Weekend accomplishments
Saturday I made breakfast, then went to Tractor Supply. Mom hasn't taken Penny to the groomer in months, I don't know if she doesn't want the expense or it's too much of a hassle with her mobility issues, or she just thinks she doesn't need it because her coat is so short. But dogs get stinky if you never wash them, obviously, and it's also bad for their skin to never bathe them. So I wanted to get some dog shampoo; I found a kind that you pump out of a bottle and it foams, you apply it dry, work it into their coat, brush it in, and towel dry them off. You don't need to rinse it out, and that appealed both because it's easy but also there's less chance of Penny trying to jump out of the sink and probably hurting herself if I don't have to run any water. I also bought one of those gloves with the little rubber nubbins, to brush it in.
I went to the grocery store, came home and put away the groceries, cleaned the kitchen, made ice, made a batch of dog treats (I had some dough already made in the freezer and pulled it out after breakfast), and washed Penny while they were baking. I put an old towel down in the kitchen sink and did it there; Penny seemed confused about what was happening but not overly concerned or like she hated it. And she got a fresh, warm treat afterwards. I'll probably make this a monthly thing. It literally didn't take 10 minutes--Penny only weighs 5 pounds--so it's not a huge chore to add to my roster.
David made tomato pie and cucumber salad with some stuff Ashley threw in with the last batch of eggs Mom bought from her; all gardeners are familiar with that period at the height of summer where you're producing more than you can possibly eat and you're just throwing produce at people so it won't go to waste. After supper I finished watching The Gentlemen, the series Guy Ritchie developed for Netflix based on his movie. I never saw the movie, but the series was fun, although the idea of British aristocrats having their shit together enough to do anything as complicated as form a cartel is pure fantasy. It's interesting to me that there is apparently no legal form of recreational cannabis use in Great Britain? (There are medical allowances, but it seems like it's hard to access. Which is also the case in Louisiana.) Half the states (well, 24 and DC) have legal recreational cannabis, and we're usually so far behind western Europe when it comes to stuff like that. Still, Great Britain isn't exactly "Europe", is it. I mean it is, technically, but culturally... it kind of isn't.
Eh, don't listen to me, I'm a dumb Yank.
I got an Amazon package that contained a set of very fine brushes for detail work, because I'm mostly painting in my little pocket sketchbooks these days. I also got a pair of small mister bottles (for activating paints and re-moistening paintings if they dry faster than I can work), and I decided to get a square sketchbook because the ones I have now are all rectangular.
It's 5.5x5.5"
First painting
Sunday I made waffles for breakfast, changed/washed the bed sheets, vacuumed the downstairs rugs, did a load of laundry and one of towels, and baked a cake. I finished reading--re-reading--Wylding Hall, which I had started before going to bed last night (it's very short, really a novella more than a novel), then shrugged and decided to re-read Generation Loss (same author).
For supper I made Tim Walz's turkey trot hot dish. My father was from the Midwest (Nebraska, actually, same as Walz) and I've made other hot dish recipes; I have a chicken bacon ranch one that I use regularly. So I wanted to try his (he also has a taco hot dish that I want to try). It was good, Mom and Phil both asked for second helpings. Dessert was the vanilla buttercream sheet cake from One Tin Bakes. I'm going back through this book and making some of the desserts again, but actually I don't think I made this cake the first time around. I don't remember why; maybe I just didn't have a vanilla bean on hand that weekend.
After supper I poked around Prime Video a bit, which most of the time I forget exists. I really should take more advantage of it. They really want people to watch the second season of Rings of Power; I watched the first season and I didn't hate it or anything but I can't say I'm interested in watching more. I bet they pulled back on the insane amount of money they were spending per episode, after the first season's lackluster performance. I mean it should have been the greatest thing ever put on screen, and mostly it just made me want to watch the Peter Jackson movies again. (They hold up!) That's a very capitalist thing to say, obviously money isn't the only thing that makes good art. But if you have a good story to tell and the talent to tell it well, money sure doesn't hurt.
Anyway, I finally settled on watching the first season of Hannibal again. (I say first season but I'll probably wind up watching the entire thing.)
Hannibal: Jack sees you as a fragile teacup. The finest china brought out only for the best guests.
Will: And how do you see me?
Hannibal: As the mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.
Some other paintings I finished over the weekend:
The last one was mostly why I needed the very fine brushes (the pages in that sketchbook are 5.5x3.5"). I was trying to imitate a style I saw a lot in many of the books I read as a child; this was in the 1980s, but they were mostly books published in the 1940-1960s, so I don't know if there's a name for it but it's very mid-century. Except that style usually employed a very light wash of color, and that just ain't how I paint. I like colors!
I went to the grocery store, came home and put away the groceries, cleaned the kitchen, made ice, made a batch of dog treats (I had some dough already made in the freezer and pulled it out after breakfast), and washed Penny while they were baking. I put an old towel down in the kitchen sink and did it there; Penny seemed confused about what was happening but not overly concerned or like she hated it. And she got a fresh, warm treat afterwards. I'll probably make this a monthly thing. It literally didn't take 10 minutes--Penny only weighs 5 pounds--so it's not a huge chore to add to my roster.
David made tomato pie and cucumber salad with some stuff Ashley threw in with the last batch of eggs Mom bought from her; all gardeners are familiar with that period at the height of summer where you're producing more than you can possibly eat and you're just throwing produce at people so it won't go to waste. After supper I finished watching The Gentlemen, the series Guy Ritchie developed for Netflix based on his movie. I never saw the movie, but the series was fun, although the idea of British aristocrats having their shit together enough to do anything as complicated as form a cartel is pure fantasy. It's interesting to me that there is apparently no legal form of recreational cannabis use in Great Britain? (There are medical allowances, but it seems like it's hard to access. Which is also the case in Louisiana.) Half the states (well, 24 and DC) have legal recreational cannabis, and we're usually so far behind western Europe when it comes to stuff like that. Still, Great Britain isn't exactly "Europe", is it. I mean it is, technically, but culturally... it kind of isn't.
Eh, don't listen to me, I'm a dumb Yank.
I got an Amazon package that contained a set of very fine brushes for detail work, because I'm mostly painting in my little pocket sketchbooks these days. I also got a pair of small mister bottles (for activating paints and re-moistening paintings if they dry faster than I can work), and I decided to get a square sketchbook because the ones I have now are all rectangular.
It's 5.5x5.5"
First painting
Sunday I made waffles for breakfast, changed/washed the bed sheets, vacuumed the downstairs rugs, did a load of laundry and one of towels, and baked a cake. I finished reading--re-reading--Wylding Hall, which I had started before going to bed last night (it's very short, really a novella more than a novel), then shrugged and decided to re-read Generation Loss (same author).
For supper I made Tim Walz's turkey trot hot dish. My father was from the Midwest (Nebraska, actually, same as Walz) and I've made other hot dish recipes; I have a chicken bacon ranch one that I use regularly. So I wanted to try his (he also has a taco hot dish that I want to try). It was good, Mom and Phil both asked for second helpings. Dessert was the vanilla buttercream sheet cake from One Tin Bakes. I'm going back through this book and making some of the desserts again, but actually I don't think I made this cake the first time around. I don't remember why; maybe I just didn't have a vanilla bean on hand that weekend.
After supper I poked around Prime Video a bit, which most of the time I forget exists. I really should take more advantage of it. They really want people to watch the second season of Rings of Power; I watched the first season and I didn't hate it or anything but I can't say I'm interested in watching more. I bet they pulled back on the insane amount of money they were spending per episode, after the first season's lackluster performance. I mean it should have been the greatest thing ever put on screen, and mostly it just made me want to watch the Peter Jackson movies again. (They hold up!) That's a very capitalist thing to say, obviously money isn't the only thing that makes good art. But if you have a good story to tell and the talent to tell it well, money sure doesn't hurt.
Anyway, I finally settled on watching the first season of Hannibal again. (I say first season but I'll probably wind up watching the entire thing.)
Hannibal: Jack sees you as a fragile teacup. The finest china brought out only for the best guests.
Will: And how do you see me?
Hannibal: As the mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.
Some other paintings I finished over the weekend:
The last one was mostly why I needed the very fine brushes (the pages in that sketchbook are 5.5x3.5"). I was trying to imitate a style I saw a lot in many of the books I read as a child; this was in the 1980s, but they were mostly books published in the 1940-1960s, so I don't know if there's a name for it but it's very mid-century. Except that style usually employed a very light wash of color, and that just ain't how I paint. I like colors!