the things you want to do. And by the time all the have to things are done, for me at least, any energy to do the things you want to do is all used up.

On Sundays, my husband and I play nice with his mother. She’s pretty much housebound and as a result very lonely. I’d feel sorry for her, but she chooses to be housebound and does her best to trawl for sympathy at every opportunity. It tends to get a bit old. Anyway, we spend 5-6 hours over there.

My brain says to me “ah a perfect opportunity to (write) (draw) (read) during the time we are over there.

My body, on the other hand, once I have done my best to save whatever concoction MIL has burning for lunch and clean up afterward, says “time for a nap.”

It never fails. As soon as I can sit down on the couch and do whatever it is I have brought along with me, my eyes start drooping and my head starts nodding and the next thing I know my husband is kicking my foot and telling me it’s time to go home.

Darn body.

25. July 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Uncategorized

Sometimes behind the scenes work is necessary. Lately, it seems as if the work behind the scenes is all I am actually working at. I am constantly busy doing this that and the other thing but have nothing public to show for it.

Today is one such day. I am updating all of my various web site doodads and geegaws. I started first thing this morning, at around 9 am (being a Saturday, I slept in!) Now the day is moving on toward dinner time and I am still working on the things I started this morning. I am making progress. I got stalled while waiting for my host to update my other blog. Usually, an upgrade is accomplished in about 10-15 minutes but it’s been longer than a couple of hours and I am losing interest in the whole thing. I did all the pieces of art on the MAC by about one. I figured I pop them on after the upgrade and still have time before dinner to make any needed fixes. Seems there are always needed fixes when installing an upgrade.

The plan was to move on to a painting that is sitting on the drafting table waiting for my attention and then do my daily doodle for today. So much for having a plan.

Ah, well. The child is away so my husband and I are sharing a t-bone steak for dinner. Yum. Maybe the host will catch up to me by dessert.

dailydoodle7-22-09

dailydoodle7-21-09

I decided that trying to find groups of people in the middle of a bedroom suburb in a small town during the work week was counter productive. I am back to squiggles. Since ropes and masses was a previous bunch of lessons, I attempted to add an Art Nouveau feel to this doodle with floral thematics.

I really like the Art Nouveau look (as you can probably see from my portfolios) and if I do the daily doodle in such a style, the theory is it will become second nature. Right now I have to carefully consider every line and placement of each element. Some of the artists working in this style make it look so incredibly easy. I want my art to look that way as well.