Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Project Christmas Card

My mom found this old picture that I panted I don't know how long ago and asked me if I wanted to use it for this year's family christmas card. I just looked at her and blinked. "I can do a lot better than that now." I said. I took the picture from her and scanned it into the computer and began to re-do it. It took me most of the morning but I ended up being rather happy with the result.

Ah the beauty of photoshop. So anyway, now she can use it and not make my friends and relatives wonder why the quality of my artwork suddenly decreased. Heh Heh.




Saturday, November 27, 2010

A Useless Holiday Ramble

So, Winter is more or less here and biting harder than ever. It's the start of Holiday shopping when everyone runs around like crazy and people trample over others just to get what they consider good deals. It's the time when people put up their inflatable snow men, plastic candy canes and light up Santas. Nearly all the music that is heard this time of year is Christmas music. Small evergreens sit in parking lots, their roots wrapped in gunnysacks. Artificial trees pop up everywhere in stores with white and yellow tags hanging from them declaring that they are pre-lit.

People bend under the weight of their holiday shopping and gasp at the quickly decreasing amount of money in their bank accounts. In-laws come to visit, stress levels are high and children point at every shop window they pass and ask if that toy, or that toy might end up in their stockings. Many look forward to this holiday season and yet they dread it, wishing it would end quickly so they could get back to their normal lives.

As for me, I sit back and watch it all, do a bit of shopping of my own and roll with whatever is thrown at me. After all, this only happens once a year and it is better to enjoy the chaos then it is to fight it.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Move

Let me see, what has happened?

We managed to get everything packed up and left New Mexico for the last time on the second. It took us nearly a week to get to Maryland and the trip was no picnic. It's a bit difficult to take one moving truck, one suburban pulling a trailer and one pickup pulling a trailer and three cats and four dogs and two rabbits and seven people anywhere I think. Plus, when we were in Indiana, some jerk driving a grain semi backed into my dad's pick-up rendering it un-drivable. We had to get a rental car and leave my dad's truck and trailer in Indiana while we continued on our way.

We got to our rental house and were greeted by a handful of friends and family. They helped us unload the moving truck and then we spent the next few days trying to maneuver around the house without knocking into boxes.

My Dad recently went back to Indiana to pick up his truck and we finally unloaded THAT trailer last night. My room is mostly box free now, but the basement is another story. I don't know how long it will take us to unpack it all. or if we will. We are in a rental after all. We are hoping to find somewhere more permanent.

I have lived in Maryland for ten days now. I must say it feels like slipping on an old shoe. After all, I grew up here. It's interesting seeing familiar places. some of which have changed drastically and some which have not changed at all. I am very happy we moved back.

I do hope we can put a new shower head in the bathroom though. it's driving me crazy!