A Christmas Story...

I've never seen that movie, but it is Copfriend's all time favorite. So far he hasn't shot out his eye with a BB Gun... (how'd you get that metal in your chin??)
This is his Christmas card. Next thing ya know, he'll want me to sew him a real bunny suit!

While washing dishes, Bailey went to the side door to see who was knocking and discovered a moose that had stepped right over the snowfence like it didn't exist. Another was in the backyard nibbling some branches. Now that is had snowed, here they come! I'd seen many small decorative trees in Homer had been covered with netting while we were exploring some of the downtown shops, but I did not get the thrill of seeing how big a moose was up close. Ah well.

The baby was seen in more sonograms this Friday--it surely is a boy! As far as Brigham still calling it Stephen, I've told him otherwise: MacGillecuddy. McGillicuddy Clay. Since they have relatives in Ireland. Yep. That's what I told him.

Halloween Party!

Got some pics from Tegan and Sarah...
Sarah dressed as Coraline and even used large buttons for her eyes.
Teg carved the 'chest burster' alien from a block of styrofoam and made himself some blood.
They both look pretty cool!

Navy Summer '09

In Teg's last little sub trip that started off a bit late, he ended hanging out by Jamaica, swimming in the Bermuda Triangle, then high-tailing it to the Panama Canal (surrounded by a bunch of Marines and excited Panamanians--would that be Pandimonium?!) to beat another sub back to Honolulu. Teg is guiding up top and luckily someone got some pics. After a long vacation in Hawaii, he ran a road race last week! Sorry about the 'unartsy-ness' of this bad collage!

New Home, New Jobs, New Life!

Tegan and Sarah both began new jobs this month and are in the process of decorating--or making choices about empty walls. They can pick blueberries out back to make jam, peaches from a nearby orchard, build a walk, go to normal civilian jobs, and play on kickball teams or run. And they have several friends that are fairly close!

Luxury.

Dopelganger

Hmmm. Suspiciously similar eyes on this friend of Bailey and Nate's- Daphne doesn't seem too worried though.

The....."Slasher"!

No, Sorry-- not a new freaky neighborhood addition.

Copfriend earned a new nickname this week when a disastrously drunk driver refused to pull over...well, take that back. He did pull over amidst lights/sirens/drawn weapons, took one look at his surroundings and the barrel of a gun, and took off again at fast & furious pace. Perhaps he simple didn't comprehend. After a crazed jaunt into the country, risking lives and causing old people heart-attacks, he headed back into town whereupon he began obeying all traffic lights and stop signs!
Copfriend took advantage of an octagonal pause and bailed from his car with trusty Benchmade Automatic in hand--quickly slashing 2 back tires, racing to the front to slash another and then with a lightning grab, yanked the culprit from the auto--faceplanting him onto the sidewalk!
Backup (carrying the spike strips) arrived just in time to see the man held down and handcuffed. I guess he'll win a toaster for that!

Sounds like a good addition to youtube!

Trash Bag

Welcome to the "Heavy Metal Trasht Bag" backpack purse that I made just for the Aerosmith concert with a bunch of scraps, sequins, buttons and beads...I've carried it a few appropriate places (late nights) and it seems to be a catchy conversation piece.

I posted it here on the graphics page, because I did use a graphic influence--google/Adobe/printer to get all the band names--ROCK N ROLL!!!

This is why I wanted the colorful beer caps. I did not drink all of them...well...um. some.
More views under trashart blog.
click me

Solitary Spoons and Enfeebled Forks!

Today was Bail’s Birthday (yesterday their 1st Anniversary!) and she’d told me that they’d been camping—with a bent-tine Fork. It had been bent for a while, a veritable cripple, but could not be relegated to the trashcan yet—Kitchen Utensils are a valuable commodity in a land where prices range to the extreme.

Now we are not talking priceless silver—just an old mismatched Fork that had a few brothers at one time, but some have disappeared--ran away, probably to spear themselves through the foot of a rambling, unsuspicious bear that will desperately need a friendly mouse for prong removal.

I think triplet Forks (one maimed) are all that remain…

What’s so important about Spoons and Forks, you may ask? Why do they rank Capitalization? Bail said Nate had rigged up a shower somewhere in their cabin; they have electricity but no running water. Apparently this is typical of small Alaskan towns. Having been used to the availability of such a simple luxury as water, warm water, ocean water, dish and fish water, lengthy relaxing showers that used gallons upon gallons of water, they have discovered that they can actually heat up a 5 gal bucket of H2O on the stove and Viola!: FINALLY take a warm, but super quick shower! It’s amazing how a small thing like a bucket of water can be appreciated and revered.

They are ‘making do’ with the least amount of items—like perpetual campers. She tells me of the spoon she always carried in her back pocket in Hawaii (not worthy of a capital S)—to dig up ferns and plants, since they had no garden trowel then. (I do this too. But I have a garden trowel. Somewhere.)
Nate had asked where her Spoon was on their wilderness adventure—but Spoon has been deemed too precious an item and must stay in its drawer—Spoon can not run the risk of loss.

Spoon is rare.

Spoon is treasured.

It is an only child.

Why do I find this so endearing and funny?
Sigh...Because my daughter told me that when they eat cereal in the mornings, her and her husband must EACH TAKE TURNS!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Lovely Flowers

I know these are out of order...but...


I had to post some floral pics that I took a few weeks ago...Nate's mom has the most gorgeous flowers. Here is a large rose from the side of her house--one a digital pic, the other with some Photochopt. If I paint, sometimes I break items down in PhotoShop, then posterize the edges--makes it a little easier to see 'value'... Same way with her blue fairy flowers--they were incredible. I think they are larkspur. The pink lily/pink rose combo is also from her home and the rock barn.
The 33 pink lily bulbs that I ordered.... are pink...and yellow--I dislike the yellow, so the company is going to replace them.
The really frilly pink rose clusters are the antique roses that were dug from grandma's chicken pen, while the pink day lilies are a gift 2 years ago from coffee-drinking Ol' Coach Guy. They have to go to the basement every winter. I am going to do my best to catch up with Sandy's lilies!

Cartoon County

Lounging and drifting off in the warm sun yesterday was really relaxing until I heard a voice ask if they could ‘close the pool cover?’—and it was a voice I didn’t recognize. Startled/groggy; I opened my eyes to the 3 young pool boys, I mean farm hands that were getting ready to load up a semi of grain out by Paula’s swimming pool. Gah. ‘Of course!’ I hid under a towel.

Well, at least it woke me up enough to think about this week’s event here in Cartoon COUNTY.

Oh, where should I begin? The 3 suicides? 1-a male in a wheelchair (probably got the idea from the earlier female in the wheelchair), 2-girl in a cemetery, 3- guy in a rental house. Oops, forgot 4-just an attempt. Wild.

Let’s see—Three buildings in the tiny town of Emmett bombed/burned with a fireworks/gasoline combo. (Emmett was up the road from my house and one of our major party-hearty towns when I was in high school—nothing there but ballfields, a bar or two, a gas station and a post office; heard they lost one of the bars.) Wild.

VinnyLuigiAchmed told how he nearly ran over a man laying on the highway…so did Copfriend’s friend ‘Mz Clean’. She also nearly ran over, um, one of the 'Bell' Brothers. He had been shot in the abdomen. Apparently the two brothers (one sane/one crazy) had gotten into an altercation about cows or some other farm-related beef and decided to beat the holy crap out of each other. Even when shot by a .22 (some say a .357-yeah?), the fight continued. The wounded man grabbed the gun and beat the other with the gun butt , then drove himself (almost) to the hospital. He didn’t quite make it and crawled out of the truck to lay on Tuttlecreek Blvd whereupon many individuals saw the body laying in the road and it was assumed to be a car wreck due to the back window missing (shot out?!) He lived (although some rumors say he died). Wild.

I was thinking of these things and the fact that I had been in contact this week with the county attorney’s office…those poor poor people. We have a county attorney and an assistant attorney and they must deal with an entire slew of crazies everyday. Think of the phone calls and stories they endure on a daily basis. No wonder when momstalker decided this week to get a new attorney, and he wanted to take me to court for a freaking ‘jury trial’, it won’t even be heard until next October. Oh Brother. (Rolling my eyes.)

Wild.

Situations. 1.

As I’ve always adored Eliot’s “Wasteland”, his phrase 'LADY OF SITUATIONS' (others have written that he encompasses ALL women as one in the poem or that the Lady of Situations is conspicuously vocal compared to an ideal Lady of Silences---Oh, the outrage of the words ‘ideal’ and ‘silent’ in the same sentence—I think NOT! But back in the old days….) seems to fit me well (well, minus the 'lady' part!), anyway, I’ve always had numerous people ask “Why do you always seem to meet so many weird people?” Inevitably, I have found myself in countless innocent situations and not always of my own doing.

Take the other morning for instance. At 7:00am, I pull into one of the asphalt/cement parking lots at work a little (a lot) early and discovered 2 bodies lying up against the curb in MY spot. MY SPOT. Creatures of habit don’t like to discover that their ‘system’ has been disrupted. I didn’t like to find 2 people inhabitating where I systematically park, so I used my irritation to propel myself into conversing with these unknown and undead creatures. The second I opened my door, I knew it could be a big mistake…. This town just doesn't have hobos.

So I hid my fear with…..CHEERFUL AGGRESSION.

Yes! Hop right out and step right up. “Hey Guys! Ya doin ok? What’s up? Ya need anything? Where ya from? Ya look tired!” all the while they are stepping backwards and backwards and backwards. (Whew—It doesn’t look like I’ll get robbed or that they have hidden weapons…what’s that in shaved-head-neo-nazi’s hand? Oh, a wilted iris. Well. That can’t hurt!)

I tell them that in just A FEW minutes (I’m a liar) cars will be pulling in all over the place and there really wouldn’t be a place to lie down. I tell them I‘m trying to think of a place they can go… (I ponder like Rodin’s The Thinker) but they are already assuring this sugary-sweet lady that they were leaving. And they eye me up and down….”Uh, I don’t suppose you’d have any, uh, um cigarettes?”

Yes, I’m packing as many cigarettes as you are Tommy-guns-- “Naw…Sorry… Have a good day!”

Naturally I called the cops to report that scraggly-suspicious-gangsta-wannabees were in people’s backyards currently stealing large bouquets of flowers... (and one has to protect the neighborhood youth....)

Serving Tray Upgrade

This simple white serving tray cried out for zebra stripes, so I bought a towel set as motivation and penciled it in yesterday. A tiny brush and 3 coats of black-- I'm pumped over the outcome-- very graphic yet natural. It will be a gift and I might add photos (I photochopt these fuzzy ones in) and varnish for a make-up tray--can't decide...

Senior Pictures

Miss P's uncle took some really nice pictures of her out at the farm...so I was trying to play with some grunge brushes I downloaded. It's a bit much, but I had fun experimenting!

A Slice of Life...

I was giving a demonstration today and told my avid listeners a quick story.

"When I was a little girl, in kindergarten, my dad had just come home from deer hunting. I almost saw him die right in front of me...
He was a bow hunter and used those sharp broad head arrows...you know, the ones like razors. Somehow, when he was putting away his equipment, he caught his inner bicep on one of those arrows--it sliced right into his artery. You know how your heart beats? ba-boom ba-boom?

I remember a white freezer and a white refrigerator in the kitchen and the linoleum floor. As his heart beat, the blood splattered everything white with red drops as huge as silver dollars.

He grabbed a dishtowel, screaming at my mom. She didn't know how to drive a stick shift. I remember cowering down in the back while he yelled at her what to do and her panic and the vehicle chugging and finally getting to the hospital. When the door was opened on the passenger side, blood ran into the parking lot...."

I explained safety procedures on how to hold/use/cut and stay seated with an Exacto knife-- and the dangers of those Razor edges....and how NOT to hold your hand widespread on paper as you slide your blade down through it ................................................................................... ..................Whereupon.......I promptly cut my hand!


(That Travelall...I drove to highschool in that as a freshman!)

Two Horse Beer

Last night a local (white collar) band was playing in a more spacious and smoke-free establishment than the downtown rough-n-tumble (albeit fun!) bar and grill: featured for a few songs was our own Miss American Idol. They weren't quite so rock-n-rollsy this time, but the music was still good and they drew a crowd, earning $ for Relay 4 Life.
As we made our way to the bar, I noticed that "Dos Equis" was one of the brews written on their chalkboard wall menu-- which made me smile.
Last week when I announced that I was going to the liquor store for some Two Horse beer, one of Brigg's friends told me I should get some Dos Equis. "I am!" I replied, grinning at his look of confusion.
Last year while Wedding Planning for Bail, her father-in-law-to-be offered a beer (or was this when Brig and Paula were supposed to paint that fence 2 years ago??) Whatever. He had an amusing little tale of his liquor store escapade: Apparently, he'd gone inside, asking for "some of that Two Horse beer"...he'd misread the label previously as EQUINE or something and automatically stored the image of 'horse' in his brain! The poor lady was totally confused, as was he, in trying to describe it..."Well, Dos stands for 2...you know, the two horse beer!" It all worked out in the end, so now we buy it too, I mean dos.
Neigh!

Navy Ball

Teg's fellow navy man posted a pic of their Navy Ball on facebook--I'm looking forward to seeing more! I'm glad they actually got to go (you never know about the military!), but I assumed they'd be wearing dress whites--probably not the right month for that yet. Tegan is the 'starred' one of course. Should I PhotoShop in a pepsi?!

No News is Good News...

Finally! After 2 1/2 days of wondering whether Nate, Bail, Daph, and Boat went over a steep enbankment, laying frozen and undiscovered as yet by wolves (not really!), I am happy to say that I had a brief message while buying grapefruit in Walmart....the kids are in Tok and have about 11 hours to go!
Below is Daphne, an Aussie Shepard-Great Pernese, evil (blue) and gentle (brown) -eyed mix; a delightfully good puppy that obeys humans and cows, believing that those of larger heights must be sat at the feet of, and therefore, rolled-over to. Moo.Here is Daphne, the protective Bear Dog, displaying her diabolical side!

Lovebirds

I'm pretty sure these two are somewhere on-route...here!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

Kai Kalama.
For me, it's the hair!Jazzin' it up with PhotoChopt.

Just for Fun

These were created for a friend from a scanned photo... click for larger. Had to find another kid's foot at the right angle, as his was cut off...

Adan in Giraffe Jail wasn't going well, so I put him outdoors...thank you to whomever took such a cute baby giraffe pic...I will try to find it again to give proper credit!

Old Ratty

Over a decade ago, I'd quickly made example tesselations & found several of them today. It appears that I was into Kimonos at the time. Perhaps funky shapes were easy to transform into bunched material or something... Yikes. This scanner blurs terribly and the color is off...

Brushes.

I finally decided to download several interesting brushes for Adobe; its been a slow process as I haven't installed the new hard drive yet...so nothing is working quite right. After several restarts, I finally managed to use some of them (grunge of course) for a card I am making....
Plus I found a tutorial on creating my own, though I could figure it out myself.

Jelly Progression

To demonstrate how freakin' long it takes to darken a pic with my favorite pens...here is several hours work just scratchin away...building up layers of black inkiness... a few inches at a time...ahhh. I see I must flatten the tops more like below...