A Bit Warm

     It is a bit hot outside today, this week.  Temps up to 100 degrees1  I really don't do heat.  I like mild - not too hot, not too cold - weather.  So inside tangling I shall be!
     Every Inchie Monday's word is "fly".  The word "fly" instills instant action and fear at our house!  My beautiful big, BIG lab mix, Lakota, goes into a panic attack whenever he hears a bug buzzing.  Why?  I haven't a clue.  The moment we see or hear one, we run and grab the gate to keep him out of the bedrooms.  If we move too slow or don't see it first, Lakota runs toward one of the bedrooms as fast as he can and either gets wedged between the wall and bed, where he does not fit and gets stuck, or jumps onto one of the beds and stands around up there making a disaster of covers.  He also when outside if a bug bothers him will go dashing into the house.  I do not know where this zoned out fear comes from.  I have seen this dog growl and stare down a pit, and put himself between a "suspicious" person and my brother when they were walking.  He is 110 pounds of muscle . . . and he totally panics when there is a bug near him.  Go figure!

     Made by Joey's guest blogger, Michele Wynne, asked us to use a string by Margaret Bremner.  I really like this string and may play around with it some more beyond this challenge.  I also had some lovely zen time just tangling.  With the exception of one tangle, chaist, I just went with what was in my head and didn't look anything up. 

Tangles: verve, cadent, n'zeppel, chaist, shattuck, paradox, with chard as a background.
 

     Diva's guest blogger, Jessica, wanted us to focus on the heart.  Her samples on Diva's site are totally awesome.  I decided to go round this challenge.  I looked up tangles with heart shapes and played with some of those. 

     For my daily Facebook challenge, I made a huge bobble on the center piece.  So I worked on a brown tile and glued it into my calendar!  I don't usually like to do that but hey, I problem solved!

   I also worked a day ahead because I have to be out tomorrow and knew I would not have time.  I get to go and find out about my lab work - wish me luck.  I seem to have shaken the overpowering anxiety, but still . . . It is routine so I really should not stress so.  Let go and let God!
    I hope you are having a great week and it is not too hot where you are!  Thank you for dropping by and saying hello.  I love your comments and encouraging words.  They truly brighten my day.

Long post alert!!

    I had all this art work completed and ready to post and we decide to get a much needed new printer/scanner.  I have been after my brother to agree to one that is wifi compatible.  Finally.  Now we had to figure out how to get things to work with my laptop.  So the art work sort of piled up again!
     The word over at Every Inchie Monday was hippo.  I just recently saw an adorable picture of a baby hippo on-line.  She weighed a bit over 300 lbs!  Some baby!  Mine is sort of a goofy looking gal.  She normally wears a pink tutu and dances for the movie (Disney) Fantasia.  Check out her performance here - Hippo dance. 

     The guest blogger over at Made by Joey's idea was to use a star.  I made a few cross ups with my lines but over all it is not too bad.

      The rainy weather and my general laziness of the moment allowed lots of coloring time.  I finished two pages.  As I may have mentioned, I work very slow on one of those.  Lots of layering and shading.  The pumpkin is done with my new Faber Castell watercolor pencils.  I so love those.  They are so much fun to play with! 

Prismacolors, Color It pencils  FC Watercolor pencils

FC Watercolor pencils

      And lastly a few daily challenges for my Facebook group.  I like them all but I had a blast playing with the "alphabet day" challenge.

      Just returned from the doctor today.  Lab work.  Please say a prayer that my "numbers" are good.  I always get a bit anxious - that is just me.
      Have a wonderful day and thank you for dropping by!

 

Good afternoon!

😊    Warning Long Post! 

     Oh I am so enjoying my total lack of schedule!  I always do during the summer, but to think this is not going to crash to an end in August - oh yeah!  I have a bunch of challenges to post today but don't worry I didn't do them all today.  I spent the day drawing and creating, but this is several days work.
     My lion for Every Inchie Monday looks a bit - well, weird???  I saw what I wanted but unfortunately he wasn't what I saw.  Oh well, here he is even so.

     The alphabet challenge is over from Made by Joey.  Hate to see it end, but I am curious as to how we shall be challenged next.  I only used one tangle (the one suggested) for this challenge - zonked.  I love that tangle.  So I just focused on it.

      Had time to really splurge on the Diva challenge today.  I usually don't get so involved but this one just kept growing and growing.  I am honestly more fond of this piece than I have been with some in a long time.  Proves to me I need to put more into the development of a tile more often.

      There is a daily challenge over at one of my Facebook groups.  Here are my last three days from my journal.  I really wish I could draw the dewdrops like every one else and make them look like actual water.  Mine are okay, but they don't look . . . wet.  Need more practice.

 
      The first of my retirement splurge came in this week.  The way the school system works, I will have three months with double pay checks (and social security also).  So I took the first of this bounty and paid several bills so they will not follow me into the "regular" months.  Gone!  I felt like happy dancing all over the place yesterday when we took care of 4 different places!  In addition to my being very reasonable with the extra, I got my brother a few things he wanted and then off to Amazon for pencils! I got the largest set of prismas I could buy (yahoo, they were on sale)  and the large set of polychromos - which I was told never go on sale.  I also plan to order a large set of Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils.  Horribly frivolous, I know.  But I also know that in the near future splurging like this will not really be an option.  So Merry Christmas to me in June!  Here are my first pages playing with my new "toys".

Done with prismas

Done with polychromos

     Hate to make this sooo long, but you have to hear the story about one of these dogs.  A friend of mine was teaching kindergarten and was working with a student when he looked up from their book and shouted - "Teacher, there is a damnation dog on this page!"  She lost it.  And I can't see one of those dogs without hearing her tell that story!
     Okay I have talked your ears off.  Sorry.  I will try not to always be so wordy!  Have a wonderful week and lots of blessings to you!

Grrrrr!

    The growl is not the tiger I drew for the inchie.  It is me.  I have not yet received my tax refund from Georgia.  Several months later, I might add.  It has never been this late and all you can get on the phone when you call, is a robot voice!  Does anyone else think we have been taken over by androids???
     Oh well, on to the tiger inchie.  I am not sure if I like him or not.  The more I look at him the closer I think he is okay.  Haven't fallen in love with him yet.

     When I had some spare time last week, I used one of my journal pages and filled it with tangles that started with Y that I liked.  Sort of preparing for the challenge at Made by Joey's site.  I left out some I knew I would not use because they were not my favorites.  I deliberately left out Yuma.  I really don't like that tangle so I don't use it.  Guess which tangle was the one we were supposed to use?  You don't need to.  You figured it out already.  Here is the Y tile starring Yuma, yew-dee, and y-chain.  This is my week no doubt!

     I also had some coloring time over the week-end.  That is so relaxing to me.  A lot like how I view tangling. 

Unfortunately it is a bit hard to get under the scanner the way they put it into the book.  Why do that?  It is going to nearly impossible to color the facing page.  I told Ray I should just dis-assemble the book and put the pages into a three ring binder.  I may decide on doing that yet.
    Guess what???  We had tomatoes this past week.  Okay if you force me into honesty, they were the size of a malted milk ball.  They are cherry tomatoes anyway. . . . .  and there were only 3.  The vines continue to hang very full with green ones, but these were good!  My grandpa would be proud.  (well, really I think he would tease and give me a very hard time about my "crop").
     Thanks for dropping by.  I am gong to go work on my coloring book for awhile.  I really would love to see this thing finished and printed soon.  But I am very slow.  See you later!

Happy Tuesday!

     We are having a typical summer hot day.  I really do not like heat.  I like mid range.  Not too hot, not too cold.  However I think my tomatoes are enjoying it.  The one plant that is cherry tomatoes is hanging absolutely full of green balls! Now the plant that has slicing tomatoes has only one small green tomato so far.  But on the positive note, I haven't killed them yet.
     This week's inchie was zebra.  I don't have any zebra stories or cartoons.  How could that be? 

     Made by Joey's letter is x.  Almost finished with the alphabet.  I used x's and orbs, xyp, and x-tee.  None of these are tangles I use very frequently.

     Diva's challenge was to use the tangle dansk by Margaret Bremner.  I like this tangle.  I really have to try to keep those lines an even distance apart and as you can tell I am not always successful.

     I also did a bit of coloring.  I made a Hobby Lobby trip last week and had to have some new coloring books.  This one came from a book called "Free Spirit".  I went with a monochromatic palette of blues.  Blue pencils, markers and gel pens.

     Now I suppose I need to go put some creative energy into dinner.  Any body want stir-fry?  Come on over!
     Have a wonderful week!  Hugs!

Rainy days

    I know we need the rain.  But must it come so often and so hard when it does??  Does my area know nothing of a gentle spring shower?  Apparently not.
    The inchie word was gorilla.  There used to be a cartoon when I was growing up called "Magilla Gorilla".  I barely remember it, but the name stuck in my brain and the whole time I was drawing this gorilla, I was calling it Magilla. 

     Joey's letter is W.  We are almost through.  I need to figure out what to do with the tiles.  I might make a poster with them all.  I used W2, wud, and wacho.  I love the woven look of some tangles like W2, but they are totally a mind consuming exercise for me.  I usually end up saying "over and under" aloud while I do it like some sort of mantra.  Keeps me focused.

     I really wanted a garden this year.  I just never got around to putting one together.  Maybe next year when I have lots more time.  I love plants.  However, they are doomed in my hands.  I can kill a plastic plant!  Seriously!  But even so, I keep trying and hoping.  This week we planted a lovely hydrangea my friends at school gave me.  I really would love to see it flourish.  It is this wonderful magenta color and so pretty.  I also "splurged" and bought two huge potted tomato plants.  One even had some cherry tomatoes already on it.  I would love for them to do well.  They are on the back deck and right now have succumbed to my anti-green thumb!
     Thank you for dropping by and saying hello.  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Ahhh . . . Bedroom Shoes!

     Growing up, I rarely had on a pair of shoes.  They were the first thing I pulled off when I got home from school.  I loved to walk in mud puddles, cool green grass, and sand piles.  As I grew up that changed of course.  I still love those feelings, but I have to endure shoes sometimes.  However to spend all day in my comfy shoes is so nice - and a Monday to boot!  Oh my! 
      Speaking of shoes (well, I was at least) they are my least favorite article of clothing.  I don't understand people who have closets of shoes.  If you are one of those, please bear with me for a moment.  I view shopping for shoes (which I am going to have to do to have a good pair of walking shoes) as pretty close to enduring the dentist.   Don't understand?  Consider my "feet".  I wear a size 4D shoe.  Nearly as wide as it is long.  Finding pretty and comfortable shoes in that size is impossible.  For example, my graduation shoes for high school had to be white.  Mom and I drove all over Greensboro, NC trying to find a pair of shoes I could wear.  Our final choice - a pair of Winnie the Pooh little girl shoes from Sears.  I told my parents under NO circumstances were they to tell anyone.  High school, baby shoes, oh dear!
     But I digress.  On to the challenges for this week (and it isn't even Saturday).  The inchie word was kangaroo.  I am not too happy with this kangaroo, but it was the best I could do.

     Joey's letter was V.  We had to use the tangle vano.  After that only one tangle would do - verve.  I love that tangle.  It is so relaxing to me.  Just flows along and is so easy to chill to.

     I had another watercolor background to play on.  So I just played around on it along with some pencils and a gel pen.  I need to make some more painted backgrounds.

     The last piece is a zendala.  I like trying my hand at gems.  I have one tiny goof, but I won't tell you where.

      Guess I will head off to another pursuit.  I need to work on my coloring book.  I really want it finished, I just can't seem to find motivation for that.  Have a wonderful week and take care!!