Elderly Man…

…heh…he’ll get the joke.

Though really, my dad isn’t elderly. Far from it, having survived a heart attack and does his best to walk every morning, test himself on the fitness trail at the local park, and continues to work and play with his trains; along with help me go about maintaining a house.

For those who don’t know me, I’m a Daddy’s Girl! I adore him to no end! Why? Because somehow he understands me enough to make me laugh at my own quirks. He’ll occasionally call me his son, vaguely due to the fact that in high school I picked up a nickname of the male gender; because…well…I’m not all that feminine personality wise! When he bought the women in his family porcelain pendants, he was so dead one with the dragon (as I’ve seen them around before but couldn’t decide which one I wanted if I ever could afford one) that I haven’t taken it off since. And though he occasionally forgets that I understand logic and physics (a class I should have taken in high school instead of chemistry), it’s fun to see the delight in his eyes when he’s reminded and reiterates how I’m not all that girly.

I LOVE MY DAD! And I have some really fun memories that even revolve around his previous birthdays!

I spent my first summer as a SCAD student at home with my parents. By the time Dad’s birthday came around, I was working the graveyard shift at a nearby gas station. It was pretty fun, despite being left in the sub-station making coffee and muffins in preparation for the morning rush that I was normally gone in time for. I had worked the night before and into the morning of his birthday, and had asked for his birthday night off so I could enjoy the day with him, Mom, Statler, and Kermit’s godparents at…HERSHEY PARK! Why there? BECAUSE WE LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS! Mom doesn’t, but Dad and his girls do! OH THE FUN!

So I get home from work at around 6am, wonder into my room to find…!!! A computer game I had been obsessing about (I can’t wait for Dungeon Siege 3 to come out next year!) all summer and a DVD drive for my computer! That’s right! Dad gave me gifts for his birthday! How awesome is that?! My friends still can’t figure out how that works, but I’m not going to question it. All I know is that when it comes to his birthday and X-mas, all he ever wants is to spend time with his daughters. No other gifts really matter as much.

Excited about the DVD drive because I had gotten a movie that I couldn’t watch because…I didn’t own a DVD player; I accidently woke him up trying to install the damn thing into my computer. Sadly, I couldn’t remember how to open my computer to install it. He had been hoping to wake up to find me playing the game so he could watch me play it…just to see what it was like, but of course…that wasn’t the case. “Go make breakfast and I’ll have it up and running by the time you’re done!” The computer was put back together and the game was up and running like I said it would be! And I was overjoyed when I got to get past the part where the DEMO I had normally stopped me. Basically, my convincing argument for getting the game: I work overnight hours. None of my friends are up that late to chat with, and I don’t want to keep you and Mom up watching TV. What better way to keep my sleeping schedule in tact by playing a video game on my nights off?

Now, I know what you’re thinking, as my sister didn’t understand why I worked the night before Dad’s birthday and not ask for it off along with the night after. I didn’t want to risk for asking for too much time off then. Heh…I knew what I was doing. Basically I took a catnap on the drive up to the park (hour long), to which we went around riding roller coasters, including a kiddy one that was like taking a trolley around a western themed area that helped to settle our stomachs for lunch. Seriously…it was that tame. Then there was the original Mighty Mouse that Mom rode because it didn’t have any loopty-loops; she can’t handle the good stuff. And after some disappointment in waiting in line for a coaster ride that had been on and off all day, they went to ride the teacups with Mom and then drove home. Hour long actually dead asleep nap in the car again, and then I was up all night playing my game. That’s right! I had the college student stamina back then to endure being up over 24 hours, take a short nap, and stay up another few hours…all to spend time with my dad and play a video game! WEEE!

But the best birthday was his 60th! It was the first time visiting my current home town, seeing their new house, and going to the local tavern. And the way Mom set it all up was amazing! Two weeks earlier we were all in NYC to watch a Yankees game for the last time in the old stadium. Dad with all three of his daughters, one of which lives in NM while I was living in GA, so he really didn’t expect to see either of us for his birthday. The boyfriend at the time and I drove up with the cats, cause Mom said we could, with the money she gave us to cover gas and food.

Before that, she had been emailing a close friend of Dad’s about coming up to visit, and he, the Giant Leprechaun, changed the title and format of the email to make it look like he was up and coming for a visit, kind of like a last minute decision. There’re plenty of Civil War battlefields to visit in the area, and he and Dad are into the history of it all, so it made sense. Dad was excited; he got to hang out with his buddy for his birthday. Passing the house in the car, GL parks it up the street and meanders into the yard…knocking on the door when he says Mom through the window. So he and Dad go to the tavern for a drink and don’t get home with his car until JUST after me and the bf start unloading ours of the cats and luggage. “What a surprise! What are you doing here? And you brought the mangy beasts?!” “Mom said we could!”

We were in the middle of talking about something in the living room…as we normally do…later that evening when the bf goes to put a can in the recyclable bin out back. As Dad has his back to the doorway, and the bf just so happens to be out back in time to let her in, Kermit quietly sneaks in with her newest baby...who is sleeping so he’s obviously not loud enough to draw Dad’s attention. She stands there for a minute or two before announcing her presence; to which Dad nearly has a heart attack! It surprised him so much to see my sister there, because she lives so far away! Again, Mom fronted the money for her plane ticket…just to have the three of us there for his 60th! Statler picked her up at the airport and let her borrow one of her cars to drive into town.

The following day, GL, bf, and Dad go walk Antietam Battlefield and later go to the tavern again for a beer and oysters. On and on Dad talks about this Beer Tasting Dinner that they occasionally have and how he’s never been to one but they sounded great, with good food and beer from all over the world. Five course meal cooked fresh with produce from the local farms and a different kind of beer to compliment each course. Oh! I can’t remember everything we had, but the dessert was my favorite! Flakey kind of pastry with cream and fruits! I wish I could have it again…

Low and behold, the next day, for Dad’s birthday, more people show up by surprise, and not only that…they’re there for a BEER TASTING DINNER Mom had arranged for the big day! He’s declared it the best birthday of his life. Mom really outdid herself this time around, with all the surprises and having his daughters there to share it with. Hee!

Happy Birthday, Dad! Can’t say today is going to be as good as two years ago, but I’m sure you’ll love it either way!

A Long Awaited Return…

I was expecting to be back on after my birthday, maybe a week or so afterwards when things with the new how were falling through. But the bank got its act together, and low and behold, another couple of weeks blew right by me and landed me moving again. I swear, once I turned 30 everything came crashing down on me; new house, new job, now new internet and the prospect of new projects from two different writers. My prints, windows, and merchandise might not be selling well at the shows (though I was excited to sell my beloved dragon throw pillow to a young girl who seemed quite smitten with it, how giddy with joy I was at the thought of it having a good home! ), but the idea of other people liking the various styles I have to offer to put a visual aspect to their stories gives me hope; hope that maybe my Illustration and Sequential degrees will actually be appreciated.

My cat is still coping with the move, having stayed with my parents and their two cats for so long, filled with empty promises of a place of her own only to finally be fulfilled. The only problem she finds is that she’s completely alone when I’m away at work, or out doing something. She pines for attention and affection when I get home, purring ceaselessly, and rushing up the stairs in hopes that I’ll follow her to the bathroom to turn on the faucet. That’s a habit that really needs to be broken.

And so I look back in the past few weeks to see what I’ve done. Artistically, I’m working on three designs for my sister and a few friends to put up on my second CafePress shop.
http://www.cafepress.com/CerynitisD
I know that I will be constantly updating and rearranging this shop for a long while…as right now it is split into three different sections, soon to be four different sections, which will eventually be split into their own sections as I organize the types of images and artwork I put up on there. All in all, I hope it makes it all the easier for people to find what they want and understand the concept behind the images I put up there. Or…it could just turn out to be futile and nobody buys anything in the end. Either way, I’ll continue on with my own progress.

I have been thankful for the part time work I’ve picked up, as thus far it’s given me plenty of days off to attempt to work around the house, go visiting with family, and work the First Fridays…thus far. The hours seem to be pretty descent, and if they keep up as they are I should be able to scrape by with what I make. Means I probably won’t be saving much money for my candle venture, but I suppose that’s what tax returns are for. If they’re anything like what I got back from the past couple of years, it’ll be seven years before I get the money saved up for my candle business; that really disheartens me as I was hoping to get started on it sooner before I start losing hope on the idea again.

I was saddened even more when I came to the realization that, except for my favorite librarian who checks up when he remembers to and a girl I role play with when I remind her to, none of my friends really read my blog. They don’t look for the art, don’t read my updates on my personal life…nothing in my feeble attempt to try and keep in touch with them. If it’s not on FaceBook, then I guess it’s not worth looking at…? I hate thinking like that, believing that my friends don’t care for me because I’m not chasing after the latest and greatest fad…which to me, FaceBook and MySpace are just that…one more thing to get needlessly excited about only for it to get ignored later one by Twitter or the next best thing that has yet to come. LiveJournal turned out that way back in the day, right? Even my librarian admitted he doesn’t keep up with that as much as he used to. So I kind of have to wonder if it’ll be worth joining up with it in hopes to reacquaint myself with my friends again…or if it’s just a trap to be easily found by others I have no desire in getting to know all over again. For whatever reason, I really enjoyed the idea that I can manage to disappear, as I found out when my high school couldn’t find me to send my 10 year reunion invite, and my ex-comic partner thought I had disappeared from the face of the earth…just because I stopped playing all the expensive games that she required everyone to play in order to keep in touch with her.

Ah well…it was bound to happen. I knew it would happen, actually. Life goes on as you venture out on your separate ways, and the people you once cared about get pushed to the wayside as you create new friendships…caring more and more about them until the time comes where even those relationships become less and less active as well. It makes me wonder what new bonds I’ll make here in town, though at the moment I can feel the bond between family strengthening now. After living with Statler and helping her prepare for the quarter auctions, she keeps me up to date with when such events are in hopes that I can help her some more with them, arranging gift baskets and such. I need to get her to come into town sometime and take her to Hobby Lobby…I think she’ll find a lot of what she’s looking for there. She also wants me around as we both learn how to run her tea business, in preparation for when I open my candle business; filing and keeping up with taxes and such…

Kermit and her crew might be temporarily moving into the area for her husband’s job, which means the little Muppets will be closer to our parents. This in turn makes my dad EXTREMELY happy, because he misses having his daughters so close to him. However, Kermit also has plans for me in helping to tutor her kids in the various forms of art. First and foremost, I need to teach them how to draw. My eldest nephew showed interest when he asked how long it would take him to be as good as I, and my niece is already taking after her namesake in leaps and bounds. I’m excited for them, honestly…and already have an idea of where to start…first by teaching my sister how to draw. This will surely be an amusing experience to add to all the rest…but at least I’ll actually be contributing something good to the kids.

All in all…I think this is a good start into my thirties. It’s fresh, it’s new…which was what I was hoping for, and as long as I keep a positive outlook on what may happen…then surely I’ll be rewarded with nothing but good memories. Actually, if you think about it…it rained on my birthday; and though walking through town on that day stirred up a lot of sadness in my heart, I believe that it helped to wash away the old and prepare me for the new. I’ve got nowhere else to go now but forward.

A Sister and a Mother.

A friend of mind laughed at me last Sunday when I saw that Kermit had posted. He’s the eldest of two, if I remember correctly, so I don’t really expect him to understand how excited I tend to get when she writes, calls, or even just comments. There’s just a special bond between my sister and I that…well…I can’t really put into words, other than the fact that as much as I’ve learned not to idolize people…she has always been my first idol, and I can never stop seeing her in that limelight.

It’s her birthday again, and I’ve typed this up ahead of time because at this very moment, I should be on a train up to visit her, along with our sister and parents for the week. Our father had a heart attack recently, and we decided that we’d get together for Easter to spend some time with him. And before you ask, he’s home and his surgery went well. I’m under the assumption that he’s on bed rest or house arrest for the next week or two…to make sure he’s good and recuperated after…well…what was a terrifying ordeal for us.

As I’ve mentioned before, Kermit has a way of doubting herself when it comes to parenting. I remember when we were up for our grandmother’s funeral; she was talking on her phone to her husband about how differently our cousin’s wife treated their one daughter, as opposed to how my sister handles her four kids. You can already see the major differences in the comparison. I think what she got upset with the most was how patient our cousin-in-law was…and though I feel that children are infuriating and run my patience dry, I know that Kermit has plenty to give towards her children; or…at least more than I do.

And I love her for it. Whether she sees it or not, she’s done a wonderful job at being a mother, I think more so because she’s got such a wonderful husband by her side, to help her when she needs it. She’s not alone in being a parent…and I honestly believe she needs to stop dwelling on herself in that matter when it comes to her kids. She’s not alone. She’s raising them with Fozzie, raising them together…and she should be able to see how each child reflects on their parents’ personalities in their own individual way. Anyways…it’s a joint effort on both their parts.

Kermit, you’ve embarked on a journey that is one that I will never want to pursue. But…you’ve got the strength to see it through. We all have our doubts, and in your blog and from listening in on your phone conversations…because what else am I going to listen to until you turn on the wave sounds in your phone…your primary concern is how your children see you. Judging by the smiles on their faces, and the antics you post about…I’d say they see nothing but love for you and Fozzie. I know…I don’t see you guys enough, but I know deep down inside you’re doing a great job!

I love you, and I’ll be seeing you in just a few hours! Happy birthday, sis!

The Big Four Oh.

This year, 2010...the start of a new decade in itself…just so happens to be the same year that three of the women in my family start a new decade in their lives as well. The first of us is my oldest sister…who we will lovingly call Statler, again from our sister Kermit’s blog.



As I was saying, the first to reach her birthday of the three of us is Statler, and incase you haven’t figured out how old she is, then I’m guessing the title hasn’t clued you in enough. ^_~ Oh well. It doesn’t matter, because like any of us in my family, she doesn’t look her age. I think it was only a couple years ago, someone asked for her license when she was buying a pack of cigarettes for her husband. She’s a whole ten years older than me, so I can honestly say that when growing up, we weren’t quite as close as me and Kermit were. But Statler still has as much love for me as our other sister, and I can tell that she’s looking out for me.



Our dad and I will argue day in and out about my sister’s hair. For the most part, I will always remember it as being red and incredibly curly. Even if we have pictures to prove my dad’s accuracy as to when he insists that she was originally a blonde. Despite those pieces of visual evidence, I still refuse to believe him. That coloration doesn’t fit her on so many levels, most of all her personality. Statler is bright, vibrant, giddy, excited, patient and well tempered…which is a strange trait to find in our family…ambitious, and most of all, positive. The red color of her hair just radiates positive energy in my eyes!



She started out going to school for physical education, and I think the only thing that she continued to pursue down that highly active role is taking classes in Irish Step Dancing. And I imagine she’s really good at it, because she’s been really eager for me to come up to see her in a recital. Considering I haven’t received an invitation in so long…I’m wondering if I’ve missed out on the chance to see her dance. I’d really like to. Heh…I remember when Statler and Kermit came to visit me for St. Patty’s Day weekend, the equivalent to New Orleans’ Mardi Gras in the city I live in, my oldest sister was so disappointed in the various schools of Irish Step Dancing that performed during the horribly long parade. (I’m so never sitting/standing through that again.) She explained to us that there is an actual routine made specifically parades, and that dancers are never stop their steps, just because there’s a pause in the walking. Impressive…and I can envision my sister doing it with those bouncing red curls.



And though most of my family is very supportive of my art, my mother still pushing the various character pieces I like to draw, Statler probably owns some of my most ambitious endeavors…or at least offered and given financial support towards a good number of them. Back when I was printing my first comic book, eager to see the third issue complete, she offered to loan me the printing charges for it. Granted, it never happened due to my dorm room’s evil AC unit, and my dying passion for the series…but I’m sure if I could get over the depression the storyline tends to put me in whenever I try to pick it up, I’m sure the offer would still stand.



She also allowed me to paint on the walls of her first house. I never got to work on the idea we had for her dining room, but I was able to complete her guest bedroom. Yes, my mother has allowed me to do so as well with her previous house, but nothing as wonderful and exciting as being able to paint one of my favorite creatures; the dragon. This was more along the lines of the Eastern style dragon, which are as equally exciting as your Western style dragon. When she had the idea of what she wanted in the room that would display her souvenirs from her trip to Japan, she first took me to a Chinese restaurant that had these neat swirling clouds on the exterior of the building. Add those to a couple of dragons, some kanji that reflect the ideals of love, hope, friendship, and peace, along with a bonsai tree on the closet doors, and we’ve got a room sized mural that I was rather proud of. Sadly…I don’t think I can find any of the pictures from it at this moment.



However, I do have pictures of the paintings I did for her new guest bedroom. Her husband…who apparently enjoys the fact that I will freely belch at the dinner table…put his foot down at the idea of me painting on the walls of their new house. Why is beyond me, but I’m doing my best not to hold it against him…because it allowed me to come up with a set of pictures (four of which are missing because she hung them up at her office) that not only took my sister by surprise, but took me by surprise as well. The paint I used was probably not the most ideal for the paper, but it was from the whole experience of working with it on two different occasions that I learned that I absolutely hated it. Yes, it’s nice to have a watercolor like paint that won’t pick up if you dab water over it again when it dries…but it also means you’ve got to be extra careful in how much you take out of the tube. Because like acrylic paint…once it’s out, and you don’t use it up…it dries and stays that way. Ugh. I can’t stand it.



So, because of my dislike for the paint, I wasn’t too pleased with the paintings. To my surprise, it seems that whatever I dislike turns out to be something everyone adores. I never take compliments that well to begin with, but it completely amazed me how much everyone was complimenting me on the first batch of paintings, but even more so on the second batch. It just blew me away, and actually had me smiling after a while. Which leads me to believe that my sister actually brings the best out in my work. She’s always understood my tastes, never forcing me to try something I’ve constantly snubbed my nose on. And for that, I love her. Thank you.



I’ve got a great idea for a quilt to hang in her dining room…so at some point I need to discuss it with you on materials for it. But until then, Happy Birthday, big sister! I love you and I hope today you have a blast!

My Last Year in My 20’s.

That’s right, it’s my birthday today, and next year I’ll be going into my third decade. I usually don’t pay much attention to the days of my birth; I’ve got some memories of a few, but not that many. My sweet sixteen was spent at the local pizza parlor playing video games with a bunch of friends, only one of whom I still actually talk to at least once a year.

But today seemed like such a hoot for me. It started out with a dream I had of a friend of mine from online. She actually made the trip down here last month to visit me, which only puts her high up on my respected friends list because of that reason alone. I promised I’d visit her next year, and am debating making it a birthday trip or a Halloween trip. I think I have to see first how my mom is planning the women’s get together first.

Anyways, so I dreamt that my friend was staying at a house that I used to babysit at, but from a time before the kitchen was redesigned. I kept on pulling fried chicken out of the freezer, to which it became the topic of discussion while I ate it. Sadly, the dream didn’t last long, as I was hungry and had to pee before the alarm clock went off…making me up earlier than usual.

The morning proceeded with some sleeping purrs from my little dumpling, to which later when she was up and about, she decided that she didn’t want to have anything to do with me, but instead attack her younger sister. And I say my cat is a mama’s girl…just not on my birthday.

I then got a call from my oldest sister and joked about whether or not my middle sister will remember to call me or blog about me today. I still love you even if you forget, Kermit! My oldest sister was surprised that I was up and about already, hoping to have woken my up. She then asked if Mom got to me already, but she didn’t. My bladder did.

Then when my boyfriend came down all dressed, sitting next to me while his daddy’s girl played his shadow, she immediately jumped on his lap. She loves his jeans and can’t get enough of his lap. The calico then proceeded to perk her rear up in my direction while he rubbed her back, and then released a rather stinky odor in my face. It’s her way of saying ‘Happy Birthday, Mommy!’ I’m sure.

But the fun doesn’t stop there! At work, and yes…I worked on my birthday…we get this phone call from some lady from one of our neighboring counties. I couldn’t tell where she got our number from, but she proceeded to give me her name, address, and told me how her landlord told her that she had an infestation of marijuana cockroaches in her apartment, and that she doesn’t smoke anything like that. I had to stop her right there and explain that she has the wrong number, since we are only a hobby and art supply store…and thus couldn’t help her. My boyfriend and I thus proceeded to look up to see exactly what a marijuana cockroach looks like to find that there was no such thing. This makes me think that maybe the landlord is doing the smoking…

After a call from my mom and changing out the display windows and putting up some sales signs for the shop, my boss drove me home. While I was pulling things out of the mail box, I found one card…from my favorite reference librarian! YAY! Probably the only card I’ll receive on the day of my birth, but I know I’ve got more coming, including a gift from my online friend mentioned above at a later date.

Ooo! And then I had a message from my dad from earlier this morning about my present. He had to call me back though, since he was on a conference call when I rang in. Whoops!

So, in keeping with the theme of fried chicken, my boyfriend went out and got us some KFC for dinner. While we were eating, our boss calls claiming she has a birthday present for me…and it’s one that my boyfriend isn’t going to like, and I’m doubtful that he’ll let me keep it.





Anyways, my boss happened to find a blue eyes, 7 (ish) week old Siamese kitten outside of her house when she got home from work! We want to think she’s a pure bread, which makes us wonder if she either snuck out and away from her owner or was abandoned. We’re not entirely sure, so we’re going to be contacting one of our local radio stations that announces missing and found pets, incase her owner is looking for her. And if not…?




We can’t really afford nor have enough room for a fourth cat, but deep down inside, I’m hoping we can either find her a good home, or my boyfriend will let us keep her. She’s just too precious to send to a shelter. Tomorrow I will be trying to get her to the vet for a check up and shots. Needless to say, our three girls…aren’t happy.

Two Very Special Birthday Boys!

Today, though there isn’t any art this time around…and I apologize for missing this last couple of Sundays, as I didn’t have anything I thought worth while to show at the time…today is an extra special day! For it was the day that my boyfriend was born in the year 1972, and my nephew was born in the year 2000! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS!

So, despite having to work all day, as my boyfriend is scheduled to do so, we’ll be going out for sushi come dinner time; my treat to him as it’s something we both enjoy immensely, and can never get enough of due to the lack of funds. I can’t really remember the first birthday present I ever got him, but I do remember our first Christmas together. He’s the first boyfriend I ever brought home for the holidays, and perhaps the only one that I was overly excited to introduce to my parents. I can’t say all of my past boyfriends were bad boys, but out of all of them this one is by far the sweetest and more family sociable.

He loves kids, and when my sister brought her three kids to our parents’ house for Christmas, I knew just who to sick the older two on. While he and my niece and nephew played at one end of the house, Kermit and I were hanging out at the other end. She was startled at how quiet it was, to which I put my arm around her shoulder and wished her a Merry Christmas. “Do I get to take him home with me?” She asked, to which I told her no, because I needed him down here with me.

That Christmas, my dad took him out to gift shop for me. Admittedly, there was little my boyfriend knew for sure what I wanted, and simply got me a couple of books wrapped with an envelope stating that he owed me one LARPing event.

What is LARPing? Live Action Role Playing. Yes, I used to run around in costume and beat people up with foam weapons. But finances got tight, and I’ve had to stop playing. My boyfriend knows how much I love to play make-believe, come up with storylines and pretend to be someone I’m not. So, he made up the IOU so that someday I can play again. I’ve been saving it for an event a couple of friends want to take me to up in the state north of us.

I racked my brain for nearly a month trying to figure out what to get my boyfriend for Christmas, and his best friend who knew him longer than I kept asking me for advice as well. I think I finally got through to him to just simply give the man gift cards, since there isn’t a whole lot of inexpensive things my boyfriend wants. However, I had the luck of figuring out what to get him after “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” came onto the radio that year. Since my boyfriend started obsessing over it, as we had never heard it before then, I went out and ordered him a CD with the song on it, as well as an illustrated book that had the lyrics, and topped it all off with a stuffed hippo I saw down the street from where I worked at the time. He plays the CD every Christmas at work now, and the hippo is on a gargoyle post/shelf thing that I have on the corner step of the stairs. A part of me wishes I could get Abby’s farting hippo from NCIS, as I think he would love that for the fact that it’s a prop that coincides with our favorite character in the show.


My sister has named my nephew Scooter on her blog, so I will be calling him that here as well. I got to meet him when he was four months old, when my sister brought him to CAMP so our dad’s friends could meet him. I remember when we went to the airport to pick them up, and Kermit handed him over to me to hold for a moment, it was the most awkward moment. When it comes to babies, I can’t hold them for anything; I sign of my lack in motherly instinct. But I managed long enough for them to take a picture of us, and my sister soon took him out of my arms.

There is a picture of have of him and my other sister lying on the couch. It’s a profile of her, with him lying atop of her chest as he faces the camera. The lighting is soft and warm, but it’s still a rather dark photo. Truly beautiful in showing a maternal glow within my oldest sister. They’ve tried to replicate the photo with the children that followed, but they don’t compare to the original.

Scooter is smart, vibrant, energetic, and quick to learn. His first love was trains, soon followed by tornadoes and later by the Titanic. His brain soaks in information he reads, hears, and watches like a sponge, and he’ll pour it all back out to anyone who will simply listen. My dad bought him his first train set, which we’re in the process of getting fixed up after his younger brother got a hold of it. I even remember talking to Scooter on the phone one time, telling him about the shop my boyfriend and I work at, and how it was filled with model trains and had a layout and all sorts of things I know he’d enjoy. “Mommy! Mommy! Aunt Cere says there’s a store that’s full of trains! We have to go so we can go see the train store!” I forgot to mention about all the layouts the train club has up at the train museum…but I don’t see them visiting me anytime soon.

Here’s hoping your Birthdays are special and filled with all the joys of spending time with your friends and family.

The Day after April's Fool.

Today is my sister’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG SISTER!

Her blog name is Kermit, as you might have seen her comment on my first post here. She is the middle of three sisters, being four years younger than one, and six years older than the other, being me.

Ever since Kermit started her blog, she’s been wonderful enough to write up beautiful posts about her sisters on their birthdays. So I decided to give it a try, just to show how much I love my middle sister. Sadly, there won’t be any art in this post, as I hadn’t prepared anything and I realized that any of the sketch books I used that had any art pertaining to my sister are currently in storage. That’s a place I don’t plan on returning to until I’m ready to add more boxes to it, or am ready to weed more crap out of it.

ANYWAYS! Let’s try to keep on track today!

For as long as I could remember during my early youth, Kermit was always there for me. She would play doll house and Ewoks with me, along with some random video games we had for the Commodore 64. She taught me how to make my bed, wash my laundry, brush my teeth, wash my hair, vacuum, dust…a lot. Kermit was more like a mother to me at random points of my life. When Dad was away for work during the week days, I went to my sister for help with my homework. She encouraged my drawings, much like she’s doing now with her own daughter.

And Kermit wasn’t that bad at drawing herself. I’d scan it if I had it here now, but since I don’t, then I won’t; but she drew in one of my first sketch books a picture of a little blonde girl in a blue dress, along with a little story of a brown haired girl in a green dress who went off to find her father. At least, I think that’s how it went. Without it in front me, I’m afraid I can’t remember too well. I just know that I would try so hard to mimic her pictures, because I wanted so much to be like her. I wanted to draw like her, sing like her, enjoy the same music as her, as well as hang out with her friends with her, just like she used to play with mine with me. Though I don’t share her love of jazz music, she is the one that got me interested in Simon & Garfunkel, and I give her credit for the eclectic collection of music I enjoy today.

Kermit was the only reason I tolerated going to church for as long as I did. She has a beautiful voice and I miss being able to listen to it every week. When I later explained this to her husband, he thanked me for sharing her voice with him, and letting him steal her away. I’m still trying to get Kermit to send me a copy of her singing one of the Christmas Songs from Midnight Mass, just so I can listen to her voice again.

It was funny at times, as this little old lady came up to me one day to tell me how much she loved Kermit’s singing. When my sister came out after service, the lady went up and told her everything she had told me, and commented on how I always waited patiently for Kermit to come out afterwards. Thus, she proceeded to ask, “Is she your daughter?” “Well sure! I had her when I was six years old!” My sister responded with a good humored grin. She and the lady had a good laugh before we finally went home.

When she started going to college, she always planned to have me come visit at random points; whenever I had a week vacation and she was still in classes, she’d have me come visit her and hang out with her friends. I adored it, and with her being so close to NYC, Kermit, our other sister, and Dad took me to see some Broadway shows as well.

Things got confusing after she graduated, and I can’t say I know all of the complete details; only because I tend to be in my own little world and am usually the last to know anything that goes on in the family. Together, we are quite dysfunctional. However, I did know that Kermit was getting married, and despite the tension brought on about her choice in faith, churches, ceremonies, and so on; Dad promised to put me on a plane to Utah so I could be there for the wedding as soon as we found out when it was. That didn’t happen.

And nothing was really explained to me until I wrote Kermit a letter about some books of hers I had. I mentioned briefly about my reaction to the wedding notice we received in the mail, and that no matter what everyone else thought or said, I was really happy for her. I mean, seriously. I know that we disagree on several things, but the fact that she found a faith as well as someone in that faith that makes her happy? How could I not be happy for her? She’s my sister! She deserves to be happy in any way she deems suitable for herself, just like everyone else!

The letter she wrote me in response, to this day still makes me cry. The genuine love in her words, the insistent apologies for forgetting how old I really was, and the asking for forgiveness; she already knew she didn’t need to ask. I was overjoyed to learn just how much my sister loved me, how she saw me, and to let her know that I loved her as well.


These memories are what I hold dearest to my heart whenever I think of my middle sister. I hope her family realizes just how wonderful a person she is, and that they never take her for granted. She is a wonderful mother, and an equally as wonderful sister. I should know; I consider her as both. I hope that even if she doesn’t get the gifts on her wish list, that her birthday is still filled with love and joy.