Old Coot Azzy

I'm looking forward to watching the premier of "Pushing Daisies," tonight as well as the conclusion of "Top Chef." I have to admit that I've gotten somewhat addicted to TV these past few months. Before that, about the only thing I made sure I watched every week for 6 years was 24. My favorite new show of the season is, "Reaper." I love how the devil character is portrayed. My drawing practice has been at a standstill because my spare time has been taken up with messing around with the writing board and yakking on yahoo messenger. *laughs* At least I did some coloring on a character drawing I scanned in a couple of weeks ago, and I feel good about that. After I do a few chores I'm going to try to catch up on my reading again. I'm still working on, "Wraith," by Phaedra Weldon, and I have a few chapters of an online story downloaded into my old PDA so I don't have to be in front of the pc to read it. I think I'll do that rea...

I picked up 3 books with the 25 dollar gift certificate I had from Amazon. They all have to do with creativity.       I'm anxious to start on, "Wreck This Journal," by Keri Smith. With entries like, 'Eat some colorful candy then lick this page,' I have high hopes that it will help me set my perfectionist nature aside and simply have fun. I have too many neat journals lying around. It's time to cut loose and let my creative side shine! For some interesting ideas, take a look at Keri Smith's Blog

Plans for today... Vacuum and dust Wash a load of clothes Pay a few bills Work on my booklist web page Print out a tutorial for Daz Studio Continue sports training on Wii Read for at least an hour Speaking of reading, I finished "Unshapely Things," by Mark del Franco. Later I'll start on, "Warrior Angel" by Margaret and Lizz Weis. It's a paranormal romance, quite different from Margaret Weis's usual stuff. I got a 15 minute ride in on the bicycle this morning. I know it's not much, but hey, it's better than nothing at all. :D Since the heat wave is still going on here in Chi town, I'll be cooped up in the nice air conditioned house for the rest of the day. Yep, I'm spoiled.

Picked up this book from Borders over the weekend. I thought the 3.99 price was very reasonable. Now I have almost one small shelf filled with "how to draw" books. I'm such a sucker for books. lol Anyhoo, using characters from the new book as a reference I managed to draw the following... One day, I hope to be able to draw something without using a reference, but I think it's too early for that yet. I still spend a lot of time drawing circles, cubes, cylinders, etc.

Last night, we watched several hours of "Live Earth." Bon Jovi gave another fantastic performance. The band is tight. They make live performances look easy. And they really know how to work the crowd. Bravo to them for an excellent job. I was bouncing around in my chair and wilding flapping my arms around to their music. Hey, at least I got a little exercise! *laughs* It looks like it's going to be another day spend indoors since the temperature is suppose to hit 95. Ugh! Too hot for me. I guess we could catch up on watching the anime we put on hold yesterday. This week I'd like to get back to practicing my drawing. I've been at a loss for what to work on but before I fell asleep last night I started thinking about trying to draw pictures of all the characters I created for my old storyboards. So, yeah, that's what I might do. I'm been feeling quite bored when I come online lately. I guess it's because I don't have anyone to talk with or write wit...

Last night we watched, Bridge to Terabithia, and I felt pretty bummed out by the time it ended. I guess I was expecting more fantasy and a much happier story, not one that had me using up a box of Kleenex. *sigh* Maybe I should start reading some reviews of movies before I rent them so I'll have at least some idea of what to expect. I really lucked out because I got to see the space station and shuttle gliding across the sky again last night. Usually I miss out on things like this due to uncooperative weather so this time I'm sending out a thanks to mother nature for ultra clear skies. Since there's always a balance to things, we're supposed to have thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow night. I practiced drawing for about an hour yesterday. Not nearly enough considering I haven't touched my sketchpad in weeks, blaming it on eyestrain. I would have had my new glasses by now but they called to reschedule my appointment. Now I have to wait until July. Ugh. Maybe I'll...

My younger daughter found a buyer for her house. Whoot! I'm happy for her. She wanted to get into a bigger place before my grandson started 1st grade, and it looks like she's going to get her wish. Things will move quickly for her now because she has only 6 weeks to find a new house. I hope everything works out. I know she's going to be under a lot of stress while the house selling, house hunting, packing etc, is going on. We caught up on our anime watching over the weekend since it was too hot to sit outside. We're finally getting some relief from the heat today with temps only reaching around 80 and low humidity. Yah! I'm looking forward to shutting off the a/c and opening the windows because there's nothing like fresh air! Yesterday I got a delivery from Amazon so I'm off to read, "Nightlife" by Rob Thurman. If it's as good as, "Moonshine," (the 2nd book in this series) I will finish it in no time. Gosh, I'm reading a lot more ...

I can't remember the last time I sat down and finished reading a book in less than 2 days. Well, that's what happened with, "Moonshine" by Rob Thurman. Once I started, I couldn't put the book down. How could I not enjoy reading the exploits of 2 gorgeous half brothers, one silent and deadly, the other angsty and a smartass? Oh, Cal the smartass isn't completely human either. Following is the blurb from the back of the book. After saving the world from his fiendish father's side of the family, Cal Leandros and his stalwart half brother, Niko, have settled down with a new apartment and a new gig -- bodyguard and detective work. And in New York City, where preternatural beings stalk the streets just like normal folk, business is good. Their latest case has them going undercover for the Kin, the werewolf Mafia. A low-level Kin boss thinks a rival is setting him up for a fall, and wants proof. The place to start is the back room of Moonshine, a gambling club fo...

Once again another weekend is gone but many pleasant memories remain. Since the weather was perfect we spent a lot of time outside, puttering around the yard. When I say we, I mean the hubby and I, of course. :D We did a lot of walking at the mall on Saturday. The hubby got himself a new cell phone and I picked up more books. (naturally) These are the new editions to my library. 1. "Doppelganger," by Marie Brennan. Here's the bit off the back cover: "When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. But what happens when the doppelganger survives?" 2. "Warrior Angel," by Margaret and Lizz Weis. I've always been a big fan of Weis and her Dragonlance books and was surprised to find her writing a "paranormal romance" with her daughter. Hope it's as interesting as it sounds. 3. "Declassified: Chaos Theory," by John Whitman. It's an original Jack Bauer Novel based ...

I managed to take the following picture of the moon nearly hugging Venus on Saturday night and lucked out because a few minutes later the clouds rolled in. Rain followed off and on throughout Sunday. We really needed rain. I'm sitting here in disbelief over the fact that I've only managed to read 3 books this year so far. Sheesh, there was once a time I read 3 books a week! That was before the internet took over my life. lol It really is an addiction, but I guess there are worse things to be addicted to. I might work on a web page later to keep track of the books I read each year. Maybe that will be the incentive I need to dive into the pile of books sitting around here collecting dust. Latest Netflix rental: "Running with Scissors." What a strange movie! But it left me with the notion to start writing a memoir of my life, especially the early years. No doubt it would be boring to the masses, but my kids or grandkids might get a kick out of reading it someday when ...