Our flag did still wave...

But there was no mercy for random shopping carts left during the snowfall in Tops Plaza.

Some doodles from "Mom's Morning Out," the preschool thing where I help out with crafts once a week. We have a two week break right now. Actually, I have a three week break. I skipped out on the Christmas show and eating the cookies that the kids frosted themselves (yum yum, what are those little green decorations, honey? They look so tasty).

I never realize how many creatures come up to my front porch at night until the snow falls and they leave tracks. This looks like bunnies to me, although bunnies usually leave turds all over the place.

what does this mean?

Last night I dreamed that some engineers built an invisible roller coaster. It was fashioned after drawings originally made by Leonardo da Vinci. I saw some people riding it. George's dad was one of the people. George was afraid that his dad was putting his hands too close to the track. That was hard to know, of course, since it was all invisible. I was concerned that someone could get hurt, like maybe an airplane would need to make an emergency landing in this field someday, and run right into the roller coaster. Or maybe some kid would be riding a four-wheeler and run into it. There was an office there, and they wanted to hire me to sit at the desk. I wanted the job, because they said that I didn't even need to answer the phone, just sit there from 9am to 12pm, and I'd get paid.

I caught this blooper on CNN on Sunday

tee hee

memoirs

In 2000 we moved from Rochester, NY to Pittsfield, MA for George's new job. I was not happy about the entire situation and had no idea what to do with myself, except to go out looking for another picture framing job, which I had plenty of experience for.

All I've ever wanted to do with my life since I was a kid is draw cartoons. I guess this move to MA was the time when I felt desperate enough to just sit down and start drawing stuff, and see where it would go. I have always felt like a wannabe, and my drawings were really not that great. For some reason it is just in me that I have to do this.

A lady from George's company was there to help us find a temporary apartment. Her name was Gay Johnson. Whenever anyone would refer to her, they would always say "Gay Johnson," not just "Gay." Maybe she did the same. It must be a little awkward when introducing yourself for the first time, to start out with "Hi, I'm Gay." I'm pretty sure she said, "Hi, I'm Gay Johnson."

After she helped us find a place to live, I drew a cartoon on a little thank you note for her. This is a sketch of what I drew. I made some changes to the final one, which she has.




Gay was crazy happy about the card. She loved it, and this was very encouraging to me.



This is a bad sketch I drew of the apartment we stayed in, a furnished little one-bedroom place, connected to Mary Jo's Hair Salon.

I spent a lot of time sitting behind the kitchen table drawing and watching non-stop news about Elian Gonzalez.

For the next few years I drew cartoons and sent them to magazines, (and got rejected), and then there was a little ad in a local paper looking for an artist. I had enough cartoons by then to show them what I could do, so I had an interview there and got the job, freelancing for them.

For all these years it has been my goal just to make the same amount of money drawing as I made picture framing, and this year it seems I have finally accomplished that. It is a great feeling to be doing what I love to do. I can only thank God right now for the optimism I feel about what the future holds.

doodle of the day

He's friendly.