recently i visited Pom Pom and read about her love of drawing and seen some of her whimsical sweet work. it got me to thinking that i too love to draw and have, at various times of my life, done quite a bit of it but in my (ahem) 'later years' (mid-life later not later later mind you) i've sort of wandered further and further away from it.
i've done some sketching and a bit of zen doodling over the past year or so but only a very little bit. when i visit Jay (the Creative Crone from Studio Q) i frequently see some of her fabulous zendoodling and am once again reminded that i should get back to it. like really try harder. make some sort of commitment. or something. i've had the Blog Zentangle listed on my sidebar for quite some time and i pop over there once in a while for a peek at what they have going on but still nothing. it turns out one has to actually set aside time and materials to achieve a goal~!!~ so approximately a month ago i decided to try to zendoodle right before i turn out the light. that would be after actually tucking into bed, after the reading time and after the sudoku puzzle time but before the shutting of the eyelids bit . . . sheeeesh there's just not enough minutes in the day~! anyway, i put an inexpensive sketchbook on the nightstand along with a couple of pens that i like to use and i have actually followed through (on those nights when my eyelids cooperated with me that long). it's very relaxing. very pointless. very . . .  well, zen.

as you can see i like to zendoodle within an actual recognizable form. usually it's  done quite a lot more randomly but the control freak inside of me doesn't like to do it that way. i'll probably get kicked out of the zendoodling clan now that they know . . .

yep, i like pears. pears are beautiful, which is why every great artist has at least one (equally  great) pear work somewhere in their portfolio (right?).

look~! i didn't create any particular form for this session~! progress? maybe. i'm not making any promises. i did manage to sneak in some words . . . thought that was pretty cool and might do some more of it. i also tried using pencil for part of it. that's probably strike two and three with the zendoodle police . . . 
imagine those uniforms~!

this one is still in progress. i started with the leaf and then carried on outside of it a bit . . . not sure where this one is going but i guess that's the thing with zendoodling; you just begin. make some marks. don't worry. be happy. before you know it you find yourself all zenned out.

this is my helper, Gracie. She's all zenned out too.


next: The Sketchbook Challenge ~!!~
:-D



today's gifts have included:

• a yogurt/banana smoothie for breakfast: homemade yogurt, frozen banana, dash of Vietnamese cinnamon and a drizzle of honey
• some time to spend on my AAQI goals
• a piece of watermelon cold from the refrigerator and perfectly sweet

Texture Tuesdays

this week on TT the challenge was to use the layer (free) "golden" by kim klassen.

this is the original image i shot. we had some blackberries in the house so i used a handful of them and some mint sprigs to create a quick still life. i used a small white shell shaped dish and the contrast was so great between the blackberries and the dish that i felt the shot was harsh . . . i shot a lot of images, using a variety of settings/adjustments within camera, but just couldn't really overcome the problem. so . . . it was textures to the rescue . . .

Blackberries A La Mint

this was the result. i think it has a much softer look now. i would be interested to know: which do you like better? what suggestions do you have regarding the original problem of contrasts and harshness? do you like blackberries?

today's gifts include:

• homemade blackberry syrup
• the discovery of rosebuds within the garden
• a recount on the goldfish: there are 15 rather than 14

"music" was this weeks theme at sunday postcard art. i have once again used several of my own photographs and had fun while learning some more about photoshop elements 7.

to see many more postcards go to:

http://www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/

last night it rained. and rained. and rained. i expected our temps to dip into the freezing zone and i would wake up to snow but that did not happen. instead i woke up to partially cloudy skies and some sunshine trying to break through so i went out with my camera to see what i could see . . .

at first glance things look bleak as there have been some frosts (earlier this fall) and the plants are all brown and droopy. but i simply cannot look through that lens without it being set to macro and so discovered a multitude of seeds. when looked at this way, i decided that i could be grateful for the many and varied "promises" being made by the garden to enchant me once again after their winter rest.

the ornamental crabapple tree is just loaded with tiny little fruits that are getting redder by the day.

these fruits are about the size of a marble and the birds are going to have plenty to feast on this winter.

some have fallen to the ground and made their own colorful poetry.

thank you to all of my readers who left such understanding and comforting thoughts on my last post. i have discovered that one of my gratitudes is the friends that i have made via my blog.

i have no reason to be overwhelmed by depression and yet i am. it is such an ugly state to be in and i find myself knee deep in it with the waters rising dangerously fast.
my current ammunition of choice is to hunker down and look for the gratitudes within my life until it lifts. i do not give this information in an effort to elicit sympathy. i don't want sympathy. what i do want is understanding for whatever may come. i'll continue to share what joy lies in my life in an effort to stay focused on the positive because if i don't, the negative will darken my life like the worst kind of dark storm. these things may or may not be things that you feel grateful for and i will totally understand if you decide to mosey elsewhere while i get through it.

i am grateful.

for lunch i enjoyed a toasted parmesan cheese bagel with a slice of muenster on top and a few slices of a deliciously ripe nectarine on the side. as i prepared and ate it i kept in mind how much i enjoy this tasty meal and how lucky i am to have virtually whatever i might like to eat at any given time. i live in a wealthy country and can enjoy a simple, nutritious and beautiful meal whenever i feel motivated enough to prepare it. never do i cry because there isn't enough to nourish myself or those that i love. this is a gift and not everyone is able to enjoy it.

summer cherries on a vintage plate.

wandering through the garden this evening while my daughter was preparing dinner and when i seen this dandelion seed caught in the growing dill my impression was of organic laces . . .
then i make it over to the roses and the sun is behind these red thorns creating a dramatic scene all of it's own . . .

the garden is beginning to yield a few things. the tomatos are throwing some fruit. both the early girls and this cherry tomato have some tiny green gems.

and there is one very small strawberry just beginning to form. these were just planted about a week and a half ago. i feel pretty good that they are already showing signs of a yield.

i discovered this ant enjoying a sip of nectar from the bloom that has formed on the ornamental rhubarb.

and then i went inside and discovered these beautiful salads that my daughter had put together as part of our own dinner. she is an excellent cook and has a way of preparing healthy, simple food in the most elegant and tasty ways.

it's always a treat when she comes to visit because she likes to cook and we reap the benefits~!~of course, we also have to do the clean-up, but it's usually worth it~!!~ tonight there was a baked asparagus tart as part of the meal but it was greedily consumed before any photos could be taken. yummy~!~

and here's where i ended up getting in trouble.

i held up one of the cucumber slices to the light coming through the window and took this macro. (yes, even food is "victimized" by my macro addiction.) well, the wonderful daughter thought that it was rediculous for me to be picking the food apart and investigating it in this way and i was ordered to "put that back down in the bowl" and be sure that it was my own so that i didn't contaminate someone else's food~!~ sheeeesh~!~who raised this kid anyway~!?!~

hard to believe that she is a biology major when she behaves in this manner . . . whatever happened to curiousity . . . i was probably lucky that i didn't get sent to bed without my dinner~!~

it is now exactly two minutes past noon and i have yet to eat breakfast . . .

earlier; i went to the fridge and found a great selection of recently purchased fruit and started to wash, peel, and otherwise prepare it when i realized that i also haven't taken my photo of the day yet and hey(!) i could just get that done right now . . . you know, the two birds with one stone thing . . . and gosh i'm pleased with myself . . . and so now approximately an hour later and roughly 15o shots fired from the camera i have my photo of the day. not even a great one, just a so-so shot (macro, of course) of my lovingly prepped green kiwis.

i think i should probably go and actually eat my "breakfast" now . . .