Sunday Morning Doodle Sketches & Decluttering

I haven't been doing much art since Mom's death in June, but this morning, early, I couldn't sleep, so I picked up my mixed media sketch book off the bedside table and did a few doodle sketches before I even had my first cup of coffee.

This is just a sketch done with a black gel pen. Love doing these!

These two are doodle sketches, thus all the pencil lines still visible. These are the images that wanted to come forth this morning, and I love them. I used a brown Stablio pencil, which I can later go over with a water brush and/or some paint if I want.

It's been an emotional week for me, especially Friday. I am also losing my hair, thus the bald heads, I guess. I like these women though! They're doing the best they can in a world and life full of chaos, as are all the other characters that emerge from the pencil marks.

Still have several works in progress and lots I want to create, but right now, besides going through the grief process for my mama and one of my favorite cousins, who died in March, I am trying to declutter our home before I can go through mama's home and see what I can do. I am an only child, so it's going to take a while. That's okay though. I prefer to do it alone.

I haven't felt like cleaning out anything in about thirteen years, since my dad died, and before hubby retired, so lots of stuff accumulated. So far I've filled eleven big garbage bags with old clothes that we can no longer wear, or even want to. Many discolored from hanging so long. I'm taking time to cut the buttons, trim, and small pieces of fabric for creative purposes. Same for old curtains, etc. All gone to the recycling place.

I also filled another large bag with old personal papers/receipts/etc., after I went through several years worth, and burned them yesterday.

It's hard to let go of stuff, especially for a family of pack rats, but it feels so good once it's gone, and in a couple of days we don't even notice it's gone. Hopefully, if we lose weight at some point, we can buy some more, because if we can't wear it right now, it's out of here.

I  have come to realize that we're getting old, and, at some point, one way or another, we're going to have to leave all the material stuff behind anyway. Kind of depressing, but truth!

Anyway, we need room to get around in the house without tripping over stuff. It already feels better, and there's more to be gone through and gotten rid of.

Creating is a necessity though, and my work space is a high priority for decluttering, but I'm going to make creating a priority while I'm decluttering too. I'm going to make it a point!

Here's to living creatively! :D

Rabbit Hop Eclipse 2017

August 21, 2017: I'm a little late sharing, but I'm lucky to have gotten any pictures at all of the eclipse. We are in Tennessee, but only got a partial eclipse. It didn't get totally dark; more like dusk for a couple of minutes. By the time I got outside, it was already light again, but the shadows were awesome. It was a little eerie feeling, but the light and shadows were intense and amazing. The pictures don't do them justice, but nobody every accused me of being a great, or even good, photographer.😀

This picture was made across one corner of our front yard from the front porch first...

Then I noticed the amazing crescent moon shadows on the porch and steps of the front porch, made from the sun shining through the trees. The figure on the right is a statue of a little girl sitting on a stump painting. My dad gave her to me years ago. The mate to it is a little boy fishing. He's on the other side of the step.

More on the porch and steps...

More crescent shadows on the end of the porch, not as sharp, but just as fascinating...

different angle...

And last, one made from the back door across our driveway of my grandpa's old school bus turned into shoe repair shop years ago, now a memory, but I love it.

Thankful we got to experience some of the eclipse It was eerily quiet while the moon covered the sun, transforming Rabbit Hop into a more magical place than usual!

Side by Side Field Trip

One day this past week, hubby and I rode in our yellow side by side, which I christened "Ole Yeller" when we bought it, down to the pond on our property. We sold all the cattle, horses, and goat last summer, a year ago, because of aging parents needing more help, plus we're aging ourselves.

The pond is one of my "go to" places when I'm feeling down or just need to be alone. We hadn't been in a while, and it is unreal how overgrown everything was in just a short time of no cattle or bush hogging the fields. I didn't make pictures, because hubby was driving, and he whizzed through growth higher than the side by side. The field roads were all grown up. We couldn't even see where we were going or where the roads used to be. It was kind of scary, and I was glad I didn't go by myself this time.

We made a fairly quick trip, with very little stopping for pictures, but I did get a few.

These three trees are beside the pond, which I call Papa's Pond, because he's the one who had it dug when I was a child. I call them the three muses, and I've made numerous pictures of them over the years in different seasons. There's just something that draws me to them.

Some people call these passion flowers. We call them wild apricots, and we used to eat the fruit from them when we were children. There are some tiny ones on here, but not noticeable. The flower is pretty though. These are also beside the big pond.

Papa's pond, which is usually pretty, is now stagnant and not so pretty in this summer heat, with not livestock and all the overgrowth. This dead tree had vegetation growing out of it in an interesting way. It's very sad to see the changes that take place with no human tending, but, in another way, nature has very interesting ways of re-claiming what was hers to begin with.

Coming back from the pond via the old tractor road, which is now full of ruts and cedar trees growing up in the middle of the road.

We came through the patch of woods that is also one of my favorite spots, with a big flat rock, which I've always wanted to set up and paint from, but never have. These are some of the smaller rocks and tiny white flowers scattered about.

More tiny flowers at the edge of the woods, just before we crossed the fields and headed back to our house, just over the hill.

We really miss the cattle, the horse, the pony, the donkey, and the goat. Not the same without them. :(

When we got back to the house,  hubby decided we might as well check the river out. It's just across the highway and down a little hill from our house. It's also a favorite local boat landing and fishing spot. On this day we had it to ourselves.

I waded in the river's edge; something I hadn't done in years. The water was very warm, but the sand was shifty. It was very peaceful. The picture above was made going toward town, which is just off the right edge of the photo.

We rode around the edges of the fields along the river before coming back to the house, tired and thirsty. Dodging limbs, tall weeds, thorns, and bouncing over really rough grounds will do that to you!

Anyway, it was a good evening of bonding with my hubby, even if he didn't drive as slow as I like, and it was too cloudy to get good pictures. I'm thankful for the adventure. :)