waiting at cardio rehab

Sitting at sketching once again at Baylor, Scott & White clinic, College Station . . .
No matter how careful I am, I end up smearing the ink at some point.

By the time I added color, my “model” had left.

wild lantana

I found this lantana growing wild between some of our oak trees. When we bought the cabin, the previous owners had planted several cultured varieties of lantana around the patio — every one of them died when the past two winters turned colder than normal. But this wild version blooms on . . .

This late in the year, the lantana has more berries than blooms on it!

“artist dude” Lego

Some days, I’m just too tired to sketch much. Nothing big going on today; just normal chores and errands to run. I really should plan on doing my daily Inktober sketch earlier in the day, not after I’ve rn out of steam! This Lego artist dude lives on my bookshelf next to books published by Cathy Johnson, Danny Gregory, Hannah Hinchman, Andrea Joseph, Nina Johansson, Liz Steel, and a few other online artists.

soon-to-be kitchen lights!

I’ve finally caught up with the actual date of the Inktober challenge! I’m not following the official drawing prompts and I began a few days late, but this sketch is my #7 drawing and I actually drew it on the 7th!

When we bought our log cabin, it had lots of ”fru-fru” type lights and decor  — even a silly chandelier! Definitely NOT our preferred style for a rustic log cabin in the woods! One by one, we have made changes that better fit a simple country cabin.

The current kitchen lights are frilly-looking glass shades on lots of chains — chains that collect lots of grease and dust! After thinking through lots of ideas and visiting lots of antique shops for inspiration, Bill found a vintage chicken feeder and milk strainer on Etsy. He plans to wire them with LED lights and hang them upside-down from the log rafters: the large milk strainer as the central light and the chicken feeder as a task light over our main work area.

more from the bookshelf

Another section of my bookshelf, this one features vintage editions of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, tourist copies featuring illuminated manuscript and bits from the Book of Kells, several Bibles,  and some tiny books that just fit the space. Our bookshelf fits snug under a log ladder-stairway so the left side of each shelf tapers down to a sharp angle.

My wee Lego bagpiper stands guard.

on the shelf . . .

After a busy day with friends stopping by to visit as well as friends helping mow our yard and haul away trash bags, driving into Brenham to  refill one of Bill’s prescriptions, and other regular tasks, all I had the energy for was a quick ink sketch. So I drew some items on our built-in bookshelf. The knitting is up there next to the clock when I’m not working on it to avoid my very active kitten, Scottie, from adding a few stitches of his own.

a random sketch for Inktober

Today was a busy errand-running day, plus my 6-month eye exam. Dr. Horton switched one of my eye drops from the once-a-day gel-forming solution to a twice-a-day liquid version —- and I couldn’t believe the difference in price! Even with insurance, 5 ml. of the old one had raised in price to $98 (which lasted me almost 4 months since I only needed it in one eye); the new one is $8 for 10 ml. without insurance! (These plus another type of bedtime eye drops are to treat glaucoma.)



Anyway, instead of putting a lot of thought into what to sketch today, I kept it simple and drew the eye drops, old and new. And jotted down a quote I read today from last month’s issue of “Drawing Attention”, Urban Sketchers’ online magazine.

Inktober #2 and #3

This morning I sketched a new toy that arrived this week in the mail. I found this leather travel binder on Amazon. I have lots of odd bits of watercolor papers that I’ve been meaning to sew into sketchbooks but haven’t found the time to do so yet. So I thought I would replace the notebooks that came with the binder with loose folios of watercolor papers. Later on, they can be sewn into sketchbooks with new covers . . . and I can refill this binder with more paper.

The orientation is a bit odd for single pages but a double spread makes a nice nearly-square to work on. I like the special clip holding the pen to keep one of my fountain pens attached to my journal.

This afternoon, Bill had another cardio rehab appointment — so I sketched the waiting area.

Inktober tools, first sketch . . . and an answer to prayer

Having been a bit distracted lately, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take part in the Inktober sketching event this year, but today is only the third day; I decided to begin today with a sketch of the tools I plan to use. There just might be a bit of watercolor (such as the gold accents on my Kuretaki brush pen) but only when the sketch calls for it. Instead of following the drawing prompts for this year, I’m going to keep it simple and just draw whatever I want each day — less pressure that way!

The quote written in the lower left is a line from a fictional ebook I recently read: “What good is it to pray and plead for a miracle and then ignore what could be the answer.” It struck me because of my husband’s situation.

Bill has suffered with chronic nerve pain down his right arm for almost 5 years — It began soon after his first bypass surgery. We were told it was a pinched nerve, later that it was a damaged nerve, and that nothing could be done for the pain. Yet since his recent bypass, that pain is gone!

Two separate doctors have now speculated that perhaps it was a symptom of heart trouble, not a pinched nerve, the pain being caused by that nerve not getting adequate blood supply. One doctor said it was possible that the graft that failed, necessitating this repeat surgery, probably failed just weeks after his initial surgery 5 years ago. That artery was not a complete blockage at that time; it took 5 years to become completely blocked. And the nerve pain began about that time.

No one knows for sure but it is a curious thing. We have prayed for healing and relief from the constant pain in Bill’s arm for so long . . . . What if this bypass surgery is actually the answer to those prayers? Something that looked like a horrible thing to go through has actually been the thing that ended the chronic pain! Whatever the truth of the matter is, we are praising God that, except for normal pain following a major surgery, Bill is free from pain at long last!

simple autumn color

Trees around us are still lush and green with usual daily temperatures in the upper 80s with occasional 90s. But every now and then I find a leaf trying to put on some autumn color. These were found and sketched over a couple of days.