Companion Pieces.

What can I say? The first one was so much fun, I thought maybe it would like some friends. This drawing is smaller — only 5" x 7" — and as a result went much faster.

In fact, I'd only planned to get it started tonight. Two hours later, it's done and I'm wondering where the time went.

I guess that's a good thing, but now I need to go to bed, like I'd planned to do about two hours ago.

And Now For Something Different.

I haven't done one of these name plaques in some time, but they're still fun. I wouldn't call it mindless, but it is more relaxed than one of my colored pencil or watercolor pieces. A nice change of pace.

Finished?

(Ink & Colored Pencil on Mi-teintes Canson Paper, 12" x 12")

Have I mentioned how much I love working in colored pencil? It's my favorite medium, but it's so time-consuming — not to mention messy with all the shavings — that I haven't done much with it since having the Punks.

This piece, though, may have convinced me to pick up my pencils more often. I certainly can't get rich, saturated colors like that in watercolor.

There are a few things I want to do still. I need to darken the veins in the orange leaf in the top left. I'm thinking about trying to push back the negative space even more, although this has a lot of depth already. Sometimes I just go to far, so I'll live with it for a bit.

What do you think? Any suggestions would be welcome.

Busy Getting Paid.

I've got a couple of commissions to work on, so my limited "free-time" just got scrunched even more. I finished these necklaces today, I'm going to try really hard to finish my leaf drawing tonight and then I need to get cracking on a name plaque for a baby gift.

Add the Punks wanting to do stuff kids like and my cup runneth over.

Speaking of Progress ...

I'm seeing BLT's in my future.

Not Done Yet ...

... but I have been making progress. It's more a lack of time than lack of interest. In fact, I haven't even grabbed my sketchbook since Thursday. Maybe I'll squeeze a bit more in this week.

And Now For Today's Drawing ...

... that goes with what we did yesterday.

Remember what I said about going in order on the spreads and making the backgrounds work? Yeah ... well ... I lied.

I skipped this spread to draw the mango on the next because the orange and yellow colors were just perfect. And that worked out great because the blues and purples work really well with today's subject.

Just one more "rule" I've broken.

Slightly Out of Order.

Thanks to everyone for the mango advice — we tried it yesterday for breakfast and it was really good. Punkette didn't like it, but then if it's not mac-n-cheese or a chicken nugget, odds are she won't eat it. Sigh.

Dragging ... Have I Said That Already?

Yeah ... well ... I'm at it again. Dragging, that is. My sister-in-law and I took our collective Punks to a water park today and I don't know about her, but I'm ready to crash. And maybe even burn.

I couldn't have done it without her because my Evil Knievel wannabe really wanted to try the big slides. Punkette stayed with her aunt and cousin while the boy and I conquered Thunder Falls ...

... and Liquid Lightning. 

I love water slides. Okay, wait ... I love the water slides I remember from my youth. They were big slides with water ... not giant, huge, how-many-steps-do-I-have-to-climb, twisting, spinning whirlpools of doom and destruction!

But I love my Punk and now I have to thank him. The first one still makes me shudder when I think about it, but that second funnel contraption was an absolute BLAST and I never would have tried it on my own.

It's amazing what I'm willing to do just to put a smile on their faces.

I think I'll draw tomorrow. Sigh.

There's A Color Combo For You!

I've always found a blank page can be a stumbling block for me. I started pre-inking my backgrounds and that's helped on several levels.

1. No blank page intimidation.
2. The color can often influence my subject choice.
3. Cuts down on the number of messes I make — instead of dragging out the stamp pads daily, I often do several at one time.
4. If I ink a few backgrounds while I still have some colored, but not drawn on, I save on drying time, too.

Actually, the only downside I've found is the background color sometimes clashes with what I decide to draw. Instead of skipping around, though, I just go with it. If I don't feel like tackling the challenge of making the colors work, I just ink the subject and call it a day.

Childhood Time Warp.

Caterpillar Relocation Program.

Little did I know the Punks are soft-hearted, bug-loving little ... um ... well ...  punks.

I found this invader hanging out in my parsley when I went to trim some. I don't think he was munching ... yet.

I made the mistake of showing him to the Punks who then informed me I needed to find him a home.

Because he's cute.

Not if you look at him up close.

Up close, he's kind of a freaky, scary looking creature. But the Punks were adamant that I continue my no-kill bug policy. I guess they don't realize why I always call their dad when I find a multi-legged monster.

So ...

... I moved him to the hostas in the old garden. Live long and prosper my icky green friend.

More Like Stupid.

Silly Bandz are the latest fad.

I don't get it.

You can't play with them.

You can't wear them to school.

They don't do anything.

Except break.

Easily.

Sigh.

Still Here.

Just busy doing stuff kids like ...

• baseball games
• playgrounds
• parks
• swimming
• having friends over
• croquet (it's growing on them)
• walks
• basketball
• bike rides

No one has mentioned being bored, though.

Ahhhh, Basil.

The hubster and I talked about moving our garden this year. It's in a fairly shady spot and hasn't done well ... although the lack of attention it's gotten might have had something to do with it.

Anyway, we got our tomato and pepper plants as usual, but just put them in big pots by our back door, along with long planters of basil, cilantro and parsley. The thinking was when we finally moved the garden, we'd transplant them.

Then life happened, as it is wont to do, and we didn't get the garden moved. The tomatoes, peppers and herbs, however, are doing amazingly well outside our back door. And, I don't really have to spend a lot of time weeding ... BONUS! I think we may have found a new garden AND a new way to garden.

I chopped some of the basil into portions to freeze for marinara and made my very first batch of fresh pesto. I got a nice loaf of italian bread, toasted a couple of pieces and smeared on the pesto ... just to make sure it was okay, of course.

Okay?!!?

It was SO YUMMY! It's a good thing we have places to go this afternoon. I don't know if there would be any left for the hubster if I were to stay home with it all day ... calling my name ... begging me to take one more little taste.

Excuse me. I think I'm needed in the kitchen.

At Least The Day Ended Beautifully.

My head still hurts, but with a sunset like this, I don't much care.

I think my mom calls this "God's Light" and it's not hard to see why.

I'm DONE With The Cleaning Thing!

Just cracked my head on the wall that separates the tub and toilet. As soon as I stop seeing stars, I'm going to call Merry Maids.

Ouch.

To make matters worse, the Punks AND their two friends think I'm outrageously funny.

Spring Cleaning?

It's a little late for that, but the Punk was looking for something so he cleaned under his bed. In addition to multiple cars, helicopters and school papers, he found Baby Elmo.

He's dustier in person.

Bee, Butterfly and Blooms.

My in-laws' garden is in bloom and I could probably happily occupy myself there all day long.

What is this we have here?

Butterfly or moth, I can never tell, but it sure liked having it's picture taken. I had it in my sights for 20 minutes and 40+ photographs.

She Ate Pizza.

I think Punkette is on the mend. Anyone who has a sore throat and can still eat pizza must be feeling better, right?

Fingers crossed.

Another "Pseudo-Vacation" Ends.

Pseudo-Vacation? What's that, you ask?

It's where you don't go to work, but you don't go anywhere else either. I think the Ohio Tourism Association calls it a "stay-cation".

Whichever. Around here, it means Tom works on something around the house and I don't do a whole lot of cooking. I catch up on reading, sneak in as much drawing time as possible and occasionally, take a few naps. We go to "places kids like" — miniature golf, movies, swimming, playgrounds, the zoo, the petting farm, go-karting, etc.

This week wasn't typical because it was so stinking hot, Punk was recovering from being sick and now Punkette is sick. Sigh.

Oh well. We have another week planned for August.

Plans Quashed. Again.

I kind of had a feeling this would happen. When one kid gets sick, the other can usually be counted on to follow and this round is not proving to be an exception.

So instead of looking forward to a night out for mom & dad, we're watching movies and doling out antibiotics.

I Can't Win.

Normally, the Punk is the one that really wants me to put the camera away. He makes ugly faces or puts his hands in front of his face or just leaves the picture-taking area.

And then last night I got yelled at for NOT taking pictures.

People are never happy.

Better Than Sweating.

The Hubster and I took The Punks to see Toy Story 3 today. Punkette was confused because I said we might go see it if it rained and there wasn't a cloud in the sky when we left. It was, however, 93 degrees in the shade. Why wait for rain when you've got heat and almost 100% humidity? We figured it was close enough.

Progress Report

Yes, I'm still working on the leaves. We're on vacation this week, so I'm managing to sneak in a few minutes now and then. Actually, probably more than I'd get if the Punks' father wasn't around to amuse them.

I think I'm going to tackle the really big leaf that's front and center next. I haven't been avoiding it per say, but that's a lot of coloring I'm going to have to do. If I get in a groove, I want to have time to keep working on it. Maybe after the Punks go to bed tonight.

Torturing The Punks.

How Do You Spell BLECH?

No matter ... this is what it looks like.

Dragging.

It feels like the last week was about 37 days long. I'm pooped and aching in my legs and shoulders. I told the hubster it feels like the Fourth of July weekends of my youth — there was always a soccer tournament and several games in the hot summer sun.

So I took it easy today. Did some laundry, copied a bunch of CDs into iTunes and took a nap. The Punks helped the hubster wash the car and played in the pool for a bit.

Now we're enjoying cake and ice cream before settling in to watch fireworks on the TV. I'd consider going to a display, but the TV has a volume control and we don't have to fight for parking or seating.

Postscript ...

We went to Target to spend the saved money that was burning a hole in the Punks' pockets. Punkette added to her robot hamster collection and the Punk added to his cars. All is well in Bladosdom tonight.

Really? Six Already?!!?

Rough Week ...

... and it ain't over yet.

Sigh.

Today is Punkette's sixth birthday and while she's very happy, Punk has been sick since Monday and isn't particularly enthused about anything.

Double Sigh.

I took him to the doctor yesterday, got him on antibiotics and he's on the mend, but he's not quite up to Punkette's spaghetti and meatball birthday dinner. And don't even get me started on cake and ice cream.

Triple Sigh.

Speaking of cake, I'm not a cake decorator and I don't even play one on TV. I took a class back in my single days and it's become a tradition that I make the kids' cakes. I just finished Punkette's Pink Poodle cake. It's really pink and it was harder than it looked. I have hands that hurt and a mess of a kitchen to prove it.

I suppose I should go clean it.

Quadruple Sigh.