Lately my hands have been itchy to draw. The other evening it began with the desire to draw a sunflower. Instead of drawing an imaginary one, I got off the couch and went and plucked a wilted sunflower from a two-week bouquet in the kitchen. I checked out the flower's structure, counted its petals, and took a good long hard look at it. I sketched a sunflower head with 32 petals (more or less, I lost count in the 20s), shaded in the petals with colored pencils, didn't like the result, and went searching for the crayons. Before I knew it the sunflower got a stem and leaves. . .and a setting!

Rusty n ails. Rusty rust. Rusty stringing-words-into-sentences-into-paragraphs-into-stories. I'll get there. Again. 

"Tell me everything will be all right," I said to the Husband. "Everything will be all right," he said. I like to be reassured now and then. Molly the Cat looked over at me. "Everything will be Okay, Lady." Purrrrrrrrrrr. It's a day late for ABC Wednesday . Better late than never. Click here to check out the participants. Thanks, ABCW team!  Oh, the theme this week is the letter O.  

"No, thank you. Zabaglione is not for me," said Molly the Cat. Very politely too. Missy waited patiently by her little table. That's one of the ways she lets us know that she's ready for a meal. Yup. Our darling spoiled feline has a table, which is actually a small cheese board, placed sweetly upon a placemat. Molly likes to keep a few of her balls nearby. Zort, as Pinky of "Pinky and the Brain" would say. It's the letter Z at ABC Wednesday . Another end of a round, thank you very much ABCW team. Want to join in and/or check out the other Z participants?  Click here then. 

Wowza! I planned on writing something serious today about current events, but then I received wonderful news this morning that I want to share. It was the first email message I saw when I opened my mailbox.  Giggle, giggle. First some background.  Are you familiar with the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King? This is one of the few series that I keep up with. In a nutshell, in case you're not, Mary, the wife of Sherlock, is the main character in the series. Mary goes from being Sherlock's apprentice to his equal partner in marriage and detection.  Together, they resolve situations for clients and Sherlock's brother who is in the deepest of deep English intelligence, as well as for themselves. The time frame for their adventures is the late 1910s and 1920s. For more about the series, click here . So, what's my news?  Last month I entered that drawing above of Mary and Sherlock on a hillside in Laurie R. King recent fan art contest. It

Just kidding around. Just feeling like a kid again. Just who do you think you're kidding? Just a punk kid. What's just that, kid? Just a new kid on the block. Just saying, "Hi, Kid!" The kid just said, "Bleeeet." Just handle with kid gloves. Handle just with kid gloves. Handle with just kid gloves. Handle with kid gloves—just. What are ya? Just some kind of whiz kid? Just kidding aside. Yup. I drew a picture of just how I recall my small barefoot kid self. J is this week's letter for ABC Wednesday . Click here to read other J-themed posts by blogger from around the world.  Thank you, ABCW team!! P. S. Uhm, I thought this week was the letter K. Like how I just barely put the post back on the right track? 

"Stop reading," ordered the Mama. "Go outside." I'd probably been lying on the bed reading for three or four hours that sunny summer weekend afternoon. I was probably 12 years old. That's what the Mama got for buying me a bed with a bookcase headboard. It was packed full with paperback books that I purchased from the monthly Scholastic book catalog during the school year. Three or four dollars bought me a lot of books back then. I shall always be grateful the Mama and the Daddy let me buy so many, and for leaving me alone to read the books over and over most of the time. Reading was my favorite thing to do in summer, followed by riding bicycles, watching movies, and eating. Except for the bicycle riding, I seem to have slipped back into my once-upon-a-time summer routine. I'm not getting much done, I admit. And, yes, my clothes are feeling snug. Again. I really do need to urge me to step outside and do something. There's still time today t

Tweeeet! Tweeeeeet! Translation:  Hurry, hurry! Get away, get away! Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp, chirrrrrrrrrrp! Translation: What was that? What does she want? I'm hungry!   Molly the Cat smiles. Lips smack. Tail swishes. Translation: Mmmmmmmmmmmm.  Molly settles in the wet grass, beneath the bird feeder. She watches the feeder swing back and forth and listens to the rustling of leaves as the little birds make their way up the tree. Not to worry little birds. Molly the Cat loves to stalk you, crouch low, and pounce towards the tree. That's it though. She has no idea that she's supposed to catch you.  She's merely getting her jollies for the morning. Tweeet, tweet, chirpppp, chirrp, tweet! Swishhhhhhh! Molly the Cat and I are linking up with ABC Wednesday , hosted by Roger Green and the ABCW team. Click here to check out what other participants are writing about the letter J and/or to participat

Boing! Boing! Boing! Its boingness is more so since I only drink it now and then. Boing! Boing! Boing! Yesterday was my day of Boing! I brewed coffee for the Mama, the Husband, and me to sip as we ate old-fashioned doughnuts. Yummmmmmm.  Boing! It's the letter B on ABC Wednesday , the weekly meme started by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and continued today by Roger Green and his ABC Wednesday team. Click here to participate and/or to check out other participants.