Stop and smell the chicory?

Really just a twist on the "stop and smell the roses" adage, this question pushed me to ask WIKIPEDIA if chicory has a smell. I read all sorts of info about chicory, but I will really have to wait til summer to see/smell for myself! That's kind of really where I was going with this...

A walk to the post office to mail a package to my son makes me yearn for the warmer weather. He and daughter live in the Southern Hemisphere and happen to be going to the beach today, while I bundle up in New Jersey. The weather has been kind to me so far, but a chilly winter has started to become an expected reality.

This entry today was to also remind myself (and anyone who reads this) to appreciate the simple things about this Christmas season. Don't make it all about how much money you spend. Just the camaraderie of getting together with family and friends, making Christmas cookies (I saw a great recipe for a twist on the Linzer Tart today–perhaps for a future entry!), sending a card, or maybe you have "some old thing" in your house that you know someone would treasure.

Make some memories and have a wonderful holiday season!!!!

HEY, Muffin!

Winter is upon us in New Jersey. It's Comfort Food/Carb Season and here come the holidays! Followed by New Year's resolutions...to lose those that 10 pounds brought on by "just a taste" or "it's the holidays". The MUFFIN TOP wins out and the "fat pants" come out of the closet again. Salads just don't have the same appeal when the wind is whipping, and the cold just about freezes your hands off when you run out to get the garbage cans from the curb. Walks are a bit harder to initiate. OK...barely night and it's dark out. Another day without a walk, and dinner is ready. Time to eat again!

"My dogs are hurtin' me"

I have started a walking regimen and walk about 20-25 minutes everyday with the goal of continual improvement of my plantar faciitis...as well as getting rid of the "muffin top". Imagine these are the personification of my feet–ooooh, the pain in their faces! (I am exaggerating, of course, but sure would like to be 100% again.) Is this what one means when they say "my dogs are hurtin' me"???? The next thing you know I could be drawing muffins!

POOF!

I have "graduated" from Physical Therapy and now will have to forge out on my own with the discipline of stretching and an optimistic walking routine as winter approaches. POOF! How life's events dissolve into the next. And how fall will turn to winter in the blink of an eye.  POOF! My 2-3 day sessions of Physical Therapy per week are finally over,  but have given me the opportunity to grab snippets of the beautiful colors of fall on my drive back home.  Grabbing these scenes as they come, as there will not be a "repeat performance". POOF!

Road  to Penwell, taken over a week ago. How fast the leaves are turning–soon to turn to dismal grey twigs.

PT Boredom or P.T. BARNUM?

Ok, so now I have been in Physical Therapy for my Plantar Faciitis for 5 weeks and getting tired of the whole routine...Maybe this means I am ready to leave. I am balancing on one foot, balancing on foam, as if I am on the tight wire & trying not to fall off the "tippy board".  I am recumbent biking, throwing weighted balls, and now have been introduced to the Total Gym & woke up a bit crippled from the "heel-dropping".  While waiting, I sketched a man on the recumbent bike with his arms folded. When he saw it, he admitted he looked bored.

Am I ready for the CIRCUS? Am I ready for life as it once was?   I just want to be HEALED! This has been a long process.

My New "Friends"?????

Physical Therapy 3X /Week...After 4 weeks of treatments for Plantar Faciitis, I decided to bring my sketchbook. I sit for 10 minutes with laser penetrating my heel and, though some bring a book to read, I decided "why not draw?" After viewing Debbie Tilley's blog, I realize she seems to use every opportunity to sketch from life or imagination....or a little of both! So for the next 3-4 weeks of my treatment, I will sketch my "friends" as they balance looking into the mirror. A sort of "ballet dance at the bar",  if you will....Or perhaps preparation for the Senior Olympics!!

So you want to be an illustrator!????

Ah yes, at last my 6th grade "What do you want to be when you grow up?" essay is coming to fruition!!   AGH! What did I get myself into? Back in August, SCBWI member and Christian friend, Roz, had written a manuscript and BEGGED me to illustrate through a San Diego publisher she knew. My original thoughts were..."Print on demand? Do I want to do this? How prestigious is this?" Pride put aside, who was I kidding? Now my original timeline to the publisher is a remembrance in the back of my mind (Mind you, I was the one who set up the timeline!) Author Roz is now soothing me with "this is your first...you are cutting your teeth on this..."  Consistency in characters is different than creating a random sketch. Forging ahead!
OK..back to the drawing board!