Two New Additions to Site

I just added a couple of Pee Wee Harris strips to the Pee Wee portion of my site. One concerns a better mousetrap and the other has to do with sandals and gophers. Hey, it's a living.

If I Get More Dinkin' Time

It'd be fun to do a little more with this little guy.

A Little Dinkin' Around

Don't get the chance to dink around at work too often. But yesterday and today I had a few hours to dink. It's here.

What I Came Home to...

Ilene and Becca set up a McDonald's in Ilene's room and David made his room into a camp site. Laura and I camped out in a tent by the fire and then ate at McDonald's. Doesn't get much better than that!

Zim Zamin' in the Snow

This was our Christmas present from my sister Christy and her husband Steve. It's even more fun in the snow!

Weather Report

A Winter Wonderland!

For fun today we didn't need to go far. We busied ourselves building snowmen, hurling snowballs at each other and playing Zim Zam in the snow. We are now waiting for the rum cake to cool. Mmmmm, rumcake.

Chief Meteorologist, Kibble Sez...

After close examination we report that snow is falling in Overland Park. At least in our backyard.

Chip Off the Ol' Block

O.k., so I signed up for this woodcarving class at work. It's been a long time since I've chipped away at the ol' block, a looong time. As is evident in this practice piece. The more I carve the farther this thing drifts from the drawing. The class piece will be bovine themed.

Pammy's Outrageous Ginger Cookies

These ain't no mambie-pambie cookies, these things can re-part your hair! The recipe is from my gracious and talented friend, Pam Sherrod and they are by far my favorite cookie. Next time I think I'm going to drop in some Tabasco just for grins. Be warned that if you make these you will have chunks of ginger and pepper between your teeth for the rest of the day. Don't hide it. Your broad smile shows the world that you're proud to be part of the Pammy's Outrageous Ginger Cookies family.

Mix: 1 egg, 3/4 cup of shortening, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup molasses

Then add and mix well:

A whole lot of ginger (several big hunks peeled and chopped. Impossible to add too much!)

2 and 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsp soda, 2 T black pepper (I like to use fresh ground pepper), 1/4 tsp ground clove, 1-2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, (You may add some allspice or nutmeg, too, if you like).

Make spoonful balls and roll them in white sugar

Place them on greased cookie sheet a couple of inches apart (They don't spread too much).

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

The Best Christmas Gift

O.k., I'm biased because this was my gift to the family but it's just so cool! A Carrom board should be standard equipment in any home. Today in Overland Park, Kansas it's in the teens with freezing rain. We don't have firewood but we DO have Carrom! Frozen fingers make for better shots anyway.

Free Cleaning Service Comes to an End

After church today the girls had hair appointments (note from Laura: This is very unusual to have a hair appt. on Sunday.) so David and I decided to go out for our Guy Lunch at Taco Bell (a gift from David to me for my birthday). Of course, any visit to TB must include a quick visit to Home Depot. We were mainly there for light bulbs but as usual other items caught our eye. This time it was this handsome broom and dust pan set. It brought back memories of my busboy days when the broom and dust pan were chief among my busboy equipment.

It also brought back memories of Josie. This chore of cleaning up the floor after a meal is unknown to us. Beneath Becca's chair was Jo-Jo's main hangout. Now, it's mine!

Pee Wee Harris: Finished!

It always feels good to finsish a Pee Wee strip. Once the color is in I make a few last minute adjustments. Then I send it off to Boy's Life for final approval and that's that. Now it's on to the next one. Theme: Backpacking. Any suggestions?

Pee Wee Harris: Step Four

Now the fun begins. The linework is finished and now it's time to add some color. I usually block in big areas first and work my way down to the smaller shapes. I keep my linework on one layer and the color on another. Once the base colors are in I drop in backgrounds and some shading on the characters.

Pee Wee Harris: Step Three Complete

Just finished the linework in Illustrator and have pasted it into Photoshop. I added the frames and brought the corrected text and word balloons over. Now, on to color!

Pee Wee Harris: Step Three

Linework time! At this point I've received corrections and suggestions back from my editor. I then open the sketch file in Adobe Illustrator and begin to create the black linework. This step can become tedious at times but it's also exciting to see the comic take form. Some items (like the background, dust clouds etc.) I leave to be drawn in Photoshop later.

Say "Nice Mice Nights" Three Times, Fast!

Check out the beautiful metal smithing of Jeff de Boer.
http://jeffdeboer.com/Galleries/CatsMice/tabid/63/Default.aspx

Finally, cats and mice have an even playing field!

Pee Wee Harris: Step Two

Now it's time to tighten up the sketch so that my editor can make out what's suppose to happen. The story is also tightened up and word balloons are added. This image is sent to Boy's Life via email to make the approval rounds.

It's That Time of the Month Again

It's Pee Wee time! Can you feel it! About this time every month I supply Boy's Life magazine with another thrilling adventure of everyone's favorite scout, Pee Wee Harris. I thought I'd use my blog to show you the steps involved in the proccess. Let's start with the rough.

This is just a quick sketch to get the layout right and to write the gag. This theme is "Special Cooking" so I thought it'd be fun to play on Pee Wee's well known shortcomings in the culinary arts.

Oh, Baby! I Want THIS!!!

Oh sure! I discover the Craftrobo in January - the month farthest away from December! Well, it's also the closest, but, you know what I mean. This thing cuts out paper model pieces automatically. You can drink coffee while this baby does the cutting and scoring FOR YOU!

I need to lay down.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

If you've never heard this it's worth a listen. I don't know who I feel more sorry for - the poor guy trying to cancel his account or the AOL schmo who has to antagonize people on the phone for a living. (Warning: There is one expletive - not for the tiny tots)

Quote of the Day

This is a wonderful quote for anyone who works in a corporate environment.

"You had nothing to say about it and yet made the nothing up into words."

-The Lady of Perelandra, Perelandra, p.75.

(Thanks to Pastor Weedon)

Proof!

David produced a real birth certificate for Plug! We just checked it out and he's a perfect match! It says: Dancing? Check! Singing? Check! Loving? Check! Tan spots, gold skin, red and black ears and a red spot around his "i".

I'm just relieved the controversy is over.

Everyone Now Has a Puppet!

Whew! Our family is complete. Santa was good to mom and now we all have a special friend. From the left: Maurice Green, Laura, Gilbert, Ilene, Ralphie, Becca, David, Plug, Kibble, Mike.

Look Out, Coffee!

Well, what began as an innocent desire to provide a coffee cake for my family on New Year's Day turned into a 3 day rolling/beating/rolling/mixing/rolling/chilling/rolling/chilling/rolling/spreading/twisting/baking extravaganza! Take Away? ALWAYS read through the entire recipe before you take out one rubber spatula. The actual end product was very tasty. Even the coffee-less kids agreed.