The Dream Goat

brighterGOATHe looks better with a slight cheek bulge.  I didn’t know if the goat was chewing anything when Darla asked me to draw it, but I couldn’t imagine a goat without something in his mouth… but then again I didn’t imagine a goat with a bandana or a billy club either.  One of my sister’s friends dreamed up this image.  He (or she) told Darla about the dream, and she described it to me in a text over the weekend and asked if I could draw a bearded billy goat wearing a bandana and holding a billy club.  I added the “wife beater” tank top for good measure.  Chalk this drawing up as a dream come true.

Look What The Wind Blew In

kid artI found this piece of art in the driveway.  Our neighbors on the corner are moving and this blew out of a dumpster that’s in front of their house.  They held on to this picture for a long time because their kids are well past the age group that produces images like this one.  I always wonder what the artist was thinking when I see these types of pictures.  Is the person in front of a window?  Does the person’s expression reflect happiness or exasperation?  How long has he or she been shaped like a letter from the alphabet?

The Offer And The Acceptance

bigphoneWednesday I answered a phone call from Brennan, The Talent Acquisition Manager at KU Med.  He offered me a full time job with benefits and I accepted it.  I start training May 3rd to be a Patient Service Representative!  I’ll be checking people in when they arrive for their doctor’s appointment.  I also received an official offer from the hospital via email.kuofferletterI realize they probably send this letter to everyone who is hired, but when I read “You have impressed us with your skills and background…” it felt personal in a good way.

Lost The Cent

orangecentAdd the cent sign to the list of “Things I Thought Would Always Be There.”  It’s still possible to make it with a pencil or a pen.  Here are the instructions:  write the letter “C” and draw a vertical line through it.  However if you want to type the cent sign, the key isn’t there anymore.  The process involves a manual and the proper tools.  Make sure you have a ruler and plenty of thumbtacks.  If that doesn’t work, try holding your tongue a different way and you might be able to produce something that looks like this: ¢

Inside Van Gogh

insidevangoghThis year I’m going to step inside a painting.  It could be Starry Night (above), it could be Sunflowers, I don’t know how many I will experience, but I’m willing to try all of them.  An Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit is coming to Kansas City and I’m on a waiting list for tickets.  This is actually the kind of experience I would like to create for audiences.  I’d like to make a space where people go in and something happens and they are changed… like apples dipped in caramel.

Spinach On A Cymbal

spinachhihatLook!  There’s a boombox, spinach leaves, a hi-hat cymbal… it’s the stuff that dreams are made of!  I could live in a world like this.  This particular piece is titled Communication With Departed Souls Via the Amplified Sounds of Spinach Leaves Dropped on a Hi-Hat.  My friend, Bryan Voell, has a steady hand and a cool imagination.  He is the creator of this and other illustrated works.  You can see more of his drawings and collages on bryanvoell.com.

Four Year Old Jam

adelynnlincolnThe sky was blue and the grass was dry.  Conditions were perfect for an outdoor birthday party.  Last Saturday Adelyn and Lincoln, turned four together and a handful of us came outside to celebrate the milestone.  The birthday kids played with their cousins on the playground next to the shelter, after that they sang The Wheels on The Bus, and then they opened their presents and ate birthday cupcakes.

Numerical Memory

hawkeyeradarI’ve looked at hundreds of case numbers on my contact tracing job over the last three or four weeks.  The names used to stand out, now it’s the numbers.  I write down the last four digits of a patient’s case file to keep things straight with my quality assurance checks.  When those numbers look familiar I can’t help but notice.  Yesterday a different number jumped out at me and wrestled me to the ground.  I entered data from the 4077th row of the spreadsheet and told three of my co-workers.  Two of them knew the significance of that number.

Something Old, Something New


After hearing this you’ll swear the Man in Black is singing from the grave– but it’s really Marty Stuart. This song is only three months old!

The Electric Grandmother

This grandmother started out in Ray Bradbury’s imagination when he wrote I Sing The Body Electric in the 1960′s.  She cooks, she cleans, and she can squirt orange juice out of her index finger.  NBC originally aired this sci fi children’s program in 1982 about a robot grandmother who cares for a family after their mother dies.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll wish you had your own electric grandmother when you’re done watching this.