Animal Wednesday - walking the dogfish

Is it really Wednesday?  It seems like Sunday was yesterday, we've been so busy catching up on the week's events.  We did have one event happen here that has never happened to me before.  The critter that has been eating the plants in my garden has a field day while we were away and ate EVERY SINGLE LEAF off my tomato plants.  In my 30 years of gardening I have Never had a critter that disturbed my tomato plants. Whatever animal did this was very cautious - he (or she) daintily left the main stalks standing but ate every leaf.  I don't know what animal did this, there are no paw prints or other hints. I'm still thinking woodchuck, but this seems rather dainty work for a big old woodchuck. 

Anyway, despite being mad at that animal, it is still Animal Wednesday - and I am posting my favorite portion of that picture below.  Walking the Dogfish - what could be more fun? 

Progression

I started this drawing on a plane back from England on my last trip.  One of the ways that I can manage a trip on a crowded plane is to withdraw into my own little world, and simply escape.  So, a pencil drawing was started. 

While in Florida on this recent trip there were times when all the obligations closed in, so I'd get up early in the morning and draw and paint until MIL got up, and shuffled down the hall to get her newspaper.  Then she'd come into the kitchen and we'd chat.  MIL is a funny lady, I think that her generation (she's 81) didn't really "talk" to men and therefore she only listens to her son, but doesn't really tell him anything.  Me...I get it all...until my ears stop working!  

Actually, I'm very lucky with my MIL - I've never had a cross word with her (okay, once - but that was it) and I can't complain about her at all.  She's been a widow for over 40 years, is active and very easy to get along with.  Just lately her hearing is getting worse and she hates the hearing aids so doesn't wear them.  This actually causes her to smile at inappropriate times which can be pretty funny. I'm trying to get her to eat better, but being alone so much she tends to eat junk food - and too many carbs and not enough protein. 

Anyway - here is the end product of my overactive imagination - and yes...I've managed to use most of the colors in my pencil box. Someday I'll get conservative with colors, but right now, I love using them all.   

I had to crop this scan for some reason.  When I scanned it in, I had to do it sideways to fit on the scanner bed.  Then of course I edited it and made it turn the right way and all. But for some reason when I try to upload it to blogger, it kept turning sideways again which would make the big fish swim upwards.  So what you can't see is the dog being walked on the upper left hand corner - in opposition to the dogfish in the lower corner.   Here is a cropped version - scanned in appropriately.  

 

Little Isabella might like this for her room, framed and signed.  Nice to have babies to do work for, before they get too many strong opinions. 

Images from a Florida Trip

Day 1 - went to the beach - this guy was flapping around looking for food. 

My beautiful little great niece - she has quite a personality, and chatter's non stop in her own language. 

One of the highlights of the trip - a bike ride on a "mountain" bike trail.  A group called "SWAMP" keeps trails open in the florida area for easy or difficult rides - we went on the easy and I thought I would melt from the heat. But it was FUN. 

This is an orchid that my mom is growing - I wanted to move this picture somewhere else on this post, but blogger or MAC wouldn't let me.   Back to the bike trail. Oranges growing wild on the bike trail. 

An Epiphyte flower
Crazy looking mushrooms on the trail. 
and rooting armadillo's - exotic to me - not to Texan's and Floridians. 
Interesting clouds when we left Florida.   We flew around them. 
Ready to leave from Kinston North Carolina - first stop on the way home. 
And more interesting clouds  - again, we stayed away from these powerful engines. 

This trip wasn't the vacation that I needed, too busy being a daughter, aunt, niece, great aunt, Daughter in Law, wife....and not much time for much else.  But I did get up early every morning and do some drawings which I will post later....
 

HAW - Wednesday the 18th???

I am doing one of those posting in advance things and I hope it works!  I know that I should put in the post date and time - but do I then hit "publish post"?  Well, I'll try and if it shows up early the world will go on spinning won't it!

HAW to you all, - I hope to come back from Florida with some new animal pictures - maybe some alligators.  Until then - here is the animal of the week for me in anticipation of being in lizard land.  Hmmm - I should add some shadows to this guy, show a little dimension. 

On another note, I just got this book recommended by this wonderful, pet loving lady. Thanks Lolo - it looks like a good read. 

Damn Blogger

I left a nice comment on my own blog last night and it didn't get posted.   I tried to respond to everyone's nice comment on my last post and I notice this morning that it's not there.   I was explaining that T4 is one of the major hormones that control just about everything you do, it is produced by your thyroid and if you are low on this essential hormone things get all slowed down in your metabolism and you feel yucky.  So having been diagnosed with a case of Hypothyroidism (low thyroid) the Dr. gave me T4 and it is working wonders!  See Dr. Blanchard site, or recommendations.  

We are supposed to be heading for Florida today in our little plane.  Tony flew it the other night with his usual conservative attitude (which I love when it comes to the plane) and found that one of the little bits wasn't working right. So he and the mechanic spent all day yesterday fixing the little thing - whatever it was - and got it working just fine now. But he is exhausted and I don't think we should spend 8 hours in the air. So I'm lobbying to fly to Charleston or Hilton Head or Savannah and spend the night - enjoy the city and perhaps explore a bit. We're in no rush. My niece, her daughter and husband will be with Mom and Dad so they'll be occupied.  I'm taking my bike down with me to leave it there, which will be great.  The bike that I do have down there is about 20 years old, still good but not particularly comfortable when off road - and not actually good to go off road. It's perfect for flat paved surfaces - which is what we'll use it for. 

So I got up this morning and did the rounds of my favorite blogs - had a few giggles, and left a few hello's.  Then I went and visited my secondary blogs - saw how people were doing, and what was new in their world.  Left a few hello's, and then went onto the tertiary blogs - where I don't really "know" the people but enjoy reading their stories, or seeing their crafts.   But now it's 6:30 am, and I have to finish packing and work on the binding for the new baby quilt and perhaps get some exercise in before we get into the plane. 

See you all in a week or so!  

Thursday - I took the day off

I thought for a few minutes that today would be a relaxing day, but who am I kidding. Leave chores undone? Miss obsessive? Well, no - so it has been a busy day but a good one so far. Got up early and worked on the quilt for Sophia, the new Florida grandgod baby.  Hmm..not so happy with some of the results.  I like the colors and the overall look but I used monofiliment thread to do the quilting, and the fabric puckered.  I really did think about unpicking it but gave that up after a few minutes. Tony got me to add the yellow to the border, and I found a fabric with tiny bubbles on it that works well.   So that's done. 

Then I went into Boston to get a haircut. Ever since the big H, my hair has been miserable, flat and uninspired.  So I went to this

 new hairdresser who charged a fortune but has a great reputation.  He used to have his own salon but is working somewhere else now, seemed nice - called me beautiful and sexy  (yes..I pay for that now) - and has a lovely Lebanese accent.  He seemed to give me a good cut, and then I had my hair washed by a girl with magic fingers.  Oh, joy.  I sat in the chair for a few minutes afterwards and then this other Lebanese guy came over to start to blow dry my hair. ( I had seen him a few minutes before fixing the lights with the circuit breaker and assumed he was the shop handiguy)   Okay  - where is Mr. "I'm paying you a million dollars to do my hair"??.  A few minutes go by and then Mr. Second Lebanese handiman guy starts to actually pick up a brush and make like he is going to style my hair.  Okay, I think - I'm a terrible person, here I thought he was a handiman and he's really a stylist.  Well...two seconds into this and I know this guy has never had a brush in his hand, he had NO idea what he was doing.  Because it was my day off, and it was a beautiful day, and I was in a great mood - I started laughing hysterically, and simply made him stop and waiting for the Expensive guy to come back and finish what he had started.    I came out of there looking pretty much like a freak  - with a flip ( a FLIP for god's sake) - so I'll see tomorrow what kind of a haircut he gave me when I wash and dry it myself.   Here is the top of my head - it's all I could figure out how to photograph by myself. 

Then I went to the Dr for a checkup - and get this - I've lost 12 lbs. since I started taking the T4.  I'm thrilled, and feel so much better than I did a few months ago.   It's not that I am really eating differently, it's mostly that I have more stamina to keep up with bike riding and kayaking and walking etc etc etc.   More to go, but it's nice to see a start. 

 

THEN - I went and met Tony at the bike shop.  Here is where it all starts getting confusing or perhaps more clarified for me.   We decided to take my brand new, I love it blue bicycle down to Florida with us this weekend so that we can ride down there. And we'll leave it there.   So, I need a new bike for me up here and we went looking after hours on the computer searching for the perfect bike.  The strange thing is this - I would NEVER have done this for myself just a few months ago.  Suddenly here I am with "hey, it's only money" attitude and I've never been that person. I've always been conservative, always bought myself the cheaper item, and felt guilty over spending money on myself - even with as hard as I work.  Not to say that I'm the little Match Girl - by no means.  I don't really skimp, but to be honest if I had a choice between a bike that costs $200.00 and one that costs $500.00 (and you got much more for your money) - for myself I'd choose the $200.00 bike.   All of a sudden I'm buying two bikes, getting fancy haircuts, getting a new sewing machine - and I don't feel one tiny bit of guilt!  Not one.  I never skimped on buying clothes for myself but always sort of sneaked them into the house with a slightly guilty air. Now I think I could go shopping at Nordstroms and come inside with the bags over each arm. 

Is this just growing up?  or it is drugs? 

Either way, we should be off to Florida for Father's day and are spending a week there.  A week of sitting by the pool, drawing, relaxing, playing with my nieces...and oh yes, daredevil mountain bike riding on the beach. 

Animal Wednesday - effects of an animal

I am not showing a picture of a cuddly animal today, because I am too annoyed at the little beasts.  Here's the story. 

I planted a nice garden this year - here are my tomatoes in their cages. 

I also planted squash and broccoli - and boom - they were gone in a day  - bitten down to nubs by some little critter. So, I made cages from chicken wire, and put them around the new broccoli and cabbage plants, pounding them into the ground with stakes and garden staples.   Here's a nice healthy cabbage plant in it's new "secure" cage. 

Not two days later, I found the cages toppled over, and little tunnels dug under the cages and all of the lovely broccoli and cabbage plants were bitten to nubs again. Notice that only the bug repelling marigold is left - guess he didn't like them.  I think it must be a woodchuck - a rabbit wouldn't have pushed over the cage.  

I'm so annoyed and have minimal animal love today.  So happy Animal Wednesday everyone - can you tell me how to repel or catch a woodchuck?????