making faces

I had a three-day weekend and it just flew by. Here are some highlights:

• Went to Crystal Bridges with friends. Every time I go, I find new favorites. This time…Capri Girl on a Rooftop by John Singer Sargent and The Lantern Bearers by Maxfield Parrish. But my absolute favorite is Jeanne by Alfred Henry Maurer.

• Ate Karat Cake at Table Mesa. Carrot cake…only richer!

• Ate fried chicken. I NEVER eat fried chicken.

• “Made faces” last night.

I did this one of Ingrid Bergman. I did one of Cary Grant, but it was just freakin’ scary…so I’m keeping it to myself.

I also did a self-portrait using the same style of cutting up photos. I pretty much look this way…no matter how you cut up the photos.

birdbath

They don’t seem to mind that they are swimming in a large bowl suspended by cat’s claws. We have to fill the birdbath twice a day…it’s a very popular swimming hole.

It’s very entertaining watching the birds. They make such a mess splashing and splashing! They tend to take turns…not one at a time…but by species or family or whatever.

The finches are the ones I like to watch the most. They can crowd 15 or 20 in at the same time!

If a robin comes, every one leaves. Robins will only allow one or two other robins in the pool. They will chase away any other bird until they are done. The red-winged blackbirds are the same. Pretty bossy little birds!

It’s more entertaining than most of the shows on TV. Well, I think so anyway.

goldfinch

food journal

I keep a food journal where I can draw pictures of things I eat.

Most of the time I like to use it to track what goes into my mouth so I don’t overeat.

Other times, I use it to show what I didn’t put into my mouth. Instead of eating something, I can doodle it until the craving goes away.

Yummy things like chocolate cake or malted milkshakes or snicker bars or chocolate chip cookies…well, you get the idea.

shut

And just to put a flip on yesterday’s post….here are some doors…all of them shut!

open

I don’t think I’ve posted anything for the Sketchbook Challenge this month. The theme is “open” and here my first interpretation. I went for the obvious…open windows.

These three sketches are from photos of mine.

Whenever I go on a vacation, I tend to take hundreds of pics. Even in the old days when I was shooting film, I would take 10 rolls of pics a week on vacations. Now, it’s even worse since I’m not worried about the expense of film and developing it.

Some of my favorite subjects are food, of course, windows, doors, signs, cats, and oddly enough, bathrooms. Why? Because foreign countries have different bathroom fixtures and I just find that fascinating in an odd sort of way.

abby

It occurred to me that it’s been a while since I’ve posted about my alarm cat, Abby.

Lately her alarm cat status is in question. In fact, I’m usually the one to wake her and tell her it’s time for breakfast. She still sleeps on my feet every night. Or in that place in the small of my back. I find myself staying in the same position for many hours so that I don’t wake her up.

God forbid she should get less than 20 hours of sleep a day!

Abby has been with me for nearly 18 years. My daughter wanted a kitten and I grudgingly agreed. At that time, I had just recently lost a cat that I dearly loved and wasn’t willing to risk heartache again so soon.

But then we saw Abby.

She was so tiny. She was in a litter of 7 and she was the tiniest. While all her siblings were fighting and playing, she just stood on the sidelines and watched. But she was so curious and her facial expressions were too cute…we couldn’t resist bringing her home.

Now Abby is an old lady…well, we got old together. We share joint aches and pains. Our hearing isn’t as good as it used to be. Ditto our eyesight. We both love bellying up to the dinner plate/food bowl.

She has good days and bad days. Today, the sun is shining and she keeps moving her sleeping spot to where the sun is shining on the floor. This is a good day.

Bad days involve lots of vomiting and maybe a trip to the vet to replenish her fluids. I am preparing myself for the end. My vet is wonderful and I trust her completely. I have instructed her to tell me when it is “time” as I tend to put it off until too late and my poor kitty is suffering.

I know when the end comes, as much as it tortures me to think about it, I know I will want to be with her at the end. She will be afraid and I don’t want to her spend her last minutes alone. So I will hold her and hug her. Until the very end.

But for now, we are enjoying the sunshine. Hopefully for many more days.

sniffles

Ok, so I said I would be gone for a week…but I was gone two. If you’re doing the math.

I got a cold or allergies or whatever the day I got back into town. So at the end of the day, I sniffled myself off to bed.

Plus I’ve been doing lots of drawing and animating for a work project. By the end of the day, I just didn’t feel up to drawing anymore.

I can’t believe I just said that.

This weekend is spring cleaning at my house. I’m taking a 10-minute break just now. Can’t sit for long or I’ll lose my momentum.

Thanks for stopping by.