Playing with Math and Fires Continue in the Mountains

For years I have worked on solving math problems in my head- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I've never shared this until recently when I got on this site called Math and Mind.  I find it relaxing and fun. One time my husband and I were playing a game of cards and I was keeping score. At the end of the game, I add it up with my way of doing it which is fast. Paul asked "How do you know that is the answer?"  I said "I added it up and if I'm off, it would be by one point."  He started checking me and realized it was correct.  Later, our friends Ron and Janet came over and we played a card game. I was the score keeper and did the same thing. I guess Ron was about to say something about it and Paul said "She gets it right."  Ron said "Really?"  And Paul said "Yup."  That just tickled me. I don't talk about it. I just do it. It can really throw people.  The one area I have some trouble is going into the negatives. I want to find if there are short cuts doing that. I'm sure there must be, but I didn't work on those in the past.  The reason I brought it up is that I signed up for a site that sends several math problems a day and I have really enjoyed it.   I bought a couple of books on this to play to do further games (that is how I see it).

I have two people I know Carol and Lori who's homes are threatened by the Cedar Fire. Ugh!  I know that several homes have been lost. But when you know the people involved, it makes it personal.  Precautionary evacuations started Wednesday afternoon in Kernville which is close to Carol's home.  I never thought they could be affected by the same fire.  It is quite big!  

Janet and I got together at her home to watch a couple of movies, have pizza and wine. I stayed overnight so I wouldn't worry about driving. I brought over two Disney movies I loved thinking Janet would also like them.  They were Wall-E and Alice in  Wonderland (with Johnny Depp).  Both excellent!   Great time with Janet!  That was fun!

So no art class this last week or this week. I bought a couple of young children's coloring books so I can work out doing flat coloring and also variable to give a sense of form. The reason for this type of coloring book is because the spaces are large to allow me to do this.  I bought them  at a dollar store.  I only worked on one, and it isn't very good yet.  It is a shoe skate.  The paper has a lot of tooth.  I wonder if I should have done it on smoother paper.  I really can't wait until Carol can help us in understanding what we are doing.  I know I'll appreciate it.  I know from having used graphite, that I will get the hang of it and the quality will improve.

Shoe Skate

I got my handicap license plate.  My niece Shannon changed my plates out.  I don't need a handicapped parking all the time, but when I am really hurting, I'll appreciate it.  Though, I have to say, most of these spots are taken.  I didn't notice this when I did not need them. Now that I have it and can use one, most of the time I can't get one. 

I'm heading off to the store to get a few items to make dinner.  I am using my organic fruits and vegetables.  They include a few recipes to use these.  I have most of what I need.  

Well, that is it for the week.  It has been slow, but that is okay to me.  I do feel okay.  I just need slow periods.  I hope your week went well and this next week is good for you too!                  Rachel

Bad Air

My niece Shannon contacted me about her daughter Erica who is in a mountain area where a raging fire is going on. If she heads this way, would I be able to take in her, her grandmother and daughter. Of course I would take her in until she could return. My daughter-in-law Stephanie had a situation like this as did my daughter Shelley. I can't imagine saying no in a situation like that with fire edging up the front door. It is so scary. I do worry when they stall in making the move that life is also at stake.  Then my friend Janet's daughter Lori's family were to evacuate on Thursday afternoon. Her husband's boss was expanding their home for all the extra time he has put in to the boss's business.  As far as I know,  Lori's house has not been hit yet.  These fires are not just in one location. These are all in the mountains.  There is a question that at least one of them may have been started by an arsonist.  It makes it  less stressful if they know they have a place to go to when they are in a bad place.   There is so much smoke in the air that the air quality is very bad!  I am staying inside as much as I can.  My friend Barbara has not being feeling well, which she thinks is linked to the smoke.

Janet, Barbara and I went to see Florence Foster Jenkins (played by Meryl Streep- an excellent actor) a true story of a woman who saw herself as an opera singer. Those close to her hide the truth from her that she was a poor singer  which caused an amazing situation where the audience saw this as comedy. It reminded me of the beginning parts of the season on American Idol, when people who have been told they were wonderful singers by family and friends, but with the feedback, especially from Simon Cowl who is so blunt and often times cruel that they need to do their singing in a basement alone so no one else has to put up with it.  I find it so painful to watch and hear the comments, that I have to leave the room.  I have a hard time seeing people make fools of themselves. 

At my art class, Carol critiqued our drawings. She gives such useful feedback that I am anxious for her to see what I do. Linda, my classmate feels similar. Linda did say I could show the picture she did of a lizard's eye. She also sent a picture of a snake that is also excellent, so it is here also.  We also discussed changing to color pencils which will start in September.    We won't have class for two weeks and Carol said we really have to get down shading with colored pencils. So I will work on that. The pictures are Linda's.  I still need to work further on my peacock and snake.  I'm ready to frame the lizard and peacock feather I did.

Linda's Lizard Eye

Linda's Snake

I had been talking with the social worker Robin at Kaiser where I get my chemotherapy telling her how I found coloring in the adult coloring books to be stress reducing and very relaxing.  I had so many coloring books, I donated them to her to use for the chemotherapy patients.  Some of them are also in a lot of pain, and this can be helpful in reducing it.  So this last Thursday at Chemotherapy, I took in the coloring books.  I had some color pencils.  They still need pencil sharpeners and perhaps even erasers.  I have several of the little pencil sharpeners and a couple of erasers I will take next time. 

Janet and I got together catching up on the week's events.  She spent several days there with a friend. I would enjoy that, especially because of the heat and smoke here. 

Here are a couple of pictures of my great grandchildren, Conner, Kason and Nylah. Two more are on the way, one in September and one in January.  They expect boys. 

Conner holding Kason.  They are about a year apart.

Nylah is a very happy baby.  She will be a year in December 

So that is my week. I have spent a lot of time drawing in adult coloring books. It is very relaxing.  I hope your week went well and this next week is good too.     Rachel

Alyssa's Baby Shower

I was pretty excited about the work I did on last week's pictures.  It was like I had a breakthrough in what I am accomplishing.   When I went to class, my teacher Carol even noticed this. I really don't know why.  I had thought why would it be when I'm drawing lizards?  No reason.  If we were working on something else, I think it would have shown with that. So this week it is snakes.  I had decided on one snake, and I liked it.  But, it was too distant to give detail, so I decided to do another that was a close up.  My classmate Linda has gotten on to working on eyes. Her pictures are amazing!  She is very detailed and top-notch n shading!  Very good!  I'll ask her sometime for permission to print one of her pictures. Such talent!   Carol mentioned at looking to move to Las Vegas.  I would sure miss her as Linda has said also.  But she said we could stay at her home if we came to Las Vegas. Then she said she might do classes that could be extended weekends to have classes and then time to gamble, or do other activities.  No immediate plans, but it is something we needed to be aware of. 

Snake

Further work on the Peacock

Further work on the Lizard

Further work on the Peacock Feather.

I had gotten an email, not specifically to me, but asking for readers to write reviews of books they want to advertise. So they listed four books and asked that one be selected. They stated it wouldn't be a guarantee that you would get one. So, I filled in the form and the book I selected, called The Vegetarian by Han Kang.

What a fascinating book! I have never read a book like this.  It is about power, the position and treatment of women. The writer is from South Korea and was translated by Deborah Smith.  She has to also be good, because it reads so well. In this story the protagonist is a housewife who is in a relationship not based on love, or anything really positive but that her husband feels he can control her. She also refuses to wear a bra because it is uncomfortable.She has a regular nightmare that show lots of blood. She decides from this to become a vegetarian though that did not stop the nightmares. She will not eat dairy or eggs too. Her husband catches her tossing all the meat in the freezer and becomes very upset with her. Her emotional tone is flat in responding to him.    All she will say is "I don't eat meat". 

They go to a management dinner for work. She is not wearing a bra and she refuses to eat anything with meat. Her husband is embarrassed by her.   He even exerts support from her side of the family to get her to eat meat using violence by her father and  what everyone sees as her sense of duty to her husband and father. She refuses. She appears non- responsive to all attempts for her to eat meat. In the mean time she has become very thin,  This book came from Pelican Random House Books. I don't know where they got my name, but I'm pleased I got the chance to participate in this. The book is around 200 pages. The sentences are short and there are no extra words used in the whole book. I recommend it for the unique style of writing and the excellent story where the theme could fit for all countries and the issues as to treatment of women.  This country perhaps has a stronger sense of need to control women, though I see it a lot. 

My niece Shannon asked about coming up this weekend. I told her that Alyssa, Shelley's oldest daughter's baby shower would be on Saturday.  She had to make arrangements to get a car rental. They do this for out of town visits.   I'm glad Jordan and Shannon were coming here for lots of reasons but the one that comes to mind was to put the shower present (a stroller/carseat combo) into the car and then into the restaurant. 

I had never been to Agave Grill and Cantina. There are so many Mexican restaurants in town. Janet and I go to Mexicali not for the food, but for the Margaritas.  And, as I have said, for both Janet and I, each of us went there with our husbands (both of our husbands have died).  It offers a kind of comfort for both of us.  The food was very tasty and the margaritas were okay, not as good as Mexicali's, but not a bad drink.  Jordan spent the time with his cousins so this was the first time Shannon and I spent time without others.   Very pleasant!  We went to the Red Pepper for fish tacos. She made breakfast Saturday morning which was delicious. Mainly, we just lazed around.  And, on Sunday, we Christened my new waffle maker.  We made enough so I could freeze them and take them out one at a time, putting them in a toaster to get it nice and hot. The baby shower for Alyssa went well and my son Jeff and his wife Stephanie were there.  It was good to see them.  It has been several months since I last saw them.  I got wonderful reports on their two daughters, my granddaughters Cassadie and Meghan.  They are doing very well.

Shannon and Me

Alyssa holding Nylah

Shelley and Alyssa

The back room in the Agave Grill and Cantina

Heather and Shelley

The parents to be Alyssa and Issac

Nylah with her daddy Lorene

Alyssa, the mother to be!

Seeming to Get the Idea about Shading

My ex-neighbor Celeste called. The house she owned sold and the people who bought it are doing work on it before they move in.

 During our conversation, she brought up about a cat that may have been dropped off by her home.  Celeste said the cat is declawed.  She thinks it might be past youth. It is a male but he is not Neutered.  She calls him Clancy. He is white and black. He is not aggressive.  He has personality and needs to be an indoor cat and probably do better in a one cat home. She asked me to share this thinking maybe a person in Kern County might be interested. She lives near Tehachapi. 

Carol my art teacher could see how I'd grown in doing my art.  In particular, I really am doing better at shading.  She still had suggestions which were good and obvious as we looked at each one. So helpful!  I really appreciate it. Fellow student Linda also finds this so helpful.   So I worked on the pictures I posted last week. Next week I'll bring in pictures of snakes to choose my subject. 

More detail added and corrected the shading

Worked more on getting the eye on the feather corrected and
the downy feathers at the bottom, by showing some of the detail in the barbs.

Worked more on the head, the eye feathers and the shading.

I am considering cropping the picture also

Janet and I went to the Red Pepper.   She had told me of a rib eye steak that was very good. I don't eat meat the way I used to (daily or even weekly) but periodically it seems appealing. It was pretty good. Not the best, but better than I've had for a long time.  There were a couple of other choices and she thinks it may have been another way. 

I read everyday. I think I've been reading more this last week. Linda, who I have known since elementary school and is the main person planning our 50th reunion for our high school calls periodically . Linda calls me  and we talk about what we are reading. Linda recommended a series of books by C. J. Box, about a game warden Joe Pickett.  I think there are around 15 books. I'm starting book 9.  I can picture the mountains with his description. He is married and has two daughters. The females are strong. He loves his family and work and has had problems with some people especially in his work who are controlling and try to keep him out of things.  I've been enjoying it and in addition, there is some issue that you learn in each book. Fascinating. 

So that's my week. Temperatures are dropping some this week to the 90's. That may sound bad, but when it has been approaching 110, this sounds much better. I hope your week was good. I hope the next week is good for you.  I'll see you next Sunday.                   Rachel