Word on the street is that Perp Choc is saving the drawing of me (Kurt) with my finger up my nose* as a Christmas present. That I am the only one on the street saying this doesn't mean that it isn't true. Especially as other people on the street are now repeating it. Soon it will have to be true.

*It has been said that I am picking my nose in the picture. This is untrue. My tradition is to pose for photos around the world with my finger in my nose, but it is merely a pose; no picking takes place (at least not during the taking of the photos). Like Vicki Stripɘs, my nose has traveled much and deserves to be featured in trip photos at least once per voyage.

Here's where I'm at on the bull frog.

Today Mr. Hunter and I were discussing what he should be for Halloween this year (you can never start planning too early!) and he was thinking a vampire.  I explained to him though that it's currently in style to be a sexy vampire without fangs, not a scary one.  He doesn't agree with my assessment of the current trends and spent the afternoon practising his scary vampire face.

Mud Lake

Click any photo to bigify

I thought it would be a good idea.....hiking around Mud Lake.  I suppose for most people the name of the lake would have sent up warning signs but I'm not that bright.  

We drove down and I had intended on just going for a little walk.  We kept taking paths ending in dead ends.  Eventually we made our way completely around the lake.  It ended up being an hour and a half.  Not bad.  At one point when I knew we were headed in the right direction but not sure exactly where we were we ended up at the pond where we catch bullfrogs which is part of this water system.  We had walked almost all the way home.  We now had to find our way back to where we left the car.

Two of four found a boggy area that had mud like quick sand.  We eventually managed to get her out and retrieve her shoe.  One of Four got stung a couple of times.  The area is infested with poison ivy so it will be interesting to see if anyone gets it.  I don't seem to react to it.....well, not in the past anyhow.  Hopefully they are the same.

The little grey squirrel in the picture jumped out at us along the path and ran at us.  Apparently he's used to being hand fed I suppose as there were peanut shells all over, and I all but had to beat him off with a stick.  He didn't buy that we weren't there to feed him.

Two of the kids don't want to ever go back.  Wimps.

Eclipse

I've started the background.  You may ask yourself, "come on!  How long does it take to colour a piece of paper a solid blue."  Well when you're "scumbling" it takes about 2-3 hours per layer.  You draw in wee, itty bitty little circles.  I go clockwise with my left hand and counterclockwise with my right.  It gives it that uneven, sponged look.  The more layers I add the more smooth it will appear, but I think I like it looking a bit choppy like it is.

I still have to work on the hands and then I'm tout fini!

I took kids 1 thru 4 to see "Eclipse" bright and early this morning.  We got there an hour before the show and there was a fair sized line up already.  Of course there weren't many teens in that crowd as everybody knows teens don't arise from their own crypts until well after lunch.  Mine did because there was no way I was going to stand in line for a few hours in the pm to see a movie. 

Oddly enough, most of the patrons that filled the theatre, and I mean filled it, were people aged 35 and up.....well, women 35 and up.  Some had Twilight t-shirts on even.  They didn't even bother to bring kids with them to make it look like they were going only for the kids and not for them like I saw in some cases.  Uhummm....not that that's the case with me or anything.  Okay, maybe it was, so sue me.  I like the books.  I like the movies.  I want to be a teenager again.  Only wealthy with my current knowledge base and not have to live back with my parents.  (No offense Mom and Dad but you cramp my style and I don't want a curfew again.)

Anyhow, now I can't wait for the next one to come out.

Expressive Figure Painting ~ Done

The painting classes are done for the semester and although I still have a wee bit of work to complete on this one I can do the rest without the model.  The model liked the work and asked to photograph it and asked if she could post it on her facebook page.  It got me thinking about if it were me in her place would I post it on my blog ?(since I don't do facebook)  Ummmm, NO!  I don't think I'd want everyone seeing me nude.  She's a brave lady.

I asked her if she wanted it and she does so it will have a good home when it's complete as I don't see it hanging on my livingroom wall.  She's such a lovely lady I was happy offer.  She told me no one had ever offered her the art before.  My other two nudes from class (the paintings, not the models) are behind the freezer in my basement.  I suspect from talking to other artists that most art done of nudes end up in basements all over the city.  I'd prefer to get it out there somewhere.  Wouldn't it be funny though if she just put it in her basement?  I suspect that won't happen as she is quite proud of her job and I'm sure she'll want to show it off.  One of the other artists was quite taken with it and also wanted to photograph it so I let him.  Made me feel like a rock star;-)

Hot Chocolate should recognise this model.  He has a chalk version of her from the class he attended with me last semester.

One in the Hand

Click to biggify

Time to start something new.  I feel a great need for colour right now and to practise working in something other than flesh tones.

Off to the right is the start of my palette.  It's not a comprehensive guide and will grow as I "feel" out what colours I'll need.  I put down a basic colour or two and then compare it to the photo.  I adjust as needed multiple times and thus accounting for the various layers in the finished work.

Example:  the arm was started with a light layer of cream then deco pink on that then light peach.  It looked too peachy so another layer of pink.  Then it looked like it was more purple in the picture so I added a layer of greyed lavender.  Then it needed more pink in some spots and peach in others and a cloud blue in the dips in the flesh.  You keep building on the previous layers as they are transparent and show through until you hit just the right value, tone and hue.  I can do this more easily with coloured pencil but paints are definitely a work in progress!  Now this fellow is a chanllenge and may make my eyes go buggy so I suspect he will be worked in small parts divided up by many, many breaks.

A Tribute to Perp Choc

When I first discovered Perp's blog, she had written several hilarious posts about racing to catch the school bus with her kids. I don't have a very good memory, and I might be confusing her with another blogger, but she still gets credit for those posts in my mind.

I have read her continuously ever since, with breaks to sleep, eat, and go potty. I cherish her sense of humor and her frightening reactionaryism. Her posts about the artistic process remind each of us that we can't draw. Though busy lives and responsibilities to pets sometimes keep us from visiting her blog every day, we always return here, unless she has deeply offended us in some way.

Let's face it - blogs are so 2004. But Perp Choc soldiers on - against all common sense - because we need her. Without her posts, how would we fill the empty hours, except by watching five additional minutes of television? So I salute you, Perp Choc, for your tireless commitment to whatever it is you do here.

Kurt

I am posting on this blog

I would like to apologize for how long it's been since my last post, but it's quite a ways to Perpetual Chocoholic's house. Until they invent a way for one to post remotely to another person's blog, I must make the long flight each time. But it's worth it to make you three or four readers happy.

When I got back from the airport, the folks at The Apple Store emailed to say my Mac had been repaired. In the olden days, when you went to pick something up from the repair shop, you simply entered the shop, said "I'm here to pick up my [obsolete electronic product of yore], and someone named Mack or Ted went and pulled it off the shelf and handed it to you. Total time: 3 to 5 minutes, plus a few minutes to bullshit with Mack (or Ted).

But in these modern times, the process has been considerably lengthened by technology. First, you wait for a sullen youth to check you in (it'll be just a minute while she shows a guy some phones). Then, after check-in, you wait for your name to appear on a giant screen indicating that it is your turn. Even though you are only picking up, you have to wait behind everyone with a scratched iPhone or an iMac with a kernel panic. Finally, another sullen youth hands you your computer and mumbles something in reply to your questions re: what exactly they did to your computer. Total time: 30 minutes, plus 0 minutes for the little pleasantries between people that make life worth living.

My Mac is better, while the world grows worse.

More On Rats!

Peanut

Cookie Monster

In my last post Serena commented, "... I've heard rats are very clever...but they seriously know their names?? That's so cool!"  And although I was a wee bit on the grumpy side today, thinking of this lifted my spirits a bit and I thought I'd talk a bit more about rats.

The set of sisters we had previously were Cookie and Peanut.  Each knew their own names respectively and would only come out if you called for them specifically.  One of Four would take them out each evening to watch t.v. or read with her in our big leather chair in the livingroom.  Cookie was the more curious and friendly of the two, anxious to meet any new person to visit the house.  Particularily if they didn't like rats.  This made them both even more eager to visit with the newcomer.

Cookie would stand watch on the arm of the chair.  That was her job.  Peanut was (and still is) the cuddler who just likes so soak up the love and loves to sleep curled up beside you.

Our two new rats, Squeekers and Sugar, learned their names within the first week or so of moving in.  Sugar seemed to learn hers slightly quicker than the other.  Our other two ladies were refined, friendly and quiet from day one.  Our two new rats are silly, hyper, friendly and mischievious!

These two new rats like to play games.  They love to wrestle with your hand, play tag and hide and seek.  First you grab at them while they run away, then you pull back and make scratching sounds on the surface they are on.  Kind of like you'd play with a cat if you like getting scratched up.  They run and hide then turn and pounce on your hand.  You chase again....etc....  They realize it's play and not a threat to them so they don't scratch or bite.

Rats do make a good pet if you can keep them from figuring out how to escape their cages, and they're much better company than many of the people I know.  Probably smarter too;-)

Oh Rats!

If you ever should decide that rats are a good pet for your child then remember to make sure the ones you purchase are stupid.

The ones we bought recently are two very smart rats. They are hyper, friendly and indeed very smart. Yesterday I noticed when I got home from art class that they were not in either of their cages. I'm not sure how they managed to escape, but I found purple nail polish pooled on the floor and splattered up the wall. I'm not sure what other damage may have been done as of yet other than the general disarray they caused.  . Hopefully nothing more than a scattering of rat "nuggets" around the desk on which I found them lounging. I called them each by name and they came out to greet me. Yes, they do know their own names. Thankfully One of Fours bedroom door where they are kept was closed or they may have become doggie treats or even worse, the dog may have become a rattie treat!

It's Monday.  Just thought you'd like to know.

The Dog Park

While I was walking Mr. Hunter at the dog park this morning I was trying to think of the human equivalent to this glorious place.  All the dogs happily romping through the fields, sniffing and peeing.  Excitement visible all around.  Where can humans feel such joy.  Walking up to a stranger sniffing their butts, drinking pee water from a puddle, eating poo.  Okay, maybe it's a good thing there isn't a human equivalent after all.

WooHoo! I've Been Published!

I'm so excited I could pee myself....again!


I just received two copies of "Aquarium Fish International" magazine in the mail. I stopped subscribing to this a few years ago and was puzzled. When I started flipping through I found a cartoon I had sent them a couple of years ago in hopes of getting it published. They sent me a contract to sign then I heard nothing from them and assumed they'd forgotten about me. As my moto is "If at first you don't succeed, then never try again," I only submitted the one just to test the waters.

Anyhow, it's in the April 2010 edition and it's about a clown loach in a little clown hat and that's all I'll say so I don't get sued.

I'm still waiting for the cheque.  Wonder if they forgot.

Guest Post #5 by Kurt of Other People Exist

Today I will be traveling via jet airplane from the large and famous American city where I live to a different city in another place.

Lately, whenever I fly, at some point I become convinced that the plane is crashing. The last time I flew, the plane descended rapidly from 35,000 feet to 8,000 feet while we were still an hour away from our destination city, which I've forgotten. I knew death was imminent, and if "Sully" Sullenberger has taught us anything, it's that, in a crash-type situation, there isn't an announcement until right before you die ("Brace for impact," he announced, a few seconds before he landed in a river). As it turned out, I didn't die; the captain was presumably just crazy and/or high.

Whenever I become convinced that the plane is crashing, I look to the flight attendants, and if they appear calm, I conclude that perhaps I am wrong, and perhaps we are not falling from the sky. Once, over the Pacific, our plane flew through a bad storm. We were tossed about, and water started dripping from the ceiling. The captain instructed the flight attendants to take their seats, and I noticed that one flight attendant had a look of pure terror on his face. That worried me.

Unexpectedly, I lived, and so did the flight attendant. They say you are more likely to die while horsing around with a loaded gun than while traveling by plane. While, intellectually, I understand that, I love horseplay too much to stop.

Okay, I'm starting to figure out what art is.  I've done some more studying.  Listened to some instructors.  I've been asking lots of people I come across.  Pretty much everything is art.  It's just whether or not you have enough confidence in your art that makes others believe what you do is art.  If they tell you they don't think it is you need to make them understand their opinion is meaningless.  If the artist believes his/her art is art, then that's all that really matters.

Now, the next question I have is, what is normal?  Behavior, the physical, mental, spiritual.  It's quite the conundrum.  I'll be working out this one for a while I suspect.

I'm still waiting for people to send me their drawings of nudes.  Mr. P even said he'd do one for me and I've never seen him draw anything in the entire time I've know him. 

Guest post #4 by Kurt of Other People Exist

I never understood why blog readership drops on Fridays. If, as is generally supposed, visiting blogs = a slow day at work, then there should be an uptick in site traffic on Fridays, when employees are traditionally screwing around, often with the boss's blessing, if he/she is there at all. If I remember correctly, on Fridays there is sometimes even some tomfoolery and light drinking. At least there was at my elementary school.

For those who, like me, don't work, Fridays should be no different than any other day, blog-wise. After morning coffee, we wash our cup and saucer, stare emptily into space for a while, then lose ourselves in the meaninglessness of the Internet, filling the empty hours until our eventual death. Am I right, people? Without the Internet, I'd have to increase my staring-emptily-into-space time dramatically.

So where is everyone on Friday? If you are not reading this, then you know the answer.

Warning....this may be disturbing to some viewers;-)

I walked into the kitchen this morning to 5 individuals breakfasting.  This one is eating a chocolate chip from one of the muffins.  Apparently she's a chocoholic too.  In case you are wondering....we don't encourage rats at the dining table.  This one was slipped in, in hopes of going unnoticed.

Next issue of OPE is in the works!  WooHoo!  Check out Kurt's blog for subscription information to the Other People Exist zine.  You can have it delivered in hard copy to your front door!  (Or back door, or side door, or to your mailbox......)

New Drawing~Hair Series

[click to actually be able to see something]

I want to apologize to the readers looking forward to a humorous post from Kurt today about the humorous things Kurt writes about.  It's just me again, and I understand how frustrating and annoying that can be. I can't write humorous posts, and I haven't seen a guy nude in weeks, oh wait....that's not true;-)  Although I haven't flexed in front of the mirror lately, I have started another drawing.  Unfortunately it's not a naked pseudo Kurt since my drawing class isn't until tomorrow.  (sorry Emma!!!)  Here you go anyways....

Steps 1 through 7 brought me to this point.  Only a gazillion more to go.  It's hard to tell, but the basic sketch is now faintly put on in various colours.  Some first layers of colour are also on such as the blue in the face that is in the shadow.  This is a series I want to do showing very expressive hair.

Post #3 from Kurt of Other People Exist

Question: you want to get a comprehensive cholesterol test (called the VAP test), and the least expensive option ($79) is available from the good people at AnyLabTestNow.com. Do you use AnyLabTestNow, given that their website (captured below) includes the important question "Is you heart healthy?"

click to see the site in all its glory

Guest Post #2 by Kurt of Other People Exist

I want to apologize to regular readers of this blog who were looking forward to an interesting post about the artistic process from Perpetual Chocoholic. It's just me again, and I understand how frustrating and annoying that can be. I can't paint caterpillars, and I haven't seen a guy nude in weeks, unless you count me. I see me nude a lot, usually while applying deodorant or just flexing in front of the mirror.

I flex in front of the mirror to track my muscle development, of which there has been none. My observations indicate that my muscles have been in stasis since I was fourteen, but one should still check now and then, or in my case every day. This would be a good spot for a photo of me flexing my muscles but, unfortunately, I cannot flex and take pictures at the same time. Yet. Perhaps when my muscles develop further.

Would I pose nude for a drawing class? Absolutely. As a longtime visitor of nude hippie hot springs, I've put in thousands of hours of naked time. And as a longtime unemployed person, I could use the money. References available on request.

Feet, Sugar, Squeekers and Kurt

Feet from Wednesday's class.

Sugar

Squeekers

We introduced peanut the rat to her two new friends this morning and her depression over the loss of her sisters company visibly lifted.  The two baby rats ran up to her and checked out her dairy section.  She took this as a sign and started mothering them as if they were her own.  She kept them close to her, watching to make sure they didn't stray off too far.

After she settled down for the day in her nest, the youngsters continued to explore their surroundings ocassionally passing through her nesting area to check out her bedding.  Eventually she decided she was too old for that crap and didn't really want to be a mother after all as it was interupting her beauty sleep.  (Now be honest, who of us hasn't thought that at one time or another!) I believe she eventually came to the conclusion that she didn't want to look after someone elses brats and put them good and rightly in their places.  I moved them back to there own cage unharmed but squeeking to the relief of Peanut.

Now enough about me.....

For all of you out there who are experiencing OPE withdrawl like myself, maybe if we ask nicely, Kurt will put up another post on this blog?!!!!  I found that throwing tantrums doesn't really work with him (I've tried when he cut down on postings on his blog) so maybe if everyone asks nicely with me he'll write some more!  Pleeeeeease Kurt!  (Begging has never worked for me either, but maybe en mass?)

If you are usually just a lurker, now would be a prime time to speak up!  It's not every day anymore that we have access to such a talented celebrity of the blogging world!  (Can I suck up or what;-)

Gone To The Big Cheese In The Sky.......

Cookie went to the see "The Big Cheese" this morning while the girls were getting ready for school.  It was sudden, a seizure it seems.  There were many tears and her sister even seemed a little freaked out.  Even the dog was upset and hidding.  All those emotional females were too much for him.  Funeral services and what we will do with the body until the thaw is yet to be determined.

On a happier note, I want to thank Kurt for guest posting on my blog.  I was extremely excited when he accepted my invitation.  When I told my family they were pretty much indifferent to the idea but that's not suprising since that's how they are about my own blog;-)  Three of four fondly remembers Kurt as "the bacon guy" who posted bacon fashionably dressed in a party hat on New Years that would pop onto the screen. We still reminisce about the good old days before Kurt obliterated his blog and took it down to about a dozen posts.  I know there are many that miss his blog.

I drew kick ass feet yesterday in my "Expressive Drawing" class.  I'll post those later in the week.  I wanted to enjoy Kurt's entry without feet sitting on top of his post.  Hopefully Kurt will post something else.  I have no plans to remove his name from my blog.  If you are interested, or even if you are not, he has an OPE zine that you can subscribe to that comes out in hardcopy.  Just visit his blog to find out how to subscribe.  It's a reasonable price and definately worth your while!

Guest post by Kurt of Other People Exist

Thank you to Perp Choc for inviting me to guest post on this blog.

I also love chocolate, 72% dark to be precise. I use to buy the giant bars from Trader Joe's and eat about a half hour's worth every night after dinner, but after ten years or so, I decided that might not be good for me. Everything in moderation and all. Now I have one square after lunch and sometimes another after dinner. Nutritionists say dark chocolate is good for you (it has flavonols and it lowers your blood pressure), but not to eat more than a pound a day.

Like Perp Choc, I also enjoy drawing. I've been drawing since I was a little boy and I ate moderate amounts of chocolate. All teachers know that, when it comes to drawing, some kids just have it, and I was not one of them. Then, one day in 1993, while camping in the desert, I took out a notebook and began drawing cartoons, and I haven't stopped since, except to buy more notebooks. I even got one published in a magazine that subsequently went out of business.

Here is that very cartoon, now removed from this post (©2003, Kurt).

More Winterlude

This street should look familiar to the person who told me that it's a good thing that my Granny in Heaven doesn't have internet access because of the kind of words I used on my blog a few days ago;-)  (I knew if they read it I'd be in big trouble!)  God does have access to the internet and He scares me more by the way;-)

This is the street I grew up on along side the canal.

Skating on the Rideau Canal

7.8kms or 4.8 miles of ice to skate on!

I grew up along side the canal.  I spent countless hours after school and on weekends skating up and down the full legnth no matter the weather, as long as it was open.  In 2005 it was recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records as the longest skating rink.  It's also a world heritage site and a whole lot of fun!

I remember one year when there was a concert at one end, at Dows Lake.  There were so many people packed onto the large lake that the whole surface dropped and sank.  Luckily it's not so deep as it's drained every fall;-)

Reboot

I think quitting is like rebooting your computer.  Sometimes things freeze up and you just have to restart to get moving again.  So here I am.  Freshly rebooted and thinking that that last tantrum took out much of what was on my blog.  I changed settings, took down pictures and I don't remember what all.  That was a serious attempt at bloggicide.  Oh well, next time I don't want people in my head any more maybe I'll just pretend it doesn't exist for a few days.

"Who The F**k Are You?"

If you are my Mom, Dad, or Aunt L. who smacks her kids with her slipper when they misbehaved, please don't read this post.  If however you do, call before you head over to see me.  That way I'll have at least an hour head start to get away before you get here.

So I went to Walmart to purchase a copy of "The Who : Greatest Hits."  I was never much of a music lover until my late 30's when I actually started listening for the first time to music other than classical.  Now I only listen to rock.  Not that washed out mushy crap, but the real stuff.  I watch the various CSI shows and their theme songs so I thought I'd like to get a Who CD.

I played the version of "Who Are You" that was on the CD and got to the end of the song when I started wondering where the hell the fuck went.

Every time I hear the song on the radio with the kids in the car I cringe when it plays.  If I'm paying attention I mute it for that bit of the song or explain that that's not a nice word for the rock stars to be saying if I miss the fuck.

Well, my CD is missing the fuck.  When I told Mr. P the fuck was missing he insisted that I must have just not been paying attention and so we listened to it together.

"Yes, your right....they said H.E.Double Hockey Sticks instead!  We both felt a bit let down.  After all isn't H.E.Double Hockey Sticks a worse thing than Fuck?

Mr. P. suggested I bring my new CD back to Walmart and tell them that the fuck is missing and see what they say.  After all, I didn't get the "fuck," what I expected, and I don't like the "hell," what I got instead!

I guess the good news is that I won't feel bad playing it in the car with the kids.  Now that they've heard the original though I know they'll be wondering where the fuck the fuck is too and I'm sure they'll ask.

Hilde Lambrechts

Okay, I quite my blog earlier this evening.....again, but that was before I went to the art show and I just have to tell you about it.

I went to Hilde Lambretchs vernissage at the Rothwell Galleries with my wonderful cohort "Adventurer."  Her art is incredibly beautiful and ranges from sculpture, pen and ink, pastel, to oil paintings.  She is a most creative and versatile artist!

It was a crowded affair, but as we made our way through the gallery I started to notice the most remarkable thing!  A number of the guests there were wearing clothes that shouldn't be!  What the heck am I talking about?  These are the people I'm used to seeing naked! 

This past Wednesdays "hand" model was there, the larger more volumptuous one from last semester, even Pseudo Kurt was mulling around fully dressed.  (Eat your heart out Emma!)  When I noticed this I pointed each one out to Adventurer and we were watching as Hilde pointed out to the various models which of her works was based on each of them.

And.......I found myself  BLUSHING! 

I can't explain it.  I see these people naked for 3 hour blocks of time once a week and I'm not phased.  I see them fully dressed out in public and I turn beet red and start stuttering.  I had half a mind to ask them to undress so I could speak with them sensibly.

Hilde also gave me some wonderful news she heard at the art school to do with my own art.  It made me not want to quit art again for now....for a few hours anyways.

Anyhow, since I've dismembered much of the blog I suppose I should carry on through with my tantrum and quit again tomorrow.  I'm sure my sour mood will return in the morning and I'll find yet another thing to demolish on this site.  But for now, what a lovely evening and I better go to bed while I'm on a roll.

Third Times The Charm...

Time to keep my thoughts to myself again!

"Say Goodnight Gracie"....."Goodnight Gracie"

Love Perp.

Wednesday's Expressive Drawing Class~Hands

Sorry boys, no boobs today.  Our subject today was hands and our model remained fully dressed for these particular sketches.

I have been focusing on hands during my own morning sketching practices and spend approx. 1 hour at a time drawing one hand.  We had 15 minutes to draw both.

On the first one I was feeling utterly frustrated thinking I was drawing complete garbage when the instructor came along and praised the drawing.  She then gave me some pointers as she usually does with each student.

The woman in the class whos drawing I thought was the best actually didn't "cut the mustard" so to speak.  I don't know.

I suppose that mine are more painterly and less linear and flat.  They lack detail which is what is supposed to be the case with this type of drawing. 

What worries me is that how will I know if what I'm striving to achieve is correct.  I suppose that's what taking classes and experience will show me.  Maybe then I'll have a better idea about what makes art art.

Next week we return to a male model.  Probably not pseudo Kurt, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for Emma's sake;-)

Thanks once again to "Hot Chocolate" for todays entry. If only he would have posted himself!!!

....and a more recent one when I came to my senses re: the hair style.

Enough already Hot Chocolate!

Another one from "Hot Chocolate".

I'm alone.

Strike two and three....I'm out!  The people I come across on a daily basis to whom I've made the offer have refused to guest post on my blog.  They say it's because they're busy, but I see that deer in the headlights look when I make the offer.  People that don't already have a blog are afraid.  I'm not quite sure what it is that scares them so much.  It's not like I'm putting down their real name and address;-)

My art instructor at the art school keeps speaking of the need of artists (and I would stretch that to include writers too)  to put themselves out there for public viewing and scrutiny.  A basic need to express themselves openly.  I suppose not all of us have that.  We all may share a fear of failure but only certain of us are willing to risk that happening publicly.

BIG Friggin' Solid Unpenatratable Fences Make For Good Neighbours!

I went out to draw with 2 of 4 and had a lovely productive session.  There's nothing though that can ruin a good mood like a nagging neighbour. 

I had seen her early on while shopping in the grocery store.  I avoided her at every turn until I ended up having to wait at the meat counter.  All 5 staff were very busy not working and unfortunately....let's call her "Joan" (cause that's her actual name) sauntered up beside me.  D'Oh!

"Hi Joan, how are you and your family doing?"  I asked politely with a smile.

"Fine thank you, I noticed your hedge bounced back up." she said without even a breather between words.  I have been avoiding this woman for well over a year now and the first thing she says when speaking with me...IN OVER A YEAR....is this!

"Uh ya, Mr. P. went and shoveled the top of it off and it straightend up again." I replied.

"Well I was going to come and talk to him about it because it was leaning and we couldn't park our cars properly (they have 2 cars and 5 parking spots) because it's in the way and it looks awful too." she glared at me.

"I believe the reason it was leaning might possibly be because you keep snowblowing the snow from your laneway onto the top of it which causes it to bend towards your property." I say realizing she's not swift enough to realize the weight is all coming from their side.

"Huh, well, it's probably Don's company that's doing it because we hired his guy to come and do our laneway so it's not us doing it."  I almost slapped my forehead when she said this.  Now it is an unrelated neighours fault because she hired the same company to do their laneway.

"That's okay.  Makes no difference.  In the Spring the whole hedge is coming out right to the very back of the property." I pass this revalation onto her for the first time.

"Oh good!" she says excitedly

"I mean the WHOLE hedge right to the back you know....." I say again.

"You'd be suprised at how much extra room you'll have!" She says smiling back at me.

What she hasn't put together yet is as the owner of a pool she will be forced by law to put in a proper fence of a specific height at a substantial cost no less.  Since we aren't the owners of a pool it is completely up to her family to have it put in within a certain period of time once the hedge is out. 
\
We've been after them numerous times to fix a small existing fence that keeps sprouting holes with poor results.  We've had their dogs coming into our yard through holes, ours go to theirs and we were terrified when the kids were young they'd get through over to their pool through one of these holes.  They haven't fixed it properly in 20 years.

I walked away muttering something in front of my daughter that I shouldn't have.  I told Mr. P. of this whole encouter when I got home and he told me not to "let her rent my brain space."  When I mentioned what I had called her in front of Two of Four he said,

"Now if Jesus had been there, what would he have done:?!"

I replied,

"I don't know, but he probably wouldn't have called her bitch!!!"

GoodBye to Hot Chocolate and Hello ???

On behalf of "Hot Chocolate" I'm posting this picture he just sent (even though he didn't say I could.)  This was taken along the St. Lawrence Seaway some years ago.  I certainly wasn't lacking in hair.

I had just sent out my first invitation for this week.  The person had shown some interest previously but has since changed their mind.  Let's see if there is anyone else that I can get to accept for this week in their place.

My Trip To The Dog Park~By Mr. Hunter

Here I am awaiting Perp for my weekly trip to the dog park.  Women!  She always keeps me waiting!

Here I am meeting my new friends.  I don't bother with the bite sized dogs.  They aren't  tall enough for me to "make friends" with.

(click to enlarge and see my scary look!)

Here's my new friend Brody.  He was my favourite 'cause he liked to play piggyback with me all the way around the park during our hour walk.  He liked me to ride on him.

I'm not sure what the words "dominate" and "horny" mean, but I recognized the words "bad dog" and perp didn't seem pleased as she was saying them.

I didn't like this puppy much, but perp was offering to trade another dog  for it.  I wonder who she was talking about.

Stupid cute adoptable puppy was getting all my attention.

Here I am quietly playing with Brody when this great dane comes and sticks his nose into my business.  I was not impressed and I tore after him like a bat out of hell!  I showed my teeth and snapped at him and gave him my very scarriest growls.  He was very afraid.

Here's the great dane running away like a big weenie.  Perp said something about me not being worth the effort for him, but I know it was 'cause he was scared!  I was on the verge of taking that big bad boy down!

I rule the dog park!

P.S.   What does the word "RETARDED" mean?