Wednesday-3am

This flower could end up trashed like the last one I attempted, but I'll put in the progress reports. I put a second yellow wash and a darker wash for the center. Not really sure what I am doing, but I'll keep trying. :)

Meanwhile--give her an inch.....

Tonight was painting night at Dagan and Leah's. Dagan picked me up after work and we went to their place. Leah wasn't home yet and he had to run the antenna and equipment back to "GoMoorhead" because they had zero reception. I said I'd ride with and stay in the car while he ran in. Then we were going to go to Target so I could pick up a couple of things.

I opened the car door to catch some breeze and listen to the birds--and people watched. Endlessly fascinating to me. Saw oodles of folks going into Vic's Bar and Grill for the 5-7pm special. Hamburger and fries for $1.99. Lots of people with grey hair who seemed to come regularly for the great bargain, groups of ladies, middle-aged couples, lone customers-male & female. A lady stomp-walking in a rush across the parking lot with a deep scowl, a slow couple holding hands, a man rushing out to put up the top on his Corvette because the sky had darkened up, a grandma and grandpa with a grandchild strung between their hands, and a pretty woman whose bosom rode high and jiggled more than any I have seen in a good long while. I wondered if she had filled that big, push-up bra with jello! She looked like a very smiley person, so they seemed appropriate for her. :)

I noticed a few pigeons sitting on the top edge of the higher section of the building (where I think the Moorhead City Hall is?), 4-5 floors vs. the flat rest of the mall. A flock of maybe 100 pigeons flew in from the nearby Red River and as they buzzed the top of the sandy colored building it looked like another 100 hidden pigeons took off from the roof of the building. It was a sight to see--how they moved together and swooped and circled. Half of them eventually took off in a new direction and half settled back, out of sight, on top of the building--but whether they were in the same flocks is anybody's guess.

I was thinking about how people don't usually notice birds--and how I always see birds--when Dagan showed up--with the GoMoorhead equipment. I was almost surprised to see him! I get in the zone and forget time. He'd been gone like maybe 40 minutes! The box had no reception in their store, either, so they got a tech guy to take it apart. He found a loose wire and fixed it. So, they talked Dagan into giving it another try.

Anyways, it was too late to run to Target, by that time, if we were going to paint--and Dagan was hungry. So we went back to their place. Turned out I was the only one who wanted to paint. They both just weren't in the mood and watched some TV programs they had "collected". I don't know what to call what they do? It's not taping, that's for sure.

I just decided to practice and practice the scumbling and blending techniques. That is all I am doing. Over and over. I am having trouble getting the colors I want when I mix--not dark enough--or too light. I just plain need lots of practice. Jerry Yarnell said this wasn't exactly a beginner technique and that you needed to practice until you got the hang of it--and he wasn't joking! So, I am practicing and practicing. By the time I am getting the hang of this there will probably be half and inch of paint on that board--ha! But, I am getting looser, taking more chances, and being braver--enjoying myself and having fun!

Dagan and Leah said I just don't like to start with simple stuff. I should try to take a photo of the watercolor painting Jennifer, her mom, and I worked on last summer, fall, and winter. It was a complicated lanscape that looked a lot easier to do on the DVD than it was, of course. We learned a lot, tho. But before I try to get a photo, I need to do the final tweaking that I never got around to. :)

Dagan did take me to Target on the way home. My remote died for the bedroom TV, so I needed to get a new one. I was leery and expected it to take me forever to program--was a snap! Just a GE Universal remote for $7.99. I like it because it is small, too! I also picked up some VCR tapes. The last ones I purchased were just awful! Maxell. Use them once or twice and they would get all snowy and kept skipping sections of what you were watching! The sound was all off and they didn't seem to be able to track after they were barely used? I am sure hoping that it isn't the VCR? This time I bought Sony and we'll see how they work??

I was tired and sore when I got home at close to 10pm. It had gotten so hot in here! I think it did get up to like 85 degrees today. Had to close it up and put the AC on. Takes a couple of hours for the place to cool down and longer to get the bedroom cooled off. Of course, I woke up again. I ate, spent some time on the computer, puttered with the watercolors, and watched what I could see of a special on prairie cemetaries and iron cross markers (PBS) and 30 Days on the bad tape.

I am seriously thinking of limiting my supplements to one of each per day--starting tomorrow. I have been having constant problems with the IBS and have a perpetual queasy stomach. It has been two weeks and I think that is long enough for a trial period. Maybe my body just needs smaller amounts over a longer period of time? Well, that's what it is going to get, anyways. I can't afford to be buying all of these again, anyways. I wanted to give this my best shot, but it is just ridiculous to put up with this for another six weeks. I have missed appointments with Dr. John, missed cooking with Dagan and Leah, and can't eat anything all day if I am going anyplace. Like tonight--finally ate at 10:30pm! And now tomorrow Leah and I have Dr. John's and afterwards we are going to a Shaklee meeting down in Kindred at Pam's house, south of Fargo about 15 miles. So, I shouldn't be eating tomorrow, either. I doubt that the effects of the supplements will subside that quickly and I am still planning on taking them when I get up. Only one of each and only when I first get up, tho, from now on. I am going to try that and see if it is any better.

Things just haven't been going as well as hoped lately--with the supplements and trying to bake with the wheat-free flour recipe.....

Maybe things will shift for the better in the food/health areas--who knows? In the meantime, I'll be waiting for my writing books to arrive and looking forward to getting back to some writing. I'll be painting--here at home and at Dagan & Leah's. Reading on the porch. Watching Netflix movies. And waiting for the IBS to clear up--haha!