I decided to make a big change this week. I bought a new Kindle Paperwhite (which I love by the way) but then realized I don't really read as often as I would like. I decided I was wasting too much time on my iPhone. Most of my time was being wasted playing games and I have a bit of problem being sucked in by that black hole known as Facebook. I decided to delete all the games off my phone. I left Facebook because of the connection to Zentangle but made a pledge to myself to not abuse it.
The effects were almost immediate. I was wasting 2 -3 hours a day on my phone and that's a conservative estimate. With this new found time I have almost finished a book, got 3 Zendala's done, and I was able to get quite a bit done on an organization project that I will be telling you about next month. It's amazing how productive you can be when you disconnect from just a bit of technology.
Now for another issue. Tonight I will finish my current book The Misremembered Man. I think I'm going to try The Kite Runner next but after that, then what? Anyone have any recommendations for me? I'm up for just about anything.
Zendala Dare #65
When I created this template I thought it was a little busy but I kept getting drawn back to it. The flower like parts around the edge are not my usual style but something about them really intrigued me. I LOVE the end result.
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| Tangles: Pais, Striping, Onomato, Popsicles, Courant |
Most of the time I feel like my shading is a little on the light side. I have been making a real effort to being more heavy with my shading in an attempt to get more dimension. I have also been trying to add little details with my pen that gives my Zendala's a little more interest. I think I was successful on both counts with this one.
Remember to link up so we can all enjoy your work!
I would love it if you would leave me a book
recommendation in the comments below.
Have a great week!
Good on you, those decisions! Thanks for a beautiful template again.
ReplyDeleteOh yes Erin, you 'have to' read Kiterunner and after that his next book.
I think the best book I read the last couple os years was: La isla bajo el mar (this is the original title in spanish, in Dutch it's called 'The island inder the sea', so you must be able to find the title in English) written by Isabel Allende.
Pride and Prejudice is a must read! I also downloaded a book(just because it was free!) called "Freckles" and I thought it was a sweet, well- written story that I truly enjoyed. It was published in 1915 and written by Gene Stratton Porter. Highly recommend it!
ReplyDeleteI love your Zendala! Your tangles are amazing!
easy, fast and fun !!! thanks
ReplyDeleteI love your Zendala. I think it's my favorite!
ReplyDeleteBarbara
I've done the same thing to "turn off". I'd suggest The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. You'll need something lighter yet entertaining and well written after Kiterunner. Get your tissues out for that one!
ReplyDeletei need to make some of those same changes in my life. i spend way too much time on the computer and not enough time drawing. so, maybe i'll take some inspiration from you and see what happens!
ReplyDeleteyour zendala is lovely - i am drawn to the fluidity of the lines, the flow, the softness, it shows what i think you're feeling this week :)
If you like a romantic comedy any of the books written by Elle Lothlorien are a fun read. Keep your eye on them, she occasionally does a promo where they are free - I read all 4 books for free, but I would have gladly paid full price.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the beautiful template, Erin. I also have a kindle, and lots of my books are freebies. It's worth looking. I have all of Shakespeare, Dickens, the Sherlock Holmes stories, Oscar Wilde, to name but a few. I also get what's called in the UK the "Kindle Daily Deal". If you sign up for it, you get (free) links to recommended books - lots of them very cheap just for that day. I can't buy them there because my account is here in Germany, so I follow them up here, but maybe Amazon has this service in the USA. I've found lots of books that way. I also found a British author I love to read when I'm tired but not sleepy. The author is MC Beaton and she has written witty crime stories with a fun amateur detective (Agatha Raisin) in one series, and an excentric Scottish policeman (Hamish MacBeth) in the other. They are very British and transport me back home, though the places described are entirely fictional. If you like being transported to English or Scottish villages where weird things happen and like to devour your books, they are a fast read and require no deep thought (that's useful after a hard day!).
ReplyDeletePS The Jane Austin books mentioned above are probably freebies!
ReplyDeleteErin, I like all the swirly action packed lines!
ReplyDeletegreat job!
Hi Erin, I haven't done the template yet, but yours is lovely. I'm having a bit of trouble with inspiration today. I wanted recommend a book also, it's called "My sister's keeper" by Jody Picoult, and it's a very good, although fairly intense read. They made a movie about it, but it wasn't nearly as good as the book; I hope you haven't seen it. I see you have gotten lots of recommendations and I'm going to write some of them down. I also like going back to the classic American writers once in a while; like Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain. Those books are timeless. Congrats on your "new leaf" re computer games. I went through that a couple of years ago, and Zentangle is what got me to erase the games and draw. Hugs; Linda from CZT10.
ReplyDeleteWhew! I managed two attempts on this lovely template. Nothing compared to the great embellishments on Erin's, but I can't get away from the style I seem to have moved into, so if one of them seems a bit Christmassy, it's all in a day's doodling!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Zendala from another great template!
ReplyDeleteKiterunner is definitely one you should have read, I just finished Inferno the new book of Dan Brown, also a fantastic book.
Hi Erin, Your rendition of the Zendala is just beautiful!! As for books, I went on a reading spree (book in hand-no kindle) not too long ago of the author, Joyce Carol Oats. She spins a wicked tale. Check her out. She written lots of books. Thanks for the template this week, I enjoyed tangling it. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely, mesmerizing zendala!
ReplyDeleteHere's just a sampling of book faves:
The Glass Castle
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Dog Stars
Outliers
Breaking Night
Rules of Civility
Beautiful tile and a wonderful post! I am on summer vacation from teaching so I love to get caught up on reading and other fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteI disconnected from Facebook about 6 months ago and it was probably the best thing I could have done. I can barely keep up with my own life, let alone everyone else's. Instead I have been using Instagram b/c it is a quick and easy way to share. My one goal this summer (I took the summer off from teaching) was to read a book. So I saw a recommendation for:
ReplyDeleteThe Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
I'm really loving it! You could find more info about the book if you searched amazon, but I also took a pic of the book synopsis and posted it on my blog for anyone interested (sprouttherightbrainedbean.blogspot.com).
P.S. I love this week's dare! My goal for the week is to finish it! =)
I have this book in my "to read" stack!
DeleteI enjoyed this week's dare, as usual. I am newly retired and have jumped back into reading. I agree with Ronnie, Joyce Carol Oates is my favorite writer. Just be patient, as she does quite a set up sometimes before you become amazed.
ReplyDeleteEveryone saw flowers and butterflies. I saw Easter bunnies LOL!
ReplyDeleteWhen I signed in with Mr. Linky I must have done something wrong and when I clicked on #21 Julia to see her Zendala I got my (Banar Designs) stats page. Can you do something to fix this Erin? I'm so sorry. I don't know what I did. My name #22 is there and works just fine. Sorry for the trouble and sorry to Julia.
ReplyDeleteBarbara
P.s. Have you read any Barbara Pym books?
Great Zendala Erin - I saw Geishas :) (I should read more, but I fall asleep) :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very very new to this lol. Do I print the template, tangle it in my style then post a piccie somewhere? x
ReplyDeleteI like the flowing lines of your zendala. I have not tried that much. Yours looks great. After some initial hesitation, I did enjoy this template. Won't suggest any more books. Looks like you have quite a few to keep you busy for a while.
ReplyDelete