THIS!!!!!

Electricals

I don’t know what it is about telephone poles with their electric lines, insulators and transformers, cell phone towers and electric sub-stations that fascinate me.

But they do!

Sometimes I have Husband drive around town just so I can photograph them for future use.

I love to sketch them!

I like to sketch them in Tablet and then import the sketch into Photoshop and add a ‘watercolor’ background.

What I'm Reading

Occasionally, when I think it’s really worth it I recommend a book.

This one I wholeheartedly recommend!

I haven’t read any of Austin Kleon’s other books(although after this one I’m on my way to Amazon to order his ‘Steal Like An Artist)  but this one I can say it worth the time.

It’s a ‘Here’s what you should be doing’ kind of book.

It outlines some simple, doable, down to earth strategies for putting yourself out there and making your mark in the big WORLD WIDE WEB.

I thought it made very good sense and made me feel better about some of the choices I’ve made.

Your mileage may vary.

Show Your Work!

I’m cranky!

PSA: get ready for a rant…….

When did meanness replace humor?  I must have missed that memo. The one that says it’s okay to hurl insults and slander at someone, anyone, and call it humor. Or worse yet call it entertainment. Reality TV? It’s no more real than Pamela Anderson’s breasts. It’s bad behavior gone wild! Veiled as entertainment! Just random meanness.

Between that, the news, and all this political bulls*%t I’m ready to turn in my membership card and find another race to join (other than this ‘human race’.)

Just when did we become so mean?

Okay, the soapbox is all yours, have a go……..

Thank a Vet

I Always Was a Cheap Date

I bought a bottle of Aleve the other day.

A sign of my age I suppose.

But I bought the wrong bottle.

I bought the one with the ‘if you’re old..…you must have arthritis’ cap.

And it’s WONDERFUL!

Such a simple idea, perfectly executed.

A non child proof (aka: you need a child to open it) cap with a rubber grip!

Simple yet totally effective.

Every time I open it I sing it’s praises to Husband.

Last night was no different.

“This is the BEST bottle cap ever!”  I exclaimed.

“You are easy to please” he replied, “but then you always were a cheap date!”

Ba dum tish! 

I Have the BEST Blog Friends….EVER!

I received a gift today from my BFF (blog friend forever) in the Yukon (brrrrrr….) Kim Henkel. 

Isn't this the cutest little envelope!!!!!

Her ethereal creations make me swoon! ♥♥♥♥♥

(Not to mention the fabulous packaging!)
Sometimes she takes natural things like rocks and driftwood and adds her own nature art to them. 

When I saw this ‘Robin rock’ I think I almost fainted! 

I wanted to buy it from her but she would have none of it and today her little Robin flew into my mailbox!

Thank you Kim! I’m over the moon in love with my ‘pet rock’! She will love her new home surrounded by all the wonderful art my friends have shared with me.

More Fun with Hearing Loss

Did you know……..?

            1. Canoes never sleep……. 

            2. Screamings are overrated…….

            3. There have been Manson layoffs……

            4. Hard cider tastes best when served in a pine mug………

            5. The eggroll getaway sales event starts today………

            6. I don’t want to go home with my toe between my legs ………

            7. Due to the golf breezes………….

Translation:

            1. the news never sleeps

            2. {breast} screenings are overrated

            3. .........massive layoffs

            4  .........pint mug

            5.  .......April getaway sales event

            6.  .......tail between my legs

            7.  .......Gulf breezes

It just keeps getting funnier and funnier! 

 

 

 

After All Last Week’s Activities……..

Hymie decided to kick back and have a BBQ.

My Fav Pic of Son1

This is my favorite picture of Son1.

Taken when he was in high school.

I spent an entire day making this!

Breaking it down into shapes I saw and using just three values.

I did it on Tablet.

I scanned the original snapshot and enlarged it so I could see the shapes and not be distracted by knowing it was Son1.

It was an interesting lesson in looking, really looking and seeing the shapes and shadows.

When I was finished I was quite please with myself.

Then I found out……. in Photoshop you can do the same thing with just a single click of the mouse!!!!!!!!!!

Oh well, it’s still my fav pic of Son1! 

Snorkeling

Not knowing how to swim, Hymie thought he should start in a pool first.

Fishing Seems Doable

And Snowboarding

Next He's Trying Golf

He’s Coming Out Of His Shell……………..

Hymie has decided to take up a sport. 

He just doesn’t know which one.

So he thinks if he tries a few he can then make up his mind.

Jogging is first..........

Safecracking 101

When we moved into this house it came equipped with a safe.

The real deal.

The kind that is bolted to the concrete slab, fireproof with an industrial old fashioned tumbler locking mechanism.

The previous owners had several businesses in the area and often brought home wads of cash.

 We……………………don’t.

I guess I told them we wouldn’t need it so they never told us the combination.

As an inquisitive (read: obsessed) adolescent boy, Son2 took it upon himself to figure out the combination so we could use it. (For what I have no idea!)

He would sit for hours, pad and pencil at his feet to record whatever he found.

We didn’t think much of it. It kept him occupied and out of trouble so we let him have at it. Never expecting anything. We figured he’d grow bored and give up.

Au contraire!

After several days he called us over to the safe and said, “LOOK!”

It was closed.

Ummmmmmm, yeah?

He then flipped the dial…………….left, right, left, right and suddenly CLICK!

IT OPENED!

It was at that moment I knew I’d never have to worry about his future.

If life throws him a curveball he always has safecracking to fall back on.

Gilligan

Husband has never been a hat enthusiast.

But since moving here he has bowed to the necessity of wearing one.

He has several styles for different activities.

One he wears only when fishing.

One is for outside work around the house.

And then there is this one. 

I call it the ‘Gilligan’.

What Triggers A Memory……?

When I was about ten I was obsessed with playing jacks.

I played ALL the time.

The kitchen linoleum was the best place for playing.

I would bounce that ball for hours on end.

Then my parents carpeted the kitchen!

I was furious!

Who ever heard of carpeting a kitchen?

My father, who was president of a carpet corporation, that’s who.

I was really pi**sed!

And I didn’t let them forget it either.

I protested and grumbled and griped and complained for weeks!

My mother suggested playing in the family room, “But the ball doesn’t bounce right on the parquet!” I lamented.

Play on the porch she said, “But the concrete scrapes my hand” I cried.

I was a total pain in the ass. (I thought if I was annoying enough they would change their minds and leave the linoleum. I had a lot to learn about psychology back then!)

I remember I kept my jacks in an old band aid tin.

I loved the way they rattled when I shook it.

I guess my infatuation waned after the carpet was installed.

I played at friends houses but it wasn’t the same and my interest turned to other things.

There is no point to this story.

I was just wondering what triggers a memory…….

The Iceman Cometh

We have a tiny beach here in our little city.

It’s lovingly referred to as the YACHT CLUB.

‘In the beginning’, when they were first planning this metropolis, it was the center of all happenings.

It’s nothing like the white sandy beaches of the barrier islands but it’s quaint and it’s ours. 

There is the beach itself and a nice covered playground for the kids. A town swimming pool, fuel dock for the boaters and a pavilion where they hold all sorts of events.

And a long wooden pier that reaches out into the river.

There used to be a hamburger shack on the pier but it recently closed. 

They’re building a new restaurant to take its place but in the meantime, to take up the slack until it opens, they have allowed two vendors to set up shop.

One is a hot dog vendor. Just a table and a cooler.

But the ‘Iceman’ has some panache to his setup and I couldn’t help but document him before he has to pack up and leave. 

(He wasn’t in his snow cone when I took the reference picture so I didn’t draw him.)

I Need a Memory Expansion

For my brain….

I refuse to admit I forget things.

I choose to believe I’m just running out of space on my memory board, that’s all!

I simply need to plug in an extension board and I’ll be back up to speed! 

Husband’s Flying Nightmare

Picture it:

A darkened bedroom somewhere in Southwest Florida.

4:23 AM.

I become vaguely aware of a light moving around the room.

I struggle to open my eyes and what do I see?

Husband, in his underwear, tiptoeing around the room shining a tiny flashlight here and there.

He’s peeking behind the chest.

Shining the light up to the ceiling.

Ducking down and looking under the bed……

At first I’m not sure if I’m dreaming.

Or maybe it’s Husband who’s dreaming.

Sleep walking?

Hallucinating….?

“Problem?” I ask.

“I’m looking for him.” He says.

Oooookaaay………………

Obviously it’s not an intruder he’s looking for. I can surmise that from the places he’s investigating.

I’m still not sure he’s awake.

‘He?” I ask.

“A GIGANTIC bug!” he says, stretching his arms out as far as they can go to show me the size.

“The sound of his flapping wings woke me up, but now I can’t find him. He flew over here to your side of the room.”

Oaky, now there are two problems….a possibly sleepwalking/hallucinating Husband AND a flying dinosaur on MY side of the room.

I did the only sensible thing I could.

I very calmly said, “Great. Let me know how it turns out.” rolled over and went back to sleep!

(He never did find the flying dinosaur, even the next morning in the light of day…….)

Hymie, the Story Continues…………..

It turns out part of his trouble was that he needed glasses.

He chose the Buddy Holly frames. 

He thinks they make him look older.

I also found out his favorite snack is peanut butter sandwiches.

He’s settling in quite nicely with his snack and a book.

I think he might stay.