Thursdaily with smoke, new blonde hair, and new art!

[ellenmillion]

The smoke we've been expecting finally rolled in. I've got the air purifier (cleverly bought yesterday, before they sold out) running and the fans on, and it's somewhat tropical but not too hazy inside.

Small monster has been increasing her dexterity and cleverness - we worked on putting shaped puzzle pieces in a board and while there was some frustration, there were also moments of triumph. She has also picked up the sign language for watermelon (slightly modified, but recognizable!) after just a few uses of it. That's a sign that MATTERS, unlike, say, sleep or water, which we've been using for months and she has no interest in using back. (To be fair, I've seen her use water once or twice.)

I left her with Mom and Dad yesterday afternoon and went and got prettied. My lovely blonde highlights had long since grown out (18 months, about!) and I was feeling drab and wilty. So I played to my vanity and pretended our heat was part of a tropical vacation and now I feel more sun-kissed and less Alaska-winter-dark. Guppy and I match again! (Also, I'm laughing at myself for having a TAG for hair color.)

And, new art! This is the first of three pieces for Fantastrix:

Comments

[stryck.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to the coloring books! It's hard to wait. :)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Eee! I cannot WAIT to hold this one in my hands.

[laylalawlor.livejournal.com]

Ooh, this is really gorgeous, and I LOVE the dappling on the unicorn's back!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I've never done dappling this way, so it was an experiment, and about halfway through I was dead certain it was a big mistake, but I couldn't stop with it half done, so I finished and erased the pencil... and it totally worked! Score one for trying something new!

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

Aw, this is really sweet, Ellen! And pretty damned gorgeous.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) <3

[jenny_evergreen]

So pretty unicorn!

[kill-inhibition.livejournal.com]

LOVE that unicorn! <3

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's so different than my usual burly unicorns - a good challenge!

[pixiewildflower.livejournal.com]

Wonderful art!

[kelkyag]

Willow tree! Dragonfly! Turtle! (Yeah, yeah, unicorn, mermaid whatever. :)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I'm stupidly grateful you can tell it's a willow tree - our willow don't grow anywhere NEAR that big, so I have to rely on the Internet to tell me what they look like and hope I capture it correctly. :)

[kelkyag]

Not much else looks like a weeping willow. Some of the weeping birches have sort of the right shape, but most other 'weeping' trees don't come close.

The one you drew isn't even all that large, and it has a fairly neat haircut. :) This is one of my favorite local ones. That link should take you to a google maps satellite view, where hopefully you can see that the willow towers over the three-story house it's next to. The boston garden has some really nice willows, too. Sadly they're poor city trees, as they're water-lovers that like to dig their roots into water and sewer pipes.

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

Yay for new hair! And for feeling beautiful and sunkissed!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

*preens* It's silly and girly of me, but it DOES make a difference!

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

I totally get it!