IF - Crooked

Well, here it is, Illustration Friday #2 (for me.)  This week the word was "Crooked."  So I made a crooked owl, trying to eat some little fellows hiding beneath a crooked branch.

 I'm thinking I may have to step away from my struggles with watercolour paints for next week.  I like them because I have this little kit that fits in the palm of my hand, and I can just whip it out and paint.  But I don't know anything about watercolours.  This kit comes with two greens, but no black.  No black?  Is that normal for watercolours?  Isn't it just a basic mixing colour?  Sigh.  At the very least, I suppose it's good practice, but I definitely feel like I'm over-labouring it a bit.  It's probably not a good sign that the paper I'm painting on is starting to ball up into little nubbly bits!
Anyway, this is the result (most of it, anyway - I lost some bits to the size of my scanner bed - smaller paper next time, too!)
I'm already looking forward to the new word tomorrow!

More photos (a link)

Hey!  Just wanted to stop in and let you know that I posted some more pictures from our trip to Ontario, over at Lauren Kaye Photography.  This one, though, might be one of my all-time favourite photos.  That chub!  That band-aid tan!  Love.

Topping the List

Hi!  I just posted my first post for Illustration Friday.  I'm going to commit now to trying to get one up every week.  There.  It's in print.  Now I expect social pressure to help me keep it up.  That means you!

Things are going well here - busy, as usual.  Griffin had another week at preschool.  He started crying as soon as I parked the car, but apparently only cried for about five minutes, and then was off playing.  We don't really know, of course, because he mostly likes to talk about what they had for snack ("I had crackers but I didn't eat the cheese"), and how he didn't go on the slide.

Holly is a going concern.  (I don't really know what that means, but I do like the way it sounds!)  She's crawling and flapping and ga-ga-ga-ing up a storm.  She's into everything.  She eats a lot of random things off the floor.  I've just about given up trying to pull every little thing out of her mouth.  How many furry tongues does it take before she will learn?

We're trying to enjoy these September days as much as possible.  We spend as little time inside as we can.  These pictures are from Hantsport, a small town at the top end of the Valley.  Griffin loved the splash pad, and completely agrees with me that we need one here in town.  That'll be my next project!

 Other than that, I've been busy dealing with the crazy amount of tomatoes, zucchinis, and grapes we've been harvesting out of the garden.  And Christmas is starting to loom on the horizon, as we consider just what we'll make this year.  Spinning tops and felted gnomes are currently topping the list.  But the list....!  Gets longer every day!

Illustration Friday - Burst

So I'm going to try and challenge myself to participate in Illustration Fridays, just to try and do at least one drawing a week.  This week's word is "Burst" and this is what I came up with late last night (I expect many of these things will happen late Wednesday night!)

It's not great, but it's my first try, and I've decided that anything I can come up with is better than nothing!

End of Summer Post

Hello again!  How does the end of summer always seem to slip away from us in a haze of beautiful, swept away days?  When home is just a stopping point, on the way to the next thing, and the end of the day arrives with all of us worn out and ready for bed.  I love it, and I love when the quiet returns as well, as we look forward to finding our regular schedules and routines.

Griffin started pre-school this week - his first day on Friday, and then today.  From now on, it will be every Tuesday morning.  About the first day, he had this to say: "I cried.  A lot."  This morning, all through getting dressed, eating breakfast, and driving to Paradise (yes, that's the name of the next town over) he was crying, "I don't want to go!!!!"  Then we arrived, and he clung to me and screamed as the daycare lady (Miss Cindy) scooped him up in her arms and said "Bye Mom."  And so I left.  I called fifteen minutes later, when Holly and I arrived home, and was told that he was still crying, but stopping once in a while to check something out.  When I picked him up at lunchtime, he was all smiles.  He had played, and sung songs, and had a snack.  He wants to go back already. Whew!

Holly is a speed-crawler now - giggling away if she's crawling toward something she's not supposed to touch (mostly the potty).  She giggles all the time now - she thinks dropping things is hilarious, pulling off her bib is hilarious, the word POP is hilarious.  And, of course, you can't help but join in - is there anything so infectious as a nine-month-old baby giggling?

We had an amazing time in Ontario (where all these pics were taken).  Griffin just loved being surrounded by family, playing by the lake every day, and meeting his cousins for the first time.  He still talks about it all the time.  Both kids handled all the travelling really well - Griffin said "Wheeee!" every time we went through turbulence.  All in all, it was a successful first family trip!  And, of course, I took a million photos.  Look how gorgeous it is!

Look at these two, only days apart.