Christmas sketches

Our Christmas Day was relaxingly low-key and I was able to do some sketching as well as beginning a new crocheted project. Plus playing with Butters, of course!

“Butters”

My new buddy’s name given to her by her former owner is Butters, short for Buttercup — but in my mind it’s short for Butterscotch. Her red and white coloring reminds me of an old-fashioned butterscotch sundae! She will be 5 years old on Tuesday, a fluffy Pembroke Welsh Corgi who has quickly become a much-loved member of the family. 

I love that she has the fluffy gene because it means less shedding, but it is harder to sketch than a smooth coat! The eyes are wrong in the lower right sketch but I’ll have lots of time to practice.

in lieu of a gift

I’ve had several gift ideas to give Bill, one of which was to replace his feather pillow. The man is very particular about having a good feather pillow! Unfortunately, the one I ordered will not arrive until after Christmas — so I’ll give him a sketch of it.

(He doesn’t do internet so I’m safe posting it ahead of time.)

I taped the edges of this Hahnemuhle Agave watercolor paper but the paper tore as I pulled it up. Lovely paper to paint on but it doesn’t like tape.

a bit of knitting

One of our dishcloths has a large hole so I gathered cotton yarn scraps to make a new one . . . . then stopped to draw my progress before finishing it.

something simple

Sometimes just a simple sketch is all that’s needed . . .

Over a week ago I developed an eye infection around my left eye that soon spread to my right eye as well. In spite of antibiotics and topical ointment, it has stubbornly hung on — but now is finally clearing up!

Quickly drawn in continuous contour line using a Pentel Falcon fountain pen with a splash of watercolor in a Traveler’s Notebook blank notebook, passport size.

Christmas has arrived!

My Christmas gift has arrived! Meet our new family member, Buttercup, a 4 year old Welsh Pembroke Corgi ❣️

Butters has retired from breeding and is ready for new adventures here at “the farm”. Our cats are quietly keeping their options open but since she isn’t barking or chasing them, they are tentatively accepting her. Our daughter and son-in-law’s dog Bradley is VERY interested in playing with her but we’ll take it slow for now. She was just spayed last week and needs to heal.

camping last week

After returning from our short camping trip, we were busy with unloading the camper, laundry, making a grocery list, etc — finishing my sketches and posting them could wait. 😁 

We were just a bit north of Houston but I managed to find a couple of red leaves — maybe dogwood? Not sure, but I love drawing autumn leaves! And the camper must’ve missed our regular trips; as soon as we set up camp, the plumbing broke down! We drove into Huntsville for repair parts, passing the Sam Houston statue on the way. Usually he is brilliantly white in the sunshine but this time had lots of shadow on him.

The first time we camped here at Cagle there were great masses of American Beautyberry, which is great for keeping mosquitoes away. The shrubs didn’t look so good this time, probably hurt by the summer drought.

Though I didn’t hike an entire trail this time, I did manage to hike down to Lake Conroe and this view. The forest had a wilder-than-normal look about it. Not very many birds this time and only one squirrel spotted. But very peaceful!

my “forest” Demi Palette

I like to collect Pocket Palettes in different colors, then fill them with special mixes of paints. (Easy to identify each one at a glance!) 

Art Toolkit is offering two sizes of limited edition GREEN palettes this Christmas season — I just had to get one for camping in local forests! Small enough to clip to any sketchbook with my favorite green pigments plus other basic colors to paint foreground, background, trees, grasses, lakes, and rocks! Maybe even an alligator?

Cancer treatment interrupted our camping this year but we are finally going for a few days next week to one of our favorite campgrounds in Sam Houston National Forest. I hope sketching the forest doesn’t intimidate me after all this time.

Traveler’s Company USA is again offering their collaboration limited edition green Pocket Palette but the quote on it includes “good coffee” in the phrase — and I hate the taste of coffee! So I never got that particular palette. 😂

my Christmas gift from Bill

We have been gathering a few items, in preparation for Someone.

some things can’t be rushed

As I was recently reading all the Hercule Poirot mysteries, the following quote especially made me laugh:

“. . . there are three things that cannot be hurried — le bon Dieu, Nature, and old people.”  — Hercule Poirot, Mystery of the Blue Train

So after jotting it down in my journal, what better way to illustrate it than by sketching leaves from our last camping trip — over a year ago! Better late than never. I’m glad I remembered to take a picture of them

In this Drawn to High Places limited edition Pocket Palette, I keep a collection of granulating watercolors. Most are from Daniel Smith, but the “volcano” colors and the tundra blue are from Schminke. I used a Rosemary & Co. R10 travel brush.

The color swatch card is folded in half; on the inside and back pages, I made samples of color mixes attainable from these colors.

random drawing

A simple random drawing in gray ink on a very gray day . . .

a random leaf

We have been doing a lot of puppy-sitting with our daughter and son-in-law’s dog, Bradley. He brings in tiny pebbles, grass, twigs, and leaves stuck in his coat or between his toe pads. Yesterday this gnarly leaf was stuck in his tail.

I had this small notebook open, ready to draw. I picked the leaf up from the floor next to Bradley and sat down to draw, using my Kaweco Liliput fountain pen filled with De Atramentis Document brown ink. Then added watercolor. . . . . Then realized that I had grabbed the notebook upside down! 😂

Children’s Art Project

Over the years, Bill and I have often sent Christmas cards from the Children’s Art Project, which is celebrating their 50th year. These cards are designed by children going through cancer treatment at M. D. Anderson. Profits go towards funding various pediatric patient programs, including an annual ski trip, summer camps, and scholarships. The art work is also used on other stationery and gift items. 

I like how it gets kids’ minds off cancer and helps them focus on what they can do. It helps them find Hope.    

almost finished!

On Monday, I take my final radiation treatment at M.D.Anderson — then I am free for the next 8 weeks. At the end of each milestone in fighting cancer, they have patients ring a bell like this one. I would rather sketch the bell in my journal than ring it. Above the bell is a plaque with the following lines penned by Irve Le Moyne:

Ring this bell

Three times well!

It’s toll to clearly say,

My treatment’s done

This course is run

And I am on my way!

At the end of the 8 weeks, I have various tests, imaging, and doctors’ visits — then finally surgery to remove anything that’s left of the tumor (there may be nothing left at all!) and to reverse the colostomy that I’ve had since February 28, the beginning of this journey.

comfortable not knowing

This potted plant was in the radiation waiting room . . . so I drew it.

last week’s little sketch

This is the only sketch I managed to do last week — and not having my regular sketchbook at the time, I drew it in the smaller sketchbook that lives in my purse. Maybe I’ll sketch more this coming week?

an early birthday

Bill’s birthday is on Tuesday but our granddaughter is home from college this weekend so we thought we’d move his birthday to today. That way, Mikala can share the carrot cake our daughter Kristen has made him.

I borrowed a bit of wrapping paper from Kristen for one gift — then wrapped the other in one of my headscarves. The tiny watercolor palette I used is a Texas mints container; the paint wells are made of a cut section of a mini silicone ice cube tray with room to the side for a bit of sponge.

my latest ebook

As a kid I fell in love with the Classics, books mostly written in the 19th century, after reading Charles Dickens. Our school library books of this genre had a list on the back of other Classics to try — so I did.

But somehow I missed Wilkie Collins. Recently I read this ebook and loved it, but the “cover art” looks more to me like the 1920s rather than the 1850s. Fun to try drawing it though.

another waiting room

I didn’t get much sketching done this past week — only this small drawing done over 3 days. Begun in pencil on the spot (until the radiologist called my name), ink added the next day as I waited, and color not until today at home.

waiting for radiology

This messy sketch is looking out from the inner radiology waiting room at West Houston M.D. Anderson. I messed up the sky when the brush accidentally hit it with blue gouache (from the “Grow Untamed” palette), eliminating the clouds. Then I forgot that the ink I had written the text in was not waterproof.

On the good side, I’m having NO negative reactions to radiation!

new treatment

My first radiation treatment was on Monday, followed by routine bloodwork. Then I was supposed to have a reduced amount of chemo through a pump. We waited an unusually long time for a nurse to call me back to the treatment area from this door. Apparently they were waiting for orders from my doctor. Bloodwork showed my white blood cells were once again too low for chemo — so this week I’ll have just radiation without the chemo pump.

That is, as soon as I get back on schedule. I’m posting this 2 days later — the first 2 radiation treatments went fine, no side effects. But once more I had unexplained blood show up in my ostomy bag so I’m in the ER under observation. Guess I’ll miss today’s radiation. I am not a “patient” patient — I just want to move forward with treatment!

cuppa tea, anyone?

Our little red tea kettle finally wore out, so we bought a new, larger capacity one. Now we can boil enough water for my tea and Bill’s French press coffee pot.

Some pages in my sketchbook journal are actually more journaling than art. Since this journal tells my experience with cancer, I wrote a bit of the recent things I’ve been going through. But I’m not always sure about posting these pages.

this past weekend

The past weekend was unexpectedly spent at MD Anderson due to an unknown bit of bleeding. This was the sunrise that I awoke to from my room on the 10th floor (I think there are 21 floors in this building). Tests run were not conclusive but the bleeding had stopped on its own.

Before Monday’s test I was on a liquids-only diet. Not fun!! But after the test, they fed me a good meal before sending me home.

As I did the sunrise window page, I learned that masking tape Does Not work on this paper!

By the way, this was the sunrise as we drove to doctors’ appointments yesterday. The sun was playing “Jack-O-Lantern”!

Monday’s view

Monday was my last chemo infusion (but I am still hooked up to a pump for the second medication). This time we were in the south side of the building — this is my view out the window, overlooking Interstate 10 on the west side of Houston. 

Sketched with my Kaweco Liliput fountain pen filled with a De Atramentis Document black ink cartridge, in a Traveler’s Notebook passport-sized refill.

my future dog?

While I was at the rehab center, unable to walk following hospitalization, I set a goal for myself. When I was able to walk to our mailbox (approximately 400 feet from our home) I would award myself with a dog. It’s been several years since I’ve had a dog of my own and I miss having one.

Now I am walking to the mailbox and beyond nearly every day — but in all practicality, it would be unfair to get a dog when I’m facing 5 1/2 weeks of radiation therapy, possibly living in Houston’s Med Center during that time. So getting a dog is on hold for the near future.

Instead of another Scottish Terrier, I’ve been thinking about getting a Welsh Corgi.

deferred . . .

This past Monday was supposed to be my final chemo infusion, but the prior bloodwork showed that my platelet count is too low (chemo harmed my bone marrow). So my last infusion was deferred until next week.

M. D. Anderson still requires everyone to wear face masks, handing them out as you walk in. But my immune system is messed up so I wear one anyway.

My dad died this morning. We knew it could happen at any time and I had been planning on our driving to Kansas for the funeral. But with this low platelet / low white blood cell thing, I am too susceptible to germs and I won’t be going after all. I was never close to my dad but I thought I should be there.

end of a series

Early this year I decided that I was going to read every single mystery written by Agatha Christie, at least those involving Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Tommy & Tuppence. Last night, I finished. I read them mostly as ebooks checked out from a Houston library so there was often a waiting period for certain titles. Christie is still a very popular writer even though it’s been over 100 years since she wrote her first book.

Now what do I read next?

still so hot . . .

The extreme 100°-plus temperatures continue here in Texas. A normal summer in our part of the state may see 2 or 3 days in the 100’s but then drop to the 90’s. But this year the entire summer has been continually over 100°.

Our trees are definitely heat-stressed! Some of our oak trees are considered “evergreen”, as they hold their green leaves all through the year until new ones arrive in the spring. But trees are now losing leaves daily no matter how much we water them. We could sure use some rain!

And yes, of course I know that live oaks do not come from leaves, as the scribbled note in the lower left corner implies. I was thinking about how tiny the acorns from our live oaks are while writing about the small leaf — sort of goofed it up! 😂

just hangin’ around

We aren’t doing much of anything this week, being a chemo-free week. So I ate some grapes — then drew the last one before eating it.

to wig or not to wig?

Since this journal is partially a record of my cancer journey, I suppose I should mention hair loss. Amazingly, the chemo treatments I’m taking Do Not Cause Hair Loss!! Unfortunately, my out-of-control scalp psoriasis does . . .

I lost a percentage of my hair 11 years ago due to scalp psoriasis combined with a bad case of vertigo. It eventually grew back fuller than ever. At first I treated it with a prescription topical steroid but later switched to using a Dead Sea mineral shampoo. That has controlled the psoriasis all these years — but when I was in the hospital earlier this year, followed by rehab, I was not able to use the shampoo regularly and the psoriasis plus stress are causing me to once again shed hair.

So the big question: do I buy a wig? Or just wear scarves and hats?

as we drove past . . .

Our daughter and son-in-law bought their first house many years ago in the same area of northwest Houston (Copperfield) that we now drive through on our way to my chemo treatments. We passed this old church many times when visiting the kids and I’ve wanted to sketch it for years but never did. Until now. 

I snapped a few photos with my iPhone as we drove by, then sketched from them later at home. Goofed on that copper steeple though — it should be taller.

To add the ink lines and text, I re-inked another favorite fountain pen that hasn’t been used for a while. This is the Pilot Namiki fountain pen filled with De Atramentis Document black ink. Writes so smooth with a flexible nib! A special gift from Bill.

waiting . . .

This time, I was waiting for Bill instead of him waiting for me. He had a dentist appointment in College Station; I went along so I could replace my debit card later at the bank. No one else in the waiting room.

our southern view

The main living area in our home was once the “alleyway” of a pole barn. We wanted lots of light and ventilation; on the south are these French doors with windows on either side. The view of pasture, tall pines and oaks is usually full of birds — and maybe a feral cat stalking gophers. I sketched this during the heat of the day when all creatures sought some cool shade.

Bill, waiting . . .

Here, I was playing with a Koh-I-Noor Magic Pencil lead refill; Bill was waiting as I received another chemo infusion (that’s my recliner at the bottom of the drawing). This time we were at M.D. Anderson’s West Houston location — so much easier to drive to than the Med Center!

Bill’s cousin Mike made this 5.6 pencil lead holder on his small lathe. I think the wood is Purple Heart. He also made me a regular sized mechanical pencil out of Bird’s Eye Maple. The button at the top of this fat pencil is pressed down to advance the lead, but it also unscrews to reveal a point-sharpener.

A very light shadow can be seen on the left page made by a Pentel Pocketbrush pen in my previous sketch. It didn’t really bleed through enough to fuss about.

Pepper

Yesterday we drove down to our son Jason’s so Bill could help install a new breaker. I went for grandkid-time — both human kind and animal. The newest family member is this affectionate girl, Pepper. We have 3 grandchildren in Beasley, 2 cats (Taco and Cupcake), and now this half-grown puppy.

This was also a chance to test a Pentel Pocketbrush pen in this purse sketchbook. When used to fill in a large black area, there is some very light bleed-through so I’ll probably just skip the next page. But light areas of watercolor and regular fountain pens work great without any bleed-through.

the rest of my stuff

In my previous post I showed the wee bag that I carry to medical appointments and listed the stuff it holds. This sketch tells the rest of the story . . . While I carry such a small bag (easier to manage when I was using a walker), Bill carries this backpack that we borrowed from our son-in-law with the rest of my supplies. And sometimes my wee bag ends up inside this backpack as well.