B. T.

In purplish pencil he is peaceful:

In pen he has a gloomier cast:

Here is another drawing of the same subject in a very cross mood.

Cat portrait

One last picture of Oscar. Tomorrow I return to drawings.

I would really like to take more human portraits, but it's so difficult to arrange.

Today I'm feeling like this:

There you are.

Sorry to disturb your sleep. 

I just needed to take a picture of something.

This:

The way your tail stripes glow in the sun.

Oscar

I'm taking care of a friend's cat this weekend.

Oscar is reserved, but I've been told he likes me.

You know what I like?

That tail.

The perfection of those stripes!

Mind reading

What do you imagine she was thinking? I happen to know, but your guesses are sure to be more entertaining.

Business

Dear readers, I have just eaten a thick slice of crusty bread with butter and lemon curd. Although I could devote an entire post to Things I Love to Spread on Bread, I won't. I'm here on business. See below.

This is a business man with his enormous business phone. I unearthed them last week in boxes unopened since childhood. I don't remember making the phone, but the inspiration for the business man was his fantastic button. "What would Mr. Henry look like?" I must have asked myself before proceeding to cut out his lapels. (Like Donald Draper with a smile and no shoes, apparently.)

The other bit of business to cover is this: the winner from last week's Postcard Quiz is Kate! Please email me at pencildrawn(at)gmail(dot)com with your address and a description of your dream postcard, Kate. I will post a picture of it here once I have completed it.

A quiz

How would you describe this sitting posture?

a. Indian-style

b. cross-legged

c. criss-cross applesauce
d. other

I invite all three of my readers to respond with an answer. Give it a little time, and I'll choose one of you at random for a postcard prize! Yes, I'll send you a postcard of whatever kind of drawing you'd like. 

Just because postcards are so wonderful. And because I'm glad you're reading.

Ginger ale

My weekend has been lazy and sluggish. The electric whine of cicadas makes the day seem about ten degrees hotter. It's been hard for me to get my mind in gear to read or draw. Instead, I've been watching films, solving Sudoku puzzles, and eating enormous amounts of fruit.

For days like this I recommend inactivity and cold drinks. Here's an easy recipe to keep you cool:

I love this variation of my favorite drink--lime and mint really make the ginger sing. My boyfriend and I prepared the syrups in the morning, left them to cool in the refrigerator while we went to the beach, and celebrated a hot Fourth of July with this cold drink at the end of the day. Delicious!

You can adjust the sweetness and spicy ginger flavor to your taste by adding more or less of the desired ingredients. For instance, I don't like my ginger ale very sweet, so I add less simple syrup and more club soda.

And here is a fantastic, ridiculously easy, wonderfully delicious way to use up some of the leftover mint.

Togetherness