Farewell to October

Toward the Solstice by Mark Perlberg We burned our leaves on the bluest October day,the sun still warm on our backs, frost just a ghost in the shrubbery. We raked the leaves into shifting piles on the lawn, scooped them into deep round baskets and spilled them in the street against the curb. The vein of fire, unseen at first in diamond light, whispered through oak leaves brown as butcher paper, and maple still flushed with color like maps torn from The Book of Knowledge. We were letting go of October, relinquishing color, readying ourselves for streets lacquered with ice, the town closed like a walnut, locked inside the cold.

Since I was born in November, my memories of THAT month are keen as well.

I used to fell gypped that I had that birth month so stark and so windy and tinged with the smell of coming snow.

SO quiet with the song birds gone.  Smells of nature gone cold.

Days tinged just slightly with the smell and promise of the holidays to come AND often filled with exams and tests at school.  A turning inward slightly due to the weather pattern and the shortness of days.  Warm scarves again and soft sweaters.  In southern WI the corn fields left to be harvest rattle in the wind, deer hunting started, we would awake sometimes to dustings of snow in the old corn rows or frost to be scraped from a car window.  As I grew older I began to see a certain stark beauty of the gold against the grayness.  Old weed pods and spent cat tails in the marsh making shadow patterns against bare trunk.  But it took a long time to notice the beauty.  I think it is the same with old age.  It takes awhile to appreciate it…you rail against it, as you rail against November, until you see that it's part of the whole picture and just as the colors of gray are needed in a painting allowing you see the other colors fully, November comes to offer up  kind of foil against which you can lean the beauty of the other seasons.  Beautiful in it's own subtle ways.  And then toward the month's end, a gathering of the clans to celebrate the harvest and food and football.  

November is a lovely month in central FL…foggy mornings give way to 85 degree afternoons.  Perfect for whatever you want to do.  The "Golden Rain Trees" blossom in Oct and Nov and are filled with rusty orange blossoms reminding one of changing leaves in WI but actually are flowers!  Beautiful to see.  Our hibiscus in bright pink in the afternoon sunshine.

So farewell then to October, past and present, and onward to more subtle but lovely November.

The Last Inktober Challenge Day

Best Friends

Thinking of our hands as friends.  Kind of an outside the box idea I guess but really...they've been around awhile and I am kind of fond of them.  Depend on them.  Enjoy them and hope they hang out with me doing the best job they can for as long as they can.
I have a husband with Essential Tremor and I know what it is like when your hands are not really there for you, not dependable, and frustrating.  Those of us with steady hands should be totally grateful.  

So here's to holding hands, picking flowers and reaching for the stars.  

I've enjoyed the ink tober challenge but it's not been easy while on the road!!!  I missed 4 days which I don't think is bad considering. 
Happy Halloween everyone.   

The Diva's Challenge for this week…Nzepple and Flux

Nzepple and Flux

I have never much taken to "Nzepple".  But one of the example step outs for this was a "random" grid line instead of a diagonal grid line.  I found that more interesting to me and a very different outcome!  Like many, I prefer Rick's version of "Flux".  

I often do my Diva Challenges on my blank calendars.  I am not sure why but I enjoy the fun of interlocking the tangles.  It's a great place to try out new tangles to see how they might fit into that sort of "string"effect.  When the background is white, I sometimes "lighten" the cross lines on the calendar a little with a white pen to soften the effect and allow the pattern to show better.  

It's great to be getting back into my routines a little here in Florida again.  I am a bit behind now on my Ink-Tober challenge but to hope to get caught up again with that soon.   And I have about 6 other artsy things going.  Thanks to Susan, I've signed up and purchased a Craftsy Online Class on Urban Sketching so that needs to have some practice time too.  Hubby is all set to attend his first model train show in Inverness on Saturday with a friend.

All is well.

Ink-Tober prompt: SQUEEZE Day 26

Inktober

This is done on Day 26 but if you've been following me lately, my numbering system is out of sync.  Today unpacking my office/studio…this word just jumped out at me.

Some Days

Some Days  by Philip Terman  Some days you have to turn off the news and listen to the bird or truck or the neighbor screaming out her life. You have to close all the books and open all the windows so that whatever swirls inside can leave and whatever flutters against the glass can enter. Some days you have to unplug the phone and step out to the porch and rock all afternoon and allow the sun to tell you what to do. The whole day has to lie ahead of you like railroad tracks that drift off into gravel. Some days you have to walk down the wooden staircase through the evening fog to the river, where the peach roses are closing, sit on the grassy bank and wait for the two geese. "Some Days" by Philip Terman from Our Portion. © Autumn House Press, 2015. Reprinted with permission.   Ain't it the truth? We just got back to Leesburg…the sun is gorgeous. It's so good to be home.

On the road sketches

 

Had a marvelous boat ride in SC on Thursday...86 degrees!  We stopped T-Bones for lunch and ate out on the deck.

The seconds sketch was of our restaurant entrance in Helena, GA after dinner Sat night.

We are in the last leg of the journey now...expect to be in Leesburg late this afternoon.

Ink-Tober CREEPY

 

This stuffed raven looks a bit like he might start to tip over.

The model comes with a wire stand which I did not include.

Ink-Tober challenge for Day 21: Flight and Diva Challenge: LEAVES

 

I am combining the Diva's challenge of "leaf fun" AND my ink-Tober challenge for day 21.  

The titles are not in order as I post for inktober because I like to mix them up.

The sweet gum trees are whirling everywhere her in South Carolina.

Ink-Tober #20 TIRED

 

I know the number on the entry doesn't actually match the 20th day.

What I am doing is drawing each day BUT I am skipping around now to fit the circumstances as I travel.

Tired seemed so appropriate.  This table was at Pipe Stem Resort in West Virginia at the lovely little restaurant looking over beautiful colored mountains draped in fall colors.but thank heaven now a relaxing 2 days at my sister's in SC.

Ink-Tober Challenge # 18 ESCAPE

 

I hate to mention this but having a nice glass of wine (one) is a way to "escape" and relax.

Ink-tober 16 and 17

 

 

Catching up to Day 17 now and we are on the downward curve for the challenge.

It is trickier now to find time in the midst of travel!!!

Travel Fun

 

Here we are in Frankfort, ILL last night enjoying Octoberfaest!!!

Visiting with friends today and then heading toward Cincinnati on Monday.

Ink-Tiber Challenge 15

 

Relax was actually an easy prompt for us.  Here is my step son Mark watching the Packer Game.

Ink-Tober #14: TREE

 

Tree is surly THE easiest prompt for someone who summers in the north woods of WI.

Autumn just surrounds you with that "glow".

This is the view from my computer desk toward the boat house.

Ink-tober #13: SCARED

 

I really had a hard time with word.  I started with Katy's silk flower arrangement.

Thinking as I drew that there was NOTHING scary about this.

Then I thought of drawing Donald Trump.  He's REALLY scary.

But I caved into a Halloween theme and just relaxed.

Zentangle calendar

 

I see that I forgot to add this to my posts before I headed off.

It won't be quite as clear as a scan would be as this old Generation two iPad camera is not the best.

But you can get the idea.

Ink-tober # 11 TRANSPORT

 

I have goofed up my numbering for the challenge and this post should have come first.

Anyway here is the earlier prompt.  Guess it really is not important which came first.

Ink-tober #10 WORRIED

 

This is a sketch of my husband's nuerotranmitter for his ET (Essential Tremor).  

After his DBS surgery 5 years ago he has been able to control his tremor in his dominate hand with this .

Now it is time to replace the surgically implanted batteries.  It is a bit of a worry that the batteries will last to the Nov 4 surgery

date.  Keep your fingers crossed that we will be able to travel home to FL with no issues.

Day 10 of Ink-Tober Challenge: JUMP

 

Things are winding down now at the lake house.  Two days and counting and we had frost this morning…30 degrees.  BRRRR.  

We are past peak now with color and the leaves are coming down fast…there is a smell of winter and wood smoke in the air.  

Greg is busy putting his old truck "to bed" and I am busy doing the last laundry before he winterizes the appliances.  The cupboards are just about bare and we'll pack the car tomorrow.

We are gearing up for the Packers Game tonight at 6 (CST) with pizza and a blazing fire in the fireplace.  Very cozy.   

Tuesday we'll head toward DeForest to visit family there for a few days in the Madison, WI area.  Then down to South Beloit, IL for a night and to Warrenville, IL for more family.  Then heading east toward Cincinnati and WV and then to SC to visit family there.  Should walk in the FL door Oct 23.   God willing and the creek don't rise.  

Word has it that the hurricane slipped past our home neighborhood in central FL with minimal impact.  We are so grateful.  

Inktober Day 9: BROKEN

I think this speaks for itself actually.
The egg went into the meatloaf later.  

Day 7 of Ink-Tober: the prompt is LOST

The word prompt "lost" immediately sent my thoughts to my GPS which is my life saver.  I have been "map challenged" all my life!  And when I started to do the map on this page I misplace Disney! They would not be pleased.  So I corrected it, it is directly south of us about an hour.  

So it is that our little home in Leesburg (and Disney nearby) is hunkering down in preparation for getting hit with Hurricane Matthew tonight and tomorrow.  They expect 60 mph winds and 5" of rain even 150 miles inland!  It's a huge storm!  Very worrisome.  Friends say they have not been evacuated yet but gas stations are running out of gas and the lines are long at the grocery and they are out of generators and flashlights.  I have everyone in my prayers that there will be no loss of life and limited loss of property.  And of course we worry about our little house sitting there.  But we are glad we are NOT there!  

Ink-Tober prompt: SAD and a triple whammy

Triple Whammy today with 3 postings all in one!

My Ink-tober prompt is first, then another is the tangled calendar series, and last a group of tiny Bijou tiles with new tangles that I am enjoying….

The word "sad" required some thought.  We all have some sadness in our lives.  I decided to interpret it more as melancholy rather than sad…a time of thoughtfulness and remembering as the change of seasons can bring on.  Also as we make our annual transition from one climate and one home to another we take stock of what is important to us and reflect on the things we love.  I did this ink sketch sitting out on the far side of Tippecanoe Road and looking at the entry (and exit) to the cabin that you cannot see in the woods beyond.  Sort of a time to think of "comings" and "goings".  We are at peak color this weekend up here which I think is a little late for us but we have frost predicted in the next few days.  Leaves will come down even faster then.  Here's to the good summer and the hope for returning in good health and happiness.  

The anonymous calendar project (it is actually July 2017) but could be any month of 31 days starting on a Saturday, of course.  I loved using some new tangles on this one…"Slab" is a great tangle on the left on days 9 and 10.  Love that tangle but the name is weird.  And "actinar" on days 27 and 28 is a fun one too.  

And these are tiny Bijou tiles where I am having fun with some brand new tangles…just to try them out.  Top left is "Taaj" and top right is "Embrace Joy".  Middle row left to right is: "Specto", "Mystery," and "Mosaic".  Bottom row: is "Jiami" and the last one I have lost the name of.  Anyone know what it is called?

I will pack up my north woods studio over the next two days as it is THAT time of year again.  My studio is where we put all the games and puzzles, and many pieces of porch furniture for the winter to keep them safe and snug.  Once the studio door is shut, hubby piles a lot of stuff against it and there is NO getting back for anything!  So I have to pack up carefully.  So my art work become quite limited now for the rest of October.  Sigh.

But travel is fun too and we have some new and interesting spots set up this year to visit.  I keep sketch books out as I travel.  AND we don't want to get to FL too soon as they are dealing with Hurricane Matthew right now.  Yikes.  140 mph winds?  OMGosh.  

Ink-Tober Day 4: Hungry

I got such a kick out of my mistake in the spelling of "hungry" which I posted at first as "Hungary"-- the country. I guess I thought was going to have to draw a map or some building in Budapest?

Luckily I discovered it before I planned the sketch!  

Hubby was willing to do about a 10 minute pose for me at breakfast this morning (after he actually ate of course). 

Hungry being one of his favorite words!   

This is harder for me…figure poses.  And I discovered that trying to inform the viewer that something is white when you are drawing in black is not so easy.  Greg's beard is almost all white now but it sure looks black in the sketch!  (He thinks it makes him look young! So he's not complaining.)  

I am also not sure about the length of his arm…if I got that correct.  He thinks it reads okay but I think it looks a little short. 

Anyway, it shows that much practice is needed!  

Speaking of "hungry" we are planning out the last meals now so as to get the fridge and the cupboards as bare as possible before we leave for FL.  We know it will be 28 below 0 in the cabin in a few months so we have to say to ourselves…what cannot stay here?  Obviously anything in a can or a jar has to go.  And not to FL as we have our car packed to the brim when we leave!   

One week from tomorrow.  So 8 days and counting now.  

We are getting a few days of nice sunshine and about 60 degrees so we are headed outside for closing chores in the yard.  Much colder weather expected by the weekend.  We may get frost.  We are late on that actually and usually have had frost by now.  Sometimes even a dusting of snow!  

Day 3 of Ink-Tober

The word prompt for today is "Collect" and I chose to use my hubby's favorite collection of model trains.  This one is a toy train  that has a music box attached in the little box behind it that plays I've been working on the Railroad!  

Ink-Tober Day 2: Noisy

The prompt for Day 2 made me think of two items here at the cabin that make noise and are kind of special.  The school bell that I was given on the occasion of my 30th year at Reek School (engraved with my name and the year) and the old kitchen timer that Greg's mom had for many years.  Both are kind of sentimental objects that were fun to draw.  

Journal with slightly yellow pages
6 x 10

Ink-Tober Day One

Are you ready to take on the Inktober challenge? Here are the rules:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it online (Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, or just pin it on your wall.)

3) Hashtag it with #Inktober (Extra credit: Tag @ArtistsNetwork for your chance to win a package of drawing supplies!)

4) Repeat

Note: You can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. Whatever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better off you’ll be.

That’s it! Now go make something beautiful. ~Jake

So I warned you…Ink-Tober was coming!  Unfortunately I don't have an Instagram account myself.  You I am just posting here.  The downside is that I cannot see what others are creating!  I may have to consider getting more techy!  :-)  

I wrote about Jake Parker who started this up about 7 years ago in a previous post.  I think I mentioned he is a cartoonist.  Imagine how interesting HIS posts will be!  Mine are going to be simple.  I'll follow the prompts if I can figure something out to go with the word.  You can read more about him AND Ink-Tober here.

The word for the first day is "Fast" which has multiple meanings.  Everything from "not eating" to "moving quickly" to edgier meanings about time…which can go fast or slow, of course.  But I interpreted it to mean "how fast time can go".  This is a sort of tribute to my friend Joanne who passed away just Thursday evening.  How living looks like as goes into warp speed once you become aware of how finite it really is.  

Here's my hubby's favorite garage sale find…an old clock…  I drew it just in ink (no pencil) and so it is a little "wonky" as ink drawings sometimes are.