alda-rana - Tumblr blog

[alda-rana]

Thanks to everyone who gave advice about Heidi! I'm getting the main idea: patience, patience, and more patience. That said, the other day she came closer to us than she ever did voluntarily before... (pictured below) I'm not losing hope!

[alda-rana]

Tumblr is a cat people website, right? I could do with some advice...

Meet Heidi! She came into our house almost six months ago now. She spent the first couple weeks in hiding, which is where she got her name, and since then has been making very slow progress in getting comfortable in our house. She will sit on the table and look at us from afar with half-closed eyes, and she's apparently starting a steamy love affair with my boyfriend's size 47 sandals, she's mastered the art of yelling for food at 6am, but she still runs away if you get closer than a meter from her. I've only touched her once, by accident, getting a sweater from the wardrobe she was hiding in, and never since.

She used to be a stray and then spent some time in some cat hoarder's house; she's probably had a lot of trauma in her little life that left her with half a tail and 3 teeth. How can we convince her that we're not going to hurt her, and that she can trust us?

According to the lady who fostered her for over a year she loves to be petted and cuddled. But first she needs to let us get close to her! Or dare come close to us, whichever.

Anyone with experience of that kind of thing?

[alda-rana]

Having got into the habit of reading a few pages of a Pratchett book every night before bed, I finally reread the Nomes trilogy, which was one of the very first Pratchett stories I read, when I was 14 or so, long before discovering the Discworld, and I LOVED it so much. I remember ranting about it to my (very fantasy-adverse) mother in her car once. The bromeliad thing blew my mind back then!

Curiously, though, I'd never drawn these characters before. That is now fixed! Have a little gallery of nomes:

(1 - Masklin and Grimma, 2 - Dorcas and the Abbot, 3 - Gurder and Angalo, 4 - Granny Morkie and Old Torrit, 4 - Shrub and Pion)

And the whole group together:

Enjoy!

[alda-rana]

As was predictable, my attempt to get into WoW Classic turned into a full-blown addiction that ate my life for a bit over three months. I uninstalled the game and cancelled my subscription on a day of rare self-control, but still wanted to pay tribute to my dwarf priestess, Oréas. I really enjoyed playing as her, alas I had to make a choice between her and basically everything else...

[alda-rana]

Today I had to drive home early in the morning. The sky was slowly lightening over the snow-covered landscape as the lights of the city glittered like stars in the darkness and in the rear mirror the sunrise sky was pure gold. This is a very poor rendition, I wish I was more skilled with colours...

[alda-rana]

After Thief of Time I reread Jingo! Leonard, Nobby-as-Beti and 71-Hour Ahmed.

[alda-rana]

Reread Thief of Time recently, here are Lu-Tze and Lobsang!

[alda-rana]

I decided to redraw a picture I did in 2011...

...that itself was a remake of a drawing from 2006...

... representing one of my characters from the Forever Unfinished Novel. Yes, the project is older that some of you on this website. At least I've made more progress in drawing than in writing!

(But yes I'm finally at the point in the story that is depicted in the picture!)

[alda-rana]

So, as I mentioned some time ago, we have adopted a new cat. So far it's been very hard to get a good look at her; she's very shy and spends most of her time hiding, only sneaking out in the evening to go eat her dinner. Here are some sketches which I think captured her worried and almost guilty-looking little face as she crosses the living room!

(She only has half a tail, and black skin around her lips that make her look like she's got goth lipstick on, as well as making her :-( look extra noticeable)

[alda-rana]

Number 31: "Fire". An evening in Rivendell.

And so comes to an end this Inktober 2023, and I am proud to say that I managed to draw 31 pictures in 31 days even if it was not one every day!

[alda-rana]

Inktober #30 - Rush: a Gnome Warrior charging into battle.

(Recently got into WoW Classic with a friend. This is his character. Her pigtails are pink!)

[alda-rana]

A Halloween theme for Day 29 'Massive'!

[alda-rana]

Inktober 28: Sparkle. (What's the status of discourse on Twilight nowadays? Are we still making fun of it or is it rehabilitated? never read or seen them myself)

[alda-rana]

Inktober 27, "Beast". Not very inspired for this one.

[alda-rana]

Inktober 26: "Remove". Couldn't think of anything else than that opera patron asking Granny to remove her hat...

[alda-rana]

Inktober 25: "Dangerous"!

(I've never played a Zelda game in my life. I just know the memes)

[alda-rana]

Inktober #24 - Shallow...