#3089 PDIN 9: sunset

 

Sunset near Brigham City, UT

Today was completely different. T and I decided to drive up to Pocatello to visit with his grandma and grandpa. My FIL, T’s grandpa, is in hospice care at home. He is in his 90s and has lived a beautiful life, and we will be sad when he isn’t with us anymore. He is a sweet man. MT also went to Pocatello today; we arrived around the same time. The difference is that T and I can home tonight, and MT will stay until Wednesday afternoon, which is why we took separate cars.

Pocatello is about a two and a half hour drive, so it’s not that far, around 165 miles. T took charge of the music. In the morning, we listened to  Justin Timberlake and I happily sang along. On the way back, we listened to Drake and to The Weeknd, so I just listened and snacked on Gardettos. I find that if I sing or snack, I can handle time behind the wheel better. Well, those things are also true if I am the passenger. Also, I have about an 80 - 90 minute sitting tolerance, which is how the photo came to be today. 

Full disclosure: “sunset” was NOT the prompt I had set for myself, but since it’s my own list and no one knows what’s on it, I decided to go with sunset. 

We stopped at the rest area near Brigham City. My bum was getting tired, so I needed to stretch my legs. Since you should not let a potty break pass you by when you have the chance, I also used the facilities. I walked around the area a little, and was taken with the pretty sunset, so I snapped a couple of photos. I like the colors and the con-trails. 

We got home around 7pm. I laid on my bed playing with my beloved iPhone for about 30 minutes to decompress before I came to The Sanctuary to give an artist’s rendering of the sunset photo. I used watercolor pencils for this one. Those pencils are so fun!

Sunset

That pink came out a little more red than I thought it would. Oh well. 

Back to our regularly scheduled activities tomorrow.

Xo

#3088 PDIN 8: hobby plus a new book from the mystery TBR pile

 

My art desk

It was difficult for me to narrow down one thing for today’s prompt, hobby. Hobbies are not something that I lack. You might say I have so many hobbies and interests, I half-ass all of them.  However, I am an introvert Gemini who thrives on input and variety. A list of my hobbies: reading, painting, drawing, writing, playing with stickers, napping, taking care of plants, playing with my dogs, watching movies, watching sports, traveling, dreaming, cooking, looking for new places to go, buying stickers, planning, making lists…

I decided to take this photo of my art desk. I have a bunch of pens, a plant, my sketchbook, my planner, and the iPad is under that yellow towel. You can see out the window, which I spend a lot of time looking out of when I’m thinking deep thoughts. This little corner of the house is my sanctuary. I spend a good few hours of the day here at this desk, and I appreciate that my menfolk are kind enough and know me well enough that they respect this space. I’m quite happy here in the evening with my dogs and my paints, and My Book (that’s what I call my journal.)

What hobbies do you have? Do you have a special space for yourself?

Day 8: hobby

OH! I also finished the first book from the mystery TBR pile, so I pulled another number this morning.

Started this one today

#3087 PDIN 7: yellow

 

Yellow leaf on a maple tree in my backyard

Happy Saturday! I am feeling happy because Utah football defeated Brigham Young University football this afternoon. I had some concerns, but it all worked out as needed for my satisfaction. 

I was writing in My Book just now, and a prompt I had for writing today was ways I recharge on the weekends. My first thought was that I don’t really need to recharge on the weekends, but that’s not entirely accurate. On Saturday and Sunday, I do things a bit differently than during the week. For one thing, I don’t really give myself any chores to do. I am washing my bedding today, but that’s mostly because I didn’t do it yesterday. (I wasn’t feeling great yesterday and gave myself permission to rest.) On the weekends, I eat a bit differently than I do during the week. I might not cook; we might get take-out or eat leftovers. I watch TV during the day, which I don’t usually do during the week. I think those are all ways to recharge. 

Today I got up around 8:00, then I fed the dogs and took them out to play and for a walk. I made myself a nice grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a lovely cup of coffee, then watched the football game. I finished a book. I went with T to Fiiz for a dirty soda - that’s usually a Saturday treat for us. MT isn’t home at the moment, but when he gets home, we will figure out what to have for dinner. I’m gonna vote for Chipotle because I saw a commercial during the football game and it looked really good. I think we will watch a couple of episodes of Game of Thrones. I’ll put the clean sheets on my bed. That’s a good Saturday, in my opinion. 

Yellow

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! 

Xo

#3086 PDIN 6: pet

 

Harley

Today’s prompt is pet. I have three to choose from, but Harley is the one who seems to hang out with me in The Sanctuary (that’s what I’ve decided to call the room with the desks and the computers.) Harley is also photogenic. Mac is pretty, but with her black fur, it’s hard to see definition. Stella is rarely still enough for me to take her photo, but she’s a cutie pie, too. I did get a sweet pic of the all three a week or so ago:

Three dogs!

Mama said she didn’t get a pic of the furry girls when she was visiting at the beginning of October and asked if I could send her a photo of them. I am holding treats in my hand which is why I have their attention. 

Harley is my dog who has some medical issues. She is taking digestive enzymes for the condition, and it seems to be working. The hair has grown back on her feet, face, and ears, and she doesn’t have any balding patches on her body, except for her tummy and rib cage which have always been nearly hairless. I like to think she is gaining some weight too. I can tell you that she is a lot stronger and way more playful than she’s been for a long time. I’m really thankful for Dr. B at West Lake Animal Hospital who seems to have hit on what was keeping Harley from living her best dog life. 

Before I show you my sketch of today’s pic, I want to tell you about an artist I am following on Instagram. her handle is @francheska_sketch. I’m not sure where she is from; she has a cute accent. I like her loose, flowy style. She says to sketch the shape, then she’ll say, “Does this looks like a _______?” She’ll then give it a little paint, and fill in the details with pen later. That’s the approach I took with my sketch of the photo of Harley:

Pet

Yeah, the eyes are wonky, but I still like it. One thing I am digging about Instagram right now is that I can follow a bunch of different artists and try to mimic their styles as I find what feels most comfortable and natural to me. Sometimes I like to draw and paint more “clean” but I also really like a loose skritch sometimes, too. There’s room for all kinds of art, right?

Have a great weekend! See you tomorrow?

Xo

#3085 PDIN 5: mid-day

 

Mid-day

Most of my days follow a loose schedule. I find it is better for me to have a plan for the day rather than wander around aimlessly. If I don’t have a plan, I tend to spend more time playing games on my beloved iPhone. Sometimes that’s all I want to do, but mostly I prefer to do some “thing”. 

Today’s plan included not leaving the house except to take T to and from work. I did stuff around the house, like sweeping and swiffering and mopping the floors, as well as dusting and taking out all the garbage. Typically I like to get the not-as-much-fun stuff (chores) done before lunch, so the afternoon is for stuff I really like: painting, writing, reading, and napping!

I took this photo after eating leftovers for lunch. You can see I bought myself some pretty mums from Trader Joe’s when I went there on Tuesday. I’m reading Shanghai Girls, and drinking some holiday creamy vanilla Coke Zero. 

Mid-day, artist’s version

The temperature was cool today, and I usually have the back door slightly open so the dogs can run in and out while I’m sitting there. It’s late in the year, but we still have lots of flies. GRR. We have fly swatters everywhere, and I am a fly-swatting ninja. I got several of the little buggers today, and a wasp that found his way in. Usually I try to shoo the wasps and bees back outside, but this wasp was just sitting on the counter, so he got swatted. 

Want to hear my big plans for tonight? After I take T to work, I’m going to take a nice warm shower and wash my hair, then I’m going to wrap myself in a cozy quilt and watch a movie. I think I’ll watch Voicemails for Isabelle. Have you seen it? It’s on Netflix.

Xoxo

#3084 PDIN 4 - in my cup

 

First Wednesday drink and sticker

Happy first Wednesday of the month, friends! This is one of my favorite days because Dutch Bros coffee has a sticker drop on the first Wednesday of each month, and sometimes bonus sticker drops throughout the month, as well, but always on the first Wednesday. I like the coffee and the friendly vibe at Dutch Bros. Today I got a small Golden Eagle iced latte. It is espresso, caramel and vanilla breve (half-and-half) with a caramel drizzle. The Golden Eagle is one of their signature drinks, and coincidentally the first drink I had there long ago. Their drinks do tend to be pretty sweet, so sometimes I will order them half sweet. Also, their mochas are made with chocolate milk, and I don’t like that very much, so when I do get a mocha, I order it with regular milk. 

The sticker this month is cute. It’s like Thanksgiving Day parade balloons. 

Day 4: in my cup

I intended to stay home today after the Dutch Bros run, but I had to handle a couple of errands, so I did go back out. It is a chuchurio kind of day: cloudy and cool. MT and I planted some tulip and crocus bulbs. I think tomorrow I will do a bit of puttering around in the yard. I want to plant the Russian sage in the flower bed. It’s also about time to prep the pots for the winter, although we haven’t had frost yet, so I’m still enjoying some geranium blooms. I think I’m going to bring the pot of lavender and the pot of rosemary in and put them on the window sill here in the sanctuary. They will get good light in the morning and into to the afternoon in that window.

MT has gone to Pocatello for a couple of days. I expect he will be back on Friday. I’m sure he and his mom will have a lot to talk about after the elections yesterday. T isn’t working tonight, so I’m about to head downstairs to make dinner. It’s pasta Wednesday, and we will be having chicken linguini alfredo. We prefer the linguini noodles. Also, Harley is here informing me that it is her dinner time as well, and I better get to prepping her meal.

Xo from SLC. 

#3083 PDIN 3 - sky/clouds

 

Sky

It was a nice day in Salt Lake City. The sky was a bright, flat, clear blue without clouds. It’s nice to be outside with a blue sky, but it’s not very nice for photos. I was at Red Butte Garden and Arboretum (RBGA) recording blooms in the Children’s Garden (CG). There isn’t much blooming, so it was more like a really pleasant stroll. Up at the top of the CG, I glanced up to see the snow-covered peaks of the Oquirrh Mountains to the west, and there are some clouds below the peaks. I love it when that happens. It is difficult to see in this photo. Maybe if you double tap on the pic it will enlarge and you can see the clouds a little better?

Here is my artistic rendition of the photo:

Sky

I hope you all had a lovely day!

Xo