Black and White

Black and white skulls, a work in progress. I started out intending to make the border a riot of color, but The Brain is far too fond of all things black and white (paint, cookies, thinking), so we ended up with this. I feel like it isn't finished yet, though. I may go crazy and add some red.

Catch As Catch Can

Four seasons worth of Deadliest Catch episodes later (about fifty hours total), I'm finished with my crab fishing marathon. I am fascinated by the superstitions the fishermen adhere to; they have a laundry list of things that are banned from their boats, everything from bananas to suitcases to horseshoes to women. They won't allow things to be turned over or inverted on the boat. They all knock wood. It's pretty amazing to me so of course now I'm thinking of a series of carved plates that illustrate fishermen's superstitions.

I don't have so many superstitions but I do set up altars all the time, everywhere, and I am cautious about getting rid of the things that have been on the altar. Maybe that's a kind of superstition?

New Phones

Dave and I have new phones, smart ones. Not smart as in neat or handsome, smart as in smarter than I am. They have internet, of course, and all kinds of crazy things. Of course they have cameras and video recorders. But I can also do voice searches via Google. I can check my email online and watch videos. I can use it as an MP3 player. I can even make phone calls.  I don't know why I need such a smart phone, but I am glad to get a new phone.