Rain! Lightning!

Yay!

Moving furniture and some toucans on a clip...

Today I have accomplished a great deal. I decided rather than doing micro stuff, I had to do macro stuff. My workplace could learn something by looking at what I did today... Rather than slowly moving around cleaning little corners, I decided to move the furniture that needed to be moved. As a result, I'm hot and sweaty and I could really use some food. Right now I have the AC set at 66 degrees (I don't think I've ever had it that low) just until I cool down. Then I will shut it off and open the windows. What did I move today? I'm sure you're dying to know. I moved the little night stand in my bedroom that holds the t.v. over to the corner of my room. In the space I created, I put my c.d. shelf that was in the living room. I also moved the chest of drawers that I'm going to get rid of from my bedroom into the living room. Right now it is in front of my closet, but it doesn't matter as I don't need anything from in there. I also moved my short bookshelf that was in the living room into the bedroom where the chest of drawers used to be. So, now I have a huge, empty space in the living room for the new book shelf. Yay! Right now, my cat Phoebe is on the chest of drawers that is temporarily sitting in the living room, trying to figure out if there is something new she jump up on. And she did it! She was just on top of the bathroom door. All of the furniture moving has been quite an adventure for the cats.

As for the toucans on a clip, I had mentioned (or maybe I didn't in the blog) the 3M clippy thing. How can one keep track of where one mentioned this or that in cyberspace when it could have been e-mail, twitter, blog, facebook, etc...? So many difficulties this modern technology creates... Anyway, this is a picture of the toucans hanging from the 3M clippy thing. I want more of them! 3M clippy things that is, not toucans. Although more toucans would be fine too.

Please don't eat the suburban chicken...

Yes, it's me again. I can't believe I forgot to blog about the suburban chicken. As the story goes, my friend was showing me her garden on Sunday night and I looked up to see a chicken. It turns out my friend's neighbor has 2 chickens. One lays an egg every day, the other one lays an egg every once in awhile. Of course I was all excited and had to run inside to grab my phone for a photo op.. Unfortunately, the chicken being a chicken was a chicken and ran away when I tried to get close enough for a decent photo. Next week I will bring my camera so I can zoom. I will be very sad if I hear that these chickens are going to be eaten when winter comes around. I told the chicken that I was very sorry that I, on occasion, eat her brothers or sisters. I don't think that she understood as she still didn't let me near her.

Rhino quote of the day...

I love this quote (it's from one of the articles that I linked on twitter): "The rhinos are also good at smelling and they love to be called by their names. Whereas they are known to be friendly to human beings, they can also be violent and deadly if one offended them." In other words, make sure you get their names right or you might offend them. For instance, don't call a rhino named Mack, Douglas or he may kill you. I do also love that they are good at smelling. I think I'm pretty good at that too.

Plantains anyone?

Hi all. I did do a drawing this weekend, although I had planned on doing much more. I had planned on painting. It's so hard to drag out all the paints and get messy. It's easier to just drag out a pencil. One doesn't have to exert oneself with a pencil and the only mess that it ever makes is a smudge here or there. A pencil just is. Its not flashy and doesn't pretend to be special and it serves me well. I think even if there wasn't a mess to deal with, I would still prefer the pencil. Three cheers for the pencil, the undervalued member of the art supply community. Now to get back to my drawing, it was done for the weekend drawing event, however, I did not post it at wetcanvas. When you post your drawing, then you have to comment on everyone else's drawings and paintings and I just did not feel like doing that this weekend, so I'll just post it here. This is a woman from some island (I don't remember which one and there are a lot of islands out there, so I'm not going to guess) preparing something with plantains. I do love plantains. I'll take them baked, I'll take them fried and I'll take them in a little chip. So, I would imagine that I would like whatever this woman is going to prepare.


It's back to work for me today. I feel like I didn't get much of a weekend (well, I suppose not as it was actually only one day) because I was too busy running around. I suppose some people would constitute running around doing stuff as a weekend activity, but I tend to like to use my weekends to do not much of anything. I do my stuff (including most of my socializing during the week). Having a schedule such as mine (working one day every weekend and having a day or two off during the week), enables one to do things a bit differently than the rest of the world. That's one of the few things (very few) that I like about my job.

Oh, and speaking different schedules, I have found a new and improved day and time to wash clothes: Monday morning. At this time, I don't have to fight anyone for the washing machine and, for some reason, it feels less like a chore than it does on Sunday night.

Edited to add, if by some reason you ever want to read a link or look at a picture that I post on twitter, I have found that clicking on the link on this page, will not do the trick as it tries then to load the picture or article in the small sidebar space. You have to click on "follow me on twitter," which does not actually mean you will be "following" me on twitter, it just takes you to my twitter page. And speaking of twitter, even though I thought it was silly at first, I have found that I'm actually really liking it (it is useful). For instance, I am following some NPR news sites and they keep me updated with links and some more obscure things like the International Rhino foundation and Manchester libraries. It is a great and easy way to keep up with information on subjects that you are interested in. And it can be fun to just write silly little tweets now and then as well.

Red Sky Rhino

I attempted watercolors again and they turned into mud. I also had to add some colored pencil at the end to make it look decent. I have always heard that watercolors are the most difficult painting medium. Sure, one can paint something that looks o.k. if he or she doesn't know how to use them, but then it sort of becomes something other than a watercolor painting, doesn't it? Watercolors are supposed to be delicate and spontaneous, not muddy and forced. But that's o.k., I suppose--all I'm doing is trying. It's not like I'm entering a watercolor competition or anything...

Now I need to get my butt going. I feel like I have so much to do this afternoon before I meet pals for appetizers at 4:30. I have to exercise and wash my hair as I don't want to have to do that tonight. I have to go see a cat. And finally, I need to watch another episode of Mad Men (my friend and I are going to start watching the second season on Sunday, so I have to have all of season 1 watched by then and still have 5 to go). Such hard work to do on my day off;) Oh, and I probably should tweet one more time, don't you think? The burdens never end...

Oh, and just a plug, because it's all so very interesting, make sure you read my tweets on the sidebar.

Hippo Birdy...

No, it's not anyone's birthday and I would never address anyone's birthday in that way, anyway--kind of nerdy. I have just sketched a hippo and a birdy--that's all. This is my first hippo ever. They are sort of the red headed step children of the pachyderm world to me. The babies can be very cute, but the adults are really kind of nasty creatures and I have not warmed to them at all. Anyway, this was just a sketch that I did while watching Mad Men on-line. Kind of fitting: mad men and mad hippo. The hippo does look a bit mad, as they do... I would never want to run into one. They have very powerful jaws.

This morning, during break, I took a trip to the Brookdale mall's Farmer's Market (yes, they actually have one) and bought some delicious vegetables: summer squash, pea pods, onions and potatoes. I had some potatoes with a bit of butter and some chives tonight for dinner and they were awesomely delicious. These Hmong farmers really grow some good vegetables. It wasn't a huge farmer's market (there were only 4 tents), but the vegetables all looked great. In fact, they even cut the shaggy ends off the green onions. I bought one thing from each tent. I was very polite that way...

Running Rhino

Well, he's sort of running. The photo was an action shot and I managed to capture some of the action, but not enough. This guy (or girl) in the photo was running like the dickens as little rhinos tend to do. Mine just looks like he's sluggishly in motion. Suddenly it's 12:52. Time sure does run away from you when you are drawing running rhinos. I hadn't drawn a rhino in awhile and thought it was time to get back into it. I do so want to start working on my Rhinoceros Accessories book in earnest one of these days someday, whenever... A friend of mine also wants to write a book about Clara the rhinoceros and would like me to do the pictures. I do like the idea of collaborating. It would be fun. Then all of the pressure is not on oneself. I know someone has already done a really cute book kids' book about Clara, but I thought we could take a different angle. Maybe focus on her trip down the Rhine river? I kind of like the title Rhino on the Rhine:)

Anyway, I have to get up and go. I have a few things to do this afternoon and should get going now. I'm still in my pajamas. I'm loving the cool breeze that is breezing through my window. My cats seem to be enjoying it too.

Edited to add I watched Annie Hall last night and laughed as I always do. One of my favorite Woody Allen quotes is from that movie: "Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable. The horrible are the cancer patients and the terminal cases... the miserable is everyone else. So, be thankful that you're miserable."

Morning piggies... and afternoon edit with "pamplemousse"

And no I do not mean sausage links or bacon strips. I just mean that I drew these piggies this morning. I did not eat them. In fact, no piggies were harmed in the making of this drawing. I do love Wednesdays. I like just letting the day unfold slowly. Got up at 10:00 today. I didn't have any milk in the house, so I went through McD's drive-through and got a vanilla latte. I know I could have gotten some milk or had a Caribou coffee just across the street, but that would have involved getting fully dressed. The drive-through allowed me to be partially in pjs. I drank my latte while first reading and then drawing piggies. Now I'm thinking of getting fully dressed and going out for real, but I'm just thinking about it at this point.

I can't believe how nice it is today. When I got off work last night it was all muggy and thick aired, so I slept with the AC running. Boy was I surprised when I went out for my coffee and discovered that the air was dry and that there was a refreshingly cool breeze to go along with it. Perfect weather for reading and drawing piggies... Have I mentioned how much I love Wednesdays?

I'm back after a search for my shampoo. Didn't feel like driving all the way to MG to my hair salon, so stayed in the area. I guess it must be a sign of the bad economy that there just doesn't seem to be very many hair salons in the area anymore. There was one just down the street that isn't open anymore and of course the one in Bd closed. Didn't find my product. Fortunately, I have some other shampoo at home, so it wasn't urgent. I got a small Starbucks white mocha while I was out. The latte I had this morning was also a small and it just didn't cut it. I also got some milk, so I can make my own coffee tomorrow morning. Hope everyone is having a good day and that any quests that you make are more fruitful than mine.

Oh, one more thing. I wasn't just in search of hair products. I also needed sparkling water (I have a major addiction to the stuff and can't live without it). I did find that, but they were out of my regular berry flavor (of course). The flavor that I bought I haven't tried before and I think I may really like it. It says "pamplemousse" on the can. I'll leave you to figure out what flavor that is. I think I have found a new favorite word.

Sicilian Buttercup

This chicken is a Sicilian Buttercup. He is not a squash or a flower, but a chicken. And I do have to wonder if he is a member of the chicken mafia? I am now the proud owner of the book, Extraordinary Chickens I had checked out this book several times and when I saw it in our book sale room (well, actually someone that was looking out for me, stuck it in my locker) for $1.00, I had to buy it. It is full of photos of extraordinary chickens. This guy (I keep saying guy--wouldn't that make him a rooster? But then again, roosters are nothing more than male chickens). Whatever you do think of this chicken (or rooster), you have to admit that his comb and his waddle are pretty extraordinary, especially in the photo, as they are all dramatically red and bumpy and look like internal organs. I need to do one of these guys in color. This was just a quick sketch that I did last night, so I didn't even come close to showing how extraordinary this chicken actually is.

jb, it was good to see you at the party yesterday. Glad you popped in... I am exhausted today. After all that partying yesterday, I didn't go home after work, but went to a friend's house and didn't get home until almost 1:00. A very long day... Today I have to go to work and actually work--no more partying.

Another retirement party at the library...

Yes, as my title says, there will be another retirement party at the library tomorrow. *sniff* I am going to miss this person very much, but I'm glad she's able to move on and get away from our not very healthy workplace. Since she went on a date with Harrison Ford (and didn't like him) when she was in college, I just couldn't resist doing a little picture of him with a speech bubble for her scrapbook. Hopefully, she will find it funny and not be too embarrassed. I do have another page that includes text, but I'm just going to post the picture. Hope everyone had a good day. Mine whizzed by all too quickly.

The Hungry Little Library Caterpillar

We have little joy at our workplace, so we have been very excited about this hungry little caterpillar. He just sits outside the staff door on a milkweed and chomps the day away. Unfortunately none of us could find him yesterday. I am hoping that he was just taking a break from the munching and lounging in the foliage on the ground. It's about time for him to zip into his chrysalis. When I was a kid I raised many monarch caterpillars, so all of this stuff is not new to me, but it has been fun to watch this little guy and I would like to eventually see him fly away with his new, shiny, orange and black wings. Here is a little video I took with my phone. Even though the picture isn't all that clear, I think you can tell that he's munching and completely oblivious to all the commotion going on around him.

Tweets on the side bar...

As you can see I've added my tweets to the sidebar. Until I updated today, it had been 82 days since my last tweet. I'm what you would call an infrequent tweeter.

Overworked elephants...

I have been really tired the past few days and have been just sort of slugging around. I slept until noon today and still felt tired. Therefore, I just sort of lounged the day away and didn't do much of anything at all. It's amazing how fast the day goes by when you are just wasting time being lazy. This evening, realizing I hadn't done a damn thing, I decided I would do some elephants in color. These are a mixture of watercolor pencils and watercolors. As with most of my attempts with watercolor, they are overworked. Overworked elephants. With watercolor, less is more. I don't know much about watercolor at all, but I do know that one essential fact.

Tomorrow it's back to work for me. I'm sure I will be tired and sluggish again. At least I won't be at home overworking elephants. Elephants have rights, you know...

Hee haw

Do blue donkeys say "hee haw"? Or do they bray in a more exotic way? I don't know as I've never encountered one. This was another effort for the weekend drawing event. I was going to do more last night, but had movie night (with pizza this time) with my friend and I was so tired when I finally got home that I passed out on the couch immediately. I rarely go to bed before 1:00 and this was only 11:30. I guess having only a few hours of sleep the night before and then having to work yesterday caught up with me. I had strange dreams all night long too. They were more than likely pizza dreams. Fortunately they weren't nightmares. I still feel sleepy, even though I had plenty of sleep. Actually I am contemplating calling in sick as I feel unwell, in general. Even my blog entry is kind of sluggish...

Edited to add that I did call in sick, so I think I will stay home and draw more inky animals today.

Edited again to add: How could anyone resist such a charming product?

A Sketchy Sumatran Rhino

I am home again after being away for a couple of days pet-sitting my friends' dogs and I have done some drawing, so I thought I would blog. As much as I like dogs, I'm glad to be home with my cats. They are much less needy. Thanks for being cats and using a litter box, Phoebe and Frodo. The having to let creatures outside to do their business can be a bit of a pain, especially when they don't want to come back inside and you have to resort to all kinds of tricks to get them inside.

I suppose some people are out experiencing the Independence Day tradition of viewing fireworks, but I am not. I have been inside finishing my True Blood (my new favorite show) marathon and drawing. I do have to go to work tomorrow after having 4 days off and that kind of sucks, but I'm trying not to think about it too much. I am just going to spend the rest of the evening pretending I don't have to work tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a fine evening. I know I am.

Oh, Mr. Rhino was done for the weekend drawing event. You don't know how surprised I was to see a Sumatran rhino amongst the selections for this weekend. Obviously, I had to draw him. He was done with my Inktense pencils and an ink pen.

Another sketch of elephants climbing all over each other...

As my title says, more elephants. I still am drawing them so I have a selection that I can use for the website. I'm thinking that I may still do the html site so that I can actually design something rather than just using what the word press blog provides. We'll see what happens. I always have grand ambitions that lead to plans that don't always come to fruition.

I have 4 days off, starting today! Woo hoo! In real life I would never say "woo hoo," but in the blogosphere I shout it freely. I start a pet-sitting job tomorrow, but that's fine. It's just for my friend that lives only a few miles away and she has a nice t.v. and computer set-up, as well as a deck where I can bask in the sun if I chose to. I'm there a lot anyway, so I feel at home at her house. And I do love her dogs. In fact, the elephants pictured above remind me of them. One of the dogs is an old Golden Retriever and the other is a young German Shepherd. The old dog lets the young one climb all over him while he just lies there, hence my comparison. Yeah, I bet you thought I was going to say that they both have trunks or rough, wrinkly, gray skin, but not the case...

I got up early this morning. I think I'm just so thrilled that I have 4 days off that I want to enjoy them to the fullest, therefore, I woke up early so I could start the enjoyment. So far, so good... I'm enjoying coffee and some Baroque music at the moment. I think I may enjoy a bit of reading soon and then quite possibly some drawing. We'll see how things unfold. I like just letting things unfold (like all the clothes lying on my bed) without a plan. Work (especially a job one hates)tends to get in the way of that. Oh, one more thing. Later I plan on enjoying a tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwich (my all-time favorite). I enjoyed one yesterday and can't wait to enjoy another today.

Edited to add one more thing. The rhinoceros bootie boogie photo was actually an animated gif that I had created, but alas, Blogger took away the animation. I did read that you can get animated gifs to work by messing with the html. I may try that later.