We're trying to earn allowance by using a chart. $2 a week if Runt Funny can do 25 out of the 30 regular items, and a bonus treat for 2 straight weeks of going to bed on time and not whining.
But also I plan to give her extra unpaid things to do, because that's the way it ought to be.
That first one, "put away dogs" might need a little explanation. My child sleeps with about 20 different stuffed animals, all of which are dogs, and it's become a bit of an ordeal to put them in the bins every morning.
June 28, 2009
weekend in pictures
Guess what Runt Funny and I did this weekend?
On Friday night, we went to see the Braves play the Red Sox. I really like watching interleague play on television, but I'm not going to lie to you, I'll never go see the Red Sox again. I'm not crazy about their fans. We were surrounded by them and it was a little disheartening. Plus they just chant that one thing over and over again, which I thought was very weird. I never heard a single one cheer anything else. I prefered the Braves fan behind me yelling that this was our finest hour when we were down and out, or the one down the aisle shouting for Bobby to give 'em hell, or even the crazy one dancing like a fool every time a song came on. And also, this Boston fan in front of me was wearing flip flops and I do not like a man in flip flops.
Which is all just a very long-winded way of saying that I'm not really a very good sport. The Braves lost.
We did get to see a really nice fireworks show after the game though, so that was nice. Plus, not to mention, I went to a Braves game with Runt Funny and those are two of my very favorite things in the entire world.
On Saturday we slept until - no kidding - 10:30 a.m.! I absolutely never do such a thing, but it was okay because we'd been out in the heat for a very long time the night before and didn't get to sleep until nearly midnight so we were exhausted.
Runt Funny also does tennis on Saturdays. Here she is hitting the ball! She has very nice form, but the past few weeks have been a little rough on her as far as making contact goes. Sometimes she forgets to look at the ball, because she's so focused on how to hold the racket and where to step. She has a lot of fun though, and it won't be long before she puts the two together.
Today we did some mother-daughter shopping. I got Runt Funny a whole mess of summer clothes at a big sale, so I feel triumphant there. She also bought herself a fizzy science kit, which is silly because we already do that kind of thing with junk we have around the house, but somehow it's more fun when it comes in a kit. We found out that orange juice isn't as acidic as one would think - it doesn't fizz all that much when you mix it with sodium bicarbonate.
Doesn't our bubbling lava look lovely though? We mixed many, many things together this afternoon.
And then we had dinner, which was really leftover mushroom stroganoff from last night. I have been craving beef stroganoff but minus the beef for a few days, and this hit the spot. We also had broccoli with tzatziki sauce and a lovely spinach salad that had pecans, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries in it. I eat a lot of spinach salad because I follow the Popeye philosophy. It's my favorite thing.
June 25, 2009
Li-Li
I look at this little bobble head dog every day that I drive, and sometimes I giggle out loud at the silliness of it. Runt Funny made it for me and named it Li-Li. She let me help paint the toenails. I keep referring to Li-Li as it instead of he or she because I haven't been able to determine the gender yet. There are just no telltale signs, are there?
Please ignore my car windows. They only look dirty because, well, they are.
And also, I got a new camera. My old one was only 2 megapixels, and while I admit that I don't know what a megapixel is, I'm fairly excited about the upgrade.
I'm dead tired from a super busy and fun weekend, but so wanted to tell you about a few great children's books we read last month. I'm no book reviewer by any means, so these are just little descriptions of some books we thoroughly enjoyed.
One of my favorites was Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer. This Caldecott winner doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is - a book of wonderful silly-talk - but is magical nonetheless (or maybe magical because). The illustrations, by Marvin Bileck, are the sort you can stare at for ages, all fabulously intricate and full of detail.
Bone Button Borscht, by Aubrey Davis, is an Eastern European version of Stone Soup, which I liked much more than the traditional versions I've read. The illustrations, by Dusan Petricic, fit the story perfectly, dark at first and then gradually brighter. Coincidentally, we also picked up Heather Forest's version of Stone Soup at the same time (we really didn't realize it until afterwards), and while it was good, both Runt Funny and I agreed that Bone Button Borscht was much better.
We gravitate towards books about trains around here - regardless of quality, frankly - but this one we especially liked. Prairie Train by Marsha Wilson Chall is the story of a young girl taking her first train ride to visit her grandmother in the early 20th century. The text is lyrical and descriptive, and anyone who is a fan of this period, or a fan of the rails at their romantic peak will enjoy this book.
Finally, The Birdman by Veronika Martenova Charles is based on the true story of Noor Nobi, a tailor who, after losing his children to an accident, begins buying the sickliest of caged birds in a market and nursing them back to health and setting them free. A touching story, with beautiful illustrations as well as photographs of the real Noor Nobi at the end of the book.
Last night I found out that my dear friend, Robi Lyle, passed away last October. To write "dear friend" in conjunction with having discovered his passing nearly eight months after the fact sounds contradictory, I realize, but that was just the nature of our relationship. Our lives intersected with great distances of time between - even our meeting was like this - but we remained friends through it all. One of the last conversations we had was of the comfort there was in knowing that despite it all, we remained friends.
I have just spent half an hour writing out the story of our becoming friends, which is something Robi and I liked to talk about frequently, particularly as we grew older. We spent a good deal of time together winter before last - more, perhaps, than we had our entire 22 year relationship - but I have found that writing one thing leads me to write another and another and another. There is so much to remember. Maybe I will write it all out piece by piece, or maybe I will just hold it here in my heart.
Instead, I will say thank you, Robi. Thank you for being my friend. I am blessed to have had someone as unique and brilliant and gentle as you in my life. You have left an impression that will never fade, and I'm grateful. I hope that you know that. The things I am keeping in my heart, I hope you know. I also hope that you're in your VW, listening to the Braves as we speak. I'm devastated that you're not here. Devastated.
Here is a wonderful tribute someone in his family made:
And his last (and first) blog entry, written shortly before he and I last spoke, four months before he passed. A little sad, but also infinitely comforting.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Ghost Man on Second
Current mood:I want to slit my wrists.
It is funny sometmes, how conversation works, I mean. For instance, let's say you've saddled up to some bar--in this case, a favorite spot on Peachtree Street. You are a regular--like that Norm fellow from "Cheers.". In fact, you know the bar keep. He is a decent fellow, to be sure. Nice hair, good smell--a class act all the way. Let's be honest, you covet his girlfriend. Deep in your heart you know you would love her better, if only you had the chance. But anyway, he's an ok guy. It's a slow night and the two of you are talking up the Braves, the weather, the election and so on. However, you didn't come to the bar for chit-chat. You have important things to do. You are at the bar to pencil in the profound thoughts that have been crawling under your skin all day like a rash. You brought your journal, a good pen and some chewing gum--you're there to write in your book. Small talk is not on the agenda. But you are a good sport, you think to yourself, so you play your part--"Yes, it has been hot." or "You are right, Obama is our JFK," and so on. The whole time, in your head, you think you are doing the bartender a favor by talking, keeping your end of it up, so to speak. He's the lucky one, conversation-wise. You are the party supressing the yawn and looking at your watch on the sly--or so you think. But, you soon discover, the first chance he gets, he abandons the conversation under some made up pretense ("I have to go count the ice") and it hits you, you're the rube, the clown, the unaware waste of a few precious moments. He was thinking the same thing you were--"How do I get out of this?" and the whole time you thought you were the Spalding Gray of the pair--not the Potsie Webber. Well, friend, you were wrong. You may not want to wear it, but you, in fact, are the well known drag (and everybody knows it). Just shut up, drink your beer, and write those scintillating stories that will impress all your friends on Live Journal in silence.
Be careful about pointing the finger, that is all I am saying.
So. this is my first blog entry. While I have your eyes, I think I can make this experience worth your while by suggesting that if there is someone you love in your life--and I am not just talking about romantic love, it could be the love of a friend, the love between mother and child, or two bankers, whatever--if you love someone, give them a call. Do something nice. Love is all we need, sang the Beatles, but it is also all we really have (of value)--and I say this even though I have an ipod. So, take the hand of the person on the bus next to you and tell them how much they mean to you, how much they add to your life. It won't do you any harm. Keeping it to yourself, on the other hand, can be a real bear. It's like you are the coach of the team during the big game and your "I love you(s)" are time-outs. Don't let the clock run out when you have time-outs in your pocket. That's just fucking dumb.
Be the kind of person who says "I love you" easily--that's almost as good as cultivating the rep that you always smell good.
Above all, keep on thinking free.
June 06, 2009
illustration friday: craving
When I saw the theme for Illustration Friday yesterday, I knew just what I wanted to draw! I might have mentioned that I finally gave up eating meat, but I have to admit there are two meats that I still crave: fried chicken, and hot dogs from The Varsity.
I went to the Varsity a few weeks ago and found that a nice order of onion rings sated my Varsity craving lickety split. So glad about that! Now I won't feel like I'm left out in the cold on that particular tradition.
I haven't crossed the fried chicken bridge yet, but seriously - and this is just as unhealthy as unhealthy can be - but I really think it's just the crust, not the chicken itself I want. I could make up a little batch of just crust, couldn't I? Just glop some eggs (I do eat those) and flour together and fry it up? Maybe once in a blue moon?
I'm not proud of that. But that's what I crave!
June 04, 2009
gang of dogs
This hasn't been the greatest week for me. Do you have those days (and days and days sometimes) that are positively blah? That's been me this week - dull, a little depressed, and blah. I think a good deal of it has to do with the Air France crash. I tend to dwell on the awful, unfortunately.
But today! Today was much better. Not stellar, but not bad! And here's why: As I pulled out of the driveway this morning, I spotted a trio of dogs sniffing a neighbor's garbage. It was the silliest, most misfit gang of stray dogs I've ever seen. There was one tough-looking dog about the size of a St. Bernard, and one medium sized dog, and one teensy little black dog about the size of a chihuahua. I pointed to the dogs to show Runt Funny (who was waving goodbye to me with her grandma) and then later called her to ask what she thought of "those three silly dogs." She corrected me by saying that it was TWO dogs and ONE cat. Oh, that tickled me - that she thought the little one was a cat. I pictured Skippyjon Jones running amok with a pack of dogs, thinking he was one of them too.
Runt Funny thinks the middle-sized dog looked like Martha from Martha Speaks, but I am pretending it was a cocker spaniel for illustration purposes because I'm going through a big "must get a cocker spaniel right now" phase. I grew up around those grumpy old dogs and miss them terribly.
So, I giggled about those dogs all day. When I told my Mr. B. about them, he said that in old cartoons, the little dog is always the leader of the gang and the big dog is the dumb muscle. That cracked me up even more.
Isn't it funny how the little things in life can brighten you so? Soon I will tell you about some excellent books Runt Funny and I read the last few weeks in May and that will make the place brighter still.
May 31, 2009
days 30 and 31
Boy, I can't believe I stuck with it and sketched every single day this month. It was a big deal for me! I had gotten to the point, what with one thing or another, in which months would go by without my drawing a single thing, but now I feel certain that this exercise has sparked a new habit. So glad I participated - what a wonderful idea. Thank you, Elena!
Here's day 30:
And day 31:
May 30, 2009
illustration friday: adapt
Here's my entry for this week's Illustration Friday - on Saturday morning, no less!
I read an article not long ago about a bear who wandered into a Camarillo apartment complex and thought of how wild animals have had to adapt to the world of us humans. Where I live, I often see deer in the back yard or walking through neighborhood streets.
It's awful, but in my happy dreamland it would all be as harmless as inviting a bear to a barbeque.
I have several days of sketches to post yet, but I wanted to get my contribution for Illustration Friday up before a whole new Friday rolls around.
May 24, 2009
days 23 and 24
May 22, 2009
every day catch-up
I've still been doing my sketches for Every Day in May. It's just been a completely tiring week so I haven't scanned anything until tonight.
Yesterday we read Strega Nona so I sketched some characters from the book.
Tonight I did some random doodles while watching television.
I put the sketches from Tuesday and Wednesday up on my Flickr page, but I'm not proud of them at all. Oh, well. To be honest, I'm just glad I stuck with drawing this week. I haven't been on my toes at all. I'm hopeful that the long weekend will refresh me.
May 19, 2009
words to live by
I was in the kitchen earlier tonight, chopping onions and garlic in preparation for tomorrow night’s dinner (brown rice and spinach casserole – yummy!), and chatting with Runt Funny about the end of kindergarten. At that moment, despite the day’s stresses, all was absolutely right with the world. I don’t think that I’m ever more content than I am when I’m in the kitchen cooking, especially when I am cooking something that I know is completely nourishing for my family, and especially when the little one is there to keep me company.
Though I can’t say that I like many of the recipes, the introduction to Laurel’s Kitchen has inspired me for many years. That alone makes the book worthwhile. All of it is wonderful, really, but I love this passage especially:
“Perhaps, though, the real point is not so much to find the holy places as to make them. Do we not hallow places by our very commitment to them? When we turn our home into a place that nourishes and heals and contents, we are meeting directly all the hungers that a consumer society exacerbates but never satisfies.”
Isn’t that wonderful, to think that the home and, I think, the kitchen in particular, is a little fortress against everything that our modern life throws at us? I think it is. Regardless of circumstances, if I can carve out small portions of the day in which I am nourishing my family both bodily and spiritually, then I’ve really done something worthwhile.
And along the same vein, I have finally stopped eating meat. I’m not forcing it on Runt Funny, though she says she would like to be a vegetarian too, so maybe in her own time. For me though, it’s been wonderful. There are days when I feel a little lousy from too little sleep or too much stress (still working on that one), and I’ll eat a good spinach salad and will feel just as right as rain afterwards. That’s definitely my favorite thing to eat right now – a nice salad with nothing but spinach, pumpkin seeds, and a little homemade Dijon-maple vinaigrette. How soul-satisfyingly good.
Speaking of which – I might as well head to the kitchen to wash the spinach for tomorrow too. Mmm.
This week's Illustration Friday topic is "Contagious," so I was doodling out some ideas this morning. Do you get it - the swine flu and bird flu thing I was going for there? I never can tell about these things. Hopefully I'll get to finish it, but I'm not so sure.
May 16, 2009
days fifteen and sixteen
It annoys me to no end that I chose to spell out the numbers in this exercise. Now I feel like I'm stuck with it. Blah.
May 14, 2009
day fourteen
May 13, 2009
days twelve & thirteen
Today's sketch. We had family drawing time tonight, which did wonders to smooth over the grumps after a patience-trying dinner.
And yesterday's sketch. It's supposed to be Gustave Flaubert, but my ability to draw realistically hasn't progressed much since high school. Then again, I haven't tried to draw realistically since high school, so I guess I'm doing pretty good.
May 11, 2009
day eleven
I absolutely did not draw hands due to laziness. I admit that this didn't really work out in my favor.
May 10, 2009
to make my own darling happy
Welcome home, sweetheart!
. . . .
day ten
May 09, 2009
still at it
day seven
day eight
day nine
I've been sketching each day; just haven't kept up with scanning and posting.
May 08, 2009
rail fans
Last weekend we took our annual trip to the Tennessee Valley Railroad. We're still Thomas fans around here, although sometimes we keep it under wraps because it is not cool to like Thomas when there is Hannah Montana vying for a kindergartener's attention. (I do not understand or approve of this at all.) But we tromped about in the rain for the fourth year in a row, and had a wonderful time of it. This year, I noticed that Runt Funny spent a lot more time with the real trains than she did with Thomas. It was the same at the model train show a few months ago. I am both a little sad and a lot happy by this.
Besides Thomas, we also ride this train each year. It's a real steam engine, not a diesel posing as a steam engine. One of the last built in the United States. We take a ride on it and then we watch it turn around on the turntable. Isn't that wonderful? Really, can you think of anything nicer than riding a steam engine with your very own dear child? I cannot.
And next year, I am going to do my very best to get that little girl of mine to Folkston,Georgia. We'll spend all day watching train after train go by on the platform. And then we'll drive over to Jekyll Island and St. Simon's, which are two of my favorite places in the entire world.
May 06, 2009
day six
I got a little sloppy today because I was so very busy and my mind has been a great big jumble.
Also, Runt Funny turned six today! Six! I'm flat out shocked, and here we are at the end of kindergarten too. I had lunch with the little one at school today, which I've only done a few times because her class eats at a crazy-early hour (10:45 a.m.!) - and was so enamoured by the rapport she has with her friends. We sat at the special table for children and parents rather than with the class, and two of her little pals came by to tell us the news from their table (Doss spilled juice all over himself - even on his head!) - it was so adorable to watch. I get choked up and nearly start crying every single time I walk into the school. Are all parents such big saps, or is it just me?
Six though!! Happy birthday, Runt Funny! I promise I will try my very hardest to make this the best year yet!
May 05, 2009
day five
I admit that I'm a little astounded that I've kept this up five days in row. I thought for certain that I'd be sporadic about it. But the truth is, it really hasn't taken up much time at all to do a little sketch each day. This one, I did in the car after work.** Five minutes is all it took.
I'm not sure why I chose clowns though. Maybe because tomorrow is Runt Funny's birthday and I have festive things on the mind. I love clowns. I don't know why they get such a bad rap. When I was a kid I saw a clown named Onions perform and I have been smitten ever since.
Okay, I was a teenager, not a kid. But still. He was a fine clown. A real hoot.
**I should amend this to read: I did this in the car in the parking lot after work - not while driving. Though it might be obvious that I didn't draw and drive at the same time. Draw and drive ... oh, that's a swell turn of phrase.
May 04, 2009
day four
I don't mind this one much.
May 03, 2009
day three
I have mixed feelings about doing Every Day in May. Part of me is frustrated because I realize how limited my drawing ability is. See how wonky these little puppies are, for instance? When I drew them, I kept thinking the next would be better, but nope. Still elongated and with body parts I didn't quite know where to put.
But also, I am glad that I'm participating because I need the practice. So even though I embarrass myself just a little bit each day that I add something to the group pool because I'd rather put up something complete and instead I am putting up practice work - I am creating and practicing each day and that is a-okay.
May 02, 2009
happy little boxcar
Spent the day at the Tennessee Valley Railroad. Runt Funny pointed out that this is little boxcar looks awfully happy.
runt funny's may books:
1. Cowboy Kid - Max Eilenberg
2. Arc-en-Ciel - Marcus Pfister
3. The Queen's Feet - Sarah Ellis
4. Harold's Trip to the sky - Crockett Johnson
5. Seven Spunky Monkeys - Jackie French Koller
6. Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook - Michael Garland
7. How Pizza Came to Queens - Dayal Kaur Khalsa
8. The Most Beautiful Kid in the World - Jennifer A. Ericsson
9. Don't Forget - Patricia Lakin
10. Paddington Bear & the Busy Bee Carnival - Michael Bond
11. The Raft - Jim LaMarche
12. The Brand New Creature - Jemma & Tiphanie Beeke
13. The Monster Health Book - Edward Miller
14. Jerermy's Tail - Duncan Ball
15. Masai and I - Virginia Kroll
16. Berenstain Bears' Dollars & Sense - Stan & Jan Berenstain
17. The Lemon Sisters - Andrea Cheng
18. Strega Nona - Tomie dePaola
19. Madeline in London - Ludwig Bemlmans
20. May I Bring a Friend? - Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
21. Don't Tease the Guppies - Pat Lowery Collins
22. Time Train - Paul Fleischman
23. Would They Love a Lion? - Kady MacDonald Denton **
24. Dog Blue - Polly Dunbar **
25. The Antique Store Cat - Leslie Baker
26. Paris Cat - Leslie Baker
27. Cat Jumped In! - Tess Weaver
28. Rain Makes Applesauce - Julian Scheer
29. The Story Blanket - Ferida Wolff
30. Watch Out, Ott! - Wendy Wax
31. Baby-O - Nancy White Carlstrom
32. Stone Soup - Heather Forest
33. Bone Button Borscht - Aubrey Davis
34. Bronco Dogs - Caron Lee Cohen
35. Prairie Train - Marsha Wilson Chall
36. The Smash-Up Crash-Up Derby - Tres Seymour
37. The Birdman - Veronika Martenova Charles
38. Grump Groan Growl - Chris Kaschka * *
39. Don't Be Silly, Mrs. Millie! - Judy Cox **
40. On Their Toes: A Russian Ballet School - Ann Morris
runt funny's april books:
1. Martha Walks the Dog - Susan Medaugh
2. Peek-a-Zoo! - Marie Torres Amarusti *
3. Hewitt Anderson's Great Big Life - Jerdine Nolen
4. Martha Calling - Susan Medaugh
5. The Two Sillies - Mary Ann Hoberman
6. Good Night, Mr. Night - Dan Yaccarino
7. I Know an Old Woman Who Swalled a Pie - Alison Jackson
8. Wombat Stew - Marcia K. Vaughan
9. Steamboat Annie and the Thousand-Pound Catfish - Alison Jackson
10. Here Comes the Strikeout! - Leonard Kessler *
11. Kipper's Snowy Day - Mick Inkpen *
12. The Hound from the Pound - Jessica Swain
13. Dancing Dinos Go to School - Sally Lucas *
14. Mrs. Mary Malarky's Seven Cats- Judy Hindley
15. Saturday Night Jamboree - Lee Wardlaw
16. Georgia Music - Helen Griffith
17. Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa - Erica Silverman *
18. City Lullaby - Marilyn Singer
19. Put Me in the Zoo - Robert Lopshire *
20. Here Comes the Train - Charlotte Voake
21. Wacky Wednesday - Theo LeSieg *
22. Don't Touch My Hat! - James Rumford
23. Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth - Anne Rockwell
24. Queen Nadine - Maryann Kovalski
25. The City Kid and the Suburb Kid - Deb Pilutti
26. Pink - Nan Gregory
27. The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat - Nurit Karlin *
28. Down the Road - Alice Schertle
29. Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia - Herman Parish
30. Big Jimmy's Kum Kau Chinese Take Out - Ted Lewin
31. The Whales - Cynthia Rylant
32. Shy Vi - Wendy Chyette Lewison
33. So What's It Like to Be a Cat? - Karla Kuskin
34. Down on the Funny Farm - P.E. King *
35. Henry and Mudge and the Wild Wind - Cynthia Rylant *
36. The Jellybeans and the Big Dance - Laura Numeroff
37. How Santa Lost His Job - Stephen Krensky
38. Barbie: Mariposa - Mary Man-Kong
39. Sesame Street: What's Up in the Attic? - Lisa Alexander
40. Lissy's Friends - Grace Lin
41. Hoppy & Joe - Betsy Paraskevas
42. All for Pie, Pie for All - David Martin
43. Fidgety Fish - Ruth Galloway
44. Cars: Night Vision - Dennis "Rocket" Shealy
45. Cars: A Day at the Races - Frank Berrios
46. The Happy Hippopotami - Bill Martin Jr.
47. The Silly Gooses - Dav Pilkey *
48. Matepo - Angela McAllister
49. The Happy Birthday Present - Joan Heilbroner
50. Mother's Mother's Day - Lorna Bryant
51. No More Cookies! - Paeony Lewis
52. Tmothy and the Strong Pajamas - Viviane Schwartz
53. Purplicious - Victoria Kann
54. Shark in the Park! - Nick Sharratt *
