ALL the INKTOBERs 2025! Day 7!

 It's Day 7 of All the Inktobers!
Today's drawing is based partly Val Lewton's Cat People, one of my all time favorite movies!

Today's Catober drawing is inspired by Peaches who is sometimes fascinated by the discovery of her tail!

And, lastly today's "Official" prompt drawing:

ALL the INKTOBERs 2025! Day 6!

 

It's Day 6 of the Inktober Drawing Challenges!
Here is my drawing for today!

And here is today's Catober drawing:
Sakura! I had to look that up. It's a cherry tree!

And the "Official" prompt drawing for today:

ALL the INKTOBERs 2025! Day 5! Plus my Six Chix Sunday!

 My cats love water but don't understand the concept of water in a bowl. They always dip a paw in and study it before testing out if there is really water in there! My Six Chix Sunday is based on these observations and features fabulous Pilot as the model for this one!

Now for the Inktober drawings! My drawing for Day 5:

Now, the Catober drawing for today:

And the "Official" prompt drawing for today:

ALL the INKTOBERs 2025! Day 4! Plus Six Chix!

 It's Day 4 of the ALL the Inktobers cartoon challenge!

First off, my Six Chix carton for today!

Here is my drawing for today!

And now the Catober drawing for today!

And the "Official" Prompt drawing for today!

ALL the INKTOBERs 2025! Day 3!

 It's DAY 3 of All the Inktobers! Here is my drawing for today:

And the Catober drawing for today which was similar for today's Official Prompt.

And the OP drawing:

ALL the INKTOBERs 2025! Day 2!

 It's Day 2 of ALL the Inktober Challenges!

 First  my own drawing for today!

And the Catober drawing for today:

And today's "Official" Prompt drawing:

It's INNNKTOBER 2025! Day 1!

 It's hard to believe that it's time for ALLLL the Inktobers! Yes, 3 Intobers! Catober, boring Official Inktober and my own Halloween drawings!
First off, here is my drawing for Day 1:

Now Intober Prompt drawing for Day 1: Mustache

And the Catober Day 1 drawing: Potions

 

The Good, the Bad and the Best of Westerns!

 

I grew up on westerns (and monster movies!), as did a lot of my generation. So when the first of Sergio Leone's westerns opened in NY, of course I went to see it. A Fistful of Dollars brought Clint Eastwood to everyone's attention and who started to see him in a whole new way. It was everything a western should be and that score! Ennio Morricone's brilliant soundtracks brought these films to a whole new level, underscoring the action and making them even more memorable!

I have a deep love for these films and for Lee Van Cleef, who really lit up the screen in every scene he was in beginning with For a Few Dollars More and the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, maybe one of the best westerns ever made, and Eli Wallach was great in that one, too!

Lee Van Cleef was well known as a character actor in numerous gangster films and westerns but he became a leading man through these Italian westerns.

I just rewatched The Big Gundown (directed by Sergio Sollima) , which I haven't seen since it came out, and is on Youtube. It has a great Ennio Morricone score and if you haven't seen it, check it out! Here's a link to the opening theme song!

The Fall and Rise of the Weeping Willow

 As long as I've lived in our house, a magnificent willow tree stood at the end of the garden. As the garden expanded, the willow tree stood guard!


Last summer I said to John, the Willow is having its best summer ever!

Then we had several winter snowstorms in a row. During one of them we were shocked to find... the willow had fallen over! Right onto the garden, no less!

When the snow went away, John and Bill cut the willow back to a stump and cut up all the wood.

Alas. was that the end of the road for the willow?

Surprise! This summer the willow started growing from the stump and became a magnificent willow bush! Will it become a tree again? Who knows?

In the meantime, we are happy to have our willow back  as it is!

Mother's Day!

 I had the best Mom and Grandma growing up and they were role models to me on how to be a great Mom! Sadly, my family photos from when I grew up seem to have been lost after my divorce. Still searching for them, so posting the pics I had, including some old Polaroids I found from our many trips to Florida, when my Dad was working there!

I am also lucky to have the very BESTEST of daughters! I just got home from a most fabulous time with her and my super son-in-law, who drove us everywhere including long walks at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and also Huntley Park an interesting wetlands park with a boardwalk that winds through the swampy, water ways and put up with our shopping with no complaints!

She also surprised me with the perfect Mother's Day brunch! Back in the day, we used to go to Goldie's Deli in Portsmouth every Mother's Day and had bagels and lox and French fries! The perfect meal! She recreated it, down to the pickle sides!

So, Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate... me, included!

Six Chix Catch Up!

 I am so behind posting my Six Chix cartoons on here, so here are all the ones from the last month!

HAPPPPPPY Birthday, Nico!

 Happy Birthday to the BESTEST of daughters!

A lock of 41 birds on wires all say Happy Birthday, Nico!

And some celebratory photos!