One of the things that have been in my art pile has been a set of four 'hero' cards of my sons' band directors. Their marching band program has a superhero theme to it so I agreed to turn the directors into superheroes. We have a new band mom heading up the spirit committee (who frankly is a bit of a flake) and I don't think she quite knew what she would be getting. She had made elaborate plans to do Halloween treat bags and that my cards would be secondary to that.




The kids couldn't stop talking about them and the two 'Beat Girls' directors loved their card. At last night's game, the spirit committee lady made a little speech and as almost as a sidenote added 'and we had a local artist do those cards.' I was a little hurt -- but then Ryan turned around, looked right up at me, and gave me a thumbs up with a big smile on his face.

That's the best praise of all.

And to top it all off, the football team FINALLY won a game! The funny thing is that even though they lost all their other games, if they win their next game, they will be eligible to go to the playoffs. Football is weird.

Patricia Briggs BOUGHT my 'Coyote Garage' pic at Necro!!! I'd given instructions that if she liked it, that she should be given it but Ms. Briggs INSISTED on buying it.

Sort of makes up for it being the ONLY sale I made at Necro, really.


EeEeEe!!

My boys gave me a late birthday present today. *sighs* They cleaned out my car. Ryan had gone shopping with me and when he tossed a 20 lb. bag of potting soil over the back seat, it split going everywhere. So he scooped up most of it in a bag and proceeded to get out the shop vac. Paul came out and observed that taking the seats out would make cleaning easier. (I was traumized by the sight of my seats out on the driveway and had to go into the house at this point.) They came in for carpet cleaner and chlorox wipes and frebreeze but the end result was a sparkling clean car. If they'd had a bottle of that new car smell, it could have rolled right off the lot.

Gosh, I love those boys of mine!

The last week or so has been one thing after another, let me tell you.

Fencon: Did really well there -- the people who werent' buying at ConDFW in Feb (because the art show was an underlit room way off from everything else) were back with cash at Fencon. I sold eight pics including a quick sale on Saturday.

Ryan: His fever went down to normal on Friday and he returned to school yesterday. Funny thing though, he broke out in a rash on Sunday. It almost looks like poison oak except he hadn't gone anywhere for a week except the doctor's office and church. *L* He was complaining that the bottoms of his feet hurt last night and we had to point out (since that he'd been lazing around for a week) that marching band and school hallways tend to do that.

Cub Fun Day: This year I worked Cub Fun Day all on my own. Ryan stayed home and my other two guys were off on an away game to Lufkin, TX. I made two kids cry and that was because I caught them painting multiple scarf slides after I told everyone 'only ONE per customer.' The hubs didn't make a new bucket of slides this year so I only had the stock left over from last year's event. Still, it was popular with most scouts, even when the police helicopter landed in the field about 20 yards away. We're going to miss Samuell Farm -- it's been involved in a lawsuit between the City of Dallas (to whom it had been bequeathed decades ago) and a non-profit group that had been running it. Dallas may be closing it but no one knows if the non-profit will be re-opening it or what.

Eagle Project: Paul's project has been okayed by our church and the committee so I need to get on with drawing the remaining 13 designs. He's being allowed slightly more parental help with his project because it's so original that there are no existing plans to follow. The hubs had to design a working model and I'm having to draw intarsia patterns. It's going to be very, very exciting if we can pull this off.

Meanwhile, I have long overdue art to work on, four pics for the MMB spirit committee, Necro coming up and possibly WindyCon too, all while having to deal with work and increasing holiday hours. Yikes!

I had a nice treat yesterday -- I got to meet up with shinga and Bobszy for lunch at the Dallas Galleria. I almost didn't get there because I got trapped on LBJ behind a massive car accident. It took seven police cars, five motorcycle cops, two Dart trucks (to keep people out of the HOV lane because the accident had blocked it) four tow trucks, and a big firetruck. To top it all off, a couple of people that tried to bypass the traffic jam by driving off the shoulder smacked into each other. Oy. As it turned out, Bobszy and Shinga were so engrossed in their conversation, I almost considered walking past and leaving them to it. *L* Bobszy missed the last two Gatherings because he has been off in Afghanistan doing his bit as an Army MP. He had a lot of interesting stories and I really enjoyed hearing them, mostly because he made it back to tell them.

I had to rush off to get back in time pick up Ryan at school and this is the point where the day took a down turn. There's this look that Ryan gets when he doesn't feel well and I knew when he was walking up to the car that something was not right. He said that he'd had been coughing all day and had a headache and sore throat. When we got home, I checked to find his temperature was over 100 and by bedtime, it was up over 102. The flu has been going thru the school district so it was only matter of time but I wasn't expecting quite this soon. Ryan is better today but still has a fever so he's camped out on the couch with his Gatorade.

Fun, fun...

....arrgh.....

However, thanks for the warning. I expect I'll be seeing lots of pirates today at Fencon. I went up yesterday to set up the art show and there's quite a few new artists there. One local guy, Gary Williamson of http://shatterdvisages.com, does these massive relief sculptures... out of pulped paper. They look like bronze and stone but they're actually PAPER. They're going to have to put up a don't touch sign because even I couldn't help giving them a poke. They're just amazing.

While I was doing the paperwork on my stuff, I noticed that Fencon was hosting the Region 3 Star Trek group so I printed out a couple of Star Trek pieces and switche them out for a couple of pieces. When I got to the show and had everything up, I realized that this is the first show in a long, long time that has NO Spooky or Tawnee or Gargoyles in it. This is either a sign of maturity or the kiss of death, I don't know which.

In other news, I may be meeting Bobszy, our military Garg fanfic writer, for lunch or something on Monday or Tuesday. He's just back from Kabul, Afghanistan and is in the Dallas area to visit his father. If anyone else *nudges shinga * would like to join us, please drop me a line.

... and when I mean Ryan is a rock, I'm being literal. His fists are like bricks, he can be more hard-headed than granite, and he sleeps like a rock. Case in point, this morning I went in to wake him up and he was sleeping sitting cross-legged, slumped over with his head on his FEET. Seriously. I wish there was a yoga studio close by because I think he'd be a natural. *L* As it was, Ryan had lost all feeling in his right foot and nearly fell down when he finally got up. (Yes, I actually stand there and wait to see if Ryan is fully alert and mobile. Hayden males are known sleepwalkers.)

Today is dedicated to con prep. I've got Fencon on Friday and although I asked for the weekend off, they've got me coming in Saturday night which I'm a little peeved about. *sighs* I'll have to be firm about not working Sunday because I have to take my art down. I finished coloring on two new pics for the show and I'll need to do some matting between now and then. Anything that doesn't sell at FenCon is getting bundled up for Necro in October. And that's it for my con season.

Happy Birthday to theresamather and a belated birthday to lefthandsnake and hawkstone .

And after a busy weekend at work, I'm happy that I have the day off! I'm very tempted to run up to North Park with one of my pay slips and take advantage of the free gift offer at the Lush store. Unfortunately, the guys are all home too so I'll have to see what their plans are. Paul has to have his Eagle book filled out to show his scoutmaster tonight who will hopefully sign off on it because I made an appt. for Paul to meet with our priest on Thursday. (The hubs briefly fussed over this because 'parents aren't supposed to' but the one thing I learned about working at the church is you have to pin that man down when you can. Our priest is just too busy!)

I'm hoping to get one of the boys to help me in the garden. I somehow managed to screw up my knee with last week's digging. I'd like to plant some squash or maybe a new crop of cucumbers. Our weather stays pretty warm until November so there should be plenty of growing season left.

Just watch -- this will be the year for an early cold snap.

Just passing this along:

laurean had her baby -- Remy Alexander Leigh, 7 pounds 3 ounces. 20 inches, born on Sept 1st a bit after 7pm.

Congrats!!

heh... mind, I'm talking about my boys. Paul left his lunch money in the car so after I put gas in the car and picked up a vanilla rooiboos chai latte, I swung back by early band practice. Their marching show is called "Bizarro" and it is. *L* I can't make heads or tails of it from the field so maybe it looks better from the stands. Paul, of course, was peeved that I was there and even more so when I told his director why. (Well, he asked and was a little concerned that Paul had been skipping lunch. I expect he'll be reminding Paul later since Paul goes to lunch right after band class.)

Garden: Well, all that's really producing is the okra and zinnias but the Roma tomatoes are starting to produce again thanks to a couple of heavy rains last month. I've been spending my mornings going out and turning over sections of the garden. I'd like to try putting in some late squash since we didn't have much luck with it in the spring. I planted some onion seed in a pot earlier (which, strangely enough, works really well) and now that they were out-growing the pot, I planted them in the onion bed with lots of compost. Some of the onion that I planted there in the spring are putting up new tops so I'm hoping that they winter over well. I expect I could put burlap and leaves over them if it gets really cold.

... my sons will probably bring me more forms to fill out. *L* I certainly filled out a lot of them last night. The boys are getting used to going to the same school again although Paul will likely be riding herd on Ryan in the mornings. They were late to marching practice this morning (which means running laps or pushups). Paul and I are early birds but the hubs and Ryan are night owls. They're generally not functional until at least nine or so. The new plan is for Paul to get up at 5:45 and Ryan to get up at 6 and maybe, just maybe, I can get them out the door to hit the marching field on time.

Paul's schedule was a mess -- he got the band classes he wanted and his senior requirements but instead of AP biology, he got sign language and public speaking. We're all confused about this because he listed food science and food technology as alternates. (Yes, the boy likes to cook -- there's the outside chance Paul might want to be a chef instead of a veterinarian.) I'm hoping that I don't have to go to school and go all mad mommyspike on somebody.




"C'mon, guys.... it's the first day of school! The least you could do is look HAPPY about it!!"

... okay, vaguely insane works too.... oy.

Well, the boys liked it. It had an interesting premise and was shot a bit like a documentary while events were unfolding. However, if you have motion sickness, I recommend some other movie. I stuck it out for about an hour, getting more nauseous with every jumpy handheld shot, until the main character started puking. I was lucky to make it to the restroom to do the same. Yuck. I spent the rest of the movie holding a bottle of cold water to my head. (Dear AMC, I'm sure the low water pressure in your drinking fountains is a ploy to make people spend more money. No love, me.) One of the girls at the guest help desk came over to check on me and offer to let me sit in on another movie while I was waiting on the boys and I got to watch 20-30 mins. of "Ponyo." I'm really, really looking forward to my back-to-school treat next week now -- it looks amazing on the big screen.

Art: I really need to be finishing up commissions and getting ready for FenCon & Necro. Instead, I have a ridiculous amount of scout art that has to be done NOW so they can have it to the printers this week. Be prepared, my eye.

Writing: Doing surprisingly well, in spite of things being so busy. I just wish I could make myself do more serious writing, just to stretch myself a bit. I wish I had the guts to do as sabledrake has done and gone after her dream of being a writer. It's a very hard thing, creating something and putting it out there. You hang in there, Christine. You can do it.

My son Ryan passed his board of review -- he's now a Life Scout!!

Happy Birthday to ljmouse -- I hope this year is a whole lot less complicated than last year!

*sighs*

Speezo has been lounging around for days, being nothing more a furry pillow. Here it is, the first sunny morning in a week and so far he's stuck his nose in my milk glass, knocked over the grocery store roses that I JUST put in a vase causing water to cascade right across the floor under the refrigerator, and pull Bill's autographed camp shirt right off the board it was pinned to where he's having a bath in a little pool of sunshine.

He's just lucky that my grandmother's vase didn't break or I'd boot his furry butt out of here.

grrrr.

... and where did the summer go? Today it's been raining and rumbling most of the day but I'm not complaining -- the front yard has been dry and crispy for weeks.

I just got back from running errands with Ryan. We had to pick up a lyre and flipbook for him at the music store. I'm really looking forward to marching band season because it's the only year that the boys will be marching together -- Paul as a senior and Ryan as a freshman. I just wish the director would pick some decent music. This year's program is called 'Bizarro' and it's the weirdest thing I've ever heard.

Work goes well although there are some unexpected drawbacks. While I was at work this weekend, Bill took it into his head to make bacon & tomato jam. *makes face* It looks like chunky salsa but tastes like sweet and faintly smoky barbecue sauce. Apparently this is in preparation for the next Scout campout where the theme of the menu is to be "Bacon." One of his buddy is doing that bacon explosion recipe. I believe I'll pass on all that.

Banana cream pie -- mostly because I rarely get to have it. The guys don't like it at all!

... and by this, I mean my son Ryan who turns a whopping 14 today. *sniffs* My baby's getting so grown up!



This is the only smiling picture that of Ryan at camp, and it's so very him. *L* He still hasn't shaved since then and it's really starting to bug me, let me tell you. (The Elvis sideburns are coming along nicely but the rest of the beard is a tad too scraggly for my tastes. It desperately needs pruning.) His plans for his day is invite a couple of friends over, hook up the Xbox to the big TV, and game the day away. I have orders to fetch him Taco Bell for lunch when I go out to pick up his birthday cake and lots of Mountain Dew.

I'd also like to wish a big Happy Birthday to kimberly_t who also shares July 9th with my son! I always knew there was something special about you!

A big Happy Birthday to everyone's favorite kilt-wearing hyena, spotweld!! He was a real sport and was the agent for my art at Anthrocon this past weekend. I know that I sold a few things and I've already got some comments at my gallery sites from people who saw my stuff at AC. I may very well have to add AC to my art show calendar!

I just picked up my new glasses and boy, it is strange having everything non-blurry! My left eye had changed astigmatism so I'd gotten used to closing one eye when I did things. I'm glad I'll have today to get used to them before going back to work tomorrow.

I used the cool weather to go out and turn under one of the squash beds. None of the squash or zukes ever got big enough to produce anything. I suspect that it's a combination of not rotating the planting and the hubs dumping a lot of fresh saw dust in that section of the garden. I've planted zinnias there for the time being. *L* The hubs will probably not notice for a while because we are harvesting lots of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. He'd better make some time for canning or I'm going to have to start giving them away!

I'm typing this from the hub's computer as mine has been floored by some kind of virus/worm/trojan thing. *sighs* How vexing.

Work goes well, save for my minor troubles making the cash register do what I want. I tested high in the training but every time I try to ring up a framing job, it all goes kablooey on me. *L* I'll get it but it's very frustrating. Coolest thing I've seen so far has been a WWII flag (48 stars!) that someone is paying $$$ to be put in a full-length shadow box.

The boys are trying to persuade me into going to see Transformers this afternoon. I've countered with 'only if you mow the yard.' Paul has just gone out the back door so I expect that I'll be seeing giant robots very, very soon.