Photo diary: week 1, project 365

 It's chilly out there, not the dry crisp cold of the Russian winters, but the wet and humid weather which makes your bones achy and stiff. And the incessant drizzle. Rain on Christmas, rain on the new year's eve, drizzle almost every day during the first week of the year. 

Return to school was rather painful. It was hard to get up after two weeks of leisurely mornings. Eddie wasn't overly enthusiastic to go back to school. Only Sasha looked very happy to go to college. 

What have we been doing? Reading, sketching, baking, watching all Spiderman movies. Since Eddie and his father went to the cinema to watch Spiderman No Way Home, we decided to have a Spidey marathon and watched all the films, with Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and, of course, Tom Holland.

The first week of #penandinkchocolate was all about great writers. You had to choose a favourite quote from each author. Do you agree with Oscar Wilde? Or is it slightly exaggerated, as per his lively style?

I finally managed to get the top nine snap on Instagram. I know you could find your own stats and do a collage, but I'm too lazy. The app didn't work for me for several days, as millions of people apparently wanted to do the same.

Funnily enough, five of my top liked images were from November and December ink challenges.

I was looking at my collection of Alexandre Dumas' novels. In my teens and early twenties I used to read a lot of Dumas. I was of a very romantic disposition. 

All the antique editions were a gift from my lovely friend. I also have a copy of Three Musketeers in Russian, which I bought at one of the yard sales in New Haven, CT, over twenty years ago, when we lived there. It was like meeting an old friend.

I was thinking Eddie and I should have a readalong, and read Three Musketeers. 

Did you notice that the days have started slowly to gain a bit of light, pushing the darkness that little bit further into the evening. I call my Mum every day around the same time, and noticed the change.

I accompanied Sash and his father to the cafe before running off on shopping errands. It was getting dark outside, and I snapped my boy as he was sitting by the window, looking out at the Christmas lights. It was the last day of the twelve days of Christmas, and the next day they would have been taken down.

I've finally opened the box of posh milk and dark chocolate caramels from Fortnum & Mason hamper which I won before Christmas. Have to ration the chocolates. Told my guys, it's not a tin of Roses, so don't expect to eat the whole lot.

One more drawing, this one from Week 2, which is all about great artists. I liked the quote from Matisse, Don't wait for inspiration. It comes while one is working.

It's so true. The nude is a (inferior) copy of Matisse. I have a fabulous edition of Leonard Cohen's poem/song Dance me to the end of love, illustrated by Matisse's works, and this nude was just there, waiting for me to copy her.

How was your week?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter