Written by Popping in for our prompt of “Crickets” today with a quick little sketch of a cricket singing. My mind wandered as usual and I ended up imagining a cricket who went beyond chirps and dreamed of a full performance and perhaps releasing a solo album. Entirely made up from my imagination, of course, but if I were ever to witness this performance, I’m sure I’d stick around until the finale. In reality, the cricket song is more rhythmic than melodic, but it’s a wonderful sound that reminds me of camping with my grandparents as a child. They actually make the sound with their wings rather than blasting out killer vocals, but it’s certainly fun to imagine that if we were just able to listen closely and understand, we’d hear a beautiful melody instead. I’m sure there would be a powerful message in that song. Yet still, those soothing chirps are certainly always a wonderful addition to a warm late spring or summer evening.
It’s been a lovely sunny day, though still a bit cooler than normal for this time of year. We’re heading into a week or more of continual rains, so I’m enjoying every little ray of sun while it lasts. Philippe and I have been enjoying our latest source of entertainment, which came in the most unexpected of packages. We recently purchased a Vitamix blender and have been experimenting with recipes. Perhaps it’s simply a side effect of spending a year in quarantine, but it’s really fun! I dove into the cookbook and then immediately got online and started buying various vegetables and fruits. Philippe was looking at a recipe and said, “Oh that one requires pineapple chunks in it and we don’t have that” to which I happily replied that we do now and they’re in the freezer. Opening the freezer now requires two hands and a bit of shuffling to get everything back into place properly. Yeah, I got a little carried away.
In truth, I put on a little quarantine weight and I now intend to lose it. We normally eat pretty healthy, but this allows us to double-down on that proposition a bit more. And blending food is a bit like painting and blending colors. Each little flavor adds something new and different to the mix. As it turns out it can be a bit messy as well. Philippe added one drop two much of dish soap in the self-cleaning cycle of the blender and the top popped off and blasted the corner of our kitchen in a mound of suds. Honestly, it probably needed a good scrub, so it was more of a happy accident after all. That’s been pretty much the extend of the excitement this past week, but I still feel extra happy. These fun little moments are the ones that I can miss while dreaming of something bigger and better. In the end, I’m taking life as slowly as one crazy creative guy can these days. And there’s a beautiful comfort in knowing that at the end of each one, I can always look forward to that singularly peaceful moment, when crickets sing.
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About the DoodlewashDa Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Opus (Vivid Pink), Quinacridone Red, Vermillion, Leaf Green, Phthalo Blue, and Cobalt Turquoise. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with black ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Send me a note with a link to this post, and I’ll add it to my shop! |
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Wonderful cricket and memories! Reminds me of the house we moved from up north…loved the sound of crickets there in the summer. once upon a long time ago I had an interesting experience with dish soap….when we moved into an apartment with a dish washer…our very first dishwasher..I figured i could use liquid dish detergent and loaded that baby up with that blue stuff. A dishwasher makes a really funny sound when you use dishwashing liquid and you have to wade through knee deep suds to get to the blasted machine to turn the thing off. i was very young and I never made that mistake again. We also had a very clean kitchen floor…LOL.
Thanks so much, Mary! 😃💕 Oh my goodness!! That’s too funny. LOL I’ve actually done the same thing with a dishwasher! But I was an adult. I saw Philippe adding liquid detergent, so I decided that’s what we should do. There was foam galore! Apparently it was one tiny drop… I guess I should have paid closer attention! 😊lol
Have you ever listened to Jim Wilson’s Gods Cricket Chorus? He claimed it was a recording of crickets slowed down to nine times the speed of human life, and that there were no instruments or human voices. It’s obviously not true, but he’s come up with something beautiful anyway.
Oh wow! I hadn’t heard that before… just listened to it. Too fun!! 😃💕
Awesomeness Charlie especially your enjoyment of the crickets’ song. I can just see you fighting with the freezer too. You two are a riot and I love it! You never mentioned Phineas this time .. is he on vacation? Take care and thanks for another great post/artwork.
Thanks so much! 😃💕 hehe… yeah, Phineas wants nothing to do with our new mixing addition. I never knew a dog could roll there eyes like that! lol
I love crickets and especially katydids. We have so many here in the country. After tonight, we are predicted to get a permanent warm up with no more frost! I’m so glad I will be able to get some things in the gardens. I had to cover some things the last few nights to protect them from freezing. I’m tired of it. Are you guys still staying home, or did your workplaces open up? We’ve had our shots, but we are still being very careful.
Yay for consistent warmer weather so you can garden. I “think” we’re past the cold snaps now here, but I just never know anymore. We’re back to work a couple times a week, but not fully yet. Philippe is about a week away from being fully vaccinated, but we’re still being cautious! 😉
Fun Doodlewash of a cricket with an unusual microphone.
Thanks so much, Sharon! Glad you enjoyed this one! 😃💕
Such a cute painting, Charlie! We’re still getting storms sans hail, thankfully. We have a cricket (grillo in Espanol), who lives among my plants. He plays his tune, but immediately stops when I get close. The turf war with Miss Squirrley Squirrel is back on. She’s digging up my plants again, looking for her pecans, which makes me see RED! She is cute, though, but I will never admit that to her. haha haha
Your blender mishap sounds like one of those things that just make for funny memories! You have such sweet memories of your grandparents, Charlie. They’re enviable.
Enjoy your beautiful weather even the rain. Warm hugs, my friend. 💜💜💜
Thanks so much, Marisela! 😃💕 Your squirrel sounds like the one we had who just liked to “taste” the tomatoes we tried to grow once only to realize she didn’t really like tomatoes each time. We eventually gave up! lol And I’m proud to report there hasn’t been another blender mishap… I think we’re getting the hang of it now! lol
Great doodle Charlie. I’ll avoid any Buddy Holly and the Crickets jokes.
Hehe!! Thanks so much, Gary! 😃💕
So happy for you,cherish every moment and great post from you sweet little singing cricket!
Thanks so much, Fatima! 😃💕 Here’s to cherishing each and every little moment!
Charlieeee!!!!
Erm.. Sorry for that very unusual hello. Im just so thrilled to see your post. I’ve spent such a gleeful day thanks to a sweet book called “The Adventures of Miss Petitfour” and seeing your post pop up made the day extra happy. I love the Crooning Cricket you’ve made. She looks like she loves her job singing for a cheering crowd of bees and butterflies. And your vitamix story was so funny and reassuring. It’s great to know Im not the only one who ends up doing these things. I hope you enjoy your new juicing and smoothie-ing phase.
Love & hugs,
Mugdha
Aww thanks so much, Mugdha! 😃💕 Glad I added another smile to your day! And yep… I’m usually the one who bumbles about and makes mishaps happen our house, so I was secretly thrilled that this time Philippe was at the helm with the suds exploded! lol It was really funny!
Great painting, Thanks for sharing it, he’s adorable! Re Vitamix ‘incident’….at least it was soapy water and not strawberry daiquiris….don’t ask how I know that…🙄🤭😆🤣🤣! Always a boost to my day when a Charlie post arrives 😀
Thanks so much, Mari! 😃💕 So happy you enjoy these posts! hehe… Oh my… yeah, that’s exactly what we thought on the “incident”… so happy it was just suds. Sounds like you had quite a party with the strawberry daiquiris though! lol 😉
Love your colorful artistic vibe. Smiling wide.
Aww thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕 Glad I made you smile!
Such a delightful singer! So sorry about the blender fail but at least the floor is clean!
Thanks so much, Susan! 😃💕 hehe! Yes, the blender fail was funny, and yep… the kitchen needed a good spot cleaning! lol