Friday, December 31, 2010

The end of a year . . . . .

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It’s still some time from the new year, but it is time for bed for us.  We’ve watched numerous bowl games and had a delicious dinner of lobster tail – cooked at home, of course.  The meal was supposed to be lobster tail, steak, and cheddar bay biscuits.  I did the steaks on the grill, but we didn’t eat them.  That’s for breakfast tomorrow.  We’ll have to eat them early as we’re hosting the annual “Bullfrog Family & Friends Brunch.”  I’ve got 2 hams to put on the grill.  Nothin’ like ham on the grill.  I also thought about putting ribs on, but Holly nixed that.  Maybe that’s a Sunday night meal . . . hmmmm . . . . . that sounds promising.  ■  2010 was a pretty good year.  Two weddings, I think one funeral, and pretty good health – except for my type II diabetes diagnosis.  Music was good with Bullfrog, but it seams that Bullfrog is coming to an end.  Heck, all good things come to an end.  Got the start of a new band going and if I could get my brothers-in-law off their feet we could have a new band with them.  I’ve got the cd of the recording that we did a couple of weeks ago and it’s really good.  Time will tell.  ■  Off to bed in a minute.  Got to lure the dogs out of our bedroom . . . . . ■ 

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A sad day . . . . .

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. . . our son left to go back to San Diego.  He was only here a week.  That’s not long enough.  ■  I’ve got a couple of errands to run this afternoon, so I’ve got to get going pretty quickly.  ■  I’ve got a couple of drawings to redo – I wasn’t satisfied with my initial efforts.  ■ 

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Hackney’s for lunch . . . . .

Went to Hackney’s in Lake Zurich for lunch yesterday.  Their Hackney Burger and loaf of fried onions are hard to beat.  122810_001■  Aaron goes back tomorrow.  He just flew in last Wednesday and now he’s got to leave.  It’s way to short of a visit.  ■  Got our annual Bullfrog Family & Friends brunch coming up this Saturday – New Year’s Day.  Still waiting to hear from some folks on that.  ■  I’ve got to get a drawing back to one of my customers.  I forgot to sign the drawing.  Pretty bad when you can’t remember to sign a drawing!  ■

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas drawings are done!

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This was the last one.  Finished and just waiting for the customer to pick it up.  ■  Picked up Aaron from O’Hare airport yesterday afternoon.  It’s so good to see him.  I think it’s been about a year since we were together.  That’s too long.  ■  I’m still not ready for Christmas, but heck, it’s not Christmas Eve yet.  Still time to find gifts.  ■  Got some errands to run. . . . . . .

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Drawings for Christmas are ‘bout done.

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I’m about finished with all of the drawings for Christmas.  Just a little “sitting time” on the last two.   ■  Aaron comes home tomorrow.  It’s only for a short week, but it’ll be great to see him.  I think it’s been about a year since we’ve last seen each other.  ■  Time for bed.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Yup, it’s winter . . . snow . . . cold . . . . .

122110_001Snow.  We didn’t get much – 3 or 4 inches, but it made driving miserable last night.  Today the roads should be better as they’ve been plowing them.  ■  Working hard on a drawing of a home in our neighborhood.  I’m about 1/2 done.  Much more to do.  Back to work.  ■

Has it really been a week since I posted?

I can’t believe it’s been that long, but I’ve been busy.  Lots of drawing and then a weekend up in Green Bay.  Now I’m back to drawing – 2 left.  ■  Green Bay was fun.  Jammed with my two brothers-in-law on Friday night and then again Saturday.  One plays great guitar and the other is a terrific drummer.  And me?  I played bass.  We recorded it.  I may put some up on the net when I figure out where.  I’ll let you know.  ■  TFB.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A building of historic value . . . . .

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Every once in awhile I get to draw something out of the ordinary.  This is a depiction of an Irish cottage from the 1800’s.  I only had a partial picture of the home, so the rest was left up to some detective work and some imagination.  I had done another historical drawing for this customer prior to this one.  It does make it fun.  ■  Only two more drawings to go before Christmas.  I’m working my fingers off to get them done.  ■  What’s with this coooold weather?  We shouldn’t get temps like this until January.  ■ 

Thursday, December 9, 2010

It’s cold . . . and snowy . . . . .

Yes, it’s cold – and it snowed today.  And my driver’s side headlight went out.  I’ve got to remember to head over to Autozone and get a new bulb.  ■  Had an appointment with the diabetic nurse and dietician on Wednesday.  My glucose readings are pretty good.  I’ve been watching what I eat and drink and it’s been paying off.  I still need to refine my diet, but I’m on the right track.  ■  I’ve been drawing like a maniac for the past couple of weeks.  I have some that will go out Monday.  Others will go out as soon as they’re finished.  ■  Next Wednesday I’m giving a presentation on my Pen & Ink business to my chamber networking group.  I’ve begun to organize my thoughts using some mind mapping software on my 120910_0011iPad.  I have the same type of mind mapping software on my pc and have used it a few times.  It’s a great way to visually organize your thoughts and ideas.  If you’ve never used mind mapping software you should try it.  The one on my pc is FreeMind.  It’s open-source and can be found at:  http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Check it out.  ■  Working tomorrow, so as I’ve said so often – good night!

Smile

Monday, December 6, 2010

One . . two . . . three . . . .

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I’m burning along on the drawing.  I’ve surprised even myself at how much I’ve been able to accomplish.  But I have many more to go.  ■  A couple of the toes on my right foot have been going numb.  This has happened over the past maybe 6 months.  Now I’m wondering if the numbness is due to diabetes. It is one of the symptoms/problems that I’ve found.  One of our customers has a diabetic brother who they refer to as “two toes”, as that’s all he has left are two of his toes.  ■  It’s cold here in Cary.  19º right now.  Tomorrow will have a high of 20º.  Brrrrrr . . . . ■  Back to work on my drawings – nose to the grindstone as it were . . . . . ■

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Drawing like crazy . . . . . .

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I’ve been drawing like crazy trying to get all the orders for Christmas done.  I’m making great progress, but I’ve got to keep my fingers to the pen in order to finish.  ■  Talked to an old friend tonight.  Tried calling him on his land line – disconnected.  Tried his cell phone – someone else answered it.  I had begun to think that maybe he’d passed away.  Finally I emailed him and he called me within a few minutes.  He’d gotten rid of his land line – that’s saving him about $1000 annually. Not a bad idea.  I know my across-the-street neighbor Jac has done that.  ■  I have another appointment with the diabetic nurse and dietician this week.  ■  Next Wednesday I’m doing a presentation at my Chamber business networking group’s meeting.  I’ll need to prepare for that.  ■  Looks like it’s nothing but cold for the next few days.  Brrrrr . . . already I’m wanting warm weather.  ■ 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Snow, but no picture . . . . .

What’s up?  Usually I always try to post a picture in my posts.  I think it makes it a bit more interesting.  No picture today – yet again!  ■  The new band is still looking for a bass player and a singer – hopefully both in the same package – but not likely.  ■  Almost finished with one of my Christmas rush drawing.  On to the next one tomorrow.  ■  The weekend is coming up.  It’ll be nice to be off, but working on drawing.  ■  At some point in the near future the new band will have to go into the recording studio to do a demo.  Anyone interested in one?  ■ 

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Still here . . . just been busy . . . . .

I know I haven’t posted in awhile.  I’ve just been busy with the past holiday, drawing, work, and a new band.  ■  I’ve also been testing my blood for glucose levels.  I’m getting’ tired of sticking myself multiple times a day.  ■  Tomorrow (it’s past midnight, so I guess it’s today) I’ve got a business networking group meeting at 8:00 am.  It’s after 1:30 am now.  Off to bed I go. ■