Inspired by the Doctor's twist on Vincent V's Sunflowers...

I think they'd look nice in a certain cracked pot a friend made for me.

That, kids, is Monday's art contest: moody sunflowers in a cracked pot a la Van Gogh....

Shooting Bugs

There's the spider I shot with a rubber band the other day. Very small spider. Range: 2-3 feet. One shot. It's an inherited skill.

Then there's other bugs. Those that are picked up and examined (and later held captive) by boys.

And there's also bugs I beg to land at close range (at least till I get a zoomier lens) and sit still so I can focus, and shoot.


I decided this morning I might like to shoot a scorpion, but I'm not sure I could photograph it and then kill it with a rubber band...

Settling The Estate of an Odyssey

I have been taking inventory today of the contents, or previous contents of one now-deceased minivan. It started with the vague idea that I should clean up the piles of stuff I made when I was required to rapidly and unexpectedly empty said van of all it's contents before it was loaded onto the Tow Time truck and unceremoniously hauled away to the Honda Hospital.

This is not a complete list. There's still a few things in the back of Danjo's car (including a dog hat and a neck pillow) and in a pile in the garage (very large blue tarp), and some things that were simply too numerous to list; but it is a list, composed mostly of the things that were always in the van, and could be counted on to be there if needed...

Partial List of The Contents of An Old Minivan:

6 pairs sunglasses

2 dog harnesses

2 dog toys

1 carabiner clip, large

1 toy motorcyle

1 shiny red beaded mardi gras necklace

1 bottle hand lotion

1 screwdriver

1 package of lightbulbs

26 writing instruments

2 bottles hand sanitizer

1 tube toothpaste

2 deoderants

1 bottle of non aspirin pain reliever

6 assorted hair things

1 nail file

1 nail clipper

1 roll paper towels

1 tube chapstick

bug bite stuff

2 loose CDs

2 clothes pins

2 smallish rocks

1 map

1 picnic blanket

1 report on Nepal

1 bookmark

assorted coins totalling $1.67

The new van currently contains one pair of sunglasses, a garage door opener, an AUX input cable, and a bottle of water. Do we take bets on how long the evolutionary process will take?

Just a little FYI

Our cable provider has seen fit to add BBC in HD. This should prevent at least some of last week's frantic fumbles with the remote, resulting from attempts to get the frame to fill the whole screen while fast-forwarding through the commercial breaks. It will not, however, prevent the frantic fumbles with the remote originating from other causes.

Doctor Who nights will be better than ever.

:-)

ARt GaLLeRy

All family members are represented in this collection of unique and, well, unique art.

"Tilted Saguaro"

medium: cell phone camera

"Layers"

medium: cell phone camera and various kitchen substances

"Doodles"

medium: watercolor and pencil

Untitled

medium: watercolor

"The Eye"

medium: colored pencil

"The Bench"

medium: charcoal

"The Fruit Pack"

medium: pipsqueak marker

"Night Sky"

medium: pipsqueak marker

Chemist in Training

If you're going to survive college,

some chemicals are more important than others...

That's three carbons, a nitrogen, and three hydrogens.

These bonds take concentration

That's caffeine and plastic there, folks...

Prime

A new lens was recently delivered from the north, by the girl with the ring. This delivery made my day. The daylilies are still blooming and are a convenient subject. They pose nicely and don't complain. I need to learn to leave the lens cap in the house, as it is difficult to find when dropped among the abundant daylily foliage. These daylilies are called "Fiery Chariot" and may be my favorite.

Venom begins work on the ceiling of the "Sistine Chapel"

The story:

It began with a car crash and a backache, and the desire for a nice, hot bath, which resulted in water leaking through the kitchen ceiling and onto freshly hand-washed dishes. Rage ensued. Steak knife was applied to the dripping ceiling. It wasn't entirely irrational. No one wants mildew in the space between the upstairs and the downstairs, and a look at the pipes from below (there's certainly no easy way to look at them from above) would be necessary to pinpoint the exact cause of the leak. But there was a certain amount of satisfaction gained from the act of sawing through drywall in a burst of furious (yes, very furious) energy.

And then there was the hole in the ceiling. Like the crack in Amelia Pond's wall. Creativity applied. I think it took Venom less than fifteen minutes this morning to have that hole staring back at us...

The redemption of the leak in the pipes.

[Oh, Danjo has since enlarged the "eye" hole in order to get a better look up there, partially destroying Venom's work. I may in time give her a piece of wall to redeem that will not soon be sawn, but may be easily seen.]

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good."