Day 28

April 10, 2020Leave a comment

Amazing how busy you can stay doing nothing important. I got up before 8 to draw with Koosje on Instagram but couldn’t find her soooo I drew this:

The corner of the den and out the den window.

Then who popped up on my phone Koosje sooo I drew this.

Part of the shelf in the den. Kinda fun and lots easier than the first one.

So I was ready for Danny at noon in between a little cleaning sheet washing dog chasing cat feeding and you know important things. NOT. He wasn’t on til 1. What?! Then I found Mary Berry she of the British Baking Show fame. Who knew she’s been well known in England for years and years. So I watched one while waiting for Danny. She’s so charming. So utterly British.

And darned if we weren’t drawing a plant with Danny. Too lazy to find a new plant I drew the white amaryllis again. Hohum is the way I feel about this version.

What next?! Watched Mary Berry while waiting for sheets to dry and walked. A lot. In front of the tv.

And I thought this recipe sounded tasty. I do love a good Eggs Benedict. So of course I wrote it down and illustrated it.

Out my window this evening. Sun came out. Oh yeah. Meant I had to fill the pool since there we got zero of the predicted rain.

Margaret about ready for bed. Zero face masks made. Maybe tomorrow?! Xoxoxox

Day 27

April 9, 2020Leave a comment

I actually got up in time to do the sbsdrawingparty with Koosje this am at 8. Usually I am thinking about getting up.

Draw the room with a plant in the foreground. Colored pencils. I used Watercolor pencils because I was too lazy to get up and find my colored pencils at 7:55. Enough just to show up. They are now found and sharpened aka ready.

I just happened to have a great white amaryllis that I needed to bring in off the porch. What a treat to see it going crazy again around Easter. This is its third year blowing for Easter.

Anyway a fun technique to use. See you there in the am?!

Finally got this one done sorta more or less.

Danny’s class bombed out so that’s it for today. Think maybe I should have left this black and white. Oh well. Now it’s just a photo of black and white.

social distancing on the river.

Like this guy I am tired. Always a hoot laying around subbing on the porch rail.

Hmm bedtime. Maybe I will get up early again tomorrow.

Margaret xoxo

Day 26

April 8, 2020Leave a comment

And I thought it was Day 27 hmmm

This am with Koosje. Draw your shoes up close. I actually painted this but no photo and I hate to disturb Zoe whose snoozing in my lap. Micro Uniball Lamy Safari stillman and birn Alpha.

She’s had an exhausting day today. Went for a ride around. No human contact don’t worry.

And colored pencils with Danny at noon. I drew my Nikon. Waiting for a sunny afternoon to take some bird photos. Had to wash the sliding windows too.

Used three or four pencils. Blue orange yellow and red. No five. Purple too. Fun technique. Wild coloring.

And this was waiting for me in the mail box. Woohoo. Bought my pirate queen Comtesse Chloe Le Chat: Corsair Extrodinaire from Juliana Coles who posted them on Facebook. Love the words too. “In Times like this the Heroine takes her place. Batten the hatches. Fly the Colors!! ” perfect for the pandemic.

And look at all the swag that came with it. I might love her – the cat and Juliana. 🤗 Chloe is now in quarantine airing out for a few days but I can admire her every time I walk by her on the kitchen counter near the hall door.

Woohoo.

Margaret watching Maine cabin masters. Batten the hatches!! Fly the colors!!xoxoxo

Day 25

April 7, 2020Leave a comment

Madly drawing today and doing a few must does. Sketchbookskool live drawing party. I drew at 8 am on Instagram and then noon on YouTube. Lamy Safari which makes a thick rich line a Lamy Vista which makes a thinner scratchy line. Noodlers eelskin Ink. Watercolor pencils. Stillman and Birn Alpha which is almost half full already. What?! Record time. Then I made several face masks. I may have that figured out finally. Only 60 left to make. Eeekk. I took a friends pattern and adapted her back to my front leaving an opening to so the filter could be removed when the mask is washed. And it also let me add a slot on each side to feed the T-shirt yarn ties thru. Here’s this afternoons sewing. Eight done. Hurrah.

Dawn in the river.

Love the early am light on my porch chandelier.

Margaret tucked up in bed but I didn’t forget to post. Yeah. Xoxox Please stay home and stay safe!!

Day 24

April 5, 2020April 5, 20202 Comments

Could be a new thing.

Watching cooking shows and writing down the recipes on the shows. Then I just seemed to need to illustrate them.

I have done ten pages of these in the last two days and they are getting more complicated.

Hmmm.

Terrible drawing of Joanna Gaines. My daughter in-law loves Joanna Gaines so I thought she would like her recipes.

She’s starting a network and a cooking show. Hmmm the Gaines empire expands. She did not give most measurements except for the crepes so you have to buy her cookbook to see the amounts.🥴

Think this one has too much business but I quite like the shrimps. The recipe itself sounds delicious. I intend to give it a whirl when I assemble the ingredients

Next time no coloring the ingredients to highlight them.

And these are just fun to draw. Not too much of a challenge to draw a two inch box is it. just draw a little portion of objects nearby. I obviously need a tidy up.

Watercolor pencils Lamy Safari and Vista Noodlers eelskin Ink Stillman and birn Alpha

Another gorgeous spring day on the river.

Virtual hugs Margaret xoxoxo

Day 21

April 4, 2020April 4, 2020Leave a comment

Sketchbookskool drawing party. Draw a dollar Bill. Crumple it up. Hope for no breeze no fan stirring it and draw. First a bold thick pen for the outline and finer pens inside. I used a Lamy Safari and a Lamy Ef. Half the time the Lamy was upside down.

Then you draw till you are satisfied. I journaled all over the page writing over and over the same page with a soft pencil til you couldn’t read it. Always makes a lot of texture.

Painted with burnt sienna Andrews turquoise cad yellow for the green. Burnt sienna background. Add a favorite quote or two. This was one of Andrew Cuomos dads favorites. Evidently he liked anything by Churchill.

The Sketchbookskool Instagram drawing party. Didn’t draw it live but one day I will get up early enough to do it at 8 am😵😵. Draw your coffee mug and paint it with your leftover coffee. Fun and much easier to do than that darn dollar bill.

The mask filter

In the throws of mask making. All the parts assembled. Just a few seams left and I will have enough masks to cover all my kids nose and the grandkids.

This is the brand and type I used for the mask filter.

Four done and almost 17 finished. Filters ready to go into the cotton mask.

Two seams each and done. Hurrah.

Margaret Tahred. Haven’t knitted a stitch all week. Xoxoxox

Somehow I forgot to post

April 2, 2020Leave a comment

yesterday. Not sure why since I had this sketch of Zoe all ready. Lamy Safari Stillman and Birn Alpha watercolor pencil background a

Zoe wondering why I kept calling her name and adjusting her head. She never quite returned to her pose so her heads Bit too wide. Surprised she just didn’t lie down like she usually does and take a nap.

That said I have been preaching f to family and friends about facemask wearing for a month now. I can’t seem to get the time and energy together to get enough made so am sharing these directions with everyone I can find. I felt liked the canary in the coal mine tweeting away about masks til today when Dr David Agus said YES wear masks on CBS Morning show today. I mean if they work for medical why not us.

SO WEAR A MASK!!!

Can’t seem to make Enough masks to even cover my family’s noses.

So these are great NO sew directions.

The time has come for us all to wear masks now that the docs are starting to say wear face masks. Yesterday I discovered this very easy to make face mask. NO SEWING!!!

https://myhaymac.com/2020/04/01/easy-and-fast-no-sew-face-mask/

You can use a filtrete air condition filter to line it – The very expensive FOLDED kind that are hypoallergenic and filter bacteria and VIRUSES.

TWO layers of filter. They have to have a Merv Rating of 1900-2200 and cost $25-50 each but each make lots of masks

You can also use vacuum hepa filters as a filter .

Please wear a face masks when you leave the house to protect yourself and everyone else.

And share this with those you love and maybe some you don’t so we can get back to our normal lives and stop this plague.

Masks can be sterlized by 30minutes at 170° or greater. Dont use microwave (metal nasal fitment will spark). Also dont contiminate mask storage bag.”

The very pregnant stray cat

Virtual hugs!! See you soon!

Our my window.

Love this artist Charlie Macksey !!!

Love you guys. Margaret thinking nap on sofa momentarily xoxoxo

Sketchbookskool drawing party

March 31, 2020March 31, 2020Leave a comment

Yesterday You try drawing with your none dominant and see how well yours turn out. But a lot of fun. I switched from a fine Pitt pen to the brush pen. You also do it as a contour aka look at your hand while you draw. All things considered these turned out well.

Today A thick and a thin line. Used a blue pilot pen for the thick line and a micro uniball. Interesting look. Might do another with the brush pen and fine point. Bytw for some reason the pilot and the uniball just smear with an index finger doe interesting shadows in my stillman and birn Alpha- my pandemic sketchbook.

One last page while I was waiting for Danny to start an odd bird I never see. I will look it up when I get over being tired from my 4:3o wake up to get to Publixs by 7 am. Then hauling all the groceries and the endless washing and wiping. Just goes on and on and on.

This downy woodpecker hit my window. Hope it’s ok. Was worried the cat would get him. He’s just gorgeous.

Speaking of cats. Buying this from Juliana Coles. Soooo excited. Love her art work and her Pirate art.

One last note cause my youngest bossy son said to do this:

My son who hates forwarded emails said this was one of the most useful

Things he had seen about the virus and that I should post it to Facebook so here it is!

From a former Respiratory therapist: save this treatment plan just in case-excellent!

CORONA Common Sense

Since they are calling on Respiratory therapist to help fight the Corona virus, and I am a retired one, too old to work in a hospital setting. I’m gonna share some common sense wisdom with those that have the virus and trying to stay home. If my advice is followed as given you will improve your chances of not ending up in the hospital on a ventilator. This applies to the otherwise generally healthy population, so use discretion.

1. Only high temperatures kill a virus, so let your fever run high. Tylenol, Advil. Motrin, Ibuprofen etc. will bring your fever down allowing the virus to live longer. They are saying that ibuprophen, advil etc will actually exacerbate the virus. Use common sense and don’t let fever go over 103 or 104 if you got the guts. If it gets higher than that take your tylenol, not ibuprophen or advil to keep it regulated. It helps to keep house warm and cover up with blankets so body does not have to work so hard to generate the heat. It usually takes about 3 days of this to break the fever.

2. The body is going to dehydrate with the elevated temperature so you must rehydrate yourself regulaly, whether you like it or not. Gatorade with real sugar, or pedialyte with real sugar for kids, works well. Why the sugar? Sugar will give your body back the energy it is using up to create the fever. The electrolytes and fluid you are losing will also be replenished by the Gatorade. If you don’t do this and end up in the hospital they will start an IV and give you D5W (sugar water) and Normal Saline to replenish electrolytes. Gatorade is much cheaper, pain free, and comes in an assortment of flavors

3. You must keep your lungs moist. Best done by taking long steamy showers on a regular basis, if your wheezing or congested use a real minty toothpaste and brush your teeth while taking the steamy shower and deep breath through your mouth. This will provide some bronchial dialation and help loosen the phlegm. Force your self to cough into a wet wash cloth pressed firmly over your mouth and nose, which will cause greater pressure in your lungs forcing them to expand more and break loose more of the congestion.

4. Eat healthy and regularly. Gotta keep your strength up.

5. Once the fever breaks, start moving around to get the body back in shape and blood circulating.

6. Deep breath on a regular basis, even when it hurts. If you don’t it becomes easy to develope pneumonia. Pursed lip breathing really helps. That’s breathing in deep and slow then exhaling through tight lips as if your blowing out a candle, blow until you have completely emptied your lungs and you will be able to breath in an even deeper breath. This helps keep lungs expanded as well as increase your oxygen level.

7. Remember that every medication you take is merely relieving the symptoms, not making you well.

8. If your still dying go to ER.

I’ve been doing these things for myself and my family for over 40 years and kept them out of the hospital, all are healthy and still living today.

Thank you all for sharing. We gotta help one another.”

All This Sounds logical to me. One of my favorite things to do when I get congested is steam my few brains out over a very steamy dishwasher on the rinse cycle with a beach towel over my head and the gap in the door. ALWAYS clears my chest up.

Hugs Margaret who may have a date with her dishwashers drying cycle. Slight case of asthma today. Xoxoxo Stay Safe!!

Face masks and other things!! Aka BUSY!!

March 30, 2020March 31, 2020Leave a comment

From last weeks urban car sketching.

Spent yesterday starting to make masks because if they work for medical people they will protect the ones I love from the virus too.

Don’t believe for a minute you don’t need one when You go out.

Here’s the article!!

I am ripping up filtrete filters with merv 1900 -2200 rating which is really good for masks but u can also use hepa vacuum filters. Just try not to puncture them.

Other fabrics you can use for filters.

You can use duct tape and staples scotch tape masking tape to make the folded accordion style masks. And add ribbons or scraps of fabric for ties. Get creative. Masks patterns are all over the internet.

And no elastic!? Cut strips across your T-shirt’s width about an inch wide. Pull on each end of them. You get spaghetti t-shirt strips perfect for ties.

I made this large pile of ties in minutes. Hmm leftovers. I could tie tomato plants up with them. If I had tomato plants. 🤣😂

So get busy. Some glitter might be a good finish!!Two face masks for my son with bad asthma. Taken two days of ripping and cutting. One day of washing drying fabric. Omg! And I have 53 to make. 😖😖😖

Stay well!! Love you guys!

Margaret who will post art later today after I get the bread out of the oven.

Car Sketching Again!!

March 29, 2020Leave a comment

Hoping you and yours are doing well. So far so good with all of mine. So here we will sit six feet apart for another month. It’s worth it if it saves even one life.

Never pays to grab a random black sketchbook without looking to see if it’s the right one. This one wasn’t. NOT fond of watercolor. And don’t make a mistake – it’s NOT coming off. No blotting lifting will do. Paper so thin it waffled badly.

This is the kind of sketchbook it is. Ink was fine but watercolor not so much. A birthday present supposedly ok for watercolor. How I mistook it for my black stillman and birn Alpha I will never know. The Alpha is covered with stickers. They look nothing alike.

Spent the day ripping apart filters to make facemasks only to find that I should have gotten the kind in the photo above. Ripping off all those gold plastic wires was tough on my hands. Six done. Still ok for masks but the one in the photo has about 6 times as much fabric. Will use it for my next go round because these will only make 25 or so.