Made a Raven for my Auntie

A good old buddy turned 40 this week, so when the recycle dumpster gave me this fantastic vintage cooler I knew exactly who was meant to have it.
Even when you're so old your bottom rots off, you still have worth, ya know?

Spay-on clear rubber to hold all the old in, and to waterproof the exposed foam.

You can't really see what's going on in this one

 

The bottom part is 3/4" cedar that was leftover from the bookcases still waiting for assembly. The edging is a stainless steel sink trim cut to fit; the sides are spar varnished cedar(?) plywood that I found in the road, screwed into the bottom with stainless screws and siliconed onto the sides.

Aluminum corner pieces from the bit my Mr cut out of the screen door
 to put the cat flap in and more stainless screws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lol Oklahoma

Had me going for a minute there

Utopia

1516 map of Thomas More's island of Utopia

If you turn your head and squint a bit it looks like a face. I suspect this may have been done deliberately.

I have begun collecting items that do not take up space in my home.

 

 

 

 

Morris

Southwest City




Sapulpa

 

 

 

They are all pretty great, but this one is the best because it is mine.

 

(Had to edit out the rust spot)

I can see it from my window. 

(not my house)

                           

There's even a little light on top to keep the airplanes away,

which I will post a photo of as soon as I figure out the light settings.

The Colossus of Spavinaw

I have no idea.

Self

"why cain't yew never paint sump'n purty, like flaaars?"

I showed it to one of my moms and she didn't think it looked like me.

But that was before I added the background. You can tell it's one of mine by the ingredients:
                         Phthalo blue
                         ALL the rainbow
                         an umbra
                         dots
                         stars, regardless of whether they're needed or not

The upper lip part is how I really look, but can be interpreted as an homage to Frida if you so choose.

She's so bored without phones and internet that she has actually come out of her room.

Lady Fortuna

New painting, acrylic on 5'x 3' canvas on a wooden frame made from pieces of the old house.

it took me 4 hours to get the shading on her upper lip right

Big wheel keep on turnin'

And there are in fact four tuna, which makes this my most laboriously executed pun to date.

Into the New

This is of course the Southern Oracle (Auricle?) from the Neverending Story. One may only pass this gate with heartfelt confidence in one's worth and purpose.

It's been a big year.
I moved myself, the Kid, the Mister and his Kid and 40 feet of U-Haul to a new house in a new state.

my moving parts were very tired

A new job found me and offered better pay than anything previous to go and take pictures of houses, and measure how big they are, and put checkmarks in little boxes for Asphalt Shingles and Brick Veneer. Sometimes I even get to climb a ladder for better views of the roof.
I can tell it's a good job because all the dogs I've met have been neutered, and the pit bull even gave me kisses.

And I finished another painting, which I will post next year.

Happy 2014

Swants!

Finally, a fashion trend I can revel in.

I followed the Westknits tutorial, mostly.
Some modifications are needed if using lady sweaters.Men's sleeves join the body perpendicularly; women's have a tapered sleeve.

These are females

If the angle isn't too narrow, just follow the tutorial, which is what I did for this sweater.
The gray one needs the sleeves picked loose and reattached upside down, ie with the shoulder where the armpit was, otherwise the extra fabric causes lumpage in the crotchal region. 

I cut the neck out and hemmed it as a dickey, but she wouldn't wear it.

I think I messed up here, because I ended up with ear flaps.

They're not too noticeable after being sewed down.

Had to take in the waist too

Daaaaa!

Noodly arms should not be confused with a lack of enthusiasm.  The Kid wore these into public, on purpose, and would wear them again if they weren't in the laundry. 

The Ghost of Thanksgivings Past

It's actually the thing that holds turkey legs together, but it looks like my dear departed Cody Beast.
Turkey butt was always his favorite.

Anthem

A Recurring Theme

 She is the very Mischief, a crooked girl who hopped from a crows egg hatched in a cuckoo's nest and ever afterwards walked contrarywise though the world.

 Patron Saint of Unintended Children, and people who come into our lives not intending to Stay. Also Foxes, Coyotes, Pigeons, Rats and Lost Shoes by the roadside.  

She is Mictecacihuatl, keeper of the Gates and Ways, Protector of displaced, discarded, dispirited and disenfranchised Peoples. Hers is all food eaten in secret, all forgotten truths and all hidden treasure.

Her Day is today, November 1st, Day of the Innocents.

A Long Year's Walk

My Dad had the recent good fortune and perseverance to turn 67 years old. As he did last year, he commemorated the auspicious event by completing his 67th ascent of the local Mount Moooooo (there may be an A in there, somewhere) and raising a toast

To Old Guys

 I made a picture about it with colored pencils and sent it to him. Customs rumpled it, rude bastards.

Long Bone, 18x24

 In anticipation of many years' more journeys.
Based on this:

Our lives shine for all to see.

Go In The Machine!

These days, if it's not one thing, it's your mother.

Mine decided she needed to supplement her attic insulation with 4,500 cubic buttloads of cellulose insulation. (the fancy words are a lie, cellulose means shredded up newspaper)
In August, in the warmth.
The unconventional wisdom being, that if you insulate the attic while it's 100-plus degrees outside, that heat will be trapped there so that it can keep the house nice and toasty in winter.
So I got to clamber up there with an extended-range fluff bazooka and blast away at the rafters for 3 hours.
Before the dust started, it was a silent gray snowfall.

THIS is the power supply for fluff-blasting. It requires two able-bodied persons to stand over it and crumble the bales of cellulose into manageable chunks. During my turn at this, I discovered the work goes by more pleasantly if one sings, "Crumble crumble crumble crumble crumble" to nearly any tune that comes to mind. Sadly the vocals are not included in this recording.

And now my camera is dusty.

Sighted Recently - The Grackle of Total Disillusionment

I gave him a french fry.

He wasn't cheered.

He may be afflicted with West Vile Nirus.

Old Bones Soup

Know which of my moving parts had the shortest warranty?  My freaking KNEES.

Preventative maintenance and minor repairs are accomplished with the occasional anti-inflammatory, frequent helpings of Jello, a glucosamine supplement, and my personal favorite,
Old Bones Soup!

Not all parts of the process are very photogenic.

I told you it was homely-looking

Acquire a dinner-sized portion of the bone-in beast meat of your choice.

Cook and eat, saving the bones, skin, cartilage etc.

Put these remnants in a big soup pot, cover with water,

Add vinegar (important because not only does it dissolve the cartilage, it helps leach the minerals from the bones so they may be subsumed by your bones) and usual soup fixins like salt, onion, carrots and celery.

Boil until you can't smell vinegar, then an hour or two more. There's no such thing as too long unless the water runs out.

Strain out the solids and keep the liquid. It should cool to form a proto-gelatin.
THIS IS THE STUFF KNEES ARE MADE OF, and it's in short supply in most diets.

Label carefully to avoid confusement

Freeeze it in an ice cube tray for later use .

I eat everything in there since I don't mind mooshy vegetables. But if you don't like mooshy vegetables, I suggest using the butts of the celery and onion and the carrot ends for this step to get their flavor, then discard and start with newer more desirable cuts of veggies if you're making further soup.

It doesn't have to be just soup, there are a multitude of uses.
You can add it to smashed potatoes.
Or...um...different kinds of soup. Or beans. Or mixed drinks. Go crazy.
Your knees will thank you.

Petroglyph

From the Pueblo people
(I read it in a book once. Or mostly just looked at the pictures)

It means, to leave the old village and establish a new settlement.

I would read it from right to left: the old village is rounded, familiar, woven with paths we can walk half-dreaming; the new place has corners, edges, to navigate it we must turn sharply and learn new angles.

For my Dad, who is starting on a new journey.

YOU ARE HERE

Yo Rethra! Quit piddlin' around, it's time to GO

This is my last week of employment at The Giant Kidney.
I leave behind a real Ostrich feather duster, a clock on every wall and a dear janitor friend, the lady in the leopard-print hat and an individual whom I know only as "Phlegmy". All in all, some of the nicest people I've ever cleaned up after.
 On to bigger and better things!