Illustration Friday: Superstition

I'm not particularly superstitious. I step on cracks willy-nilly, I spill salt without tossing it over my shoulder, and I pay no attention to cats of any color.

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My mother used to have some sort of thing that you needed to exit the house by the same door you entered, or vice versa. I don't remember. My grandmother thought the weather had been messed up by the astronauts going to the moon. She also thought that if it rained while the sun was shining, then it would rain again tomorrow. She obviously didn't live in Arizona.

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This is a drawing I did on a book from the American Lending Library. It has no real relation to superstition unless you are a librarian, in which case you may believe that people who draw in library books go to hell.

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Or at least deserve to.

Tag, I'm IT.

I've been tagged. No one has ever tagged me before, so I must think heavily about this. First, here are THE RULES

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

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2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

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3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

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4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

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My five random facts:

1. I worked for Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood at one time. He was an incredibly real man.

2. I am planning my entire Thanksgiving dinner to be cooked and served on sticks: seafood kabobs, meat kabobs, skewered grilled veggies, bread sticks [they are their own sticks] and caramel apples, on a stick of course.

3. I am a biological mother, an adoptive mother, and a stepmother.

4. I have an IRA. [that would shock the heck out of my family]

5. I invited the Pope to my high school graduation, although I am not Catholic. He did not attend, but did send me a nice picture of himself and a copy of a mass for young people.

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Studio Lolo, Forever Young, and I can't think of anyone else to tag that wouldn't be irritated.

The piece at the top is a linoleum cut/collage/stencil.

Illustration Friday: Scale

Fun with Photoshop today.

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Unlike most Americans these days, my son is just a skinny thing. He likes to tell me he is macho, and loves to show off his muscles, such as they are. He weighs but 62 pounds soaking wet.

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When I was young, people who were overweight had the decency to wear something large and tent-like, but as more and more Americans creep into fatdom, those old inhibitions seem to have faded away. Here in Arizona, where it is always hot, there seems to be no end to the overexposure of flesh.

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We witnessed such an extreme example of this one day recently, that my son turned to me and said, "Mom, that's just WRONG!"

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Indeed. Where did those old inhibitions go?

Illustration Friday: Hats

I love drawing old men in hats, even though I hate driving behind them. They are never in a hurry to get anywhere. I drew this guy on the inside of a discarded book that had a map of the eastern US printed on it.

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I miss a number of things about the east coast, not the least of which is an obligation to be somewhat punctual. Perhaps it is just me. I am early or on time for virtually everything. Not so everyone here. Arriving a half hour late for any event is the norm. I can't understand it, but I have a theory as to why this occurs.

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Arizona does not spring forward or fall back. Arizona time is the same all year around. As a result, I suspect no one is really sure what time it should be so they just split the difference. It is a lame excuse, but it is the best I can come up with.

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I am so not getting this laid-back western way of life.