Gin & Tonic & Optimism - New Cards

I’ve observed the greedy, groping limbs of an Octopus on television.

I SEE YOU, OCTOPUS.

I SEE YOUR SELF-INDULGENT, FLESH-LIKE, SUCTION-COVERED BOUGHS, BUMPING ALONG THE OCEAN FLOOR.Sea Creatures are on my mind because I’m back in Barnstable. Ah, Barnstable. How is it possible for the sunsets to always fill me with awe, the hammock to always fill me with peace, and people to always fill my belly with booze on the deck overlooking the Great Salt Marsh?IT’S A TOUGH LIFE.

Oh, BOTHER!

One more kitten needs adopting.

AND how about this card?

BECAUSE ALL I EVER THINK ABOUT IS CATS.

Help. Me.

Kids (like mine) graduated last week,houses were open, cards (stuffed with money) were given… And I realized, THESE KIDS NEED THANK YOU CARDS.

And always the giver, I made this:I forced my son to read this handy blog post about proper thank you note writing.

You’re welcome.

LAUGHING THROUGH OUR TEARSWE HAVE NEW CARDS!

TWELVE OF THEM!

Meat suits,

tuna-filled mice,

hungry wolves.

AND SO MUCH MORE!

Have a look!

Tib mouthed these words while she nursed her latest brood:

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death.

Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more.

It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.Do you see what I’m working with here??

She just gives and gives AND GIVES.

Ah, suckle away…

The weather is (finally) nice and that means the shop is open!Like, LITERALLY, open.

I observed Jen scurrying about (just like the mice we had to poison last year) while I took photos of The New Cards. Here’s a teaser:

I won’t even speak of the weather BECAUSE IT’S UNSPEAKABLE.

You can’t break me, Weather.

You’ll never break me.

Everyone knows that the only cure for the cold is wood type. And alcohol. 

Jen and I have been having a debate about the next birthday card. And by debate, I mean she is, like, “I don’t care.” Doesn’t she know the dangers of Not Caring??

ANYWAY, here’s the card. BTW, that’s a vulture, waiting for you to die.

Whew! This birthday was a doozy!

Yes, we played 221B Baker Street.YES, we ate ham & swiss sandwiches.

Here’s a new birthday card… that girl and pig look familiar…

Oh, another Spring is here!

Should I have photographically documented the first card printed for our Spring Release?

Probably.

But I was pretty busy having a Nurse Jackie marathon.

I DID write/design these:See how I give and give and give??

Growing up one block South of Lake Calhoun in the 1970’s meant two things:

1) Over-charging for watered-down Kool-Aid on the boulevard

2) Wearing a neighbor’s pilly-bottomed blue leotard for a swimsuitLike little ducklings, we’d follow my mom down the block for a day at Thomas Beach; she’d stand ankle-deep in the water, hands on hips, plotting. And staring at the only skyscraper in the Minneapolis skyline.