8r4d The sunrise from my #office tower reflects amazing on the #downtown #yeg skyscrapers.

Walking from my parking to my office this morning the sun was just coming up over downtown so I thought I’d share that moment in a video montage.

squwetchy Day 7 of #artadventcalendar and another seasonal-themed #watercolour for my daily sketch… freshly painted and ready to fill your feed with a bit of holiday spirit!

squwetchy December 6 and for #artadventcalendar this afternoon I devoted a full page #watercolour spread to this orb spider and her shadow, referenced on this -30C winter day from a photo I took in the fall.

squwetchy Fuzzy bear for another daily #watercolour

8r4d Something is afoot in the empty lot across from my office. I suspect the construction of a #snow #maze is in the works.

squwetchy December 4 of #artadventcalendar and it’s finally warm enough in #yeg to go outside and look at some of the holiday decorations around the neighbourhood. #watercolour

It’s been really really (no, really!) cold for the last week and a puppy I know has been too timid to tackle the Canadian winter in -40 winds. Sunday morning was a bit of a reprieve so we snuck in a 4km walk between cold spells!

castironguy Oatcakes, because yum!

I started an art blog earlier this year as a way to record some of the stuff I was thinking about as I learn #watercolour painting. It's turning into something more than that, though I don't know for sure what yet. I added a new post tonight:

Microfiction or microstories are bits of #writing exercises that are meant to stretch the creative muscles. I'm having a creative December, so I'm gonna be posting lots of art and words and other related stuff. With my microstories I like the idea of committing to a work for 30 minutes and fleshing out a story in 200-300 words and then moving on. And forcing myself to do it from a random prompt makes it so that I don't write 30 stories about time travelling robots. Today's is kind of an allegory for a kid stumbling onto social media. See a theme here?

squwetchy December 2nd and I not only cracked open a brand new sketchbook this afternoon I also dug into my #insect photos to paint this backyard ladybug in #watercolour

castironguy December 2nd and I took the day off. Too cold to do much except stay inside and make hot fancy #pizza for #lunch! Blog about it too…

squwetchy December 1 and the birds don’t seem to be bothered by the bitter cold or that the feeder is covered in snow.

8r4d A proud dad secretly snaps a photo as the Kid and her cast come back on stage for a bow. #thekid #theater

adventuredog December 1, and it’s minus 25 #outside in the backyard, too #cold for walks but we can do a couple laps in the #backyard before we need to go in for hot cocoa and warm treats!

For my #creativeadvent challenge I've got a list of daily creative chores to do for the first twenty four days of December. While you're scarfing little chocolates from your advent calendars, I'll be #writing #painting and #posting. This is your feed for that. Like for today, I did the first of my December #microfiction posts linked below:

As the year wraps up I’ve dabbled in what I’m (right now) calling the addict’s last puff on the drug known as corporate social media. And as we creep into 2023 when I need to think less about the moral and ethical impact of my high technology use, I can spend more time thinking about and writing about my low tech fun, fire, food and cast iron cooking, right? I've written a short little post about that here:

8r4d Reluctant transit buddies this morning.

It’s been a couple weeks since we got back from our trip to Manhattan. While my daughter loved Broadway, I really got into the food, in particular hunting down a couple good bagel bakeries and sampling their authentic wares. Of course, this left me yearning for some New York back home, and wondering if I could replicate them in my own kitchen. Check out the recipe:

castironguy I've spent the last 3 years thru the pandemic living off #sourdough toast for my #breakfast. Not that I'm sick of bread or anything, but I'm trying to branch out a bit, eat healthier and get a bit more fiber in my diet. Morning oatmeal with fruit and a drizzle of fruit syrup for a touch of sweetness is on the menu these days. Great, though I might need to research oatmeal toppings and mix it up soon.

adventuredog Grrr!

adventuredog Playing with dad in the morning after breakfast. It's soooo cold outside today!

adventuredog Monday morning and all I want is to make up for all the pets I missed while I was sleeping!