The Artiste Gene

This drawing of two dancers hangs outside YaYa's classroom and bears her signature. At a recent conference with her teacher, we asked if she traced it. Nope, her teacher replied (well, she didn't say 'nope', as that term is reserved for obnoxious bloggers). But she did say that it wasn't traced, simply eye-balled by YaYa from a picture she provided.

I'm impressed. While I can't deny a way with words and thus The Power to Move Masses, I've always envied those people who can take the pictures in their head and sketch them on paper. If I had that gift, and I could purge some of the ingenious ideas floating in my noggin, life would grand for all.

They've obviously inherited an artistic gene from Lisa, who should be -given the right breaks - Martha Stewart version 2.



Here's a giraffe Smiley drew too:



Here's some great work by LuLu





and by the Lump



Great, huh?

A Foul Mood Indeed

Holy sh-t I'm in a foul mood. Dark, angry, and looking for a fight. Not a good day to be in my company.

OMG stop with the interruptions!

Leave it to Obama to interrupt prime time on a day when I'm in a foul, dark mood, now ratcheted up a notch by the Prez. It's old news Mr. President. It leaked all over the net. You're pulling combat troops from Afghanistan by next year, against the wishes of your generals and some of your staff. Well done. It's certainly not a ploy to seek re-election at the expense of our anti-terror policy. No sirree.

Discovery World

@discovery world, where not only have i mooned a nun, i am the most despised father among other visitors after forcing park to climb a ladder.

If I hadn't been given 6 free passes for Christmas, Discovery World would have cost me $86 today, not inc. $10 for parking. That place is NOT $96 worth of fun. It is not $50 worth of fun. Yet another way to economically segregate Milwaukee.

there is no fu^^ing reason to interrupt tv AGAIN for a thunderstorm warning. Rain. Thunder. Wow. Scary. Not.

Wipeout

Watching Wipeout and luuuvving it!

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

I started Agatha Christie's "Hallowe'en Party", but I'm woefully unimpressed with the first two chapters. I may abandon it. Any yes, the odd apostrophe is in the title.

PBS'ing

LuLu and Smiley are watching Julia Child and Jaqcques Pepin (sic) with Lisa and asking 1000 pertinent questions.

The Doorbell Rang

If you want an example of smooth, flawless writing that drops you into the story with panache, look no further than Rex Stout. I loved the opening of 'The DoorBell Rang', a Nero Wolfe mystery from late in Stout's career, when he went all lefty-loosy. Here he paints the FBI as a group of murdering fascist thugs. IIRC the book cost Stout many fans, inc. John Wayne. Not a great bk, but not a bad read, ideology aside.

Home cooking!

<p><span style="font-size: large;">For the warmup to the kid's dinner: a salad made of greens picked fresh from our garden!

Father's Day 2011

Best part of Fathers's Day 2011: watching Terminator with YaYa and LuLu after a taco dinner. They seemed to enjoy it as much as I did back in the day, and I couldn't have been happier!

A Yucky Day

Got home from wrk near midnight, went to bed close to 230. Dumb. Lisa got me up @ 6. Tried going back to bed @ 745 but was invited to Godson's 1st haircut. Didn't go, had to deal w/ near disaster @ Noah's Ark (girls are there on scout trip). Gave up on sleep. Sharpened/oiled mower, cut & trimmed lawn. Going to garden w/ Park, then make lunch, clean a bit, then hopefully nap b4 returning to work. Day sux.

Buried Prey

I finished "Buried Prey", the latest Lucas Davenport book by John Sandford. Very well done. Part of it is set in the distant past when Davenport's career began, but unlike the use of this technique in the latest Scudder novel (where it seemed a sign the character was too old to matter in the present), Sandford makes it work and work well. I enjoyed it a lot.

A Chance Encounter

just ran into Dave Shore @ the Botanical Gardens. I rarely forget faces, and in fact we both recognized each other @ the same time. It was a friendly reunion. He thanked me for advice back in the day, commented on the lovely paint job of the hi, and mentioned the economy is tough.

Anyway. 

There was a concert there that evening (the music of John Williams) and that allowed me to get in free with the kids. We didn't stay for the music. I had 3 kids under 8 with me, all of whom have a 7 pm bedtime. Had I stayed everyone else would have missed hearing a good show. 

Smiley's Roller skates

Technically, aren't they called Heeley's?

Wish Me Luck

I should mention that I tossed my hat into the ring for a writing job of some significance. While it's a long shot of a long shot, I was happy to see that not only wasn't I rejected out of hand, the editor passed news of my interest up the ladder. So say a prayer, offer to fund a bribe, or just send good thoughts my way - whatever your preference, I'm grateful for the help.

Rain Rain Go Away

Tonight's rain reminded me of something Junie did a few wks ago. It was raining very hard, and she was reciting the "rain rain go away" ditty over & over. That's unremarkable - except for the increasing panic and frustration in her voice. To her it was a legtimate spell against the rain, & her tone revealed an absolute sense of betrayal that her magic had gone unanswered by the "powers that be".

My Thoughts - Anthony Weiner

On Weiner: I consider sex scandals to be largely "other people's marital problems". Whether it's Waren Harding, Arnold, or Norquist, it's their spouses business, not mine. I'll worry about my marriage & leave them to worry about theirs. But I'm not keen on lying to the press after the jig is up, & his decision to post pics via Twitter shows he has disturbingly poor judgement. Stay or go? Up to his constiuents, IMO.

A Reunion

Today I ran into grade school classmate Lisa Mattice for the first time since 1985. It was great to catch up for a few minutes. On the flip side, I fell asleep on the couch during The Voice and ruined the planned night w/ (my) Lisa. Even worse, I am now forced to listen to Jay Leno until I can locate the TV remote. *shiver*

Getting Ready to Rollerskate!

Our Sentry Store is Closing

I know of two Sentry stores that were around until this year - 50th and Oklahoma by Serb Hall, and in Bay View in the old Cub Foods/Jewel building on Howell and Oklahoma. The 50th St locale closed this past winter. The pic is of the Bay View Sentry.

YaYa and Gizmo

Dropping off YaYa at camp

My Evening

outside in the yard, helping Junie write thank u notes for her teachers, bus driver & crossing guard. Meanwhile YaYa is off @ her 1st night of camp . . .

Breaking News

Breaking News: the WI Supreme Court has ruled that the collective bargaining law should be upheld.