Run, run, robot.

Am thinking of ending the run on nuts. Thought I'd try terrified-looking robots instead. No reason, aside from that's how he turned out looking. (It's just been that kind of week.)

She tries.

This is Margaret. She needs a stylist. And a shoe budget.

Really nutty.

I'm accidentally drawing nuts. 48 cupcakes, three homemade cakes and as many birthday parties in one week will do that to a girl.

Nuts.

As if there weren't enough to drive us crazy around here, there are the nuts. The large oaks on our front lawn have unleashed their annual fury, pelting the house with acorn-bullets with every breeze and making it perilous to venture outside without a helmet. The squirrels are having a field day cracking them all open, launching them from the top branches to their waiting buddies on the ground and generally leaving a mess of sharp shells everywhere. Only the foolish (me) try to tiptoe through the minefield barefoot to retrieve the newspaper each morning.

Still, I can't help but find acorns really, really pretty.

Summer leaves.

Summer's definitely here, finally. But supposedly, today's the first day of fall too. Which explains all of the leaves on the ground and not in the trees.

My alien hand.

Yesterday I got stung by a wasp. Today, this is what my left arm looks like. If I could draw an itch, I would have added a prominent one but Photoshop is only so good.

My hand, by the way, doesn't always look like an alien's. Call it interpretive art.

Spare change.

After a long holiday break and time off to get everyone (including me) back to school and routine, here's a smiley bit of new school year optimism.

This little scribble is inspired by Jane's change purse, which currently contains her life savings of $1.42 -- all designated for the purchase of "her own horse", just as soon as possible.

Most useful cottage item.

Whoever invented these ought to be sainted. We have seven swimming kids around this week and I can't get enough clothes pins. They disappear like socks, I swear. I love them. To wit, "Clothespin Three Ways".

Ouch.

I was sitting in my hammock yesterday, enjoying my celebrity news when out of nowhere one of these came whistling down. Scared the crap out of me. (More than an unexpected encounter with wildlife.) I coulda been maimed, I tell ya. Instead, a couple of pages ended up stuck together, right at the part where I was going to learn the latest on Jon & Kate. Damn.

Back again ...

It's been a busy, short week back in the city. Work is really picking up, plus I'm working on a really cool illustration project on the side. Which leads me to this sketch.

It's for a canvas I'm going to paint (!) for sombody's first birthday. If it works, I'll post the result, kind of before and after.

Off to camp.

Claire is off to her first weeklong sleepover camp. She's got everything on her list. And then some. I just know she's going to have a blast. I hope she'll want to come home at the end of the week ...

And finally, the space traveller.

During last week's downpours, Will requested I draw him as Astronaut Willem aboard his own rocket. With fire and jets. And the moon. And an alien ship. And a few asteroids. And one meteor. Voila.

More rainy day creativity.

And then there was Jane's request. In honour of the four inches of rain that came down sideways, she decided that a mermaid would be a good subject.

Then, she added lib a bit to her mother's shocking lack of detail. After all, what mermaid doesn't lounge near fish and a lily pad? (with a few strands of seaweed thrown in for good measure)

Rainy day talents.

Yesterday was a thunderstormy day. At the cottage, we played umpteen rounds of Uno, Crazy Eights and Sorry, did a few Perler Bead crafts (don't ask), went into town and visited the library and ate peanut butter chocolate ice cream. Lots of it. And in between downpours, I had the kids race out and bail out the tinnie (our small rowboat), just for fun.

Just as we were almost out of ideas and solar power, the kids asked me to draw them things to colour. (Why didn't I think of that?!)

Over the next few days, I'll post their efforts, beginning with Claire.

She wanted a sketch of a vase of flowers, and then wanted to know exactly what species each of my made up blooms were, so she could colour them accurately. Sigh. And so started a conversation about 'artistic license'.





Am thinking I should farm out this blog and make 'em earn their suppers.

City mice meet Cottage Mouse.

As well as being off the grid, our cottage is pretty remote. That means it's on other critters' turf. Some of them aren't giving up property rights easily.

That's OK. We're armed with peanut butter.