My little box of things 'n' stuff

Butternut vegetable soup

2012-01-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

I made this recipe yesterday, and it was really good! And in my rice cooker, no less (since that's my go-to appliance during this remodel) so I did have to adjust the quantities downwards to fit. In a few weeks, when I have my kitchen back, I'll make a big pot full :)

It's coming along

2012-01-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

New year, new blog header

2012-01-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

I was enthralled by our contractor's bag, so colorful and full of colorful tools, not doubt to make them easy to find and to distinguish from one another. The blog was due for a seasonal makeover, so I stuck it up there. If you read my blog in a reader, click on over to the real thing to see. And watch out for the ladder.

The Dog Days of Winter

2011-12-30T14:19:00.001-08:00

If there were such a time, with such a name, this would be it: the week between Christmas and New Year's. The days may not be as long, but they have surely been just as languid. As a crew of men worked busily on our ceilings and drywall, much of the inside remained sealed in great sheets of plastic, and we were obliged to hang around outside with Marley, and nothing much else to do. By some ridiculous coincidence, the weather has been dry and unnaturally warm. I hate to think how miserable we would have been if it were in the 50s and raining.

The living room, covered in plastic.

Jerry on the patio. I don't know why he's all bundled up. It was sunny and warm all day.

Here's my garage-kitchen.
I have my microwave and a handful of counter-top appliances: crockpot, rice cooker, toaster oven, electric griddle. And we have our gas barbecue. I even have use of my neighbor's kitchen this weekend while she's out of town, but I can't think of anything I really want that I can't make here.

What it is...

2011-12-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

What it was

What it will be

More creative stuff

2011-12-26T21:55:00.000-08:00

We are in the midst of our remodel. But I have still had a chance to flex my creative muscles a little. Here's some recent stuff:Made this for my blog friend, Magda. These are her birds I've (digitally) dressed up for Christmas.

Made this for my daddy. This is him a long time ago. Don't ask about the legend. Let's just say it's more of a mystery.

Here we were, last month, all nice and neat and Photoshopped into some semblance of decency. Compare this to the hilarious family portrait that Brice made.

Tea Towel Calendar, limited edition. Very limited. Please don't feel bad if I didn't send you one. I still love you. I only had it in me to make a few this time. I'll try to do better next year.

OMG, Meet the fam.

2011-12-26T21:36:00.000-08:00

from left, Michael, me, Jerry, Brice

Brice, my quiet one. He has spoken 1000 words.
He made us a Christmas present. He made... us!How we laughed when we first unwrapped it, for Brice has captured our essence, collectively and individually. A caricature, to be sure, but actually pretty damn close to the real deal.

I liked this commercial

2011-10-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

Loved the music. It's by Parov Stelar. A music style called electric swing. Fun stuff.

You can hear the whole song, called Booty Swing, here.

Coming soon? The final component of my Art Machine

2011-09-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

As I stated in a very old post:

Back when I was a young artiste, I used to fantasize about a computerized "Art Machine." It could manipulate shapes and colors, lines and textures, and make anything you wanted. Of course, it was big enough to fill a room, and in my fantasy I had a staff to make it work, because I really didn't know anything about computers. Oh, and to get the image perfectly from your brain to the screen, the machine hooked right up to your brain.Fast forward to the present. I finally have my art machine, and it does just about everything I imagined back in the 70's. It's small enough to sit on my kitchen desk, between my coupon holder and the dog's medicine. Unfortunately, it doesn't plug directly into my brain, and learning how to make all the art stuff work the way I want it to is frustrating...

OK, so that was over 6 years ago. I have learned it little bit more about digital art and image manipulation since then. And I have just learned that the final, elusive, seemingly impossible component to digital art, that of extracting images directly from the brain, is becoming... a reality!

Full article here.

The day the universe changed?

2011-09-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure if I believe in parallel universes, but if they do exist, there was a portal to one in my garage ten years ago. But I couldn’t bring myself to look into it.

Ten years ago we still had our daily newspapersubscription. We’d had one for years, butby 2001, we really weren’t reading the paper much any more. We liked our big Sunday paper with the comicsand all the ads and coupons, but often we just didn’t get around to reading theweekday issues. And lets face it, if youhaven’t read yesterday’s paper by the time today’s paper arrives, it’s probablynot going to happen. And it might nothappen with today’s, either. Instantnews on the internet was rapidly rendering printed news obsolete. As the pile of old newspapers, too manyunopened and unread, grew each month, I was ready to cancel oursubscription and save a few trees. Jerry still wanted to knowit was there for him when he wanted to read it, however seldom. So, we had our newspaper delivered every day.

That was the state of affairs on a sparklingly beautiful Septembermorning ten years ago. It was about 6:45AM Pacific time, and I was getting ready to take my son to school. His zero-period class would start at7:00. On my way out to the car, Ipicked up the newspaper that had been tossed onto the driveway just an hour orso before. I tossed it into the garageand got in the car while I waited for my son.

If you know anything about teenage boys and early mornings,you know that they are not a good match. Michael had it timed so that he stayed in bed until the very lastmoment, allowing himself just enough time to get up, dressed, eat something andget himself out the door so I could get him to school just as the bell wasringing. I did my part by being ready inthe car to take him there. So on thisparticular morning, as I was sitting in my car in my driveway, waiting forMichael to come out, I turned on the radio, (it was NPR,) and they were reportinglive about some kind of big breaking news. As I listened, it sounded almost frantic as the reporters relayed whatwas happening. A plane had crashed intothe World Trade Center? For a moment, I thought it might be likeH.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds: eerilyrealistic, but in the end, just a story. But no, this was real.

Michael got into the car, still sleepy and grumpy and notcaring much about what was on the radio. I remember thinking how serious it sounded and I asked him if he thoughthe should stay home. He said he didn’tknow, but he might as well go to school. I dropped him off and came back home, the gravity of what was happeningin New Yorkbeginning to sink in with every passing minute that I listned to the radio.

I had called home to Brice and told him to turn on theTV. I don’t think we turned it off forthe next 2 or 3 days. I won't try to describe the feelings. I think everybody old enough to understand went through their own shock, grief, anger, and whatever else. As the days and weeks passed and we slowly resumed our normal lives, it became clear that that "normal" felt different now. Our world had changed.

Days later, still adjusting to this new reality, I came uponthe portal to another universe. It wasthat newspaper from Tuesday, September 11, still unopened in the garage. I knew that inside it contained news, sports, weather, advertisements. But I also knew that it was printed in a universe that didn’thave four hijacked planes in a diabolically choreographed plan that killedthousands of people and forever altered the mindset of millions more. I never did open it, but I held onto that newspaper forseveral months, the way I would keep a seashell or a dried flower. It held a memory of something that might havebeen, and maybe still is, somewhere in time and space.

Spinach Tomato Tortellini

2011-09-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

I found a tasty recipe today when I was looking for a way to use up some fresh spinach. (I had bought some without remembering that I already had some.) It was good enough that I want to share, so here is the recipe.

I used a whole bag of pre-washed baby spinach instead of one cup that the recipe called for. I also added a couple of links of turkey Italian sausage, and I used half & half instead of heavy cream. The photo is from the website, from someone else who made it, and mine came out pretty much like the picture.

photo by CookingMommy

Song stuck in my head

2011-09-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

It's really just the twangy guitar part that's stuck in my brain. And of course the lyrics that say, "You just make me want to walk...like a camel." Why do I have this stuck in my head? I have no idea. I just woke up this morning wanting to hear it, so I found it on YouTube to satisfy my urge, and then proceeded to listen to other music in order to try to wash the Camel Walk from my brain. Usually, that works for me, and in fact, I found a very nice little song from Ryan Adams that took the Camel Walk away, for a while ...

Ryan Adams - Lucky Now by theaudioperv

But then I had to take Marley to get her nails trimmed, and by the time I got home, The Camel was back, and it's still here.

Little Debbie, little Debbie!

6 months...

2011-08-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

...since my Boomie died. Miss you, sweet boy.

Everyday Matters #125: Draw a bird

2011-08-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

I am off-again on-again with EDM, mostly off. But my sweet blog-friend, Julie said, "Let's do an EDM challenge, and I said, "OK, you pick the topic." She picked #125, Draw a bird.

It didn't take me long to decide what bird to do.

This is Suzanna when she was just a baby. She is a 2 year old hen now, and she lives, along with her sister Victoria and a menagerie of other birds and critters, in Australia. They are all beloved pets of Magda, who found me on Bug Safari, then came here and has also become my blog-friend!

Magda has deep a spiritual passion for all living things. She recently posted on her blog about her hens, Victoria and Suzanna, including pictures of them as they were growing up. If you go to her post, you will see the photo I used as a model for my picture. Little Suzanna looks so cute gazing up at her mama (Magda). And I guess I'm just a sucker for cute little fuzzy babies. Or babies in general, for that matter.

I think I may have cheated by doing this drawing digitally in ArtRage rather than on paper, but I'm giving myself artistic licence and anyway, this is just for fun.

No more bunny

2011-08-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

As I had feared, the baby bunny didn't live through the night. Oh well. At least he was warm and safe in his final hours.

BUN Safari

2011-08-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

Michael found this tiny baby bunny on the sidewalk on the way home from work today. Ants were all over it, and at first he thought it was dead, but he quickly realized it was still alive. He scooped it up and brought it home.

I was out when he came home with it, and when I walked in the door, he had it in a shoe box on the kitchen table. I immediately got on the phone trying to find a local wildlife rehabber we could take it to, but Michael quickly put a stop to that. It's his bunny. He found it, and he wants to try to take care of it.

Okayyy....

He went to the pet store and bought replacement formula for kitties. He fed the bunny with an eye-dropper, and it took some formula.

Trying not to butt in. Not to take over. Not to micro-manage.

Hose doodles

2011-06-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

I still like my hose doodles, even if I don't post them very often.

3 dog night

2011-06-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

Michael came home from work with news that there were 3 lost dogs on the next block. He had been walking home when a neighbor asked him if he recognized the friendly trio. Thus began an evening of trying to find where they belong and return them to their owner.

This sweet chocolate lab-girl was, without a doubt, the fattest dog I've ever seen. She could hardly walk. It was sad. She was also very thirsty and peed a lot. I wonder if she has diabetes (or dogabetes, as Michael joked).

Her teeth were perfect. In that regard, she looked young. Like a young sea lion, maybe.

Her two companions, also female, were smaller and slender. We learned later that this one has a microchip, is named Brooklyn and was originally from Los Angeles.

This boxer looked like the leader of the group. She was a little older, and she was the only one with a collar. Her tag and micro-chip just pointed back to a boxer rescue. Sad to think that she was given a second chance through rescue and now she's gotten lost from her family.

We put the three of them in the back yard. I put out a sign out front that said "DOGS FOUND". I took Brooklyn around the neighborhood, asking everybody I saw if they recognized her, or might know of a massively obese brown labrador or boxer that could be new to the neighborhood. They can't have come from too far. Poor fatty could hardly walk. Nobody recognized them.

I couldn't let them in the house. Marley wanted nothing to do with them, the skinny ones looked like they might be wild in the house, and the fat lab was peeing all over herself. I called Animal Control, and a very nice man came and took them away in his truck. He said that even if they don't find the owner, these dogs will likely find homes because they are so nice. I hope the fat lab gets to rescue so somebody can help her.

Delightful, curly, trivial

2011-06-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

This is the raggedy old door mat in front of the teachers lounge at school. Over time, the weather and possibly the bottom of the door scraping over it has frayed the rubbery edge of the mat and the loose strands have curled into the most delightful design. I swear, every time I went in that door, I would look at this and think, "I must take a picture of this graceful little thing." School will be out soon. Who knows how long this mat, with its curly strips of rubber will last. I had my camera today, and I finally took a picture.

tenacious/audacious

2011-06-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

The whole side yard next to our garage is all cemented in. We keep our trash cans there. It's also full of weeds that sprouted in the cracks. It's like a concrete jungle out there. This weed caught my eye because it was blooming.

Tenacious, as they all are, just to grow in such a place.
Audacious, this one, because it's blooming.

A fly on the wall

2011-05-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

Reading other peoples' blogs sometimes makes me feel like the proverbial "fly on the wall".

This fly says Thank You.

An elegant string of words

2011-05-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

These are not my words. My son, Michael, wrote this. Most of what he writes has so many big words and abstract metaphors, they are hard for me to read. But I liked this well enough to steal it.

Once in a while a tiny delicate bubble of clarity finds its way the surface of an otherwise tumultuous broth and quivers tenuously for a moment before screaming out of existence. Once in an even greater while, a few bubbles rise to the surface at the same time, mingling with each other. For the tiniest moment while they're all dancing, you can see the entire world and all its moving parts.

Day 30, a picture

2011-04-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Not one, but two:

I took this photo yesterday. I love the way roses glow in the light of early evening. This was a "miniature" rose bush that I bought years ago, and now it's chest high. The flowers grow in bouquets.

At school the other week, we did chalk drawings for Earth Day. This one was my favorite.

These are the kinds of little things that brighten my day. I don't always have the chance to take pictures of them, but I try to notice them and appreciate them every chance I get.

Day 29, a wish

2011-04-29T09:15:00.001-07:00

Day 28, something that stresses me out

2011-04-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Driving. I'm a nervous driver, and a worse passenger. I wasn't always this way. It seems to be getting worse as I get older.

Day 27, pets

2011-04-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Our first dog didn't last long. I was 8 or 10. I just remember one day we had this puppy. He was little and black. We called him Moochie. My mom didn't like him. I was never sure why. We had him for a few weeks, maybe. Then one day he was gone. I was never sure why. But I've never forgotten him.

Moochie

We had better luck with YoYo. She was a poodle-mix that we got from one of my school friends when I was around 12. She was a good little dog. Better trained than I was, she never ran through the living room. Her worst fault was not really her fault at all. She had wild, thick hair that would get matted if it got too long. But my dad bought an electric clipper and would disappear with YoYo into the garage, and 2 hours later, she would emerge looking like a little sheared lamb.

YoYo

Our first dog when we got married was Jonah, a black lab. He was my first baby. 1980-1991

Jonah

My sister found Kelly as a stray, and we ended up keeping her. She had epilepsy. Grand mal seizures every few weeks. 1982-1992

Kelly

Maggie, 1994-2004

Boomie, adopted 2002-2011

Marley, 2000 (adopted 2005)-

I've had birds over the years, but not since before we had kids.

Lizards. We were heavy into Bearded Dragons for awhile. Our first, last, and oldest, Spike, died several years ago.

I could go on with the frogs and bugs, but man, there have been so many frogs and bugs. Let's just leave it at that.

Day 26, a family picture

2011-04-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

After my previous post about Granny, I wanted to find another family picture that had her in it. I found this, already on my hard drive. Yes, that's my birthday all those people are celebrating. Where was I? Shouldn't there have been a shot of me, smearing myself liberally from head to toe with my own birthday cake? I dunno. I guess I was taking a nap or something when they took this picture. Anyway, the woman on the far left is my Grandma Sarah. The young lady on the far right is my mom. The other people in between are all long dead: Uncle Herman, Aunt Fran, Aunt Eva, Granny.

Day 25, a favorite memory

2011-04-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

In 1977, my Granny had her 80th birthday. This was a number befitting of a special celebration, and we did something we had never done before (or since). All of Granny's children and grandchildren accompanied her on an airplane flight from LA to San Diego, just for dinner. Apart from the feeling of being "jet-setters", (imagine the pretentiousness of flying a mere hundred miles, and coming back the same evening!), it was great fun just being with my cousins and with Granny. I was able to find a few snapshots of the event.

Meeting at the airport. From left, my uncle Mo, Granny, Dad

She was so excited! For a while there, she thought we were all flying to Switzerland!

From left, Lisa, Susi, Kathi

We used to be very close back when I was a kid, but by 1977 I was already in college, and Granny was just beginning to show some early signs of Alzheimer's (though we didn't realize it at the time), but as time went on, all of us cousins grew up and started doing our own thing, and the family get-togethers came fewer and farther apart.

Couldn't wait to share

2011-04-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

This was the view from our front porch this morning. Wet and soggy and gray.

How about THIS for a change of scenery? I think it was somewhere around Ramona. I made Jerry pull over so I could take a picture.

I was excited to see these succulents growing right out of the embankment, just inches from the road. It was a winding road with no shoulder, and I was going nuts looking for a turnout that was close to where some of these were growing. Finally I found these. They were HUGE, maybe the size of a car hubcap. Dudlleyas, I think. There were other kinds that had narrower leaves, but we didn't find a good place to stop and see them.

Anyway, now we are at our little Casita in Borrego Springs. We've uncorked the wine, fired up the BBQ (and the Wi-Fi) and we're ready for a good time!

Day 24, something I've learned.

2011-04-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Some of the lessons I learned as a child:

If you give your favorite dolly a haircut, a really short, crappy haircut, IT WILL NOT GROW BACK. EVER.

Sugar is NOT the opposite of salt. If you over-salt something, adding sugar will not cancel it out. Or make it better.

Snake poop REALLY stinks. This is why you should never carry a snake in your pocket.

You can’t buy a 10-cent Fudgsicle® from the ice-cream truck with ten thousand dollars of Monopoly money.

Take your retainer out BEFORE you go up to the front of the class to give your oral report.

Just because something is labeled NON TOXIC, that doesn't mean it's actually EDIBLE.

Day 23, best vacation

2011-04-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite vacations was in 1983. This was before we had kids. We drove to Colorado to visit with Jerry's friend, best man and former co-worker and neighbor (all of those were the same guy!) We camped out of the back of our Toyota pick up. Colorado was beautiful. We were in the Rockies, and there were alpine meadows with a rainbow of flowers blooming. We also drove through Arizona, Nevada, and Utah in the coming and going, and saw some beautiful country. The whole trip was about 3 weeks. It was the longest vacation we ever had, even to this day.

Day 22, my favorite city

2011-04-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not even sure if I have a favorite city. But I'm going to choose Fullerton, California, because I've been here over 23 years, and it's home.

Here are a couple of links for Fullerton.
http://www.orangecounty.net/cities/fullerton.html

http://www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/

Day 21, a picture of me

2011-04-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

I generally hate pictures of myself, but I don't mind this one too much even though it's not in focus and my eyes look closed. I'm actually looking down at Boomie. This was in December 2004. Our old dog, Maggie had just died, and poor Boomie was lonely and needy. We brought Marley home not long after that.

Day 20, nicknames

2011-04-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

I've had a few over the years. Probably the silliest was given to me by my dad when I was very young:
Cindy Mae Klunk.

In high school, we needed to have Spanish names to use in Spanish class. Apparently there was no translation for Cindy, so I picked Clara. I took 4 years of Spanish, and many of my classmates thought Clara was my real name.

My current nickname is Bug Lady, of course! Maybe it's more of a title than a nickname. At the arboretum, I am introduced as "Cindy, our Bug Lady". But I'll take it!

Day 19, something I miss

2011-04-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

As nostalgic as I am, I even miss the trees that are no longer here anymore. We had our big ficus trees removed years ago, because their root system was damaging our sewer system. I was sorry to see them go. Likewise for my neighbor's big pine trees in her yard. She removed them to brighten up her yard and give her house a little more curb appeal when she sold it.

This picture is from 1991. That's my baby running down the street. That's my neighbor's beautiful tree. Our ficus trees are just out of view, to the right of the picture, but you can see a few leaves in the upper right corner.

The same view today. No trees. My current neighbor likes it that way, I'm sure. He parks his company van likes it's a billboard. Makes me want to plant something there for the sole purpose of blocking out his van.

Here's my Brice at age 8, in his beloved tree, shortly before we had it removed.
I miss this kid, too. (I still have him, but he's not like this anymore.)

Day 18, something I regret

2011-04-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

I don't like to think about regrets. They are the wouldas and shouldas, the what-ifs and the whys. Mistakes made that I would not like to write about here. I can't undo them. I have to consider them lessons learned and move on.

I will say that one of my biggest sources of regret is my big mouth. I have this tendency to just blurt stuff out. No filter between the brain and the mouth. There have been too many times I have regretted my own words.

Day 17, something I'm looking forward to

2011-04-17T07:14:00.001-07:00

Grandchildren!

Day 16, My dream house

2011-04-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

My Dream house

Would be in an area where we could walk to the market, and to a couple of little restaurants. On a quiet street.

It would be oriented to take advantage of the breeze. So that if you open two windows on opposite sides of the house, the breeze flows through the house. We had this at our first house, and just took it for granted. In our current house, the winds blow west to east, and all the windows are facing north and south. You can literally have open every window in the house, and there is no airflow! Makes our long hot summers tough, especially at night.

It would have warm earth tones. Wood and tile floors with area rugs. No more wall to wall carpet.

Plenty of wall space for art and photos.

Lots of kitchen cabinets with well made drawers that slide easily.

A pop out greenhouse window over the kitchen sink.

Plenty of linen storage

My own playroom, with a big art desk (not my old one. A new, better one) and big monitor for my digital art.

And space, maybe in that same room, for a couple of aquariums and terrariums. And bug houses. I promise not to let it get stinky in there.

My bathroom will have all those safety grab-handles in the tub and shower, because let’s face it, I’m getting old and I need to be careful getting in and out of the tub. And while I’m at it, how about a couple of whirlpool jets in my tub?

There will be easy access from kitchen to some kind of outside barbecue and eating area. In other words, a nice patio.

Also in the back yard, of which half of it will not be a stupid, useless hill like what we have now, there will be an avocado tree, a fig tree, and an orange tree. And I will have a large, raised bed for growing vegetables. It will have a fence around it to keep the dog(s) out. And drip irrigation.

In the garage, there will be lots of efficient storage for Jerry’s tools and stuff, AND room to park our cars. Or at least one car. No, both cars. It’s only a dream, anyway.

Day 15, a Bible verse

2011-04-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Luckily I have one. But just one. Back when I was a teenager and feeling a longing for God, I snuck out to Bible study classes, and even bought a Bible. It was a Living Bible, and it was written in simple English. The passages that resonated with me were the ones that I could relate to my life and my problems as a 17 year old, in which my longing for a certain boy figured prominently.
This verse in particular was meaningful enough to me that I copied it in my diary:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true there is life and joy.
Proverbs 13:12

Looking now online, I see that many versions of this verse end with "a tree of life", as this one from the New International version:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
I have always liked the visual concept of a tree of life, so I like this version, too.

Day 14, a picture I love

2011-04-14T07:03:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite photo of my father in law, Art, from 1986. He's holding my son, Michael. I'm not really wild about the bewildered expression on my baby, but this is the best picture ever of Jerry's dad in his later years. Love his smile. I'm pretty sure it's Jerry's favorite, too. I also like the way Art's weathered hand is gently holding Michael's head. Art died in 1989.

Day 13, Goals

2011-04-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

This fall, I will take a one-year sabbatical from all my volunteer duties. Can you even call it a sabbatical when I don't even have a real job? Whatever you call it, I'm taking a year off to explore other options for myself, and maybe do a few things that I've been meaning to do, but kept putting off. So this list is what I hope to accomplish during that time, starting in October or November, but in no particular order.

Go through all my dad's old slides and organize them, and convert to digital.

Take CERT training.

Begin process of fixing up the house (re-do kitchen and bathrooms, paint, etc.)

Teach myself to use Adobe Illustrator well enough to draw a cartoon praying mantis.

And I may add another item or two as they come to mind. They may or may not include such "New Year's Resolution" staples such as improving my health, losing weight, etc. (which I hate as resolutions, because I never stick with them, so mostly I never bother to resolve to do them.)

These are all things I've been meaning to do for years. I don't know what makes me think that I will do any of them just because I'm not out volunteering. It's not like I work 40 hours a week. But I do seem to have trouble doing more than one productive thing per day before I get tired or just not feel like doing anything else. So normally, if I'm at the Arboretum for a couple of hours, I consider the rest of the day to be "shot". I just want to see what else I feel like doing if I take my volunteer duties out of the equation. If I am able to accomplish one or two of the things on this little list, I will be happy.

Day 12, What I believe

2011-04-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

I started this post several times, and I kept stopping myself and starting over when it looked like too much negative ranting and rambling.

I believe that the human race as we know it is an endangered species. We have become so smart about some things, yet remain so stupid about other things. The most important things. And it will lead to our downfall. That's the bad part.

But for now, we are still here, and I also believe that there are still good things to be found in this world, and I believe in trying to notice and appreciate them every day. Things like:

The sky.

A mountain.

A flower.

A song.

A smile.

My family.

All creatures great and small.

I receive joy from all these things and more, and they are all a part of who I am.

Day 11, favorite TV shows

2011-04-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

I don't watch too much TV. There's not much on that I like nowadays. And besides, we don't have cable, or satellite, or anything else that requires some kind of added hardware and a monthly fee.

I'm not going to write about favorite shows from my childhood, or other shows that are no longer on the air. Just what I'm watching currently.

Mike and Molly. Cute, clever, grown-up comedy without being too vulgar.

Hawaii Five-O. I started watching this because it was on after Mike and Molly, and decided I liked it, especially the chemistry between McGarrett and Danno.

Big Bang Theory. I have been enjoying this show for the past few years, but I can see myself growing tired of it soon, as I often do with long-running sitcoms where the characters become stale and overdone.

Bob's Burgers. This is a new animated comedy on Fox. It has a fair amount of "potty" humor, but it's something funny to watch on a Sunday night.

Other than the above things, I like to watch Good Morning America in the morning sometimes, and my local news in the afternoon. Michael rolls his eyes and groans at this, but I watch them primarily for the anchor people, who I just get attached to somehow, and like to have them in my living room. I don't watch either of those news shows all the way through, because they tend to repeat themselves and/or have a lot of stories that I'm not really interested in.

I like to watch PBS shows like Nature and Nova when I can, but our local PBS stations have changed their programming and I'm not finding my favorites there like I used to.

Day 10, something I'm afraid of

2011-04-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

I am nervous by nature, and there have always been things that scare or upset me, but probably the worst has been fire. I'm not a psychiatrist, so I can't say for sure, but I think it started when I was very young and, while on a trip to the grocery store with my parents, curiosity compelled them to stop and peer into a nearby dress shop that had just burned. It was boarded up, but somehow there were cracks or spaces we could peek through. The scene inside was devastating. Everything was black. Some garments were still hanging on the racks, but they had also been blackened. And there was a smell. A horrible smell.

A few years later, I was in the kitchen making toast when the bread must have pressed up against the heating element to the point that it started to burn. And I don't mean a wisp of smoke coming up. This was an angry black cloud billowing up from the toaster. I screamed for my mom. Suddenly, the smoke turned into flames, shooting up and licking at the underside of the cabinet. My toast was going to burn down the house!

I screamed again, this time for my very life, and I remember thinking I sounded like a lady screaming in a movie. A real scream of terror. My mom, who had been in the other room, came to the rescue. Totally unfazed, she unplugged the toaster and pushed it away from under the cabinet, which did have a scorch mark, but never actually caught fire, thank God. My poor toast had pretty much burned itself out by that time.

There was another time. It was my Granny's birthday. Her 69th, I think. We had a birthday cake for her, and it was somebody's idea to put 69 candles on it. This was just a regular-size cake, not a sheet cake, and 69 candles didn't fit. But we put on as many as we could, and when we lit them, the candles all merged into one big flame. This was not something a person could just blow out. I don't know how they got it out, because at that point I ran out of the room.

So now, I'm pretty much afraid of things catching on fire or exploding, (or both), including overheating car engines and barbecues. I have always been afraid to light the barbecue, because it often starts with a "whoosh", and I'm always afraid there's going to be a flash of fire with the "whoosh".

Fortunately, Jerry and I have a deal. Since he changed very few diapers when Michael was a baby, and NONE (would you believe??) of Brice's, I feel that I can be spared the anxiety of being near the barbecue while it ignites until it equals the number of diapers that Jerry didn't change. How many hundreds of barbecue-lightings is that? Surely enough to last the rest of my barbecuing, fire-fearing life.

Day 9, a picture of my friends

2011-04-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

I have friends. Not tons of friends, but enough, I guess. Thanks to Facebook, I still keep in touch with a couple of my friends from high school. But as deep as our friendships were back then, the Facebook "friendships" are pretty superficial. I am still friends with a few of the moms of my sons' classmates when they were little. And I have made good friends with a couple of their teachers. But I don't have any pictures of them. I don't even have a picture of my dear friend, Seon, whom I met when our children were in the same kindergarten class.

But here is a picture of my arboretum friends from our summer pot luck last year. Most of these people are really just friendly acquaintances. Guess that will have to do.

Day 8, Somewhere I've traveled to

2011-04-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

In 1976, I flew to Kansas City, MO. It was my first time in an airplane (and I've only flown 2 times since then), and it's still the farthest I've ever been from home.

I was with Fred back then, and we met up with his parents there, who had made the trip in their RV. From the airport, we began our journey westward, stopping first in nearby Leavenworth, Kansas, where Fred had an uncle who was a colonel stationed at Fort Leavenworth.

Sadly, I don't really remember much about the trip, other than what I scribbled into a makeshift journal, most of which consisted of my feelings for Fred, and how happy/hopeful/frustrated/etc. I was to be with him. (I was 19 at the time.) The four of us were together in that camper for about 2 weeks as we road-tripped and RV'd our way slowly home, visiting with other relatives, and stopping at various national parks along the way.

Day 7, My favorite movie

2011-04-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

You know, I'm not really a big movie buff. As a kid, my parents didn't take me to a lot of movies, and as an adult, I often feel like I would rather not spend the money and the time, just to sit and look at a big screen. Besides, the sound in movie theaters is often too loud for my comfort level, especially action and sci-fi movies.

I cringe at violence, hide my eyes at bloody scenes and love scenes alike, and have trouble following the plot in many serious movies. I guess I'm just a big weenie.

You know what movie I liked? Waking Ned Devine. It was a simple story, with simple people, (although maybe a little stereotypical) and gentle humor.

And also Cars. I guess it's just the kid in me that responds to all the cars with their cute little faces and personalities. When I was a little girl, I used to think our old VW had a soul.
And speaking of cars and faces, check out me as a little girl, looking just like Mater. We had the same buckteeth!

Day 6: A picture of something that makes me happy

2011-04-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is a picture I saved off the internet several years ago, probably from Cute Overload, just because it's so cute! It appeals to me because of its spontaneity, and the simple joy it projects. (Even if it does make me want to wipe my own tongue with Listerine!)

This photo really expresses the original theme of this blog: random, miscellaneous and trivial. These are the kind of superfluous yet irresistible distractions that just make me smile every time. In a world where we hear too much about wars, disasters, and Charlie F-ing Sheen, an image this can lift your spirits, even if it's just for a moment.

Day 5, My siblings

2011-04-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

I am the oldest of three girls. I was born in 1956, Donna was born in '58, and Lisa in '62.

Here we are as little girls, I think around 1965. I am on the left, then Donna, then Lisa.

A holiday photo from '09, with my parents.

We are in reverse order here. Notice I have the same hair-do.
As cute as I know I am, (ha ha) I just don't photograph well. That's why I don't post pictures of myself very often. I feel like I look way older and dumpier than my sisters. Probably because I'm heavier, and I don't wear makeup. Anyway....

Donna has been married for almost 24 years and has two sons. She is a bookkeeper, and started running half-marathons last year.

Lisa is a single mom of one daughter, and is a Director of Technology Integration.

Both my sisters live in the same town as my parents, about 40 miles away from me. I don't think there's any bad feelings between us, but still I don't really talk to them very often.

Day 4. My parents

2011-04-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

I know that they (well, my mom) do not appreciate "having stuff about them posted on the internet". So I’m not going to say much. Just a few pictures.

Here they are, on their wedding day in 1954. Just a couple of kids, really.

This is a favorite photo I took back in the 70’s.

They have been married almost 57 years. This picture is about 9 years old, but I like it better than any of the more recent ones I have.

I love them. I had a good childhood. (Hell, I’m still having a good childhood.)

Day 3: My first love

2011-04-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

Wow. This could be tricky.

What exactly is a first love? Is it a boy I liked in first grade, Robert A., who one day carried my lunchbox home from school on his pinkie finger to show his strength? (Hey, this was first grade, in the 60's. We didn't have backpacks or even any books to carry home back then.)

Could it be the boy I pined for during most of my sophomore and junior years of high school? Who I sat next to in Spanish class, who smelled so good, had such big brown eyes, and never knew I was alive?

Maybe it was my first "real boyfriend", Marcos. The first one I made out with. I thought I was in love, but it only lasted a few months.

I hope it wasn't that big jerk, Kevin, (that I also thought I was in love with) that I wasted losing my virginity to.

I also hold a special place in my heart for Freddie, who I loved passionately for about 4 years, but who was ultimately never able to return the feelings. Not in the way I needed him to, anyway.

There is another love, though. That lasted through and beyond all those other mere boys, and I still love today.

Yes, my only first love that has remained true and continues to warm my heart...
The one that captivated me from the very first moment...
The one that I still keep a collection of mementos for...
The one that I still dream of at night...
The praying mantis!

Hahahahahahaha!
Silly, but true! This love of bugs is a big part of who I am.

I remember the first time I saw a praying mantis. I was in first grade, and we were lined up outside the classroom, getting ready to come in from lunch. As we stood there, one kid pointed and said, "Look at that big praying mantis on the wall!" I was fascinated. Intrigued. The mantis was up too high on the wall for us to reach, but I soon found others. I found there were many in my own yard at home. And the rest is history.

Here I am, at around age 8, with a praying mantis on my finger. But look at my face. How I adored that critter!

Look at this face. What's not to love?

Day 2: Meaning behind the blog name

2011-04-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

This blog started out like a junk-drawer. Filled with an assortment of "things" I wanted to keep, but had no better place for, and "stuff" that I didn't really need but didn't want to get rid of. It was originally meant to be "random, miscellaneous and trivial", as in no serious ranting or personal drama. But life does get serious sometimes, and so do my posts on occasion, so I added the disclaimer, "May also contain deliberate, important items."

Like any good junk drawer, or maybe a box under the bed, it has its forgotten treasures. In this case, it's all the postings from my old art blog. Good thing this is a virtual box of unlimited size to hold all the things and stuff that I decide to throw in here.

A month of posting

2011-04-01T08:27:00.002-07:00

Well, we'll see.
I found this one-a-day meme that runs for 30 days. I thought I'd give it a try for the month of April. Here's what it consists of:
Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you’ve traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you’re afraid of
Day 11-Favorite TV shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you’re looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you’ve learned
Day 25-Favorite memory
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture

And here's Day 1
15 interesting facts about me.
(These are facts. They may or may not actually be interesting.)

I was born in 1956. In some ways, I feel like I’m still 12.

I had my first period at 13, and my last at 47. (it’s easier to feel 12 when you don’t have periods.)

I was born with congenital hip dysplasia. I was in a cast as a baby, and I wasn’t able to walk until I was 2 years old. When I was a kid, I was teased for running “funny”.

I feel increasingly nostalgic for the 1970’s. I feel like I was at my best then, physically and creatively, and it’s been a long downhill slide ever since.

I’ve been married to Jerry since December, 1979.

I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 21. Late bloomer in that regard. Go figure.

My first real job was in Woolworth’s. I started in the men’s department, and soon transferred to pets. (They sold fish and birds) My cousin hooked me up with a job at JVC, in their parts department. This was the beginning of a several-year career (if you can call it that) in the electronics parts industry. I quit working when we started our family.

I breastfed both of my babies. I was a member of La Leche League for several years, and still think breastfeeding is one of the best things a mother can do.

I would much rather be out in nature than visit a place like Disneyland or Las Vegas.

I hate confrontations. Sometimes denial, or avoidance, is just easier for me.

I make noise in my sleep. You could call it snoring. My family calls it “the scream of the Yeti”.

I have no one single favorite food. I have many favorites, and few foods that I will not eat. Kasha is one that I've long hated. I tried menudo once, and I couldn't get past the smell, but it was menudo from a can, and I won't write it off until I've tried home made.

I have a good memory for color. In my mind I can see the brilliant turquoise tummy feathers of my first parakeet, and the moss-green sweater that I "permanently borrowed" from a friend as a teenager.

I am of Jewish heritage, but do not practice the faith. At this point, I don’t feel like I could ever be part of any organized religion. I prefer to remain neutral.

Here's my recent picture, taken last month in the desert. Not very close up, I know. I like it better this way. Here I am doing what I like to do best, being out in nature.

Boomer digital scrapbook pages

2011-03-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

The text reads:
You were so happy to meet me, it was almost like you recognized me. Whatever came before was over. Your past life was a mystery that would never be solved. But that didn’t matter to you, who always lived in the present.

All you wanted was to be near me. Wherever I was. And you were always happy. Tail up, smiling, running around, jumping for joy. Even when you could no longer run and jump, somehow you could still move faster than me! All you needed was love, and it kept you going for a long time. And you gave so much love to me. Even though you’re gone, the love will always remain.

There are still a couple more of these pages in me. I'll get to them soon.

Marley

2011-03-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

A month ago, her status changed from, "our other dog" to simply, "the dog". She seemed quiet and sad for the first couple of days, but now she seems fine. We believe that she knew Boomer was dying, and that she said goodbye to him.

Boomie's last day. She knew.

I realized that I was left with a dog that I barely knew. My whole doggie attention had been focused on Boomer. Partly because I loved him so, and partly because he demanded it, and those two dynamics fed off each other. Marley was, and is, much more easygoing. And in the days after Boomie died, I found myself feeling rather let down by the lack of attention that Marley required. Compared to Boomie, she seemed …dull.

But I have made an effort to be attentive to her. We all have been. She is getting enough loving for two dogs now, which she accepts with bewildered grace. She continues to enjoy carrying dirty socks that she finds around the house, and bringing us her tennis balls, but not letting us actually have them. She no longer runs, barking, to the door when someone rings the doorbell. I guess she was just following Boomer’s lead on that one, and now she doesn’t see the point.

She also doesn’t sleep in our bedroom anymore. For years, the two dogs would always sleep in our room, Boomer at the foot of the bed, and Marley next to my side of the bed. When Jerry woke up at 4:30am to get ready for work, Marley would follow him into the living room, and Boomie would come to lay next to me. After Jerry left for work, Marley would get up again and shake herself. Her jingling collar would get Boomer up, and he would go to the living room, and Marley would come to my side of the bed and demand that I let them outside. If I was quiet, Boomer would lay and wait in the living room. If I talked to Marley, he would hear me and come running back to the bedroom, and then I’d have 2 dogs trying to get me out of bed.

In the weeks before Boomie died, Marley stopped sleeping in our bedroom. She would just spend the whole night on the couch in the living room. Only once since he died has she slept in our room, although she does follow me sometimes when I go in there during the day with laundry to fold or whatever. In fact, she’s starting to follows us around the house more than she used to. She mostly never used to do that. That was Boomer’s job.

Yesterday, I brushed her for the first time in a month. She doesn’t love brushing like Boomer used to, but she needed it. Her coat is so much thicker than his was. Her hair dominates the floor now. The sweepings are all black. They were salt and pepper before. Another thing to get used to.

As we accustom ourselves to the new normal of having just one dog, we have no plans to get another one right away. When the time is right, I’ll know.

More about Boomer

2011-03-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

As I was bringing Boomer home from the shelter, he whined the whole way home. For those 15 or 20 minutes, I wondered what I had gotten myself into, but when we got home, he turned out to be the perfect gentleman! Maggie, who had always been an only dog, was not particularly interested in having a friend. She wasn't hostile to him, but more aloof. Boomer respected her and didn't bother her. They really didn't play together. Boomer was OK with that. He could play with us.

Boomie integrated so well into the family, that after 2 days it seemed as if we'd always had him. I took him to the vet to have him checked out, and address some concerns that, in my initial excitement in finding and adopting him, I had managed to overlook. First was his skin. He had patches on his rump and inner thighs where the hair was gone, and the skin was thick, wrinkly and gray, like elephant skin. I really don’t remember if the vet had an idea what it might have been, but I remember she said that Boomie might always have skin problems, and his hair might not ever grow back, but even back then, she underestimated Boomie. The elephant skin must have been a result of something in his environment before. His skin returned to normal almost from the first day, and the hair grew back quickly.

The other problem was nothing that could go away on its own. X-rays revealed that Boomie had hip dysplasia. The vet recommended a double hip replacement. Or, we could return him to the pound, she suggested. There was no way I would return him. After just a couple of days, I already loved him. But I couldn't spend thousands of dollars to fix his hips, either. So even back then, I opted for a more conservative approach. Let's just give him joint supplements, and see how he does. If he lasts a year or 5 years, or whatever, we will love him just the same.

Boomie ended up doing very well, for a long time on joint supplements. After a few years, we did start seeing a very slow decline in his mobility. We added more supplements and medications, and it was enough to keep him going. He could run and play. He was free of pain.

Boomie was not without his quirks. With his early life a mystery, we don’t know what might have happened to him that would cause him to be so slow to warm up to people, especially since he had responded in such a positive way so quickly when I first met him at the shelter. He was very un-lab-like in the way he barked at anyone who came to visit, and even barked at Jerry and the kids if they were dressed in dark clothing, or a big hat, or came into the house carrying a big box or package.

Then there was his fear of Jerry’s sneezes. Maybe it was because Jerry tends to get these “sneezing attacks”, where he’ll sneeze about 10 times in a row. But whatever the reason, Boomie would always come looking for me and try to hide behind me, or just stay close to me when he heard Jerry sneeze. And if I was too close to the sneezing Jerry for Boomie’s comfort, he would go hide in the bedroom. He never, not once, showed anxiety for anyone else’s sneezes. You could let out a huge WACHOO! right in his face and it wouldn’t bother him a bit.

He liked to sit with his chin resting on the coffee table. Or on your knee. Especially if you were eating something. But he wasn’t a drooler.

He never went to the door to bark, whine, or otherwise indicate his desire to go outside. If he did want to go out, he would just come to me, all excited and wiggly. That was his way of letting me know. Of course, I had long come to know his schedule, and since he was usually fed and let out according to our established routine, there wasn’t always a need for him to get wiggly. And speaking of routine, I could swear Boomie (and Marley) could tell time. At least when it was their mealtime.

Boomie seemed to have picked up two bad habits from Maggie before she died. I’m pretty sure he didn’t eat grass when we first brought him home, but I think he saw Maggie doing it. She only did it when she had an upset tummy, and it would make her barf. Boomie grazed like a cow, and he never threw up afterwards. The other bad habit was barking at the jets waaay up high that left vapor trails across the yard. Thank goodness he didn’t seem to think it was necessary to bark at lower flying jets and private planes, because there were a lot more of those.

He loved being brushed. Long before he lost his leg, his bad hips and arthritis made it very difficult to scratch himself. I tried to brush him as often as I could. He would be so happy to see me coming at him with the Zoom Groom brush. Most of the time, he would sit still for me until my arm was tired from brushing. And he almost always showed his enjoyment with, um…his…you could tell he was happy.

Boomer was more closely bonded to me than to any other person in the family. But he also bonded with Marley, our black lab that we adopted in early 2005, after Maggie had died and Boomie seemed lonely. Although there was a period of adjustment when they were getting to know each other, Boomie and Marley became best friends. Because they were already mature when they met, they didn’t engage in a lot of boisterous play, but they did enjoy a bit of “bitey-face”. In the last year or so, when Boomie seemed to be whining and barking for attention, often it was Marley who would go to him and sit quietly right next to him and ask for some love. He would settle down and nibble and lick her around the face and ears, and they would both be happy

Boomie had health concerns from the moment we brought him home, the most significant being orthopedic and mobility issues due to hip dysplasia and arthritis. But with medication and supplements, he did really well over the years. His condition and mobility declined ever so slowly, but I really think he was mostly pain free. His amputation in May of 2008 seems, as I look back on it now, like just another bump in the road (and a bigger bump for us than for Boomie). He just kept going and never looked back.

We were told that he would probably live about 6 months after the amputation. At the time, I was preparing myself for the inevitable. But after 5 months, he seemed fine. After 6 months, when he was still fine, I realized that this dog had his own timetable. Still, it was hard knowing that we just didn’t know when it would happen. It’s hard to stay ready. Easier to just say, “today is a good day. Tomorrow will probably be OK, too.” And that is how time slipped by. Last month, when he started having seizures, I quickly figured out that it was the beginning of the end.

I can hardly believe that it's been 4 weeks since Boomie died. It's been strange without him, but I'm in no hurry to get another dog. Soon, I'll post about Marley, and how it's been having her as our only dog.

Boomer's memorial jar

2011-03-12T20:41:00.000-08:00

When Boomie died, I didn't want to keep his cremated remains. I had an idea to take a picture of him and use his collar as a frame, and hang it in my bathroom, because he always waited outside the door for me whenever I was in the bathroom. And on his last morning, I took a picture of him laying outside my bathroom. But it was his last day, and it was a very bad, sad picture, because my Boomie was dying. I considered using a picture of him from another time and place, and I continued to try to figure out how to frame both the picture and his collar together, and I wasn't really coming up with anything I really liked.

Then I gathered the fluff of his hair from the last few brushings, and found they still smelled like him. I decided I would keep the hair, and I needed something special to keep it in. I chose the jar below because I could also display photos on each side.

I measured carefully to make the scrapbook inserts and chose 4 pictures I liked.

I also made a little piece for the bottom.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

9 years of Boomer

2011-03-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

Boomie in 2002

Nine years ago today, I brought Boomer home. This is the story of how he became my dog.

I had been looking for a dog since the fall of 2001, when in a post-9/11 funk, I felt I needed to find another dog for our family. We already had Maggie, and had seen her through a long and trying time of behavioral and health problems, and I thought having a companion would be good for her as well. But finding just the right dog turned out to take longer than I thought.

I knew I wanted a dog from a shelter or rescue. I looked at dogs from rescues first, and a lot of them, since at least they have some background information, and have often been fostered and evaluated for temperament, behavior, etc. But when it came time to meet the dogs, usually at an "adoption event", I found it hard to make a meaningful connection with them. Often, I couldn't get them to even look me in the eyes. I figured it was the location and general environment, together with the fact that these dogs had probably endured some hardships before and during their rescue, and they didn't quite feel like themselves yet.

In late February 2002, I met a dog named Ruffian. He was beautiful. Tall and slender, with a tri-colored coat. He was very shy, but sweet. After two meetings, he let me look into his eyes. I wondered if he was the one. I wanted him to be the one. I put a deposit on him, went home to think about it, and immediately, surprisingly, felt I had made a mistake. All night I regretted having started the process with Ruffian, and in the morning I called the rescue guy and apologized and said that I could not put my finger on it, but somewhow Ruffian was not the dog for me.

I felt very discouraged. I was ready to stop looking for a dog for a while, except that same morning, I still felt compelled to look at the website of our county shelter. As usual there was a long list of available dogs for adoption. One entry caught my eye, for a 3 year old male yellow lab. There was no picture of him. Strange, because usually the listings included a photo. But I instantly became interested, even excited about that lab. Why? What chance did I have that this dog would be right for me? A pound dog with no history, little background information, not even a name. Would he get along with Maggie? Was he even housebroken? The shelter couldn't assure me of anything. But I still felt very strongly that I needed to see that dog. I told myself that if he wasn't the one, I really was going to stop looking.

With nervous excitement, I drove to the animal shelter. I asked to see that particular dog, and they pointed me in the direction of his kennel. If you've ever been to an animal shelter, you know that it seems like all the dogs are barking at you as you walk through the rows of kennels. And many of them did. So did the male yellow lab, but he was different. He was clearly glad to see me. It almost seemed like he recognized me. I was allowed to go inside the kennel. He was so happy and attentive. I produced a tennis ball from inside my purse and tossed it the few feet that the kennel space would allow, and he retrieved it. A good sign!

From there, we were allowed time in the "get acquainted yard". The first thing the dog did was run to the opposite end of the yard for a big pee, but after that, he just wanted to be with me, and play ball. This was the one. I still had no idea if he would get along with Maggie, or if he had house manners. But I just felt that he was worth bringing home, and we would see how he did.

After I payed the fee and filled out the paperwork, he was mine. He had been relinquished to the shelter due to his owner moving. That's all the information they had. His owner didn't even list the dog's name. That would now be up to me. In all my searching for a dog, I hadn't even considered names. Except for Ruffian, who I had planned to rename Robbie, I hadn't gotten to the point of picking names for any prospective dogs. But after struggling to load him into the back of the Jeep, I looked at him and asked, "Should I call you Boomer?" His looked right at me and smiled to hear his new name, almost as if it had always been his name.

To be continued...

Step right up

2011-03-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Tom Waits is one of those singers I've always kind of liked, but I've never bought an album or anything. I just like it when I happen to hear him on the radio. Well, today when I got in the car, this song was playing. It's old, and I'm surprised that I'd never heard it before. I thought it was funny, like a bunch late night commercials thrown into a blender and poured out with Tom Waits' gravelly voice.

I'm doing OK

2011-02-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you Julie, Candy, and Kat(by phone) for your kind words. I think I'm just about cried out now, although I still reserve the right to become weepy without notice for a while.

Boomie had another grand mal seizure early Saturday morning, and soon after that, we started him on another medication which left him unable to walk or even to sit up. And he was still having little seizures every few minutes. For a while, I wondered if the side effects might diminish after a few days, leaving him a little more functional. But how long might that take, and how long until the next big seizure broke through? By Saturday night, I knew that Boomie was not going to get better. My family didn't agree right away, but on Sunday I told them to really look at him. I called the vet's office and made the appointment to bring Boomie in on Monday.

I didn't give him his meds that morning. I was willing to risk another big seizure for the chance to have him a little more "alive" before we said goodbye. But even without the drugs, (and he didn't have another seizure,) I knew he was ready. And I was too. But as the doctor injected the euthanasia drugs, and I sat holding his head and petting him, I wasn't prepared for how fast he would slip away.

In spite of my grief, I feel relief that Boomie is no longer suffering, and he had only a few really bad days at the end. He had a good life up until then, beating the odds for cancer survival, and even growing old, as a beloved pet should. And for that, I feel grateful, even satisfied. I could not have asked for anything more from him.

I have been going through all my pictures of Boomie, and will probably post some soon.

My sweet Boomie

2011-02-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

I will miss you.

Weathering storms of one kind and another

2011-02-18T20:26:00.001-08:00

It's raining tonight. We are cozy in the house. We had good homemade soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. There was soft light, and there was music (at least until Jerry turned on the TV, anyway). But overall, a feeling of calm amid the storm. The dogs are snoozing comfortably. Marley is on the love-seat. Boomie is sprawled across his memory-foam bed, finally relaxed now that his storm has passed. The one in his brain.

Boomie has been having seizures. He's had 3 grand mal seizures. The first one was last Tuesday. Then another two days later. We got him on medication, and for a week we saw only little "spells". Lots of them, but they would come and go in just a few seconds. His head would wobble, or he would fall down, but he would pop right back up like nothing happened.

Slowly, over the last few days, the spells seemed to come fewer and farther apart. Was the medication working? Part of me hoped it was, while the other part of me imagined Boomer's brain like an earthquake fault. Maybe those little tremors were helping to take the pressure off of the straining tectonic plates. Maybe without them, the pressure would continue to build until another "big one" hit. And then it did, today.

A powerful storm. A brain quake of a dangerous magnitude. He shook violently. He frothed at the mouth. Every muscle clenched and strained. When it was over, he was confused, almost frantic. He tried to run, but his legs didn't work. He wanted me to hold him, but he couldn't sit still.

It took over an hour, maybe two, until the aftermath of Boomie's storm had fully passed. Then, he was ready to gobble down his supper. I took him out in the rain to do his business, holding him by his harness with one hand and holding the umbrella with the other. We made it back inside before the hard rain started.

Inside, all is calm for now. Boomie is at ease. Tomorrow we will try adding a different medication. It might buy us a little time. I'm grateful that Boomie doesn't know what "time" means. He only knows "now". Now he is comfy and warm with his family on a rainy night.

A surprise with a mystery

2011-01-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I cleaned out a high kitchen cabinet that hadn't been cleaned out in years. It's up over my head and most of what's up there is out of my reach. But I knew there was something sticky up there, and yesterday was the day I finally got up on the big step stool to see for myself.

It turned out to be a bottle of wine that had been laying on its side, leaking slowly for some period of years.

As I removed everything so I could wipe the bottom of the cabinet, I discovered an old box of fruit snacks wedged up in the corner. This is little kid food, and my sons are in their 20's now, so that makes these things...way old!

We opened up a pouch and looked at the dinosaur shaped fruit snacks. They were all hard, and even though the picture on the package shows them in bright fruity colors, now they were all brown. Well, not all. There was one that was bright red. But it was also not a dinosaur shape like the other pieces.

This doesn't look like a dinosaur shape to me. It looks like an ear of corn. Why would there be an ear of corn in a package of dinosaur fruit snacks? I suppose I'll never know.

Wistful desk nostalgia

2011-01-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

Look at us. How young we were, my desk and I. This was in 1979, not too long after Jerry and I got our first apartment. We weren't even married yet.

Somewhere deep in the clutter of my present-day life there are pictures of this desk when I first bought it second-hand for $20.00 and re-finished it and made it my own. I will post the pictures when or if I find them. But here is my beautiful, beloved desk in its prime, and me in mine. Sadly, neither of us has aged gracefully.

Back in '79, I actually worked at my desk. I had art supplies in there that I actually used. When we moved from the apartment into our first house, we still had more bedrooms than people to sleep in them. So I still had a room for my desk, but after a few years, working full time and later having a baby meant I didn't use my desk except as a magnificent storage cabinet for my art supplies.

When we moved again, to were we still live today, we had less space, and the desk, along with my art supplies, was relegated to the garage, and from there it began to deteriorate.

This is my desk today.

The black formica top, which weighs a ton but opens to store stuff underneath, is filthy. It looks like an old chalkboard.

Just by coincidence, Illustration Friday's theme this week is dusty. So I traced my fingers through the layer of dust and schmutz to make a simple, happy drawing.

Borrowed Memories

2011-01-16T15:54:00.000-08:00

Digital scrapbook page for my grandparents. The photos are from about 1928. This is unfinished, but I have spent a long time on it, so I'm posting it anyway.

The dead of winter

2011-01-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

Sweating here while others are shivering elsewhere. I'm contemplating what to put on the barbecue tonight.

lentil and root vegetable soup

2011-01-12T20:14:00.001-08:00

lentil and root vegetable soup, originally uploaded by cannelle-vanille.

For future reference. Maybe I'll make it when our little warm spell is gone :)

Always open

2011-01-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

There's this bird I've been watching since, oh, sometime last summer. A mockingbird. He* has something wrong with his beak. That's how I can tell him apart from all the other mockingbirds. His beak is stuck open. I don't know how he manages to eat, but apparently he still can. The other day I was working in the yard, getting my little garden plot ready for some vegetables. When I disturbed the soil, it activiated the bugs there, and that attracted the bird. I stood there very still and watched for several minutes as he thrashed a spider around in the dirt. I'm not even sure he ended up eating it. I crept away to go get my camera, and he was still there when I got back. He is perched on the handle of my garden hoe.

I don't know if this bird is really a he, but I'm calling it a he.

Basking

2011-01-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

Part of my lunch date with Jerry today included a trip to the tire store. This included a bit of wait time till they could look at my tire, and then replace what turned out to be a broken valve stem. I sat in the sun and it felt so nice, (until I'd had enough and retreated to the shade).

Here you can see the same palm tree reflected in my glasses.

The sauce

2011-01-10T15:22:00.000-08:00

This picture is for Julie, who has challenged me to do Everyday Matters with her. I am picking up where she left off, at 7. Not sure where we'll go from here, but it's a start, right, Julie?

Some old stuff for the New Year

2011-01-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

I have been spending a lot of time trying to go through all my many thousands of digital photos on my computer. I had over 20,000 pictures. My goal is to remove all the files and folders from 2008 and 2009 and put them on our spare drive. Most of the stuff from before 2008 is already there.

But before I take out all those old files, I'm looking through them to see if there's anything I want to keep on my computer. There is a ridiculous amount of bug pictures that need to be organized by type. Also a lot of pictures of plant life from the Fullerton Arboretum. And more pictures of my dogs, especially Boomer, than of anyone else in the family. I am weeding out the best ones to save on my computer, the others are either being deleted or banished to the spare drive.

I have put a selection of them on Flickr for whoever wants to see. I will put some random leftover bug pictures on Bug Safari soon.

Winter blahs

2010-12-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

This picture, taken from my backyard this afternoon, says the 1000 words I can't coherently put together about how I feel lately.

For 2 bucks, I took a chance

2010-12-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

I bought this plaster house at the Goodwill store last week. It's pretty big. I put my glasses next to it for size reference.

The good: Cute little details. I used to love to paint these kind of things.

The bad: the tree is busted on top. I didn't even notice it till I was in line to pay for it. Those little blobs at the base of the tree are teddy bears. There are several teddy bears around the house. Unpainted, they're not very cute. I hope I can paint them cute.

I easily fixed the busted part. And removed the price sticker. But it's still a lot to paint, with my increasingly arthritic finger. And there's a lot of snowy white roof. I'm not sure how it will turn out. Or even if it will turn out. But for $2.00, I decided it was worth the gamble.

I'll let you know how it goes.

So last week

2010-12-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

Around here, the fall colors hit their peak in early December. Everywhere I go, I'm seeing these gorgeous colors, and always wanting to stop and take pictures of them, quick, before the leaves fall off. In the end, I end up just walking up the street and taking pictures of the neighbors' trees. No, I don't have any trees at my house that have these colors.

This was at the arboretum.

We had a few days of very warm temperatures. And a splendid sunset. Those days are over now. We are having rain. Days of rain.

The wet stuff

2010-12-18T12:55:00.000-08:00

This is a screen shot of the little weather gadget on my Google homepage.

This morning, Jerry and I ventured out to the tamale place, where we had a nice Mexican breakfast and bought 4 dozen tamales for Christmas Eve (and beyond), and now we're safe and dry at home, not going anywhere else this weekend. We've found a good radio station for our favorite Christmas music, (you can listen to it online, too) and after listening for, oh, maybe 3½ hours, I've had enough for today. I'm also changing the lyrics to suit the weather. (I'm Dreaming of a Wet Christmas. Baby it's Wet Outside. You get the idea.)

A little bit of Christmas Cheer

2010-12-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

If you know me, you know I can get pretty humbuggish about Christmas, and the decorations that go with it. But Jerry likes to feel the warm fuzziness of the season, and I don't want him to
feel deprived. Still, our house is not set up for optimal holiday decorating. There's really no place for a full-sized tree. So I did the best I could with the fireplace area. It looks friendly and festive, but it's not over the top.

Some art that caught my eye

2010-12-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

Just a few of the weird and funky things we saw when we spent some time in an "antique mall". It was really just a big old store, divided up into little booths, each one filled with old crap and treasures. Of course, it's up to the shoppers to figure out which is the crap and which is the treasure. The whole place smelled like my grandma's house.

I really liked this picture. It was labeled as a Hungarian drawing, but it looked more like a print.

There was one booth with stuff from the 60's and 70's. Compared to the offerings in other booths from older decades, this one was had much brighter colors. I especially liked the mushroom calendar from 1974.

And this thing. It looked like a display case that was trying to look like an arcade game. Hand painted with a space man shooting an alien.

This guy looks familiar.

31derful Years

2010-11-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

I've always liked how Baskin-Robbins used the word 31derful. A fun word, but let's face it, you can't use it every day. (unless you are Baskin-Robbins) But I can use it this week, as Jerry and I celebrate our 31st anniversary, in honor of which I have usurped their motto and their vintage advertising art. (see this bag that I used for inspiration.)

Love you, Jerry♥

When life gives you lemons persimmons

2010-11-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

Actually, Mrs. W. gave me these persimmons. Aren't they pretty? I'm going to make something with them, maybe this weekend. I found a bundt cake receipe that looks good.

I cut them all up and put them in the freezer for now. Hopefully the finished product will be update-worthy.

Fall Photos

2010-11-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

Unnecessary quotation marks

2010-11-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'll admit that this is a really crappy photo, but at least you can read the sign, including the words "Meat Cutters", and "CERTIFIED". Notice that last word is quoted, capitalized and underlined! If I were one of the guys that work behind the counter, I'd be insulted.

This is not the first time I have complained about Stater Brothers' over use of quotation marks. I wonder if the wording on this sign was written by the same person who inspired this ranting post I made last summer

I have also found an entire blog devoted to the superfluous use of quotation marks.

Sweet old girl

2010-11-17T22:27:00.000-08:00

Marley-Mar enjoying a bit of sun the other day.

Boomie looks like a clock

2010-11-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

That's what Michael said the other day when Boomie was laying with his head hanging over the arm of the chair.

"A clock?"

"You know, like a Salvador Dalí clock."

The Persistence of Memory, by Salvador Dalí.

Well, when you put it that way, I guess he does look like a clock.

Note: I am embarrassed by the condition of the chair that Boomie is relaxing in. I didn't think it looked quite that shabby in person. Perhaps, in the same way the camera adds 10 pounds to a person, it also adds shabbiness and filth to old chairs.

Our leather furniture, purchased on sale from a department store about 12 or so years ago, has not aged well. I had a product to clean it with, and it worked well, a little too well in fact. I realized too late that the cleaner was actually removing the paint from the leather. This, together with the fact that the dogs use our furniture as their doggie beds, has hastened its demise. That being said, I am reluctant to banish the dogs from laying on it, so I am resigned to living with old, dirty, shabby furniture until the dogs die.

Not that I am in any hurry for the dogs to die. Boomie is just 2 days away from the 2 and a half year anniversary of his amputation, and look at him up there. He can still hoist his old carcass up on the chair all by himself. If Boomie is a clock, I hope he keeps tickin' for a long time.

The cactus egg

2010-11-11T14:32:00.001-08:00

Seon gave me this for my birthday. She had no idea I have been trying to grow an aloe from a seed. She just knows I like cacti.

Here's how it's supposed to grow*.

*Your results may vary

No turning back now.

Inside the shell is soil and a little paper with a couple of tiny cactus seeds (of unknown, but most likely common species).

Also included was a packet with a few extra seeds, which I stuck in shell as well.

I was a little concerned about what would happen to the seed paper when I watered it, and I decided to put a few granules of crushed pumice on top. Turns out the paper dissolved quickly when I watered the soil in the egg.

So now, we wait.

I did search online to see if anyone else had documented their experience with an Eggling cactus. I found this set on Flickr.

3-legged neighbor dog update

2010-11-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

I saw them again, yesterday. Through my kitchen window, I saw them walking across the street. I hurried outside and called out to them. "I just want you to know I have a 3-legged dog too!" I said. They crossed the street to meet me.

The lady, actually a young woman, is Amy. She is new to the neighborhood. The dog is Lana. Lana is a sweet German Shepherd. Amy adopted her as a tripawd, through a rescue organization. Poor Lana had previously lived chained outside as a guard dog, until one day she got loose and ran into the street. She was hit by a car. She paid with her leg, and part of her tail, but she earned her freedom and has started a new life with her caring owner.

At this point, I don't know when or if our dogs might meet. Lana, like Boomie, is not very friendly with strange dogs. But at least we know of each other's existence now, and that's a start.

Reaching out

2010-11-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was in the house minding my own business, when Michael came home and announced that he had just seen a woman walking a 3-legged dog right past our house. In the nearly 2 1/2 years since Boomer's amputation, I have never seen a 3-legged dog in our neighborhood, so I was very excited and I ran outside to see.

By the time I got to the sidewalk, the lady and her dog, indeed a right rear amputee like Boomie, were almost to the corner. Too far for me to yell, run after her, or otherwise make a spectacle of myself. But I have been thinking of them ever since. Last night at around the same time, I kept watching to see if they might come by this way again. But I didn't see them.

Why do I care? I don't really know. I guess I just want to say Hi. Let her know that we here are also members of that special club. The "Tripawd" club. I made a silly little sign and hung it on the geraniums closest to the sidewalk. Maybe she will see it next time she walks by. Maybe she will want to introduce herself and we can talk about our dogs.

Under the parasol tree

2010-11-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

I took this picture this morning as I was hiding from the sun on a beautiful 90+ degree day in the arboretum. I like how these leaves lose their color from the bottom up.

The weeds are always the first to grow

2010-10-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

Our drizzly weather this past week has encouraged all manner of plant life to sprout from that which I jokingly refer to as my lawn.

Birth of an aloe?

2010-10-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

There's this pretty, but rather haggard-looking aloe that I know of.

A couple of months ago, I pinched a little pod from its withered stem, and sprinkled a precious few tiny seeds over some gravel in a pot.

It's not pink, but I think this is a baby.

An unexpected tomato plant

2010-10-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

Way back in June, we had some plumbing problems. Jerry opened the drainage cleanout under the kitchen sink, and a little gush of water and yucky kitchen scraps came out. He fixed whatever it was (and it turned out to be the washing machine drainage, not the kitchen,) but the point of my story is that way back in June, a tomato seed from the drain planted itself under my kitchen window.

It was July when I noticed it there, just a few inches tall. This was not a good place to grow a tomato plant, under a big overhang on a north-facing wall. I pulled it out and put it, with its single skinny root, in a cup of water, fully expecting it to die right away. To my amazement, it not only lived, but quickly developed a big root system in the cup. I knew I needed to get it into some soil, but feared the transplant shock might kill it, so I tried putting it in a little pot with really soggy soil, so it might think it was still in the cup of water.

It continued to grow amazingly well, and I eventually transplanted it into one of my planter barrels, where it has continued to amaze me.

It's in a tomato cage, but it hardly needs it. I have never seen a tomato plant with such straight, sturdy stems. As it got bigger and bigger, I was wondering if it would bear fruit. Maybe it was a supermarket tomato, some kind of hybrid that doesn't reproduce well from seed. The flowers looked a little different, too. I was prepared to be disappointed to find they were sterile.

Not sterile. :)

It has a bunch of these suckers growing on it now. I think they're Roma.

Chalk drawing in the style of Australian Aboriginal Art

2010-09-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

At the school where I volunteer, there's an art program which consists of traveling teachers who take their lessons to every school in the district. Unfortunately, they can't always go to every classroom at every school. And while the art teacher visited Mrs. W's class last year, she is not able to this year.

But she has been gracious in sharing her lessons with me, so I can do them with Mrs. W's class.

This is the next lesson in her series. They are done in a sort of Australian Aboriginal style, including an "X-ray" view and lots of repeating patterns.

I have collected a bunch of simple line drawings of Australian animals for the kids to use as guides. This looks like such a fun project, I decided to make a lizard one just for myself in ArtRage, but it still looks like chalk, don't you think? I even included a couple of mistakes, where I goofed up on the alternating pattern of purple and orange triangles in the frame. I wonder if the kids would notice?

Not just "hot"...

2010-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

"Death Valley hot!"

I pulled these from the Weather.com page. DV may get hotter later, but we've already gone 5 degrees over what they predicted for Fullerton, and the hottest part of the day is still to come.

I'll try to update this in a few hours.

UPDATES: 1:30pm DV: 112, Fullerton: 111
3:09pm DV:114, Fullerton: 109 (I guess we peaked here.)

Where Summer meets Fall

2010-09-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

In front of my local Trader Joes, the battle for the supremacy of the seasonal big, round, vine-grown produce favorites has suddenly shifted in favor of pumpkins. Just in time for the equinox.

Happy Autumn!

Funny little video

2010-09-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

Parallel Parking from Yum Yum London on Vimeo.

My own digestive system should be this cuddly

2010-08-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since a TV commercial has captivated me as much as this one for Yakult probiotic drink. The star of the ad is an impossibly cute, pink, fuzzy... digestive system ?!

Isn't he cute? Although the one in the video is cuter than the static shot above, I think he's ever so much cuter than the Snuggle Fabric Softener bear, who has similar beady eyes and fluffy fur. I have no business wanting a stuffed toy, but if they ever sell these, I'd buy one.

Star Gazing

2010-08-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

There is no logic that shines from stars,

Only light, perhaps to show

The next road I will travel.

When I was much younger, I placed a mystical significance on stars, especially certain stars.

When I was a little older, I realized what a bunch of hooey that was.

Nowadays, I still feel just a little sentimental attachment to the stars of Orion. Looking up at them helps me remember how I used to feel so long ago....

For Illustration Friday. Just under the wire.

Things were simpler back then

2010-08-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

I was folding the laundry tonight, when I noticed the changes clothing companies have made in the washing instructions they put on the garment tag. If it even has a tag anymore. Many T shirts don't have tags. They just have the information printed right inside the back of the shirt collar.

Anyway, here's what it says on one of Michael's solid-color T shirts that he got at Target:

MACHINE
WASH WARM WITH LIKE COLORS ONLY
NON-CHLORINE BLEACH WHEN NEEDED
TUMBLE DRY LOW REMOVE PROMPTLY
WARM IRON WHEN NEEDED DO NOT IRON
ON PRINT
(apparently no room for punctuation)

Now here's what it says on the tag of a genuine 1970's-era Hang-Ten T shirt that used to be Jerry's and now Michael wears it:

MACHINE WASH
TUMBLE DRY

Legless and Headless?!

2010-08-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

There's nothing Boomie enjoys more than a good roll in the grass, especially since he's been wearing his harness more. He can't roll around with the harness on, because of the handles, (His new nickname is "Suitcase" by the way), so when I take it off, the first thing he wants to do is roll around a little.

He was just rolling for joy and I was taking pictures. This one was just too funny because it looks like he's missing his head. Here's a good video from a couple of years ago of him rolling.

Marley is not amused.

Struggling to make a map

2010-08-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been totally blowing off the whole Art for August thing. I've just sort of gotten stuck trying to make a kid-friendly map for the arboretum. They want it all colorful and fun. They were inspired by a professional and very slick looking kids' map they got from some other arboretum. Two things I am not are professional and slick. They'll get my version: amateur and cheap! Well, I'll give it a shot, anyway.

So here's my basic gray-toned map, that I've been using to plan my bug-hunting routes, over- written (or should I say over-scribbled?) with all the stuff they want me to include.

And here's a nice clean path. I just need to put all that scribbly stuff in there, and make it look nice.

I thought I should start with what I thought would be the hardest part: the buildings. This is our Heritage House. I kind of traced over a photo of it. Thought it looked...meh. Tried a few other versions. Equally meh.

I'm thinking of going a little more cartoony. Is this too cartoony?

I made my own Ombu leaf in Photoshop, and turned it into a brush.

That way, I could use it to put leaves on the Ombu tree that I'm going to put on the map. See, the tree is kind of cartoony, and I like that. I want the whole map to be like this tree. I don't know if I can do that.

There's a bunch of other stuff I've done, but what I really need to do is try to put them together and have something to show the comittee tomorrow.

This is just a doodle. I was thinking I would post something every day, even if it's just a dumb doodle. So here's one, but I don't really like the dumb doodles. I will make more art. Some of it will have to be map-art, but there will be more art this month.

Caged

2010-08-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't submitted to Illustration Friday for ages. I decided, though, that while I'm doing Art for August, I would try to do this as well, and hopefully get back into it. This is just a quickie, based on my recent experience watching Monarch caterpillars go through their metamorphosis.

The whole time I was making this, I thought the theme was "cage". Now I see it's "caged". So.... the butterfly had been caged, in a manner of speaking, but now it's free. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

For long-time Illustration Friday participants, my old art blog was called Once Inspired. I merged it with this blog over a year ago.