"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence." — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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October 31, 2022

Zip Thru Autumn 7

Zip Thru Autumn
For November 2 - November 7, the suggested prompts are Never blog this and Motivating. I've never blogged about what I wear or eat or if I get hurt, I've never shown my injuries, nor any politics or news events unless I like to or maybe I should say I never blogged about anything too personal that people would know where my scars are nor anything too depressing. Like I said in the previous Zip Thru Autumn 6, I will share only things I'm comfortable with, which, are mostly mundane things.
    As for motivations, it comes and goes. But the number one motivation for me are blog readers, they keep me blogging, mostly. Let's be honest, nobody blogs so they can talk to themselves, at least, I do not. I've seen a few blogs where they turn off comments and I thought of them as websites or records, not a place for people to interact with each other. Anyway, motivations come and go but it's good to have a few readers to stop by to remind me I'm not blogging into the void or I'm not out here talking to myself although sometimes it kind of feels like it.

What have you never blogged about? What motivates you to continue blogging?

October 29, 2022

Draw or Nap #3: Postcards from the sky

typewriter with paper of a city skyline and a plant crawling all
Postcards from the sky
I didn't post as many drawings as I would like this month but mostly because it took me too long to finish a single piece. But here's one that I just finished. I call this Postcards from the sky but mostly because I can't think of anything to call it. I was going to have some text on the typewriter paper at the front, something like, 'On a clear and moonlit night..." but I decided no on that. The typewriter keys are askew but everything is sort of not straight anyway so I just decided to leave it. I really like how this turned out though. (click on the images for a larger view)

closeup- typewriter with paper of a city skyline and a plant crawling all
closeup


draw or nap

October 24, 2022

Zip Thru Autumn 6

Zip Thru Autumn
For October 26 - November 1, the suggested prompts are Priorities, Open. I never thought of blogging as a priority but it's something that I care about. It's not necessary for me to blog at all but sometimes it's something that I kind of automatically think of to do like any other every day task. I've been blogging for a long while so perhaps I got into the habit and not think too much on it.
    I think I'm very open with my blog but at the same time, I don't share many personal things but mostly because I'm just not comfortable doing it. I do wonder why some people are easy-going when it comes to sharing and why others aren't as good at it. I am certainly not good at it. I see many bloggers confessing their inner most thoughts and struggles and I appreciate their openness and I can understand there is a certain comfort in sharing them but I doubt I can do the same thing.

If you have a blog, do you prioritize it or is it just like any other tasks you do each day? Are you open with your blog readers and do you like sharing your inner most thoughts?

October 20, 2022

Fiction: Deaths and Desserts

This October's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by River at Drifting Through Life over here. This week's prompts are donkey, battleground, spatula, outside, bridge, stars, rescue, scorching and this image:

I had manged to use all the words although battleground might perhaps not quite fit here. Not sure why I wrote this story but I have been reading murder mysteries.

Fiction: Deaths and Desserts
Mrs. Avalon Bridge's dessert party was one of the neighborhood's favorites every year on Halloween but only a chosen few were invited. Pia Brown, who lived next door to Mrs. Bridge, was delighted to receive her invitation this year but she had to take along her elderly father-in-law, Bob. Most people hated Bob. He was a loud, obnoxious fellow with a bad temper and was always rising a fuss about some small thing. At 87, he was obese and had a rather unhealthy obsession with sweets. His doctors told him to stay away from desserts or else prepare for a heart attack but he refused to listen. He said he was too old to follow rules. There was a rumor that Pia's husband, Bob the second, had died to get away from his father. Pia, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Bob the second, rather stupidly or perhaps cunningly, placed in his will that Pia must take care of his father until his death or else she will not get the money he had left her.
    On the night of the party, a light rain was falling. Pia and Bob, carrying umbrellas, walked over to Mrs. Bridge's house. Pia politely smiled and gave a quiet greeting while Bob grunted a hello. Mrs. Bridge, dressed in a long black gown with kimono sleeves and her long, black hair divided in the middle, gave them a kind welcome. No one was certain of her age but she might be in her late thirties. She gathered their outerwears and umbrellas and threw them in the closet.
    Inside, the 15 guests were already seated at the large dinning table. Every space was decorated with orange, red and black decors shaped like skulls, witches and pumpkins along with a gray stuffed donkey as the center piece on the table. Pia thought that was strange but then again, Mrs. Bridge was strange. Some had speculated Mr. Bridge might had been murdered by Mrs. Bridge but Mrs. Bridge acted as if Mr. Bridge never existed. All the photographs in her house were of her and no one else.
    Mrs. Bridge stood at the head of the table. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted you all came tonight. Dessert as you all know, came from the French word—"
    Bob interrupted, "Get on with it, lady. No one's here to hear you babble."
    Mrs. Bridge pursed her lips and then smiled. "Yes, of course, Mr. Brown. We might as well start right away. Slay, please serve the first dish."

October 18, 2022

Draw or Nap #2: The modern witch

cat-witch with ipad and puppies
The modern witch
Debra at She Who Seeks
suggested drawing a modern witch so this piece came about. (Thanks Debra.) The only thing I can think of to modernize a witch would be technology so she uses an ipad or whatever you like to think as modern. I certainly don't know as I'm quite un-modern.

the modern witch closeups
closeups
I titled this The modern witch but I'm thinking maybe change to The tea witch as she's a tea maker or so I believe. I wanted her to be a cat-witch so it's why she has such ears but she doesn't really look like a cat. The animals in her arm and on the floor are puppies or cats or some weird cat-puppies or something. I decided pink is her favorite so that's why there are so much pink. For a larger view, click on the images.
draw or nap

October 10, 2022

Zip Thru Autumn 4 & 5

Zip Thru Autumn
For October 12 - October 18, the suggested prompts are Ten-year plan, SMART goals. I don't much care for these prompts so I'm skipping them both.

For October 19 - October 25, the suggested prompts are Recommend, Questions for visitors. I prefer other people recommend things to me and not the other way around. I still give recommendations if people ask me but really, it's better people don't.
    What questions would I have for you, dear readers? I can suggest plenty but for today, I'll ask just a few questions for fun (answer one or a few as you like):
01 - Socks are better than shoes, agree or disagree?
02 - Do books fly if you throw them at the wall?
03 - What Disney character vex you?
04 - Are you willing to help your best friend bury a (presumably dead) body?
05 - Which do you prefer to use: PC, Mac or whatever device you can get your hands on?

October 06, 2022

Draw or Nap #1

girl reading sitting on a swing with a cat
nap paradise, 2022
I started this piece a while and only finished it now. I suppose I can add more things, do more with the shading but for now it seems pretty finished to me.

closeup
closeup

draw or nap

October 04, 2022

Zip Thru Autumn 3

Zip Thru Autumn
For October 5 - October 11, the suggested prompt is Variety, Unique to my blog. I must admit, there is no variety to my blog. I only blog about books, my fiction writing and something that is neither of those two. And occasionly, I'll post my art if I have a new piece to share which is not often. Do people expect variety with anyone's blog? I don't but mostly because I read so many blogs that I don't need variety from just one blog.
    I cannot say there is anything unique to my blog aside that it is mine and no one else's. Everybody's unique but at the same time, everyone's sort of the same. We only think we're unique because there's not another one of us so, just like our blog, there is no other blog like ours unless there is someone copying you and in that case, you're still unique because you're not that person copying you unless you're weird and you like to copy your old blog for some reason.

As a blogger, do you think you need to offer variety to your readers? And do you think bloggers need to be particularly unique with their contents or themselves?

October 03, 2022

September 2022 Books

September went rather too quick. I think I did do things but at the same time, I remember not doing a lot. I'm not quite ready for sweater weather though but who can stop time or the weather?
    I read more Agatha Christie books without reading the synopsis which I think makes these mysteries more enjoyable. I think I'll be reading Christie books through the end of the year. There are so many of them.
    As you may have noticed I have changed my blog's header again. Maybe it's a bad habit to change headers because readers might not recognize your blog but I think it's always nice to see a change every now and then. It really sort of make things seems new even though I haven't changed anything else. Can one enjoy change even if just the little things? I know I do sometimes. Here are the books I read in September 2022.

The Hollow (A Hercule Poirot Mystery, 1946) by Agatha Christie
01 - The Hollow (A Hercule Poirot Mystery, 1946) by Agatha Christie
> link
I thought this was a bit boring in the beginning but then I couldn't stand any of the characters. I think we spent too much time in all the involved characters' head and there are all these stupid love triangles between distant cousins. Frankly, I can never understand why women worship selfish, lying, cheating asshats which is what the victim is. I'm not sorry I cannot understand him. And Poirot is hardly in the story and I think if you replace him with someone else, it didn't make much of a difference.

October 01, 2022

Draw or Nap October 2022

desk with drawing pad, paper, devil & angel figurines
draw or nap, 2022
Last October, I did a challenge I titled Draw Something October 2021 where I draw almost every day and show some of the results so I'm doing the same thing this year. This time, I'm doing it slightly different. I will take suggestions on what to draw. I will not promise to draw every suggestion but I will think about it. I call this Draw or Nap just for fun or it may be what I'll do this month.
    So make your suggestions — be as descriptive (example: a house on a hill on a mountain with steps leading up to it) or as simple as you like (a chair with a book on it) but please keep them family-friendly. So if you're incline, leave your suggestions of what I might draw in the comments.