Surgery Follow-up and More on the Barn

I took the hubster to the doctor for his first post-op visit and things are looking really good. He has had very little pain thus far. They removed the huge plaster and wrap and we went to a medical supply place with a prescription for a compression sock and a pneumatic walking boot. He will not be allowed to put any weight on that leg for another two weeks, but will begin physical therapy next week.


I spent a little time working (read: overworking) on the barn. I wanted the sky to be darker and screwed it up. I tried to put in the tree and it looked way too much like a lollipop, so I overworked it in a darker green and tried to reshape it a bit. I need to add a bit more shading under the eaves of the barn and the tree needs to be giving off a bit of shade as well. The grassy area needs some stuff to break it up a bit.  Ackkkk! I'm ruining another one.

I can only hope that adding the shadows and some interest on the sides of the barn and in the grassy area will save it a bit. I think it is still a bit of an improvement over the first one. At this rate, I'll only have to do about 100 more and I will actually get something that I am totally proud to share. I think I spy the "ugly inner critic" rearing her head.

It rained really hard just before we headed into town for the doctor visit, but then the sum came out and it was actually quite warm. The bank readout said 69º. That is pretty impressive for late October in southern Michigan, don't you think? Or as the yooper in me would say, "that's pretty warm for late October, eh?

I read a really good book yesterday that held me captivated to the very end. It is by Dan Chaon and is called "Await Your Reply". On the cover it says he also wrote another one called, "You Remind Me of Me". I may have to check that one out as well.

Here's hoping you are making time for your loved ones and yourself today,

xoxo

EDiM, Barn Progress, and A Visit

So far so good. I am still doing the Every Day in May "assignments" and this time it is to draw scissors. Here are mine:

I will be leaving for a weekend at my Mom's in about an hour, so will be drawing the next few there. I am really looking forward to seeing her. She told me that today my youngest sister who lives in Gaylord is going to be there with her almost 3 year old granddaughter and is bringing an indoor picnic. Should be fun. Also, my sister who lives near St. Joe and her husband are there already and will stay again tonight. We will have a blast.

I've attempted to do some more work on the barn that is in progress. Last time I showed it I had just done the underpainting with pan pastels. Now I've added more color and some details using Caran d' Ache Supracolor water-soluble pencils. It still needs more work, but here it is now:

I also have another picture of our dear friend the Baltimore Oriole. I took this one with my "good" camera, the Canon Digital Rebel. I had the long lens on it and was able to manually focus, but I still had to take it through the screen. It is really hard to get a clean shot that way.

He's a little ahead of schedule this year. He usually shows up while I am at my Mom's for Mothers' Day weekend.

I've packed a couple of journals, my sketching pencils, and some colored pencils along with my waterbrush and hope to do a bit of sketching at Mom's. I know we will be busy playing games and running around town, but there should be some down time. I will at least sketch the EDiM "assignments" and am taking my laptop so should be able to share while I am away. I am going to do the rest of my packing now, get in the shower, and then get this show on the road.

I hope to "see" you again soon.

xoxo