Cycling, Cooking, Drawing and Running

I ended up having a really good day yesterday.  We got on the deadly treadlies and rode to the flat.  It has been quite a while since we have gone riding together, and it truly was fantastic.  We cleaned the flat - only a few things left to do - helped Mum set up her new internet - then headed home.

The ride home was into a killer head wind, but we rode most of it on the bike paths and enjoyed being together.  All up we did around 25kms in the day.  And when I got home I felt good.  I could have done more.  Over the next long weekend when we actually have some free time, we are going to have a big riding day.  It was so great to get back out there.

Already this month I have ridden more kms than I did in the entire month of March!  I am on fire baby!

I spent the afternoon drawing and playing with our Derwent Artist Coloured pencils.  I really haven't used them since we got them at Xmas.  I am slowly working on my first coloured drawing.  I'll share it when it is done.

Dinner was late and I made a super Quick & Easy Vegetarian Speghetti Bolognaise.  It was SOOOOO quick and easy and really did taste great.  Click here for the recipe.  It was a slap dash dinner that I expected to be average at best, but I guarantee I will be making it again.  My MIL even asked for the recipe, and was stunned that there was no meat in it!

Tonight I plan on going for my first run in 2 weeks.  I now have less than 4 weeks until the Mothers Day Classic and I am starting to freak.  My achilles seems to be better so I will just see how I go.  Any pain and I will stop.  Everyone send me positive running vibes though please.  :o)

xox

Xmas Wrap Up

Ross & I have had a great Xmas.  It started Thursday night.  We decided to spend Xmas Eve over at Ross's Mum's house.  It has only been 2 months since his Dad passed so we did not want her waking up alone on Xmas morning.  We had a lovely evening together.  Xmas morning we woke early and I made pancakes for Ross & his Mum.  Ross went to pick up his Grandad (91 years old and still going strong) while Di & I made salads to take to lunch.  We did pressies when Ross & Grandad got back, and yes we got spoiled.  :o)

Off to lunch at my sisters.  My sister invited Ross's family to join ours for Xmas lunch which was so generous of her.  So for lunch there was us 4, my sister and her partner & 2 kids, my brother and his wife & 2 kids, and my Mum.  It was great.  We all brought food, and believe me, we did not go short!

Ross & I got home about 5pm and unpacked all the spoils of the day.  One of the best things was my Mum got us a whole heap of dried beans and legumes, and some cool containers to store them in.  I got out the label maker and put the beans straight into the containers.

I also got my very own rolling pin and wire cooling racks!  On my cookie weekend I borrowed them from my Mother in Law, so she decided I need my own. 

We were SO very full from lunch, so no dinner for us, but we did go for a walk.  Then we sat in front of the TV and both did some drawing.  I finished a drawing I have been working on for a while.  I can see so many problems with it, which is good because it means I can see where I am going wrong, but overall I am happy with it.  Six months ago I couldn't draw at all, so I am really pleased that this even resembles what it is meant to.

Today was a day of rest.  I pretty much did nothing, and I had a ball!  Dinner was something new again.  We decided to have kebabs and baby roast potatos.  I did the kebabs with tofu, mushroom, red & green capsicum and snow peas.  Then I put a mixture of sweet chilli sauce & hoi sin sauce on it and put it in the grill.  So delicious!

I also put the last of Xmas prawns onto skewers with the sauce mix and grilled them for Ross.  He loved it.

Tomorrow we have friends coming for dinner.  I have a bike ride planned for the morning, and other than cooking I am planning on another relaxing day.

I hope that everyone's Xmas was as relaxing as ours.

xox

Another Fairy

All you need is a Pencil and a sheet of Paper

Now that I don't have all my Facebook games to play, I find myself with spare time of an evening. I have a few TV shows I like to watch, but I am really not one to sit and watch TV mindlessly. I need to be doing something with my hands.

Earlier this year I took some Drawing classes. I really enjoyed them as I have always wanted to draw. After the classes finished I started drawing by copying from photos. Which was fun, but not really where I want to go with my drawing.

So last night I picked up my sketch book, my "B" pencil, and my eraser, and I sat down. I have never just sat and drawn before, with no picture to copy, and no idea of what I actually wanted to achieve. So it was weird. My fascination with drawing always leads me to fairy drawings. So I decided to give it a go.

I started with the wings (I know they look more like butterfly wings, but it is a start :o) ), and the picture came from there. It took a few hours. The proportions are way off. And it is really just a sketch, but the finished product, for my first shot at freehand drawing, is something I am proud of.

I haven't drawn for a few months. I haven't really had the time. So it was fantastic to just sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and draw. And I loved that I didn't copy anything, didn't get concerned about the proportions, I just drew my picture.

I can't wait to see what I draw next!

xox