Gingerly

 I've been nursing a painful dental problem for a couple of days. Luckily for me, last week a friend had given me a few of her industrialized strength Ibuprofen... 800 mg. That has been helping a lot. Its at the point now where the pain is not continuous, as long as move very gingerly.

I won't have the art challenge #3 ready for a while, so please continue on with it. I'll catch up once I can focus.

Coffee First

 Ya know you should have made the coffee first when you grab the Windex to clean the exterior of the coffee pot and you end up spraying it with Fabreze. Best smelling coffee pot around!

Art Challenge 2

 

Ballpoint pen. The reference source can be found (here)on Sandy's Everyday Art blog.

I chose to put an eye in for the old king. The background took the longest time so I adjusted it. (that means I decided to stop.)

The Peasants are Revolting

No, I don't mean 'revolting' as in making one sick. I mean the peasants are taking to the streets today, throughout the nation, to express their anger over the arrogance and greed of the financial royals.

The congressmen conducting the congressional investigation of AIG are playing to their public. "I'll show my voters that I'm watching out for them. Should get me some more support and campaign contributions." But they are yet again a day late and a dollar short. They are expressing their anger at the wrong person.

The current head of AIG was in the hot seat yesterday as the congressmen chewed into AIG. What needs to be kept in mind is that the current CEO was talked into coming out of retirement and taking on this gawd awful job at the request of the government. The senators are singing to the choir. Sigh. But its a good show. And I'm sure many voters are glad there was some yelling going on.

I'm kind of hoping there is a HUGE number of protestors so its overwhelming in its numbers. (I say 'kind of' because it would be a traffic nightmare.)

I'm yaking about this because several months ago I was saying that the peasants should revolt... and now they are.

Watch Out... I've been Tagged

Sue J has tagged me:

THE RULES
1. LINK TO THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU
2. POST THE RULES ON YOUR BLOG
3. WRITE SIX RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF
4. TAG SIX PEOPLE AT THE END OF YOUR POST AND LINK TO THEM
5. LET EACH PERSON KNOW THEY ARE TAGGED AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON THEIR BLOG
6.LET THE TAGGER KNOW WHEN YOUR ENTRY IS UP
7. DON’T BREAK THE CHAIN

Simple and straight forward. Just have to come up with six things....

1. I've never had to change a flat tire myself. If one stands next to their leaning car long enough, someone will come to the rescue. However, the older I become the longer it takes.

2. I worked in an airplane factory for six months, until the company moved to California. I worked the assembly line putting rubber bands in the mix. It was a toy airplane factory.

3. I forged my senior year report cards from school. I didn't fudge on the grades, just the amount of time I was absent. I skipped a lot of school that year. I didn't get any flack for lousy grades either. No one gave a shit.

4. I was 21 yrs old when I got my first driver's license.... even though I swore I would get it when I turned 16. Ya gotta have a car to practice in before trying.

5. I haven't used the dishwasher in a couple of years. It doesn't work well and I have to clean the dishes before hand anyway, to why waste the energy.

6. I need to dust my ceilings. I almost walked into a hanging dusty web. If I don't take care of the web when I first see it, I seem to block it out of my sight.

I made it. I'm not going to tag any specific people, but please jump in and share six things about yourself. Then tag six of your people. (an evil cackle could be heard.)

Its Snowing

 
 
 It snowed Saturday night/Sunday morning and everything was covered. It was one of those snows where its fine to go "awwww... look how pretty it is!" because you know it will not be sticking around. And true to form, the next time I looked outside the sidewalks and streets were completely clear of any white stuff.

I just looked outside and its snowing again!?! WTH? But once again I can go "awwww... look how pretty it is!" because its not cold enough to be concerned. And it is pretty, when you know everyone is safe.

I haven't been able to get/stay online this weekend. I hope I'm able to catch up on my reading today.

Sunshine on my Shoulder

 A sunny but cold day. I went to the store earlier. Got some frozen cranberry juice. 100% juice. Just not 100% cranberry. The main ingredient is apple juice among many other things. Also a little plum juice tossed in for good measure. I can understand why the apple juice... got to do something to make it a little more tasty.

I just wanted to put something up to hold my place.

Art Challenge 1

 

Cat Boy.

I had trouble saving the reference photo to my pc. Since I wouldn't have the photo handily available to reference, I decided to simply draw a combination cat boy from my imagination. Colored pencil. Sketch book.

Sandy's art blog will have links to all the other entries.

Art Challenge

Would someone donate a photograph we could use for an 'art challenge'? (I don't take enough photos to pick from and I don't want to rip off someone else's.)

Everyone is welcome to join in on the 'challenge'. Lets pick Sandy to be the 'holder' of the links. We will each create our interpretation of a photo, post it on our blog and then let Sandy know its available. (Sandy...okay?)

The 'challenge' is not a competition but a personal challenge to get something done. (chuckling) Well, its a challenge for me, anyway. All are welcome to participate. (even lurkers) Is a deadline of a week too much or too little? A person could do more than one version of a challenge also. I think this is on the order of the blog Different Strokes, Different Folks (or something similar)... the link is on Sandy's art blog if you wanted to take a look. Ours is just smaller in scale.

I'm rambling. The only rule is that there really aren't any rules. Any media, any interpretation... one could go for capturing the emotion of the photo, or craft a symbol of the photo contents, or anything.

I hope someone comes up with a photo by tomorrow evening. If not, I've got a photo of Laura's in mind, but I would have to get her permission to use it. I'm still rambling.

(Brenda, I hope you join in, too.)

Added: Go here to see what Sandy has posted for us to pick from.

Assumptions (for adult eyes only)

I saw a segment on one of the morning talk shows about saving grocery money by storing produce properly. At the very end of the segment the woman said that bananas could even be frozen. This is where I made a bad assumption. Do you know where this is going? I assumed that the banana would still be a banana after defrosting.

I was dubious. Frozen bananas? hmmmmmm. But what do I know... not that much, so I decided to try it. I stuck two bananas in the freezer a couple of days ago. The other two I ate.

This morning I defrosted them to check on the outcome. The woman was correct in that the bananas could be frozen. It was my assumption that was wrong. My assumption that they would still be bananas when defrosted. Wrong. We won't even talk about the appearance of the frozen banana peel, but that was my first clue that all was not well.

The bananas came out looking like a pussy-whupped penis with the clap.

The learning experience that I am sharing is to ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR OWN INSTINCTS!!

Know-it-all people you see on tv don't always know it all. What the hell was she thinking. What the hell was I thinking. Listen to yourself first and always be respectful of your instincts. Let someone try the idea first, then if it works... there ya go. This idea doesn't work.

Art Appreciation

 Want to increase your personal appreciation for art that others have created? Just try it yourself. BWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA

I consider this colored pencil drawing incomplete. The counter top needs improvement. And lets not even look at the cup handle (left side). Wait! I said lets not even look at it, okay? Instead, look at that apple. I like how the apple turned out.

It sure takes a lot of pencil to cover large areas of the background.

Phobe... I just saw a piece on Phobe Snow on Sunday Morning. Gawd, I love her voice. And the lyrics of her songs touch my heart each and every time. I am SOOOO glad she's back performing again. I remember when I was in my thirties I would play her songs over and over again. She's just awesome!! And what a strong lady. If you get a chance, check her out. If you like her, give her some support and buy her album. If you feel like it.

Depression Cooking with Clara

I heard about these videoes on Good Morning America...Depression Cooking with Clara. Clara is a 90+ yr old woman who learned how to cook from her mother during the depression. I've watched just one video... Poorman's Meal. I have actually made this meal when my kids were young. Go figure.

Clara also talks a little about her life when she was young. Check it out... there are many videoes each with a different dish.

Another Wednesday

 Putting art up here sure helps one get a more objective look at it. Sigh. At least I did something. (from a magazine photo)

Its rainy around here and it might even snow tomorrow... although it will be too warm for it to last. If it happens at all.

Wanda has got my taste buds all set for meat loaf and scalloped potatoes so when I went shopping today I got the necessary supplies. I've got some sweet teriyaki to use in it...yummmm.

What a sad little life. The only thing I can think of to talk about is dinner. I'll probably be going to bed around 3pm at this rate. But not to give the wrong impression... I'll take a "sad little life" over life's drama any time!!

This is my second try at posting something today. I hope it works. If it doesn't, I'll just try again later.

How Did He Do That?

The two grandsons came over and spent the night. There is absolutely nothing for them to do around here, so I let them 'pretend' to do the dishes. I wanted to show you what Vyron was wearing... rubber boots. Rubber boots with hooks on them to pull them up. I'm betting 'mom' couldn't find his shoes and she was in a hurry to get rid of him. I mean, send him on his way to my place. Been there. Done that.

 

Earlier today we were outside. "Run, boys, Run...get rid of all that energy!!" They each took a turn playing with a raggedy umbrella I had. I had been watching Vryon open and close the umbrella (can't get any more exciting than that!) and then I turned my attention towards Darius for a moment. A small whine bought my attention back to Vyron. Somehow he had gotten an umbrella spoke laced thru the loops on his rubber boots. And not just one boot, but both of them!

 

 

How'd he do that? In a blink of an eye. I thought it was funny so I laughed to show my appreciation. The two boys didn't think it was funny and Darius told me to stop laughing. "Its not funny, gramma!" Like he knows what funny is.

As Seen on TV

I had a moment of weakness. A moment of weakness is not bad, in and of itself, but couple it with a few bucks in the pocket and BAM! Sucker. (that would be me.)

I was checking out Walgreens for something and saw the ShamWow. I've been curious about it and before I realized what was going on I was shelling out $19.99 for a box of ShamWow.

 

All it seems to be is some felt cloth. I don't know squat about fabrics, but it looks like its just a little thicker than your run-of-the-mill felt. (for a minute I felt I should be putting cut out figures up to tell the story of Noah's Ark or something. Remember those storyboards in church?) That's it. That's all it is. I don't think it could be more than two yards of material, if that.

 

Four "larger" squares and four small squares. That's it.... that's all of it. I would have been better off going to a fabric store and buying the felt there.

Now, in all fairness, I haven't yet tried it for sopping up liquids, but I'm sure I will have an opportunity soon. If I don't spill something, then surely when the grandsons come over and they take a bath... I'll have LOTS OF LIQUID to get up.

All I can say is WAY OVER PRICED. WAY.

This is the second time I fell victim to late-night advertisements. The other thing I bought some times ago was one of those little sound enhancers to help one hear better. ohmygawd, What a ripoff that is. The only thing I could ever hear from it was the rustle of the cord against my clothes and the beat of my own heart.

I'm just sharing this as a warning. And I won't be buying anything 'as seen on tv' again, unless I've had a chance to try it first or if someone I know can vouch for it. Just know that I've done my bit to help the economy get back on its feet. I do what I can.

This and That

I finally got around to getting some of those reusable canvas-like tote bags for grocery shopping. They work pretty good, especially when you remember to take them, but its too easy to fill them up. Then you end up with a bag too heavy to tote. I got three and I will definitely need more.

The grocery store was very crowded. If I go too early in the morning (or in the middle of the night-open 24/7) the isles are filled with boxes for restocking the shelves. If I go a little later in the morning, then its way crowded. We just have too many people. And speaking of too many people.... the woman who now has 14 kids all under the age of 8, is crazy. Completely out of her mind. And I fully understand why the woman's mother (the kids' grandmother) would want to run away. All I can say is "Run... Run as fast and as far as you can!!"

Maybe something interesting will happen tomorrow.

Snow.... Again!

 I can't believe its snowing... again today. What's up with this, anyway? It was suppose to be only a dusting this morning and then gone in a couple of hours. That worked out okay, but now its snowing again. Crazy weather mumble mumble.

I haven't been doing much of anything. I visited my friend on Saturday. (Now that was a beautiful day... total sunshine!) We got two games in... Upwords and Word Yahteeze. (sp?) I somehow managed to win both of them. Go me!!

So... how's it going?

 This is a face I saw in the swirl of wood that I call a door. Once I had drawn it, the face faded and I couldn't find it again. Go figure.


This is a print (I think its a print) I got at Goodwill for $2.99. I wanted something for the bathroom and since this came with a protective covering (which made it hard to photograph without a reflection even though I didn't use a flash) I got it. Its by Peter Greaver and is called Fairy Light 2.
 

I'm feeling discouraged today. I know the mood will change, since they always do (even the good moods) but today I'm a little ticked. I'm ticked at the people who create viruses and I'm ticked at the people who create anti virus software that doesn't work. I won't share the curses I've been flailing about, but rest assured.... they have been cursed royally.

I fixed a small pot of split peas this morning. Afterwards I read the nutrient content. Not much to them. A tiny bit of sodium, a very small amount of carbs, and 44% dietary fiber. Tomorrow should be interesting.

I'm curious is this will post. Its the first time trying to post something from Picassa. If it doesn't post, you won't know about it. If it does post... well, you know. Shall we find out? Here goes.....

Hi

Hi everyone. I just wanted to say I'm still here. So far the technical problems seem to still be with me, but at least I can sporadically stay on for a while. And when I can, I try to catch up reading everyone rather than post a blog entry.

I've been checking easy things first (trying to fix my situation) and so far, nothing has done anything, but there have been a couple of things that better than before. And I've been online for 30 minutes now and it hasn't gone down yet. Cross your fingers for me, because I believe in miracles... no matter how large or how small.

Being gone for so long, you'd think I might have something to say, but I'm getting a blank. And I want to post this while I can. If I stay up, I'll be back. If not today, then tomorrow.

It Is Done!

We have a fresh and true leader for our country. For this we can all be grateful.