#3092 PDIN 12: grass

 

Stella!

As you can see, it was another lovely day here in SLC. The sky was bright blue, the temperature was in the upper 50s, and the sun was shining. A storm front is in the forecast, and that weather will be welcome, too. 

MT and I drove up to Midway, UT this morning  I wanted to visit The Dainty Pear for their Marche de Noel, the French Christmas market. The Dainty Pear is such a pretty store. Everything of substance is over my price range, but I enjoy going in there. I don’t think I could ever convince myself to spend $58 on a small candle, no matter how wonderful it smelled. I mean, if a close and dear friend wanted one, had to have it, couldn’t be happy without it, I’d buy it for her, but not for myself.  That store and Haven are stuffed full of extremely pretty things, but my budget is more Home Goods. We did stop into the bookstore Folklore and bought a couple of books each. I guess that’s where my priority is LOL. MT hadn’t been in Folklore, and he thought it was great (because it is.) We had lunch at Midway Mercantile. MT had the trout with parsnip puré. I had the burger, and it was delicious. Good bun. Burger perfectly cooked. Oh, and when we first got to town, we stopped at Midway Bakery. I am really looking forward to having that cinnamon roll for breakfast tomorrow!

The prompt for today is grass. Grass by itself is kind of boring, so I snapped an action shot of Stella bringing me her frisbee. Isn’t she the cutest?! Yeah, she’s kind of annoying with her single-minded focus on her toys, and she is a noisy little shitkabob, but damn, she’s adorable. 

I don’t have much on the agenda for the weekend. The forecast is for rain, so I’ll be happy to sit around, drink coffee, and read my books. I’ll do some laundry, maybe cook something delicious - I’m thinking tacos - and watch a movie. Sounds like a nice way to spend the day, amIright?

See ya tomorrow!

Grass

#3091 PDIN 11: comfort food

 

A fried egg with potatoes and sausage

Happy Veteran’s Day to all who served. My dad and my uncle were both soldiers in the Army, my father-in-law was a sailor in the Navy, and my brother-in-law was also in the Army and in the National Guard, and he now works for the VA. 

Today was a beautiful day here. The sky was blue, the temperature was in the low 60s. I was looking at some Facebook memories and just six years ago it was very snowy on November 11. Today I drove with my window part-way down and slathered my face with sunscreen while I was recording blooms. Yes, there are still flowers blooming in the foothills in (nearly) mid-November. There are still flowers blooming in my yard, too. Data centers and climate change, man.

I am feeling tired tonight because I didn’t take a nap this afternoon. I usually get to bed after midnight because I pick T up from work (his shift is over at 11:30 pm), and I get up fairly early in the morning, so I’ve become used to taking a nap in the afternoon. I skipped it today, and I really feel it now. 

Today’s prompt is comfort food, which is exactly what we had for dinner tonight. For me, a fried egg served with fried potatoes and a bit of smoked sausage always hits the spot. A few years ago when I was in Barcelona we had dinner at a restaurant in the Gothic Quarter, and I was surprised and delighted to see egg, potatoes, and chorizo on the menu. I hadn’t expected it, but my cousin told me it is a very typical meal. We have this meal at home nearly every week. We used to have it every Friday. MT calls it “eggs and spuds.” The menfolk prefer scrambled eggs, but I like a runny yolk dribbling over the potatoes. Yum.

Comfort food

#3090 PDIN 10: shoes

 

T’s shoes

It’s Tuesday, but it feels like Monday because of my day trip to Pocatello yesterday. I have been pretty lazy today. Dutch Bros had a bonus sticker drop, so I went there to get a coffee (peppermint mocha!), then came home for breakfast. I did our bookkeeping and ordered some more enzymes for Harley, then puttered around the house a bit before deciding to nap. 

Here’s an interesting thing: at night I just sleep under a sheet because I get really warm, but when I nap during the day, I like to be under a blanket. Maybe it’s because at night Harley is pressed up against me and that’s why I get so warm. During the day, she doesn’t have to be so close to me so the blanket feels cozy. 

Today’s prompt is shoes. I took a photo of my shoes, but they are kind of boring. I am not a shoe girlie. Most of my shoes are black or white. MT has colorful shoes, but I guess he has them with him in Idaho. T’s shoes are also fairly plain, but they were more interesting to me. 

The next couple of days I will have more interesting things to talk about. Tomorrow I’ll go to RBGA to do what will likely be my last bloom recording session of the year. On Thursday, I’m excited to go to Midway. The Dainty Pear is having a French Christmas Market. I’m also positive I’ll be going into Folklore and probably coming out with a new book to add to my mystery TBR pile. Also, the photo prompts for the rest of the week are good ones. 

Shoes

#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