Magic Happens

One of my paintings was sold in an auction to benefit the school where I work.  The other day I found out which wonderful family had bought it and it made my day because I knew this family.  Then a day later I was walking my dog and I ran in to the lovely mom in this family.  And she told me that my painting was now hanging in her older daughter's room.  And I had worked with this wonder girl when she was in kindergarten.  And then I saw this sweet girl today and told her how happy I was that my painting was hanging in her room.  And she beamed with pure light, happiness, and magic.

And, and, and!!!

...and that is what I love most about painting.

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I've Got a New Job

Yup, I've got a new job.

And considering how imperative my boss made it sound, it must be terribly important.  Here's how the hiring went down.


Little guy:  "Come hang out with me while I work."  He was in the back yard working on building our new chicken coop.

Me:  "You're sawing.  I don't want to be in a cloud of saw dust."

Little guy:  "OK, then.  Hang out with me while I'm putting in screws."

Me:  "OK."

Little guy:  "And there's a job I need you to do.  I really, really need you to do this.  You're my mosquito swatter."

Me:  "How about if I just spray you with poison?"  (Yup, mom of the year, I am.)

Little guy:  "They don't care about poison.  You have to be my mosquito swatter!"


So how about that?  I'm a Mosquito Swatter.  I think I need a badge.

...and a monogrammed swatter.

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False Alarm

You know that moment when you hear your kid moaning and groaning in the other room and you get up and dash in there worried that something is terribly wrong...

...and it turns out he's just watching videos of men being hit accidentally or on purpose in that spot where men really, really don't like to be hit?


Well, I do.  And I think my fifteen-year-old will be hearing some version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" as a bedtime story tonight.

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Losing my Street Cred...Dr. Who Style

So I lost all my street cred yesterday.  My Dr. Who street cred, that is.

Yesterday my little guy and I had the opportunity to come upon a number of Dr. Who elements.  And here's why I lost my street cred...apparently being close, but not exact, is very much uncool.


What I said:  "Oh, cool, there's a crying angel."
What I should have said:  "Oh, cool, there's a Weeping Angel."

What I said:  "Look!  The 3-D printer is making a phone booth."
What I should have said:  "Look!  The 3-D printer is making a TARDIS."

What I said:  "Stand by the Oobleck so I can take a picture of you."
What I should have said:  "Stand by the Dalek so I can take a picture of you."


P.S. I was also told that by using the words "street cred" I'd already lost my credibility just by saying that.

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Kid's Got Mad Skills

The little guy and I went to the Austin Mini Maker Faire today.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  And I swear it was set up to show off my kid's mad skills (or at least his ability to pick up a mad skill at a moment's notice).

The first thing we just had to do was juggle.  We were shown how to do it and the kid started juggling within about a minute.  I struggled and struggled and finally got it.  And after repeating my success a few times my skills completely vanished.

The second thing we had to do were hula hoops.  The kid picked one up and was able to instantly do a trick I'd taught him back when I was taking lessons.  I gingerly tried a bit of hula hooping, had moderate success and set it down.  After all, hula hoops tend to give me blood clots (true story). 

The third thing we he had to do were unicycles.  He jumped right on one and took off.  There was no talking mom in to this one.  No way.  Not unless I had full protective gear and an even lower deductible on my health insurance.

Oh, and my mom's car went to the Faire, too.  She's now the proud owner of a fabulous art car...painted right there!

Good times were had!

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Tea Time

I sat at a coffee shop sipping my tea.  Dave had a muffin and coffee.  We played a game of gin rummy.  It was perfect.

And then it got just a bit more perfect.  A wee little sparrow landed right at our feet, looked up, and...well...begged.  In an oh, so cute kind of way.  I tossed it a few of Dave's muffin crumbs and it happily hopped about retrieving them.  I'm pretty sure it smiled and winked its thanks.

Lovely, lovely....

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Negative Image

As a kid I spent a considerable amount of time in the darkroom with my mom.  It was cool, fascinating, patience testing, likely toxic, but mostly cool.  While my mom may have been working on something very particular and likely teaching me along the way, what I remember most is the coolness of the room when it was all dark except for the amber lights that barely illuminated the activity. 

I remember the smell.  The way the wall and floor felt different than when the lights were on.  I remember the silence broken by the swishing of water and my mother's voice counting seconds aloud.  And I remember so, so many black and white images of myself hanging on a line to dry.

Making negatives positive....

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