I’m bad at posting again

Posted by jupe

I know that I should be posting more often, but I’ve actually been really busy lately.

First off, I’ve been working on Strange Romance like a mad woman. I have finished all the inking and need to do the colouring. I’m waiting on my writer to let me know if he would like me to do watercolour and marker or digital. Either one is fine with me.

Secondly, I’ve been saving up for a new drawing art tablet. It’s not a Cintiq, as I’d be saving for years for that expensive sucker, so instead, I’ll be getting a Yiynova MSP 19U+ v5. They should really come out with a better name for it. Anyway, it’s supposed to be about as good as the Cintiq and about $2000 less expensive.

Third, I’ve been going to a lot of conventions.  MCX was my first convention and I did amazingly well. Since then, I’ve been to Oshawa con, where I did okay, and to Forest City Comic Con, where I did really, really well again. I’m getting the hang of tabling and have big plans for an upcoming convention in December.  I have two more cons before the end of the year: Sheridan College con, which is a Friday con, and Festivus con in downtown Toronto, where I am sharing a table with my artbuddy, Chris.

I have a ton of knitting to get done, as well as more prints. I’ll be working on crap every single day until the end of the con season of 2015…. and I’m already thinking about 2016. It’s going to be a busy rest of the year 🙂

Habits, habits

Posted by jupe

I need to form the habits again to be posting every single day.

It’s amazing how when you stop doing something for as little a time as a week, the habit just falls away. I was writing and drawing everyday and posting both and then after the week before Christmas, stopped. I will commit to this again.

On the drawing front, I actually HAVE been drawing on a daily basis, but I just haven’t been posting anything for it. I’m working on the Surge still and I’ve finally finished the concept drawings for Toronto Comix vol 2. I just haven’t been posting them because I’ve actually been ill the last few days.

Even as I type this right now, I have the chills while sweating.

Last night, we took the tree down and I did a good chunk of the work while sitting. Sweeping and bending over took a lot out of me and when it came time for bed, I passed right out.  I had another cramp attack earlier that day, too, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as before, which leads me to believe that it might’ve been a symptom of what I have, considering that Alex had the same cramps a couple days ago.

Or, it was psychosomatic.

Anyway, Alex came home early yesterday to get Nick to Beavers because there was no way in hell I was in any condition to drive.

Today was garbage day and we didn’t get anything out last night. I was in no condition to carry anything up and down stairs and I can’t really blame Alex for not wanting to be alone in taking out all that trash.  Instead, still sick, I took the trash out today. We missed recycling again.

Sunday was a great day. I went to Cindy’s house for a few hours and blended/carded some fibre I’ve been meaning to take care of for a long time, now. I also did some work on a sock that’s been a WIP but put it down after about five rows out of frustration of fucking up. When I got home, I had to cook dinner, and the rest of the evening was spent playing Grey Warden Sparkletwat in DA:O.

That’s that, I suppose. I’m going to get some drawing done, fold some laundry, then stretch out and try to recover until I need to get Nick from school. I have to cook dinner again tonight and I just feel like shit. Still, I have to do it.

Feh.

Happy New Year

Posted by jupe

What can I say/ I’m exhausted. I’m also old.  No new years parties, no countdowns, no getting loaded. I stayed up till 2am playing Dragon Age and only knew that midnight was coming around when my husband’s phone warned us that it was 11:59, then when my watch beeped at midnight.

Alex got up with the kids this morning and let me sleep a bit but that was rudely interrupted by a little monster with freezing cold hands pawing all over me.

I’m not really impressed. I just want some time away from the kids and the house and for recreational purposes. Not because I have to go to a class (which I do love, just to clarify, but it’s learning and Ty’s classes are intensely brain melting), nor because I have to get groceries or go shopping. And I certainly don’t want my break to be because I am granted two hours to run errands.  Toronto Comix is about as close as I get to time to myself these days, but again, it’s business. It’s a meeting. My brain is always going.

I miss knitting. I miss hanging out with my local friends because nobody wants anything from me. They talk about any shit that pops into their heads. I can swear as much as I want without worrying that a three year old is gonna start dropping F-bombs.

I’m just tired.

Alex goes to work tomorrow, so again, as usual, with the kids I’ll be. Saturday is Lisa’s. Sunday, maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to spend some time with friends.

Maybe.

It just HAD to snow…

Posted by jupe

It feels like every time we get really bad weather, I have to go to class. Of all days, it’s always when I am going to downtown Toronto in the middle of rush hour.  As I mentioned yesterday, we got some snow. By some snow, I mean 15cm of snow. For my American readers, that’s about six or seven inches.  Add, on top of that, the wind blowing it around.

It made for some really treacherous driving, as the roads were slippery and the plows can’t be everywhere at once.  I left home at 3:30, got Nick from school, and got to my husband’s workplace at 4:15. After that, it was actually surprisingly smooth sailing.  I was really pessimistic at first, but I suppose that more people than not decided that they’d stay at home and NOT drive.  All the better for me. Greg and I got to the Korean restaurant at 5:15 and waited an hour for the others to show up. Then, it was a matter of SHOVELING our food into our pieholes and arriving at class just when it was supposed to begin. At least we made it.

I got some really good feedback on my story and have some significant changes to make. I’ll sit down with Alex this week and make those changes. Also on the list, lots of stuff. Here’s a checklist, mostly for my own reference.

 

  • Work on Red Surge inks
  • Work on pages for Condo story
  • Get prints made for the table at comic con this Sunday
  • assemble craft for Nick’s teacher
  • draw picture for Nick’s principal
  • knit cowl for Nick’s librarian
  • knit for my mother
  • knit for my cousin’s son
  • knit for my niece
  • laundry — dear god, the laundry
  • dining room table
  • drive out to a secret location to pick up a secret gift for Alex
  • go giftmas shopping for the kids and get gifts for Alex from the kids
  • bake cookies with Nick

So much to do with such little time. So much to do that I don’t wanna do it… but it has to get done.

Off I go to knit.

Still Ploughing on!

Posted by jupe

Well, I’ve finished some art today. Page 1 of The Red Surge is finished, all inks and lettering complete. I need to do some of page 2 today, and I need to do some knitting in the worst way.  I also need to draw a picture for Nick’s principal sooner than later and finish his teacher’s Christmas craft.

Oy, vey. Have I taken on too much?

It snowed last night; how rude. About a foot of snow on the ground and probably an extra hour to and from my class as a result of it. I’ll be leaving home right after Nick gets out of school and braving the terrible drivers. Snow, I can deal with. People? Not so much.

So, yesterday a few things happened.

I spent the day drawing and inking, as I usually do, and Rusty didn’t nap. We went to get Nick, then went to CostCo because Nick had no more snack foods for his school lunches. Once that was taken care of, we went home, only to find that the gifts that my mother had sent us were left on our doorstep by UPS without a signature or confirmation. Just left out there for anyone to take, should they desire. What a piss off.  I brought them inside, then I dropped off the groceries, and then we went back to school, the three of us, because Nick had his Christmas concert.  Alex was stuck in traffic because people are morons but made it JUST in time for Nick’s performance.  I didn’t properly videotape it with the phone because I was distracted, but we amusingly discovered that he’s the kid who yells the lyrics of the sounds, rather than singing them. It was adorable.  He was also very into the choreography and whole ordeal. Such a good kiddo.

During the show, Rusty decided that he was gonna be a terror, more than usual.  He got out of his seat, pushed past the people in the aisle, and made his way right up to the stage where the kids were doing their show.  One of the teachers grabbed him and brought him back to me, then the lovely librarian took him to the kindergarten room so we could actually watch the show.  Later during the performances, she had brought him back to the gym where the Principal was keeping an eye on him.  Unfortunately for him, he took his eyes off of Russell for ten seconds, during which time Russell made another dash for the stage, and was once again apprehended.

I was just glad it wasn’t my fault that time, and thankful that the little bugger didn’t make it ON the stage, as he knows exactly how to get up there.

We had Harveys for dinner afterward because I had a coupon and Nick took FOREVER to eat his burger. I’m talking, 40 minutes to eat a kid sized burger. Bloody hell, kid, seriously? We spent way too long there cos all Nick did was fuck around.

The last stop was the dollar store for some candy canes for our trees and for gifts.

When we got home, Alex rushed in and I took care of getting the kids inside. One of our letters in the mailbox was from the dentist’s office and they had misspelled our last name, meaning I couldn’t mail in the claim. That, coupled with the kids being wild animals, I was happy to get Rusty and Nick ready for bed. After the kids were in bed, Alex and I worked on my homework and I think we have a nicely solid story in mapped format.  We’ll see what kind of subplot Ty will throw in there for us. Tonight, if class isn’t cancelled, Ty will also be teaching us how to write a roast, which will also be awesome. I can’t wait 😀

The last thing I did before bed was work more on The Red Surge. Sometime while drawing, the layers got merged down. I didn’t notice until I was out of Undos. OMG, I was PISSED. I put the work down for awhile and played PVZ until bedtime. This morning, I rectified the mistake and finished the work.

All good, all good.

Oh, I also stepped on what used to be a banana, all mushy and cold and slimy, on a chair which I was resting my foot on. A gift from Rusty.

How thoughtful.

Monday was exhausting. Tuesday is another day of doing stuff.

Posted by jupe

Yesterday was a busy as hell day.  Between daily drawings and planning crap and getting dental stuff sorted, I was ready to nap before I got Nick from school — but I didn’t. I got him from school first.

So, Nick got home, watched tv, and I passed out for about 45 restful minutes with only a couple interruptions from my spastic three year old.  The kitchen was still a mess and I was lazy, so I just made the kids Kraft Dinner, which went over really well, and by 6:55 I had Nick off to Beavers.  Then, it was up to me and Rusty to get some shopping done for holiday fun.

We piled into the car and drove over to the Oakville Michael’s where I picked up a bunch of kids craft items, plus the elements to make a lovely wreath for the front door. Almost everything I bought was half price so I ended up getting a lot of handy stuff for the kids to play and create.

Alex helped me get the garbage out after he got home from Fred’s. Fred is off to South America and none of us know when or if he’ll be back. He’ll be missed. Alex brought home some new mugs and bakeware and spices and such, which Fred had to get rid of. Thank you, Fred. 🙂 Bon Voyage.

After he got home, he basically dumped the cats litter box on me, when it’s well overdue to be his turn to clean it out, so in exchange, I made him finish cleaning the kitchen — which he overdid, and I am not complaining about. I can actually breathe in there.  At this point in time, it’s about 12:20am, and the litter box is now empty. I went back upstairs with it to fill it, only to discover that we were out of litter. So, I got dressed, drove to Metro, and bought some, all whilst grumbling. The self checkout there is SO cumbersome. DO YOU WANT THIS? DO YOU WANT THAT? DO YOU WANT THE OTHER THING? CAN I INTEREST YOU IN? LET ME HOLD YOU UP SOME MORE. For fuck’s sake, just let me pay for my cat litter and fucking go.

When everything was done, it was 1am and I was ready to pass out… and boy, did I.  Alex was even kind enough to let me sleep in until he had to leave with Nick. Bonus.

I want to start baking some gingerbread soon, so I need to make some templates for a gingerbread house to bring to next week scouts party. Icing is easy and candy is cheap when you get it at either the dollar store or the bulk barn. It should be a pretty fun house to smash.

Any additional gingerbread I have will be made into cookies and iced accordingly. I’m also considering shortbreads because it’s been a couple years since I last made them. Perhaps, perhaps.

I have a lot of knitting to get done. I should stop procrastinating and get it started today; I have two dolls done and two to go, plus three gifts for people at Nick’s school.

Hm. perhaps another cup of tea to get things going. Genmaicha was my daily tea and it was pretty nice. A lovely earthy, roasted flavour. It was offputting at first, but after the second sip, I decided I liked it.

Let’s see what I have to show in tomorrow’s post.

Chugging along.

Posted by jupe

Well, I was up fairly late last night writing, but I got a bunch of kinks worked out. The story is coming along really nicely. Hopefully, I’ll have the script done by Thursday so I can ask Ty what he thinks of it and for any ideas. The story has really come a long way since I pitched it to the class and I’m actually really proud of myself.  I’ve thought of a bunch of great angles and shots to draw and I’ll be headed down to the area I need to draw to take photos soon. I want to have all the pencils for my story done by Christmas.

And all of this is thanks to Ty’s writing class. If any of my readers are from Toronto and if any of you want to draw or write comics, take Ty’s course. It’s worth it a hundred times over.

In other news, we had a family game day, yesterday. Nick played Wii Sports and Wii Play all day. He loves the mini tanks game the most and is getting better and better at it. We ended game day with Mario Kart.  I think Sunday will be the game day if he’s had a good week and that Wii would be a good reward for when he finishes his homework.

His reading is coming along really nicely. He tries to read everything he sees and gets it right a lot of the time. I’m really proud of him.

Rusty’s speech is also coming, though slowly. He’s picking up more words. I worked on and finished his word charts yesterday. We have a schedule now and a “I want” chart so he can tell me what he wants without screaming at me.

I’ve decided on life drawings for today for the daily drawing. I drew Russell from an existing photo because he’s a squirmy little bastard who won’t stay still. It looks like him, so I feel successful today in my art.

 

Today’s tea was Canadian, EH? from T by David. Super smooth and yummy.

 

Today’s agenda is pretty chill. Nick is home from school with a mild fever and a sore throat so I imagine the tv and the cartoons will be going all day. That’s all right. At least I can get some things done.  if I get a chance, I’ll head up to see my knitting friends later and drop off their popcorn orders from Nick’s scout troupe.

On the knitting project front, I have one doll dress to make, the brunette doll, a dwarven battle bonnet, a cowl, something for my mother, and a mystery gift for Ty. I’ll post pics of the projects after Christmas so that nobody is inadvertently spoiled.