We had kind of a wild night last night. A big storm rolled through Dallas metroplex with a big lightning show that woke me up around 2am. (Okay, the dog hyperventilating next to the bed may have had something to do with it too.) Around 4, I woke up again with the sensation that something was not quite right. The house was too quiet and once I put my glasses on, I realized that the ceiling fan and the alarm clock were both off. Yep, the storm knocked the power out. At least it was down in the low 70s/high 60s last night so it wasn't too uncomfortable. Everything was back on by 6, although our cable seems to be a bit screwy this morning. There were a lot of close lightning strikes so I expect things will be a bit iffy until the crews get thru.

*shakes head*

I just got through doctoring Paul. He came home early from band camp with a cut over his left eye and scrapes on his arms and legs. The cut seems to be very shallow and has sealed shut with lots of Neosporin. (I still haven't heard a coherent story on HOW this happened. If I don't get a full explanation, I'm emailing the band director.) Either this year's freshmen are clumsier than usual or band has become a contact sport.

It's a shame he outgrew his hockey armor -- I'm sure it would look good with his trumpet.

Honestly, I've been meeting myself coming and going this week and it's not even half over yet! Paul is in his second week of band camp and unlike previous years, he actually wants to hang out with people instead of coming home for lunch and a shower. Ryan and I are grateful for the quiet.

I finally got done with the scout patch that I did in CorelDraw. I hope there's no big changes to it. (And maybe I should really go ahead and do the tutorials so I don't spend so much time growling at the monitor... heh.) Now I can get back to cinsangel 's wedding picture and the unfinished pics on my commission list.

Today's major project was cleaning the aquarium. I scrubbed off the algae on the glass and did a ten gallon water change. The nasty silty water that I took out went to water my roses -- they love fish poo. We lost the African brown knife over the summer but we'd had him for over five years. I'd like to restock the tetra population but since Pig (the angelfish) likes to snack on neons, it may be a while. We still have two hi-fin black skirts, three gold barbs (which went from tiny to HUGE), some assorted danios, four three-spotted tetras, two glo-lites, two albino cory cats, a chinese algae eater and the biggest pleco I've ever owned. It's probably a foot long from nose to tail.

I'll give the Chinese this, they know how to put on a spectacle. The opening ceremonies were amazing and I'm still stunned by that giant ball that they had people running all over. It wasn't until the cameras zoomed it that you could see the people were suspended on guidewires. (Thank you kung fu movie special effects!) They had a lot of good things -- the hundreds of dancers, martial artists and performers, the little boy (who survived the Sichuan earthquake) walking in with Yao the basketball player, all the flagbearers wearing their country's national costume (My fav was Mongolia), and the amazing fireworks. The bad, well, I sometimes wonder what some countries were thinking when they commissioned their team's dress uniforms. I feel so sorry for the Hungarian women on their team, wearing that floral print montrosity. I'm sure it looks nice on one woman by herself but with thirty or forty women wearing it --- it makes the eyes bleed. *L*

It's going to be an interesting Olympics to watch. I still remember Munich so the border skirmish with Russia and Georgia could have serious reprecussions. I just hope that the athletes can compete in the spirit of sportsmanship and leave the political problems back home.

Now that I've finally got CorelDraw, I'm building a Scout patch in it. What I'd like to know is this, what format should I save the file it to ship to the patch manufacturer? I've asked the guy that's commissioned the patch but I haven't heard back from him yet. I normally send .eps Photoshop files.

Any help you can give me would be grealy appreciated...... Thanks!

... and I mean that literally. It was 107 on Sunday and 105 yesterday. We're hoping for a little break when Edouard comes ashore sometime today. He's not much of a hurricane but we're hoping he shoves the high pressure system off of Dallas long enough for the temps to go down. A little rain would be nice too -- the front yard is down to crunchy grass and most of my garden has died off. All that's left is okra really, although I've managed to keep the tomatoes, cukes, and pole beans going. When it cools down again, they'll start blooming again and we can get in a fall crop.

It's band camp season again and I'm back to shuttling boys around. I *must* get Paul working on his driver's license. He really should have started on it months ago when he became eligible but we wanted him to focus on schoolwork. Most of his buddies are driving now so you'd think he'd want to be too. Strange child.

I'm going to take my cue from lynati_1 and tex_garg and post a scene from 'When Graeme Met Lucy' for Friday Fiction. It even has a picture to go with it.

( Rude )

A big Happy Birthday to one of the original ladies of fandom, ljcygnet !!
Here's hoping you had a great day!

Yanked from little_teacup

( Read more... )

... for some idiotic reason, people commenting on my Elfwood gallery think I'm Anthony Pryor Brown's personal keeper or something. Sure, I drew a few pictures based on his 'Wulf the Freelance' stories but that was nearly 10 years ago!! I have NO idea where he or his website have gone. The gentle advice that they go on Google and look it up goes whooshing by in both lanes. Auuugh!

Still, it's amazing that anyone even looks at Elfwood anymore. It was my first online gallery after all, and where I first started getting game illo jobs from. It's nostalgic, really.

Only one more day until the boys come home! The hubs is complaining that I don't make desserts when they're gone or the big dinners that he's gotten used to. I had to point out that cooking a big dinner today meant eating leftovers tomorrow, something that we rarely have with two voracious teenagers at the table. Which reminds me, I need to load up at grocery store. When the boys get back, they're going to be HUNGRY.

hee!

For a while now, I've been curious about Dallas Sketchgroup http://dallassketchgroup.blogspot.com/ so while the guys were off at camp, I decided that I would go check it out. The group meets at the big Half Price Books on NW Hwy, back in the reading room past the children's section. On one hand, it is sort of nice to find other artists to associate with. I've tried sitting in with the art groups in my town but it's mostly watercolor landscape and flower painters and they look at me funny when I tell them what kind of art I do. On the other hand, artists being the introverts that they are, it's really difficult for a newbie to break into an established group.

I did get to look at a variety of art -- some people were doing digital art on laptops, some people were drawing comic pages, and a group from the Art Institute were working on an animated film about squirrels. I really enjoyed watching some guy named Steve paint a face in CorelPaint.By the time I left, the group had expanded to six tables and were rotating laptops near the electrical sockets. I think it might be fun to go back when I can, if nothing else, so the regulars will feel more like talking.

heh, I have my design inked in on my bamboo umbrella. I had lunch at a sushi place after doing platelets Monday and I made notes on the decorate umbrellas they had hanging from the ceiling. I copied some chrystanamums from a scrap of brocade fabric I had and I did a dragon similar to Haku from "Spirited Away" around two-thirds of it. I'm going to do acrylic glazes over the initials inks and see how that works out.

I just wish Bill hadn't taken the camera with him!! I so want to post pictures of this!!

*goes out to play with paint*

I'm not quite sure how I wound up cleaning the bathroom but one thing led to another and the next thing I know I'm pitching stuff into a big bag in the middle of the room. It's amazing the junk that accumulates -- the almond bath set that turned green (eeuw...), the old medicines that expired in the 90s, and what was I thinking when I bought iridescent gold eye shadow?

On the plus side, there's now more room for my Lush stuff... heh.

Your result for The Steampunk Archetype Test...

The Aetherist Bodger

0 SwashEng, 1 CCTin, 1 CharNob, 0 RogPir, 1 MechFian and 6 AetherBodg!

Take The Steampunk Archetype Test at HelloQuizzy

This is one of those times when I wish I actually understood steampunk. *L* The funny bit is that I learned to type on a typewriter like that. My mother still has it, not to use anymore but as a family hierloom.

I don't know who to be crankier with -- the unknown caller at 2:30 am or my son who reprogrammed the ringer on the phones so each one has a different ring. *grrrrrrr* All I know is that neither the hubs and I managed to get to a phone before the machine picked it up and THEN whoever it was didn't leave a message. So then I lay awake wondering who it was until I finally got up and went into the kitchen to read until I felt sleepy again.

Sleep deprivation... no fun.

Happy Birthday to everyone's favorite kilt-wearing, mad scientist hyena spotweld !!

Well, my Gathering art came home today and I was surprised to find I'd won some prizes. Thanks so very much to everyone who voted for me! Mind, this is the first time that I ever got an honorable mention for 'Best Not For Voting' or 'Just Plain Awesome.' *L* However, I discovered that I also got two first place ribbons for Noel Leas. If anyone knows her current address, could you email it to me so I can mail her the ribbons?

EDIT: A big thank you to patrickat who came through with Noel's address. The ribbons are on their way!

Happy Birthday to little_teacup -- and just for you, Usagi has a little song.

http://mommyspike.deviantart.com/art/Little-Teapot-90193577

Rules: Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else on your F-list has done. See if anybody else responds with "I've done that."

1. I wrote an essay to nominate my brother-in-law as a torch bearer... and because the committee liked my essay, I got to carry the Olympic torch too. (In fact, my torch got used as a prop for the Cub Olympians day camp that we just finished up.)

2. I wrote a tourism article on the ghost town of Shakespeare, NM for the Las Cruces Bulletin.

3. I spent four DAYS in excruciating back labor with Paul... all because our idiot HMO thought I was over-reacting and wouldn't induce me. (My second pregnancy was with another doctor who was appalled which he reviewed the records from Paul's birth.)