A Busy Day Being Busy

Bird Seed at Sunrise

Bird tracks in the snow are such a joy to see. Why do they hop around here and there, stop, look like they're thinking, and then hop around more?

Have you ever been busy doing things that take you away from what you planned to do, and then wonder at the end of the day why you were so busy? That was my afternoon yesterday. It began with needing to out to get coffee and bird seed. 

After a few very cold days sitting, my vehicle needs a warm up. A drive to the thrift store I go. Yay me! I found a dip dish to put bird seed in (a butter crock, ceramic tiles for coasters, and a plastic covered loaf container). On the way home, I remember to stop for the coffee. Leaving there, I remember ah, the bird seed. I brought my haul inside using my plastic sled.

How was your day?

It is Cold Outside

 Sunrise  Vermont, 7:30 AM EDT

 13ºF

at Lower elevation of 282 feet

Digital photograph taken from indoors

snowfalling16Jan2024

A Blog Snow Day

FYI. In the photo (right) the white square on a pole is my indoor television Winegard 50 mile antenna that with a dumb TV receives 28 signals. The smart TV receives only 4 signals. 

The antenna is clipped to a wood slat taped to a clothing stand I can move around for the best signal, (handy in bad weather).

Mourning Doves
Don't see me

The photograph of the mourning doves is taken through the patio window. The cell phone is being held up over the curtain so they aren't scared away by seeing me.

Birds saw me

In the last photo, they doves did see me after I opened the curtain. One stayed, but flew away when I moved.

I'm not sure the orange froze or the birds pecked at it. The inside is pretty much shrunken to nothing. The other half disappeared.

Today feels like a snow day on the blog with no subject planned. It is the kind of day for an egg salad sandwich (toasted bread), and chocolate milk. The snow isn't coming down bad enough to not venture out for the chocolate milk. It's that it makes no sense energy and environment wise to go out for one thing that I can do without. I have cocoa and milk that I can make instead. No sandwich because on purpose I did not buy bread. I want to try to make my own. Thus, dinner will be leftovers.

What kind of sandwich do you like on a slow snow day?
Are you a chocolate milk fan?

What puts a feeling of doom over Earth is the 2024 Iowa caucus results. 

On the other hand, maybe folks that think he will go away, will step up and take notice, and speak out.

On my home front, changing my lifestyle in 2024 is progressing well. There are small changes. The best part is that my momentum isn't not waning. Winter blues have not taken hold. After pulling out of a late summer, autumn depression episode, I'm am determined to not spend winter with awful running in my background. 

The Golden Hour Watercolor Update

Dead Creek East Branch

  The first challenge for me is getting the color perspective right. Instead of sketching first, I made a few light pencil lines, and started painting right away. Not my best moment because the scale is way off.

In situations like this, I will finish without a lot of detail. using the painting as practice. I will then start over on another sheet of watercolor paper.

Thus far, I'm so digusted with my lack of paying attention, I haven't touched the painting with a brush in two days.

I did finish a major project today, furniture issue. That turned out well. And, I cleaned up the mess afterwards. No piles of stuff waiting for me to decide where to put it. 

Anyway, I will be painting later today. Another photo will probably appear below.
 

A Simple Thing To Be Excited About

Flowers just because 

The little green flower looks like a small rose. I haven't seen them before. Does anyone know their name? (see below)

The other day while reading a fashion blog, I click on a photo of a pair of joggers. I was thrilled to see they are the old style gym class gray knit with an elastic waist, baggy style called sweat pants. I ordered a pair. 

I rarely see them for sale at thrift stores or rummage sales. Wear until thread bare might be at work, as folks probably wear them until they fall apart, (the joggers, not the person). 

They are also called joggers now. Maybe the word sweat isn't chic enough for this era. If they wear well, then I'll buy a couple more. I think they are thee most comfortable pants in the world! It is weird to be so excited about a simple pair of knit pants.

What simple thing have you been excited about this winter?

Green Diamond Rose
Found similar online

A Quiet Weekend

Sunset Over Vermont
13 January 2024

Mozarella Over Black Bean Chili

January 2024 Flower Bouquet

 

Walnuts, Kielbasa & Spinach

1. Sliced turkey kielbasa, brown in fry pan with a fourth cup of walnut pieces
2. Add a cup of washed fresh spinach
3. Mix in a tablespoon of honey mustard and teriyaki sauce
4. Stir while kielbasa heats up, about 5 minutes on medium heat
5. Options: Serve over rice pilaf or a baked potato

Next time I'll add feta cheese, and maybe a drizzle of white wine. If I use collard greens or kale, then I'll add a bit of apple cider vinegar, honey, and orange zest into the sauce.

I had it for dinner last night. The walnuts aren't as hard after cooking them a bit. My sense of taste is returning slowly. For what it's worth, I think it tasted good.

When Plans Change

Dead Creek East Branch 2018 (?) digital photo
The Golden Hour on Dead Creek

Change of plan. Mr. Cedar Waxwing in watercolor will have to wait.

The above photo is being used for a watercolor in progress. I remember posting it here years ago thinking I would do an acrylic. Thus far, I'm still considering a large acrylic. The sky in acrylic will be a deeper powder blue like you see in the autumn.

It took me a while to find the picture in my folders. My photo library is a mess. I estimate it will take a few days dedicating a few hours per day to straighten it all out. I kept wondering where several photo session folders are. I thought they're on a memory stick. Not. They're on my old laptop. 

If you have a photo library program, then please share how you like it. My homemade  photo library doesn't work well for me. I keep a written log, and still it gets a mess finding things. 

Day 12 of Week 2 January 2024

Cedar Waxwing

Next in the paint watercolors from photographs will be the Cedar Waxwing With Berry. He is huddled inside the crook of a crabapple tree in the spring. The fruit winters over all shriveled like crabapple raisins. The cedar waxwings appear to love them. 

The image is more complicated than the maples leaves.  It is a nice challenge. First off, I know I will repositioned the branches.

Have a Berry Nice Weekend!

Bake a Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie)

Read about dandelions

Create a gift tote from a cereal box

Draw a pair of boots

Browse pine tree tee shirts online

Watch elephant videos

Play cards

Call a cousin

Happy Hot Tea Day!

First Watercolor of 2024

Dancing Leaves, digital photo 2023

Dancing Maple Leaves 2024 
11" x 10" Watercolor in progress

Starting out the year with watercolors is a good way to back to painting regularly. At the moment, it is at the end of the day. As I sit painting, I realize I have to get up to find my watercolor tubes because the yellows I have are too orangey, and the red not bright enough. 

I don't feel like get up. I know where the supplies I want are, but I'm lazy around the cocktail hour. I don't even want to get up to make a cocktail. My back aches from puttering and leaning forward while sitting. Hopefully, before the sunrise, a finished photograph of the watercolor will appear below.

Dancing Maples Leaves
2024 Watercolor 
veins not defined

Dancing Maples Leaves
corrected

Oops. 

Aha! I forgot to paint the leaf veins in. 

The definition is better in the corrected painting.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

Maple Leaf Umbrella

The last photo will be the 2nd watercolor subject.

Update, that's a maybe because the first try,

it looks more like a cacoon than a leaf.

The Umbrella Maple Leaf

This watercolor will rest. 

Last night, I began a watercolor
of the Dead Creek East Branch at the golden hour.