The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. I heard from Florida friends that they were safe, and their homes didn't suffer too much damage from hurricane Ian.

2. I made baked potatoes from the garden potatoes and no fingers were injured

3. Our Nephew-in-law came to take a look at the sunroom roof to decide how to fix the leak. Our Niece tagged along with her husband which was a nice surprise. The couple recently returned from their honeymoon in Portugal. So we had a nice visit.

4. Calli has finally getting the hang of the pet door. She comes in and goes out all by herself.

5. A fun outing with Teague. Lunch at the Wayside Inn and a nice walk around the Grist Mill

How was your week?

Inktober 2022

 It's Inktober again, a challenge to draw something using ink once a day for the 31 days during the month of October. 

Since I'm in the middle of part 2 of Modern Storybook Script, I thought I would flourish two birds with one pen by practicing the script using the challenge words for this year's Inktober.

Earlier this Summer, I had time so I made a Coptic stitch journal to use. The book measures 6 1/4" x 8". 

Tiggy had sent me a black silhouette cat, and I was going to use that to decorate the cover. I put it on top of the cover and left it while I figured out what I wanted to do. When I went back to the project, I found the black paper had left a ghost image of the cat. I'm not sure you'll be able to see it clearly especially as I didn't do a very good job getting the air bubbles out of the cover paper while gluing. Anyway,  I liked the ghost image for the cover

I fill in diplomas for a private high school and I'm allowed to keep the ones that have a mistake (somebody's name is beautifully spelled incorrectly) and extra stock as the diplomas are printed with a date and wouldn't be able to be used for the following year. 

The paper is a very nice cream-colored, smooth 90 lb, watercolor paper, and it seems a shame to throw it away when the back is perfectly good to write, draw, or paint on. The diplomas are large so I cut the paper down and then French folded the paper. Any printing or writing would be on the inside.  With the French fold, there will be no bleed through with ink, paints, markers, etc.

I used the Ink silhouette on the title page

Prompt for October 1: gargoyle

Done with a Fudenosuke Brush Pen, Pigma pen, Tombow Dual Brush Markers

"The gargoyle remained undiscovered for centuries until a small boy lost in the labyrinthine roof stumbled off a ledge and rolled into the lap of the gargoyle. Since it's discovery the creature has been affectionately known as Little Dedo, the gargoyle with the crossed toes. Some parents keep a statue of the gargoyle around the hour for protection."

Prompt for October 2: scurry

Done with Fudenosuke Brush Pen, Pigma Pen, Towbow Dual Brush Markers, a mouse rubber stamp, and a black ink pad

"scur-ry

verb

to move hurriedly with short quick steps"

Prompt for October 3: Bat

Fudenosuke Brush Pen, Pigma Pen, Tombow Dual Brush Marker

"Twinkle, twinkle, Little Bat

how I wonder where you're at

Up above the world you fly

Like a tea tray in the sky

Twinkle, twinkle, Little Bat

how I wonder where you're at" 

Lewis Carroll

(Today, October 6 is National Mad Hatter's Day. Put on your best top hat and go have a tea party.)

Prompt for October 4: Scallop

the Fudenosuke Brush Pen feathered and bled every so slightly. I'm also ham-fisted (heavy handed) and was not getting a fine line. I did a swatch test with various inks: Moon Palace Sumi, Ziller, Winsor Newton, Dr. Ph. Martin Black Star, but they all feathered and bled slightly and the Winsor was actually grey and not black.

Kathy Milici, the instructor for Modern Storybook Script, had said that if inks turned out to be a problem, you could always write with gouache. Gouache is an opaque watercolor and sits on top of the paper and doesn't sink into the paper fibers like ink. 

Winsor Newton Ivory Black Gouache, Nikko G nib, Pigma pen, Tombow Dual Brush Markers, Graphite

"and squirrels running scallops along the tops of the gray stone walls" - Jean Hersey

Prompt for October 5: Flame

Winsor Newton Ivory Black Gouache, Nikko G. nib, Pigma pen, Towbow Dual Brush markers

"Think with deep gratitude those who have lighted the flames within us. - Albert Schweizer

Are you participating in Inktober?

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm doing homework  for the Modern Storybook Script class. We're supposed to layout and design a favorite recipe. I'm working with Ma's Italian Cookie recipe and trying to fit the text on a 9" x 12" piece of paper with enough room for suitable decoration.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Shore Road Restaurant.

On the way up to Camp Ogunquit, we followed the Shore Road in York and stopped to have lunch at the Shore Road Restaurant. Teague knew this place as a little store when she spent Summers in York with her family when she was a kid. The store may have changed but

the lobster rolls haven't along with a side of home-made potato chips and some iced tea. We found a picnic table outside and had a nice lunch.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

A Greeting Card for the Eldest

Saturday was National Card Making Day so I decided to make a card for the Eldest and to practice script, layout and design for the Modern Storybook Script class I am taking

The Eldest has moved to a new apartment that is closer to her place of work. I made a 5 in. x 7 in. card base from a sheet of scrapbook paper. The written portion of the card was done on Canson Mixed Media paper. The lettering was done with a Fudenosuke Brush Pen. Materials used for the illustration: Micron Pigma Pen, Tombow Brush Markers, Gelly Roll pen, and a button.

Just in case the button makes the envelope thicker than the minimum requirement, I added a second Love stamp.

The envelope was made with the same scrapbook paper, with the colored side to the inside of the envelope. The envelope was made using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

How Does Your Garden Grow - The Second on the Second

Because my garden hasn't changed much from last week, here's a Second Time Around post from

 August 4, 2019 The Gardens and Grounds on Enders Island

Last week, I was on retreat and attended the Sacred Art Institute on Enders Island in Mystic, Connecticut. The island is tiny, only 11 acres, but packed with beautiful gardens lovingly tended by volunteers.

;

The hydrangeas outside the chapel and across from Angell Hall where the studios are located.

Wild flowers at (my) little beach

A late blooming rose outside of St. Michael's, our dormitory

The show stopper are the dahlias. 

Still a bit early for them. They will bloom later this month. Some of the blooms will be big as dinner plates.

Everywhere you roam on the island are niche gardens and places to sit and pray, meditate, or just enjoy the beauty.

Lilies

The main house

I found a stone kitty and a faucet with a little bird.

After dinner, a classmate and I had a cup of tea under the grape arbor

Sunset

Early in the morning, I went to the (my) little beach to wade in the water and do some Qi Gong exercises. I didn't notice them the first morning, but there were hundreds of tiny, hermit crabs. The ripples in the sand looked like highways, and the crabs were busy commuting and bustling to and fro. I called them sea spiders, and after I noticed them, I didn't venture very far into the water.

The Holy Gully. The gull claims the steeple as his perch. One morning a gardener was tending the tubs of flowers outside the chapel. The gull was not happy she invaded his space, and he let out a raucous chorus of his displeasure.

Valerie Weilmuenster, the instructor for the workshop told me a story. One day the gull had captured a crab as his prize. After Mass, when people were coming out of the chapel, the gull flung pieces and parts of crab shell on those below.

The gazebo with wonderful rocking chairs

One evening, I was enjoying my evening cuppa in the gazebo and watching the sunset when a loud boom caused me to jump nearly spilling my tea. Apparently, the yacht club across the way, practices a tradition of lowering the flag and shooting off a cannon at sunset. So much for the quiet, contemplative life on the island. 😸

When I was a kid we had to end our play when the street lights came on. I was amused thinking Mrs. Enders telling her children, "You can go outside to play after supper, but when you hear the cannon, it will be time to come in."

The yacht club

One of the Qi Gong exercises I do is called Flying Geese. A herd of geese landed on the water to show me how it's really done.

My last morning on the beach. Bye, bye little beach and sea spiders. I'll see you when I return for another workshop in October.

It's your turn to play. From Elizabeth: Now it's time to share your Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable.  Join hosts Bleubeard and Elizabeth to see what else is being served up the Second Time Around.

How does your garden grow?

Fun Facts About the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

Dinosaur track in Massachusetts; photo by clare_and_ben on Flickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution / no derivative works). All State Fossils & Dinosaurs

Who would've thought dinosaurs roamed around Massachusetts? Dinosaur tracks of  a large therapod (like Tyrannosaurus Rex) were found in Granby, Massachusetts and in 1981, these became the State Fossil.